Morning Loverlies,

Has it really been ten days since my last entry? What a horrible, horrible blogger I am! Do you forgive me? You know you do. Anywho, it’s already December 1st and I trust you all had a wonderful, wonderful turkey day. I know I did. Food, family and fun. What could be better.

Well, how about a holiday version of Music Monday. Now Emma isn’t super fond of the Christmas, children but since it is official December, I suppose I should start getting into the holiday spirit.

This is one of my absolute favorite Christmas songs. Don’t pretend like you don’t remember it.

So dish! What’s your favorite Christmas/Holiday songs?

p.s. My favorite part is when Bono sings, “Well, tonight thank God it’s them instead of you.”
p.p.s. Do you recognize anyone else in the video beside Bono, Sting, George Michael, Boy George and Simon Lebon from Duran Duran?
p.p.p.s. It’s rather hard to type when you’re covered in cats. Seriously? What am I? A cat couch?
p.p.p.p.s. Yes, I celebrate Thanksgiving. But not the Thanksgiving based upon the fairytale of gracious and grateful pilgrims. It’s a thanksgiving celebrating surviving in spite of 500 years of the systematic destruction of a culture and genocide of native people.
p.p.p.p.p.s. Yes, I went there.
p.p.p.p.p.p.s. OMG! Have you seen the modern version of Do They Know It’s Christmas? Seriously! SERIOUSLY! Stop remaking and butchering shit!
p.p.p.p.p.p.p.s. And no, I am not trying to set a record for postscripts.

Good Morning Loverlies,

As some of you may know, I have a slight obsession with all things Disney. I can honestly say I love Disneyland. Have from my first visit to my last.

So when I heard Tink was getting a bit of a make-over, I wanted no part of it. This is the Tinkerbelle I grew up with. Tiny, silent, semi-sullen.

And this is the Tink of today. Still tiny but no where near silent and so the opposite of sullen.

You can see the similarities between the two, though I will admit a friend and I did comment that nouveau Tink was dressed a tiny bit too sluttish for our tastes. And yes, sluttish is a word. You know Emma is prone to creating her own words, children.

Anywho, yesterday my cousin asked me if I wanted to watch the nouveau Tinkerbelle movie. My automatic reaction of course was, hell no. I am not a traitor. To me, watching the new movie or even embracing nouveau (semi-sluttish) Tink was the equivalent of a husband trading in his wife of many, many, faithful and loyal years for a younger and (disturbingly) hotter wife.

But Emma is weak, children. When it comes to the Disney, my will is not as strong as I’d like it to be. So I begrudgingly (yes, it was seriously begrudging) borrowed the movie and at first I wasn’t going to watch it. It was the choice between The Libertine (Yum Johnny) Fight club (Double yum for Ed and Brad) Hitch (Yum Will Smith) In the Time of Butterflies (Just thinking of Trujillo depresses me) and Million Dollar Baby.

Since I almost accidentally killed myself by using an old ass inhaler I’ve been telling myself to throw out for yes, I chose the lesser of five evils. And that was the nouveau Tink movie.

I enjoyed it. Yes, yes, yes, I enjoyed it. It was cute and not sluttish in the least, surprisingly. It made me laugh and it warmed my heart and yes I feel like a big doofus for enjoying it so much but what can I say, I’m a Disney girl through and through.
I still think the Tink dolls are little more scantily clad than I think appropriate but they did do a good job with the movie.

If you are a parent, it is definitely a good choice for your little people.

Spoilerish: When Tink accidentally hits the squirrel in the head and his little face crumples. CLASSIC!
Not Spoilerish in the least: Totally off subject. Can anyone tell me why the FRICK cats walk (repeatedly) over keyboards?

Morning Loverlies,

Children, Emma has lost all sense of time. I haven’t blogged or updated my logs since I don’t know when. My cousin and I went to Amoeba’s last week on the way back I noticed my throat was scratchy. *shrugs* California is on fire, so of course I shrugged it off. So yesterday (or the day before don’t really remember) all of a sudden that scratchy throat blossomed into the black death. Seriously, the plague slapped me harder than Zsa Zsa did that Beverly Hills police officer.
One minute I was fine, the next I couldn’t talk. I heard, “You sound like a smoker.” about a hundred times.

I took some nyquil (mmm…nyquil) and went to sleep. When I woke up, I was better. I know. So enough about my 24 hour plague. On to the good stuff. I’ll give you an outline of what we’ll be covering so you don’t get lost. I. St. Nic Cover II. Zoe’s now on the NEMESI list

I. I got my St. Nic Cover yesterday
And my reaction was basically this then it moved on to this . I don’t know who did my cover but I would just like to say how fricking amazing it is. It’s absolutely perfect! PERFECT! What? You want me to stop talking about and show you? Well, excuse me. Here it is.
Read more

Morning Loverlies,

Yes, I know it’s after one in the after noon and I am just barely posting this. Bad Emma. Bad, bad, bad.

Today’s song is Good Man by India Arie. I absolutely adore this song. It makes me cry everytime I hear it. This version isn’t being sung by India but by a talented young lady who does a phenomenal version. Which isn’t easy, let me tell you.

I came up with a premise to a story (and no, my other one isn’t done yet. Hush) by just listening to this song and imagining the story (if there is one) behind it. Don’t you just love when that happens?

Okay, children. Listen to the song and have a wonderful day.

Good Morning Loverlies,

First let me thank you all for the lovely emails congratulating me on coming out of the closet. Children, you know Emma better than that! I am never coming out of the closet because that is where my shoes and clothes are! I could entertain myself for years and years in there!

Anyway, this is the second part of WTF California. Still so very peeved at you! And seriously Prop H8 people, you have been official called out! Let’s put your hypocrisy and rhetoric to the test. Pass this proposition. It’s totally for the good of society and our children. (Who’s children? Certainly not mine. Allergic, remember?)

This PSA is brought to you by the uberly hilarious members of the Upright Citizens Bridgade. And it includes a nifty little petition to get the ball rolling and help us, help you ban straight divorce. If anything undermines the institution of marriage it would be divorce, right?

You can sign it here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/protect-marriage-protect-children-prohibit-divorce and also tonight @ The Anti Prop 8 Show. Midnight @ 5919 Franklin Ave - Hollywood, CA 90028.

Good morning, loverlies,

It’s Thursday. It’s bright. It’s sunny (because California’s weather is crackish) and Emma has a treat for you! Yes, another awesome author here to talk about her work. This time we have JK Coi, here to talk about her Immortal series and her ongoing feud with the vampire squirrels.

Emma Petersen: Good Morning, JK. How are you doing this beautiful morning?

JK Coi: Good morning Emma, thank you for having me today. I’m doing very well, as I hope you are also!

Emma Petersen: I am. I am. Thank you very much. You have an awesome series about immortals who protect humanity. Would you like to tell us about it?

JK Coi: Of course I would! As my husband will tell you, the trouble is getting me to shut up about it.

Immortal Kiss is about Baron. In Book 1, he joined the Immortals as a wise-cracking newbie, but by the time we get to his story, Baron has completely embraced his new life, leaving his old one behind without a second thought. That is until the only woman who’s ever really gotten under his skin shows up on his doorstep one night—or rather, her battered and broken body is dumped on his doorstep by the very vampire Baron has been hunting. Maxine is determined and loyal to a fault—qualities that kept her strong when her best friend Jackson Silver needed her by his side during his illness. And while she loves Jackson, she hates his brother, Baron. He’s the last person she wants to have to face. But Maxine gave her word that she would track him down and bring him home…although she couldn’t have known that the price for doing so would be her life.

Emma Petersen: Awesome books to go along with an awesome tagline. I love your tagline by the way! Immortals To Die For. When you wrote the first book, did you do it with a single work in mind or did you always know it would be a series?

JK Coi: I had the ideas in mind, but hadn’t planned anything out until I was asked by my publisher to do so. They were very excited about the prospect of a series, and I took it as my cue to let my imagination run wild.

Emma Petersen: Letting your imagination run wild has definitely worked. You’ve had some absolutely awesome reviews. One that stuck out in my mind was by Renee from Romance Roundtable. How does it make you feel when your work is met with so much love?

JK Coi: I’m very grateful and humbled. Every writer’s work goes through an evolution on the path to publication. I know that I’ve grown and changed, and that my writing is stronger and stronger with each book. I hope that I can continue to show that to my readers, and that they will love my stories and my characters as much as I do.

Emma Petersen: How could they not? Especially with characters like yours. Speaking of characters, do you remember the first paranormal book you ever read?

JK Coi: I think it was one of Jayne Ann Krentz’s (writing as Jayne Castle, After Glow? Castle/Krentz writes paranormal/futuristic romances that have spunky heroines and interesting heroes (and she has a new one out now, although I haven’t read it yet). They’re usually a bit lighter, with some nice humour, and After Glow was about a heroine with some nifty para-abilities who works at a Little Shop of Horrors kind of place and stumbles over a dead body. Of course, from there she and the hero get into all kinds of nifty trouble.

But my favourite paranormal romances—and I know we weren’t talking about that, but I’m the queen of tangents so…my favourite paranormals are Nalini Singh’s psy/changelings. If you haven’t read these yet (Book 1 is called Slave to Sensation), then you’re totally missing out and you have to get them.

Emma Petersen: LOL! Queen of tangents? I’m the same way when it comes to books that I love. And the whole psy/changeling element is definitely worth looking into. So odd question, but do you believe in vampires?

JK Coi: I work at a law firm…of course I believe in vampires.

Emma Petersen: Hehe. Good answer. What about vampire squirrels? I had heard somewhere that there was a great war going on with you and the squirrels (possibly vampire squirrels) in your community. Is there any truth to these rumors?

JK Coi: The freakin’ squirrels are going to be the death of me. We live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and they’re everywhere. Just us and them. I don’t think they’re blood suckers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were demon squirrels capable of opening a portal into my attic space.

Emma Petersen: Hehe. That should be the next wave of romance novels. Vampire demon squirrels who hop through portals while terrorizing all of man kind. It would be an interested read and write. Speaking of which, how long have you been writing and what made you become interested in writing?

JK Coi: I’ve been writing seriously for about three years now, although I wrote poetry for a few years as well. But life intrudes and people get busy. It wasn’t really until my son was old enough to be sleeping through the night that I had some time on my hands in the evenings once again. I was stuck at home though, and the television really sucked.

Emma Petersen: See but sucky TV gave us you as an author so we can at least thank it for that. So when starting writing did you start with the intention of writing paranormals or did you just sort of fall into it?

JK Coi: When I started writing my first book it just came out as a paranormal. My voice lends itself to this genre the best, probably because it’s also what I like to read the best, and because I’m a little snarky and sarcastic. Not to mention, I’m fascinated by the “what if” scenarios. Like, “what if demons lived among us…” and “what if death isn’t quite the end of it all…”

Emma Petersen: “what if death isn’t quite the end of it all…” Awesome. And what else can we expect from you in the future?

JK Coi: I’m going to be very busy for a long while I think. Let’s hope my family keeps being so understanding.

I’m also working out the kinks in a proposal for something a little different. It’s a sci-fi romance in a post-apocalyptic world. A seasoned bounty hunter meets up with a brilliant scientist in a society that has been forced to retreat beneath the surface of the earth after the outside atmosphere becomes uninhabitable. Can you guess which is the hero and which is the heroine?

Emma Petersen: I’m going to say the heroine is the bounty hunter and the hero is a vampire squirrel! Oops! I’m totally wrong, aren’t I? LOL. So before we conclude this interview do you have any deep dark secrets you’d like to share with us?

JK Coi: Well, I’m a closet Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan (what, that wasn’t a surprise?) Also, I spend my daylight hours with cut-throat lawyers—and I like it. No, I’m serious. I enjoy the day job very much, and things would have to get really busy for me to give that up (not that I’m not hoping for it eventually). Otherwise, I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to be here today!

Emma Petersen: There you have it, children. Vampire squirrels, vampire lawyers and the uber talented JK Coi and her immortal series. If you’d like to learn more about JK and her work be sure to visit her at her website, blog or myspace page.

And don’t forget to look for these books:

The Trouble With Destiny is NOW available!

Books 1 and 2 of the Immortal Series are also available. Get My Immortal and Immortal Kiss from Linden Bay Romance directly, and other major e-retailers online. You can also buy print copies of the books from your local stores.

Moooooooorning loverlies,

Guess what today is?! Katie Allen’s birthday? How the heck did you know that? Oh. My blog post title. Yeah, that sorta did give it away didn’t it? Well. No matter. It IS Katie’s birthday today and we are totally gonna wish her a super happy super fantabulous kick ass birthday! Woot! Woot! Cake for you! Someone serenading you! A pony even though you already have one! AND a special Belly Dancing Birthday wish by Maz Jobrani! Happy B-day!

Morning loverlies,

The inhabitants of Poseidon, Virginia, lived by three unspoken rules: never cheat a leprechaun, never wish on a falling star and, above all, never go out alone after dark unless you were one of the things that went bump in the night — like her.

That is the first line from Michelle Lauren’s wonderful kick ass Urban Fantasy, How to Tame A Harpy. It’s an entry in RT’s American Title. And you know what voting has started today! So get out there. Vote! Show Michelle your love and support because not only is she super freakily talented, she’s also a kick ass person. Totally. Kick. Ass.

How do you vote you ask?

To vote for HOW TO TAME A HARPY e-mail votes @ romantictimes.com (no spaces) with HOW TO TAME A HARPY in the subject line. (One vote per person.)

So go children! What are you waiting for! Get out there and excersize your right to see more kick ass UF from a totally kick ass author! Because Emma supports and loves kickassedness!

Morning my loverlies,

I am tired. But you know what? I’ll get the hell over it. I have bigger fish to fry. Mmm…fried fish. Filet O’ Fish. Mmm…McDonald’s. Sorry about that. LOL. Been having some pretty odd craving that I totally need to get in check if I don’t wanna gain back the 30 pounds I’ve lost. Anywho. I’ve been reading Megan Hart’s blog and something she said the other day struck a cord with me.

It really should be about teaching yourself about discipline and not giving up.

If at the end of it you’ve written more than you ever have before, even if it’s not “the goal” — then you should pat yourself on the back.

And don’t quit.

One month of effort isn’t enough to make you a writer. You have to actually keep doing it. Over and over and over.

THEN you’re a writer.

Over and over and over. Le friggen sigh. I’ll be honest when I think of getting up day after day and cranking out my wad o’ words, I get scared. Why? I don’t know. It’s just the fucktardieness in me. (My word it’s trademarked, don’t steal it. Okay. Go ahead.) I’m afraid of a lot of things but you know…sometimes you just gotta say fuck it. And figure out what you want more. The dream or the safety. I chose safety before and what I got in return was a nice safe life…alone. Another tale for another time but I can say one thing, I’ll never play it safe again. I’m a writer. I doubt myself. But I’m going to prove it to myself. How? By stopping the cycle of writing for a week and then NOT writing for a week. Come on. That’s just lame.

Read more