Things I'm Loving Right Now

1) The Hunger Games. I started listening to it on CD and wow. Just, wow.

2) Chris Noth. I love The Good Wife, and started watching because of him, though he's not on enough for me. And he's not on my list, but wow.

3) Crazy Heart. The dh, a country guitar player in his free time, and I watched this last night. Jeff Bridges absolutely deserved that Oscar.

4) Simply Caramel from Milky Way. Yum. My.

What are you loving right now?

Best Arms

We saw Iron Man 2 this weekend, and I lived for the scene where Tony Stark worked on his new design in his tank top. Robert Downey Jr. is a little guy, and he's older than I am, but DANG does he have nice arms.

I'd heard of Hugh Jackman before the X-Men movies, saw him in a romance called Paperback Hero, but when he showed up in those movies looking like this---Guh.

The first time I was made aware of Matthew McConnaughy, he was on the cover of Vanity Fair in jeans and a chambray shirt, just before A Time to Kill came out. I thought he was very handsome, but if you've heard him talk, well, he's a little too good ol' boy for me. But very very nice arms.

I watched the new Amityville Horror before I'd ever heard of Ryan Reynolds. I loved the original movie, which I watched when I was a kid. But when Ryan's character went nuts, playing with the ax while shirtless in the rain, well, I completely forgot to be scared!

When I started watching Supernatural, I was a Dean girl all the way. Then came the episode "Heart," which had Jared shirtless and HOT. Is it any wonder I use him as the inspiration for Brady in LESSONS FOR TEACHER?

Who do you think has the best arms?

A New-To-Me Favorite

Amazon has Heat of Passion free for the Kindle right now, and I downloaded and started reading and WOW. Wow. Sexy and romantic, an alpha hero who isn't overbearing, a heroine who feels real. I immediately bought the other two books in the series and will work my way through her other books.

What new erotic romance authors have you discovered? What am I missing?

Motivation

I'm writing my very first menage. Interesting that it's also the characters' very first menage. That also makes it more difficult. In stories I've read, the men, at least, have shared a woman before. In my story, the heroine has slept with both men, but never together. I've got them snowed in at a motel, no place to go, and lots of hormones zinging.

But I'm having trouble moving them from hormones to action.

See, my heroine is in love with one of the heroes, while the other is just her fuck-buddy, or at least he was until she fell for the first hero. So I'm having trouble figuring how she can voice her desire for a three-way when she's in love with one and not the other. It's a fairly new relationship, too, so that will put her on shaky ground.

I'm also trying to figure out how the hero, her hero, would agree to share her.

Most of the books I've read, the heroine loves both heroes. In this one, she's in love with one but not the other. I've never read one where it's the first time for everyone. Have you?

Books By Their Covers

Our librarian at school always tells the students not to judge a book by its cover. But I admit, I need to love a cover before I pick it up to read the blurb. Yes, I find books other ways, too, mostly by word of mouth, but covers are the first thing to draw my attention.

The first book I remember selecting by its cover was Winter Roses by Anita Mills. I loved the red-haired hero, the background colors and the castle. I'd never heard of her before I saw this book, which became my all-time favorite book.

Another book I bought recently because I was drawn to the cover was The Ghost Exterminator by Vivi Andrews. I'm not big on paranormal books (though I love paranormal shows and movies, go figure) but this cover grabbed my attention over and over, and it's been one of my favorite reads so far.

I bought Everything to Lose because, DANG, doesn't that guy look like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, he who is at the top of my list?

I've "known" Leslie around the internet, but this cover sold me on the book (out now in print!)

What books have you bought based on the cover? How did it work out for you?

The List

You know the list--you've played this game before. You may remember the episode of FRIENDS, where Ross couldn't decide the fifth name on his list and decided against Isabella Rossellini, then actually met her. He tried to convince her his list wasn't final, but she pointed out he'd had it laminated. LOL!

I've done some rearranging of my list lately. After seeing The Losers last weekend, I rediscovered my passion for Jeffrey Dean Morgan. SLURP.

Then, this past winter, I saw Terminator Salvation AND Avatar. Let's just say I was first in line for Clash of the Titans. Sam Worthington is number 2.

Here's where it gets tricky. I do love those Winchesters, so Sam and Dean will be 3 and 4.

Number 5---well, I'm going to leave number 5 open for now. Not going to be like Ross and lock myself in.

Who's on your list?

My Goodness, It's Been a Long Time!

Many apologies (to those who are still reading!) This school year ate my lunch, but I did manage to write and sell another novella to The Wild Rose Press. Lessons for Teacher will be out May 28.

I know it sounds like a cougar romance, but it's not. The hero and heroine are the same age--she is a teaching assistant whose college career was delayed by a bad marriage and he is a veteran who wants to become a war correspondent. They find common ground, and common attraction. What a way to wrap up the school year but with a school-related romance?