Bring on the Heat by Trent Kinsey

Today we have a bad boy with us! So exciting :) He's the one, the only--Trent Kinsey from Moongypsy Press. His tales of horror will keep you guessing and on edge until the very end. In addition to writing his lush prose, he is also the VP, layout editor, acquisitions editor for military fiction for MP. Yes, ladies, he's a former US Marine--oorah! Please welcome my talented friend and colleague, Trent!

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I spent Saturday, March 27, outside working in the yard all day and most of the evening (the truth is I really just drank beer because we didn't have all we needed to do the job, but I did do some work). It seems to always sneak up on me every year when the nights get shorter and the weather gets warmer. But the one thing that I don't miss when those small things sneak up on me is the joint pains that seem to haunt me during the winter months.

Around the end of 1999 I found out that arches in my feet had dropped, not a good thing for someone who had to run three miles at least three times a week. Well after years of running and carrying gear, I incurred a lot of damage from my feet up to my lower back. Not including the tear I had in my shoulder in late '05. Isn't it great being your own weather channel?

So every year around November, I start to feel my joints ache something horrible. Around that same time, I kick myself for not buying stock in OTC pain relievers since I'm one of the people buying the most of them. Some days I feel as if I have a ball of glass constantly swelling inside my knees and right shoulder. Others, it's hard to walk because my right knee always feels like it's going to collapse on me. For close to five months, I move slower than usual and seem to always grip the hand rails when walking up the stairs.

Then the magic of Mother Nature happens as it always does. As the clocks move forward the temperatures rise, taking the cold and pain with it. And though I still feel some pain as the mornings are still cold, my hopes rise as summer is on its way, bringing with it tropical heat that I grew up in and missed dearly when on active duty.

Needless to say, this time of year always excites me. I hope it does you too!

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You can find Trent's work at http://www.moongypsypress.com/kinsey.php

Also drop by his gorgeous website-- http://trentkinsey.com/

The Tortise and The Hare by Ericka Scott

Please welcome my Spring into Spring guest, the multi-published Ericka Scott! She's a talented author whose publishers include Cobblestone Press. Take it away, Ericka!
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Hello, Spring!

As an author of Seductive Suspense, I’ll admit that my favorite time of year is Autumn, with its signature holiday of Halloween. Ghosts, goblins, black cats, witches, and magick. Yet, Spring is a time of magic as well. Daffodils pushing up from the ground, baby animals being born -- watching the world be reborn is a miracle in and of itself.

Spring for me is also a time of re-evaluation. Have I kept my New Year’s Resolutions (um, not so well) and am I on track to make my writing goals (another, um, no)? I follow a lot of other author’s blogs and often feel as if I am the tortoise among them. While they are flipping out thousands of words a week, I think I’ve managed to type out, um, none for weeks on end. Since the New Year, it seems as if one or the other of my children, my husband, or myself has been sick. Then, just when we all started to feel better, along came Spring Break. Loud groan.

There has been some good news this spring, I just recently received a contract for a full-length paranormal romance through a small independent publisher, L&L Dreamspell, and I’m excited beyond words. I’m also slogging through editing the first draft of my recently completed full-length historical romance. Luckily, I typed The End on ‘Nevermore’ right before the first sign of illness arrived in our house five weeks ago.

With all of the blustery weather, rain, and cloudy skies of Spring, it’s easy to forget that the heat of the summer sun is just around the corner. It’s the same with my writing. I often lose sight that being an author is more like running a marathon than a sprint. That even miniscule word counts add up. So, as we turn the corner into April, I’m hoping to make like a tortoise and write the next book, even if it’s just one word at a time.

To celebrate the sale of my most recent book, I’ll give one lucky reader a copy of whatever they’d like to read off my backlist (which can be found on the Books page of my website). Just leave a comment, and I

’ll have the Easter Bunny pull a name out of a plastic egg on April 4^th.

Oh, and don’t forget to check out the Easter Egg Hunt at The Long and Short of It Reviews. The prize packages look even more delicious than a chocolate egg. Well, not really – but if you are a reader, the hundreds of prizes will certainly whet your appetite.

Happy Spring!

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Ericka Scott is a multi-published, bestselling author of seductive suspense. She's written stories for as long as she can remember and reads anything under the sun (including the back of cereal boxes in a pinch). She got hooked on romantic suspense in her college days, when reading anything but a textbook was a guilty pleasure. Now, when she’s not chauffeuring children around, wishing she had more than 24 hours in a day, or lurking at the library, she’s spinning her own web of fantasy and penning tales of seduction and suspense. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband and three children.

Get a behind the scenes look at her writing and zany family on her blog at http://erickascott.blogspot.com

She also loves friends, so come friend her at http://myspace.com/erickascott

She's also on Facebook at http://facebook.com/ericka.scott and Twitter @ErickaScott

You can find out more about her books at www.erickascott.com

For Mom Mom by Antonia Tiranth

Today we have author, Antonia Tiranth, and her touching tribute to her recently departed grandmother. May Mom Mom's love of spring--and her love of our Antonia--live on forever. Namaste, Cindy
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Spring has arrived! The robins are hoping about in the front yard, flowers are starting to poke their heads up in the gardens, trees are getting little green buds on them, and Rita’s gave away a free Italian ice to every customer. For me though, spring is more than a little bit gloomy. Not because of all the spring rains we’ve been having but because one of the most influential people in my life is gone. Mary “Sis” Edmond, my grandmother, ended her years long battle with illness on St. Patrick’s day.

What exactly does this have to do with spring? Well, for me, spring always meant that my Mom-mom and I would be going to take the dog for a walk or go up to The Avenue, a stretch of Eastern Avenue that several years ago had a department store and an old five & dime. Of course, in recent years, we didn’t do any of that but the memory remains. In addition to my mother and my writing buddy, Mom-mom was the person I was most excited to tell when I heard about the acceptance of my first book. At this point in her life, it was very difficult for her to read so I had plans to read it to her but as with many things, we never found the time. When I found out my books were going audio and told her, the look of pride and excitement on her face was enough to make my heart swell. Unfortunately I won’t get to know what Mom-mom thought of my books but I know she was proud of me. She was even accepting of my erotic novels, something the rest of my family is a bit uneasy about.

Spring will always hold mixed feelings for me now. On one hand, the excitement of the world coming back to life after a long winter and on the other, the memory of our loss. My grandmother, however, loved spring and I will always remember that too, celebrating it in honor of her.

I’m giving away a copy of my second book, The Gathering, to one lucky commenter!
Stop by my website and facebook for a visit! http://www.antoniatiranth.com/ www.facebook.com/tiranth

The Magic of Spring by Faith Bicknell-Brown

Please say hello to my guest Faith Bicknell-Brown! She writes as FL Brown, Zinnia Hope, and J. Emberglass. But no matter the pen name, her work always promises fluid prose, lush descriptions, and a whole lot of wit. Welcome, Faith!
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After the long winter with deep snows, numerous snow days from school, and freezing temps with high winds, I’m more than happy to see spring arrive. Daffodils and tulips are blooming or pushing through the ground around this old farm. The crocuses and hyacinths will be spilling their delicious aromas into the air any day now, and all the trees are loaded with deep-red buds.

The one thing I detest about spring nearly as much as I do the frigid temps of winter is the rain. Well, not the rains parse, but the mud it causes. Stomping around in 6 inches of mud, trying to navigate our long graveled—mud—lane, and dealing with mud brought into the house on shoes has me praying for late spring.

I look forward to planting flowers and sowing our vegetable gardens. The strawberry patch awakens and the vines begin to run while the white flowers pop out everywhere. The orioles sing their celebratory songs of rebirth, and I enjoy again sitting outside in the mornings with my cup of black coffee, no sugar.

The field behind our home is a constant source of entertainment. Deer emerge from the woods to graze, large hawks and owls haunt the tree line, and every now and then a black bear, coyote, or fox will appear. As spring marches toward summer, the surrounding farmers begin to cut the first hay crops, so the aroma of freshly cut hay perfumes the air.

The sky here is so blue my eyes ache if I stare up at it too long, and the nights are full of frog song.

Many of these elements are used in Wandering Heart, my short novella debuting April 14th from LoveYouDivine.com. Deirdre, the heroine, maintains a beautiful garden and heralds the night and its denizens in her own manner as she ponders how to rekindle her husband’s love. The story is romantic, erotic, and full of sinister magic. And if you love interracial romance with a country and fantasy flair, you’ll enjoy Wandering Heart.

What sort of magic does spring bring to you?

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Don't forget to drop by Faith's website http://faithbicknellbrown.com/ or join her web-famous writer's workshop group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Avoid_Writers_Hell/ and the chat companion group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/avoidwritershellchatters/ . She also puts out a spectacular newletter with all the Faith/Zinnia happenings http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bickbrownZHnewsletter/

Spring into Spring with Kayden McLeod!

Today's Spring into Spring Blog-a-bration guest is Kayden McLeod, author of erotica, romance, and science fiction. Kayden has been kind enough to share with us her beautiful home. You can also chat with her online at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mpbistro where she is the hostess with mostest. Thanks for being my guest today!

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Late spring in British Columbia is beautiful, serene and majestic. I am a nature-junkie, and feel the most inspired while in the centre of it. Whether it be by the sea stretching along the coast, or further into the interior where the Canadian Rockies trail a path up north, cutting through our province and into the next over, Alberta.

The season is a time when color becomes abundant, bleeding into the greens and blues, adding to the ever-growing palate surrounding us. Spring is the bringing of new life, a fresh beginning; when winter melts away to give light and warmth to the world.
Everything about nature is a deciding factor in the beginning steps of my writing, inspiring my stories and often serving as a starting point, even before I have begun plotting. I find elements hidden in the setting, which will spring new ideas, patterns and details of what is around the characters, into the literary-tapestries I try to create.
In my first Paranormal Science Fiction, entitled Deep Water Legends, I was inspired by the wilds of British Columbia. I chose Mount Robson out of all the many possibilities this province has to offer, because the Provincial Park provided the means for an uninterrupted chase between predator and prey. The Hunters deliberately box the quarry in, between them and the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, with no way out. Now envision a fleeing Rogue vampire, stuck in the middle of the below pictures. He can’t teleport out nor use his own magic, while the Hunters remain unaffected by the precautions they’ve taken to ensure success. To make the terrain even more difficult, he’s stuck with a human dramatically slowing even his limited progress.
Even though the book begins in the Rockies, further into the quest the setting moves to the beaches of South Surrey. The Council Hunters, Arcadia and Ceanna belong to the vampires who rules this region of BC, the Foxworth Coven. The following is pictures of White Rock/Crescent Beach.

DEEP WATER LEGENDS
Buy Link For E-Book and Print Formats:
http://www.moongypsypress.com/mcleod.php

SUMMARY
The ruling body of vampires have let loose their top Hunters to get back an artifact. Their mission: retrieve the Dragon Stone, exterminate the Rogue and rescue the innocent human witch. Once a mission has been sanctioned, there isn't a way to go back.
Fernando was a Council employee and researcher, who stumbled upon a document suggesting a whole other race existed out there somewhere. He was tired of getting laughed at for what he sincerely believed in. No matter what risk laid ahead of him, he would prove his findings real. For his time on earth was ticking.
Daphne is a human witch, kidnapped by the eccentric Fernando. She is scared, trapped in the wilds of Mount Robson, knowing there is danger afoot, and she is at centre of it.
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To find out more about all of my books:
http://kaydenmcleod.com/
My blogs:
http://kaydenmcleod.blogspot.com/
http://www.kaydenmcleodparanormal.blogspot.com/
Thank you Cindy for having me! It was a blast.
Cheers,
Kayden McLeod
Author of Erotica, Romance and Science Fiction

Chicken Virginia Chardonnay

Hello, y'all! Congrats to our winner yesterday, Fedora :)

Today, I have a special treat for you. It's another recipe from my sous chef days. It's a wonderful dish for a romantic spring dinner for two!

Chicken Virginia Chardonnay

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/4" thickness

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp Smithfield ham, minced

1 shallot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup Chardonnay wine (I always use Prince Michel Chardonnay bottled right here in N. VA!)

1 pint heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and white pepper to taste

Minced parsley

In saute pan over high heat, brown chicken breast cutlets in butter. Turn heat to medium, add ham, shallot, and garlic. Saute until shallots are translucent. Deglaze pan with wine. Add cream, mustard, salt and pepper. Simmer until cream thickens to coat wooden spoon. Stir in minced parsley.

Serve over rice with steamed or grilled veggies. Garnish with sprigs of parsley. Enjoy!

Spring into Spring Blog-a-bration!

Happy spring, y'all! And welcome to my month long celebration of the season. I have lots of guests and fun planned. Today's event? A contest to win one of my e-books :) Leave a comment about your favorite thing about spring and I'll pick a random winner from commenters. The winner gets to select a title from my releases. Contest closes midnight EDT, tonight! Don't forget to stop by all this month to read entries by my special guest bloggers! Now, let's get to commenting....

Let's Hear It for the Girl!

One of the things I love most about Moongypsy Press, in addition to the fantastic people and supportive work environment, is the cover art! Dawné Dominique has done both my covers for the publishing house and they are both gorgeous. GOOOORGEOUS :) They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so on that note, I will now shut up and allow Dawné's work to speak for itself.

Cover Girl!

Edited by Emmy Ellis, AWH magazine is a collection of wit, wisdom and short fiction from professional authors.

Yours truly has landed a monthly feature. Is Diary of a Reluctant Housewife a tale of domestic bliss? No way! Domestic hilarity? For sure. Check out March's issue...and yep, that's you-know-who on the cover.

Diary of a Reluctant Housewife--March

Jamie Gets a Pet, excerpt:

A prayer escapes my lips as I approach Thunderdome—the foyer closet so named because it's infamous for swallowing footwear—two shoes enter, one shoe leaves. But this will not be the case today because I know I put both of my sneakers in there yesterday after I made the same trip to pick up Jamie. I find the first bright pink cross-trainer easily. Now the dig begins through two giant black boots that belong to Mica and several pairs of boys' Sketchers, most of which Jamie has outgrown. I fling out a pair of red stiletto heels from the last time I stumbled home in a stupor from girls' night out. How long ago was that? Before me lies every shoe on the planet that I don't need and I can't find the one freaking shoe I do need. True, I could wear the heels to the bus stop, but I already feel like passersby look at me funny while I wait all alone on the corner. No need to give them further reason to believe I'm a prostitute. Where is my goddamn shoe?