I've moved!!!

Hello My Lovelies!

I've decided to take the plunge and move my blog to another site. Eventually I'm going to get my act together and have a website created. Until then, check out what I've done and continue to visit and shower me with your adoration.

Janet

Self Care Adventure

Hello Sweets!

My very dear friend Alexis Marbach has embarked on what she has coined “The Self-Care Adventure Series: 30 days of wholehearted self-love” and has encouraged a group of us near and dear to her heart to join in the fun. When I first got the email, I'll be honest, I let out a sigh. One of those fully expanded diaphragm sighs. I just couldn't see myself fitting in with the group on this one. I don't do yoga (too much breathing), I don't like to run (unless it's for my life), and nature gives me hives (no seriously, I have some major allergies). When I'm seeking out self care it usually involves alcohol, sex, and some other vice that won't get me arrested. I started to picture my comments in the email chain or posts on FB or even the guest blog I might have done on Alexis blog and I giggled manically. Too say the least, all of my thoughts were inappropriate (self-love is in the title...I mean clearly).

I was so tickled by my imaginary scenarios that I almost dismissed participating at all, but I eventually gave it some thought. Although I've been extremely busy in the last few years with job changes and career additions I have found a constant form of self care for myself, writing. As most of you know, I use a pen name because having to explain 1) I don't write porn (if I did I wouldn't need two jobs), 2) sexuality should not be co-oped by men (women actually do enjoy it quite a bit...when done properly), and 3) Let me be great! With my alter ego I've made new and fabulous friends and participated in activities that have helped me grow personally and professionally. Most importantly, I've realized that each time I put my smexy ideas down on paper I'm participating in a form of self care. My imagination has always been an outlet for me, and even if some of the little stories I scribble may never leave the confines of my computer storage, I did something for the sole purpose of making ME happy.

Now, I don't know how active I'll be in this 30 day adventure of self-care (come on Alexis, only so much can be expected from one like myself) but instead of sighing when I think about it, I instead smile and know I'm doing my part.

Janet

Lucky Charms

Happy Friday the 13th!

There are some that may not view this day as one of great joy, but as I made my entrance into the world on one, I find each Friday the 13th as a cause for celebration. I've tried to keep the practice of providing you, my lovely audience, with a short little ditty that delves into the creepier aspect of this most glorious day. I'd even had a few little snippets ghosting around in the old noggin, waiting with anticipation to be released into the world. This story was going to be a precursor to October and all of the spooktaculor stories I have planned to release in honor of the most High Holy of days for me. Yep, I had it all worked out and than life happened instead.

Wednesday, Sig Other and I, had to put our two lovely little black cats to rest. Intellectually I knew 17 and 16 year old kitties could not live forever. Their little bodies could only take so much and over the last several years I'd "prepared" myself for their passing. Intellectually I'd prepped myself for this day, but emotionally I don't think I could have ever been prepared to lose two little creatures that had been with me the majority of my adult life.

Therefore, for this Friday the 13th I don't have it in me to coast that fine edge of thrill and terror. I have no story to tingle the spine. Instead, on this day when black cats are given a wide birth I embrace the memory of two of the luckiest charms I was very privileged to share my life with. I also wish for you on this day I have found to be so special, may you find such luck, love, and joy in your life.

Janet

             

Make over time!

Hello Lovelies,

If you've been a devoted follower of mine you'll have noticed I've changed the blog again. If you're not, well, it's still a surprise for you too. Not only have I changed it BUT I have a very lovely banner designed by my very talented friend Bree Archer. I'm super excited because it makes one feel quite like a proper author. The excitement doesn't end there of course, because the Contemporary Romance I wrote with another very talented friend of mine, Reana Malori, has had a cover make over and is up at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I've included it in the blog for your viewing pleasure along with the blurb.

Here's a hint though, when it comes to make overs, there are still more surprises to come. *smirk*

Janet

Camden Turner has his life right on track. He lives in a great town with a small business that keeps him in the black, doing what he loves. He's convinced he has everything he wants until he realizes he doesn't have what he really needs, Lexie Martin.

Lexie Martin has left the hustle and bustle of Bay Area California for the quiet simplicity of Falling Falls, Colorado. Her small business is often times more play than work and she couldn't be happier until she realizes, happiness is subjective until you have someone to spend it with.

Will Lexie and Camden realize that falling into love isn't as painful as it sounds or will they keep on their separate paths?

Bad Boys and Naughty Things

Hey Sweets!

I've made it through the week and am feeling extremely lazy today. It's surprising, my lazy mood, (sort of) because yesterday I revisited a WIP I'd started with a very asshole dragon. He's so smug and annoying I just want to punch him in the throat. Ugh...just thinking about that stupid smirk he has is just...he's just so...sigh did I mention he's really hot. Bastard. Yeah, well he is. 

If that wasn't bad enough I've got this mysterious villain whispering all these dark and dangerous things he wants to do. It's actually quite annoying because he's just lurking in the shadows and not giving me a hint of just how bad he is and will these dark and dangerous things he alludes to be hazardous to my yet to be created heroine.

Sigh...maybe I'm not lazy after all. MAYBE it's just fatigue. 

Bastards.

Janet

California Shenanigans with Nikki Winter

Hello My Lovelies!


If you've been following me on Twitter and Facebook you've read about the shenanigans author Nikki Winter and I have had over the past week. I love my city (Los Angeles) and having folks come to visit is always fun. Our week long excursion through the city and eventual trip to Disneyland got documented and as always sharing is caring.



Janet

Getting the word out!

Glad Tidings!

The 4th of July has come and gone, but the firework extravaganza that happens in my neighborhood is still lingering (they've been setting them off since May and are still enamored by fire in the sky) and I'm finding it difficult to fall asleep (shocking). With two new releases out I thought I'd spend some time searching for places to promo while I wait patiently for the fire bugs supplies to dwindle or a house catches fire (I could use some hottie firemen as inspiration). What I'm soon discovering is there is just so much out there. From professional sites, semi professional blogs, to folks that just like to read. I love it all but I must confess I'm a bit overwhelmed.

I believe this has a lot to do with the fact the two new releases I have are just so different. Slow Hand and Fire & Ice are examples of how eclectic I am as a writer. I took some risks with both of them and like a mother with her children, don't love either one more than the other, but damn they really are making me work to promo them.

Fire & Ice in particular has me biting my lip and wondering, "Now what am I going to do with you?" If Slow Hand had me exploring the boundaries of my erotic writing skills, Fire & Ice is a story that required strong character development and emotional upheaval. I want readers to sigh and cry and quite possibly shake their fist at me as they threaten bodily harm when reading Fire & Ice. If my writing is a flower, Fire & Ice is the bud that will eventually blossom into the type of stories I want to tell more of. Longer (as God as my witness I will write a novel length book one day), mystery element to the story, and darker with a light at the end of the tunnel eventually. I'm really excited for Fire & Ice and want to make sure it gets the attention it deserves as my special baby (okay no favorites but sometimes you do have one that particularly special).

The clock is rapidly raising towards early morning and I unfortunately have to work. So I'm going to put my musings out into the universe and wait patiently for answers to come to me in time. Until then, I plan to keep writing this crazy mixed up brand of prose I enjoy.

Janet

My Newest Babies!

Good Times and Great People

Hello My Lovelies!

I'm sitting in the airport, awaiting my flight to take me back home and I'm still riding the high of an extraordinary weekend. If you haven't seen my posts on Twitter and Facebook you've missed out on my updates of shenanigans from the Beautiful Trouble Publishing Greet and Eat, but don't feel too bad, I'm sure they'll make a fictionalized (wink wink) appearance in a work of mine down in the future.

What I take away the most from the event was the sense of community that was created by the women (and few men) in the room. It is always great to be in the company of folks that love a good story. This love was expressed with a gracious spirit that had participants, both authors and readers, respecting, listening, and learning from each other. It is rare to be in such company and having experienced it I will cherish the memories of the event even more.

Next years Greet and Eat will be in Austin, Texas and I can't wait to see how much higher we can raise the bar.

Janet

Happy Father's Day Daddies of the world!!!

Hola Papas!

I would be remiss if I acknowledged Mother's Day and not Father's Day. Unfortunately, unlike Mother's Day I don't have a Father's Day poem to highlight the beautifully complicated relationship one has with their father. Which got me to wondering, why is it that I don't? My father was their for all my milestones, angst, and general life stuff that happens when growing up. He kissed boo boos, helped build forts, and made fish sticks that were just crispy enough. My love of sci-fi and those things strange and peculiar are a directive product of his influence. I think the greatest contribution he has given me is having not put me in a box or isolate me on a pedestal because I am his female child, with words and actions that discount my ability to think and reason or control and stifle my sexuality because I was born with a vagina. 

With his most famous words of wisdom, "She's going to do what she wants. I know I raised her right and I want to always be there in her life." I leave you with no poem for the Father's today just a great deal of appreciation for those Dads like mine that let us be who we are meant to be because they know they had a big part in shaping us.

Happy Father's Day!

Janet

I scream, you scream...

Welcome my beauties!

This is another late night blog because sleep and I are not on speaking terms currently. Don't be too upset, we've been having this on again/off again relationship for quite some time. Instead of staring at the backs of my eyelids for hours or giggling at the nonsensical responses Sig Other makes when I try to engage him in a conversation while he's sleeping (yes I'm childish at times), I thought I would do a little plotting. Considering I'm super committed to this new writing strategy it seemed like the best way to utilize the time that should be spent sleeping. Unfortunately, I got side tracked and began looking up symptoms of possible diseases/infections/cancers I may have. Needing to take a break before I ended up convincing myself I needed something amputated I decided to look at work of mine that would benefit from a little TLC when it came to promotion.

This has been on my checklist for quite some time and after narrowing down my book Into the Realm of Mystery and Night  as a great candidate I sent out a call for places to showcase what I happen to think is a damn good collection of mysteriously horrific short stories. I was so enamored with my own prose that I began to contemplate why everyone else wasn't as stoked by what goes bump in the night. Maybe my stories really aren't as fiendishly clever as I thought, but that strong sense of self confidence I possess (that dances along a fine edge of delusional at times) dismissed that completely. Instead I looked at where I pushed it and how.

I'm an eclectic person and it's not surprising that my writing reflects that, but where I spend my time in social media is usually firmly housed in the romance genre. There is a spectrum in this genre but usually the blood curdling screams readers are anticipating are induced by mind blowing orgasms, not a psychotic ghost (or at least that's the response I've gotten) and I need to find the folks that scream with excited anticipation of something scary about to happen. Which has left me feeling as if I need to do a little screaming of my own, "Oi! Come out, come out wherever you are. I'm here, but in a totally non creepy way, I just want to play with you."

Janet

It's the journey, not the destination.

Greetings Lovelies,

As I wait for my body to recover from the punishment of doing 125 crunches (yes I am suffering from temporary insanity, with summer being the onset of symptoms) I started thinking about a WIP I've been plotting. While I was going over character descriptions, what type of arch I'm trying to achieve and a whole host of things folks do whilst plotting I had a moment. "Omigod! I'm actually plotting something."

Although I can get obsessed with useless details of a story, actual plotting is so out of my stratosphere. In a recent blog I did for Mocha Memoirs Press I discussed those obsessive details that clutter my mind and though I've shelved my epic sci-fi thing (I'll get to it eventually) I've actually taken my time with my newest idea. It's equal parts exciting and scary because I have always carried the entirety of a story in my head, but this time it appears as if I won't cut corners when it's time to transfer it from my noggin to paper. 

I'm ever so optimistic and I ask you all to wish me luck. I'd suggest you hold me accountable to this new philosophy, but when pressured my latent adolescent behavior surfaces and I become petulant, muttering under my breath, "This is stupid and I don't want to do it." I'm special like that.

Anyhoo, here's to the journey and not the destination. May it be filled with a plot that makes sense, smexy sexy time, a hero and heroine you can root for, and word count that has me comfortably sitting in the novel section. 

Janet

Happy Mother's Day, You Fabulous Women!!

Hola Beautiful!

It's Mother's Day and I'm patiently waiting to get the day started with my own dear mother. I've been fortunate that, even with the trials and tribulations of adolescents, and some differing of opinions on that thing called life, my mother and I can still enjoy being with each other. That may be an odd thing to reflect on when it comes to the person that gave you life (I include adoptive mother's in that term because the care and nurturing of a child is life giving) but at the end of the day we are two individuals that make a choice to build a relationship with each other. I've known quite a few people both personally and professionally that can't say the same. Their relationships are often built on guilt, shame, or obligation and at it's worst, severed because loving one's child or mother is based on a condition that doesn't acknowledge the unique autonomy of each individual.

So, though my mother may drive me crazy and I may drive her to tears on occasion, we can still laugh and look at who we have become together, and enjoy that process and the one yet to come. I wish all the people in the world that have been blessed to have that experience of still choosing your mother a joyous day, and for those that don't physically have her with them, a joyous day as well, for honoring the choice you were able to have.

I've included a poem I wrote for my mother last year and I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought that wacky lady I still call "Mommy".

Happy Mother's Day!!

Janet

My Mommy

Unedited and copyrighted by Janet Eckford

My Mommy

How do I describe someone that has always been mine

I’ve never had another,

And it seems strange to give voice,

Explanation, or expression to someone that has always existed

But I’ll try

My Mommy

When I was a little girl, was a power house of energy and purpose

Strong arms and soft kisses,

Whispered I love yous as I slept

“Can you read it one more time, Mommy”,

Seemed to always slip from my lips

Tight little ponytails, that tried to stay neat,

But couldn’t resist the bend of my will

Pink and purple dresses of lace and frill

And blue little corduroy pants for when I couldn’t keep still.

“Yes” and “Thank you” and “Please a little more”

Woven into my vocabulary by my watchful mother hen

Cluck, cluck, clucking her praise for her bright little chick

My Mommy

When I was a teenager was the woman that stared in awe and amazement

At the little girl who disappeared

Now there was angst

And, “Mommy, you just don’t understand.”

Friends and cars carried me to freedom

Beyond the safe little walls of home

I was a person

I had a purpose

And, “Mommy, this is not a phase!”

Was the mantra of who I thought I was

But words of wisdom that were hard to hear stayed ever present

And whispered I love yous while I slept filled my ears

Even when I pretended not to hear

My Mommy

Now I’m an adult

A woman

Ha, a word I still struggle associating with me

That woman, the power house of energy and purpose

That woman, is so small

She sees me, her creation of time, energy, strong arms and soft kisses

Words of rebuke and praise

Little girl grown up

Left to explore different shores

The mommy of my adult years is a person

With foibles and strength

Sometimes paralyzed by fear and insecurity

Another woman I must relate to

But often fail with harsh words spoken from misunderstanding

The nature of what we’ve become

Yet, some things remain the same

No longer whispered I love yous while I sleep

But calls of “I just wanted to hear your voice”

Happiness to see my face

Pride in who I am

Even if the process of being me is hard for her to comprehend

My Mommy

Will always be mine

And I will always be her "me"

To be short or not to be short, that is the question.

Bueno!

I've been quite the busy bee and haven't had much time for writing. I've sent Fire and Ice off to be edited and that is it's usual grueling process, but alas my muse has decided to take a hiatus. I'm not that worried because we have some what of an open relationship. When we are together, it's magical, bursts of creativity and excitement. When we are apart, I miss the company, but find other things to occupy my time.

Currently, I've been thinking about my craft and my dedication to writing short stories. While visiting with a writer friend of mine that also writes short stories (if a bit more high brow than my sexy times) we started to lament the fact that people just don't understand what a short story is. There are often complaints that it's too short, or it was read in a short amount of time, or there needed to be more character development. I'll confess I've always found those complaints confusing because, those things are how I always defined a short story. I'm not in the habit of citing Wikipdedia when constructing a critique but their page on the short story was actually really good at encapsulating what I'd always thought and found confusing when others didn't see it my way when it came to the short story. Not that people have to agree with me all the time, but clearly...

Yet, critique is always a good thing and even when my view and others clashes I like to take the time to look at it from their perspective. So while my muse is off peddling it's wares with some other creator of prose I'm looking at why I've chosen the short story as a medium to showcase my talent, and focus on how I can make it that much better.

Janet

If you've got something nice to say...

Greetings Readers,

I don't think it's much of a surprise if I confess to being an avid reader. It is a passion I have sustained since I could actually decipher words in my Sesame Street books. Now what you may find odd is I often think of my reading choices as a deeply personal thing. I'm of the mindset that either I like the book or I don't. When I like a book I'll usually tell a friend, follow the author, and on occasion I've been known to become obsessed with said author. When I don't like a book I'll usually tell a friend, chastise the author whilst scowling at my Kindle, and on occasion I've been known to become obsessed with how that person got published.

When I first started my blog I had high hopes of reviewing books, and actually dedicated a few posts to said reviews. My interest in reviewing quickly waned because I'm very much an, "if I don't have something nice to say, I don't say anything at all" kind of gal when it comes to reviewing (have to put that caveat in because I can talk mad shit about folks at times). Therefore, when I started looking at my reviews I noticed they could be construed as favoritism. For me that didn't sit well, particularly as an author. I know that I talk at length at how inappropriate I can be, and if you have ever spent time with me in either cyber space or the real world you know it's true, but I'm also a very ethical person. I believe in transparency and fairness and at some point when I thought about doing reviews on my blog I (this is my personal choice and I am not throwing shade at those that do it) couldn't reconcile being an author that also reviews.

Now when one decides something, that's usually when the Universe comes along and goes, "Ah ha!". In my case it was my decision to join a reading challenge for a group I'm a member of on Goodreads. I'd never been keen on joining reading challenges because 1) in my personal Goodreads account I only ever communicate with my friends and have the account set to private 2) in my author Goodreads account I only ever use it to communicate with fans and don't have any books on my bookshelf. It was the proverbial what shall I do, that required a friend going, "Oi! You will do this!". Okay, she didn't really say that but there was a push to step out of my comfort zone and I did do it and I thoroughly enjoyed.

Yet, there was a catch. I had to do a rating for the two books I was given. Gah! Books that are in the same genre that I write in. Gah Squared! What to do? What to do indeed! Well I've added them to my very lonely bookshelf and will ponder what the ratings shall be and probably obsess a great deal more than necessary.

BUT first I'll at least include them in this blog with the caveat of, "I liked it." Actually I liked them quite a bit. I was able to relate to the heroines and the hero's were deliciously sexy. There were parts that irked me but over all I found the plots to be enjoyable and the sexy time nicely woven in. I finished each book with a smile and a contented sigh. Quite like the same response I get after being well fed. Which means I will tell a friend, follow the authors, and probably become quite obsessed with said authors. Also, it now seems I'll be rating them as well. Gah to the Third Power!

Janet

Bleacke's Geek
Lesli Richardson

When girl meets geek, the fur’s gonna fly.

Dewi Bleacke is a no-nonsense Prime Alpha wolf. As head Enforcer of the Targhee pack, she’s in charge of Florida. Her assignment is to kill a dirtbag who sold his daughter. She doesn’t expect to find her handsome, albeit geeky, soulmate in the process.

Dr. Heathcliff McKenzie Ethelbert lives a quiet, boring life. A professor at USF, he has no girlfriend, no car, and is a devout vegetarian. So when a mysterious woman with mocha eyes literally drags him out of his booth and then proceeds to have her way with him, it’s not his average night out. When she follows their sexy interlude by abducting him after killing a man, he suspects life has just taken a drastically odd turn.

Now Dewi, her partner Beck, and her surrogate father Badger, have to educate her new “grazer” mate on the ways of the Targhee wolves. “Ken” does his best to fit in. But an old killer lurks in the shadows--the wolf who murdered Dewi’s parents. Can she keep Ken safe, or will her mate prove to everyone that he’s a lot more than just Dewi Bleacke’s geek?

Vanilla on Top
C.J. Ellisson

Discover your inner bad girl, and set her free...

Heather Pierce is done being a wallflower, both personally and professionally. Desperate to live a different life for one night, she attends a speed dating event. Maybe here, anonymous unless she chooses otherwise, she can become someone new. When a man way out of her league sits across from her, Heather gathers her courage and takes charge of what she wants, secretly fearing he won't desire the real person she's desperate to hide.

Top acquisitions officer and international playboy Tony Carmine is about to close the biggest deal of his career. But then he meets Heather at a speed dating event...and discovers losing control may be exactly what he needs. Her blossoming sensuality occupies his every thought, consuming him with the need to possess the most intriguing lover he's ever encountered--until he walks into the boardroom and sees Heather on the other side of the negotiating table.

When authors make me love them more..

Ahoy!

Today has not been a splendid Monday, (which is pretty much an oxymoron) and I am not the happiest of campers (which is an interesting analogy as I am never happy while camping) and decided I needed to read a story that has a heroine with heavy artillery or a sword. Why you may ask, because reading is an escape that allows me to live vicariously through the character. When I'm in a smexy mood I want to read about incredibly sexy men lavishing ordinary women with sexual attention that acknowledges the goddess that exists in all women. When I'm particularly angsty I'll pick up some YA and read about a teenage girl that is weighted down my the oppressive constraints of a society that just "doesn't get her" and when I'm annoyed, pissed off at situations outside of my control, I want to read about a woman that picks up her high powered rifle, or big ass sword and yells, "bring it on" to the world.

So I set out on a quest because I knew one of the authors I adore is coming out with a new release and I desperately needed a kick ass chick in my life. But because this was a Monday that had decided to keep its greedy little claws firmly latched into my soft underbelly, my kick ass chick reading is delayed for another day. Shaking my fist in the air at the unfairness of release dates that do not adhere to my timetable I decided to go explore said authors site.

Now if you follow me on FB, Twitter or any of the other social networking sites where I proudly display my level of neurosis you've come to understand how obsessive I can be about things I like, and people are not excluded from this obsession. I'm not going to say I stalk, because that would be illegal and therefore stupid to admit to in such a public forum, but I will say I become heavily involved in researching my newest person of interest. Work has kept me busy and I'd scaled back on my fangirl behavior when it' come to Seanan McGuire's (this is the author I'm about to spend an embarrassing and lengthy amount of time gushing over) blog. She is also the author that's book is not adhering to my release timetable (shameful) and I had to appease my ire with catching up on her witty commentary.

Low and behold whilst going through past blogs I discover a post that has me contemplating naming my next pet after her (no children for me but this is the highest honor one can receive besides becoming my imaginary spouse, and I wouldn't want to freak her out if I just wife her without prior contact, therefore the naming of my furry children seems far less crazy...it makes sense in my head) and beaming with pride.

I'm going to link the post because it is far too lovely for me to summarize BUT I will say as a person that has half naked women (and men) on her covers because peeps are all about being naked between the pages, this was a brilliant analysis (and possibly minor rant) on societal perceptions of women's bodies and cover art.

Just brilliant and even if I didn't get my sword or high powered rifle I'm still left with an adrenaline buzz and the need to shout...pa...pa...pa...POW!

Janet

Time on my hands...

Hola Beautifuls,

I've finished expanding parts on my WIP Fire and Ice and am letting it sit awhile to see if I'm really ready to let it go to edits. Therefore, I have a little time on my hands and no inclination to do anything with it. Well except pen excerpts from stories I have no intention of completing. But at least I share.

Enjoy,

Janet

Untitled and unedited BUT copyrighted by Janet Eckford

His fingertips lazily trail along the curve of my arm, mapping the texture of my skin, and I resist the urge to giggle as the touch tickles ever so slightly. This is not the time for giggles of course and I remain still so those teasing fingertips of his can explore other contours of my frame.

"You are so soft."

His whispered words at the nap of my neck causes my skin to tingle with anticipation of the feel of his lips in the same location. I sigh softly and fit myself tighter in the spoon of our bodies pressed closely together. His hand seems to have become jealous of his wondering fingertips and splays itself across my bare hip, claiming more purchase of the skin it finds so intriguing.

"I love the feel of you."

He shifts as he whispers the words and I am struck with the thought of how I love the feel of him too, especially when he is fit snugly inside of me.

P.S I Love You

Greetings lovers of the world.

Valentines Day is here and if you follow me through any of the varied social media accounts I'm attached to you know I'm usually quite meh about the day. After all my birthday is the day before and I find it hard to get excited about a day that centers around love when still experiencing the afterglow of being adored and worshipped. BUT I eventually play along and acknowledge the hearts and Cupid's arrows flittering about and decide to throw my hat in the ring.

As I type this I'm standing in an airport about to embark on one of the many trips I take for work, watching the people around me chit chat, sleep, or any number of the things travelers do while waiting to leave on their trip. Frankly there isn't much love in the air and my muse has risen up to the challenge, whispering a little interlude between lovers. I present it to you all with good wishes and blessings for love and happiness.

Janet

Unedited and untitled Valentine's Day Story

When I open the front door I'm greeted by a plume of smoke and a harried cat fleeing the confines of the house. The sound of classic rock streams out closely after the smoke and my lips hitch up in a tiny smile. I have had a hard day, that is just an extension of a harder week but the burnt aroma of food seems to lift the cloak of exhaustion that has settled upon my shoulders.

Stepping over the threshold I see the living room has been tidied and the hardwood floors are shiny. Someone has been busy and my heart warms at the effort that was taken to accomplish this. We are a busy couple that is always picking up and going to some part of the country or world for work and today I didn't expect it to be any different. Cards with red hearts and sappy poems are usually exchanged with dinner and wine. If we are in the same place there may be lovemaking but more often than not one or both of us are content with a peck on the cheek and warmly spooned bodies snuggled under the covers. It seems there are prices to be paid for professional success but we are confident in the unit that we have created and solider on with what needs to be done

As I walk further into the little house that has become our pride and joy, see the large bouquet of wild flowers and the candle arrangement sitting in the middle of our dinning room table, I realize that I've missed these little niceties and wonder why we have started cutting corners.

My love rushes out of the kitchen and halts abruptly once he sees me.

"You're home early."

The accusatory tone of his voice cause me to chuckle. I step forward and am immediately folded in his arms. He smells of the burnt remains of whatever he was trying to cook in the kitchen and it is the sexiest he has ever smelled to me.

"I had it all planned out," he sighs softly.

Rubbing the tip of my nose under his chin, I smile at how sweetly foolish this man is.

"It's perfect," I whisper before I kiss the underside of his jaw.

"That's because you love me," he chuckles.

"No, it's because you love me," I pull back and look into his eyes.

It seems tonight there will be more than a peck on the cheek and warmly spooned bodies.

Who's Hungry?

Hello Lovelies,

I've been a busy bee with the day job and feel as if I've had to neglect my alter ego and all the zany things I get into while being Janet Eckford. BUT because I'm a bit of an over achiever I still found time to write a very short short for Ms. Shara Azod and I know y'all (I've been spending time in the south) will enjoy it.

Check it out!

Janet

Sometimes the typical Happily Ever After isn't what you're looking for. Sometimes you want it quick. You want it erotic. You want it dirty. Sometimes you. Want. It. Now. Sometimes, you want something to make you sWet.

Hungry. Mia's so hungry. Every moment that passes is a silent but deadly battle to leash her darker side, to resist the urge to return to her old life where all that mattered was the hunt; where she reveled in being the very definition of a predator. She's managed to succeed in locking her primal needs away. That is, until Galen finds her again. Now not only is her need to hunt being tested but so is her need to be caught...by him...

The road to rewrites is paved with good intentions.

Hello Dear Readers,

In my exuberance to release a book that was darker and longer than most of my other stuff I realized I'd jumped the gun. After almost three years of writing and rewriting and placing the story on hold I realized in the edits that it still wasn't where I need it to be. Now don't get me wrong, this isn't going to drag out forever but I looked at it and thought, this could be better. It's a bit disappointing for me because I'm all about immediate gratification and once I'd written The End I wanted it to be the end. No more laboring about word choices, no more pondering if that scene or that scene was good. When I'm done I'm done and eagerly await my next literary adventure.

But it seems one of the things I will continue to develop this year is patience, particularly when it comes to my writing. I have all these great stories that ramble around in my head but when I go to sit down and write them my ADD tendencies kick in and I go for the easy fix and cut them down to the least amount of words I need to get to The End. It's not really fair to my creative process to continue doing this and as I've looked at what I want to accomplish in 2013, I've decided I'm going to have to stop approaching my writing process like a first grader hyped up on Pixy Stix. Therefore, patience is a virtue I plan to cajole and woo until she decides in fact we can be hommies. Probably not besties but folks that can get together for a glass of wine and pleasant conversation.

I've included the picture of the cover as well in this blog because if I find it difficult to hold myself accountable during this process, I'm sure having this blog and subsequent picture staring me in the face screaming, "Oi! Get this finished!", will definitely do the trick.

Janet