Archive by Author

10 things…

23 Feb

you didn’t know about Sheet Music:

10) I began Sheet Music while in college after worming my way into a backstage pass at a Peter Gabriel concert. (No, David Tallis is in no way based on Gabriel.)

9) It took me 15 years to get around to finishing the version of the story that became this book. What can I say? I’m a slow learner!

8) My now ex-husband originally turned me on to Ellora’s Cave (who ultimately published the novel) in 2002, shortly after they arrived on the publishing scene. I didn’t submit a query to them until December of 2009. Again, I’m slow.

7) Of all my heroes, I trust David Tallis the least (the scoundrel), but would sleep with him first. The man has MAD skills!

6) I didn’t picture writing a sequel to the book until a crit partner mentioned having the hots for David’s ex MI-5 security specialist, Gunter Faust. (Undercover Lover is coming soon from Ellora’s Cave!)

5) The book is my third novel, but my first accepted for publication.

4) While the plot resembles nothing of Notting Hill, several readers have commented on the similarity in “feel” between Sheet Music and the movie. Notting Hill is, in fact, my favorite movie, and I never mentioned anything of the sort. Eerie.

3) I interviewed several male friends in order to be able to vividly write the steamy love scenes that occur from David’s point of view. I’m amazed their wives still allow them to speak to me.

2) David is the only character I’ve written who has openly argued with me as I wrote, trying to direct and control every aspect of his story. Arrogant man.

1) I fully intend to have a drink at the Ritz Rivoli bar the next time I’m in London. A delusional little corner of my mind expects David to ravish me in his hotel suite afterward. Hey, a gal can dream!

Acting Out Excerpt

8 Feb

It’s my day to blog and I have a cold. Rather than ramble at you with medicine-induced nonsense, how about I treat you to an excerpt from chapter three of Acting Out? It’s my upcoming release from Loose Id and the follow-up novel to No Apologies.

Somehow, I didn’t think you’d mind. But that might just be the cold medicine talking… *wink*

Blurb

Jeremy Ash, aspiring actor, is single, gorgeous…and openly, quietly gay. When he lands a starring role opposite America’s favorite former child star, 21-year old Kit Harris, he’s ecstatic and more than a little attracted to the enigmatic star.

Kit Harris’s career has been flagging and his agent promises this new film, an edgy coming out story with a famed director, is just the thing to get it back on track. The problem is that the film is relatively intimate in nature, and Kit’s definitely not gay. He’s not even slightly bent.

When the two men collide in a crushing first kiss that leaves both gasping for air, Kit’s left reeling and Jeremy’s left wanting. And that was just the audition. When filming starts and the two men are brought into close proximity every day, passions ignite and souls collide–both on screen and off. The two men find that the only way to assuage their mutual lust is to give in to it. Kit’s sure this strange new attraction will run its course; Jeremy’s hoping it never has to end.

But when a manipulative model obtains salacious film footage of the two men in bed, Kit’s prepared to do whatever it takes to save his career. But how far is too far to push the boundaries of love and how long can one man hide from himself?

Excerpt

(more…)

Smart is so sexy!

26 Jan

Hot GeekHiya. It’s Regina Cole. I’m new around here. Question for you guys:

Have you ever met a guy that was completely gorgeous? Chiseled jaw, piercing eyes, perfectly tousled hair, tall, muscular, the picture of perfection? What happens when he opens his mouth and says, “Hay babe, you wan’ go git somethin’ ta eat?”

Obviously, if you don’t live here in the sticks with me, he might sound a little different.

“Hey babe, how’s you like to git wit me?”
“Hi sexy, you broked your wings when you falled outta heaven, amirite?”

I don’t know about you, but for me, when I hear that? It knocks about eight points off the hotness factor. The heat that started to build disappears faster than a Cinnabon at my house. (HANDS OFF. YOU WILL DRAW BACK A NUB IF YOU TOUCH MY ‘BON.)

Then think again. You meet a guy who’s nice looking, but kind of average. When he opens his mouth and says things like,Dear Addi by Regina Cole “Hello. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve got two PhD’s.” I get all melty inside. INSTANT gain of twelve points on the hotness factor. Suddenly that average height got a little taller, and those muscles got a little bigger. Is that a calculator in your pocket, or are you just happy to meet me?

BUT, if you take guy A, remove his brain, and insert guy B’s instead?
Congratulations. You just hit the lottery. THAT, or you’ve met Jackson Poole, star of DEAR ADDI.

Smart guys are so sexy. What about you guys? Do smart guys turn you on? Give me your favorite smartie hotties in the comments. ;) And if you want to read more about Jackson, Dear Addi is available on Ellora’s Cave, Amazon, Barnes and Noble.

Ciao!

Regina

Old York

11 Jan

Heaven in Old York

I took this snapshot on a magical night in 2008 when I looked toward the heavens for the first time and realized there were stars and a moon and magic in the air in a world supposedly only made of bits and bytes.

Housed on a server perhaps thousands of miles form my corporeal self, Old York was the creation of Roland Wampers in Second Life. I wandered its buildings and hidden grotto with a sense of wonder for weeks on end.

When I met the creator himself, he carefully kept his identity hidden from me at first. He wanted to know what I thought of his creation and didn’t want to scare me off from an honest answer. What did I say? Well, I gushed.

I remember saying something about feeling as if I’d stepped inside someone else’s imagination. How they’d managed to paint a 3-D picture of their inner world I could step into and experience while standing next to them. It was like walking through someone else’s dream.

Discovering Old York will forever stand out as a flash point for creativity in my own life. Like so many civilizations, it’s gone now and these snapshots are all that remain, along with many fond memories. I still mourn its loss. It’s the same sense of loss I feel each time I finish writing a novel.

While writing, I create a world and its inhabitants–paint a picture in my mind’s eye. Put it out into the world to share. Then, for me, that experience evaporates, leaving only a memory and a shadow of something wonderful on the page. A novel is like this snapshot–an imprint of my experience in the universe I inhabited for a short while. My only link from my imagination to you.

When we begin to create, it’s for ourselves. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how my characters will play out on the screen of someone else’s experience. While I don’t know for sure, I’m betting Roland didn’t think about it at first either. For my part, it’s too mind boggling and weighty a responsibility to contemplate that what I’ve written might affect someone else as profoundly as Roland’s work in Second Life affected me and my desire to create.

Our experiences form the sum of who we are, and without my days and nights dreaming in Old York during an otherwise turbulent time in my life I’m not certain I would have become the author I am today. I am guessing I passed on a little of Roland’s legacy to Nara Malone who now keeps a residence of her own in Second Life, and who has taken the journey into virtual worlds much deeper than I ever did. I admire her for that, and am a little in awe of her creations.

We never know how we will inspire others. Or when. Or exactly when that spark will pass from us to another, or from them to us. When it does happen, it can be the stuff of dreams. It’s a weighty responsibility, this act of creating, but one that I’m glad so many of us keep venturing to attempt. Each time we do, we share a bit of that spark of what makes us human as we reach to touch the divine.

As I finish the follow-up novel to No Apologies, titled Acting Out, this weekend I’m entering the phase of creation where I snip that golden thread and begin the journey of handing the story over to you. I hope the journey it takes you on will be as joyful and transcendent as it has for me. At times turbulent but never dull, Acting Out is everything I hoped for when I stared up at a night sky in Old York and dreamed of the ability to bring my own worlds to life.

Hollywood Magic

29 Dec

So far, my published novels have all been set either in or on the fringes of the entertainment industry. Growing up, I wanted to be an actress or a writer. I read voraciously and watched movies and television in brain rotting quantities. Gossip magazines and entertainment shows were my guilty pleasure, and I admit to still being drawn to them.

When I moved to New York City in 1989, I got a theatrical agent within three weeks. Had my pictures (head shots) taken. Then left New York within two months. Why? Because I found the world of acting a very harsh reality for my twenty year old self. People I didn’t know pretended to be my friends or tried to sabotage my successes. While this whirlwind experience seemed a waste at the time, the cynicism developed then provides a great foundation for my characters now.

In short, I’m writing what I know. Am I a Hollywood insider? No way! Would I want to be? Well…secretly, yes, but I know I’m a little too “real” for most A-listers to take. I tend, with Yankee frankness, to say what I think and mean what I say. I’d last about five minutes in that town. Possibly less. Still, a girl can dream about going to the Academy Awards and rubbing elbows with great directors.

Ah…directing. Now that I’m all grown up (sort of), my dreams have morphed from acting to directing. It makes perfect sense, really. With directing, I’d be in charge of the interpretation of the story coming to you on that big screen. I could create vibrant worlds from nothing. Know that the smile or scream you experienced came in part from me.

Except I’d have little creative control over content. Unless I wrote the script myself. Which sounds…and is…an awful lot like writing novels. Which is where I ended up. Ultimately, writing novles allows me to direct, act, create control, and experience my stories to an even greater degree than acting or directing.

A part of me becomes my characters as I write them. I experience their emotions. I mold their future. When I write dialogue, I hear it in my mind. Sometimes I read and act the scene I’ve written to help me hear its rhythm. On the movie screen of my mind’s eye I construct the scenery. Point of view becomes my camera angle. Lighting is the mood I paint. In short, for me it’s a fully-realized sensory and emotional experience by the time you hold the resulting pages.

When you read my work you bring to the story your own experiences. Your own camera angles and moods. My job as an author is to bring us as close together as possible for the duration of the story, while still allowing you to experience what is important for your journey. If, as individuals with separate lives and experiences, we are too far apart, you probably won’t like my genre or my story. When we click, however, it’s as if a grand romance begins between us and we waltz together across the page from beginning to end.

No experience could be better, richer, or more full of Hollywood magic. So, yeah. I’m glad I ended up here, dancing with you.

~ Tibby

Leap of Faith by Kristin Daniels

15 Dec

Please join Passionate Reads in welcoming Ellora’s Cave author, Kristin Daniels, as she shares some trademark steam from her sexy release Leap of Faith!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Leap of FaithDo you believe in magic? How about fate? Or meant to be?

Mia Bryant doesn’t believe in any of that nonsense. As the heroine of my book, Leap of Faith, she’s more of a facts and figures kind of girl. Hard work is what she believes in. That’s the only thing that’s gotten her to where she is now—which is this close to landing the job of her dreams.

It’s also made her lonely as hell.

That loneliness, combined with the recent passing of her beloved grandmother, has Mia feeling more than a bit off-kilter. Throw into the mix a beautiful—yet charmed—3-strand pearl choker which she inherits from her grandmother along with an unexplained sizzling draw toward a man she just met, and she’s not so sure she hasn’t lost her mind.

It’s up to Logan Thomas to prove to her that she hasn’t.

Sure, Logan’s a believer in destiny. But he also knows that chance is not the only reason he wants Mia. He feels the same crazy pull she does, yet doesn’t spend even a second trying to fight it. He can’t get enough of her, which becomes a problem when she starts throwing up road blocks at every turn. But Logan’s tenacious. He refuses to let her consider that the blazing need they feel for each other is anything other than the real deal.

He’s determined to show her that when it comes right down to it, sometimes all you need is a little trust, a little lust, and the courage to go ahead take a… Leap of Faith.

Blurb:

When her grandmother bequeaths her a black pearl choker, Mia’s intrigued. Even more mysterious is the note accompanying the gift, telling Mia her heart will know when she should wear the necklace. And it does. As she dresses to attend a company party, Mia somehow knows it’s time to don the choker.

When Mia meets Logan at the party, their mutual lust is instantaneous. Only after the man gives her an unexpected, mind-blowing orgasm under the full moon does Mia learn Logan is vying for the same promotion she’s worked so hard to win. Despite that, their smoldering attraction remains, urging them to indulge in further pleasures of the flesh. Then they discover the small charm hanging from the choker’s clasp—a charm engraved with a love spell.

Are their sizzling desires nothing more than a magical push from her grandmother? Mia will have to take a leap of faith to discover if Logan is The One.

Excerpt:

A moment of silence hung between them, but the feeling wasn’t uncomfortable. Logan felt like he didn’t need to rush anything with her. So why the hell he blurted out his next words without a second of forethought, he didn’t have the slightest clue.

“I want to kiss you.”

He’d caught her just as off guard with that statement as he’d caught himself. She lifted an eyebrow and held her breath. “What?”

“I know, I know. It’s crazy, right? But ever since you dropped your plate at my feet, I’ve been dying… Your lips… All I can think about is kissing you. It’s as if I’m being…”

“Drawn—” she said.

“Drawn—” he said at the exact same moment. He inched closer, feeling that pull, that crazy tug all at once and everywhere in his body—his head, his heart and places further south. “Yes. It’s…”

“Strong,” she finished.

He nodded. “Strong. Definitely.” No doubt in his mind. He’d never experienced a pull so powerful. His lips itched to take hers. His hands shook so badly with a need to caress her skin, he thought he’d choke. He hardened just from another quick glance at her lips. “Maybe we should—”

“Test it and see…” she offered.

“Yeah, a test.”

He leaned in closer, tentatively, gauging her even though she was the one to suggest they try it out. When she held her ground and didn’t budge, he pressed his lips against hers. They came together softly at first. Then a hunger, an inexplicable craving, overtook him. He couldn’t stop himself from sliding in further on the bench until their bodies collided. Nor could he hold back from wrapping his arms around her.

She grabbed on to him at the same instant. Their mouths opened and their breaths mingled. Tongues slid easily against one another. The kiss was overrunning with passion, full of questions without a single answer in sight.

He cupped her nape, holding her close as he tasted her over and over. And she was right there with him, giving as good as she got, delving deeper and driving him crazier.

God, he could stay like this forever. She kissed him like she was born to, and he couldn’t get enough. Torn between his animalistic needs and a more sensible desire to get to know this woman better—not to mention the reason he knew all about her—he ended their little experiment by pulling back with a groan.

He touched his forehead to hers, not missing the fact that both of them were breathing like they’d just swum the English Channel, and done it in record time.

“A successful test, I would say,” he said.

“Yes,” she panted. “Very.”

EC buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9677-leap-of-faith.aspx
Website: www.kristindaniels.com

Worth a thousand words…

1 Dec

Tonight, I finished the final draft of Undercover Lover–the follow up novel to Sheet Music (published by Ellora’s Cave in August of 2010).

In deciding upon scenes to share with you, I came across some of the photos from my trip to Oxford, England in 2009. I used these pics to inspire me as I wrote, and thought it might be fun to post them for you along with the scenes they helped inspire.

I hope you enjoy the magic of Oxford (and Gunter and Jenny!) as much as I do.

~* Scene I *~

He quirked a lopsided smile at her as they neared the tumbled ruins of Godstow Abbey. “Did you know this place was a nunnery and an infamous brothel?”

“Was it now?” she asked, stopping to take it in with an apprising look. “Fancy a look inside?”

Godstow Abbey, Oxford

Godstow Abbey, Oxford

Günter glanced over her shoulder into the abbey’s main enclosure. Their eyes met again and he read her thoughts. She wanted that kiss, and she wanted it now. His belly tightened in a pleasurable rush at the thought of tasting her again.

When he’d kissed her at the range, it had been a test of sorts—to see if he could make her back away from the rough handling she might experience when posing as his lover. That she’d leaned into the experience, relished it with a wild abandon that left her sagging against his knee, had excited him almost past the point of no return. If she hadn’t spoken he would have taken her against the cinderblock wall of the gun range without remembering they had company.

He crowded her through the crumbling stone entry into the wide expanse of winter landscape that had long ago replaced the abbey floor.

Godstow Abbey, Oxford

Godstow Abbey, Oxford

Wide eyed, she stared at him, breath quickening, pulse visible along the expanse of creamy skin where her cherry red scarf had slipped away from her jaw.

His payment might be late, but he’d make it with interest.

Sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the abbey’s gray enclosure. Over the centuries, fallen stones had given the walls a crenulated toothiness which the season decorated with rivers of ice and frothy peaks of snow. The place couldn’t have appeared more like a fairyland, glistening as it did in the precious winter light.

~* Scene II *~

Cradling her cocoa in mittened hands, she brushed away her gloomy thoughts and tried to enjoy what little freedom she’d managed to snatch in the past two weeks. Living in utilitarian conditions under veritable martial law, she’d conformed to every demand MI-5 and Günter made of her. But why?

The man was a martinet. He worked her until she had bruises on her bruises. For what? Not a scrap of praise when he knocked her down five times in a row with the same maneuver, and she managed to dodge him on the sixth go round.

Oxford Doorway

Oxford Doorway

All he said was, “Don’t get cocky. You should have had that on the third try.”

Then he knocked her down again as she stared at him, triumph turning to sawdust in her mouth.

Rounding a corner near the uniquely round Radcliffe Camera building, she took in carved wooden doors sporting burnished brass pulls. Mythical forms and faces peered at her from buildings across the way. The Green Man stared out from one, while Pan—in two carvings meant to support the vestibule roof—played his pipes on either side.

The snow fell more thickly now and she ducked under the tiny shelter to look out over a wrought iron enclosed courtyard. Watching the sun slip behind medieval roofs of green tarnished copper and mossy slate, she knew if there was magic anywhere on earth, it was here.

A bell tower chimed five o’clock, reminding her that Günter probably searched for her. She’d sighed, knowing she’d have to face his wrath when she returned. He expected her to live like a soldier. React like a soldier. But she couldn’t. Not always. Especially not with him.

~* Scene III *~

Bridge of Sighs, Oxford England

Bridge of Sighs, Oxford

They exited the little doorway and climbed noiselessly down the iron stairs into the now clear night. She paused and looked up as they reached the beautiful Bridge of Sighs and made a wish. Looping his arm through hers, he pulled her closer.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, his breath a curl of frozen smoke against the night.

Smiling, she looked up at the Bridge—a glassed-in walkway curving elegantly between two buildings—and answered, “That I want you to kiss me.”

~*~

Stay tuned on on my blog, where I will be posting details on the book release along with more photos, my playlist, and other inspirations in the coming months.

~ Tibby

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