I hope you have a really happy, wonderful, safe, successful, profitable, fun, exciting, heart-warming, delightful new year!

I just started listening to podcasts. How cool! This is the one I’m listening to now: Raven Radio.

Game for Anything by Bella Andre

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Loving it so far. Ty is such a cutie!

View all my reviews.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been craving flats lately. I know, I know…what about sexy heels? Well, they have their time and place of course. But cute flats are totally in. Check these cuties out. Just love the button…

I’m giving away a copy of Portrait of Seduction.

Holy cows. The man could kiss. How had she never discovered that? Obviously, he could kiss. Everyone could. But…he…he could really kiss.

Nat stared up at him as he carried her across the room. He didn’t so much wince at her weight. There were no straining muscles. His biceps were bulging though. Her foot forgotten, she memorized the feel of his strong arms holding her high against his chest.

The look in his eyes told her he wanted to kiss her again. The blue depths held a desire she’d never seen before. A matching desire pooled deep inside her.

Carefully he lowered her to the couch. Her mouth went dry when she came eye-to-crotch with the zipper of his jeans.

“I’ll go get your crutches,” he said and disappeared out the front door before she could say a word. She stared after him, words, lots of words, on her tongue. But she couldn’t form any sentences and it wouldn’t matter even if she were able to.

A minute later she was still staring at the door he’d just exited. Was this all some crazy dream? The slight tingling of her lips told her that it was very much a reality. He had kissed her. More than kissed her…he’d made her melt and feel…feminine. First the kiss, then the melting. How had she never known that he could make her feel like this?

She’d never kissed him. Had never let him get that close.

All the years they’d been friends and things had never crossed the line toward romance. Suddenly she wondered why not.

Originally, their friendship had been just that. A friendship. They’d dated other people and he hadn’t seemed interested in her that way. Certainly he’d never initiated anything romantic…

Perhaps that’s why his declaration today had been so much of a surprise.

A knock at the door stopped her from pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming about this newfound chemistry. “Yoohoo. Natalie…It’s Mrs. Portman.” Nat let out a small sigh.

“Come in,” she called, praying the door was unlocked. There was no way she was hobbling over there. She felt too woozy to stand, much less walk on an injured leg. And she wasn’t entirely sure she could blame her wooziness on the medication she’d been given at the hospital.

The door opened silently and her seventy-something neighbor poked her head in. “Elizabeth just told me the wonderful news! Where did that handsome hunk of yours run off to, dear?” Mrs. Portman had lived on her street long before Natalie had moved in. And she made it her business to know everything that was going on in their little neighborhood. The woman might be old, but she was still spry.

That included the comings and goings of all the residents and all the residents’ relationships too. For a woman who enjoyed crocheting doilies and baking pies, she had an unusual interested in Natalie’s dates. As Mrs. P would put it, she had eyes in her head and she wasn’t dead yet so she liked to look.

“What happened to your leg?” She stopped at the end of the couch, drawing her sweater tighter around her shoulders.

“Twisted my ankle this morning. Dylan’s on his way to get me some crutches.”

“Bah, forget crutches. Elizabeth said he carried you just fine.” Her penciled in eyebrows wiggled up and down. “Can I get you anything dear? Are you in pain?”

“I’m okay. You don’t need to wait on me.” Ordinarily, Nat didn’t mind her neighbor’s prodding or visits, but right now she wanted to dissect what was going on with Dylan. She needed to formulate a plan…but the Mrs. Portman wasn’t easily dissuaded.

“Nonsense,” she said, and settled herself in the chair across from the couch. “Now tell me what happened.”

“I’m not entirely sure. It must have been a root. Or a hole.”

“No, no. With Dylan. When did you two become an item?”

“Oh. Well, we’re–” The front door opened, cutting off her words. Dylan strode in, crutches in one hand and a bag from the local drugstore in the other.

Mrs. Portman pushed herself out of the chair. “Hi Dylan. I see you’re taking good care of our Natalie.” She started for the door and Dylan gave her one of his charming smiles. She patted him on the arm as she shuffled by. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.”

Natalie held her tongue until a few seconds after the door closed. Then she exploded. “Lovebirds!”

Dylan gave her a what’s-got-your-tail-in-a-kink look.

“Now everyone thinks we’re an item.” She used her fingers to make quotation marks in the air.

“Here are your crutches,” he said and laid them next to the coffee table. “And some chocolate.” He dropped the bag in her lap.

“Chocolate?” She stared up at him wide eyed, pleasure and confusion lacing her tone.

“I had a feeling you might need it.” She smiled at him then. He needed to get out of here…before she started asking questions. He didn’t want to hear her reasons for dating a long string of guys she had no intention of settling down with. And he had no interest in pointing out why she was afraid of commitment and he really couldn’t bare hearing her tell him that she didn’t love him.

Hi Darlins,

It’s about that time of year when I start refining my wishlist. There’s nothing like getting tube socks for Christmas, so I don’t mind giving gift suggestions. In fact, my hubby loves that I do.

Target, Amazon, etc make it super easy to keep a wishlist these days. In the past a simple email has worked too.

But this got me thinking about my wish list for ebook publishers. I’d love it if ebook publishers:

* let you preorder books, automatically delivered to your inbox on publication day

* made it super easy to check out

* let you buy all the books released that week with a single button

* find out more info (blurb, excerpt, etc.) well before publication - I like to make my shopping list you know

* let you “subscribe” to an author’s books or a series and just have them sent to you when they come out.

There’s my wishlist… what’s on yours?

I thought I’d be sweet and share the cover art for Power of Seduction.

to Slow Burn! Released 2 years ago today. Still available at Cobblestone Press, Fictionwise, Mobipocket and Amazon.com for the kindle!

Just wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year.

Love,
Madison

The Cobblestone Press authors are going on tour! An internet tour that is.  There are plenty of sites to see and we hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Join me and my fellow Cobblestone Authors at the Story Board on Tuesday June 5 for a Cocktail Party.  We’ll be talking about our books, our favorites, and sharing some cocktail recipes.  Don’t miss it.  There will be prizes!

Be there: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The_Story_Board_/

Be prepared to tell us what your favorite cocktail is!

For more information on Cobblestone Press and the authors visit: http://www.cobblestone-press.com

Love,
Madison
http://www.madison-chase.com
Portrait of Seduction - available now
Slow Burn - available now

Meet Jenna West from Purple Heart by Elaine Cantrell. Purple Heart is published by The Wild Rose Press

Name:
Jenna West

Occupation:
I work at a factory that manufactures computer chips.

Zodiac sign:
Aquarius

Tell us about yourself. Where were you raised? What’s your family
like? Where do you live?

My family emigrated from Lebanon. We lived for awhile in New York, but then my dad found a quiet little town called Eden’s Crossing and moved there. I married a wonderful man called Ethan West, but Ethan died a few months after our baby girl, Jo, was born. I’ve saved some money and bought a duplex, and that’s where Jo and I live.

What are your short and long term goals? What do you want out of life?
My short term goals are to renovate my half of the duplex and rent the other half. Long term, I want to raise Jo so that Ethan would be proud of her.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?
I fell off a riser during a chorus concert in high school.

Biggest regret?
The death of my husband.

Every been convicted of a crime?
No.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be
and why?
I’d like to tell Ethan not to worry about Jo.

Are you single? Married? Looking?

I’m single, but I’m too busy to hunt a man.

What’s your ideal mate like?
Like my husband, kind, tender, sexy, and funny.

Tell us a secret. What’s something others might not know about you?
I once dreamed of entering the Miss America contest.

Do you have a nickname?
No, but I call my daughter, sweet pea.

Any pet peeves?
Yes, people who are cruel to animals.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?
I don’t want to change anything about myself. I have my precious daughter, and that’s blessing enough for anyone.

Any pets?
No.

How about allergies?
No.

Do you support any charities?
Yes, each year my company raises money for cancer research, and I participate in that.

Is the glass half full or half empty?

Depends on when you ask me, but mostly half full.

FROM FOOL ME ONCE by Jessica Joy

Name:

Toni Greer
Occupation:

Model
Zodiac sign:

Gemini

Tell us about yourself. Where were you raised? What’s your family
like? Where do you live?

I was adopted by middle-aged parents who were intrigued by the thought of having a baby, but once the novelty wore off, they shuffled me off to boarding school. It wasn’t a bad thing. I made good several good friends. At 17, I started modeling. At first, because it was something cool to do, but I continued because I liked the money and notoriety. I live in a renovated condo overlooking Central Park on Manhattan Island. Some people think I have it all, money, beauty and fame, but there is just one thing…one person…missing from my life.

What are your short and long term goals? What do you want out of life?

My most immediate goal is to stay alive. If I can manage that, I’ll work on a few long term goals.

What I want most out of life is to toss my career and do something more meaningful than market clothes and share my life with a special someone.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

A runway moment when a last minute alternation left me baring a lot more skin than was originally intended. On the bright side, the gown ended up being a smashing success.

Biggest regret?

Having to let the one man I really loved go.

Every been convicted of a crime?

Nope.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be
and why?

My birth parents. I want to know more about them and the reasons neither of them wanted me.

Are you single? Married? Looking?

Single…not really looking.

What’s your ideal mate like?

Someone more stubborn than me, smart and who can laugh at himself.

Tell us a secret. What’s something others might not know about you?

The biggest secret is that I’m…hm…if I tell then it wouldn’t be a secret.

Do you have a nickname?

Nope.

Any pet peeves?

Deliberate cruelty

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be and why?

That I got wiser sooner…before I made a huge mistake that cost me my heart.

Any pets?

No, but I’d love a Birman cat if I did have a pet.

How about allergies?

None.

Do you support any charities?

Several most dealing with unwed mothers or abused women.

Is the glass half full or half empty?

Definitely half full.

MC: Hi Sherrill! Thanks for agreeing to an interview. Let’s dive right in. You’ve always loved romance. And you’ve been dabbling with writing since 1997. Who are some of your favorite authors that have inspired you to create stories of your own?

SQ: Wow. I have so many! Jayne Anne Krentz/Amanda Quick, Dara Joy, Madeline Baker/Amanda Ashley, Mary Janice Davidson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Michelle Pillow, Mandy Roth. I think I’ll stop there. LOL

MC: You gave up a full time job, sold your house and concentrated on writing. That’s incredibly admirable. Were you nervous about the change? Would you do it again?

SQ: I was incredibly nervous, but it felt RIGHT. I had done something similar back in 2000, when I quit my job in Ohio and moved to Arizona without another job lined up. I was working within 3 weeks. When I decided to quit a job again and focus on my writing, I had a year to completely focus on learning and writing and, while I don’t make enough yet in royalties to support myself and so have had to go back to work part-time, I have, I think, made great strides toward my goal. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. (Of course, I’d feel better about it if I had a sugar daddy in the wings but, alas, there is no such creature in my life at the moment.)

MC: Anyone who’s visited you online has seen your trademark red lips. It’s a very strong and recognizable brand. How does it relate to you and your work?

SQ: When I first started writing erotic romance, two of my new author friends and I were kicking around ideas for branding. Initially I came up with “Romance with an edge” because, as my friends pointed out, my writing can be edgy. But the tag/slogan/brand was flat. After taking an online class with Lisa Renee Jones, with her help I finally settled on “Follow your passion to the edge…and beyond.” And the image of shiny red lips, to me, shouts passion.

MC: Tell us about your books. How many have you published so far?

SQ: I’m up to eleven. Five stand alone novellas, and six novellas and short stories as part of duets and/or anthologies.

MC: What’s coming up from you?

SQ: I have two short stories coming in December from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid–Tall, Dark & Naked in Torrid Teasers Volume 18, and Sweet Treats in the Christmas Candy Anthology. Plus my short story, Careful Wishes, which was first published as part of the Torrid Teasers Volume 3 duet, has been selected to be part of the Best of Torrid Teasers Anthology that’s coming out in print in January. I also just had a short novella accepted by Ellora’s Cave. Choosing Madison will be in one of their 2007 Cavemen anthologies. Plus I have a novella scheduled to come out early next year as part of the Edge of Night Anthology at Liquid Silver, and I’m putting the finishing touches on a dragon-shifter novella for Amber Heat that will also be out early next year.

MC: Who are you published with?

SQ: Amber Heat (the erotic romance imprint of Amber Quill Publishing), Liquid Silver Books, New Concepts Publishing, Whiskey Creek Press Torrid and, soon, Ellora’s Cave.

MC: What advice do you have for new authors & writers?

SQ: Read everything you can get your hands on, but especially in the type of fiction you want to write. Take classes–there are online classes out there as inexpensive as $15. Learn. Accept criticism gracefully and grow as a writer from it. Keep going, even when you don’t feel like it. You’re the only one who can realize your goal. No one’s going to beat down your door and beg you to write a book. You have to go after it. Many people say they want to write a book, fewer do it, and fewer still find the road to publication.

MC: If you were to compare your work to other authors, who would you say that your work most resembles in plot, tone, or voice?

SQ: Hmm. My heroes are very alpha, dominant. My heroines are sassy and smart, although not always making the right decisions. I don’t want any of my characters to be perfect, because no one is, right? And I can’t seem to write without some splotches of humor, only because I tend to see the ridiculous in things.

I’m not saying I’m anywhere near the level of these authors, but I think my work is a mix of Mary Janice Davidson, Lora Leigh and Sherrilyn Kenyon. A little dark, a little humor, and hot, alpha males.

MC: Give us five words that describe you.

SQ: Determined. Funny (or maybe silly?). Risk-Taker. Lazy (in the physical sense). Curious.

MC: Is the glass half full or half empty?

SQ: Half full. Who wants a half-empty glass? Well, unless it’s the last of the margaritas…

MC: What’s something that your readers may not know about you?

SQ: I am essentially an introvert. While I like talking to people, meeting people, it exhausts me. I’m happiest when I’m sitting behind my computer by myself. My mother worries about my hermit tendencies, and is very glad I’m working outside of the house again. LOL

MC: How can readers get in touch with you?

SQ: They can join my readers group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sherrillquinn or my monthly newsletter at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sherrillquinn_news (or both!), and can email me at sherrillquinn@gmail.com.

Thanks so much for this opportunity, Madison!

Contrary to what men might have us believe, they don’t always know better. For starters, they’re always getting lost (at least the man of my house is.) And sometimes the simplest way to do something is right in front of their face but they don’t see it until you point it out to them. :-)

Now, I love my man, and I wouldn’t change him. But we just had a funny little incident that I thought I’d share.

Yesterday my mouse stopped working. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t live without being able to point and click. I’ve just not grasped how to use keyboard shortcuts and all that jazz. So anyway, I gave up on the mouse and went to read Susan Mallery’s latest. (I’d give it a 5 out of 5 btw, but what else is new? She’s Susan Mallery after all.)

So today I come in praying for a miracle that the mouse is working. Nope. We switch the buttons and so I’m cruising along clicking my right mouse key. Joy. So finally, I get a little tried of all this mouse nonsense, I mean it was working perfectly well yesterday.

Then I had an epiphany. About ten years ago I had a printer that would occasionally go on strike. Since it was on a roll out thingy in the desk, close to the floor, I used to threaten to kick it. Again… frustration. Not that I ever kicked it, I swear. But the threats always worked, oddly enough. Printer would start printing. I’d be happy… until the next time.

So back to the mouse. I thought about threatening it, but at this point I was pretty frustrated so I gave it a good whack against the mouse pad. Yes, I know. I’m abusing my hardware…. DH says to me, “you know, I don’t think hitting it is going to help.” How like him. It takes a whole lot to get that man frustrated. Not being able to do my work for two days… oh I was way up there on the frustrated scale.

So I clicked the left mouse button……. and what do you know. It worked!

“Well, it worked. The left mouse button is working again,” I told him triumphantly.

See…. men don’t always know better.

And at least my mouse is working again, thank goodness!

Stay tuned for the word of the week.

Well, I’m off to the voting booth.  So after battling the crowds it’s back to work finishing up the Eread.   Dylan and Nat are chomping at the bit… you know how characters are.

Who’s voting today?

“You know, the cat’s a real killer.”

I was sitting at my desk working when my husband spoke those words.  They were followed by “I’d really hate to be that mouse.”  I agreed with him.
I instantly felt sorry for said mouse. My cat loves to play with her food… doesn’t matter what kind of food it is. She’s ruthless.

Dh called to me from the back window, asking if I wanted to watch. What is it about men and their interest in anything getting mamed, killed or destroyed?

“NO!” I said. “Poor little thing.”

Now one part of the story you’re missing is… when I went to decorate for fall (yes, I’m one of those people who decorates for every holiday and season) I opened the box of “natural” decorations (natural being natural leaves, corn, pine cones… anything non plastic) and there it was.  The decorative corn.  Except there was no corn left. Only cobs and stalks, or leaves, or shucks or whatever you’d call them. Point is, that darn mouse had eaten my corn.

The war was on.
So I grabbed the cat and put her in the box and told her I wanted the rodent dead by midnight.  She never did bring me a dead mouse so I figured he got smart (or full.. maybe both!) and moved on….. hopefully out! of the basement.

Back to today… DH lovingly reminded me of what the mouse had done to my corn… just as I was feeling sorry for the little thing.  Yeah, I’m kinda picky about my decorations.  It’s just something you don’t mess with.  I guess the mouse didn’t know that, but nevertheless, I told dh to relay a message to the cat… “Kill the mouse.”

Of course now I’m feeling slightly guilty. But I’m still not going to watch. :-)

Who’s wearing the best costume this Halloween?  Show me what you’re wearing. Simply post a pic (via HTML) or include a link to a pic.  (Note: this doesn’t really have to be YOUR Halloween costume, it could be the one you’d love to wear, have worn in the past, etc.)  If you can’t find a pic, describe your costume in detail.

1st Place Prize - A copy of Portrait of Seduction, A copy of SLOW BURN, a Halloween card & tub of lotion snail mailed from yours truly

2nd place prize - A copy of Portrait of Seduction

3rd Place Prize - a tub of lotion

Don’t forget to check out my other giveaway below for more chances to win goodies.

I’ve got a big change to announce, so grab a pencil. :-)  As you’ve probably guessed Portrait of Seduction did no release on October 13 as originally announced.  The date is now a firm October 27.  Just like in the book, five nights before Halloween. How spooky!

Well Ladies & Gents, I did it. I rode five miles on my bike yesterday.  While I feel great there are certain parts of the ol’ anatomy that are really sore if you catch my drift.   And some of you know I’ve been trying the Special K challenge.  That’s going better than I thought it would.

I’ve got lots of fall projects going on right now, including some new books.  But mostly I’m just anticipating the release of Portrait of Seduction. We’re counting down… it’s 10 days away.  Next Friday.  Are you ready to be seduced?

What’s new with all of you dear visitors?

There’s a new study (pdf, opens in new window) out this month that shows women believe more in paranormal than men.  Interesting, hmm?

Let’s face it folks… I’m in the business of matchmaking. I match makes lots of characters in my books, whether they like it or not. *grin*  And as a reader, I love reading about the couples in my fellow authors’ books.  Take Susan Mallery’s characters for instance. Love ‘em.

Sometimes I come across characters and couples that seem odd to me.  Maybe it’s the match making, the personalities, or… something.

But this… this is just the weirdest set of bed buddies I’ve ever seen. Check it out.

Me!

And I have a paranormal romance (my PR debute) coming out October 13th from Cobblestone Press. Portrait of Seduction… maybe you’ve heard of it?

But can you answer this trivia question?

How did the vampire’s high-collared cape originate?

Remember, I’m currently running an impromptu contest… watch for the answer in an upcoming post.

I was recently directed to this post at Kate Walker’s blog. Very interesting indeed. And made me think about what I consider a romance to be and what my readers consider romance to be. Obviously we all have our own definitions and pet peeves.

I think my big pet peeve is not having a happy ending. If it’s not happy, I’m not satisfied. It’s as simple as that. And that’s just my personal opinion of course. But the HEA is after all why I read romance.

I was talking with a reader in a chatroom the other night and she agreed with me about the HEA and expressed concern that sometimes publishers mark books as Romance when they’re really not. Now there’s lots of “hubbub” about what is and isn’t romance. But to me, as a reader, it’s a love story and it has a happy ending. End of story.

I don’t want to pick up a book, expecting it to be a romance because it’s sold as a romance and then find that the “romance” is a subplot and there is no happy ending. It’s not what I was expecting and I’m going to feel let down, disappointed, and probably a bit irritated about the false advertising. But that’s just my two cents.

What do you think?

So, I was bad and didn’t post my promised journal entry yesterday. But I had a very good reason. I was writing up a storm and my characters were talking up a storm.  Lots of stormy weather here in Georgia. Not.

So anyhow, this isn’t exactly writing related, or story related, but… as an author, I want to know.  I’ve been visiting all these wonderful sites around the web, dropping by blogs, hopping around myspace. And I keep clicking on images and such…

And then I go to this site called photobucket.  What in the world is that?  Someone help a girl out and explain.

In Other News 

You saw my awesome review for SLOW BURN right? From Ecataromance.com?  And you know that SLOW BURN is on sale now.  Yeah, I’m shameless, I know.  And you saw that my journal has a real name now (Madison’s Musings, in case you missed that post.)

So… what else is new? Well, for this last book I did a bit of research for Halloween.  And lots of looking up of quotes and words and definitions.  So I thought I’d share my favorites with you in the coming weeks.

As a side hint, if you haven’t entered my Myspace contest yet, be sure to do so soon. Time is running out.

And if you’re not signed up to my newsletter, you might want to do that.  You never know when I’ll start giving stuff away.  Or when you’ll get a neat message in your inbox from yours truly.  The sign up is to your right.

Have a Peachy Day!

Madison

My journal that still needs a snazzy name!

So here’s the deal. I’ve ordered 15 tubs of lotion from my favorite Bath & Body company (Bathed & Infused) and I’ll give one away to someone (randomly selected) who gives me an idea for the name of my journal. Leave me a comment with an idea.

So who am I and why do I need a journal? So I can keep up with you, dear reader. And so that you can keep up with me and that we can keep in touch!

I’m Madison Chase, a romance author. I write sensual contemporaries and paranormals (for now!). My book Slow Burn is being released July of 2006 from Cobblestone Press. I’m currently running a fun little contest at Myspace. Visit me at: http://www.myspace.com/madisonchase

Have a peachy day!

—-

I’ll be taking suggestions until July 31, so keep ‘em coming. And make sure to check back then to see if you win a prize!