Characters on the spot, and messing with a good thing.

Today I'm out and about in a couple of guest spots.

First, I discuss Why mess with a good thing? with author Calisa Rhose... as in, why take chances in my characters' Brett and Victoria's perfectly good relationship when my muse insisted they'd do well in a menage. We're giving away a copy of Victoria's Secret Wish, to one random commenter.

And my characters--all 3 of them, Vic, Britt, and David, get interviewed on author Jennifer Lowery's blog. Some candid answers to tough questions.

Off to work up my guest post for tomorrow.

Toodaloooo!

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

An Olympic swimmer and some sizzle for your summer

Coincidentally and through no pre-planning of my own (really!), my newest story, in which I have a hero who is an Olympic gold medal swimmer (read hot, hot, hottie), releases today.

Victoria's Secret Wish is here! This is book 2 of the Fantasies, Inc series, where Victoria and Brett do a little experimenting in their marriage...

The Very Awesome Maya Blake was kind enough to review an ARC, and here are her thoughts:

Miss Denna is back again with her awesome Fantasy Series! Book Two – Fantasies Inc, Victoria's Secret Wish moves the action from the mountains of Wyoming to the decks of Fantasy, Inc - Aphrodite cruise ship where, once again, all sorts of fantasies are catered for. Book One took us on a roller coaster of "will they? won't they?" between Victoria and Brett (or Britt as she affectionately calls him). I happy-sighed for them when they got their HEA, so I was a bit, okay, a lot curious to see where Miss Denna would take their story next. I wasn't disappointed.

Victoria is a self-confessed control freak (you'll have to read Book One to find out why!) and Brett is determined to make her lose control just once. Inviting another man into their marriage bed in order to push their relationship forward was always going to be a tricky proposition. David is a younger guy, a seriously hot swimmer, with a bod to die for, and a career and reputation to protect. Vic and Brett are at the stage in their marriage where trying for a baby seems the natural step. Despite these huge stumbling blocks, all three were prepared to take a chance on one another. At first, David seemed to slot in (pardon the pun) perfectly. By the end of the book, this love triangle seemed almost meant to be. I was a bit wary of how a Happy Ever After would work for this trio. Happily, the clever Miss Denna chose a Happy For Now ending that left me satisfied that they'd work out whatever road bumps that came their way.

Victoria's Secret Wish is a hot, erotic, fantastic must-read and I count myself lucky enough to have been one of the first to get my grubby little hands on it!!

So go buy it now! (Kindle link)

And for those readers who love a bit of suspense to keep the blood boiling, our not-so-friendly stalker is back…and this time, he has an accomplice!

Guest author, LK Below

Today I welcome a guest, LK Below. Her newest release, Beauty in His Bed is set in New Orleans, and includes an awesome tarot scene. So she's talking a little about tarot cards:

Ten Fun Facts About Tarot Readings

1. Tarot originated as early as 1540. A book entitled The Oracles of Francesco Marcolino da Forli from that time period shows a rudimentary form of divination, though the cards held little meaning. By 1735-1750, the cards had developed means based on the symbolism of the drawings.

2. The most common deck is the Rider-Waite deck, designed by Pamela Coleman Smith based on instructions from occultist Arthur Edward Waite and originally published by the Rider Company in 1910.

3. Before tarot developed, the cards were called trifoni cards and used as playing cards for games like trumps.

4. There are 78 cards in a deck: 22 in the Major Arcana, and 56 in the Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana consists of four suits, most commonly shown as: wands/staffs, swords, cups, and pentacles/coins. The cards in the Minor Arcana number from Aces to Ten and include Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings.

5. There are over fifty commonly used tarot layouts, and more being created all the time.

6. The oldest surviving tarot cards are from fifteen fragmented dekcs painted in the mid 1400s. They belonged to the Visconti-Sforza family, who were at the time the rulers of Milan.

7. Giacomo Casanova had a Russian mistress who read tarot cards.

8. The Bioardo Tarrochi poem, written between 1461 and 1494, describes the symbolism of the tarot (tarrochi) cards at that time.

9. Guido Gillabel has a museum called Tarot Haven, which contains over one thousand different decks.

10. It's featured briefly in my newest release, Beauty in His Bed!

Here's an excerpt:

After a minute, she looked up. “Has something turbulent happened to you recently?”

Flabbergasted, Amy felt her mouth drop open. She craned her neck to peer at the cards. Did they show that Tim had broken up with her? All she saw was a bunch of swords and staffs. What did that mean?

Danielle continued, “I only ask because of these cards.” She pointed at the first two. “This one, representing the past, is the two of swords. You see how the figure is blindfolded? That could indicate that you were once blinded to something or someone. Even so, based on the figure’s position, you also felt defensive. Maybe you’ve felt that way for a long time.” She moved on to the second card. “But here in the spot representing the present, you have the six of swords. It shows that you’re running away from something. See the choppy water on this side of the boat? You’re sailing from something bad into calmer waters. That could be the reason you’re here in New Orleans.”

Amy didn’t look at Monique. But she didn’t have to. Danielle was completely right--she was running from something. Her breakup.

When she didn’t say anything, Danielle pointed to the third and last card. This one was brighter than the others, with a yellow background and garland twining around four staffs. “This is your future, the four of wands. It indicates a celebration to come. Normally, this card means there will be a wedding in the future, but it could be any kind of party. A baby shower, a housewarming party, or even the celebration of an accomplishment.”

Unfortunately, Amy knew which one the card indicated. There would be a wedding in the future--it just wouldn’t be hers.

Beauty in His Bed is now available from Lyrical Press, Inc. Read more or buy it at http://bit.ly/BeautyInHisBed. Visit L.K. Below online at www.lbelow.net.

Doing a character interview today...

The wonderful Jennifer Lowery has interviewed my favorite couple (from my own books, that is): Victoria and Brett. And they had so much fun! Check it out.

Piper Denna

Romance is sexy!

Why God Made Offices

Yeah, plenty of people probably envy me because I work from home. Heck, if I didn't work from home, I'd envy it, too.


But some days, I can really understand why some employers are reluctant to let employees "telecommute" (is there a new word? because that one sounds "So 90's" to me"). It's probably because certain people in high places at those companies have tried working from home on occasion and figured out how hard it is. Particularly for women.


What could be hard about working from home?


Picture me sitting down to my laptop (it's on the kitchen table, because somebody else whose business office is in our home commandeered the good spot for his desk). I'm cracking open a book file to edit, and looking at my To Do List. Uh-oh. I need to pay a couple bills. Which means I've also gotta transfer money. No problem, though. People do that all the time at work, right? When I go downstairs to fetch the receipt I printed, I notice the kids have left an empty soda 12-pack box on the floor. Which I pick up. Wait. Does this mean I'm out of Pepsi? I check the fridge. Good on Pepsi, almost out of milk, though. So back upstairs, I put MILK on the grocery list, then drop the empty box in the recycle bin. And notice the cats have spilled food all over the floor. So I fetch the broom to sweep it up. The broom is in the laundry room, where I remember I've got a load of clothes waiting for the dryer. Which is still harboring yesterday's dry clothes. So I move the dry clothes to my bed--the laundry Staging Area--and stop by the bathroom, where I notice the mirror is very spotted up. But that's fine, because the window cleaner is in the laundry room, and dangit! I still didn't transfer those clothes to the dryer. Once I've got the dryer loaded, mirror wiped, and laundry sorted on the bed, I high-tail it back to the kitchen, because I have screwed around long enough. It's time to get serious and seriously get some work done!


So I check my emails, then settle in with the file, and just as I reach the 3rd paragraph, hubby calls to ask me if I can do an invoice on his computer.


Oh, and who's that at the door? It's only the mailman delivering an Amazon purchase, but the flowers out front need water. And the trash should be at the curb.


Once I get back inside, I head back to work, but then remember that bill I'm supposed to be making up. And don't I have to call the insurance agent today?


When am I gonna make it to the grocery store for milk? Probably before I go, I should scan the sale flyer and stock up on whatever's cheap, and like, something for dinner. Which means I probably need to clip this week's coupons too. Oh jeez. And get the mail at the Post Office, because there might be a check waiting to be deposited, and I may as well go to the bank while I'm already running around town.


*** 90 minutes later: I'm putting away the last of the groceries, have started another load of laundry, and almost finished that customer invoice. This is good. Now I have a solid 3 hours to work on that edit this afternoon... at which time my phone rings and one of the kids needs a ride home from Wherever. Right away.


Hubby and kids look at me at the end of the day like I'm mentally damaged and wonder why I can't get anything done when I'm right here all day long. Right here, all day long.


Piper Denna
Romance is sexy! (working from home? sometimes.)