Oh, the places I go…

January 23, 2014 by Z.A. Maxfield

As everyone knows I’m on a blog tour for My Heartache Cowboy. I just wanted to give a shout out to a few of the authors who are hosing me this week. They are so kind to give up their valuable Internet real estate for me, and I have really enjoyed answering their questions, writing blog posts, and generally hanging around with them.

These are some solid friends, folks, they’re the ones who cheer me on when I succeed, and laugh with me when I fail…or cry. They’re also solid writers in their own right. So far, I’ve visited with Rhys Ford, Karenna Colecroft, Tara Lain, and LE Franks! Below you’ll find the links, and while you’re there, check out my author pals and the books they write. Show them a little love by following their blogs, signing up for their newsletters and “like”ing their pages. I guarantee you will be glad you did!

These authors have already hosted me:

Rhys Ford Dirt and Sin With A Side Of Coffee

Karenna Colecroft Open Your Heart

Tara Lain Read the Beautiful Boys of Romance

LE Franks The Books, The Blogs, and The Men

I’ll let you know about new blog visits as they appear.

My Heartache Cowboy

(Cowboy Series, Bk #2)
By Z.A. Maxfield

Blurb:

Can love conquer all?

Jimmy Rafferty and Eddie Molina go way back at the J-Bar ranch. They’ve worked together, bunked together, camped out, and drank together. So how has Jimmy failed to notice that Eddie is gay? Eddie has not failed to notice that his friend has a serious drinking problem, and he’s determined to help Jimmy kick the booze cold turkey.

Taking him up to a snowbound cabin to detox, Eddie is confronted with Jimmy’s fierce denial. But the pains of withdrawal are nothing for Jimmy compared with the heartache of denying his true feelings and his deep longing…for the one man who cares for him more than anyone else on earth.

Available for purchase at

Excerpt

When I woke, I was alone and the truck wasn’t moving.

Who the hell did Eddie think he was, leaving me asleep by myself in a truck outside in the freezing cold? My pa and my older brother, Jonas, used to do that. We’d be on the road, and when I fell asleep, they’d leave me in the parking lot of some dive bar or motel—just leave me asleep outside in the dark. I’d wake up with no clue where I was, no idea if they were coming back or if I should go in and try to find them.

My first useful thought was to look for the keys, because I hadn’t forgotten what Eddie said. I hadn’t forgotten the plans him and boss Malloy made for me behind my back. It would serve them right if I up and hightailed it back to the J-Bar with Eddie’s truck and no Eddie.

No keys.

Not like that was going to stop me. Where the hell did Eddie get the idea I’d go quietly? I slid over and tore the wiring out from under the dash. Found what I needed without hardly even looking.

I hated waking up alone like that. Unwanted. Abandoned.

One twist. Two. Touch the wires together and the engine should . . .

Fuck.

Nothing.

What the hell? I checked I got the proper color-coated strands and tried again. I was frowning down at the mess of tangled wire when someone tapped on the window behind me.

I glanced up and saw Eddie frowning down, no doubt pissed at what I’d done to his truck. Serves you right for leaving me like that, you prick.

“You need a working engine for that,” he told me as he opened the door. “One that has a battery.”

“Fuck you.” I spilled out of the car ready for a fistfight.

“What?” Eddie jumped back.

“Why did you have to leave me like that? What did I ever do to you?”

Eddie shook his head at me. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. You were sound asleep and I thought maybe you needed it.”

I took a swing at him. “I hate waking up alone in a car like that.”

Ed plucked my fist from the air and peered at me like he was trying to see through my skin. “I didn’t know.”

“I hate that. Left behind in the car like a damn dog. Like a fucking duffel bag. You can’t be bothered to even wake me up and take me in out of the fucking snow.”

Now Eddie frowned like he was thinking about it. Now, after the fact. “I’m sorry, Jimmy. I didn’t think how you’d feel waking up alone like that. I won’t do it again.”

“Would have served you right if I took your truck and left you up here to walk back to civilization, wherever the hell that is. Would have served you right if I’d died out here.”

“All right, all right. Simmer down now.”

I glared at him. “Fuck you.”

“It’s pretty civilized inside. How about you come in with me.”

“How about you suck my fucking—”

“That’s enough.” He turned and headed toward the cabin’s welcoming front door. “I almost didn’t bother to disable the damn thing, but I thought on the off chance you knew what you were doing and could—”

“Which I did,” I pointed out.

“Come inside.” He jerked his chin toward the cabin like I was a dog and I was supposed to just follow along and yip around at his heels.

I debated making a run at him, but frankly, Eddie was a tough buzzard. He wasn’t too much older than me, just forty-two compared to my thirty-eight. But I was a lover, not a fighter, or at least that’s how I thought of myself. Back there on the road, Eddie had proved he wasn’t above using violence to get his way in this, so I went along.

You’re going to have to sleep sometime.

Eddie led me into a rustic-looking cabin that seemed awful nice for the middle of nowhere. There was a place for us to hang our hats just inside the door, over a table with a passel of pictures on it. There were old time black-and-whites of families and framed pictures of a good-looking man, a pretty woman, and some kids. There were some of the kids alone, and holy cow, there were probably a dozen pictures of Ed. He looked so young in a couple of them, they must have been from before we met.

One of Ed and the unknown man caught my eye. Something about the difference in height, the casual way they leaned together, the way they looked at each other, made me think this was Ed’s friend from the road, Don. Even though they’d both aged some since it was taken, I was almost sure of it.

No knobby hands, no weathered angel, this Don was good looking, without a doubt. He was lanky and chiseled. He had an intelligent face and a smile that drew the eye. He seemed sure of himself and charming. Whatever I’d seen in the darkness outside the car had to be a trick of the light.

Ed looked so young and earnest next to him it took my breath away. Brawny and tan, he wore a yoked Western shirt with the sleeves rolled up past well-muscled forearms and he eyed Don like he would follow him anywhere.

And that Don, he looked like he could appreciate a guy like Ed, as well.

Hadn’t I seen firsthand how much he did appreciate him?

About the Author

Z. A. Maxfield started writing in 2007 on a dare from her children and never looked back. Pathologically disorganized, and perennially optimistic, she writes as much as she can, reads as much as she dares, and enjoys her time with family and friends. Three things reverberate throughout all her stories: Unconditional love, redemption, and the belief that miracles happen when we least expect them.If anyone asks her how a wife and mother of four can find time for a writing career, she’ll answer, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you give up housework.”

You can find ZA Maxfield at

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Sunday Brunch Blog – 1/19/2014

January 19, 2014 by Z.A. Maxfield

Last week there were TWO brunch options, the first seating featured Amy Lane, Cherie Noel, and Christopher Koehler, who discussed their New Years’ Resolutions. The winner for that was Trix! Thanks for commenting, Trix, I know it was a bit confusing to have two different brunches last week, and I should be back on track here for the forthcoming few weeks anyway.

The second seating of Sunday Brunch last week featured LE Franks, KA Mitchell, and James Buchanan. Their question was about favorite winter pastimes and their winner was Jeff!

This week’s question is about state of mind. I’m really hoping you comment here, I’d like to get a lively discussion going:

Is your glass half-full, half-empty, or poisoned?

Do you know people who have it good and think it’s bad? Do you know people who have it bad, but just keep on chugging like the little engine that could? Which type are you? Were you born that way? Or did circumstances make you that way? What do you think? Tell me in the comments below!

And for a change, I’m going to be one of the authors who answers my question…

I came up with this question because I have always felt like the sole optimist in my family.

My parents had tough times growing up — my dad experienced prejudice and war in Europe and my mother lived through the Great Depression. Yet I know lots of people who have gone through the same time period and emerged hopeful and confident.

I know people who suffered far greater losses, both physically and emotionally than my parents did, yet still manage to expect a favorable outcome from everyday situations. I’ve often wondered whether there is a genetic component to it, or…well… I wonder about those things because I’m adopted and the most optimistic person I know — my husband — comes from a line of optimists going back to the plague years. They’ve been through all kinds of hell, and they still have a positive outlook. My husband is the kind of guy who, if he fell out of a plane, would text me pictures all the way down with the caption, “Look, isn’t this cool?”

What triggers one person to look on the bright side and another to get lost in the shadows? I don’t know. I only know when I’m recapping the year of a bad accident, or a the year our house burned, I am usually mitigating it, saying, “Well… of course we were so lucky. We all got out okay. We had insurance. We had friends who helped us out. We had fun, even. It was an adventure.” We were lucky. I always feel lucky, I always feel blessed, even when bad things happen. I got to be there when my father died, I got to help lay my mother to rest. Those things were possible and I felt lucky.

To an optimist, this means I’m rolling with the punches right? To my mother, it just meant NOTHING REALLY BAD HAS HAPPENED YET. There will be another shoe, and when it drops, you will no longer be able to feel lucky.

Which always sounds like a curse to me. “Someday all that happy you’re storing up right now will not be enough, and then you will understand how I feel.”

I’m not charmed. I’ve been in car accidents. We lost both my parents and parents-in-law. My house burned and I lost most of my most treasured sentimental possessions. Our finances suffered severe setbacks during the recession we’ve never recovered from. I expect, in time, to lose my health and/or my beloved husband to the diseases of old age and eventually I expect to die. I don’t expect it will be easy or painless. Those things aren’t what ifs, they’re given.

And of course I fear every mother’s nightmare — the loss of my children. You can never be prepared for that. The loss of one of my kids would probably put me in the ground early, and yet, it only makes me want to love them even more right this very second. It makes me want to wake them up and ask them every question I have, to find every little thing about them so I can commit it to memory for later. It makes me want to really wallow in what I have right now, and not look ahead to how it might all be taken away.

So I’m not really sure. Am I an optimist? A pessimist? I realist? Am I fooling myself that I have a pretty good attitude and I can go with the flow, whatever happens? I really don’t know. I hope so, but I really don’t know. I guess I’ll say what I always say… Stay Tuned…

[Editor’s Note: I wanted to add here, in case anyone misunderstands: Even though my mother was a pessimist, she was fun, funny, adventurous, highly intelligent, and a blast to spend time with. She wore a button on her coat that said “Since I gave up all hope I feel much better” and that was the truth of her, at her core. Just because she expected the worst and frankly thought life was crap, didn’t mean she didn’t try new things. She was always learning, often laughing. She was an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, under a dark cloud, and I wish everyone could have met her.] — Author Z.A. Maxfield

Pre-Order My Heartache Cowboy at Amazon

~*~

Half full! I want to keep adding to it, adding to the joy of living. I’ve got so much more I want to learn, to experience, to say, to share, to write. I want to fill that cup with everything I possibly can. And I want to share all those things with others, and then keep on filling up that cup again and again.

Writing (and reading) fiction is a big part of that for me. With each new story, I get to experience all that passion and suspense and love that goes into those characters’ lives, and it’s such a rush to take that journey with them. I’m also very fortunate that, as a writer, I get to share all that with others, and then do it all over again and again.

Thanks so much ZAM for including me in your Sunday Brunch blog series. – Sloan Parker

Purchase MORE THAN JUST A GOOD BOOK: Amazon B&N All Romance eBooks.

~*~

[Editor’s Note: Author Ava Doran is a late addition, as she was originally scheduled and I didn’t get her copy until I’d already posted this. Better late than never, I always say!] It’s a tough question, really — only because I find what’s in my glass can vary from day to day.

Some days, you get up and out of bed and, with the sun shining, it’s impossible for you to think of the day being anything but half-full. It’s a day where I can take on the world and there isn’t anyone who can stop me. I’m invincible. Powerful. Don’t care if you set out to put me down, there isn’t anything you can do or say that will ruin my mood. I have friends who are often like this, that no matter what is going on, they can always find the good in things and can stay upbeat even as life tries to knock them down.

Then there’s the days where the glass is half-empty… if not dry as a bone. The days where nothing goes right and with every bad thing that happens, it’s harder and harder to pull you out. I’ve had a lot of hard knocks lately, both personally and professionally. Sometimes it’s hard to find a bright side to look on because, whenever you try, something else comes along and fouls things up. It’s happened to even the best of us. Sometimes we want to give up because it’s just too damn hard. But then… something happens and it changes our perspective. Something that makes you stop, take a step back, and find that tiny glimmer of hope. It may not be much, but sometimes that’s all you need for the glass to start looking half-full once more.

As for the poisoned? Well. If I said I’ve poisoned your glass… where’s the fun in that?

Thanks so much to the loverly ZAM who let me pop by her blog today. You’re the best, dear. xx — Author Ava Doran

Teaser Tuesday with author DC Juris

January 14, 2014 by Z.A. Maxfield

Today my guest is DC Juris, an online pal I had the good fortune to finally meet at one of the GRLs!

Who is DC Juris? In a few words, he’s a Star Trek loving, cupcake making, football watching, rubber duck collecting, drag show attending, full of fabulous with a capital F kinda guy.

In a few more words, he’s a Southern transplant who has retained none of his accent but all of his charm, an out and proud transgender bisexual Geek living in Upstate New York with his husband, three dogs, three cats, two Tribbles, two Ceti Alpha V eels, and a menagerie of Halloween props just creepy enough to keep people guessing about his sanity.

He’s still hopelessly single when it comes to the woman in his life, and he’ll gladly entertain offers or applications for the position! In the rare event that His Geekiness is not writing, DC can be found watching and rewatching Star Trek (TOS), surfing the internet for porn research, stalking things he “needs” on Ebay, reading, taking pictures of the world around him, or playing games on his iPhone, which he admits to being blissfully in love with. You can keep up with him at www.facebook.com/dcjuris, or www.dcjuris.com, or his blog at http://dcjuris.blogspot.com.

Here’s his snippet. Be sure to send guesses about which DC Juris book we have here to me at zamaxfield (at) zamaxfield (dot) com (you know the drill) and put Teaser Tuesday in the subject line. I will randomly select one winner who will get to choose an ebook from Daniel’s backlist!

Last week’s random Teaser Tuesday winner, from #1 and #2, you lucky devil, TRIX! I’ll send your email to Kate and Carolina, thanks for playing along!

*****

“Um, guys?” **** called out. “There’s people coming.”

******* tore his gaze away, though he didn’t move, and his fingers dug into my cheek a little. “Just what we need. Fuck me,” he groaned.

I’d love to.

He stood up and grabbed my hand to haul me up to my feet as well.

“Hey there!” one of the people shouted.

******* chuckled. “Inconspicuous lot, aren’t they?” He glanced at me again. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Definitely.” I nodded. I didn’t know if I was or not, but if ******* wanted me to be okay, I’d be okay. Hell, I’d have tried to be anything for him right then.

“Stay behind me,” he instructed as he walked up to them.

Ten men and three women made up the group, and they looked to range in age anywhere from teenagers to a woman in her fifties, maybe. I’d never been a really good judge of age. They were grungy and smelly—proof they’d been on the streets for a while.

“Hi there!” one of the men stuck out his hand to *******. “I’m ***.”

******* looked him up and down through narrow eyes, no doubt wondering, as was I, why he was being so friendly. “I’m *******.”

“You three out here by yourselves?” *** asked.

If his name really was ***. My stomach knotted at the way several of the men were ogling ****—as though he was a tasty snack. I edged over closer to him and listened as ******* and The Man Who Would Be Called *** exchanged pleasantries and small talk.

“We’re camped out a couple miles west of here. It’s a real nice spot,” *** revealed. “You’re welcome to come back with us.”

******* shook his head. “We’re headed east.”

“Toward Copper Valley? Yeah, everyone we’ve met has been headed there. It’s not too far out of your way, though. And your boy there looks like he could use some medical attention.” He pointed at me.

I stood up straighter. “I’m fine.” I wasn’t, though. It had taken all my strength to walk over to **** without showing the pain in my ankle, and I was pretty certain my right wrist was at least sprained.

“He’s bleeding.” One of the others pointed out. “He get bitten?”

I hadn’t even realized the blood oozing from the scrapes on my arms, and seeping through the knees of my jeans.

“He fell.” ******* glanced at me. “Just a little bruised up.”

“They’ll smell him a mile away.” *** sniffed the air in apparent demonstration.

“I’m fine,” I repeated.

[Editor’s note: okay now I’m officially shaking in my shoes for those guys. Lots of great tension here. Wow.]

Sunday Brunch Post – Second Breakfast

January 12, 2014 by Z.A. Maxfield

Okay, and now we come to Second Breakfast, in honor of our Hobbit Friends, and also our rascally writer brunch host, who was out of town last week. This is the second edition of Sunday Brunch with Friends.

Today we’re talking about winter holidays. I know, I know. You all understand that I come to winter from a completely different perspective. We have a mediterranean climate where I live, and there really isn’t any winter to speak of. I can go to the beach to surf (in a wetsuit) or the mountains to ski today. That’s how we roll. Where I live it’s between 60 degrees and 90 degrees 80% of the year.

Last Sunday Brunch Winner: Kate!

Not really all that excited to have no seasons, but I was born here. There are wintertime activities though, all over (besides holiday shopping) and today my pals answer the question:

What’s your favorite winter pastime?

Share your own favorite winter pastimes in the comments for a chance to win ebooks from these lovely authors. Just comment for a chance to win!

Snowfall.

At a time when most of the country has been inside shivering and cursing Jack Frost due to the mysterious (and apparently imaginary) phenomenon of the polar vortex, winter, for some of us living in bi-seasonal California, still holds its glittery appeal.

When ZAM posed this question I was suddenly sucked through time, experiencing a shuffling of memories, all variations of me walking down snowy roads, in either the soft lux of daylight or in the pitch of a blanketed night…but in every scene, my head is thrown back, arms flung wide, my tongue stretched painfully past the point of resistance, straining to catch each fat goose-downy flake drifting by.

It doesn’t matter if the memory is from a frosty Salt Lake City night at age five when the snow was so high that the paths we wore through the backyard banked at our shoulders; or when my own girl was three—swimming in an outdoor heated pool at Lake Tahoe in early February, the snow falling in our hair.

Snowfall is Magic.

I don’t care how paltry the winter offering is; just standing outside in the drifting silence is enough to make my spirit soar.

On the ground, snow becomes the material of adventure or exertion—depending on age, inclination, and responsibility…but the stuff fresh from the sky is a wonder and I would give almost anything to be there in those moments with you, my frozen US friends—catching snowflakes. – Author LE Bryce

Thank you Zam for including me in another Sunday Blog. My current release is Snow Globe, a short about an artist looking for his own piece of winter magic. [Editor’s Note: I can’t tell you how much I LOVE that cover. I just want to feed them hot soup!]

You can find it at Dream Spinner Press or Amazon.com.

~*~

Winter. Ahhh. You know what the most awesome thing to do in the winter is? Not be hot. Now, before you all say, oh K.A., you’re always hot—and thank you very much, but that’s just the writing talking—I’m really talking about the outside temperature. I love being bundled in warm clothes, snuggling down under the weight of blankets with a good book or with someone to inspire a good book in me. Err, with me?

And I love the muffling, insulation of snow. I love to stand in the woods and watch it fall, listen to the whispers of it as it deadens sound and makes everything a beautiful black and white picture with only evergreens and cardinals for splashes of color. I could stand there until I freeze.

Oops, I think I may be channeling Wallace Stevens there.

So then it’s back into the house under the fluffy, fuzzy blankets with tea and a good book. You know what else is awesome about winter? No one ever says, “You’re going to stay inside and read on a day like this?”

Yeah, so come on do it with me. Comfy surface? Check. Blankets? Check. Hot beverage? Check. Book? You don’t have one? Well, leave a comment with your favorite winter activity and one will be randomly selected for a ten dollar Amazon gift card. Now, go forth and snuggle. [Editor’s Note: COOL! A Givaway. Go forth and Comment!]

Bad Attitude is available at Samhain Amazon ARE B&N

[Editor’s second note: Check out what’s coming April 15th, one reason to LOVE Tax day this year:

~*~

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Winter?

We have winter in So. Cal?

Seriously, I was riding around with the top down and wearing short sleeves on Christmas Eve. The week of New Years, I sweated through my leathers when I rode my Harley to the office. Winter around these parts means it just gets a little rainier.

So, not so much winter, but the holidays in general. I love gearing up for them. Thanksgiving and Christmas and then on to New Years. Walking through the stores with all the snowy displays that are so out of place when it’s 80 degrees outside. Watching a Charlie Brown Christmas for the 10,000^th time. Putting up all three trees (yes we have three full-sized trees throughout the house). Holiday meals. Get togethers. Finally, chowing down on LA Street Dogs while standing on Colorado Blvd. watching and smelling the floats of the Rose Parade as the punctuation mark at the end of that festive rollercoaster.

If it rains, well then that’s an excuse to huddle inside with the dogs, cats and kids and watch movies. We play a lot more poker, having friends over for that, since it’s in between sports seasons – which everyone’s kids are involved in.

The weather is similar, but “winter” does have a different vibe than spring or fall. ~~Author James Buchanan

Purchase Laying Ghosts Amazon ARE B&N

Sunday Brunch – 1/12/14

January 12, 2014 by Z.A. Maxfield

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I’m just going to admit something here: Lately I’ve had a LOT of balls in the air. Last year I had several book releases: Grime And Punishment, My Cowboy Heart, Grime Doesn’t Pay and Lost and Found. I also wrote two more books, My Heartache Cowboy and a new one no one has even heard about yet, tentatively titled Home The Hard Way, which I finished on New Year’s Day (and totaled 90,000 words) when I typed in the last period.

On top of that, I’m really not writing in a vacuum. It seems I have a home and a husband and four kids, without whom none of this is meaningful at all… I have friends. I also have a rich and vibrant fantasy life. I dunno. Sometimes I drop the ball. Last year I failed to post things when I was supposed to, which is why sometimes you get more than one Tuesday Teaser at a time, or more than one Sunday Brunch Question. (Like today.)

And I’ve been unforgivably slow to post prizes in the mail. (I even found one of them in my car this week, because I had forgotten to post it at all.) I’ve been lax in keeping up cherished correspondences. I’ve given close local friends the impression I can’t be bothered to be social…

So, I think since this week’s first question is:

“What are your New Year’s Resolutions and which one do you think you’ll break first.”

I will answer with my New Year’s Resolutions first:

I ZAM, will cherish my friends and family even more this year.

I will not be as much of a hermit.

I will brave the post office, even in the holiday season (or I will get everything out way ahead) Or I will send gift cards through the World Wide Web and you will not be disappointed by me ever again.

I will set aside one day each week to create blog posts and stick to that schedule.

I will not procrastinate.

Those are mine, and I would say procrastination and schedules are the ones I’m likely to break first. ~~Author Z.A Maxfield

You can give Z.A. Maxfield Holy Hell if she forgets any of these things, at her email address zamaxfield at zamaxfield dot com.

Leave me your New Years’ Resolutions in the comment section below, please, I’m sure we’ll all enjoy looking back with the contentment of a job well done at the end of the year… OR NOT. *blushes*

~*~

My New Year’s resolution was going to be not to commit to so much, because I’m exhausted! But I broke that last night when I started writing a short story for a charity anthology at the urging of two (*aherm*) friends. It was also going to be to make the diet stick– and I can honestly say I’ve been doing that. Of course I’ve been sick and generally disgusting, and even fudge is unappetizing, so I’ve sort of had some help on that front. And I was going to keep my business matters more in check, but then a credit card got pirated and I still need to buy plane tickets to Florida. But I definitely need to find my lost Kindle. This year. I can only read so much on my phone.

~~Author Amy Lane

Purchase Behind the Curtain Dreamspinner Amazon ARE

~*~

First of all, hiya Zam! I so love coming over to hang out with you. The camaraderie, the cupcakes, the prospect of sighting one of your many vintage and uber-nerd-girl cool lunch boxes… well, I gotta admit it give me happy clappy hands. [Editor’s Note: YOU ARE SO SWEET]

Every. Single. Time.

No fooling.

Now that that is our of the way, I want to say hello to my fellow New Year’s Resolvers…

*psst. Zam. Is that a word? Resolver? Eh, I think the readers will get what I mean. Or, you know, point and laugh. That’s good too.* [Editor’s Note: I like to think of myself as a *Resolutionary* Vive la Resolution]

Right. Resolutions? Let me lay them out for you. Because hey, when I started thinking about New Year’s Resolutions, I started thinking about the changes I want to see in my life this year, the ones that I want to be an embodiment of, and the ones whose glory I want to bask in.

*Oh. Didja see that? I’m pretty sure I just dangled a participle. Quick, scope out the room, Zam… Are there any editors whimpering and clutching their red pens? Wincing and cuddling up to their laptops or tablets? Ouch.*

Ahem. Right. On to the resolve. Resolutely forward.

1) Plan stuff and things out better. Seriously. Backwards planning. How long it takes to do such and such. When it needs to be done. When I need to start… yeah, already blew that one to hell and gone. Moving right along, then, nothing to see here, nothing to see. What? The woman flying by the seat of her pants and making it up as she goes? Seriously, nothing to see here. Ahem.

2) Lose weight. Mainly for my health, but also because I am vain. No, really. And I have extreme shoe envy. Yes, yes, Marie Sexton, I am talking about your divine shoe collection. *salivates* Because I wanna wear my sexy shoes again, and at this weight my back won’t take the added stress. But if I slim down, I can *likely* wear heels for short bursts of time. Just long enough to make me happy and feed my sexy shoe fetish.

3) Exercise more. Health, and did I mention I’m just a wee bit vain? I want to look and feel my best. Plus, when I exercise I have so much more energy to write with! That right there is winning with a side of win.

4) Write more. ‘Nuff said.

5) Study harder *eh, or smarter, whichever comes first* in school. Yes, I’m back in school. Business major. Because there is just so much of this authoring that is all about the business aspects, and I figure I need to get myself rocking in that arena. The creativity? Got it. The writing skills? I learn a little more every day, and hope that every single book I put out is a little better than the one before. One day I want to hear folk say… “Do you see how much she grew as a writer over the course of her career?” And then of course, they can launch into a lovely soliloquy about how very brilliant my later works are. That would be awesome.

6) Spend more time with my kidlet. Structured time. With body armor, a whip and a chair, because… sheesh. Have you seen a teenager lately? They are scary beasts, I tell you what. Yes. I—no, I am not joking about the whip and chair. Okay, maybe a little bit joking. But only literally. There is no joking about needing all three of those things figuratively when dealing with the dreaded teen beast. So, this leads me directly to my next resolution.

7) Receive a Presidential Medal of Courage in Parenting. *see above*

8) Be more organized and stuff. *hmm. I may have mentioned this already. Lists are good. I like lists. And color coding them. Never mind.*

9) Write every day. This one? Is the realio dealio, I am pushing to make this a reality. Because writing every day leads to writing better prose every day. Which in turn will spur me to be more organized, which will free up time to spend with the dreaded teen *cracking of whip sounds*, leading to being nominated for that Presidential award, freeing up time to exercise, which in turn leads to the weight loss and my ultimate goal of affording *via scads of book sales* the sexy shoes which my new, strongly muscled and svelte figure will enable me to do more than gaze at longingly.

10) Possibly swear less, drink less coffee and give up chocolate. *bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha*
Everything hinges on the whole writing every day thing.

Well, everything hinges on daily writing except for number ten. That one’s fucking impossible. Especially without fortifying myself with coffee and chocolate first. So I’ll go right ahead and plan to break #10 at every given opportunity, because if I managed to fulfill all ten resolutions… well, you’d be obligated to go find the freaky space pod that ate my brains and produced the false, caffeine and chocolate free Cherie

*Oh dear, I can’t even say that without weeping just a little.*

I have been writing every day. Writing my fingers and toes off since the first of the year, that’s what I’ve been doing. In fact I even started earlier. November… yep, that’s when I started the current push to be better about writing, editing, blog posting and hosting and promo, oh my… all the bits and bobs that go with being an author… November and December were a wee bit rocky for various reasons, but every single day since the first of the year I’ve been right on target. I can feel those sexy shoes getting closer and closer every day. My first product of this improved organization and stuff is the Big Bone Lick Anthology, which publishes January 24th. Kendall McKenna, Jambrea Jo Jones and I all wrote a story for the anthology set in and around Big Bone Lick Park.

I could not make up a name like that. It’s a real place. True story. Here’s the smexy cover for the story, and a wee little blurb.

Blurb: Welcome to the Big Bone Lick Pack: A more friendly and hospitable group of werewolves you’ll never meet! Visit with; ‘Devil Dog & Bad Wolf’, a ‘Big Bad Bear’ and enjoy some ‘Shifty Fox Shenanigans’. Watch yourself, ’round the state park, ’cause we had a grizzly on the loose, just a bit ago. Our brave men and woman of the Boone County Sheriff’s Department have everything under control. (Except maybe their own love lives!) But if you find yourself needing a doctor, head on down to Rabbit Hash clinic, or St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is just up the road a piece. We hope you enjoy your stay.

If you want more info on the silly behind the scenes shenanigans that went into creating the Big Bone Lick Pack, or the chance to win some fun prizes like the sweet fox pictured here, catch us on tour. Here’s the link:

TALES FROM THE WRITING CAVE

Again, thanks for having me over for brunch, Zam!

~*~

I have a funny relationship with New Year’s resolutions. I’m generally against them. For starters, new year’s day is an entirely arbitrary date on the calendar with no relation whatsoever to any celestial phenomenon. Seriously, it’s what? Roughly a week and a half past the winter solstice? I realize the calendar is a mess to begin with, but that would actually make sense for the end of one year and start of the new one. Think of it—the day of the solstice is the rebirth of the sun after the longest night, so why not make it the start of the new year? It’s perfect!

Quixotic calls for calendar reform aside, I also think that if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing when you think of it. Why wait for an artificial date on a calendar? Plan to do something improving in the new year? Great! Why not start now? In my case I wanted to get back in shape before the DSP Authors Weekend in Portland in April, so I hit returned to the gym in the middle of December instead of joining the new year’s resolutionaries on January 1^st. [Editor’s Note: See? And I didn’t even read this before and I coined that phrase above. Proof we share a brain. I think you got all the best parts though. Just saying’]

That said, I do make one resolution every year. It’s the same resolution every year, and I blow that sucker out of the water before lunch. I resolve not to mock the deeply-held beliefs of others.

Well, what did you expect? It’s like you don’t even know me. Oh well, as Sue Brown remarked, my head would explode if I tried to keep that one.

You can find me online at christopherkoehler.net/blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter @christopherink.

Settling the Score is the fourth book in the CalPac Crew series, all available at Dreamspinner Press. It was released on December 16, 2013.

Purchase Settling the Score Dreamspinner Amazon ARE

Teaser Tuesday – Part Two, Kate McMurray!

January 7, 2014 by Z.A. Maxfield

Welcome to Tuesday Teaser part TWO! Join me in welcoming my very good friend, Kate McMurray!

Kate McMurray has been writing stories since she could hold a pen. She picked up her first romance novel when she was thirteen and has loved the genre ever since. She started writing gay romance after reading a book and thinking there should be more love stories with gay characters. Her first published novel, In Hot Pursuit, came out in February 2010, and she’s been writing feverishly ever since. She likes stories that are brainy, funny, and of course sexy, with regular guy characters and urban sensibilities.

Kate signing autographs at GayRomLit 2011

When she’s not writing, Kate works a nonfiction editor. She also reads a lot, plays the violin, knits and crochets, and drools over expensive handbags. She’s maybe a tiny bit obsessed with baseball. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a pesky cat.

She is currently serving as president of Rainbow Romance Writers, the LGBT romance chapter of Romance Writers of America. She’s also active in RWA NYC, the local New York City RWA chapter.

Kate’s website www.KateMcMurray.com

You can email her at kate (at) katemcmurray.com.

Email your Teaser Tuesday guesses to me at zamaxfield (at) zamaxfield dot com for a chance to win one of Kate’s books! (put Tuesday Teasers/Kate in the subject line please)

Here’s her teaser, are you ready?

“What the hell is that thing?” I asked.

He grinned ear to ear. “This is a Ducati. Best motorcycles in the world. Costs more than your yearly salary, normally. I bought this one for a song from a guy in Waukegan.”

“It’s in terrible shape.”

“Nah, that’s mostly on the outside.” He ran his hand over the front suspension. “What you’re looking at is a 1973 750 SuperSport. It looks like shit because the owner left it in his yard to rust for fifteen years. I think he also had some kind of accident, which is why the casings are all scratched. But I intend to restore it.”

“Does it even work?”

“Sure. The engine is sound. I drove it around the high school parking lot a little yesterday to be sure. The exterior is banged up, but inside, she purrs like a kitten.” I couldn’t think of a time I’d heard so much reverence in ***’s voice. He walked a lap around it, then stood next to me, still admiring his purchase. “You want to go for a ride?”

“Absolutely not.”

He laughed. “Okay. Well, so, I’ve got a connection to a parts dealer through my dad.” ***’s father was a mechanic, which I suspected was half the problem here. “I’ve already talked to him. He’s willing to sell me what I need at the wholesale price, and then I just need to paint it. I was thinking about red.”

I wrinkled up my nose. “Ugh, that’s such a cliché.”

He frowned. “What’s your favorite color?”

“I dunno. Green?”

“Green it is. But not, like, bright kelly green. Army green. Manly green.”

I continued to stare at the thing. All I could picture at first was *** perishing in a fiery crash. But then I started to imagine *** decked out like a biker in tight leather pants and a slick leather jacket, the motorcycle humming between his thighs….

I coughed and took a step backward. “You all right there?” he asked.

Jesus, I thought. *** in head-to-toe leather. I felt the flush rise up my neck to my face. Because that was an image to keep me warm on cold, lonely nights.

Then I realized *** was staring at me, and I snapped out of it.