Who Did It?

I couldn't bring myself to title this post "Who Dun it?" though for some reason that felt most appropriate for me. Anywho, it doesn't mater whose fault "it" was because I'm not going to find out until the end--because I've become a cozy mystery junkie. I don't know what it is, but it's like someone took my favorite chick lit heroine, threw in some suspense, a hot guy, and some gut-busting humor and I am SO there.

I've been having a great time introducing myself to them and a majority of the ones I picked up have huge backlists. Good for my mind, bad for my wallet. My poor little Nook Color doesn't know what to do with itself right now. Probably wants to kill me because I made it gain ten lbs and it didn't even get to savor the old, less weighty version of itself.

And, yeah, I know, I'm erotic romance/erotica writer, what the hell am I doing devouring cozy mysteries?

Variety, my friend, is the spice of life. Sometimes, just sometimes, I want a book with a good fade to black sex scene and for me, these little babies are my everything right now.

Here are some of the one's I've either read or picked up to read soon:

Introducing a delightful new series featuring Carolyn Cosi, manager of the historic Village Blend coffeehouse...

Carolyn arrives at work to discover the assistant manager dead in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere. Two detectives investigate. But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident. Still, Carolyn is not convinced. And after the police leave, Carolyn can't help wondering...If this was an act of murder, is she in danger?

The streets of San Francisco would be lined with hardcovers if rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright had her way. And her mentor wouldn't be lying in a pool of his own blood on the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration.

With his final breath he leaves Brooklyn a cryptic message, and gives her a priceless—and supposedly cursed—copy of Goethe's Faust for safekeeping.

Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to the humorless—but attractive—British security officer who finds her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice…

 When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn't killing by the book.

Antiques-shop clerk Maggie O'Neill was a little weirded out when she discovered her new boss Felicity was a witch. But when Felicity becomes the suspect in a local murder, Maggie must enlist Felicity's wiccan friends for help--and discover her own spellbinding talent.

Craziness and Bubble Gum

What have I been up to lately you ask? Been gearing up for my epic release schedule come February where I'll have a new release with Excessica every month until Oct 2012. And yes, I have considered that I'm absolutely insane. Hasn't been far from the back of my mind. In between those releases I'm also preparing a lot for Ellora's Cave including my paranormal mythical series, a Rennisance Faire bondage short story, and a couple other projects I've literally started writing this week.

I seem to be in a weird mode where I start projects and can't quite go back to them. Probably because my head is so focused on my editing right now. But whereas it seems like I'm not working very hard from my lack of releases, I promise you, lovely readers, I'm kicking ass and taking my names over here trying to push this giant pile of submissions off my desk. You'll see a lot of me in 2012--even if you don't want to.

On another note I can't even tell you how much I covet J. Scott Campbell's work right now. I want to hang a lot of his stuff all over my house. And I covet his fairytale calender like I'd sleep with it at night if I could. But, alas, can't spend the money right now. But, oh god, some of this gorgeousness will be mine! *shakes fist in the air ala Scarlett O'Hara*

Some of my favorites include:

Trips Planned for 2012

This year I've got an insane amount of fun planned in the spring and summer to reward myself for being such a hardworking smut writer. Here are some of the vacations I'll be taking in 2012:

• Las Vegas for a week
• New Orleans for Authors After Dark Conference in August
• Bahama's on a Cruise 
• Maybe a few weekend trips here and there if I can swing it

Books I Can't Get Wait To Get My Little Hands On

In 2012 I've got a few books I can't wait to read and a lot of books I need to read. Over a hundred on my Nook alone *cringes*. I have a bit of an addiction coupled with not enough time in the day to read everything. But, I digress, here's my list of books I can't wait to read for 2012.

• Simply Carnal by Kate Pierce
• A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison
• Rapture by Lauren Kate
• Timeless by Gail Carriger
• Lover Reborn by JR Ward

Ooo, DH brought home corn nuggets which means I'm outtie! There's nothing I love more than corn nuggets, except maybe cake.

I think I have an unhealthy obsession...

With John Cusack movies. Any movie with the man in it has an instant stop whatever I'm doing to watch the movie effect on my brain. I'm surprised I don't own the whole collection. Though maybe it's better that I don't, otherwise I'd never get any writing done in between watching America's Sweethearts and High Fidelity.

Five days into the new year and I'm working on a new work in progress while hand editing a lot of upcoming ones. Busy is my name, busy is the game. If all goes according to plan I should have twelve releases at least for 2012. Yay! And my head kinda hurts looking at that number knowing I've been working so hard to get it.

Oh, and super kick ass news, I get to watch the new episode of Vampire Diaries today! I've been dying for my Damon fix for far too long! I think my little, chirpy kitten Ember will make a snuggle date out of it while I drink hot chocolate. Sounds perfect!

Sale at ARe on my backlist

For anyone who hasn't gotten a chance to pick up a copy of my books from Ellora's Cave for whatever reason, my EC backlist is now 50% off at ARe (All Romance E-books) until Jan 15th. My latest novel, Not So Pure, is only 3.75. Thanks for the support!

My Start to 2012

I started off my New Year with the last episode of Season Six of How I Met Your Mother eating a burrito and working on a contemp erotic romance on my couch. I know, it's so classy. I've had a pretty bad chest cold for almost a week now so husband went out partying and I stayed home opting not to infect anyone else with my virus of doom. Sick is not fun.

On a writing note I'm starting off 2012 with an overabundance of projects to finish in a lot of different stages. Here's what's on deck so far for the next four or so months:

• An erotic lesbian menage that I need to finish up and edit
• A paranormal erotic romance novella that I need to type in my hand edits and then re-edit for consistency
• An erotic BDSM/spanking short I need to finish and edit
• An erotic BDSM fairytale novella I need to restructure, edit, and finish

These are the projects on my plate that are currently started and for whatever reason didn't get taken care of in 2011. For the most part I worked way too hard 2011 and overtaxed myself a bit. It worked out because I got a lot of stuff done, but I also found myself leaving projects half finished everywhere--which is totally not my style.

Normally I'm a very throw myself into the task until it's done person but with the rush of finishing a few of my goals in 2011 I grew tired and restless. So I skipped from project to project. Hence all the unfinished, almost ready to sub work you see above.

Sure, it's a good feeling to know I have an abundance of work to do and for sure works that I can submit that will probably come out this year. But it's also a little daunting knowing my plans for the new year don't include a new slate so I'm free to play with whatever story pops into my head. All the ideas in my head have moved beyond restless into riot mode. It's loud up there. *pops aspirin*