Anniversaries and Gifts!

FLOWERS MOTHER'S DAY ANNLong ago, the Viking and I decided to opt out of gifts for anniversaries that didn’t end on a 0 or a 5. It was a matter of practicality. We’ve accumulated too much over the years that found their resting place on a shelf in our garage. We have a packed, but very organized garage. This year, to celebrate our wedding anniversary (today), we agreed that it’s time to clean out said garage.

Most people would groan at the mere thought of such a task, but I’m looking forward to it. Why, you ask? Am I suffering from early dementia? Nope. Hidden in our garage stash are memories. It’s going to be fun to reminisce when we pluck a useless item, like the bread maker that made maybe 7 loaves and try to figure out why it was a desired object back when.

Add to that the fact that we should be able to make some money on  the other appliances, including cameras, game player, and even some furniture (2 perfect desks), and cleaning out the garage might even be profitable. Who knows—we may make enough $$$ to buy more useless stuff?

Happy Anniversary my Viking! Not a dull moment in all these years!

Love you always,

J

Happy Mother’s Day!

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I hope each and every mother or mom-to-be has a wonderful family-filled day.

This mother’s day, I am indeed fortunate for I will have all of my three sons with me, my mother, and one of my brothers and his wife.

I am deliriously happy!

Enjoy your day!

Jianne

 

Love in the Cards – The Jack of Hearts by Jianne Carlo

FLITC inviteor the next 10 days, I will be featuring a free Halloween read from the ten authors of the Love, Lust, & Laptop blog group. These stores will be published as a free anthology right in time for Halloween. So sit back, grab your pumpkin martini and enjoy!!!

Dear Readers,

Thank you for following us here at Love, Lust, and Laptops this year. With Halloween drawing near, we thought it would be fun to celebrate everything sexy about the odd, the paranormal, and the fated-to-be. We put together a collection of ten stories which will run over the course of the next two weeks here on the blog.

 

To read the first of our Love Card Tales.

Love in The Cards (small)

The Jack of Hearts

by

Jianne Carlo

 

Click here:

http://lovelustandlaptops.wordpress.com/

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Have a freaking fructose happy Monday & don’t forget to drop in every day until October 26th to enjoy a new free read!

Cheers,

Jianne

Ahead of the Game!

Okay, as of today I’m ahead of my writing schedule. (Wonder how long that will last?). That Pearly Drop and Branded by Étaín are in for edits and covers (ooh – can’t to see what James and Georgia will come up with for those).

Love in The Cards (small) (2)The Love, Lust, & Laptop ladies have all finished their free Halloween reads and the stories should start appearing next month (tomorrow). Each of us picked a tarot card as the title of the tale and, so we have these coming for you in October:

The Empress by Cherie Nichols

Judgement Day by Rosanna Leo

Two of Cups by Vanessa North

Jack of Hearts by Jianne Carlo

The Three of Cups by Becca Jameson

The Lovers by Emilia Mancini

The Star by Christy Gissendaner

The Strength of a Lion by Lynn Lorenz

The Wheel of Fortune by Monette Michaels

 

That beautiful cover is from the super-talented Vanessa North. This will be so much fun! As soon as I have the release dates, I’ll post them, here. But for now – how about a teaser from the Jack of Hearts?

Excerpt – Jack of Hearts:

Ricco stared out the open window and willed Kata to walk through the gate.

He wouldn’t lose his mate twice.

Seth had won Kata once, but he was long dead and buried, and all bets and rules were off.

The gas lamp hanging from an iron post just inside the award-winning front garden of Dacre House highlighted the raven-blue woven into the fibers on the black hood and long cloak Kata wore. The cape swirled around her ankles, and the ancient iron creaked in a drawn out protest when she shoved the gate open.

He tracked her steps and inhaled the musk of her desire mingled with the night-blooming jasmine. He hadn’t been certain she’d come after their confrontation earlier today.

Kata climbed the stairs, her feet dragging as if she was about to put her neck on the guillotine block.

Ricco’s mouth watered. His canines tingled and his gums ached with the need to claim.

The door opened and the doorman said, “Card.”

Her graceful fingers reached under the cloak, and she opened her hand to display half of a torn tarot card. The half that matched his, the Jack of Hearts.

“Third floor. Last door on the left. Stairs are straight ahead.” The attendant hooked a thumb over his shoulder.

“I don’t understand.”

The man growled, “Those were my orders for anyone with that card. You in or out?”

For long moments Kata remained quiet.

Scenting fear tangled with her mounting excitement, Ricco waited, his fists clenched. If necessary, he’d reveal his other half of the invitation―and his identity―and drag her up to the prepared attic room.

Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more!

Cheers,

Jianne

 

D is for Dad

a-to-z-letters-dOkay, there’s no way I can blog about romance today, because twenty years ago at 4:44 pm on this day, my father died. So, today my blog is titled D is for Dad.

I am one of the lucky ones. The only girl in the family, I was the absolute apple of my father’s eye. Not once have I ever wondered if I was loved by him – I know with a forged certainty he adored me.

Joseph Anthony Bernard reared me in his own image and I have never regretted that for a second.

He brought me up not as a woman but as a human being and taught me that I was every bit as good as any male. That’s not to say he didn’t challenge me – he did so constantly.

From him I learned competition was only a bad thing if you didn’t win.  That while winning wasn’t the only goal, it was the best one, but you never, ever sacrifice your ethics to win. In a country where paying bribes was the norm, we once went 30 days without a drop of water in our taps because he refused to pay for what should’ve been a right. (He won that fight by the way – the district manager for the utility was fired).

My husband, three sons, and I lived next door to my parents for many years. We were, are still, a close family. My mom and dad helped the dh and I start our own business and he was chairman of our company’s board.  When he died my mom asked if there was anything I wanted to add to the description of dad for the funeral agenda. This was what I said:

He was my hero, my friend, my business colleague, but above all, my dad.

I miss you Dad and I so wish you could’ve seen my sons grow into fine men, whom I not only love, but like. They are all fantastic human beings.

To go onto to other blogs in the A to Z challenge, click on the badge at the top of this post.

In mourning,

Jianne