FEBRUARY'S ANATOMY QUIZ--THE FEMALE EROGENOUS ZONES

Ok, question for all the the men out there. How many erogenous zones are there on a woman's body? One? Two? Ten? No, this is not a multiple choice question!

I won't leave it up to the men. Ladies, how well do you know your own bodies?

For all you romance writers out there. Do you know?

Leave your answer in the comment section for the chance to win. The person closest will receive a $5 gift card for Barnes & Noble.

To stimulate your cerebrum (the thinking part of your brain) I've listed a couple to get you started. Let's begin at the top, shall we?

1) The face and hair.

A gentle caress to your partner's face or running your fingers through her hair can be very intimate. For different types of stimulation, try nuzzling with your whiskers or your eyelashes on her cheek, neck, or hair.

2) Next, move down to her shoulders, arms, and hands.

A light touch or kneading pressure can create intimacy and start a slow seduction. Hold your gal's hand or give her a firm shoulder massage to work out any tension she may have from daily stressors.

3)Now to get a little more intimate. Heighten arousal by moving to mouth and lips, earlobes, behind the ear, neck and throat.

A lot of women enjoy french kissing more than intercourse. Spend time nibbling, stroking, licking these areas. Let your breath lightly fan her neck, but careful not to breathe so heavy you could be a crank caller on the other end of a phone!


OK. Now you have a start. Use your imagination and move further down a woman's body. What's next? Can you come up with the correct number of erogenous zones? Winner will be announced on Friday's blog. Also, we'll be checking out the Phoenix fire department! And if you've seen my myspace page lately, you'll be saying, "YOWZA", too!

MUSIC--YOURS OR THEIRS?

What kind of music do your hero and heroine (H/H) listen to? Is this trait something you think about when you're developing a character? And how important is music to deepening your character?

These questions woke me up yesterday and I couldn't go back to sleep. Which was a major bummer, let me tell you. Working the night shift at the hospital plays havoc with a person's system enough as it is, but that is a whole other post!

Music is important in my character developement. But I find myself imposing my musical tastes on my H/H and have to be very careful. They need to be their own individuals, right?

So, how about you? Do your H/H listen to the music they would listen to? Or, music you would listen to?

HUSBANDS!! YOU GOTTA LOVE 'EM!!

The other day when I received my cover for my book, I mentioned in passing to my husband that some of the authors on The Wild Rose Press loop had stated they had framed their book covers. Yesterday, he came home with a GIANT photograph he'd had made of my book cover-- A 20x30 sized framed photo!!!

Finding my voice, I said, "isn't that a little big?" And he replied, "Not for your first book." He went into the sports room, took down his framed picture of Sammy Sosa, and hung my book in all his glory in Sammy's place!! Go figure.

Here is the back cover blurb and excerpt from THE DOCTOR'S DECEPTION:

BACK COVER BLURB:
Heart surgeon Stone Lassiter has successfully transplanted beating hearts. It's his own that causes him the most agony. With a death bed promise to his fiancée, he’s driven to open a transplant center in her hometown and arrives at Deerborne County General Hospital. Single minded in his focus, he inadvertently alienates the nursing staff he needs to make his dream a success. He sets his stethoscope on intensive care nurse, Faith Daniels, to improve his image.

Nurse of the Year, Faith Daniels has passed every nursing exam, but when faced with the MCAT, she has severe test anxiety. Burned by her ex-husband, who used her to put him through law school, she has become focused on passing that darn exam and achieving her own dream to become a doctor.
Will Stone’s white lie jeopardize the love they find?

EXCERPT:
Faith opened the door and there he stood. She’d seen Dr. Lassiter in a suit and tie before. He didn’t always wear scrubs while in the unit. But she should’ve known after her traitorous reaction to him lately, that tonight would be different--more personal.
Her breath caught.

Okay, to be fair, she did want his body. She could admit that freely to herself.

His honey blonde hair was damp and curled slightly at his collar. From the wet look, he’d waited until the last minute to get ready. Nothing vain about this man. The dark dinner jacket he wore accentuated his powerful shoulders and broad chest. The white shirt set a sharp contrast to his tan skin. Her fingers itched to loosen the simple black silk tie and unbutton the top buttons of his shirt to get to what lay underneath.

“Hello, Faith.”

Slowly exhaling, she silently whistled and gazed into his eyes. Jeez, get a grip. Here she was undressing him before the evening had even begun. But, the heat radiating from the brown depths set off fire alarms in her brain.

Finally. Melted chocolate. Her gaze flew to his lips. How would he taste?

Try as she might, there was no shutting out reality. Her stomach quivered in tandem with her thoughts.

Oh, my.

“Hi, Dr. Lassiter,” she said, breathless.

This is not a date. This is not a date. This is not…

His lips curved.




THE DOCTOR'S DECEPTION is a future release from THE WILD ROSE PRESS!

DIABETES MONDAY DEFINING DIABETES

What is dibetes? The ADA (American Diabetic Association) defines diabetes as a disease in which the body can't control the amount of sugar in the blood, resulting in too much sugar floating in the blood stream.

The organ in the body that helps control our blood sugars, excreting insulin into the blood stream, is our pancreas. Insulin locks onto the sugar molecules and drags them from the blood stream and across our cell membrane where the sugar can be used for energy. A diabetic either doesn't make enough of his own insulin, or the insulin he does make can't perform its job for one reason or another.

When this happens, a doctor will prescribe insulin or an oral diabetic medication in the form of a pill to help keep blood sugar levels between 80-120.

Tight control to maintain blood sugar in this range is important. Blood sugar that is too low or too high plays havoc on a person's cells and can cause a variety of medical problems related to diabetes.

Here are some symptoms of high blood sugar:

Increased thirst
Difficulty concentrating
Blurred vision
Frequent urination
Fatigue (weak, tired feeling)
Headaches

Unexplained weight loss

A person is at risk for Diabetes if they have any of the following:

Age greater than 45 years
Diabetes during a previous pregnancy
Excess body weight (especially around the waist)
Family history of diabetes
Given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
HDL cholesterol under 35
High blood levels of triglycerides, a type of fat molecule (250 mg/dL or more)
High blood pressure (greater than or equal to 140/90 mmHg)
Impaired glucose tolerance
Low activity level
Poor diet

Please, if you are at risk and have had any of the symptoms of diabetes, please see your doctor and be checked. All it takes is a simple blood draw.

If you would like to help raise money for diabetes research, learn how by going to http://www.brendanovak.com/ and donate an item for her online auction coming May, 2008. Or, just stop by to see how you can participate in the online auction and help author Brenda Novak raise more than last year!!! Every contribution no matter how big or how small helps!

Some facts taken from webMD for this post.

CAPA FINALIST AUTHOR jj KELLER

I'm pleased to spread the word. One of my critique partners on WRITESPOT, jj Keller, is a CAPA Finalist for her book, THE WATCHER. The Romance Studio will be announcing the fourth annual Cupid and Psyche Awards on Valentine's Day 2008!

What are the CAPA's? They are awards given by The Romance Studio for excellence in romantic and erotic fiction. Categories include inspirational, contemporary, fantasy, historical, mainstream, paranormal, romantic suspense, erotic contemporary, erotic fantasy, erotic historical, erotic novella, erotic paranormal, erotic anthology, BDSM, and the Ariana Overton Award for Best Cover Art or the Ari.

Between THE WATCHER and BELIEVE, jj Keller is getting rave reviews from Romance Junkies, Fallen Angels, and Just Erotic Reviews! Way to go, jj!!

THE WATCHER is the first book in a series sold to Cobblestone Press. Here's the blurb:

Jon has been a loving, attentive fiancé, but his angry outbursts of late have made her question their union. On a whim, she visits a fortune teller. She learns the voice she’s hearing is not her imagination, he’s real and he’s there to warn her of danger. Emily questions whether she should marry Jon. How can she truly love Jon when she’s captivated by a voice?

Netzach is Emily’s Watcher. He works with her guardian angel to keep her safe and at present, she’s in danger. Jon Hart isn’t the man he pretends to be. He is evil. Netzach can’t bear to see Emily marry such a man. This isn’t the first time these three souls have interacted. Centuries before, Netzach lost Emily to this vile man. Netzach can’t bear to watch his soul mate fall prey to him once again and he asks the Powers that be to save her.

The next novel is BELIEVE. Here is the blurb:

One member in every generation of Mikhail Romanasky’s family is always named Mikhail. Additionally, one member in every generation of receives the gift of future sight. This time around, Mikhail received the privilege of both and she is developing further gifts she wished she didn’t have. She’s having precognitive visions of children kidnapped by a man so evil, so vile it makes her skin crawl. Mikhail takes her information to the police to save a local child.

Detective Jensen Palmer couldn’t help suspecting that a gypsy who makes her living telling fortunes must be using him to further some confidence scheme. Mikhail knows that to save Jensen’s beloved five year old nephew, Jensen will have to learn to believe.

The last in the series is MELODY'S SONG, a future release. Here's a taste:

Melody Haney has an angelic singing voice, but denies the gift after her son dies. Out of obligation, when she is asked to sing to hospitalized children she agrees. Accused of stealing drugs from the oncology unit, she pushes away the one man who would stand by her.

Dr. Devon Siegal, pediatric oncologist, doesn’t believe in coincidences. Even when faced with evidence that could damn her, he continues to believe in Melody’s innocence. He has faith she will tell him everything and love will prevail.

What's next for jj? She just submitted THE TAROT CARD to The Wild Rose Press, and will be doing a series of guest blogging on TRS! For more information on jj Keller, you can go to http://www.jj-keller.com/ or check out her blog, jj's Spice and Humor at http://jjkeller.blogspot.com/