Independence Day CONTEST

Hey, everyone!! I hope all the US folks are busy having fun today. It is so hot here in Alabama we are not going anywhere. I am actually going to be spending time in England with my vamps from By Blood.  Since it is the birthday of our country, I thought we could have a little contest. Something easy and all you have to do is answer in the comments below.
What is up for grabs? How about a 25$ GC to ARe, Amazon or Barnes and Noble? Oh and two runners' up will get a bookmark from my friend Heather Long and myself. (psst she just had a military release also!)

Aren't they pretty?

So, since it is kind of a patriotic holiday, how about we talk about military heroes? I just had Surrender release, and before Feb, I plan on having two more military romances out so I am feeling all military. So, tell me, what is it that gets you all hot about military heroes and their romances? Easy Peasy. I will pick a name FRIDAY  the 6th at 8 AM US CENTRAL TIME

And don't forget to check out Malachai's book, Surrender, now in digital!

Sexy Saturday: PROMO

I was so excited when Brandy asked if I wanted to do a bookmark with my friend Heather Long. We both have military romance series so I was allll for it. Brandy designed them, and I will be getting them next week:) Here is the design and I love them. I cannot wait to see them!

We will both have them at our appearances this summer and fall!

Military Week: Heather Long

My love of military romance dates back to three, (two alike and one very different) television series and grew from there. The first series, M*A*S*H aired from 1972 to 1983. But I don’t remember a time I didn’t watch it, leaning against my grandmother’s knee and being amazed by these men and women who were in the thick of it. In the early 1980s came the A-Team. These military specialists and the idea that they’d been framed, but still tried to do good things was extremely romantic to me.  The third series, China Beach, ripped open the joy and the agony of loving someone in the military. You couldn’t not love Boonie or McMurphy. You had to feel their pain and you had to mourn with them.

These were all series that I watched while growing up and coupled with the exposure to seeing images of coffins returned to Dover, military officers in their dress clothes and more, I couldn’t help but want to be like these ‘heroes.’  The Vietnam backlash was very big when I was younger, but my grandmother was just not one of those people. She believed that these men and women went there to defend our country and it didn’t matter if you didn’t agree with the action -- you supported those who served.

In the last thirty years, we’ve seen action on the news in Panama, Iraq (twice), Afghanistan, Somalia and more. I remember being in Great Britain during the Falkland Islands War and watching it every day on television. I grew up listening to my grandmother’s stories of World War II and surviving it.

I know sailors, soldiers, Marines and airmen. Their capacity for giving to their country without thought for life and limb secures my liberty - how can that not move me? I’ve always found the tales of those men and women who served finding love especially moving, especially meaningful and desperately needed.

Writing them feels a little like giving back, a small contribution to honor the tremendous gift that our military bestows upon us. Writing military romance may not win a war or save a life, but if it - like those series I watched and books I read when I was growing up - helps just one person respect our military more…that’s a goal I embrace.

Our military defends our freedoms, our ‘rights’ to write and writing military romance gives me a chance to give it back and reading military romance reminds me that even in the darkest of times, we have hope. One of the most romantic military images of all time is the sailor and nurse seen kissing in the iconic 1945 Life magazine photograph from the end of World War II.  That moment captured a fever, a feeling, a fathomless well of romance, hope, and survival that defines military romance today.

I salute those who serve and they who love those who serve and their families who must wait, hope and remember.

When you look at that Times Square image, what do you feel? I'll give away the first 3 books in digital to one commenter. Open international. I'll post the winner in the comments Monday June 4th. You MUST come back to see if you've won.

Always a Marine - 1NS Series
Once Her Man, Always Her Man - Available Now
Retreat Hell! She Just Got Here - Available Now
Tell It To The Marine - May 2012
Proud To Serve Her - June 2012
Her Marine - July 2012

Coming Tomorrow: MILITARY MEN

Do you like your hero in a uniform??? Well, this week we have a GREAT lineup of Military Romance Authors to tempt you.

MONDAY
I kick off the entire week featuring my military harmless books!

TUESDAY
SE JAKES
















WEDNESDAY
Kallypso Masters

THURSDAY
Heather Long

FRIDAY
Cat Johnson

Best thing is there are prizes for each day and ONE BIG PRIZE of a Kindle Fire or a 200 GC from B and N or Amazon.  Starts bright and early tomorrow morning so make sure you pop in!

Friday Fireworks Blog Hunt

UPDATE: The Friday Fireworks is still going on! But, my individual winner is: HC Harju! You won a copy of Infatuation and the dog tags. Please email me at Contact@melissaschroeder.net! Be sure to get your answers into Heather for the Firework Hunt!

Hey, everyone. Today is the day of the Friday Fireworks blog hop!!! I am so excited that Heather allowed me to be a member of such a great group of authors. Look at this list:

Participating Authors - Blog Links:
Heather Long
Virginia Nelson
Saranna DeWylde - post not live, okay to skip
Delilah Devlin
Lissa Matthews
Jenn LeBlanc
Wendi Zwaduk
Kris Cook
Missy Jane 

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

This time of year is big in the Schroeder household, and it was growing up. Being a military brat, this was the beginning of a few events that shaped my summers. Memorial Day of course started it all off, and my Dad always had a 4th of July party at the house. Where my folks lived in Texas was in perfect viewing spot to see the base fireworks. So, it worked out without the fuss. But the one thing I always loved was Open House. I am not sure if it happened in the summer all the time, but I remember Open House at Sheppard as one of the best times. At that time, there weren't vendors brought in. Instead, they had every squadron working their own booth and allowing them to have their own choice food. We always had Italian food, yeah surprise there, but I loved wandering the food booth area trying all the different types of food. I grew up in an international community as an Air Force brat, much like my heroine in Possession: A Little Harmless Military Romance, Samantha, and my next heroine, Amanada, also grew up as a brat in the Army.

I think growing up that way gives you a different sense of the world. It can be tough and let's be honest, it sucks sometimes, but there is a particular privilege to it also. After I realized that Amanda was also a military brat, it made think about how much I had in common with both women. Completely different personalities for both of them, and neither are really like me. Still, the three of us have that connection of a childhood that only those of us who grew up in it understand.
But I am I digressing as usual, lol.

So, back to the chubby girl's dream of trying all the different foods. I think that it was one of the best memories of a base coming together. You had an area with a lot of more traditional ethnic (at the time, remember, this was the 70's and 80's, and in the middle of nowhere TX where Pizza Hut was ethnic for some people) like Italian and TexMex, but then you also had a corner where a lot of the Asian spouses cooked up the best food. It was was where I had my first taste of lumpia and seaweed (before it was fashionable in the rest of the US).

Oh, and there were planes and crap there, lol. Yeah, I did mention I was chubby, right? Ha! Anyway, I did love it, and every time I think of it, I get warm fuzzies. Not just because of the food, but it was the true meaning of military community. Different cultures, religions, ethnic backgrounds, but we all sort of make up a family. One I am proud of to this day.

Okay, so I have rules for the blog hop, AND I have rules for a prize I am giving away.  Let's do the blog hop rules because that is the big SHINY FIRE.
~~~~~~~

Rules:
10 Authors. 10 Questions. 10 Easy Answers.
You will go from blog to blog gathering questions about each author. There will be a
hint and a link that will lead you to the answer.

In order to be entered to win the big prize, a Kindle Fire, you will need to send your
answers to Brandy at bray829@gmail.com SUBJECT: Friday Fireworks

You must include all 10 questions with answers.

Winner of the big prize will be drawn and announced on Heather Long's blog. Any
prizes offered individually on the author's page will be taken care of by that author.

And here is my question:


Melissa Schroeder: What is the name of Delilah's fan driven on going free read?
(Hint: Check out her 'extras' at delilahdevlin.com )
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now for my prize. A SIGNED print copy of Infatuation and the coveted dog tags for Infatuation, Possession AND Surrender! Just answer this easy question in the comments:
What is your favorite summertime memory?  I will pull a name SUNDAY at 8 pm EASTERN US TIME!!! So get your answers in. That is on THIS blog, but make sure you hop around and get your name in the pot for that FIRE. I LOVE MINE.

Sunday Ramblings

Good Morning! First things first. SAMHAIN PUBLISHING is having an EARTH DAY sale. Enter code EARTH12 and get 30% off any ebook! Can't beat that, can ya?
I just turned in the rest of A Little Harmless Fascination and I am pretty pleased with it. It isn't quite as suspense filled as some of the others, and it had more romancy parts to it than I expected:) I like that. One thing I have always liked about writing my Harmless books is that there is formula beyond the romance part of it. Okay, so all of them have some super smexy parts. What I mean is that some are BDSM and some have suspense. Some are just erotic romance. After coming up with all the part of the next full Harmless book, A Little Harmless Fantasy, I am not sure there is going to be that much suspense in that one either. I am still working on the details, but I do believe that there is going to be more about our three main protagonists, it is MMF, and how they deal not only with the growing relationship they all share, but how they handle their lives and their relationship when something very horrible happens. But not to worry, suspense lovers. A Little Harmless Ride and A Little Harmless Secret will both have a lot of suspense in them. I am super excited about both, but especially Ride because it goes to the Big Island, my favorite island. I am finishing up my research on the Paniolo, the Hawaiian cowboy.

I am sure some of you might have noticed the widget to the side. I am going to have a salute to Military Romance in May, the week of Memorial Day. Authors participating are Cat Johnson, Kallypso Masters, SE Jakes and Heather Long are joining me to talk about military romance. Each author will give a prize a day away AND there is a huge grand prize. Big winner will have a choice of a KINDLE FIRE or a 200 GC from Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner's choice).

And if that is not enough...Wax Creative is moving along with my website redesign. I am so excited about it and I feel confident in their abilities. It is really nice to have a designer listen to my thoughts and suggestions and not treat me like I am stupid. It will be fully integrated for my social media and lots of bells and whistles. Soo excited!

I am going to start cleaning out the office today and getting things set to the move to the rental house. The only thing keeping me sane is that I know our next move is after Les is retired from the AF. It is hard to believe that the journey we started together, here in Montgomery because Les went to OTS here, is coming to an end. I am kind of sad because I am military brat at heart, but part of me is excited about the upcoming possibilities.

Off to get started on the packing so I can play with Deke and Samantha today!

Guest Post & Giveaway: Heather Long

If you’re wondering about that blog title, In Caelum Fero means “I am in Heaven” and it’s the name of a song that headlined the soundtrack I listened to when I was writing Cassandra’s Dilemma.   I dropped by here last month to give you a first taste sneak peek at the upcoming novel, which is due out on February 15, and yes, I am getting really excited!

Does Music Make a Story?

Writing is a very solitary activity.  So much of what we do is spent when we are alone with ourselves, our laptops (or with pen and paper or desktop, take your pick).  During my novel prep time (that day or two before I actually start writing) I make a point of looking up the information about a location (in this case the city of Chicago) or historical data if I plan to reference it (could just be a date or three) and I make my soundtrack.

Every novel gets a soundtrack, usually songs that make me think of the characters, the storylines, the romance or just the general atmosphere of the novel.  Rarely does that soundtrack come from one single artist, except in the case of Cassandra’s Dilemma.

I wrote the first draft of the novel over the summer, sitting next to a swimming pool in the scorching Texas heat with only an iced coffee and an umbrella for shade.  But it was the most productive writing time I’d spent up until then.  The child was ensconced in the pool, playing with friends under the watchful supervision of the lifeguards, I had my headphones, my iced coffee and my world unfurling before me on the screen.

Take Me To Another World

In this case, it took one song to transport me, literally into a world where fantasy met reality - or in this case, brought me wonderful images of Legolas in the modern world, with the rising crescendos that summoned images of forests, mountains and sweeping panoramas interspersed with a hint of sex and mysticism.

Sounds like a lot for a few songs, right? But this soundtrack did it, every single time. Whether I was writing, editing, revising or massaging some portion of the manuscript, all I needed to return to Cassandra’s world was a little Adiemus from their In Caelum Fero to their Kayama to the Cantus Insolitus, all I had to do was close my eyes and I could see the story playing out in living color.

  

The Ear of the Beholder

Music is a powerful influence whether it’s the absence of it in a too quiet scene or the pulsing descant in counterpoint to the action or the sweeping crescendo as the story rises to its climax.  All I know is that for me, when I find those right songs, the words just seem to flow.

As a reader, do you identify music with stories and if you do, what is one song that you associate with a book?  I’d love to know.  One lucky commentator will win a copy of Cassandra’s Dilemma in PDF. Make sure you leave your email address so my assistant (Brandy) can contact you. It will stay open until noon (MST) Friday (Feb 10).

Smoking Hot Excerpt:

Cassie lowered her gaze to focus on his mouth. The lips were full and even, as though carved by an artist perfecting his technique. Her lips tingled at the memory of how his lips caressed hers. “You kissed me last night.”

His eyes darkened with inexplicable emotion. “Are you planning to protest your virtue?”

“Hardly.” And she was not a nun. She’d been kissed before. She’d been far more than kissed. But aching heat pooled in her belly just thinking of how his mouth shaped over hers, how his breath feathered her cheeks, how his taste lingered on her tongue.

He brushed the back of his hand down her cheek, the gesture a shocking mixture of both intimacy and innocence. “Then what?”

“Why did you kiss me?” Her gaze drifted over his lips and along the line of his jaw before drifting down to the expanse of muscled chest. He was lean but solid, and the sheet drifted perilously close to his waist. She suspected that the sheet was all he wore.

Her breasts swelled under Helcyon’s gaze, as though it were his hands roaming over her. Cassie’s eyes fell half-closed, anticipated pleasure tightening her sex. She exhaled slowly, trying to rein in her rebellious heart as it thundered on passionate hooves.

Helcyon levered himself up, and Cassie held her breath. Heat rolled off him in waves. The bed shifted with his weight, and her leg brushed his. The contact halted him. Her eyes drifted over the chiseled plane of his abdomen to his chest and up to his eyes.

Don’t look him in the…Oh screw it!

She gazed into those green depths, wanting to drown in them. Her heart pounded furiously from the lack of oxygen, but his lips swooping up to take hers swallowed her gasp for breath.

Cassie groaned, sinking into the kiss. His tongue demanded access, and the reality of it was exquisite. His hands slid down her bare arms, skimming her waist, where two simple scraps of cloth kept him from her skin.
It was too much.

She leaned into the kiss, hands stealing across him, exploring the lines of his chest. His swift indrawn breath when her nails scraped lightly across his nipple emboldened her. Tongues twining, she sprawled across him. His cock pulsed against her belly. He stroked a finger around the edge of her panties and explored beneath the elastic, teasing a gasp from her as that questing finger swirled against her clit.

What the hell am I doing? Her conscience skimmed across her passion-drenched thoughts, but she ignored it. Helcyon tasted divine. She nibbled along the side of his mouth, tongue lapping at the skin. It was hot, salty, and sweet. She gave in to temptation, kissing and sampling along his jaw only to arch upward as his fingers slipped past the waistband of her panties and sank into the wetness soaking the juncture of her thighs.

Her breasts strained against the thin tank top. “Helcyon…” She ached to feel him touching them. Stop. Must stop.

A groan ripped through her at the thought. When his finger thrust inside of her, her sex clenched around it, pleasure pushing her past the point of coherence. “Helcyon, stop.”

He stilled at the rush of words, and Cassie wanted to weep. Her sex squeezed at his fingers, aching to pull more of him inside. Gritting her teeth, Cassie lifted her head and focused on the corner of his cheek. It was safer than looking him in the eyes and less enticing than gazing at his lips.

“We have to stop.” She exhaled the words, hating each one for passing her lips.

“We can if you wish, but we do not have to.” He remained utterly still, her sex impaled on his finger, his hand cupping her mound and his thumb perilously close to her clit.

“Unfortunately, we do. You’re a client, and I don’t—I don’t sleep with clients.” Cassie swallowed against the sob that snuck up on the end of her words.

Beneath her, Helcyon began to shake with laughter. The faint bouncing motion pushed his finger deeper into her. His thumb stroked her sensitive clit. Pleasure exploded behind Cassie’s eyes as her orgasm swept through her. Her nails dug into his arms as the pleasure wrenched from her. 

About Heather

Heather Long is a full time writer, mother, friend and student.  She can often be found at 4 a.m. hiding in her garage with a cup of coffee and a new story idea unfolding on her laptop. You can keep up with these and all of Heather’s upcoming releases via her website, Facebook page and occasionally, Twitter although she swears she’s pretty bad at remembering to Tweet even when she reads them.

Guest Post & Giveaway: Heather Long

Splinters of Me

First up, thanks to Melissa Schroeder (as well as a very happy, belated birthday to her as well!) for having me as a guest today.  I had planned a blog about my latest release that was unavoidably detained when the publisher decided to shutter its doors last month.  That left me in a bit of a pickle, so I threw the question out there about what people would like to know if they could ask me a question and I received a windfall of so many that I’ll have some great guest blogs in the future (at least that’s the game plan). 

So for today, the question comes from Chandra Ryan on Twitter: 

“Do you ever put little pieces of yourself, or others you know, in your stories?”

I have two answers for this question; the first is I rarely put myself into my stories, because writing is as much an escape for me as I hope reading my stories will be for you.  That said, one of my first novels Prime Evil (not currently available) features heroine Chance Monroe and a lot of Chance’s snarky attitude comes from yours truly.

She will literally say what I am thinking, so that makes writing her both fun and challenging, because just how politically incorrect can I be before it’s intrusive for the reader.  I like to think I have a nice mix.

As for the second answer, well here comes the confession.

Of course, I put people I know in my books.  Life is the most fascinating classroom I’ve ever attended.  I love to sit and watch people whether we are at a conference, a restaurant, a party or just kicking it at Starbuck’s for coffee.  Many a one liner has made the leap from conversation with me to a story I was working on.

I’ve even cast friends in roles, not necessarily their looks, but sometimes their attitudes.  They don’t always stay the same, most times the character grows beyond that initial inspiration, which is as it should be.

Recently I’ve been working on a series of shorts for Decadent Publishing’s 1Night Stand series (by the way, there are some truly wonderful and charming stories in these shorts if you haven’t checked them out).  Anyway, my series of shorts are subtitled Always a Marine and yes, they focus on a lot of Marines and I had so much fun writing these stories.

During a conversation with a friend of mine about them, she mentioned that the services often have fun by making an acronym out of their branch of the service.  Case in point, the Marines are “My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment” - well I couldn’t resist.  In one of my upcoming stories, the hero and heroine are enjoying a night out and get to know you session when she mentions she loves cruises.  His response? “My Ass Rode In enough Navy Equipment.” 

So yes, Chandra, I definitely borrow from real life because that helps me keep it real with my characters.  Fortunately, my life is populated with zany, wonderful people who keep me entertained and maintain a loving tolerance for my penchant of “…oh, I have to write that down…”

Coming Soon

Next month, I have a release coming out from Siren-Bookstrand entitled Cassandra’s Dilemma, the first in the Forbidden Legacy trilogy.  The book was actually inspired by a conversation, but that’s a story for another day.   I thought I would treat any readers who hung around to a sneak peek of that tale.  Be sure to leave your thoughts, I’ve got a ten-dollar Amazon gift card for one lucky commentator.

Excerpt From Cassandra’s Dilemma, February 2012

Cassie faded away from the conversation, divorced from her own body. It was better to not feel the icy burn crawling through her veins. She floated between one moment and the next.

Appropriate since she was Underhill.

“Truce?” Helcyon’s voice whispered along her consciousness like the gentlest of caresses.

“Peace.” The agent’s voice moved closer. “Did it mark her?”

“I see blood. I thought we moved her away before it could.”

“It was there for her.”

“I agree.”

“Why were you there, Elf ?”

“Why were you there, Wizard?”

“My job.”

“Mine as well. Her leg… See the mark—poison in the blood.”

“What the hell was it?”

“It doesn’t matter now. We must get it out. You draw the poison. I will ease the pain.”

Cassie drifted along, listening to their odd conversation. Warm fingers cupped her cheek. The scent of vanilla and soft spices tickled her nose. Opening her eyes took extreme effort, but she managed to drag her eyelids open.

Helcyon’s face was just centimeters from her own. She looked into eyes the color of the deep, green forest. She’d thought his eyes were black, but they were dark, like the woods at night, filled with mystery and promise. The scent of vanilla mingled with pine, loam, and rich earth. She inhaled deeply, sighing at the heady combination. His breath whispered across her face. Her lips parted in anticipation. The soft velvet of his lips rushed across her mouth, capturing the gasp of pain she released as jagged ice and fire ripped through her leg.

The fingers on her cheek caressed away the tears. Her mouth parted under the tentative probing of his tongue. Pain faded away, leaving only the sensations of his lips moving on hers. Languorous heat spread through her body, leaving her limp. She whimpered a soft sound as he pulled away, but his finger stroked across her lips. “Sleep, Cassandra. Sleep.”

Robbed of the effort to fight the compulsion, Cassie slept. Somewhere beyond the thick wraps of satin and silk muffling the world she heard a snort of derision.

About Heather Long

Heather Long is a full time writer, mother, friend and student.  She can often be found at 4 a.m. hiding in her garage with a cup of coffee and a new story idea unfolding on her laptop.  Her Fevered Hearts series launched in October 2011 with Marshal of Hel Dorado and the second book, Brave are the Lonely, will release in March 2012.  You can keep up with these and all of Heather’s upcoming releases via her website, Facebook page and occasionally, Twitter although she swears she’s pretty bad at remembering to Tweet even when she reads them.