Adventures in Indie Girl Con-land

Wow! So this past weekend THIS happened:

A

YES! That's me with KENDALL GREY!!! Ahhhh! It made my weekend to get to meet her. And she's really a real person! I have to admit that I thought I would be totally tongue-tied because she's so smart and funny! But you know what? She really is SMART and FUNNY and is also SO NICE!!!

Kendall has currently has two book series available; the Just Breathe trilogy and the Hard Rock Harlots trilogy. The Just Breathe trilogy is about a Marine Biologist that specializes in Whales and a Rock Star and their alternate lives as Elementals in Australia. I haven't read this particular series, but that's only because I am not in a Paranormal/Fantasy mindset for the time being. I do plan on getting to them soon! And I found the following statement on the Just Breathe website: All profits from the sales of INHALE, EXHALE, and JUST BREATHE are donated to programs that educate people about whales and the challenges they face. How awesome is that?!?!

I have read all three of the Hard Rock Harlots series; STRINGS, BEATS, and NOCTURNES. These books follow Letty, Jinx and Rax as the main characters and members of the rock group, Killer Buzz Float as they begin their tour and sign a recording contract. Each book has a totally different voice from the other. That's only part of why I like them so much! It is really hard to tell the difference in the tone of a character when you are reading a series, but Mrs. Grey totally gets that subtlety across. STRINGS is totally Letty's story. And Letty is one balls-to-the-wall, up front and in your face, squirting Bad Ass Rocker. She doesn't make any apologies for being herself and does her best to keep The Rock alive and kicking! STRINGS is a story that follows an Alpha chick in her quest to make her rock and roll dreams come true AND she falls a whole lot in love at the same time. It was so cool to see into the small window of her vulnerability that she allowed us, the readers, to see.

BEATS is, by far, my favorite of the series. Jinx's voice is totally different from Letty's. They've been friends for years and when comparing them, they seem like a Yin and Yang kind of pairing. Whereas Letty is totally comfortable with living her strong personality and sexuality out in the open, Jinx is much more reserved. She is content when sitting behind her drum kit and cranking out the beats for her band members, except when she starts to realize her feelings for Toombs (sigh, Toombs). He is one of the fellow members of their Rock 'n Roll Quintet, Killer Buzz Float. He's the best friend and sub (yep, you read that right - sub) to Rax. Jinx has to overcome her misgivings about being a third and force her way into Alpha position if she wants Toombs...and boy, does she want Toombs! I loved reading the passion between Jinx and Toombs. Not necessarily the super smexy details (oooh boy, that was HOT to read) but the passion and tenderness that surrounds their relationship. They both learn that they each have a strength that they never knew they possessed in themselves until the other brought it out in them. When you read it (because YOU HAVE TO READ IT!!!!), and you get to the scene with the flowers, tell me you do not swoon - I dare you!

NOCTURNES - warning - Google is not your friend. Some things you can never unsee once you've seen them! Rax is your typical, self-absorbed alcoholic guitar playing wannabe Rock God, right? Maybe. Maybe not...it takes a chance encounter with a stripper for us to see what he's really like. What is Rax hiding from us? Who is Rax? Does that tattoo really exist or is it just a legend? Kendall Grey answers those and any other questions you might have about Rax and his band members in Killer Buzz Float in the third and final installment to the Hard Rock Harlots trilogy. I can't say too much about this one without giving it all a way other than this: you hated Rax at the end of BEATS. You not only love him at the end of NOCTURNES, you want to cuddle him to sleep and stroke his hair!

Please, peoples, believe me when I say that Kendall Grey's Hard Rock Harlots should be on your reading list - BUT - take heed to the disclaimer/warning she gives all of her readers in the synopsis for STRINGS. She's not kidding. This book series is not intended for people that don't have open minds and a firm grasp on their own sexuality. If you find that sexually explicit material is not your cup of tea, then don't drink down these books. They are meant to be fun to read. And if I could figure out to add the links from Amazon for you to purchase them, I totally would have them HERE: meanwhile, here's a picture of me getting some Model Lovin' after winning free books for having blue in my tattoo at Indie Girl Con.

Pssssttt!!!! I'm totally getting to meet Kendall Grey tomorrow! My girl, Sarah, and I are going to be husband and kiddo-free at Indie Girl Con in Charleston, SC tomorrow! If you happen to be attending as well, I'll be the one in cowgirl boots (because they rock.)! Meanwhile, here is an excerpt from the first of the Hard Rock Harlots series, STRINGS....Be sure to read the disclaimer written by the author before you purchase this book because if this excerpt offends you, then you don't have any business reading the rest ( and I am sad for you. But, to each their own!).


“Why the long face?” Bartender Rob tosses a stained white towel over his shoulder and leans across the nicked wood. He rests his meaty elbows in a puddle of liquor leftovers. I eye the spot and manage to keep my tongue in my mouth.
No licking the bar. You’re not drunk enough. Yet.
I do love me some booze, and I’m living off the coins I found in my couch cushions until payday. With a calloused index finger, I stir my vodka martini—the one birthday present I allowed my broke-ass self to buy.
“The short version? My boyfriend left me for Jesus. I’m stuck in a dead-end waitressing job, clogging people’s arteries at Fat Johnny’s Barbeque Shack, making jack shit. I’m earning even less busting ass at the gig I want to be doing.”
The part about my boyfriend is a white lie. He’s really just a guy I was bonking for a while. Technicality. But the rest is one hundred percent truth.
“No one gives a mangy monkey boner about art anymore. Nothing but a bunch of zero-talent sellouts in this fucking town.” I meet Rob’s eyes. “Man, I’m twenty-five today, and I have nothing to show for it.”
Rob straightens. “My mama always said, ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.’”
I shake my head. “Fuck that. I’d rather starve than sell out.”
Yeah, I’m a little rabid about this particular stick-to-your-guns philosophy. Some people find strength in religion. I believe in music, and I defend it with everything I’ve got, even when things don’t go my way.
I played the unfortunate role of a human pinball paddled back and forth between my divorced parents for most of my life. In my darkest moments, solace and light came from listening to my mom’s ’70s cassette tapes. For a few years, music was my only friend. Nobody else understood me. It helped me through the rough patches and gave me motivation to pick up the bass at fourteen.
Even though I haven’t made it yet, music is still the one thing that keeps me steady and sane. You don’t fuck with shit that does you right. Especially when it’s all you’ve got.
I just wish…
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
“Happy fucking birthday,” Rob says.
“Yeah, cheers, asshole.” I raise my glass and swallow the whole drink in three big gulps. Rob snickers and wanders over to a customer waving bills at him from the register.
The guy one seat away from me laughs, so I glance at him. He’s hunched over the bar like he’s guarding his drink, with his head turned toward me. Five o’ clock shadow, pierced eyebrow, dark brown fauxhawk, plugs in his earlobes—not too big, though. He wears a black wool pea coat-looking thing, jeans, and a pair of dark sunglasses.
“Something funny, Shades?” I ask.
“Your boyfriend leaving you for Jesus.” He has kind of a gruff voice. His face is okay, but it’s hard to tell what he really looks like with those glasses covering his most important features. I like his hands, though. They’re rough like mine.
“I knew something was wrong with him when he complained about me asking for anal. What guy doesn’t want anal?” I twirl my empty glass by its long stem. “He was kind of a dick trickle, so it’s not like I miss him or anything. Though the sex was decent. Better than my current prospects.”
Damn, I’m dying for another drink. Maybe just one more. I’m pretty sure I got a couple bucks stuffed in my car’s ashtray for emergencies. I shoot a bird at Rob, who nods.
“Definitely something wrong with a guy who doesn’t want to sodomize his woman.” Shades takes a sip from his glass. A wrist tattoo peeks out from his coat sleeve. I can’t tell what it is.
“Nah, I wanted to sodomize him. He wasn’t on board with the plan. That’s when the Holier Than Thou shit started. ‘Jesus doesn’t approve of butt-fucking.’ Jesus this. Jesus that. What the hell, man? Don’t you think Jesus would want you to be happy? How will you ever be happy if you don’t try new things? Christ, it’s just a dildo up the ass. Loosen the fuck up.”
Shades chokes on his drink, wipes his mouth with a coat sleeve, and laughs. Gorgeous teeth.
A glass slides across the bar from Rob a few feet away. I stop it with my open hand and smile.
Rob grins and saunters over. “I got you this Flaming Armadillo for your birthday, my dear. I hope it fits.” He flicks his lighter and ignites the liquid in the glass. Blue flames dance. I salivate.
“Rob, it’s perfect. You shouldn’t have.”
“You’re welcome.”
I pick up the shot and blow it out. To another year of dream chasing. Maybe this’ll be the one where I finally make it big. “Happy birthday to me.”
Gulp. Down the chute it goes, and I lose five IQ points as the alcohol gets busy with my already precarious brain chemistry. At least somebody’s getting some action.
Shades raises his glass and shoots whatever he’s drinking. “Did you make a wish?”
I’m not telling my real wish. That shit won’t come true if you spill it. Instead, I say, “All I want for my birthday is to get fucked unconscious with no strings attached.” Not a lie.
“What a coincidence. I’ve got a big dick, a bar tab, and the local cab company’s number on speed dial.” The guy’s eyes bore into me from behind the dark lenses, and I have a momentary lapse in vaginal secretion control.
Clean up on aisle twelve, stat!
* * * * *
Buy links for STRINGS:
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/12xqfiM
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strings-Hard-Rock-Harlots-Kendall-ebook/dp/B00CGC6CP2/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strings-kendall-grey/1115160266
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/strings-5
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/308365
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/strings/id639324449
Signed paperbacks: http://www.kendallgrey.com/?page_id=4666

Strings (Hard Rock Harlots)

www.amazon.com

Book 1 in the Hard Rock Harlots SeriesWARNING: STRINGS is not suitable for slut shamers, uptight stone throwers, Holier-Than-Thou prudes, humorless virgins, persons with chronic neck or back pain, pearl-clutching bitties, those who disparage crude

Lauren Blakely is playing with YOUR heart in her new book, Playing With Her Heart

Here's the book info from Amazon....

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2013

From the NYT & USA Today Bestselling romance author, a story of a love so strong it breaks down walls...

My whole body is vibrating, and I am lit up from the inside out. Every part of me is aching for him. I'm completely naked on top of the piano and he rakes me over with his eyes, making me feel like I'm the only one he's ever wanted like this. I don't know how he does this to me, how he makes me feel charged all over, but I've never been this turned on. I didn't know I could be this turned on, but this man makes me feel like my body belongs to him...

Twenty-three year old rising theatre star Jill McCormick has built a life out of pretending. Pretending she's happy, pretending she's not haunted by the dark secret that shattered her world six years ago. But then she comes face to face with her new director -- sexy, sophisticated, jealous, all-alpha, dirty-talking Davis Milo. He tries to resist the actress he's cast, but the attraction between them is too powerful, and soon their private rehearsals spiral into new, forbidden territory. The connection, the chemistry is undeniable, and it hits them anywhere, and everywhere -- in the theater, on the piano, in the limo, in the restaurant...But the tragedy in Jill's past stands between them. Davis has walls too, so they can either face their fears together, or risk the most intense love, sex and passion either has ever felt...

"I move with him, letting him touch me, kiss me, taste my body like I'm his canvas and he's painting me with his tongue..."

*Recommended for 17+ due to scorching sexual content and a smoking hot alpha male.

Sometimes you start reading an author because there's a cliffhanger ending and you get sucked into having to know what happens next and sometimes you start reading a series because each of the books is great on it's own and the you want to know what is going to happen to the characters you love. This is why I read Playing With Her Heart by Lauren Blakely. I was a Theatre Major myself back in my pursuit of a college education so reading about the audition and call back process and then details regarding the stage process really brought a feeling of nostalgia for me. I felt it was a very accurate description of the back story. I have to admit that Trophy Husband is still my favorite of this series (because I love funny, quirky sexy female characters) but I really fell in love with Jill and Davis's journey. I really felt a strong connection to the characters in this story and I loved all the details that were put into developing their love and trials. I felt that the issues presented were nicely handled by the author - I don't want to give any spoilers so that's all I can really say about that - read it for yourself and you will see what I am saying!

My first cover reveal! Love Lost by Maria DeSouza

Love can come into your life in an instant, and leave just as quickly....

Jason Straiz is a New York detective working on a case to bring down a major crime lord.
He keeps his life simple. Work. Family. Friends.
Until he meets Selene.

Selene is a lawyer on a mission.
Her goal is to bring down the monster that has been terrorizing her for years.
When she meets Jason, the attraction is intense.
When Selene realizes Jason is after the same person she is, he becomes a complication.
When his case and her mission collide, will her secrets destroy a future they could have together?
Can he handle the truth about her?

Can love truly conquer all or is there a limit?

Squeee! This one sounds like a hot read! I can't wait to get my hands on it! - LazyGirlsGuideToHonestReviews

 FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/MariaDesouzaAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mdesouza05
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7082122.Maria_DeSouza 

 Date of expected Release Date: September 30th, 2013
Cover Model is Joe Marvullo
Link to his FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/joe.marvullo.1?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
Cover Designer: Rochelle McGrath from Shamrock Cover Designs
Link to her FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/ShamrockCoverDesigns?skip_nax_wizard=true 

 Front cover is Jubert Gilay, back cover with the rose is David Massa
Jubert Page link...https://www.facebook.com/JubertGilayPhotography
David Page Link....https://www.facebook.com/DavidMassaPhoto

Genre: Contemporary Romance

 Author Bio: I am a 31 yr old NJ native, not to be mistaken for the craziness that is the NJ Housewives or Jersey Shore! I have two children, who are my life and family that makes me want to scream at times, but I love them. I started my affair with reading and writing at a young age. I loved where books took me, and wished for the day when I would meet my dream boat. (Yes, I referred to my future man as a dream boat. Child of the 80s here!) I grew up on Stephen King, Nora Roberts, and anything my library would let me borrow. I would always grab a notebook and start writing about the books I read because I wanted the story to continue. I never took it seriously until I had a friend a few years ago tell me that I needed to publish my work after I wrote down a short story. My reaction was…yeah, right! The words stuck with me and I was constantly asked, “Did you write more? Are you done?” A back injury put my writing on hold for almost 2 yrs and last year, I found the WIP file and started reading. Then, I started writing and adding to it. That little dream turned story will be my debut novel, Love Lost.

It's time to get Stripped, y'all! Jasinda Wilder's newest to be released August 16!

SYNOPSIS:

So how did I get myself into this situation, you ask? Simple: desperation. When you're faced with being homeless and hungry or taking off your clothes for money, the choice is easier than you'd imagine. That doesn't make it easy, though. Oh no. I hate it, in fact. There's nothing I'd like more than to quit and never go into another bar again, never hear the techno beat pulsing in my ears again, never feel the lecherous gazes of horny men again.

Then, one day, I meet a man. He's in my club, front and center. He watches me do my routine, and his gaze is full of hunger. Not the kind of desire I'm used to though. It's something different. Something hotter, deeper, and more possessive. I know who he is; of course I do. Everyone knows who Dawson Kellor is. He's People Magazine's Sexiest Man alive. He's the hottest actor in Hollywood. He's the man hand-picked for the role of Rhett Butler in the long-awaited remake of Gone With the Wind.

He's the kind of man who can have any woman in the entire world with a mere crook of his finger. So what's he doing looking at me like he has to have me? And how do I resist him when he looks at me with those intoxicating, changeable, quicksilver eyes?

I'm a virgin, and he's an American icon of male sexuality. I'm a stripper, and he's a man used to getting anything and everything he wants. And he wants me. I know I should say no, I know he's the worst kind of player…but what my mind knows, my body and my heart may not.

And then things get complicated.

Release date August 16, 2013

*In full disclosure, I was given the opportunity to read an Advanced Release Copy of this book in order for the author to receive an honest review*

Okiedokie - I wanted to make sure everyone understood the synopsis of this newest steamer from Jasinda Wilder! Sounds good, right? Well - it is good! This Lazy Girl is so glad that she got the opportunity to read Stripped!

Let me tell you why I was so interested in reading this book. A long time ago, in a town an hour away, I attended a smallish Liberal Arts university. I was pursuing a B.A. in Theatre Performance with a Minor in Dance. I was also living off campus with two other of my classmates. Both of my classmates were lovely young women that I truly enjoyed sharing a home with away from home. One of them in particular was actually a former professional ballerina with a well-known company in her home town. She was such a sight to see when she danced. She was Grace and Beauty en pointe. Such an inspiration! But at some point, she decided that she didn't want her parents to pay her part of the rent. And she took a job. Not a waitressing job. And things went from beautiful to scary...so for me, the opportunity to read Stripped was the opportunity to imagine HER having a happy ending to a story that I hope she truly did eventually find a life of happiness. 

As a book I really enjoyed Grey's story from the beginning. I felt that Jasinda captured the feelings of a sheltered girl very well. As well as her blossoming into a stronger woman. She made Grey feel very admirable with her strong work ethic for taking care of herself and her education. I felt her moments of desolation. I felt her fear of failure and her determination to make her own life. And I admired her. Of course, there were also times that I wanted to slap her but then I realized that she was just going to have to outgrow what was bothering me and lo and behold, she did!

Dawson Kellor comes across as a poor little rich boy but also grows into an admirable man that you feel comfortable saying " Yeah, he can totally take care of me....". His turnabout not only takes you, the reader, by surprise but also himself at some points. But instead of letting it scare him, he mans up and becomes more than just tabloid fodder. His growth is a lot more subtle because it's seen mostly through Grey's eyes. And with that, you can't help but fall in love with him!

I guess you could kind of compare this story with the movie Pretty Woman but it really isn't. While it is a sort of Cinderella story for strippers, nothing about this story glorifies stripping as an occupation. You are made completely aware that it is a job, not a career choice and you end up focusing on the fact that the ends justifies the means for Grey. 

While the book was a great love story between two unlikely characters, I do actually wish it had been a little longer. I felt that there was more to the story of Grey and Dawson's romance that leads to the end of the book. Hopefully, Mrs. Wilder will also leave you wanting for more, too (in a good kind of way!)!

AUTHOR BIO:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jasinda Wilder is a Michigan native with a penchant for titillating tales about sexy men and strong women. When she’s not writing, she’s probably shopping, baking, or reading.

​Some of her favorite authors include Nora Roberts, JR Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Liliana Hart and Bella Andre.

She loves to travel and some of her favorite vacations spots are Las Vegas, New York City and Toledo, Ohio.

You can often find Jasinda drinking sweet red wine with frozen berries and eating a cupcake.

Jasinda is represented by Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency.

GOODREADS LINK FOR STRIPPED:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18108903-stripped

AUTHOR LINKS:

GOODREAD AUTHOR LINK:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6521173.Jasinda_Wilder

LINK TO AUTHOR’S WEBSITE:

http://www.jasindawilder.com/

LINK TO AUTHOR’S FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasindaWilder

LINK TO TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/jasindawilder

AMAZON LINK:

http://www.amazon.com/Jasinda-Wilder/e/B0095HTK0A/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=jasiwild-20&linkCode=shr&camp=213733&creative=393193

PURCHASE LINKS:

AMAZON KINDLE:

http://www.amazon.com/Stripped-ebook/dp/B00DJB6KE2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375076357&sr=8-2&keywords=stripped

PAPERBACK:

http://www.amazon.com/Stripped-Jasinda-Wilder/dp/0989104443/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1375076357&sr=8-2

I-TUNES:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/stripped/id677523561?mt=11

GIVEAWAY:

Please note that there will be 5 days of Giveaways ~

Grand Prize ~ $100 Amazon Gift Card

First Prize ~ Signed Paperback of Stripped

Please note there are 5 different Rafflecopter’s for EACH day of the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Finding the love in Lori L. Otto's Emi Lost and Found series

First off I was totally supposed to do this review YESTERDAY but for some reason I thought I had until tomorrow and that's what I put on my calendar. Erh - my biggest and bestest apologies to the lovely Lori L. Otto! On with the show!

I was fortunate to be able to read the entire Emi:Lost and Found series as a full set (which is what I highly recommend you do as well). It consists of three full books; Lost and Found, Time Stands Still and Never Look Back. If I had broken it up into separate books I would have found it very difficult to have finished the series and then I would have been mad at myself.

Let me explain my last sentence (which I have to say is very difficult to do without giving away spoilers!). I loved this book series so much that I hated it at some points during the story. At alternate times, I wanted to wring Emi's neck and then I wanted to sucker punch Nate and then I wanted to lock them in a room together and make them figure it out to what I wanted to have happen for them. And then I cried tears of both joy and sadness. This series, Emi's story of losing herself in another person, her losses and her gains and finding herself again will make you run the gamut of emotions. Be prepared to lose yourself in them. At one point, I had to put the book to the side and process for myself that Emi's journey, while at some parts were heart wrenching, had great joy. She learns a lot about herself and what she is capable of doing as a woman. This is a love story but it's not just a love story about boy meets girl, they kiss, they fall in love and live happily ever after The End. It's a story about a young woman coming into her own as a person and learning how to deal with life changing factors and learning how to believe in herself and trust herself to believe in others. But then again...it kind of IS a story about boy meets girl, they kiss, they fall in love and live happily ever after, The End...but you will have to read it yourself to find out what happens in between all that because, believe me - the in between stuff is really what this story is all about.


Here's a copy of one of my favorite quotes by Emi. There are other bits and pieces that really pull at my heart strings but this best shows (in my honest opinion) why I ended up liking Emi:

Hot Damn, Thank You Ma'am! A Review of Shine, Not Burn by Elle Casey

In between reading heavy heart-wrenching books, watching Sons of Anarchy, working my desk job, being a mommy and just my every day awesomeness, I took the time to read this sweet little number Shine, Not Burn by Elle Casey.

In an effort not to give away any spoilers, I am going to include the book synopsis:

IT HAPPENED IN VEGAS.

I can't be held responsible. Things that happen there are supposed to stay there, right? Right? Yeeeah. Not so much.

Andie's just days away from tying the knot, but there's just ooooone little glitch. Apparently, she's already married. Or someone with her name is married to a guy out in Oregon of all places, and the courthouse won't issue her a marriage license until it's all cleared up. Tripping her way through cow pies and country songs to meet up with a man who gets around places on horseback is her very last idea of how to have a good time, but if she's going to get married, make partner at the firm, and have two point five kids before she's thirty-five, she needs to get to the bottom of this snafu and fix it quick ... before her fiance finds out and everything she's been working toward goes up in flames.

Sounds good, right? Right! I loved Andie. A little part of me wants to be Andie when I grow up. See, she's a well-educated, career-driven, goal-oriented woman. But somewhere along the way, she lost her spunk. Her zest for life. Her joie de vivre (and yes, that is how it is spelled). And she lost it by doing all the things she thought she wanted to with her life. But what I loved about her is that she finds it all again! I won't say how (lots of hot sex) and I won't say where (West of the Mississippi). I will say that a certain Dixie Chicks song came to mind and I will post it HERE:

All in all, I found Shine, Not Burn to be a sweet read. It was a good love story with strong character development. I feel that it was well written and it really kept my interest.There was a lot of humor infused into the story line and I found myself laughing as much as I was gasping. And the hot stuff? Whoa Nelly - it was hot!

One of my favorite lines from the book is this:

"I can't let you go because you're mine. And because I can't stand to see you sad. I'm going to fix that. You sure you don't need me in there right now? I could cheer you up real quick, I promise." - Mack

 I truly enjoyed getting to know Andie and her friends and I hope to see more from some of the other characters and their journeys to their HEAs. And now, I must go find some cowboys on the Pinterest...for research purposes, of course!