This just in…

If you’re anywhere in or around North Richland Hills, Texas, make sure you put this event on your calendar!

~ Candace Havens, Karen Kelley, Jax Cassidy, Cindy Dees, Amie Stuart, Karen Whiddon, Juliet Burns, and Celya Bowers will be in attendance at this special booksigning and tea to benefit the Bedford Public Library in Bedford, Texas.

~ The particulars:

Saturday, May 9th
12:00 High Tea in the Café
1:00 pm Author Discussion and Signing
Barnes & Noble at the North East Mall
861 North East Mall Blvd
North Richland Hills, Texas

~ There will be door prizes and a percentage of all purchases will be contributed to the Bedford Public Library.

~ So make your plans now!

Consider yourself flashed.

This just in…

Amie Stuart is planning a big bash to celebrate the release of her next book, Hittin’ It, next month on the 24th.  So head on over to her blog to get in on the fun!

~ Beginning February 1 she’ll be giving away books every day for 14 days. Yep, you heard right. Two weeks! And she says she has a ton of’em, so you don’t want to miss this!

~ Books from Amie’s backlist and from such authors as Carolyn Jewel, Larissa Ione, Raine Weaver, Denise McDonald, Steph Tyler, and Eliza Gayle, among others, will be up for grabs.

~ The Grand Prize is a $50 gift card to either Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com — winner’s choice — and Amie’s signed backlist, including a copy of Sex…on Holiday.

~ Rules and fine print will be posted on Amie’s blog this week.  Mark your calendars so you won’t forget!

Consider yourself flashed.

This just in…

This is your lucky day. How often can you say you can get Hooked, Screwed, and Nailed at TGTBTU! Wanna find out how? Follow me…

~ Amie Stuart is sponsoring a contest with her editor where you get to pick the title of her current WIP, right now titled Screwed. Screwed is two novellas, one of which is Screwed and the other is Hooked. Both are follow-ups to Amie’s most recent release, Nailed.

~ “While these stories technically have nothing to do with construction or blue-collar work, I’d like to try and keep the theme the same or similiar. It has to be a sexy title. I like one-word titles but short titles work too. Both heroes are hitmen. Screwed is a little on the dark/thoughtful side while Hooked is just damned funny stuff,” according to Amie.

~ The winning title will get an acknowledgment in the book and an autographed copy of the book when it’s released March 2009. Amie will also throw in copies of Nailed and Make U Sweat when she gets her author copies of MUS in August.

~ So head over to Naughty & Spice to check everything out!

Consider yourself flashed.

Make U Sweat by Amie Stuart coming in September 2008 (release date is 26 Aug 08)!!

Smokin’ hot cover, isn’t it?  Read on for the summary and an EXCERPT…

Here’s the summary:

     When the Cavanaugh sisters inherit the family moving company, they figure they’re “man” enough for the job. They’ll show those bad boys of Texas just how good these three gals are at getting exactly what they want….

     Reecie is a caretaker from the word go – she’s all business, whether it’s family or work. So she is more than ready to let easygoing Jack Sunders step in and take care of her in the most intimate way possible…

     Robbie Jo loves a good time at work and in bed – until she meets rodeo rider Cash McBride and realizes she’s ready to settle down and ride one man long and hard…

     Carla is tired of sweating for a living. But getting hot and bothered around real estate attorney Josh Winters puts her in the mood for some seriously steamy sex…

EXCERPT…

Jack stood waiting just inside the front door, freshly shaved and dressed in khakis and a crisp green shirt.

“Hope you like jazz.” He pulled me to him for a quick hug, the smell of his aftershave filling my nose, and I relaxed against him, enjoying the brief contact. His arm rested possessively as the base of my spine as he led me deeper in to the club to a tiny table close to the stage and the dance floor.

“What’ll you have?” he asked as he scooted his chair close to mine and sat.

“Scotch on the rocks, please.” I knotted my fingers in my lap and took a deep breath, letting out a flutter of nerves as I glanced around the club. Even though there was no band on stage, jazz music played softly as the couples around us chatted and laughed and nibbled on appetizers.

“I didn’t take you for a scotch and soda lady.”

I shrugged. “I’m just full of surprises.”

“I bet you are.” He gave the waitress our order and his credit card to run a tab, then turned his attention back to me. In the bar’s dim light his warm, intense gaze, the way he seemed so able to give me his undivided attention reminded me of his profession, and I cursed myself. Now was not the time to be thinking of work-his or mine. “Do you dance?”

“Not since high school,” I ruefully confessed.

“I doubt it’s changed much.” He motioned to the few couples swaying gently on the floor.

I lifted the glass the waitress had discretely slipped in front of me and said, “Let me get a few of these down first.”

His expression cooled slightly and he nodded and accepted his own drink with a nod of thanks for the waitress. “So how long have you been in the moving business?”

“Do you really want to talk about my work?”

He gave me a once over that warmed my skin. “I want to know everything about you?”

Why, immediately sprang to my lips but I didn’t say it. “Twenty years.”

“Twenty?”

“I went to work for my dad at sixteen. Do the math.” I sipped at my drink, letting the chilly liquor course through me. My foot started tapping as the familiar strains of an old TLC song came on. Jack glanced under the table, then quirked an eyebrow, a silent invitation to dance. I hadn’t had near enough to drink but I pushed myself to my feet anyway and put my hand in his, the music to heady to resist. He was a good dancer, making it easy for me to relax, and we quickly went from a slow grinding sway to something much more suggestive that left us both breathless and laughing.

We stayed for some old LL Cool J, moving back into each other’s arms while he sang about making hot sweet love to someone else’s woman. I snuggled close, burying my head in the crook of Jack’s neck, while he and the music gently seduced me. His hands slid down the dip in my back to caress my hips, nibbling away at my resolve to just have a drink and flirt a little. His business casual demeanor hid the soul of a man who knew women, knew how to seduce them, and probably love them, but there’d be no loving for Jack Saunders tonight. At least not the type that required the removal of clothes.

Smiling, I snuggled a little closer.

Gwen’s Review of Hands On by Amie Stuart
Erotic romance novel released 1 Jun 07 by Aphrodisia

This novel consists of three interlocking stories about three BFF’s – Lexi, Lanie, and Carlotta. All three women have blue collar jobs (construction foreman, mechanic, and electrician, respectively) and adventurous private lives. This is a book about these friend’s femininity, their men, and personal discovery. Oh, with some very hot sex thrown in for spice. In my opinion, the cover alone is worth the purchase of this book - that is a very sexy, beautifully shot photo and a work of art on its own.

This book starts with the “mildest” of the three stories: Lexi’s, or Alex to her workers. She has been lusting after a drywall supervisor on the job, Wade. She and Wade manage to hook up, of course, after some amusing scenes including a lap dance in an upscale strip club. I’m not sure if this is a “love match” for these two, but it’s definitely a lust match. It’s a fun cute story.

The second story is a little edgier: Lanie’s, or Mel to her mechanics. Lanie owns her own auto repair garage and manages to hook up with her brother’s friend, Jeff, after a painfully amusing scene at her parents’ backyard picnic, which is a welcome home dinner for her youngest brother, Jackie, recently released from the pen. This story explores a complicated family dynamic – very Catholic family, prolific siblings (12 g’children among three brothers), and two outcasts – Lanie and Jackie. Lanie’s ostracism is self-imposed – she’s in her 30′s, owns her own successful business, not married and has no kids, and is bisexual (unbeknownst to her family) – everything her family seems to not value. Jackie’s ostracism was state-imposed – he spent 10 years in prison for robbery or burglary (not sure which). Lanie ends up helping Jackie reconnect with life, and hooking up with Jeff and she has a ball doing it, all while freeing herself from her family’s expectations.

The third story is the edgiest of all: Carlotta’s. Carlotta is also mildly bisexual, but not so much she makes it a lifestyle choice. She hooks up with a man she originally describes as the “Geek Meister” – but she soon discovers that, in her words, still waters run deep. This story becomes a rather painful tale of self-discovery and catharsis. Carlotta discovers she’s a “submissive” at heart but also that she is terrified of letting go of control of the smallest elements in her life. In fact, her need to control is more a stranglehold than a gentle grip. The conflict this creates when she discovers her submissive self makes for a very good story. I would have liked it to be about 20 more pages, but that’s a sign of a good book, in my opinion. This was the story I thought I might end in a love match.

I was impressed with this book. I didn’t skim paragraphs or skip pages, and I read it all in one sitting. It was engrossing, fun, and very sexy. I found Carlotta’s story the most compelling because it seemed the most genuine. I enjoy books where a character is forced on a journey of self-discovery, kicking and screaming. I enjoy that because, if we’re smart, it’s often the way life is - forcing us to confront issues, instead of hiding from them.

I highly recommend adding this to your poolside reading pile this summer.

Grade: B+

Here’s the book blurb:

Monday through Friday they’re known as Alex, Mel and Carl. But come Friday night Lexi, Lanie and Carlotta trade their blue collar personas in for high heels, martinis and men. They’re smart, sexy and successful, and they’re taking HANDS ON to a whole new level.

Lexi Kimball has the unenviable position of Safety Supervisor on a construction crew. The one person everyone loves to hate, she’s caught between bringing a job in on time and getting it done without any accidents. Not an easy task in the best of circumstances, but throw in a sexy foreman with an adventurous streak and a construction site plagued with problems and you’ve got a recipe for trouble.

Melanie Daniels comes from a long line of mechanics and has no illusions about working in a man’s world. To the men who work under her at Chick’s Garage, an auto shop that caters exclusively to women, she’s Mel. On the weekends she’s Lanie, a bisexual completely comfortable in her own skin…until she finds herself challenged by her brother’s best friend.

Carlotta Quintanilla isn’t your average blonde. The sexy Nicaraguan can wire anything, anytime, anywhere better than any man, and she looks hot in a tool belt. When it comes to men, not only does she know how to play the game, she wrote the rules. She meets her match in a quiet computer geek who has a thing or two to teach her about control.

Read an excerpt.

Last week, we ran a contest for two copies of Amie Stuart’s Hands On and the winners are…

Amy S

&

Cathie

Click here (simply because it’s too fun not to)

Thanks for playing!  Please email your addresses to redwyne @ gmail. com (minus the spaces).

If you’re outside the US, it may take 4-6 weeks for your book to arrive.