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The Crone's NestOberon's Virtual Tea Shop |
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| It’s a beautiful, sunny day in Oberon, but after several hours of browsing through some of the many shops along Main Street, your feet are tired and you’re thinking it might be time to stop and get something to eat... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Across the street, you notice a shop whose adjoining terrace is set with umbrella-covered tables. According to the sign hanging over the door, the place is called The Crone’s Nest. And while that doesn’t exactly scream restaurant, you can smell coffee on the breeze and you steer yourself toward it Inside, you find a scattering of small tables, most of them occupied by a surprising number of people, drinking tea and coffee and nibbling on pastries and sandwiches... Subscribe to this Blog: Writers' Blogs Veronica Arch Pat Brown Katie Bryan Paige Burns Jodi Lynn Copeland Sylvia Day John Earle Cerridwen Ellis PG Forte (yet another weblog) Melissa Glisan Katrina Glover Storm Grant Amelia June Sally Painter Keira Ramsay/TL Schaefer Carrie White (Ink's Erotica) |
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| Nov. 16th, 2009 @ 12:51 pm Contests!! | |||
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Current Location: Oberon, CA
Current Mood:  coldCurrent Music: Sarah McLachlan ~ Song for a Winter's Night There's still a few days to enter the Nine Naughty Novelists' Scavenger Hunt. Click on the icon below for more details!  Next up... Is there anything better on a cold winter’s night than curling up with a good book? Um…okay, besides that! Uh-huh, didn’t think so. That’s why a group of Samhain authors (and our editor) have dreamed up the perfect holiday contest—happening now! Check out www.editortera.wordpress.com every day, from November 16th to December 14 to read an interview with one of the participating authors. To enter the contest, all you have to do is: #1. post a comment on the blog regarding that day’s interview #2. send an email to answer that day’s scavenger hunt question. Details are posted HERE. What might you win? Just a brand new Kindle, pre-loaded with lots of great new books, including my own up-coming release, In the Dark. Here’s the list of authors and dates: Day 1, November 16 = Leslie Dicken Day 2, November 17 = Nicole Austin Day 3, November 18 = Denise Belinda McDonald Day 4, November 19 = Avery Beck Day 5, November 20 = P.G. Forte Day 6, November 23 = Kelly Jamieson Day 7, November 24 = Angelle Trieste Day 8, November 25 = Dawn Brown Day 9, November 30 = J.K. Coi Day 10, December 1 = Cheryel Hutton Day 11, December 2 = Rita Oberlies Day 12, December 3 = Kate Johnson Day 13, December 4 = Leah Braemel Day 14, December 7 = Deidre Knight Day 15, December 8 = Cooper Davis Day 16, December 9 = Kimberly Nee Day 17, December 10 = Joely Sue Burkhart Day 18, December 11 = T.A. Chase Day 19, December 14 = Samantha Sommersby |
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| Nov. 11th, 2009 @ 06:31 pm First Kiss Excerpt from Touch of a Vanished Hand | |||||
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It's Excerpt Thursday over at the Nine Naughty Novelists blog. And if you haven’t been yet, what are you waiting for? Since this is our first excerpt event, it’s fitting that we’ve picked the first kiss as the theme for the week. This kiss is from Touch of a Vanished Hand, the fifth book in the Oberon series, and I have to admit it’s one of my go-to scenes for the fact that it combines a hot kiss and a lot of sexual tension between the h/h. “What are you doing?” Sinead protested, as he pulled her into the narrow space between two of the booths. It was dark there, quiet, away from prying eyes. Adam leaned back against the side of the booth, braced one foot against the wall, and pulled her toward him. “Something I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” he murmured, as his heart began to pound in anticipation. Something he’d been wanting to do for a very long while. Years, in fact. “Adam, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Her hands were fisted on his chest, and the look in her eyes was one of worry, as well as awareness. Still, she didn’t pull away, and her protests sounded half-hearted and weak. “Well, I do,” he answered, as he settled her closer; his lips just barely making contact with her mouth. “I think it’s an excellent idea.” The first kiss was meant to reassure her, it didn’t even ruffle the surface of his desire. The second sent little waves lapping through him. But it was the third kiss that sent him under; when she leaned into him suddenly, breasts flattening against his chest. When her hands unclenched and slid upward, until her nails were digging into his shoulders. When a soft moan of surrender escaped her lips. He forgot about being gentle then. Forgot about holding back, conserving his energy, waiting for Lammas. Waiting for anything. His hands traveled over her back, pressing her closer, as though he could meld them, body and soul, with just his touch. He slanted his head to the side and kissed her harder, deeper. Reveling in the taste and the feel and the smell of her. In the singing certainty that filled his brain. The rightness of it all. Of her. Of them. Of this. He slid his hands around to cup her breasts, ran his thumbs across her nipples. They tightened immediately. She gasped and pulled away. “Okay, that’s-- That’s good. You can stop now. I think that’s enough for tonight,” she muttered, as she pushed at his hands. He smiled at the sight of her, mouth swollen, eyes darkened, face flushed. Who was she trying to kid? He wasn’t ready to stop yet, and neither was she. “No, it’s not,” he answered, sliding his hands to her waist and pulling her back against him. She stopped pushing at him and frowned. “What’s not what?” “It’s not enough. For either of us. Kiss me again.” She was staring at him as if he’d gone mad. And possibly he had, he thought, because here he was, doing exactly what he’d sworn he wouldn’t do. But he didn’t care. He could read indecision in her gaze now, and curiosity. And want. They both wanted this. There was no reason they shouldn’t reach out and grab it. With both hands. “Please?” Her eyes narrowed. A spark of something flared to life within them. Determination, maybe. Or challenge. Something that should be frightening the hell out of him, given the effect he knew she had on him. But all it did was set his heart to pounding harder as adrenaline flooded his system. God, he wanted this. He’d been wanting this for far too long. And he was so tired of waiting. “All right,” she purred as she grabbed hold of his shirt with both hands and lifted herself back against him. “Have it your way.” She had to be crazy for doing this, Sinead thought, as she pressed her lips to his. But she was going to wipe that smug, arrogant look off his face if it was the last thing she did. The tingling in her breasts was a huge distraction, as his hands squeezed and released with steadily growing pressure. The tips of his fingers had slipped into the vee of her T-shirt, where they caressed her bare skin until she was practically shivering with need. She tried her best to ignore the sensations, pressing her hips against his in a futile effort to relieve the aching need inside her, but the heat just seemed to thicken. Dear lord, he felt good. He tasted good. He was just what she’d needed for too damn long. But. She would not. Let him. Get. To her. Summoning all the energy she could locate, she blocked out every other thought and focused her attention on her mouth. On his mouth. On the feel of his lips. On the taste of him on her tongue. She made love to his mouth with single-minded determination. Learning, exploring, possessing. Until the heat from his fingertips threatened to scorch her skin. Until the pounding in his chest shuddered through her as well. Until his breath was a shattered gasp for air. His hands clutched her shoulders as he pushed her away, as he wrenched his mouth free. She licked her lips, still hungry for the taste of him. He stared at her through slitted eyes. She saw his throat spasm as he swallowed, and she couldn’t help smiling. “Enough now?” she asked. He nodded, his hands trembled as they slid from her shoulders to stroke her arms, and then they tightened again—as if he’d changed his mind. The look in his eyes was wholly uncivilized. Alarmed, she took a step back, freeing herself from his grasp. Another minute, and she was afraid she might find herself being dragged to the ground. An idea her body was finding a little too appealing. “Well, I guess I should be going. I’ll see you around...sometime.” “Tomorrow.” The word emerged as a growl. “What?” “You’ll see me tomorrow. At the brunch.” Oh, hell. She’d forgotten about that. How was she supposed to face him, and the rest of Oberon, in less than twelve hours, without everyone suspecting something was up between them? She’d need a couple of days to regain her equilibrium. A week would be better. “Oh. Yeah. About that--” “Tomorrow,” he repeated stubbornly. “Ten a.m. You’ll be there.” Sinead sighed. She supposed if she didn’t show, he’d waste no time in coming to get her and dragging her back with him. “I’ll be there.” He nodded. “Good.” Her gaze softened as she looked at him, his back still pressed against the wall of the booth as though he’d been stapled to it. Lord, she hadn’t meant to cripple him, but it had been his own damn fault. And she never could resist a challenge. “Okay, then, um...good night,” she stammered as she slowly backed away from him. “I’ll see you in the morning, I guess. And, uh...you know, sleep well.” A hoarse laugh escaped him and she felt her heart trip at the sight of the smile that gleamed for an instant in his eyes and even more briefly curved his lips. “Doubtful. Extremely doubtful.” If you liked this, please be sure and check out all the other smokin’ “First Kiss” excerpts at www.ninenaughtynovelists.blogspot.com And if you want even more kissing, I’ve decided to let some of my other characters come out and play today, as well. Gabby and Derek’s first kiss (Waiting for the Big One) is featured at www.rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com And an unedited look at my new novella, Edge of Heaven, can be found at the Midnight Bell: http://midnight-bell.livejournal.com 
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| Oct. 31st, 2009 @ 11:51 am Feeding My Muse | |||||
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Current Location: Oberon, Baby!
I haven't decided whether or not to sign up for NaNoWriMo this year. After all, it's something I've always sworn I'd never do, being a dyed in the wool plotter who likes to edit and tweak as she goes. But I do know what I intend to work on this month, regardless. One--or maybe two or three--of the Christmas stories I've been promising myself I was going to write since last year.Current Mood:  bouncyCurrent Music: Angels We Have Heard on High ~ Relient K To that end, I've been pampering my muse, getting her all comfortable and in the mood. I'm stocked up on aromatherapy candles, LUSH cosmetics, candy canes, Vosges' Haut Chocolat, eggnog (organic, of course!), gingersnaps and Christmas music--including my newest acquisition the very awesome (in a totally head-banging kind of way)"Let it Snow Baby... Let it Reindeer" by Relient K. If that's still not enough, I'm prepared to break out the big guns--fresh pine branches, frankincense and myrrh and sparkly lights. 'Cause one way or another, she's going down! These stories will get written...at least one of them will. Who cares if the calendar says today is Halloween? It's Christmas in Oberon, baby. Joyeux Noel!
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| Oct. 28th, 2009 @ 06:16 pm The Oberon Chronicle ~ Special Halloween Edition | |||
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 The Oberon Chronicle - The Oberon Chronicle ~ Special Edition: Halloween  Create Your OpenZine |
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| Feb. 2nd, 2009 @ 10:07 am A Crone's Nest Review of Dr Ava Cadell's Tantra Workbook | |||||
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 Good morning and welcome back to the Crone’s Nest! If you’ve been reading any of my other blogs this month, you’ve read my earlier posts on Dr. Ava Cadell, founder of The Loveology University, just down the coast in Los Angeles. And if you haven’t,…well, what are you waiting for? Go. Read. We’ll wait. Tick. Tick. Tick. Nah, only kidding. You’re here now, might as well pour yourself a cup of tea and get comfortable. The first thing I want to mention is Dr. Ava’s contest. This is something you don't want to miss out on and you only have until this Friday, February 6th, to enter. That’s coming up quick! Instructions for the Search for the World’s Best Lover contest can be found here: http://www.loveologyuniversity.com/instr The contest is absolutely free and your 500 word essay on why your lover deserves the title of World's Best Lover will not only put him or her in the running for the top prize of either $1000 cash or a $2000 scholarship to the Loveology University, it will also earn you a complimentary copy of Dr. Ava’s book, 52 Weeks of Sizzling Sex Secrets--just for entering. How can you beat that? I've had the chance to read this book and, let me tell you, you want this book! It’s fun, it’s playful, and (if nothing else) it’s guaranteed to spark your imagination. While some of the ideas may not be suitable for households with small children, there’s still plenty for you to try right now…as well as more to look forward to in the future. But I do have to warn you of one thing. Dr. Ava’s tone is very warm and friendly, and the fun you’ll have with the exercises in this book will likely encourage you to want to learn more and to grow even closer to your partner...possibly by taking your relationship to the Tantric level. What is Tantra, you ask? Well, okay, if you’ve been following me for any length of time, you’re probably not asking. But, if you didn't know, Dr. Ava’s Tantra Workbook would supply the answer in very clear, very concise (something I’m usually not) easily understandable terms. I'm telling you, this is the book I wish I had on hand when I was writing Waiting for the Big One. It’s a goldmine of information. Why, you could buy it just for the Chakra information, alone, and you would not be sorry. I’ve been a student of Yoga, on and off, for over thirty years…okay, mostly off. But still! And I have to say, Dr Ava’s glossary of terms—and her subsequent use of those terms in the text—was a breath of fresh air and even something of an eye-opener. Far too much of the Yoga material out there (especially when you get into the area of Tantric Yoga) is written in a way that feels alien, even intimidating, to the Western mind. I, personally, have a very low tolerance for funky euphemisms--whether Eastern or Western--but Dr. Ava actually made the vocabulary work for me. Not a small accomplishment! Yes, it’s true, there are some parts of the program I doubt I’ll be able to get my husband to go along with. He’s really not a chanting kind of guy. Which, just between you, me, and the entire blog reading community, is not entirely a bad thing. Trust me on this. But, since Dr. Ava concludes each series of exercises with a brief section entitled, The Least You Should Do, you can easily work your way around anything that doesn't appeal to you. Each chapter also concludes with a Pleasure Rating index that allows you the chance to rate the various exercises and discuss your feelings regarding them with your partner. Communication is good! In fact, if you and your partner did nothing more than read and discuss the concepts in this book, I really believe you’d still receive benefits. But, so many of the activities are fun, healthy and non-intimidating, so why would you not want to do more? There are graphic images, of course, to illustrate the various steps and concepts. I mean, there would have to be, wouldn’t there? And these are, regrettably, of the CGI variety, which is something I’m not personally a big fan of. Computer generated people do nothing for me! They’re just too...West World. And, yes, thanks to Yul Brenner et al, I was imprinted young with a distrust of Androids. What can I say? On the other hand, there are probably people who will find such images less threatening--or, at the very least, less distracting--than photographs of real people would be. Still, I did find myself longing for a few pencil-sketch drawings, a la The Joy of Sex. Maybe something for a future edition, eh? Meanwhile, if you’ve always wanted to give Tantric sex a try, if you’re looking for a way to revitalize your relationship, if you’re hoping to heal some emotional wounds, or if you just want to feel closer to your partner I would highly recommend you get this book. Enjoy! Here are the links again: Loveology University Search for the World's Best Lover Contest Tantra Workbook 52 Weeks of Sizzling Sex Secrets © 2009 PG Forte All Rights Reserved  Join my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/
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| Jan. 22nd, 2009 @ 04:40 pm (no subject) | |||
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| *happy dancing* first newsletter in XXX months finally posted! |
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| Jan. 22nd, 2009 @ 03:40 pm January's Newsletter | |||||
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Current Location: Oberon
Current Mood:  busyCurrent Music: Aiionwatha Creates Wampum ~ Joanne Shenandoah This is my first attempt at remote posting. Apologies ahead of time if I make a mess! THE OBERON CHRONICLE Volume 5, Issue 1 January, 2009 A New Beginning... Let me apologize right off the bat and admit I stole the title of this article from Star Wars. What can I say? I’m in that kind of a mood. Besides, it’s January—start of a new year. Almost the start of a new decade, or at least getting closer. The aughts are almost over or, as my brother likes to call them, the oh-ohs. I really think he might be onto something with that. Haven’t the last eight years felt like one, painfully long, series of mis-steps? In addition, of course, we also have a new president and while maybe a return to something approaching normalcy is too much to hope for, at the moment, we can continue to be hopeful, just the same. I’m hoping to introduce some new features to the newsletter this year. This issue is rather spare—I’ve no new releases and no new reviews to report (or brag about). But I’m hoping to add my own reviews of some of the books I’ve been reading along with the occasional interview. On a more personal note, my son is twenty-one and later this year my daughter turns eighteen. Now, that really feels like a new beginning to me! But, the new beginning I’m most pleased to be able to announce is the up-coming re-release of the entire Oberon series in print. Yep, you read that right. If everything goes as planned, the first three volumes—with their brand, spankin’ new covers—should be available for purchase within the next few months. Definitely something I’m looking forward to! So, if you belong to a book club, know the book buyers at your local libraries, or have an interest in helping set up book signings—please let me know! I love signing books. Have pen, will travel. In other news: This month, I’ll be hosting Dr Ava Cadell (author of the Tantric Sex Workbook) on my blogs. Here are the links: January 19-23 at The Midnight Bell http://ping.fm/8RxFP The subject is Tantric Kissing January 26-30 at Rhymes with Foreplay http://ping.fm/2Clay The subject is ‘The Big O’ Gee, wonder why I’m interested in that one? ;) February 2-6 at The Crone’s Nest http://ping.fm/TwXbZ where the Oberon Book Club will be reviewing the Workbook. Should be lots of fun! Dr Ava is also hosting a contest this month (just in time for Valentine’s Day) The ‘Search for the World’s Best Lover Contest costs nothing to enter and offers some great prizes--including a copy of 52 Sizzling Sex Secrets which you get just for entering! Write a brief essay on why the person you’re nominating should win and you’ll also receive a nice certificate for your loved one and a chance to win a free scholarship to Dr Ava’s Loveology University. For more information check out her website at: http://ping.fm/UUguN I’ve also been expanding my web presence in the past few months and can now be found on Facebook and Twitter...hope to see you there! © This Month’s Excerpt From Sound of a Voice That is Still In this month’s (slightly edited for language) excerpt, set in late January--hey, what a coincidence, huh?--Siobhan pays a visit to her sister’s teashop. I always liked writing the teashop scenes... The door to the teashop burst open and a gust of wind propelled yet another of Marsha’s friends into the shop. Scout Patterson pushed the door closed behind her, dumped her umbrella into the bucket beside the door and advanced towards them, shaking back her hood and pulling open the hooks of her jacket as she did. "I hate this weather," Scout snarled as she dropped, damp and disheveled, into an empty chair. "I hate the rain. I hate the cold. I hate the mud. I hate my car. And, oh, God do I hate being pregnant." "Those last few months do seem to last forever." Marsha nodded sympathetically at her friend, but Lucy Greco-Cavanaugh, cousin to Scout’s husband Nick, looked up from the beekeeper’s catalogue she’d been immersed in and frowned at them both. "What are you two talking about?" she snapped. "How can anyone hate being pregnant? I loved being pregnant. I mean, what’s not to like?" Scout glowered at her friend. Probably debating the usefulness of suggesting to Lucy that she try not to take it personally. Completely useless, as Siobhan could have told her. Lucy took everything personally. Especially anything connected to her family. "Well, let’s see." Scout cast a longing look at the large bowl, brimming with foam, that steamed peacefully on the table in front of Lucy. "Among other things, there’s the lack of caffeine. Mornings like this, that seems like a huge concession to have to make." "Oh, big deal. So have a decaf, then," Lucy grumbled, as she picked up the bowl and sipped at her latte. "Or how about some tea?" Siobhan suggested, remembering how badly milk had sat with her stomach during her own pregnancy. "Maybe." Scout glanced doubtfully first at the teapot, and then at Marsha. "What’d you put in it this time?" "Mostly green tea," Marsha said. "Along with lavender, and rose petals. And a little spearmint. It’s got some caffeine, not enough to hurt you, but I can make you some without, if you want." "Why don’t you forget the drinks and think about getting some sleep," Heather Finch, co-owner of the local bookstore advised. She looked at Scout critically. "Have you been up all night or something? ‘Cause girl, you look like hell." "Heather, that’s a terrible thing to say." Heather’s partner, Ginny Hartman frowned at her. "But, you do look a little tired, dear. Have you been having trouble sleeping?" "I’m sleeping just fine, thanks," Scout answered. The stubborn thrust of her chin dared any of them to argue with her. "Here, have a pastry." Marsha pushed the plate of cinnamon rolls towards Scout. "So, what’s wrong with your car?" Scout picked up a roll and cautiously took a bite. "What’s wrong with it? Gee, I don’t know. You mean, besides the fact that every time I get in it I can’t help but remember how I nearly died in it last summer?" "So? We all nearly died last summer," Lucy reminded her, taking another sip. "Don’t dwell on stuff like that, you’ll make yourself sick. Have a latte." "A latte. Right." Scout sighed, and Siobhan found herself feeling caught between sympathy for Scout and agreement with Lucy. Marsha had come close to being killed, too, after all. And, in a way, it had been at least partly Scout’s fault. "It hasn’t ever really run right since the accident, and now the roof’s started leaking." Scout looked down at her stomach ruefully, "Plus, it’s not exactly a practical family car, either." "Get an SUV," Lucy suggested. "Like mine. They’re not as sporty as your Mustang, but they’re plenty practical." Scout sighed. "Well, I would, except Nick is being a little weird about money right now. He doesn’t seem to want to spend any for some reason." Lucy’s eyebrows rose in surprise. "So? Why would you be spending his money? You’ve got plenty of your own, don’t you?" "Yeah." Scout grimaced. "He’s being a little weird about that, too." "Oh." Lucy nodded understandingly. "Joey, huh?" "I guess." Scout sighed again, and took another bite of pastry. "Joey...what?" Heather asked Lucy. "What’d your brother do now, Luce?" "Oh, nothing, really," Lucy said. "It’s just...well, he did kind of happen to suggest to my father that Nick was maybe marrying Scout for her money. Or that he should have been marrying her for her money, or something. This was a couple of weeks before the wedding. The story got a little confusing in the re-telling." "They usually do, don’t they?" Ginny observed, her brown eyes twinkling over the rim of her cup as she sipped at her tea. "So, who told who what, exactly?" "Well, my father told my mother, of course. And then my mother had to go and tell my aunt about it, and my aunt--" "Went and told Nick," Scout said, taking up the tale. "Who blew up at Joey. Again. I have to say, it was not my idea of a fun Christmas." "Yeah, and I was so sorry to have missed it." Lucy grinned. She pushed her bowl across the table. "Here. One sip ain’t gonna kill you, Scout. A little coffee, a little warm milk, a little foam--where’s the bad? It’s the answer to all of life’s annoying little problems." She turned to Marsha. "I can’t even remember. What did we used to do, before we had them?" "Drugs," Marsha replied, smiling at her friend. "Drugs. Cigarettes. Alcohol. Stuff like that." "Oh, yeah." Lucy smiled reminiscently. "That’s right. Those were the days, huh?" © 2009 PG Forte All Rights Reserved Join my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/
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| Jan. 22nd, 2009 @ 12:41 am (no subject) | |||
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| Getting closer to being finished with this month's newsletter. What? It's still January! ;) |
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| Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 04:30 pm (no subject) | |||
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| now let's try posting to ping.fm from iGoogle. lol! bet everyone who wasn't on this morning's #smt09 call is pretty confused right now. |
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| Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 04:11 pm (no subject) | |||
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| Just taking ping.fm for a test drive... ;) |
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| Jan. 1st, 2009 @ 02:09 pm Good-bye, 2008 | |||||
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Okay, so I'm going to go out on a limb and reveal at least one of my resolutions: I'm really going to try and make 2009 a much more pro-active year, promotion-wise, than 2008. And, yeah, I realize that won't exactly be hard. Erg. 2008--not my best year for...well, a lot of things, actually, but really bad from a blogging perspective. However, that was then and this is now and, what can I say? Except hope springs eternal and clap your hands if you believe in fairies. Here's to a great and adventure-filled new year. The good kind of adventure. Peace. Click HERE to view my New Year's Greeting. © 2009 PG Forte All Rights Reserved Join my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/
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| Jun. 6th, 2008 @ 12:34 pm New Oberon Novella Available Now!! | |||||
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Current Location: Oberon, California
Current Mood:  cheerfulCurrent Music: Where Does the Good Go ~ Tegan & Sara Technorati Profile Join my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/ I'm really late getting the word out about this, but I now have two Oberon Novellas available at SynergEbooks, as well as the original nine-part series, of course. The first novella will be familiar to some of you, being as it also happens to be the prequel to A Taste of Honey. Dan and Lucy Cavanaugh have one of Oberon’s hottest marriages. But it wasn’t always strawberries and cream...or was it? In this Oberon prequel, we travel back in time to see how it all began and learn if one hot summer full of such fleeting pleasures can really last a lifetime...  Such Fleeting Pleasures is a good place to start if you're new to the series. Here's the blurb: Dan Cavanaugh’s summer is not looking too hot. He’s back at home, working for his father—the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do. At least it’s only temporary. He’s promised he’d run the family nursery for his parents while they’re off on their second honeymoon. Now, the only thing promising a little summer heat is his new employee, Lucy Greco. Too bad she hates his guts. Lucy thinks she’s looking at the longest summer of her life. She’s had the run of the nursery for three years now, and she’s not about to let any Cavanaugh family black sheep sweep into town and take that away from her—even if it is only temporary. Her new boss might be smart and sexy, but the only place he’s making her hot is under the collar. From the moment they meet, Dan’s pushing buttons Lucy didn’t even know she had and she’s all too happy to return the favor. But, temporary positions have an odd habit of becoming permanent. And, for Lucy and Dan, Summer is about to get a whole lot hotter. Novella number two, Sea Change, is--hopefully--what longtime fans of the series have been waiting for. A sequel, of sorts, following up with Cara and Liam (the h/h of Dream Under the Hill) who still had some issues to work through when the series ended with And Shadows Have Their Ending Love alone was not enough to help Cara and Liam overcome the trauma in her past. Now, it’s time for the pair to get creative. But will a romantic cruise along the coast of Mexico provide the sea change they’re both hoping for? Or is their star-crossed relationship doomed to end in disaster?  When the going gets tough...the tough go cruising. Love is supposed to overcome any obstacles—that’s what Cara always thought. But, after six months, she's getting worried. What if love alone is not enough? Surely a change of scenery would help. A week at sea—new faces, new places, a fresh start with no expectations—how could that be anything but fun? At least that’s what her boyfriend Liam thinks when he books them on a romantic cruise vacation. Cara’s not so sure. She thinks the trip is likely to be a lot of things—memorable, life altering, a turning point. Fun isn’t one of them. But, with so much at stake, and a New Year fast approaching, there's one thing they can agree on: they’re both willing to try just about anything. I hope you enjoy them! © 2008 PG Forte All Rights Reserved BlogCatalog Blog Directory
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| Feb. 5th, 2008 @ 10:47 am New Issue: Oberon Chronicle | |||||
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Current Location: Oberon, California
Current Mood: cheerfulCurrent Music: Shadow of the Day ~ Linkin Park Technorati Profile Join my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/  THE OBERON CHRONICLE VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Return to Oberon Calendar of Events Goings On About Town New Releases New Review This Month’s Excerpt  Return to Oberon... From the Editor’s Desk "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun" Eccl. 1:9 Or, as Ambrose Bierce would have it in his ‘Devil’s Dictionary’: "There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know." I don’t know about the rest of you, but I find it both ironic and amusing that February is turning into my annual month for backtracking...kind of like the groundhog taking a look and thinking, nope, not yet. This year, I’ve got Mars Retrograde to blame for it...or do I mean credit? Yes, definitely credit....although I suppose it could be that whole Neptune in Aquarius/Uranus in Pisces flip-flop that’s making me (with my sun in Pisces and my moon in Aquarius) so annually nuts? No, matter, I guess. The big news here is that Oberon is returning to SynergEbooks...or, has actually returned, by this point, making me both excited and relieved (and totally psyched to suddenly have an even dozen—twelve books out at one time—woo-hoo!). I love this series, I will always love this series, but other than writing new novellas, either set in Oberon or featuring Oberon characters, or possibly re-working the series material for the purposes of ‘new media’ marketing I need to be done with writing it. And it needs to be released (and available in some format)in its entirety—now, rather than ten years from now. Plus, besides being available on the SynergE website http://www.synergebooks.com the series will also be shortly available for purchase at Fictionwise, Mobipocket and Amazon’s Kindle bookstore. So, once again it’s a new year and a new beginning and thanks to all this new energy (and a terrible propensity to procrastinate on my writing) I’ve spent the last few days updating both of my websites. Stop by and check ‘em out, if you get the chance: Calendar of Events February 5, 2008 HOLTVILLE Carrot Festival http://www.holtvillechamber.com SAN DIEGO Mardi Gras in Gaslamp Quarters http://www.gaslamp.org Feb. 8, 2008 GARDEN GROVE Tet Festival http://www.tetfestival.org SANTA MONICA Gem Faire http://www.gemfaire.com SEAL BEACH Seal Beach Crab Feed http://www.socalcrabfeed.com February 9, 2008 BOONVILLE 3rd Annual International Alsace Varietals http://www.avwines.com/ HEALDSBURG Wine & Chocolate Fantasy http://www.rodneystrong.com HUNTINGTON BEACH Euge Groove Jazz concert http://www.BBJAZZ.com LOS ANGELES 109th Annual Golden Dragon Parade http://www.lachinesechamber.org February 14, 2008 IRVINE Hapa in Concert http://www.thebarclay.org NEWPORT BEACH Newport Beach Jazz Party http://www.newportbeachjazzparty.com SAN FRANCISCO Tulipmania at Pier 39 http://www.pier39.com February 15, 2008 INDIO Annual Indio Date Festival http://www.datefest.org KERNVILLE 53rd Annual Whiskey Flat Days http://www.kernvillechamber.org February 16, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition http://www.winejudging.com SONOMA The VinOlivo Gala and the Sonoma Valley Olive Festival, http://www.vinolivo.cmarket.com http://www.sonomavalleywine.com February 22, 2008 RIPON 46th Annual Ripon Almond Blossom Festival http://www.riponchamber.org YOLO BASIN California Duck Days http://www.yolobasin.org February 23, 2008 EUREKA Indian Island Candlelight Vigil 2008 michelle@wiyot.com HUNTINGTON BEACH Huntington Beach Kite Party/Kite Connection Dave’s Annual Kite Party http://www.kiteconnection.com SAN FRANCISCO Chinese New Year Parade http://www.chineseparade.com SANTA CRUZ 26th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook-Off http://www.ci.santa-cruz.ca.us WATSONVILLE Pajaro Valley Quilt Fair http://www.pvqu.org February 29, 2008 SANTA ROSA 17th Annual Tattoos and Blues Expo http://www.tattoosandblues.net/index.htm Goings on about Town  http://www.wickedwhispersauthors.com/ The Wicked Whisper Authors are pleased to announce the return of the Hump Day Hottie contest. Check out the hotties on our blog each Wednesday and leave us a comment to be entered to win a gift certificate from one of our favorite publishers and/or book sellers. You know what I mean by ‘favorite’ don’t you? That means they publish and/or distribute our books. Check us out at: http://www.wickedwhispersauthors.blogspo New Releases Well, it’s not exactly new, but for those of you who don’t know it, I now have three books out with Liquid Silver Books, including the latest: Let Me Count the Ways (book 3 in the LA Love Lessons series)  http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cg "As the owner of The Body Electric, LA’s hottest new exercise studio, sexy, former film star Claire Calhoun has her pick of studly young men eager to do her bidding. Small wonder she’s used to calling the shots, both in and out of bed. But everything changes the night the actress-turned-entrepreneur has one mojito too many at a party and decides it would be fun to pick up her accountant, Mike Sherman. She’s thinking fling. He’s thinking forever. Claire has been Mike’s fantasy since the first time he saw her bare it all for the camera. Now, she’s in his bed and he’ll do whatever’s necessary to keep her there. But he’s not a stalker, right? He’s just a devoted fan." And for more on the awesomely good reading front do yourselves a favor and check out the following fabulous new releases: Sea of Dreams By Keira Ramsay  http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cg "Fiona Neal is tired of shuffling between one crappy job and the next, and the same goes when it comes to relationships. But when a stranger at a wedding lights her fires, she succumbs to a few moments of stolen passion before beginning a new life. Mike Alvarez gets just what he’s looking for when a beautiful waitress satisfies his carnal cravings ... giving him everything but her name. When he moves a thousand miles away to begin a new job, he’s shocked to meet her again ... and just as hungry for her. Fiona swore her job as a naturalist was a new beginning, but when she encounters Mike again, it’s hard to ignore the swirling passion between them. But their budding relationship will be tested by ghosts from not only Mike’s past, but Fiona’s as well. For there’s more to her than meets the eye. She’s a prodigal daughter, and the only one who can heal the mystical world of the Fae ... or tear them apart forever." Sea of Dreams is the third interlude in the marvelous Ms. Keira Ramsay’s ultra-fantastic RuneQuest series (Liquid silver Books). For more about this series (including interlude #4—Breath of Heaven) check out her website at: http://www.keiraramsay.com And if you—like me—think four books is far too few for this fantastic series by all means drop her a line and say so—loudly, repetitively, dare I say...annoyingly? Tell her I sent you. She can beat me up (er, I mean thank me) for it later. And from the endlessly entertaining Ms. Jodi Lynn Copeland comes Handyman (Kensington Aphrodisia) Three very hot inter-linking stories about the men of Loose Screws...gotta love that name. And the cover—mmm. If you like that as much as I do, be sure to visit her website for printable postcards of it to download. http://www.jodilynncopeland.com Handyman By Jodi Lynn Copeland  "He’s every woman’s secret fantasy, the handyman who can service her every need and bring her to ultimate sexual satisfaction." New Review "Former film star Claire Calhoun has her pick of studly young men who vie for her attention. Her accountant Mike Sherman is not as studly or as young as many of her men, but he has been fascinated by her ever since he saw her first movie. Having one too many drinks at a gallery opening, Claire seduces Mike and finds out that he is a wonderful bed partner. Claire is jaded from her life on the silver screen and almost doesn’t believe that Mike can honestly be for her. What will he do if he finds out her secret? Will she lose him as she has lost so many other men before? Let Me Count The Ways was written in the first person, alternating between Mike and Claire. Although I often have trouble with first person novels, Ms. Forte did an admirable job. Mike and Claire were surprisingly well-written, with their various secrets coming to light as necessary. Claire did her best to keep Mike as a "friend with benefits" but Mike was unwilling to stay in the slot in which she put him. I thought that Mike in particular was an amazing character. Almost middle-aged, he nonetheless made erotic and delicious love to Claire. He was a surprise to both me and Claire. Claire came off at the beginning as a self-centered woman, but as I got to know her I liked her more and more. I suggest that you have a toy handy-I certainly needed one. Their lovemaking was graphic and fun. An instance of phone sex had me squirming in my seat! There were a number of interesting twists in this book, but Ms. Forte never lost control of her plot. I expect that you will love Let Me Count The Ways." Marcy Arbitman Rating: 4/5 Stars Heat level: O This Month’s Excerpt From Let Me Count the Ways In this month’s R rated excerpt, it’s a few days after Claire and Mike’s initial tryst and they’re once again at work at The Body Electric... Mike appeared to be absorbed in his work when I breezed into my office, vigorously fanning my face with one hand. "Whew, that was fun." I was glad I could blame the flush on my cheeks and the breathlessness in my voice on the exercise. When Mike’s eyes met mine, I was even more glad he was too far away to notice the pounding of my heart. Then he dropped his gaze and refocused on the papers in front of him, without so much as a single word. Silence filled the room. Feigning indifference, I hopped on my desk, uncapped the bottle of water I’d taken from the refrigerator downstairs and gulped half of it down. I was now annoyed as well as disappointed. If I had any sense at all, Mike’s present disinterest would have had a chilling effect on my libido, but, apparently, I’d learned nothing from my last marriage. "Have you ever tried Capoeria, Mike?" I asked when I could think of nothing else to say. I was just trying to make conversation although, given Mike’s wide range of interests, I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn he used to teach it. "No," he answered shortly. "Oh, you should. It’s so much fun." "So you’ve said." More silence. Dead air. God damn it. Why should I even bother? If Mike was no longer interested, I should just find someone who was. How hard could it be? He wasn’t all that, after all. He was older, mostly bald, hardly in the best of shape. And, at the moment, he was as cranky and out of sorts as an entire cast of sleep-deprived, PMS-positive Divas in the midst of a chocolate famine. Never a good look for a man. And, yet... it was still all I could do to keep from launching an ambush, shoving his chair away from the desk, straddling his lap, unzipping his fly... Maybe he wouldn’t be ready for me, but so what? I knew how to get him there quick. But was it worth it? Did I want to have to work that hard for any man’s attention? Well, maybe. Just remembering how hot we’d been together was enough to start me creaming. One night wasn’t enough. I wanted more of what we’d had. I wanted to be naked under him now. And, like a moth drawn to his particular brand of fire, no other candle was going to do it for me. Groaning in disgust at my own weakness, I let my head fall back and slowly trailed the cool plastic cylinder down my throat, hoping it would slow my racing pulse. Capoeria might be great exercise, but it had obviously done nothing to diminish the horniness I was feeling. I was tempted to slide the bottle between my thighs, to rub its frigid surface against my heated flesh and maybe ease the fluttering pressure in my sex. Would Mike even notice if I did? I raised my head and caught him staring, eyes dark with what could only be lust. Oh, yeah, he’d notice. Good. I felt my mood lift. So much for disinterest. Bracing my hands on the edge of the desk, I leaned forward. "So what’s going on here, Mike? I don’t even get a greeting now? What’s up with that?" He frowned, the heat in his gaze diminishing as his eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?" "I’m talking about when you first got here today. I said hi and you totally blew me off." "Claire, I did not blow you off." "You did. You completely ignored me." "How? I said hello, didn’t I?" I snorted. "Barely." "Well, you were occupied." "Oh, please. What kind of excuse is that?" "I didn’t want to interrupt." "Hmph." I thought about that as Mike once again focused on his work. It was plausible, I supposed. And really very considerate, if looked at in just the right way. I still felt slighted. "Very thoughtful. But hardly necessary. We were just fooling around." "Yes, that would have been my impression too. It’s a mystery to me why you do it." "What does that mean?" Mike sighed. "It means I don’t understand why you waste your time with these... with these young guys in their... beachwear." Beachwear? "This is about clothing? What’s wrong with the way they were dressed?" "Nothing. Forget it." Damien and Raul had been dressed appropriately, I‘d thought, in white tanks, bearing the studio’s logo, over black Lycra shorts. It was a look that was only slightly more casual than my own apparel, a lime colored, cap sleeve, scoop neck T and matching yoga pants. Mike, in comparison, was almost overdressed in khaki pants and a sage-green linen shirt. The stud I’d admired last time was once again glittering in his ear and a two-toned Rolex Oyster was clasped around his wrist. I had to admit he looked good. Attractive. Moderately affluent. Mature. Respectable. And angry. But why? "What are you so angry about?" "I’m not angry." Right. Not much. Once again, I considered Mike’s appearance, contrasting it with that of Damien and Raul. I recalled their hard sculpted bodies, their gleaming, oiled muscles, their... Oh. The corners of my mouth quirked upward. "Mike... are you jealous?" "No." He continued to work steadily, but the heightened color in his cheeks and the grim set of his jaw gave him away. "Of course not." "Mike..." When he glanced up again, the scowl on his face wiped the smile from mine in a hurry. "Is that what you wanted Claire? Were you hoping I’d make a scene in front of your boys? Sorry to disappoint you." I could feel my cheeks flaming. "No, that’s not what I..." "Excuse me. I have a lot of work to do." "Mike!" He ignored me. Frustrated, I blew out an exasperated breath. I tried hard to hold on to my sense of outrage, he was acting like an ass. But it was impossible for me to stay angry with him. There was an odd tightness in my chest that wouldn’t allow it. I couldn’t help but recall my own reaction, two weeks ago, to Derek and his class full of pretzels. How welcome Mike’s admiration had been to me then. I cleared my throat. "For what it’s worth, I was not trying to make you jealous." Mike nodded. "Glad to hear it." "But, just in case you are feeling that way—" "I’m not," he growled through clenched teeth. "I told you that already." "Right. But if you were ever to, there’s something you should know." He was quiet for an instant and then, "What’s that?" "The truth is I find you maddeningly attractive." He said nothing. If I didn’t know better I might have thought he wasn’t listening. But the slight trembling in his fingers gave him away. "And very sexy." Still nothing. "In fact it’s really quite distracting." He continued working. "Mike?" "Thank you," he murmured, his voice subdued. "Do you know you’re blushing?" "I’m not... blushing," he muttered, even more quietly. But he was. To the tips of his ears he’d gone completely pink. I think even the top of his bald head was rosier than usual. "Mike?" Another silence. Then, finally, "Yes?" "Would you like to kiss and make up now?" His hand clenched hard on the pen he was holding. Any harder, and I think it might have snapped in two. He raised his eyes to mine. I smiled and batted my eyes a time or two. "Unless you’re too busy working?" I’d forgotten how quickly he could move. I’d almost forgotten how well he could kiss. But the moment he clasped my face in his hands, the moment his lips touched mine, it all came rushing back. Oh, yes. I locked my hands behind his head and fell into his kiss. My only regret was that he couldn’t talk and kiss at the same time. There aren’t many ways in which fantasy is superior to reality, but that’s definitely one of them. When he finally raised his head, I locked eyes with him and smiled. "God, I’ve missed your mouth." "Claire." Mike groaned in response. He pulled me close once more, muttering between kisses, "You don’t know what it does when you say those things. These last weeks have been hell. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think straight." Huh? Bracing my hands against his chest, I pushed him away a little. "Why’s that?" "Because! I didn’t know where I stood with you, or what you wanted. You were so vague when I asked about seeing you again. And you left so quickly." What the hell? "Mike, I was perfectly clear. I said it would be nice, didn’t I? Or something to that effect." He groaned again. "That’s just what I mean. Too vague. Too polite. I wanted a simple yes or no." Amused now, I couldn’t help but murmur, "Really? You’d rather I’d said no?" Mike frowned. "Don’t play with me, Claire. You know how I feel. I’ve always been honest about my feelings for you." "And I haven’t been? I was not vague!" "Maybe not intentionally," Mike conceded. "But it felt vague to me. And then when you didn’t call..." I held my tongue. It would have been easy to say, well, you didn’t call me, either, but would that accomplish? All this conversation was taking us into murky territory. I didn’t want a relationship with him. Not the kind where feelings could be hurt if someone didn’t call. "Why are we talking about this now? Don’t we have better things we could be doing?" "Wh—what?" A frown furrowed Mike’s brow as he glanced around the room, his expression stuck somewhere between eager and doubtful. "D’you mean here?" I felt my eyes widen as his meaning hit home. No, that was not what I meant." Or was it? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time. I’d seduced Derek in this room once, although it hadn’t been easy. If there’s one thing that man prides himself on it’s his iron self-control. Something told me Mike would be a whole lot easier to bend. I smiled. "Well, now that you mention it, sure. Why not? Unless you’d rather wait for some other time?" "No." Mike’s voice was flat and final. "That’s one mistake I’ll never make again." © 2008 PG Forte All Rights Reserved BlogCatalog Blog Directory
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| Jan. 21st, 2008 @ 01:16 pm They're Baaaack...well, almost. | |||
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Current Location: Oberon, California
Current Mood: cheerfulCurrent Music: Limerick's Lamentation ~ Aine Minogue So after a solid year of dithering around on my part and a week and a half of conversation, discussion, and some really hard thought (also on my part--smell the wood burning? that's my brain...not even on drugs) I'm excited to announce that the Oberon series will soon be returning to SynergEbooks. Okay, we're still ironing out the details but since I'm highly motivated to have everything taken care of before Mercury goes retrograde (and, before the Moon starts to wane) I'm really not worried about that. I mean, if two Pisces can't come to terms...well, if would be a little like Gabby and Zach, come to think of it. In an entirely un-sexual way, of course. But that's another series. Anyway, if you haven't already checked them out (and if you haven't, what the heck are you doing on this site, anyway?) please do so at: www.oberoncalifornia.us And check back here for updates. I'm anticipating a little more activity on this blog than there's been in the last year or so. And now, because I love you all, an excerpt. This is from Chapter Two of A Sight to Dream Of and I think it's kinda self explanatory... A tiny spurt of joy lanced through [Scout] and she couldn’t help but smile. It had taken her such a long time to get here, but it looked like she’d finally come home. Home. The word had never sounded so good. Scout was still several yards from her car when she saw Nick. He had pulled his own car up behind hers, and was leaning against the side of it. Arms crossed, he watched as she approached. His face was unreadable, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, even despite the day’s dreariness. He looked every inch the cop that he was. Even without the uniform, Scout thought, you’d never mistake him for anything else. She stopped a few feet away, conscious of the small tremor that always seemed to run through her whenever she looked at him. "Hi," she breathed, a little uncertainly, wondering how she could explain her presence here without causing him more pain than she already had. "I figured I’d find you here," Nick said, and she was relieved to hear only quiet satisfaction in his voice as he moved toward her through the mist. "I was just...uh...you did?" She looked at him, questioningly. "How?" His arms slid around her possessively. A mocking smile curved his lips. "You’re forgetting something, aren’t you? You’re back on my turf now. You don’t really think I’m gonna let you get away from me again?" "Oh, I don’t know." Scout smiled back, motioning at the trees that all but surrounded them. "There’s all this wilderness, after all. And I do seem to remember you telling me once, a long time ago, how you cops were always losing people, out here in the woods." Nick ran his fingers through her hair for a few moments without answering. Should he tell her, he wondered? In these past few weeks, as he’d felt the bond between them strengthen and solidify, it was as if some long dormant sense had come awake. He was aware of her now in ways he couldn’t even begin to understand, much less explain. He sensed that, from now on, he would always know exactly where she was, exactly how to find her. "Well, hon," he said at last. "I gotta say, I don’t think too much of your chances. But, if you really want to play cops and robbers, we could always--" "Uh-uh," she answered. She removed his glasses and looked deep into his eyes. "I’d much rather play house." "Yeah? With me, I hope?" Nick pulled her in closer for a long, deep kiss. "Oh, definitely with you," she answered a little breathlessly, when he finally let her go. "Well, okay then. But only if I get to cook." "Deal." © 2007 PG Forte All Rights Reserved |
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| Dec. 11th, 2007 @ 11:54 am Thinking about the New Year | |||||
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Technorati Profile Join my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/ I suppose I have to thank the good folk at "cobra pill super disk" for motivating me to post today, since I had to log in to delete their spam comment. I've been remiss--to say the least!--this year. Mostly because, hey, with the Oberon series still off-line, what's the point, right? Which isn't to say I've been idle, I've had three new releases this year. Check out my author page at Liquid Silver Books for details on the LA Love Lessons series. I really enjoyed writing those books--all in various permutations of first person--and there might be another trilogy in the series yet to be written, but for now I'm on to other projects. For example, while I'm trying to figure out what to do about Oberon, I've just completed a first draft of a novella in what I'm privately calling my Oberon-X series. Short stories (well, sorta, this one's 35K) about Oberon characters set outside Oberon. After a solid year of writing nothing but first person erotic romance, writing Sea Change--third person and not really erotica--was er, interesting, to say the least. Also, the book features Cara and Liam and takes up about six months after And Shadows Have Their Ending leaves off. Those two have always been a handful and I swear they spent most of this book arguing with me about whether or not they were going to do what I wanted them to do. We compromised. And ended up with more sex and less bad flashbacks/memories than I'd originally planned. And a story that's probably even less genre-specific than Oberon itself. Which means it'll be even harder to sell. But, not to worry. Maybe I'll decide to give it away, anyway, to good little readers of the entire big-ass series. If you're out there--and can prove it--drop me a line. We'll talk. lol! But, in the meantime, since I'm here and all. How about a sneak-peek excerpt? This scene takes place on the first evening of Cara and Liam's four day cruise to Catalina and Endenada...and yes, I did have a lot of fun researching this book. ;) In this scene, they've just gotten finished with the Life Boat drill and are heading back to their cabin to dress for dinner. Cara is about to drop a bomb-shell. She's come up with a plan to 'cure' herself of her aversion to being touched (the result of a brutal, life-threatening attack nine months earlier), one that Liam is going to find totally insane... "You did great back there," Liam said, much later that day, as they headed down the stairs to their cabin following the life boat drill. "Thanks." Cara loved the note of approval in his voice, loved the warm glow it gave her. She grinned at him happily. Then her gaze fell on the life vests he carried, draped casually over one arm, like they were no big deal—just harmless chunks of nylon covered Styrofoam, nothing at all to get upset about—and her grin dissolved again. She hadn’t done all that great, and she knew it. She’d handled the people okay, better than she’d expected in fact. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed the crowd congregated on the deck around her, or that she hadn’t felt short of breath, hadn’t felt threatened, hadn’t felt like the walls were closing in on her—even if she was outside. She’d noticed and felt all of it. But Liam was there, big, solid, dependable; ready to protect her from anyone who might try and touch her, anyone who’d want to hurt her. Not that it was likely anyone would. She knew that. But with Liam there, she hadn’t even had to worry about ‘what if?’ Then he’d slipped the life vest over her head and the panic set in. Cara’s heart had started to pound and she’d dug her nails into her palms to keep from screaming, to keep from tearing at his hands in an effort to get the vest back off again. I can do this, she thought; I can. I can. But the way it squeezed her neck and pressed on her shoulders was too visceral, too vivid a reminder of the hard plastic collar the EMTs had fitted around her neck the night she was attacked; of the brace that had kept her immobilized in the hospital. She felt the trembling start deep inside her and clenched her fists tighter as she fought to keep it all in. She still thought, at that point, that she could make it, that she could hold it together and pretend it was all okay. If she could just focus on her breathing, she was sure she could manage it. But then he’d started to strap the vest closed and the weight and the pressure against her chest was more than she could bear. "Stop." The single word was all get could get out. It emerged as a whisper, barely audible, but Liam’s fingers froze. "What’s wrong?" he asked, but in almost the same instant she watched his eyes go wide as understanding hit and he had the vest off her again—just like that—even before she could answer. "You’re okay," he soothed. "Calm down. Deep breaths. You’re all right now." She nodded, gulping for breath, wishing he would hold her, knowing he wouldn’t—that he couldn’t. "Having trouble with your life vest, Miss?" an unfamiliar voice asked and Cara shook her head at the crewman who stood only a couple of feet away, watching them. "Then I’ll have to ask you to put that back on now." Cara’s gaze flew to Liam’s face. She stared at him, imploringly. "Liam, I- I can’t." "I’ll take care of it," he replied, his voice low and soothing. Then he turned to the crewman. "Can I speak to you for a minute, Sir?" Cara watched as Liam’s hand closed firmly on the other man’s shoulder. He walked him a few feet away to where they could not be overheard by the other passengers. While the two men spoke earnestly with each other, she shrank back against the bulkhead, trying to stay calm, trying to be as inconspicuous as either her five-nine frame or the scars on her face and arms would allow. Within a couple of minutes, Liam returned, his cop swagger more apparent than usual "See? Everything’s fine," he told her. "We’ll just chill here until the drill’s over. Then, when the crowd thins out, we’ll go back down to the cabin." And Cara had nodded, grateful for the first time since she’d met him that Liam was a cop. She’d never thought she’d say it, but it was nice to be on the right side of power for once. Still— "That was really hard," she told him as they threaded their way through the narrow corridor where their room was located. Liam nodded. "I know. I should have realized sooner. I’m sorry." "What are you sorry for?" she asked in surprise. She was the one who should be sorry—for her weakness, for her inability to cope, for being such a loser. She hadn’t always been this way and she hated what she’d become. "You saved me. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there." Probably, she would have screamed her head off, sobbed like a baby, thrown such a fit she would’ve ended up strapped to a bed in a hospital somewhere, sedated until she didn’t even know her own name. "Well, you’ll never have to find that out, will you?" Liam asked, adding, when she gazed at him questioningly, "I’ll always be there for you, Cara. You know that, right?" And Cara nodded, saying, "Sure." Thinking, maybe. Thinking, no, probably you won’t. Not unless her plans for the week worked out. At the moment, things weren’t looking too good. "Race you to the cabin," she said to avoid any more conversation. "Careful!" Liam shouted after her as she took off, as fast as her damaged leg would take her. Then the ship rolled and knocked her off-course. Oh, shit, she thought as she started to pitch into the path of an oncoming passenger. There was no way to avoid him, no way to regain her balance in time. She could already imagine how the next several seconds would unfold; how it would feel when she landed against his chest; how his hands would close on her arms in an attempt to steady her—or himself. Her skin crawled in anticipation, her nerves shrieked. No. Stop. Don’t touch me. She braced herself for impact. It never came. Instead, Liam lunged past her, grabbed the man’s arm and hauled him from her path. As Cara’s shoulder bumped harmlessly into the wall, she heard the passenger’s angry cry of protest, "Hey!" and Liam’s response, calm, contrite, "Oh, sorry, my bad. I thought you were about to fall." "What? No, I wasn’t," the man replied, sounding doubtful and slightly confused as he added, "But, uh, thanks, anyway." "Sure thing," Liam answered, "Any time." Then he turned to Cara who was breathing hard. "Are you okay?" And once again she nodded yes and thought no. Seeing Liam react like that, racing to her rescue, all muscle and speed, was doing bad, bad things to her insides. She felt molten, breathless, crazed; as though every hormone in her body had taken to jumping up and down and screaming loudly, he’s a guy! You’re a girl! Do something about that! Which was the whole goddamned problem, wasn’t it? She couldn’t do anything about it and if the frustration was making her so totally nuts her hormones were in revolt, she could only imagine what it must be doing to him. "Well, just take it easy," Liam suggested as he unlocked the cabin door. "At least until you get your sea legs. All right?" "Okay," she agreed, finally catching her breath, hardly even aware what it was she’d just agreed to. She smiled up at him as he held the door open for her, slid past him and into the cabin and came to an abrupt halt a couple of steps later. Whoa. Gasping, she took in the change to the room’s decor. The two narrow bunks which previously had faced each other across the width of the cabin had been moved into the center of the room and pushed together to form one double bed. "Aw, crap," Liam muttered behind her. "Right. I’ll just go get the steward to change them back." "Wouldn’t you rather just leave them the way they are?" Cara asked, forcing herself to get unstuck and move forward. It’s now or never, she told herself, heading for the smaller of her two suitcases, unzipping it quickly before she could lose her nerve. "Well, sure," Liam said cautiously as he closed the cabin door behind him and followed her into the room. "But, do you really think that’s a good idea? I mean, I don’t know how much sleep we’ll be able to get this way and I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you’re not ready for. That’s not what this trip’s about. It’s about relaxing, having fun..." Cara nodded as she turned around again to face him. "I think you should tie me up." Liam blinked in surprise. "You think I should— what?" "Tie me up. You know, in bed? With these." She tried to hand him the bondage gear she’d purchased in anticipation of the trip, but he backed away, eyeing the collection of straps in her hands as if they were live snakes. "Cara...what are you talking about? What is all this stuff?" "Well, here," She indicated the wide, woven nylon straps. "See, these get slipped under the mattress, right? And, apparently, they’re adjustable too, so they can be made to fit any size bed. Then the rings at each end hang out at the sides of the bed—you know, two at the top and two at the bottom. And then these—" She held up one of the soft leather cuffs. "Go around my wrists and ankles. Then you attach the clips on the cuffs to the rings on the straps and—" "No." Liam shook his head. "Absolutely not. Forget it." "I don’t mean right now, you know," Cara explained, exasperated by his response. She needed him to be supportive—and he wasn’t even trying. "We have to go to dinner first, right? But I was thinking, I dunno, later? Like, tonight, maybe? Or tomorrow..." "No," Liam repeated, looking distracted as he sat down on the bed. "Not happening. Not now, not later, not ever." Cara’s eyebrows rose. "Well, why not?" "Why not? Because it’s insane, that’s why not. It’s crazy! It’s—what the hell are you thinking?" "I’m thinking it might be a good way for us to solve my problem." "By tying you up?" He gestured toward the closet, just inside the cabin door, where he’d stowed the life vests. "Okay, was that someone else up on deck with me just now? Because you don’t do well with restraints—remember?" "That was different," Cara said, her spirits sinking under a wave of disappointment. So. He didn’t really think she’d done so great during the drill after all. "Different how? What makes you think you won’t freak out just as much with this stuff? Restraints are restraints. Trust me on that, sunshine." "That’s not the point," she said as she dropped the straps and cuffs on the bed and sat down—not exactly next to him, but close enough that either one of them could, if they wanted, reach out a hand and touch each other. At the thought, her heart began to race, fearful and hopeful all at once. Touch me. Don’t touch me. "Look, Liam, it’s like this. I know you love me. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me. I know that when we—" She stopped to catch her breath again. "I’ve always known you’d be gentle. I could tell that about you right from the start. And sometimes, when I was with Gregg, when I knew it would be bad, when I knew I’d done something he’d want to punish me for—" "That wasn’t ever about something you did," Liam insisted. "Don’t blame yourself like that! What he did to you was not your fault. He just liked to hurt people." She nodded, not caring, trying to make a point. "I’d close my eyes and try to imagine it was you. I was never as afraid if I could pretend I was with you, Liam, I always knew I’d be safe." © 2007 PG Forte All Rights Reserved
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| Jul. 30th, 2007 @ 07:11 pm July/August Newsletter | |||||
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Current Location: Oberon, CA
Current Mood: accomplishedCurrent Music: All American Rejects ~ 11:11 p.m. VOLUME 4 ISSUE 4 July/August, 2007 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Summertime Calendar Goings On Around Town New Reviews Virtual Tour Schedule This Month’s Excerpt Summertime... when the living is easy? From the Editor’s Desk Ah, yes. Sum-sum-summertime. That glorious season when writers get lazy and backed up and end up trying to squish two months of news into one newsletter. Of course summer is only one of four possible seasons in which that could happen, but let’s pretend we haven’t noticed that, shall we? Part of the reason I’ve been so backed up is that I’ve been prepping for August’s virtual book tour. I think it will be a lot of fun and I hope you’ll join me on some of my stops. I’ve posted the schedule here and will be updating it on my blog as I go along—in case there are any changes. (Hint: there are always changes!) So, if you want to keep on top of things either stop by http://www.rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.c I can tell you this tour is already shaping up to be a lot of fun. I’ve answered dozens of interview questions and written quite a few blog posts in preparation...come to think of it, that’s probably why I’m feeling a little talked out right now, huh? In order to ensure I’ll be back in top form by August first I’m heading down to the Mid-State Fair tomorrow for some R&R. So, until Wednesday, enjoy...</civ> July 27- 29, 2007 TOP Gilroy Garlic Festival GILROY http://www.gilroygarlicfestival.com July 28, 2007 Midsummer Full Moon Madness. SANTACRUZ http://www.santacruzstateparks.org July 28 - 29, 2007 U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition. Sandcastle Parade IMPERIAL BEACH http://members.cox.net/usopensandca Salsa Festival. OXNARD http://www.oxnardsalsafestival.com July 29, 2007 Living History Tours LONG BEACH http://www.rancholoscerritos.org Aug. 3 - 5, 2007 Fine Arts Festival. MAMMOTH LAKES http://www.pacificfinearts.com Reggae on the River PIERCY http://www.reggaeontheriver.com Aug. 4 - 5, 2007 San Francisco Aloha Festival SAN FRANCISCO http://www.pica-org.org August 7, 2007 Moonlight Movies on the Beach Series. LONG BEACH http://www.alfredosbeachclub.com August 10, 2007 TOP Summer Jazz Series NEWPORT BEACH http://www.summerjazzseries.com. August 10 - 12, 2007 Fine Arts and Crafts Festival. LAKE TAHOE http://www.pacificfinearts.com August 11, 2007 Butterfly Daze RIVERSIDE COUNTY http://www.riversidecountyparks.or Winemakers’ Celebration MONTEREY http://www.montereywines.org Hummingbird Celebration KERN RIVER VALLEY http://kern.audubon.org/hummer_fes August 12, 2007 Shakespeare Outdoors LONG BEACH http://www.lbshakespeare.org August 14-19 Monterey County Fair MONTEREY http://www.montereyfair.com August 16, 2007 Carmel Vintage Car Parade and Display CARMEL http://www.carmelcalifornia.com Aug. 17 – 19, 2007 Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club Contest and Beach Festival OCEANSIDE http://www.oceansidelongboardsurfingclu Aug. 18, 2007 TOP Quick Draw. Annual Art Event LOS OLIVOS http://www.losolivosca.com August 18 – 19, 2007 Sunset Junction Street Festival LOS ANGELES http://www.sunsetjunction.org/streetfai L.A. Tofu Festival.. LOS ANGELES http://www.tofufestival.com. August 19, 2007 Mud Mania: A Celebration of Adobe! LONG BEACH http://www.rancholoscerritos.org August 25, 2007 Honey Day at "The Farm" SALINAS http://www.thefarm-salinasvalley.c August 31 - September 3, 2007 Begonia Festival CAPITOLA http://www.begoniafestival.com September 8 - October 14, 2007 Northern California Renaissance Faire HOLLISTER http://www.norcalrenfaire.org September 9 Monterey Beer Festival MONTEREY http://www.nightthatneverends.com September 9-10 Blue Whale Celebration MONTEREY http://www.whalefestmonterey.com September 9-10 The Triathlon at Pacific Grove PACIFIC GROVE http://www.tricalifornia.com September 10 Carmel TomatoFest 2006 CARMEL http://www.tomatofest.com September 11 – 16, 2007 Santa Cruz County Fair SANTA CRUZ http://www.santacruzcountyfair.com/ September 21-23, 2007 Monterey Bay Birding Festival WATSONVILLE http://montereybaybirding.org/ © Goings on about Town New Releases I know I mentioned it last month, but Love, From A To Z debuted July 9th and is available now at Liquid Silver Books. I still can’t believe I’ve written an amnesia book—but not only have I written one, it’s one of my favorites. Go figure. Hopefully, it’ll be one of yours, as well.  When April Valenzuela's memory goes missing, all her money can't buy it back. Good thing hunky guitarist Zach Harris is on hand to teach her about Love...from A to Z. And if you still haven’t picked up a copy of Waiting for the Big One, why not get them both? Shameless, right? But, hey, it’s a series—ya can’t just buy one!  One woman’s quest to find true love and ultimate pleasure is complicated by two gorgeous men. And be sure to check out these other great titles from some of my friends: Someone’s favorite flower... Veronica Arch has a new story, "Deep in the Heart", coming soon from the Wild Rose Press http://www.thewildrosepress.com/ Meanwhile, Melissa Glisan’s story, The Ballet is due out July 26th from Red Rose Publishing. http://www.redrosepublishing.com/ And in August... Veronica’s story "The Holy Art" will be appearing at Ruthie’s Club on August 13th. http://www.ruthiesclub.com/ Melissa’s Summer Fantasies (an anthology with six other authors) is due from Twilight Fantasies Aug. 15. http://www.twilightfantasies.com Not to be outdone, the fourth Wicked Whispers Author, Amelia June, also has an anthology due in August. Coming Together for the Cure comes out next month from Phaze. http://www.phaze.com/comingtogether.html Hmm...seems like I’m the only release-free author in the pack. Sulking now. But hey, at least I’ll have lots of great, hot new stories to read while I pout. © And, for all the latest news regarding chats, contests, releases, reviews and so much more be sure to visit these two great Authors Groups: http://www.sensualink.net http://www.wickedwhispersauthors.com Also, be sure to check out the Wicked Whispers Blog http://www.wickedwhispersauthors.blogspo Here’s a list of topics we’ll be discussing over the next month. July 30 – Aug 3 Villains Aug 6 – 10 Summer vacation Aug. 13 – 17 Outside the box Aug 20 – 24 The first time Aug 27 – 31 Researching erotica Got an idea you’d like to see us cover? A Question you’d like to ask us all? Now’s your chance! Visit our blog, leave a comment with your question/topic and you’ll automatically be entered in our ongoing ‘Hottie Hot Bag’ contest. Chat News! Join me and the other Wicked Whisper authors for a chat at Brenda Williamson’s Romance Party http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brendawill All day Thursday August 2nd. Be sure to sign up ahead of time so you don’t miss the fun. Prizes, hot excerpts, witty banter—trust me, these women are fun to chat with! Oh, and did I mention prizes? © New Reviews Seems like only last week I was wishing for a rave review of Love From A to Z. Oh, wait. It was only last week! Well, I guess this is one of those rare times when 'be careful what you wish for' really doesn't apply because I got just what I'd asked for and from what has to be the most unlikely source: Mrs. Giggles! Who had this to say about it: "for the most part, Love, From A To Z is a most enjoyable fairy-tale romance that captures the whole "poor trapped heiress finds love and a grand adventure" fantasy perfectly." http://www.mrsgiggles.com/books/forte_z.h She’s also crediting me with performing two amazing feats with my writing. Like what you ask? Well, read the review and find out. Or better yet, read the book! And, not content to languish in her big brother’s erotic romance shadow, Waiting for the Big One also garnered her share of praise this week with two reviews. The first from Deborah at Blue City Romance who said, "A dog-walking actress, her gorgeous male friend and a hot new neighbor, all add up to one fun and sexy read from author P.G. Forte." And from Jai at The Romance Zone who called it, "a fantastic summer read. Chick lit meets erotica at it’s finest. P.G. Forte has the ability to write exquisite love scenes." Thank you all very, very much! WAITING FOR THE BIG ONE VIRTUAL TOUR SCHEDULE:  August 1, 2007 The Story Behind the Books http://www.thestorybehindthebooks.blogsp August 2, 2007 Straight from the Author’s Mouth http://www.straightfromtheauthorsmouth.b August 3, 2007 Fictionscribe http://www.fictionscribe.com August 6, 2007 The Writer’s Life http://www.thewriterslife.blogspot.com August 7, 2007 The Wolf http://www.jamiesonwolf.blogspot.com August 8, 2007 The Book Pedler http://www.thebookpedler.wordpress.com August 9, 2007 Author Alley http://www.authoralley.blogspot.com August 10, 2007 Those Magic Words http://www.thosemagicwords.blogspot.com August 13, 2007 Be My Guest! http://www.bloggingauthors.blogspot.com August 14, 2007 The Romantic Fanatic (review) http://www.romanticfanatic.blogspot.com August 15, 2007 The Romantic Fanatic (interview) http://www.romanticfanatic.blogspot.com August 16, 2007 Let Us Play http://www.letusplaylovestory.blogspot.c August 17, 2007 Muze’s Musings http://www.muzesmusings.blogspot.com August 20, 2007 Boomer Chick http://www.overthehillchick.blogspot.com August 21, 2007 As the Page Turns http://www.asthepageturns.blogspot.com August 22, 2007 Pump Up Your Book Promotion http://www.pumupyouronlinebookpromotion.b August 23, 2007 The Book Connection http://www.thebookconnection.blogspot.co August 24, 2007 Plug Your Book! http://www.plugyourbook.blogspot.com August 28, 2007 Rachelle Chase http://www.rachellechase.blogspot.com August 31, 2007 Author Talks http://www.authortalks.blogspot.com This Month’s Excerpt From Love, From A to Z Here’s another excerpt from this month’s release. Later the same morning in what is really one of my all-time-favorite breakfast spots... This early in the day, Malibu Beach was deserted; a flat expanse of golden sand under a pale, blue sky. I stared through the window of Gladstone’s restaurant, where Zach had taken me for breakfast, watching the waves roll in--ceaseless, never ending, like the questions in my mind--until his voice recalled me. "You figure out what you want to eat yet?" Reluctantly, I turned away from the window and gazed at my menu, once more scanning disinterestedly through the list of breakfast items. "No. I don’t know what I want. I don’t know what I like. I can’t even tell if I’ve eaten any of these things, or just heard about them." And I wasn’t sure I cared. I had serious doubts about Zach’s contention that I’d feel better after I ate something. Could a full stomach really compensate for an empty head? "Order the pancakes," he suggested, smiling sweetly. "You can’t go wrong with that, right? I mean, nobody doesn’t like pancakes." "Okay," I agreed, trying hard not to sound ungracious, trying even harder to hide my resentment over the fact that he could still smile and make jokes and be so cheerfully good humored at a time like this. Our waitress returned with the drinks Zach had ordered when we first sat down: coffee for both of us, plus a large glass of orange juice for him. "Are you sure you don’t want any juice?" he asked now, as if we hadn’t just had this conversation five minutes earlier. I shook my head. As he ordered our meal, pancakes for me, something called a Hangtown Fry for himself, I picked up my coffee cup and sniffed the aroma, trying to determine if it was familiar. Of course it’s familiar, I realized after no more than a few seconds. I’d been smelling it for the past fifteen minutes, ever since we first stepped foot in the restaurant; I just hadn’t known what it was. Sighing, I returned the cup to the table. "Anything?" There was a trace of sympathy in Zach’s voice. I shrugged a little. "Not really." "Try tasting it." I lifted the cup to my lips. It was hotter than I’d expected, with a dark, bitter edge, a mellow undertone and a hint of something not quite sweet. "It’s okay." "Want some whipped cream to go with it? Sugar? How about some of these little chocolate chips they got here? Maybe you’ll like it better that way." I shook my head. "No, it’s fine." I wasn’t all that interested in the coffee. I had much bigger things to worry about. "Look, this doesn’t have to be so bad, you know." "You think not? Maybe you should try it." "I kind of wish I could," he said, and I could tell by the wistful look on his face that he really meant it. "It’s gotta be like...well, like being a virgin all over again. Everything is brand new. You’ve got the whole world to discover." "I don’t want the whole world. At the moment, I’d be happy just to discover what my name is." Zach sighed. "I already told you that, didn’t I? Your name’s Angel." "Well, that’s not very helpful, is it?" One name? One name was useless. Worse than useless, really, since this was LA where entirely too many people used stage names. For all I knew, I was one of them. "I just wish there was something I could do." "Like what? We’ve been through this already. You didn’t want to go to the hospital, which, hey, I completely understand." "No." I shook my head. "No hospitals." What could they do for me in a hospital? There was nothing physically wrong with me, so far as I could tell. And the thought of getting trapped there--with no way to leave, and nowhere to go--was almost more frightening than anything else I could imagine. "And, like I said, there’s no sense in going to the police yet, since if anyone’s going to file a missing person’s report, they’ll have to wait twenty four hours before they do it. Plus, it’s a weekend, which means there’s a good chance you won’t even be missed until Monday." I nodded my head and sipped more coffee, disguising the vague sense of uneasiness that gripped me every time Zach made that particular point. It couldn’t be normal, not to be missed for days on end. Why was he so anxious for me to believe that it was? "Besides, like I keep telling you, it’s probably just temporary, anyway. You had a lot to drink last night. You hit your head. You’ll probably wake up tomorrow morning remembering everything." "I hope so," I murmured, clinging to the idea. And, if it turned out he was right, and I’d brought this on myself; if this amnesia was the result of nothing more than a night of too much partying? Then I was never going to take so much as a sip of anything alcoholic, ever again. "We’re still going to check out that bar, though, right? The one where you say we met? Just in case I left my purse there, or my cousin left a message, or something?" Zach nodded. "Sure. We’ll swing by Zephyr right after breakfast. It won’t be open yet, but they know me there. They’ll let us in and we can take a look around. Who knows, maybe just being there’ll be enough to bring your memory back?" I sighed. "That would be nice." But I sure wasn’t counting on it. © 2007 PG Forte All Rights Reserved TAGS: Love From A to Z Waiting for the Big One Reviews The Romance Zone Mrs. Giggles Blue City Romance PG Forte Erotic Romance Wicked Whispers Sensual Ink The Oberon Chronicle Virtual Book Tour Liquid Silver Books Amelia June Melissa Glisan Veronica Arch Blue City Romance The Romance Zone Mrs. Giggles reviews newsletter Technorati Profile  PG Forte Website: http://www.pgforte.com Newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte MySpace: http:/www.myspace.com/pgforte
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| Jul. 16th, 2007 @ 03:06 pm Virtual Tour--All Next Month | |||
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Current Location: Oberon, CA
Current Mood: accomplishedCurrent Music: A Little Less Conversation ~ Elvis Presley This is just a quick fly-by post that I'm leaving on all my blogs to let everyone know that I'm going on a virtual tour next month. Here's the 4-1-1: Join erotic romance author PG Forte, author of Waiting for the Big One (Liquid Silver Books), as she virtually tours the blogosphere in August on her first virtual book tour! Hope to see you there! |
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| Jun. 16th, 2007 @ 06:38 pm New Newsletter out! | |||
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Okay, so it's been a while. But I've been busy and I've got a new issue of my newsletter out and a new book coming soon so, here we go. Enjoy. VOLUME 3 ISSUE 4 June, 2007 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Touring Calendar Goings On About Town… Contest News This Month’s Excerpt Touring From the Editor’s Desk Gotta love the Marine Inversion Layer. That (assuming I haven’t lost my mind and forgotten everything I used to know about Marine Biology—always a possibility!) is the lovely phenomenon responsible for the abundant fog and cool Summer temperatures along the coast. I’m gonna miss these weather conditions next month, when I might have to travel to Florida and/or New Jersey on a variety of missions. And again in early August when I travel down to Paso Robles to attend the Mid-state Fair. I love the Fair, and I love the Central Coast, but it does get warm there! On the other hand, I won’t be suffering at all during the rest of August when I’m setting off on my ‘virtual book tour’, stopping at blogs around the world and participating in a variety of chats and other events. Check back next month, or at my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/ For up to date information. Hope to see you there! June 9 - July 8, 2007 Pacific Piecemakers Quilt Guild Challenge Gualala, CA http://www.gualalaarts.org June 16, 2007 Arcata Bay Oyster Festival Arcata, CA http://www.oysterfestival.net Family Kite Day Hollister, CA http://www.parks.ca.gov/events June 16 - 17, 2007 A Taste of Redwood Valley Redwood Valley, CA http://www.atasteofredwoodvalley.co Red, White & A Little Blues Festival Monterey, CA http://www.oldmonterey.org June 22 - 23, 2007 Mendocino Wine by the Sea Mendocino County, CA http://www.mendowine.com June 24, 2007 Sand Sculpture Festival Manila, CA http://www.friendsofthedunes.org June 30 - July 1, 2007 International Worm Races Clearlake, CA http://www.clearlakechamber.com June 30 - July 4, 2007 Marin County Fair San Rafael, CA http://www.marinfair.org July 4, 2007 ‘50s Family July 4th Fest Felton, CA http://www.roaringcamp.com July 7 - 8, 2007 Monterey Scottish Games & Celtic Festival Monterey Peninsula, CA http://www.montereyscotgames.com Palo Alto Clay & Glass Festival Palo Alto, CA http://www.acga.net July 11 - 15, 2007 Solano County Fair Vallejo, CA http://www.scfair.com July 14, 2007 Tour des Fleurs Half Moon Bay, CA http://www.halfmoonbaychamber.org July 14 - 15, 2007 Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic Windsor, CA http://www.schabc.org San Francisco International Chocolate Salon San Francisco, CA http://www.sfchocolatesalon.com © Goings on about Town New Releases It’s a little premature, but please remember to check out Liquid Silver Books on July 9th to pick up a copy of Love, From A To Z. I still can’t believe I’ve written an amnesia book—but not only have I written one, it’s one of my favorites. Go figure. Hopefully, it’ll be one of yours, as well. When April Valenzuela's memory goes missing, all her money can't buy it back. Good thing hunky guitarist Zach Harris is on hand to teach her about Love...from A to Z. And if you still haven’t picked up a copy of Waiting for the Big One, why not get them both? Shameless, right? But, hey, it’s a series—ya can’t just buy one! One woman’s quest to find true love and ultimate pleasure is complicated by two gorgeous men. And be sure to check out these other great titles from my friends:  Coming Home Dee S. Knight http://www.deesknight.com Available now from: Whispers http://www.whispersstore.com/index.php?m On leave from Vietnam, Tom Stabler finds himself at home, but in a life he no longer fits. Then Susan Swenson's heat and desire help heal his troubled soul and show him a way to come home. I was so excited about my interview with Dee last month http://deesknight.com/Newsletter/Intervi that I completely forgot to mention her new short story. Guess it’s true what they say: Silver is the new blonde. At least, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! Sorry, Dee!  The Saints of Midland T.L. Schaefer http://www.tlschaefer.com Available from Samhain Publishing http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/the-s A smart-talking witch and a ghostly deputy travel another dimension to fulfill a centuries-old legend, and find a love that transcends every world imaginable. Oh, I’ve been waiting a long, long time for this one. Awesome story! It’s been a big month for the Wicked Whispers Authors, too:  Shifting Gears Veronica Arch http://www.frontiernet.net/~veronicaarch/ Available now from: Forbidden Publications http://www.forbiddenpublications.com/boo Candace likes to be in control of her life and her men. When Bo, a double-parking Harley rider, blocks her car in, she finds out that letting go isn’t such a bad thing, especially when you’ve got a sexy man taking the lead.  The Jason Factor Amelia June http://www.ameliajune.net/ Available now from: Extasy Books http://www.extasybooks.com/mm5/merchant.m –A short but naughty tale of writer’s block, a ouija board, and a very, very bad main character.  Ware Wishes Melissa Glisan http://www.melissaglisan.20m.com/ Available now from:Aspen Mountain Press http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-re At Satin Knights, nothing is what it seems – including the talent. Songs simmer and clothes are stripped away - as are the club’s secrets. But the roots of deception go deeper and tangle in the lives of Jennifer Taylor and Rayn DeSantis in unexpected ways. Before they can make sense of the situation, an old promise comes due…one that could kill... And, for all the latest news regarding chats, contests, releases and so much more be sure to visit these two great Authors Groups:  http://www.sensualink.net http://www.wickedwhispersauthors.com Chat News! Join me and the other Wicked Whispers authors for a chat at The Romance Bistro http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Romance_Bi Friday June 29 11 a.m. EDT to 2 p.m. EDT Be sure to sign up ahead of time so you don’t miss the fun. Prizes, hot excerpts, witty banter—trust me, these women are fun to chat with! Oh, and did I mention prizes? © This Month’s Contest News The winner of this month’s newsletter contest prize is: lisaavila2000 My MySpace Blog contest winner was: Jennybrat Congratulations to you both! Jenny, your scarf is on its way. Lisa, email me with your address to receive your Art of Striptease Kit. Pgforte@pgforte.com For news on other contests (including what I’ll be giving away in next month’s newsletter contest––you’ll know as soon as I decide, lol!) be sure to subscribe to my Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte This Month’s Excerpt From Love, From A to Z This scene is from the first chapter of Love, From A to Z, April, who’s suffering from amnesia (although she’s not yet awake enough to realize that fact) wakes up to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. Can you believe I’ve written an Amnesia book? I couldn’t either. But I completely fell in love with these characters and it was the only way I could ever get them together... It’s funny how you can always tell when you’re not alone. Even before I opened my eyes, I knew. It’s not like I could hear the sound of someone’s breathing––early morning birdsong and the persistent buzz of a lawn mower drifting in through the open windows took care of that. The bed didn’t so much as jiggle and certainly there was no one touching me. But, all the same, I knew. I wasn’t alone. There was someone in the bed with me. But who? Cautiously, I opened my eyes. As an unfamiliar wall flickered into focus I stifled a gasp. Omigod, where in the hell am I? Heart pounding, I tried not to panic. Maybe I was dreaming? I closed my eyes, counted to three, and then tried opening them again. The view remained the same: a row of paperbacks, cheap shelving, a stack of CDs, part of a sliding glass door. A random and unremarkable collection of furnishings met my gaze, nothing I could recall having seen before. Even the bed felt unfamiliar, now that I stopped to consider it. And my memories of the previous night? Completely non-existent. I took a moment to assess the situation. I was naked in a strange bed, under a navy blue sheet whose depressingly low thread count begged the question, what was I thinking? A fabulous question that, by the way. One I wished I’d had the sense to ask myself the night before. I mean, it was obvious I’d picked someone up. Or, considering my location, I’d been picked up. What wasn’t so obvious was why. Because, despite the subtle pulsing in my sex, the slick, swollen softness that let me know that, wherever this was, I’d clearly had a real good time getting here, instinct told me this was not my usual milieu. I lay still a little while longer as I contemplated what my next move should be. Could I slide out of bed without alerting Mr. Right Now to the fact that I was leaving? Much as my body would have liked an encore, my mind recoiled at the awkwardness that was sure to ensue. If I could find my clothes, if I could dress quickly and quietly enough, I could be gone before he even knew I was awake, saving us both from certain embarrassment. It was a plan, and a good one, but before I could put it into action, the mattress creaked and a heavy, warm weight settled against my back. "M-m-m-morning." An indecently sexy voice rumbled in my ear. An indisputably male arm ensnared my waist. An unmistakably hard cock prodded my ass. Well, shit. So much for graceful exits. Biting my lip, I turned to face my unknown bedmate. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fear the worst. But one look at his face and, suddenly, things were making a lot more sense. I mean, if you’re gonna screw up and go home with a total stranger, you could do worse than to pick one who looks like a Greek god. Or, who would, that is, if Greek gods were blond, which, when you think about it, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, no matter how many times they cast Brad Pitt in the role. © Copyright 2007 PG Forte All Rights Reserved |
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| Nov. 14th, 2006 @ 05:44 pm A Little pre-seasonal Cheer | |||||
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Join my newsgroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pgforte/ I'm chatting tonight at The Author's Grill at Romance at Heart from 8 pm. to 10 p.m. EST, so come on down! © Copyright 2005 PG Forte All Rights Reserved ©PG Forte 2006, All Rights Reserved.
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| Oct. 25th, 2006 @ 04:44 pm Newsletter | |||||
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Current Location: Oberon, California
Current Mood:  rushedCurrent Music: Billy Bragg and Wilco ~ California Stars I've been behind with everything all month, and my newsletter is no exception. But, I've finally gotten it out. Here's a peek at some of what it contains. And, remember, the full newsletter--and a chance to win monthly prizes--is just a click away at: The Oberon Chronicle Good Advice From the Editor’s Desk I apologize for getting this newsletter out so late. Things have been crazy here lately—not that that’s anything new, of course. "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." ~ Bill Cosby I’ve been thinking quite a lot about pleasing people (not that I’ve been actually managing to do that, of course). I think it’s something every author tries to do. We all want to write the perfect story—the one that everyone, absolutely everyone, will love. Even though we know it can’t be done, still we keep on trying. And often waste a good deal of time in the process. Take this month, for example. I spent most of my ‘writing’ time not writing at all because I was struggling with the question of whether or not to change Scent of the Roses to make it more commercial. Opinions were plentiful but, in the end, the question was decided based on a single statement made by the chief proponent for change: "You have to decide who you’re gearing this book to." I know what she wanted me to say--that I was gearing the book toward a more specific genre, or a particular NY Publishing House—but that’s just not how it is. When I first sat down to write the book I was writing for readers like myself, people who wanted this ‘strange brew’ of several different genres rolled into one. And, I guess, I still am. In the midst of my disappointment to realize—once again—that Oberon would not be hitting the big time anytime soon, I took comfort in the support of my writer friends, the wonderful reviews I’ve gotten (check out page 8 for the latest, just-when-I-needed-it-most review) and by re-reading the letters I’ve received from readers, And so, I’d like to send a big, big thank you out to everyone reading this newsletter—you’re the ones who make this whole crazy trip worthwhile. Calendar of Events October 21 -29, 2006 VACAVILLE Harvest Days 2006 707-450-0500 http://www.harvestdays.org October 27 - 29, 2006 PISMO BEACH Jubilee by the Sea Dixieland Jazz Festival (805) 773-4382 http://www.pismojazz.com/JBTS2006.html YERMO Ghost Haunt at Calico Ghost Town http://www.calicotown.com October 28, 2006 COLOMA Halloween Costume Party at Sierra Nevada House (530) 626-8096 http://www.sierranevadahouse.com COSTA MESA Phantoms of the Orchestra (714) 755-5799 http://www.pacificsymphony.org EL DORADO HILLS "Shooting Pumpkins: Youth Archery Clinic" (916) 653-7748 http://www.dfg.ca.gov VENICE BEACH Free Carnevale Venice Beach http://www.carnevale.us October 29, 2006 PETALUMA Halloween Historic House Tour http://www.heritagepetaluma.com/trours/b CAPITOLA Capitola Village Halloween Parade (831) 475-6522 http://www.capitolachamber.com LONG BEACH Taste of Two Harbors (562) 498.4923 http://www.tasteof2harbors.com OCEANSIDE Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) (760) 967-2005 http://www.moceanside.com SANTA ANA El Dia de Los Muertos 714-567-3679 http://www.bowers.org October 29 - 31, 2006 WOODLAND HILLS Halloween Harvest Festival http://www.halloweenharvestFestival.com October 31, 2006 HUNTINGTON BEACH Halloween on Main http://www.hbdowntown.com REDONDO BEACH Halloween Party on Redondo Beach Pier http://www.rbmarina.com November 2, 2006 AUBURN Auburn Mountain Mandarin Festival 916 663-1918 http://www.mandarinfestival.com HAYWARD The Moscow Ballet presents The Great Russian Nutcracker http://www.nutcracker.com November 4, 2006 LONG BEACH Saddle Baron's Ball http://www.saddlebaronsball.com .HUNTINGTON BEACH Full moon gondola Cruises (562) 592-3295 http://www.sunsetgondola.com November 9-12, 2006 MONTEREY 9th Great Wine Escape Weekend 831-375-9400 http://www.montereywines.org Goings on about Town November Chat at Romance at Heart  Shawna Moore and I will be chatting it up next month at the Romance at Heart chat room from 8 to 10 p.m. EST on November 14. Here’s what we’ll be talking about. Shawna’s alter ego, Kimberly Grant, will take the stage tonight, chatting about her upcoming romantic short story, Miracles & Mistletoe, part of the Christmas Wishes anthology from Highland Press--"A young woman's happiness hinges on a Christmas-Eve phone call that might never come." I'll be discussing The Spirit of the Place (Oberon: Book 6) "'Tis the season to be jolly, but Jasmine and Brandon are finding it hard to get into the Holiday mood. Can the spirit of the season, and the spirit of the place help them to see beyond their differences?" Hope to see you there! http://romanceatheart.com/en/cgi-bin/cha It’s been a big month for Shawna, who recently completed a video teaser for Deep Undercover which can be viewed on You Tube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7qArYtWS This Month’s Contest News September’s Winners: Congratulations catbird19526401, you’re September’s winner of a fun set of candy-skull molds, perfect for celebrating the Day of the Dead--Dia de los Muertos To claim your prize, please contact me at author@pgforte.com with your address. And congratulations to Liz Denler (lzz25@...), winner of last month’s Summer Blow-out Astrology contest. Please contact me at author@pgforte.com with your exact birthdate, time and location . October’s Contest: This month, I’m giving away a gift tin of Tea Forte’s exquisite signature blend tea.  Winner to be announced in November’s newsletter. Good luck everyone! Reminders The following winners still need to contact me regarding their prizes. amysmith98, winner of August’s newsletter contest prize. gryffindorean, winner of an Oberon download of your choice. © New Review  Many, many thanks to Annie at Euro-Reviews for her outstanding Five Flag review of Scent of the Roses. "Oberon, California, is a town with its own spiritual aura, so its inhabitants believe. It’s a vortex of magical energies, according to its Native American founders, and generations of believers since then. Scout Patterson has been away for twenty years, but she’s discovered long ago that although you can leave home, home just doesn’t ever leave you. Over and over, fate introduces her to people who are either going to or returning from Oberon. Scout’s mother had disappeared early in her childhood, and she was left to the intermittent care of her artist father, Gil. A series of sudden moves finally fetched them up in Oberon, which became the closest Scout ever knew to the concept of home. But at age sixteen, she lost her father and her stepsister, all her friends, and was ostracized to Florida to live with a nearly unknown grandparent, emotionally deadened and soul-withdrawn. Twenty years after her sudden expulsion from Oberon, Scout finds herself with an unexpected chance to return, to redress, to revenge, or to atone for the regrets, when her stepmother dies and bequeaths Scott her estate. I was introduced to the work of P. G. Forte by her non-series novel, Waiting for the Big One. I knew at once that this would be an author to watch, and my intuition has been definitively validated by this first in the nine-volume Oberon Chronicles series. The Chronicles reminds me of Peyton Place {the novel, not the movie} if that book had been deeper into its characters. By this I mean that Ms. Forte has instituted an astounding feat of world-building with the town of Oberon, California; and if the remaining works in the series match up to the quality of the first, then the entire series will remain on my "virtual shelf" as reads, rereads, and long-term keepers." Euro-Reviews ©PG Forte 2006, All Rights Reserved.
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