The perfect vampire toilet

Thanks to Lyn Cash (http://authorlyncash.blogspot.com/) for sending this to me LOL. I love it!!!

Must be something in the air

Because I blogged on writing men as my other author ego, I blogged on heroes in my last post jumping off from Squawk Radio here, and now AAR's latest column is on writing men.

http://www.likesbooks.com/226.html

There are spoilers for Bob Mayer's and Jenny Crusie's newest book there. So be warned.

It's an interesting take on writing males from male authors.

May the muses have well written men
Mechele

My heroes have always been quirky

(Blogger posted my last post twice. I'm not sure why it felt it needed to be repeated LOL but it's down to one now)

Squawk Radio has an interesting blog post on heroes. http://squawkradio.blogspot.com/ It's from Thursday, May 25th. It's about the not so macho hero.

I have to confess, I love heroes who are masculine, but not macho. I think it all started way back with A Wrinkle in Time and Calvin O'Keefe. Oh yeah, I had a crush on him. I love Daniel Jackson from Stargate SG-1. Brainy with a big heart, and an innner stregth. Yes, I even like Ron from Kim Possible. Forget Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Carribean, it was Johnny Depp who made my heart go pitter pat. And yes, a part of me really respects Depp for his roles because they aren't always macho or Alpha, and it takes great talent to pull them off.

I enjoy Alphas sometimes, don't get me wrong. In Kinley MacGregor's, Master of Desire, I mean who doesn't fall in love with Draven? But I fell for Simon at the same time *dreamy sigh*. I hurrahed when he got his own novella and read it several times.

So are there any non-macho heroes who have you at hello?

May the muses have heroes
Mechele

The good, the sad, and the sniffly

The sad: We had a baby blue jay who lived in the trees in the yard next door. :( The dog behind us got him. I realized too late what she had, haven't seen it since.

The sniffly: After four years at our preschool, two with the first kidlet, two with the second, tonight it ends. My four year old graduates!! She'll start kindergarten in the fall. After seeing her "report card," I know she's ready, but it will be different for all of us.

The good:

Solstice Spell

19,250 / 20,000 (96.3%)

It's done. A little shy of where I was aiming, but I think as I go back and edit it before I turn it in, it will grow.

May the muses have good with the bad
Mechele

Book talk

I broke down and read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I had put it off because I knew when it was done, I'd have to wait with the rest of the world LOL for the next one. I finished it last night.

It didn't disappoint, kept me riveted through the whole thing. I didn't figure out a major piece, who the Half Blood Prince was. Thought I had but I was WRONG. I got teary over some things, which shows what a really powerful book it is. J.K. Rowling is amazing with what she's accomplished.

Another book I read recently was the Biggest Kahuna by Ciar Cullen. It is a fun sexy romp set in Hawaii, where shark gods are real. She's already getting some well deserved great reviews on it. I enjoyed it.

The next book I shall be reading is the anthology, Charming the Snake. I'm looking forward to it.

May the muses have books,
Mechele

Solstice Spell

16,907 / 20,000 (84.5%)

An interview

Kate Hill was gracious enough to invite me to be interviewed for her newsletter. If you'd like to take a peek, here's the link:


http://www.kate-hill.com/newsletter.php

May the muses have questions
Mechele

Seduction Style quiz

Your Seduction Style: Au Natural

You rank up there with your seduction skills, though you might not know it. That's because you're a natural at seduction. You don't realize your power! The root of your natural seduction power: your innocence and optimism. You're the type of person who happily plays around and creates a unique little world. Little do you know that your personal paradise is so appealing that it sucks people in. You find joy in everything - so is it any surprise that people find joy in you? You bring back the inner child in everyone you meet with your sincere and spontaneous ways. Your childlike (but not childish) behavior also inspires others to care for you. As a result, those who you befriend and date tend to be incredibly loyal to you.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

Solstice Spell

11,607 / 20,000 (58.0%)

One of the hazards

of working on more than one project at a time, I've discovered is manuscript confusion. I was juggling a few projects, flipping back and forth between them, then decided to fully concentrate on my menage story.

So yesterday, I went back to my Loose Id Fling, Solstice Spell. I'm doing a minor revamp as per a critique partner's suggestions. And discovered a plot device that was the same in the menage and at least, one line that I know I used in the menage *sigh*. Naturally, I'm getting rid of the similiar items, but it struck me as a hazard on working on more than a couple of things at a time.

I think my brain wants to concentrate on one thing for longer periods before I switch.

May the muses have multi tasking brains
Mechele

Solstice Spell

10,525 / 20,000 (52.6%)

Reviews

I'm bouncing! I received three GREAT reviews of Conduit and Crimson's Rose over the weekend. *does a snoopy dance*

Blood Lines 2: Conduit received Five wands from TeeBee at Enchanted Ramblings!! My favorite line: "In truth, pretty much every character was given depth and motivation, including the baddy Evangeline, which really made some of the scenes crackle with tension." http://www.enchantedramblings.net/reviews/review0227.html

Crimson's Rose received 4 Coffee Cups from Coffee Time Romance! My favorite line: "Their individual pasts show how far they have come as vampires, while still showing their human frailties.-Kathy"


And JERR *does a big snoopy dance* gave Crimson's Rose 5 stars and an O rating. Stacey had this to say, "Mechele Armstrong has written another masterful story, erotic page in and page out, with a storyline that holds its own. Crimson and Rojo are so hot in this one, walking into a room where they are would make anyone want to have sex. The sexually charged atmosphere is so intense; I had to take plenty of breaks to have my own fun. The writing is good, the story flows so well, I felt like I could step into the story and play along with the characters...I am so glad that I got to be a part of their lives, if just for a moment."

There is no greater compliment from a reader than saying "I felt as though I could step into the story." It actually made me teary to read it (after I'd jumped around of course). I love books where I feel like that.

To TeeBee, to Kathy, and to Stacey, thank you for taking the time to read and write a review. And I'm soooooo glad you enjoyed the books!

May the muses have good reviews
Mechele

Happy Mother's Day

I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of joy, family, and friends!

Hee hee, I got some nice presents. A five wand review of Blood Lines 2: Conduit from Enchanted Ramblings *G*. A Mother's Day tea on Friday where I got a book from the four year old. She'd been asked such questions as age, weight and height and things we like to do. Apparently, I'm 12, weigh 22 pounds, and am 80 inches tall. We also like to eat ice cream a lot. LOL definitely something I'm going to treasure. And from the seven year old, I got a card with a tea bag on it and a flower she made with her picture on it. She was thrilled because she hid it and I never found it.

May the muses have fun times
Mechele

Guess what?

Dinah's Dark Desire--COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!

30,051 / 25,000 (120.2%)

Random Thought for the day

When a Polly Pocket is put into a drink bottle opening, it will go down to the bottom, do the splits, and then be impossible to get out without pouring the drink out and cutting the bottle. Trust me on this *sigh*.

May the muses have scissors
Mechele

Dinah's Dark Desire

25,552 / 25,000 (102.2%)

June RT Magazine

Check out page 70. *Grins* yes Conduit is in an ad in a magazine. *snoopy dances* I keep opening it up and looking at it. Yes, I really am easily amused.

May the muses have amusements
Mechele

Seven years ago today

I know exactly where I was and what I was doing. Especially around 3:30 EST. My oldest kidlet was born. A mixture of sadness, joy, and a healthy dose of fear all hit at the same time.

Which got me thinking.

How many other things do I know exactly where I was and what I was doing at the time? So I made a list.

What bothers me about the list is how many are bad/sad things. Not sure what to make of that. But I hope to add many more happy things to the list over the next few years.

May the muses have happy times
Mechele

New free short read and a first review

The next installment in the Knight in a Cowboy Hat series has been posted at my website in the goodies section. Enjoy! http://www.mechelearmstrong.com

And Blood Lines: Crimson's Rose received its first official review. I'm so psyched! Philippa Ann of Romance Reviews Today said, "The plot is well-paced with an equal balance of mystery and romance. The attraction between Crimson and Rojo is immediate and each of their encounters builds the sexual tension until it explodes in a most satisfying way.Thoroughly enjoyable, CRIMSON'S ROSE lives up to the caliber of writing from the previous two books. I highly recommend it to fans of erotic paranormal romance and I can't wait for the next tale in the series. http://www.romrevtoday.com/Erotic%20Reviews/crimsons_rose_04-06.htm

May the muses have happy dances
Mechele

19,235 / 25,000 (76.9%)