So, it appears as if Ms. Chicki took it upon herself to tag me on Friday. Just my luck I went over to her blog today and noticed that I’d been tagged. Rats!

So, here are the rules:

1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, look down to the 5th sentence.
3. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Include the title and the author’s name.
5. Tag 3 people

Well, I just went to the bookstore last night in hopes that the February books would hit the shelves early. I went looking for L.A. Banks’ The Wicked and Ann Christopher’s Risk. L. A. Banks’ newest wasn’t on the shelves. But I got a hold of Ann Christopher’s Risk. I loved her first novel, Trouble. And I can’t wait to read her newest release. So I put it on top of my toppling over to-be-read pile. So, guess which book is closest to me right now. That’s right, Risk! Give yourselves a round of applause.

“Her mind veered off onto the times she’d asked Ronnie if they could vacation somewhere else besides Martha’s Vineyard, only to be shot down. And the times she’d wanted to try a new restaurant or play or DVD, only to have Ronnie talk her out of it. And the times—way to numerous to count—she’d tried to talk with him about her day or her clients of her pressures, only to have him roll his eyes and say she didn’t know anything about pressures because she didn’t have people’s lives in her hands like he did.” ~ Ann Christopher, Risk

Dang… Now I really want to read this book. Can’t wait! If it is anywhere near as good as her first release, Trouble, then I am in for a treat. Ann will be visiting my blog for an interview in March. SO be sure to check that out.

Now, I have to tag three people huh… well… since Elle is always tagging folks, I’ll tag her. And I do believe Kari has tagged me before. And, how about Michelle to round it out…

Have fun ladies

Well, Dream Girls didn’t get the Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Best Ensemble Cast in a Film… But they did show the sistas some love this evening. The cast of Grey’s Anatomy won for Best Ensemble Cast on a TV Drama. So, yay for Shonda Rhimes! I love that show!

My girl, Chandra Wilson won an award for her portrayal of Dr. Miranda Bailey on Grey’s Anatomy. And her speech was a hoot. She even gave a shout out to the brotha in rehab. LOL. And she even made mention of the fact that she was going home to show her award to her daughters so that they can see what is possible even with her skin, nose, height and weight. Really positive!

And Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Effie in Dream Girls. In my opinion, she should have been in the running for best actress. There wasn’t anything supporting about that role. There wouldn’t be a movie without Effie and Jennifer Hudson steals the show from everyone. Heck, she’s the star. They’re supporting her… but that’s another post. Anyway, it looks like Hollywood is finally showing thicker sista some love. And they didn’t have to play maids or prostitutes to get the statue. We’ll see what happens at the Oscars… But, dare I start to feel a little hopeful… Probably not wise… I’ll just bask in the fact that tonight three thicker sistas got some well-deserved props and hope that it continues. In any case, congratulations to Chandra Wilson and Jennifer Hudson! Well done ladies! Well done!

Click here to read the entire review:

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Check out the review here:

Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Cuffed by Candlelight: An Erotic Romance Anthology
With Novellas by: Beverly Jenkins, Gwyneth Bolton, and Katherine D. Jones
Parker Publishing, LLC
February 2007

Blurb for my novella “Handcuffs Mean Never Having To Say You’re Sorry”

Why try to reason…

DEA Agent Lance King has been watching over Tamara Downing ever since she was a kid and he will continue to look out for her, whether she likes it or not. In fact, he thinks it’s high time she comes to term with the fact that they are meant to be together. If only he could figure out a way to get her to stay still long enough to listen to him. Steamy, sultry, lovemaking might just do the trick… She has to be able to see reason eventually. Doesn’t she?

When you’ve got handcuffs…

Newly minted Police Detective Tamara Downing has made it her business to stay away from the man she gave her virginity to, especially since in the process he stole her heart and handed it back to her permanently broken. There is nothing Lance can tell her to get her to understand why he took it upon himself to meddle in her most recent case. But then she never has found another lover quite like him… She could stick around long enough to get some sexual maintenance and make Lance see exactly what he walked away from ten-years ago. He can’t be serious about all this love and marriage stuff anyway. Can he?

Their journey to love becomes a test of wills laced with passion and desire. Will they get to a space where their love can prevail?

Excerpt from “Handcuffs Mean Never Having to Say You’re Sorry”

“Pull out ya nine, while I cock on mine–” Tamara Downing left the four-story brick building that housed Murder Row records rapping Lil’ Kim lyrics and aiming her imaginary gun. Her real Newark PD issued piece was in the car. Yes, things were going her way. Tommy Coles had finally noticed she was alive, and it would only be a matter of time before she could put his behind up under the jail. NPD believed that he ran a prostitution ring out of Murder Row, luring girls in with dreams of stardom. Several of his former “video models” had gone missing, and one was badly beaten but wouldn’t talk.

The ringing of her cell phone snapped her out of her momentary reverie, and she quickly answered it as she made her way from the building to her car. She’d just turned the dang thing on again since she always turned it off when she was working.

Giving the dark parking lot a quick once over, she mentally prepared herself for any trouble. Murder Row Records was known for unsavory characters, and she had no desire to get caught out there by someone who saw her as an easy mark. And, even though she’d been born in Newark and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, she knew that dark parking lots in Brick City–Newark’s unofficial nickname–didn’t mix with petite young women in super-tight lycra mini dresses. She could more than handle herself if pressed to do so, but it wouldn’t exactly bode well with her undercover assignment if she started going all Alias and Xena-Warrior Princess in the parking lot.

Letting her feet move a little faster when she spotted two strange looking men in the shadows, Kara answered her phone softly. “Yeah.” She tried to answer it as quickly as possible. The Lil’ Kim ring tone she’d downloaded that played “Shut Up, Bitch” just might have given the jerks in the parking lot the wrong idea.

“It’s about time you answered the phone, baby. I’ve been so worried about you. You didn’t stop by the past two Saturdays like you normally do.”

Mama Paula. Tamara loved the woman who’d saved her life by taking her in after her mother died. But Mama Paula brought worrying to new height.

“I’m fine, Mama Paula. Honest. But I can’t talk now.” Holding her cell phone to her ear with her shoulder, she started to unlock the door to her red poor-girl’s version of a sports car.

Mama Paula hesitated slightly, and Tamara knew instinctively that couldn’t be good. Mama Paula only went silent when she felt a little bit guilty or ill at ease about something she’d done. When it came to Tamara’s life or business that could only mean one thing. “Oh. Okay. I was just worried. That’s why I asked Lance to–”

Several curse words ran through her head, but she had way too much respect for Mama Paula to utter any of them. “Oh, Mama Paula, tell me you didn’t ask Lance to check up on me. You know I don’t like the way he steps in and tries to–”

Before Tamara could finish her sentence, a gun and a badge were in her face. The shadowed men that she’d thought were thugs turned out to be something worse.

“Unh, Mama Paula, I have to go now.” Tamara hung up the phone without waiting for a response. One of the men had already started cuffing her, and he clearly needed her other hand free to finish the job.

This seemed like a cool quiz for a romance writer’s blog…

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to obedience and warmth.  In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you’re told that you’re loved. You’d like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future… one you can grow with. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage pessimistically. You don’t think happy marriages exist anymore. In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You’ll do anything for love, but you won’t fall for it easily.

Here’s an excerpt from the review:
“Break out the handcuffs, light some candles and indulge yourself in these three passionate tales written by Beverly Jenkins, Gwyneth Bolton and Katherine D. Jones…
Gwyneth Bolton finals out this thrilling anthology with a fantastic storyline and kick butt heroine whom readers are going to love. Tamara is brave, daring, and not about to sit back and let Lance play the ‘knight in shining armor’ for her. I had to laugh at the dialogue between Tamara and Lance. It’s so obvious that they have unresolved issues and neither of them is willing to back down or admit to needing each other. This story is feisty and filled with all the emotional turmoil that I’ve come to expect when picking up one of Ms. Bolton’s tales…
All of the stories contained within the CUFFED BY CANDLELIGHT anthology are simply delightful. The one thing I did notice that all three stories have in common is brave women who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe or the men they love. Each of these authors brought daring characters, thrilling plots, and super hot sex into this one dynamic anthology. Handcuffs have never been so sexy.” — Chrissy Dionne for Romance Junkies

He opened his mouth and hate spilled.

So, Elle tagged me to tell a story in six words. And I wanted to say something about the Isaiah Washington situation. So, I’m killing two birds with one stone in this post. Above is my attempt at the story in six words. And although the tag didn’t say I could use visuals, I found this image and it seemed to fit. At first, I thought ‘this brother really needs to think before he starts spewing.’ But then I thought no, that’s not the problem. The problem is his homophobia. The problem is he has issues that he needs to deal with. The problem is not that he should think before he speaks, but that he should deal with his hatred. There is enough hate in the world. He should take a hint from this image of himself and shut up. And then he should do some soul searching and get some help.

That’s my two cents. What do you all think?

(Oh and for those who don’t know he is one of the stars of the show Grey’s Anatomy and he used a homophobic slur to refer to one of his co-stars. It’s been all over the news.)

Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

I need them. I hate them. They motivate me. They rule my life. They keep me focused. They… Well you get the point. You see, for the most part, a person with a tendency to be distracted by things that seem far more interesting than sitting in front of the computer needs deadlines. Before the days of contracts and deadlines, a sister wrote when she was inspired, when the mood struck. Structure? Timelines? Whatever! I was an artist. Punching the clock was for the day job. You couldn’t force the muse. And, hey, I was no hack. That was then… Now, inspiration takes her sweet time showing up, especially when work is busy and life is hectic and all my favorite shows are finally back to airing all new episodes. And truth be told if inspiration does try and strike during these times it would be so easy and oh so tempting to put her on hold. It would be that is, if it weren’t for those deadlines…

I’m Blogging in Black today. Read the rest of this post here:

Well folks, I am about to go back to land of writing, deadlines and no more pleasure reading… At least until I rebel again and say “To hell with deadlines! I’m reading [insert favorite author's or new exciting author's name here] new book!” Honestly, since the semester started Tuesday and I’m back in the classroom, I won’t have time to read for fun. Well, not if I want to meet my deadlines… But, anyway, I wanted to share my thoughts on two hot, funny and sexy books that I had the pleasure of reading this past weekend. These books blended some of my favorite things perfectly. They were funny and sexy. And they had the right amount of emotional pull that made me care about the characters and fall in love with them. Oh, and did I mention they were really sexy books?

Delilah Dawson’s Something Naughty is an erotic romance that is at the same time HOT and hilarious. I love the ‘when opposites attract’ storyline at play in the novel. Damon Becker is a straight-laced businessman who is about to head up his family’s longstanding business wear company. The company makes fine tailored suits for men and women. So, imagine his surprise when he finds out that his ailing grandmother has struck up a business partnership with a Naughty Devil, a company that sells things like edible underwear, velvet handcuffs and the like. And imagine his surprise when he meets one of the company’s owners, the lovely and very sexy Tanika Davis. She pushes him past his comfort zones and he pushes back. She inspires him to delve into his naughty side and when brother man is unleashed… Well, all I can say is get your fan ready! I love the way that Delilah Dawson works the fantasies in ways that are both playful and sexy. And I also love the way she is able to emotionally pull the reader in to the story even with all the fun and sex. That to me is the mark of a wonderfully written erotic romance. I cared deeply about all the characters. If you like a book that will have you laughing out loud one minute and reaching for a fan or a glass of ice water the next, then do yourself a favor and try Something Naughty.

I have been a fan of Adrianne Byrd’s writing for a while now. And her February release, When Valentines Collide, will not disappoint longtime readers. It didn’t disappoint me at all. In this novel we have Dr. Chante Valentine and Dr. Matthew Valentine, both “love doctors” so to speak. They make their living as relationship experts. They are trained and degreed counselors. They help people stay together for a living. So, imagine the shock and horror that would occur if the world found out that America’s top relationship gurus are having a little trouble in their own marriage. This book had so many laugh-out-loud moments that I found myself chuckling just about the entire time I read it. The antics that these two pull on one another had me rolling! But when they connected… when they started to work it out and get it together… Have. Mercy. Hot! I loved the way Adrianne Byrd was able to make their chemistry leap of the page. When they had their knockdown drag outs, it popped. When they were scheming and conniving to one-up one another, it sizzled. When they decided to try and save their marriage with a little sexual healing, it exploded. This book was really good. If you like movies like War of the Roses and Mr. and Mrs. Smith or if you ever wondered what would happen if Oprah hooked up with Dr. Phil, then this book might just make your day.

Happy Reading!

Gwyneth