I am talking to one of my favorite photographers this week Molly Marie. In addition to portrait photography she also does boudoir. You are probably wondering why am I interviewing a boudoir photographer on a writer’s blog – well photos tell a story but without words. I’m sure I am not the only one that has ever fantasied about being the cover model on a romance novel. The models always look beautiful, sexy, and have that look that no man can resist. Well not many of us are lucky enough to grace a cover with Jimmy Thomas but with boudoir photography you can be the cover model of your own story. So here are a few of the questions I had for Molly and I love the before and after photos!

I am welcoming Jocelyn Bell to my blog today. I have been a huge fan since I first read her book Dare Me last year. I thought it was so original and so intriguing. I read it in one sitting and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Thanks Jocelyn for telling us your story and why you write.

Why I Write Romance

First, I would like to thank Miss Ginger for having me on here today. The truth of being an indie is that readers and bloggers are our backbone and without the support of both it’s very hard to sell books. So, I appreciate those who reach out and take a chance on a new author, who recommend them to a friend and write reviews on book sites. It’s a blessing to have support in this industry, so I thank you in advance for reading this blog and checking out my Voyeur Series of sultry novellas.
There are people that I meet who visibly cringe when I say I write romance novels. Usually they will say, “You mean like Fabio romances?” with a tone that insinuates they are not impressed. To which I reply, “Well no, not exactly, but they are a love story and yes they contain sex.” I suppose what they are visualizing is a book with a half-naked man and a woman being ravaged on the cover. What If… my current release does not resemble this, however I certainly won’t be ruling it out as a possible choice. I’m not scared of a little ravaging, after all.
I write romances and while I don’t let my son, who is ten, or my Dad, read every page of my books I sure want everyone else too. So, to those who ask why am I wasting my time and brain writing trivial romance novels, I say why wouldn’t I?
Love is the best part of life. Falling in love can be better than being in love, in some instances. It’s all pretty amazing though. Why wouldn’t I want to write about meeting someone new, trying to navigate dates and moving in and then marriage at some point? Of course, there are break-ups and divorce in the mix, but that is just a part of life and it all leads to another chance to find and fall in love. Love leads to kids, families, and bonds that last forever. These are all the good things in life, aren’t they? I write about the heart of life, love. How awesome is that!?
Then, of course, there is the romance factor. Everyone wants to be wooed, even men. Sure, it’s not sustainable all of the time, in most relationships. However, in books, it can happen over and over. In books, men bring flowers, even when they aren’t in trouble.  In books women are sometimes damsels in distress and sometimes strong-willed and stubborn, but men are patient and kind and they hardly ever disappoint. So, when our husbands or boyfriends are in a romantic lull or we are single for a bit; what is better than a romance novel to remind us why we put up with their stinky feet, their inability to locate the hamper or a local flower shop, on a regular basis!!
I write my books, because I want to write about hope, love, romance, and finding that person (or persons if you are into some of the more risqué romance  ) who makes every day better. It’s not only entertaining, but also uplifting to read about love. It’s something you can never get enough of or give enough of, so YES I write smutty and hot (under the name Jocelyn Bell); sexy and romantic, sweet and funny, contemporary and eventually historical ROMANCE NOVELS! Heck, if I had a rooftop I’d shout it for ya!

Moreover, Romance readers I love you for supporting writers, for buying books, and writing reviews on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or telling a friend about the great book they have to buy. Thank you for not being afraid to fly your freak flag from tame to insane amongst the genre. I love romance and I know you all do too!
Thanks for stopping in today and reading my rant, lol! If you are interested in reading my current Contemporary Adult Series, Voyeur Series Book One Dare Me, or Book Two Want Me…they are currently for sale in ebook and paperback versions on Amazon.
I also love connecting with readers so please feel free to connect with me via one of the links below and let’s chat. All the best and thanks again for stopping in today, it’s been a pleasure!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jobellbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/jobellbooks
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jocelynbell
Author BIO:
Biography
I am a shy writer of contemporary fiction transformed into a steamy writer of sensual fiction. A native of California, which also implies that I am a lover of surf, sand, and sun. It’s pretty much true that all California girls do, stereotypes start somewhere! LOL Ok, ok I do adore the beach, but to be honest I hate the sand.  This is just the beginning of the many contradictions that make up all of me!

I hope to inspire people to fantasize and step out of their shell. Maybe even to try something new and exciting, maybe something that they read in one of my books. I DARE YOU!

Thank you for your interest and I hope you enjoy my imagination!

What Movies Make You All Mushy Inside? Valentine’s Day Movie Picks

Thanks for hosting me today, Ginger! You have a beautiful blog, and I’m looking forward to chatting with your followers.

So, it’s Valentine’s Day again. Ginger’s question to all her guest bloggers is, “What younger man would you like to go on a dream date with?” Tough question. If it were guys who were older than me, easy! Tom Selleck in cowboy gear, Sam Elliot in cowboy gear, Daniel Craig in cowboy gear…okay, you get the idea. Any sexy guy in cowboy gear, please. And I’ll buy supper!

But younger guys? I don’t watch much television, and only watch movies once in a while, so I’m not a real super-fan of any stars, younger or older. To find the answer to Ginger’s question, I thought I’d search some movie databases, and yay! I found the Better Homes and Gardens list of the best movies to watch on Valentine’s Day. Multi tasking! I’ll list some of them for you, and hope I find a cougar-worthy guy within the credits.

-When Harry Met Sally (great restaurant scene!)

-An Affair to Remember (love this movie, and if I could go back in time, Carry Grant would be a huge cougar-worthy dream date)

-Pride and Prejudice (so many versions, it’s hard to choose my favorite Darcy)

-The Notebook (*sniffles* lovely movie. Oooh, can I add James Garner in cowboy gear to my older dream dates above?)

-Love Actually (Alan Rickman’s a hottie!)

-French Kiss (Kevin Kline is sexy and funny)

-Casablanca (most awesomely romantic movie of all time)

-Pretty Woman (um, was Richard Gere ever in a cowboy movie???)

-Can’t Buy Me Love (Patrick Dempsey – yummy, but it’d have to be that time-travel thing again)

-Dirty Dancing (Nobody puts Baby in a corner)

-Bull Durham (Kick liked this one)

-Notting Hill (Hugh Grant is such a cutie)

-Out of Africa (Robert Redford is amazing in this)

-Ghost (I miss Patrick Swayze!)

And the winner is: Crazy, Stupid, Love (no, not Steve Carell…Ryan Gosling! so extremely hawt in this movie!)

See all the movie suggestions

Do you have any movies to add to the list? Which is your favorite romance movie? I’ll be reading your comments whilst I prepare for my dream date with Ryan Gosling. (Think he’d wear cowboy gear if I asked him real nice?) Leave a comment for your chance to win an ecopy of the first book in the series, Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas.

Blurb: A fortuitous spin of a Las Vegas roulette wheel links New York accountant Kira Morrow and rodeo bareback rider Dallas Burns. The heat that has flared between them since their first meeting threatens to burn out of control as they share sinful nights and hot days. As their mutual distrust resurfaces, the flames quickly die. Only when Kira walks out of his life forever does Dallas realize he needs to stop letting past hurts prevent him from opening his heart to love. Is it too late to repair the damage he’s done and reclaim the heart of the woman he’s fallen for?

Excerpt: The casino host gestured to someone behind her. “We’d like to take a few photos, then we’ll get you settled in the manager’s office to fill out your paperwork.”

 

A photographer stepped closer, the casino host arranged Kira and Dallas in front of the roulette table, and said, “Smile.”

 

Turning toward the camera, Dallas’s lips curved slightly upward. Evidently his version of happiness.

 

Kira grinned and turned on every watt of charm she had. Leaning into Dallas, the firm, hot muscles of his arm burned into her through his fancy western-cut shirt. The dark blue pattern hit her as extra macho as it lay against his tan skin, and the tuft of dark hair showing at his chest made her gooey inside. The photographer snapped away as Kira remembered those biceps from Christmas. He had moved in for a kiss and she’d grabbed him to push herself away.

 

Half blinded by the flashes, her memories of his sexy face drawing closer to her sent warm rushes of desire into her belly. She rubbed a little closer to him and her hand brushed where his dark jeans covered his sexy ass.

 

He put his hand on her lower back. “Don’t even think you can seduce me out of all that money, woman.”

 

Sucking in a breath, she let her body tingle with the excitement of his touch. She turned to him. “You’d better play by my rules, Dallas, or you’re not going to see a penny of it.”

 

His head swiveled to face her. “A man has his pride, Kira. You push me too far…”

 

“And?” Was he threatening her?

 

“And I’ll tell Gigi what you’re up to.” He tried to fight back a smile.

 

Relief flowed through her. “That’s not even fair,” she teased.

 

“I have a suite for you two.” The casino host’s smile looked a little unsure.

 

Kira wiggled closer to Dallas. “Are you telling us to get a room?”

********

Find Cowboy Jackpot: Valentine’s Day in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon, and in paperback at Createspace and Amazon.

Whether you have a dream date tonight nor not, I hope you have a lovely Valentine’s Day!

Randi

“Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied”

RandiAlexander.com

-Cowboy Jackpot: Valentine’s Day is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon, and in paperback at Createspace and Amazon.

-Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon, and in paperback at Createspace and Amazon.

-Turn Up the Heat, Chase and Seduction, and Her Cowboy Stud are available at The Wild Rose Press and Amazon

-Cowboy Bad Boys is available in digital format at Smashwords and Amazon and in paperback from Createspace and at Amazon

-Cowboy Lust is available in paperback and Kindle format at Amazon

Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win Cowboy Jackpot: Christmas!

I am so excited about having one of my favorite authors here today, welcome Anna Jeffrey.

Anna how did you get started writing?

I don’t remember at what age I started reading books, but I was pretty young. I used to read novels and think, “I can do this.” Later, my one an only ambition from my teenage years was to be a reporter. Thus, I was a co-editor on the high school newspaper staff. I’ve always had a penchant for writing. And stories have always swirled around in my head.

About 15 years ago, it dawned on me I was running out of time, so I started a story. I went to a writers’ group meeting one day and the guest speaker was a Harlequin author. She spoke about hooks Harlequin liked, which were cowboys or secret babies or lost love regained and a few others. I drove home from that meeting thinking, “I can do that.” So I wrote “The Love of a Cowboy,” which had all of those elements. It turned into a family saga about 650 manuscript pages long. (Did I mention, I could be Leo Tolstoy?)

That book won first place in the Romance category at the Southwest Writers Conference and one of the editors who judged it made an offer to buy it. She wanted to pluck the romance out of it between Luke and Dahlia. I didn’t say no, but I had no idea how to cut a 650-page manuscript down to a 400-page one. She told me she would send me an editorial letter as soon as she returned to New York. And she did. It was about 18 single-spaced pages long. But I persevered, cut out around 50,000 words and ended up with the book that went to print.

Your books remind me of one of my favorite authors LaVyrle Spencer. What authors have inspired you? I’m so flattered that you would compare my writing to LaVyrle Spencer’s. She used to be one of my fave’s. I haven’t read all of her books, but I’ve read quite a few. I’ve never thought of myself in the same universe as her. I’ve been inspired by quite a few authors. Ernest Hemingway, Willa Cather, Tami Hoag, Deborah Smith, Lisa Kleypas, Michael Connelly to name a few, There are others, for sure.

I am currently reading your new book The Tycoon, could you tell us more about it? It is a series isn’t it? The new “Sons of Texas” trilogy is a family saga with 3 brothers as the protagonists. Each book is about a different brother’s life and romance, but the overarching story is of a dysfunctional Texas family that’s wealthy in land, cattle and oil, but poor in its ability to maintain successful relationships. The tumultuous relationship between the parents has influenced all of them and is a thread that flows through each book until they finally resolve their problems in Book #3. Think “Dallas.”

Since I write cougar stories I always ask my female guests the same question. If you could go on a date with a younger man who would it be? My books aren’t cougar stories, but my heroes and heroines are mostly thirty or over. I think people have to have lived a while and earned a few nicks and scars to be interesting.

As for romance with a younger guy, what woman of a certain age hasn’t thought about that? But I don’t think of age as much as I think of the appeal of the guy, regardless of his age. Hugh Jackman, for instance. He’s no kid, but he’s younger than I am. Besides being attractive to look at, he comes across as being a nice guy. I like Russell Crowe, too, but he strikes me as being moody and hard to get along with. Of course, that might be a false presumption on my part. Still, he’s a charismatic dude. I like Daniel Craig, too. And there are probably a dozen others. Believe it or not, I like Tom Cruise, though I’m not quite sure what kind of person he is in real life. But guys under thirty don’t excite me. They’re *too* young.

As I’m writing this, I’m trying to think of a guy who isn’t a celebrity and who’s younger than I am that I find attractive, and I can’t think of a single one. What does that say about my life?

I think it says that you are happy right where you are and I am a big Daniel Craig fan myself. Thanks again for answering my questions and I am so enjoying reading The Tycoon.

Please check out Anna Jeffrey’s website, blog, and books. You won’t be disappointed.

Personal Web Page: http://www.annajeffrey.com
Blog – Anna Jeffrey, I’m Just Saying…: http://annajeffreyauthor.wordpress.com
Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnnaJeffrey/
Facebook – Anna Jeffrey Books: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Anna-Jeffrey-Books/109708069097964?ref=ts&fref=ts
Facebook Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/anna.jeffrey.3
Facebook – Dixie Cash: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dixie-Cash/342620327656?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annajeffrey

Anna’s books:
THE LOVE OF A COWBOY (w/a Anna Jeffrey) Amazon Kindle, 03/2012
THE LOVE OF A STRANGER (w/a Anna Jeffrey) Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, 10/2011
I CAN’T MAKE YOU LOVE ME, BUT I CAN MAKE YOU LEAVE (w/a Dixie Cash) Avon Trade, 4/5/2011
SALVATION, TEXAS (w/a Anna Jeffrey) Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook Smashwords, 12/2010
SWEET WATER (w/a Anna Jeffrey) Amazon Kindle,B&N Nook, Smashwords 04/2010