Featured Author at The Romance Studio!

 

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This month I’m the Featured Author at The Romance Studio. Check out my interview with the lovely Laura (she had me smirking with her replies to my answers). If you stop by and make a comment, you’re eligible to win a free copy of Cupid’s Arrow. Here’s the link:

http://erotic.theromancereviews.com/interview.php?location=12981

And here’s a little sample:

Q: Please tell us about Eli. What kind of man is he? What makes him the perfect hero for this book?

As a boy, Eli had learning disabilities which went unrecognized and treated. He was labelled ‘stupid and slow’ and was headed down the wrong path. His mentor, Ignatius, caught him in the act of burglary, but saw something worthwhile in Eli and nurtured him.

Eli’s devoted to his widowed mother and his two younger sisters. He has a soft spot for the underdog–especially disabled kids and bends over backwards to ensure they get a fair chance.

Any guy who loves his mom and sisters and challenged children is a hero in my eyes.

Q: Mine too! What is it about Stephanie that intrigues him?

Note: You have to be  a member to comment.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Cheers,

Jianne

Wilde Wolf!

chest - shower - ThomasJames18 (2)I’m hot and heavy into my new paranormal suspense, Wilde Wolf. My poor dh is going nuts as I ignored him for the whole weekend. I did take the time off to cook  him and my two sons an incredible dinner last night, but it seems that wasn’t enough. Sigh. When a story’s flowing like Wilde Wolf is, it’s hard for me to think of anything else. Also, it kind of pisses the dh off when I paste my pic of my new hero at my desk. Yeah, that’s right. That’s my vision of the hero of Wilde Wolf. Yummy, huh?

Here’s a little teaser from Wilde Wolf:

Jas cut in between Mishe and Tania. He turned, half-backing her, and she glimpsed the top of a white Navy cap emblazoned with a silver eagle and gold bands.

“Senior Chief Johnson, meet my father, Arman Prakov, my mother, Orlenda Prakov.” Tania scooted around Mishe and peered at the striking man standing beside Jas.

A drop-dead walking testosterone hunk. His wide shoulders and military stance, spine board-stiff, seemed vaguely familiar.

Heat scaled her throat when she visualized the broad back of her gym lover. For long moments all she saw, felt, and smelt was the fragrant steam in the shower stall coating her skin while he hammered into her. Flustered, she stared unseeing at the medals above the man’s left pocket.

“Pleasure to meet you both.” Senior Chief Johnson shook her father’s hand and tipped his hat at her mother.

“Senior Chief Johnson is the lead trainer for BUD/s Class three twenty-one. I signed the contract for the class two weeks ago.” Jas made the announcement in such a blasé tone that, at first, the meaning of what he’d said didn’t penetrate Tania’s gray matter.

Her jaw dropped. She snapped her teeth together so hard they squeaked. Omigod. Jas had signed up for SEAL training.

Dad’s complexion turned a painful red. At any point, Tania expected to hear him roar.

“I’m certain there’s been some sort of mistake.” Arman crossed his arms and wolf-stared the senior chief.

“No mistake, Dad. I enlisted four weeks ago. Contracts are signed. I leave for Coronado in the morning.”

“Jashuka—this can’t be true.” Her mother wailed as she grabbed Jas’s forearm. “What have you done? Arman, do something. My baby’s not going to war.”

Red blotches stained Jas’s tanned cheeks. “Dad, Mom, let’s take this discussion elsewhere. Breede, Mishe, Tania, Senior Chief Johnson, we’ll hook up with you in the dining hall in a few.”

“Problem, Jas?” Another man in uniform emerged from behind the senior chief.

That voice.

It couldn’t be.

She craned her neck and met her gym lover’s contemptuous glare.

Tania’s knees wobbled. She grabbed Mishe’s arm.

“No, sir. A slight misunderstanding. Easily remedied.” Jas addressed his answer to the man who’d screwedTania silly not five hours ago. “Senior Chief Smith. This is…”

She didn’t hear a word beyond that. Her mind froze. Her fingertips iced over. His musky aroma surrounded her like a whirling top, wrapping tighter and tighter until all she smelled was him, them, sex.

“This is my sister, Tania. Senior Chiefs Johnson and Smith are the lead trainers for SEAL Class Three Twenty-one. Of which I am part.” Jas elbowed her when she didn’t respond.

Hope you enjoyed!

Cheers,

Jianne

Happy Birthday Mom!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMy girlfriend, Tamarind, believes that everything happens for a reason and that that reason somehow improves your life. Until my father died, I agreed with her. There was nothing, nada, zilch, absolute infinity zero, that his death could have a positive impact on my life.
I was so wrong.
Because I was the apple of my dad’s eyes, my mom and I didn’t have much of a relationship. We co-existed in a kind of temporary truce. She was his wife and, me, his only daughter. I was, to put it mildly, the favored child.
He died suddenly and tragically in 1994. In 2008, after many requests, I agreed to go on a 28 day mother-daughter trip to Europe. Okay, think about it, 28 days with your mom in strange countries. I expected we’d quarrel and fight non-stop.
The opposite happened.
And I realized my girlfriend had been right. I had never had a close relationship with my mom, but that trip changed everything. We had a blast. Went twenty-eight days without a single quarrel. Got along like a zillion houses on fire.
Every single day, we got lost – I can’t tell left from right so that’s kind of obvious. But, we had such fun getting back on track. And we ate our way through the most delicious locations in France and Spain. We had three eleven course meals. All decadent and heavenly.
I’d loved my mom before that trip. But I learned to like her during our jaunt through Europe. The pic above is us sharing a meal at La Belle Etoille – the best bed and breakfast on the planet. They served foie gras done three ways every night. I was in gourmet heaven. And my mom went along for the ride.
Today is my mom’s seventy-night birthday. I lost my dad right after his sixty-second.
I am so grateful, mom, to have you here with me. I love you. I’m so proud of you and I only want a good thirty more years. So, take care of yourself.

Love always,
Your daughter,
J

Remembering Dad

mourningYesterday would have been my father’s eighty-first birthday. I spent much of the day looking through old photo albums (remember those?) and mourning his loss. Twenty-one years after his death, the rawness of my grief has abated, but the intensity remains the same.

I am the only female child of my parents and I was the absolute apple of my dad’s eye. I adored  him, hero-worshiped him, and, later, learned to accept that he was not the perfect man I’d idolized. He gave me a gift that every parent should their children, he loved me, and he told me so constantly in both words and actions.

It’s not that my father didn’t have flaws. My goodness, he had those aplenty, but my father was an ethical man in corrupt country whose idealism never faltered. He was a visionary. I can still remember the day I introduced him to the Apple 1 and Visicalc. He was astounded, but turned to me, and said, “This is the future. This will change our world. We have to get in on the ground floor.” And we did. My dh and I were in the first graduating class of the launch of the IBM PC. A launch that gave birth to the technology world as we know it today. IBM legitimized what was then a rouge industry.

But, I digress. I have Dad’s picture on my desk and in my bedroom. I still miss him every single day, and I suspect that will go on until the moment I expel my last breath.

Love you Daddy and wish you were here,

Your daughter,

J

 

 

Valentine’s Day – Cupid’s Arrow Contest

Cupids_Arrow-Jianne_Carlo-BannerMy total bad, everyone. I’m blaming this one on the cold and the stomach flu brain disconnect still lingering around. I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that, since I can’t send everyone chocolates or flowers on Valentine’s Day ($$$), I’m running a contest for a free copy of Cupid’s Arrow. To enter the contest you can do anyone of the following:

Leave a comment on my blog

Leave a comment on this post on Facebook

Tweet or retweet something about Cupid’s Arrow

Leave a comment about Cupid’s Arrow on Goodreads

Send me an email mentioning Cupid’s Arrow

For everyone you do, you get a contest entry. I’ll announce the winner on Valentine’s Day on my blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Good Luck!

Cheers,

Jianne