Hola a todos! I'm dashing in here real quick before I have to get back to Mí Amor, my flower shop. I'm serving a huge beach side wedding on Sunday. I'm making a beautiful arrangement with birds of paradise and an assortment of colored rosas for the bride. It's going to be beautiful, but I left it in the hands of Gabriel and I'm not sure what he's up to, but I know I need to get back in there before "inspiration" hits. ECK!

I'm popping in here this week with a little something I love for the weekend. Mí hermana, Mia, (you'll meet her in Sunrise for Three) is very good at making this so I asked her if I could share with everyone.

Has anyone ever had enfijoladas pintas? Son deliciosas and so easy to make. Here's the recipe and if you get a chance to make it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the dish.

Muchos besos y buen provecho, amigas!

If you write romance, or know someone who does, Bookin' It Designs just updated a new pre-made cover trilogy set! Click the image below and check out Bookin' It Designs' Pre-made covers which go for $75.00 for front digital covers and $225 for a trilogy. By the way, order a pre-made cover and get a FREE matching calendar desktop (A $5 value) as a gift for your readers!

In the not so distant past I used to vlog. Yeah, not sure why I stopped, but while I tried this new-for-me way of sharing my passion for books I had the opportunity to read a fabulous novella by the awesome JoAnne Kenrick. Love her work and fresh voice to the erotic genre so much that I picked her book, Dracula's Kiss to read from for a vlog.

JoAnne shared the link for my reading again today on Facebook and reminded me just how much I loved her story. I though I would share it here with everyone since Halloween is right around the corner. If you love vampire romances and want something quick to read, check it out.

Ummm...it's been a couple of years since the recording. :p

DRACULA'S KISS BY JOANNE KENRICK
Cathela's Office Halloween Ball is a complete bust. She spills out of her Dracula's Bride costume, and her vamp fetish chases away her boyfriend. Only redeeming feature to the night? Necking multiple shots of Dracula's Kiss--a lush Black Cherry Vodka cocktail--and an interlude with a gorgeous man dressed Gary Oldman style.

No one comes close to satisfying Alec Murray's needs until he meets Cathela during some lame-ass party for bankers. One taste of her blood, sweet yet darkly dangerous, he knows she's perfect for him.

A night of goth bondage is planned for one. For the other, a night of sexual control is a must. A perfect fit. Alec is compelled to reveal his true nature but can their relationship survive his dark secret?

Happy reading!

Oh, what a naughty title! Alas I'm only talking about books! ;)

I'm aching for a fix of the literary sorts and with Sunrise for Three DONE, I'm ready to kick back a little with some favorite authors.

There have been several new releases I haven't been able to read yet and now that I'm between books it's time fix that little problem!

I have two days all to myself word-wise so here's my top three books.

Okay I've shown you mine, now it's your turn! Do you have any books lined up for the coming? Or have you read any of the titles I have here today?

Talk to me, my dear readers and let's dish on books!

Happy Thursday! If you write romance, or know someone who does, Bookin' It Designs just updated a new pre-made cover! Click the image below and check out Bookin' It Designs' Pre-made covers which go for $75.00 for front digital covers. By the way, order a pre-made cover and get a FREE matching calendar desktop (A $5 value) as a gift for your readers!

This past Monday I wrote about giving the word CAN'T the boot and never looking back. If you missed the post you can check it out here. If you're suffering from the terrible symptoms of CAN'Titis then you should click that link, go read the article then rejoin us here so you can see the results of kicking CAN'T in the arse.

Anyway, today's post is all about the aftereffects of me taking my own advice and squashing my inner demon that wanted to infect me with the "I CAN'T" disease.

First, a little back story: Over the last month and a half I've been working on the third Sexy Siesta novella. The first two-thirds of the story came without a hitch and I pretty much knew what I wanted to happen in the story. I'm a plotter, it's how I roll. However, as I closed in on the ending, the back of my mind turned to a foggy mess. I couldn't focus and self doubt creeped in when I wasn't looking.

I doubted what I had written up until that point then I started doubting what I would write. Before I knew it I was so paralyzed by thinking I CAN'T that I didn't.

I didn't think I could finish, I didn't think I could write, and I definitely didn't think I could call myself an author.

Those are some pretty powerful self-doubting moments that can cripple anyone, the trick is to recognize the evil soul-eating symptoms of CAN'Titis before it digs its claws in too deep for a healthy recovery.

And that is what I did. I fought back. I slayed the ugly dragon raining fire over my dreams and guess what happened. That' right, last night I unsheathed my mighty pen and reclaimed my authordom with a fury of words until I wrote those precious last two words--THE END. True. It's not perfect, it needs editing, revisions, and a whole hell of a lot of TLC, but you know what? That's okay. First drafts suck. That's why we edit and then edit some more until the book shines. As I've been told in the past and I'll repeat here: it's okay for the first draft to be crappy. No one writes a perfect first draft.

That helps make it a little easier to get your story down on paper, doesn't it. Oh yeah! Give yourself a high five!

My hopes are that you can take my experience and apply it to anything you might be struggling with in your life. Slay the hell out of your dragons and get back to what it is you want to be doing. No matter if it's writing, painting, or learning how to juggle three chainsaws while balancing a lit candle on the end of your nose over a pit of gasoline. Not recommended. Seriously, dude you could get hurt, but who the hell am I to stand in the way of your talents!

My point? If you have a dream, and 99.9% of us walking this planet do, then take control and fight for yours.

You got this. And in honor of the season primer of Modern Family...

Now go, reach your goals, your dreams, your whatever-makes-you-happy with your new found power. Oh, and while you're at it, take a little time for you.

Want a little go-to mojo? Print out the Fight For It image below and keep it as a bookmark and share with anyone you think might need a boost!

Morning my lovelies! If you write paranormal romance, or know someone who does, Bookin' It Designs just uploaded a new pre-made cover! Click the image below and check out Bookin' It Designs' Pre-made covers which go for $75.00 for front digital covers. By the way, order a pre-made cover and get a FREE matching calendar desktop (A $5 value) as a gift for your readers!

CAN'T CAN'T CAN'T CAN'T CAN'T! CAAAAAANNN'TTTTT

There, I have that oppressive negative soul eating word out of my system. It has held me back for too damn long and I'm ready for what my mind CAN create with so much more "room" to play with not that the nasty sour tasting word in gone.

This past weekend I had a sit down with me, myself, and I. There was a lot on the table for discussion, with no topic untouchable. Every time I sat down to write I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and I didn't know why. There was something holding me back, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Something negative, something that was so strong that not a damn word could be written and I wanted--no needed--to know what it was because I'm on deadline with a book due in five days. Yeah, talk about pressure.

Every time I sat down to write on Saturday I would get five words in and my muse (creative mind) would sulk off to the corner and refuse to give me the words. Now, this is not unusual. When this happens I'll get up and come back to write later. But not this time.

Something else was on my mind and it was stopping the word flow. I needed to get to the bottom of the problem and fast. For those that have followed along over the past few days you all know that I'm | | close to finishing Sunrise for Three and to have the words dry up when I'm this close (or at any point of writing a book, really) is the ninth level of hell, people.

I needed answers. I found a quiet place, took out a notebook and started writing about everything I had on my plate, things I needed to pick up from the store and what I needed to get done around the house to un-clutter the mind. Then I started in on just writing down what I thought about my story, what the strong points are and the weak. Then I started writing about what I wanted to do, what I thought could happen. I finished up with what I want to see for myself six months from now and even a year from now. After I finished that I took a deep breath and read back over what I wrote. Three things stood out that shocked the hell out of me.

1. I buy way too much milk. Seriously? A gallon every other day?

2. I have an addiction to vanilla and cinnamon flavored coffee from Starbucks. It made it on my MUST BUY list three times in my little write it down sprint.

3. A war was going on inside my head and I had no idea. We're talking about the apocalypse of epic proportions going off in my head.

I had written the word CAN'T seventeen times in my writing sprint and it all pointed back to what I could and couldn't do with my writing, my story, my characters, my worlds, my career.

My muse wanted to tell ME that he just just...

Well why the hell not! When I saw that single most negative word scattered throughout my ideas, I was ticked off. How could I tell myself I CAN'T when it's my damn worlds, my charters, my writing...my books? And yes, my career.

True, I'm writing for readers, but am I not also writing for myself? Writing the books I want to read?

I guess you can say I had a light bulb moment. I crumbled up that piece of paper, took out a clean sheet and started again. This time I eliminated the word CAN'T and replaced it with what I will do, what I can do and what I want from my stories and my work. I knocked that energy sucking bitch CAN'T out of my mind and I took back my control.

I've reined in my muse and erased the negative juju that was stagnating my progress. Sure, I know this won't be my last run-in with self doubt, the fear, or the word-never-to-be-said-again, but you know what? I have the power to take control, fight back, and move forward with my goals, my dreams, my writing and my career as a writer.

You can too.

Take a stand for what you want and if you are what is holding your progress back, take a deeper look at what is causing you to hesitate. Don't be afraid. There's liberation in finding out those deeper thoughts and giving them light.

Here's your chance to start something new, give a project new energy, or just be your awesome self.

Take control, my lovelies!

And remember. . .

There's another pre-made available on Bookin' It Designs and I forgot to share! Check this one out if you write romance! Click the image below and check out Bookin' It Designs' Pre-made covers which go for $75.00 for front digital covers. By the way, order a pre-made cover and get a FREE matching calendar desktop (A $5 value) as a gift for your readers!

Have a fabulous Sunday!

Happy Sunday everyone! It's a bright and beautiful day here in sunny Puerto Vallarta and I hope it's just as beautiful in your corner of the world. Today I'm in the home stretch with Sunrise for Three and I only have about five thousand words to go before I can type THE END. It's an empowering, gut wrenching, magical mixture of emotions when you're this close to finishing a book. It's like having a super power! I've just crossed over into the black moment (I hope you guys love reading about as much as I loved writing it) and now to give my characters that HFN ending they deserve. ;)

So what super power do you possess?