Wednesday, May 28, 2008

While Sula's Away....


...Lisabea will play.

So poor Sula is stuck in DC at meetings/convention/working/blah de blah stuff all week. Isn't she fortunate to have blog buddy who will plaster her site with uplifting photos of hot mens and LOL cats? Yes. SHE IS~~I'm practically heroic!

She'd like you to know that she is reading..some, uh, book, and she'll post as soon as she can. Yeah. That's the ticket! Until that time: here's a hottie.


Heh.


Thursday, May 22, 2008

Housekeeping

Whew. The DIK, it was long. heh. I feel as though I haven't blogged in ages. Oh wait, that's cuz I haven't. So I figure that even though I have a busy schedule of work and night classes today, I ought to at least blog a bit about the other stuff that has happened recently here in sulaland.

I won the pay-it-forward contest on RachaelfromNJ's blog and received a box of books in the mail! It was so exciting!!! Not just to win a contest (which as we know is pretty thrilling in and of itself) but to get a big ol' box on my poarch. mmmm fresh books. I'll post a list of the contents later, but upon my initial perusal, I don't think I have read ANY of them previously. Which is very cool because that means they are new to me. yay! Thank you again to Rachael for running the contest. And keep tuned, because I will be crafting my very own pay-it-forward some time in the near future.

I finished the sexy Vegas anthology. I enjoyed it muchly although some stories definitely worked better than others. The reason I haven't posted my review yet is because I haven't had a moment to sit down and give it the time and thought I want in order to make it a useful review. The goal is to have it up by this weekend.

On the reading front, I have to admit that I'm not really in the middle of anything at the moment. My bf has moved in to live with me over the summer and that has cut down on my free time. no no, not in the way you are thinking of (get yer minds outta the gutter). I see so little of him during the school semesters that I do try to squeeze in more quality time together in the summers. Usually this means sitting on the couch watching TV together. yeah, real quality time there. Oh but we did watch North and South from start to finish last Friday night. I had to explain a lot to him (English not being his native language and the intricacies of industrial British society not exactly a topic he's familiar with) but he caught on pretty quickly. At the end, he had a huge sappy grin on his face during the train scene. And he leaned over to kiss me. awww. *g*

I will be going to DC next week for my professional organization's annual conference. It's pretty big, couple thousand people at the convention center. I always like going because it's a chance for me to get out of the office and network with other people who do what I do. We can compare notes and best practices and get ideas for how to improve. Or just vent and bitch to each other and totally get what we're whining about. heh. Oh and staying in a hotel in downtown DC is fun too. DBF is coming with and will probably have a better time than me because he'll have free time each day to go see the sights when I'm in sessions.

So yeah, life goes on. I do want to say thanks to all of the fun and crazy gang that participated in the DIK. That was insanity. But very entertaining. I now have a much longer list of 'books I out to read if I could ever find the time, dammit!'. lol. And I am very pleased with my hut o' heros.

Now I must get going. Work awaits and I have an economics class tonight. The fun just never ends. See you round teh internets!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Hard end of the DIK


Yes, you thought this day would never arrive. The end of DIK. It's so hard. heh. Hard to say goodbye that is...what did you THINK I meant? pfft. (you all have such dirty minds. i luv it!)

Welcome players and spectators to the final round of DIK Madness.
Below is a list of the women who selected six 'Desert Island Keeper' books to bring to our island's library almost two weeks ago. Since then, we've begun a 'Desert Island Keeper Hero Draft' for which we are taking turns in rounds to pick seven heroes to join our island adventure.

Since the order of play has been consistenly the same (with the list reversing itself each round), I decided that for the grande finale a little shake-up was in order. And so I fed the list of names into an online list randomizer which generates "mathematically random numbers based on noises recorded by a microphone in Ireland" to randomize the list. Noises recorded in Ireland? Huh. Well, all I know is that if you don't like your spot on the list, don't complain to me. Blame Ireland. Now with that bit of housekeeping taken care of, let's move on to the current standings...
Round 1 picks are in RED.
Round 2 picks are in PURPLE.
Round 3 picks are in BLUE.
Round 4 picks are in GREEN.
Round 5 picks are in ORANGE.
Round 6 picks are in AQUA MARINE.
Round 7 picks will be in MAROON (because we are after all "marooned" on a desert island. lol)

CURRENT HOLDINGS: (please note that order of play has been changed!!!)

1. Naida - Edward Cullen (Twilight, Stephanie Meyers), John Atlantis (Entangled, Kathleen Dante), Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion, Jane Austen), Aragorn aka Strider (Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien), Tristen (Legends of the Fall, Jim Harrison), Mark Darcy (Bridget Jones Diary, Helen Fielding), Ian (The Host, Stephenie Meyer)

2. LesleyW - John Matthew aka Tehrror (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Jeremy Danvers (Women of the Otherworld series, Kelly Armstrong), Vayl (Jaz and Vayl series, Jennifer Rardin), Curran (Magic Bites and Magic Burns, Ilona Andrews), Richard Tremayne High Lord of the Darkyn (Darkyn books, Lynn Viehl) Duncan Reever (Stardoc books by S.L. Viehl), Lucivar (the Dark Jewels books, Anne Bishop)

3. Ciaralira - Ethan McCabe (Demon Night, Meljean Brook) Hugh Castleford (Demon Angel, Meljean Brook) Westley (The Princess Bride, William Goldman), Lord Robert Andreville (Robin) (Angel Rogue, Mary Jo Putney), Kieran vel Solande (Tairen Soul Series, C.L. Wilson), Garret Langham, the Earl of Mayne, (Pleasure for Pleasure, Eloisa James), Dr. Samuel Cornick (Mercy Thompson series, Patricia Briggs)

4. Lisabea - Adrien English (Adrien English series, Josh Lanyon) Colin Ames Beaumont (Demon Moon, Meljean Brook), Jake Romero (With Caution, J.L. Langley), Nate (My Fair Captain, J.L. Langley), Savitri Murray (Demon Moon, Meljean Brook), Derek Knightly (At Love's Command, Samantha Kane), Captain Jack Sparrow! (some spin-off book surely, Disney)

5. Sula - Rhage (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward) Asa McIntyre (Promises Linger by Sarah McCarty), Dain (Lord of Scoundrels, Loretta Chase), Ian Witherspoon (At Love's Command, Samantha Kane), Nathaniel Bonner (Into the Wilderness, Sara Donati), Keir of the Cat (Warprize, Elizabeth Vaughan), Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood, Russell T. Davies/BBC)

6. Samantha Kane - Doyle/The Queen's Darkness (Merry Gentry Series, Laurell K. Hamilton) Cat, a young pirate (The Windflower, Laura London), Chief of Police Jack West (All U Can Eat, Emma Holly), Tom Paoletti (Unsung Hero, Suzanne Brockmann), Angel a.k.a. Angelis (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Angel Chronicles, Nancy Holder and or Angel: After the Fall, Brian Lynch and Franco Urru), Rhys (Merry Gentry series, Laurell K. Hamilton), Jack Reacher (Jack Reacher series, Lee Child)

7. Thea - Jamie Fraser (Outlander, Diana Gabaldon) Joscelin Verreuil (Kushiel's Legacy series, Jacqueline Carey), Jacob Black (Twilight Series, Stephanie Meyer), Batman! (some spin-off book by someone), Remy LeBeau a.k.a. Gambit (Uncanny X-Men, Chris Claremont), Roland Deschain (Dark Tower books, Stephen King), Tyler Durden (Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk)

8. Shannon - Sam Donovan (Mr. Perfect, Linda Howard) Sam Starrett (Troubleshooters series, Suzanne Brockmann), Max Baghat (Troubleshooter series, Suzanne Brockmann), Adam Hauptman (Mercedes Thompson series, Patricia Briggs), Captain Malcom Reynolds a.k.a. Capt. Tight Pants (Firefly/Serenity franchise & comics, Joss Whedon), Izzy Teague (Code Name series, Christina Skye), Stan Wolchonok (Over the Edge, Suzanne Brockmann)

9. Carolyn Jean - Eric Northman (Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris), Joe Morelli (Stephanie Plum, Janet Evanovich), Ranger (Stephanie Plum, Janet Evanovich), Michael (Guardian Series, Meljean Brook), Adrian (The Spymaster's Lady, Joanna Bourne), Han Solo (Star Wars Series spin-off books), Captain Kirk (Star Trek)

10. MaryKate - Roarke (In Death series, JD Robb) Lucas Hunter (Slave to Sensation, Nalini Singh), Maximillian Pesaro,( Gardella Chronicles, Colleen Gleason), Cameron Quinn (Sea Swept, Nora Roberts), Jacob Green (Vampire Queen Servant series, Joey W. Hill), Captain Jack Seward (All Through The Night, Connie Brockway), Hawke (Psy/Changeling series, Nalini Singh)

11. Sarah - Clay (Women of the Otherworld series, Kelley Armstrong), Nathaniel (Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Series), Barinthus ( Meredith Gentry), Lucas (Heaven Sent Series, Jet Mykels), Jericho Barrons (Fever Series, Karen Marie Monings), Katou Youji (Haru wo Daiteita/Embracing Love, Nitta Youka), Taylor MacAllister (Dangerous Ground, Josh Lanyon, Hot Tub, Splish Splash)

12. Sarai - Jake Riordan (Adrien English series, Josh Lanyon) Gage Travis (Sugar Daddy, Lisa Kleypas), Vaughn D'Angelo (Visions of Heat, Nalini Singh), Zarek of Moesia (Dance with the Devil, Sherrilyn Kenyon), Jonas (Breed Series, Lora Leigh), Sterling "Harvard" Chase (Kiss of Crimson, Lara Adrian)Cam Rohan (Mine Til Midnight, Lisa Kleypas)

13. Tumperkin - Mick Tremore (The Proposition, Judith Ivory), Michael McNeil (Wild at Heart, Patricia Gaffney), Christian, Duke of Jervaulx (Flowers from the Storm, Laura Kinsale), Graham Wessit (Black Silk, Judith Ivory), Sebastian Verlaine (To Have and To Hold, Patricia Gaffney), Charles Audley, (An Infamous Army, Georgette Heyer), Sydnam Butler (Simply Love, Mary Balogh)

14. Bridget Locke - Mr. Jules Cassidy (All Through the Night, Suzanne Brockmann), Bones (One Foot in the Grave and Halfway to the Grave, Jeannie Frost), Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen), Judd Laurens (Caressed by Ice, Nalini Singh), Simon Hunt (Secrets of a Summer's Night, Lisa Kleypas), Theodore Westgaard (Years, LaVyrle Spencer), Cadeon Woede (Dark Desires after Dusk, Kresley Cole)

15. Christine - Acheron (Dark Hunter series, Sherrilyn Kenyon) Qhuinn (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward) Vishous (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Butch O'Neill (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Belial (Guardians Series, Meljean Brook), Gaelen vel Serranis (The Tairen Soul series, C.L. Wilson), Clay Bennett (Mine to Possess, Nalini Singh)

16. Ana - Bowen MacRieve (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night, Kresley Cole), Sebastian St. Vincent (Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas), Royce Westmoreland (A Kingdom of Dreams,Judith McNaught), Conrad Wroth (Dark Needs at Night's Edge, Kresley Cole), Logan a.k.a. Wolverine (X-Men), Fox Mulder (X-files spin-off books), King Leonidas (The 300 Graphic Novels)

17. JenB - Vane Kattalakis (Night Play, Sherrilyn Kenyon) Angel (Angel, Johanna Lindsey) Rule, (The Demon You Know, Christine Warren), Kade (Riley Jenson Guardian series, Keri Arthur), Challen (Warrior's Woman, Johanna Lindsey), Calvin Morissey (Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie), Heath Boscastle (Wedding Night of an English Rogue, Jillian Hunter)

18. KristieJ - Derek Craven (Dreaming of You, Lisa Kleypas) Dax Silverbrake (Sky Pirate, Justine Davis) Ciaran Tamberlane (My Forever Love, Marsha Canham), Branden Kel-Paten (Games of Command, Linnea Sinclair), Gray Rouillard (After the Night, Linda Howard), Wizard (Driven, Eve Kenin), John Thornton (North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell)

19. Tracy - Zsadist (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), Phineas Tucker (Welcome to Temptation, Jennifer Crusie), Dorian (Psy/Changeling Series, Nalini Singh), Wrath (Dark Lover, BDB series by JR Ward), Caine Allen (Caine's Reckoning, Sarah McCarty) Daemon Sadi (Black Jewels Trilogy, Anne Bishop) Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. aka Indiana Jones (spin-off book somewhere)

20. Katie(babs) - Alexander (The Bronze Horseman, Paullina Simons) Rehvenge (Black Dagger Brotherhood series, JR Ward), James Diaz (Cry No More, Linda Howard) Gabriel "Sully" Sullivan (Gabriel's Ghost, Linnea Sinclair), Rain Tairen Soul (Tairen Soul Series, C.L. Wilson), Jack Prescott (Dangerous Lover, Lisa Marie Rice), Sherlock Holmes (multiple Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Step 1. Find your name. That is the order you choose in. (see above note on new order)

Step 2. When it's your turn, "Call" ONE hero in the comments. It can be anybody from all of literature (and apparently spin-off as-seen-on-TV books now count too), but you can't have somebody who is already picked! Who will you pick? Naida gets to start. Naida, leave your hero's name in the comments. Then LesleyW gets to go. And so on. After this round, everyone should have seven heros and our island of 160 men/women/vamps/demons/shifters/superheros/etcetera will be completely crowded.

Yes, trades are permitted. In fact, this is your last chance to swap. Someone else got a hero you just CAN'T live without? Pony up (har) and make them an offer while there is still time.

Don't worry about obsessively monitoring this thing. If you don't call your hero in 24 hours, 1 hour we'll skip you. LOL Just kidding. Maybe two hours. Or three. ;)

RULES:
• No picking out of order. Once the woman above you has chosen, it's your turn.
• Trades are permitted, but be clear about announcing the results in the comments or email so your host(s) don't have to play sleuth.
• If it's your turn and we don't hear from you for 24 hours a few hours, sorry, you're skipped. But you can email your host(s) ahead of time with your pick. Or comment as soon as you come back and your pick will be entered.
Email to: sulawesigirl4 at yahoo dot com or noseinabook at live dot com

• Gratuitous posting of hot Gerard Butler pics are always in good taste.

• Latecomers: SORRY, we wish everybody could play, but there has now been a moratorium placed on add-ons, due to the record-keeping nightmare this will soon has become.
ROUND 1: (now over) Hosted at CarolynJean's.
ROUND 2: (now over) Hosted at Sarai's
ROUND 3: (now over) Hosted at lisabea's.
ROUND 4: (now over) Hosted at MaryKate's.
ROUND 5: (now over) Hosted at Christine's.
ROUND 6: (now over) Hosted at Katie(babs) & Kristie(J)'s.
ROUND 7: Hosted at Sula's!

So here we go. Good luck to all!

Breaking news... fellow DIKer lisabea is discussing the archetypes of heros with m/m author James Buchanan on her blog today. Check it out!

Monday, May 12, 2008

MLM - Mini review

Good morning MLM lovers! It's that day of the week again. While I do not have anything lengthy prepared, I thought I would put up a very short review of a Jet Mykles story. To go along with galpal lisabea's interview with Jet today.

The story Key to Me is an entry in an anthology called The Ties that Bind published by MLR press (that stands for ManLoveRomance...love it!) Noah has been in and out of relationships always looking for that special someone whom he can truly fall in love with but never quite finding his match. Lately, he has been receiving gifts from a secret admirer, and the fact that each gift indicates this admirer really knows him and his most intimate desires is both driving him crazy and seducing the hell out of him. Longtime friend and roommate Mitch continues to tease him about finding his mystery man. His work friends are also involved and eagerly await the details of the latest gift. Noah wonders who it could possibly be.

Then one day Noah receives a note along with his latest gift telling him when and where to meet his secret admirer. Hotness ensues. Mr. Mystery manages to keep his identity shrouded by having Noah wear a blindfold. Did I mention that hotness ensues? Lots of great sexy sex with a slight touch of light BDSM play. Noah becomes more and more emotionally fixated on his mystery lover because he seems to know instinctively what Noah wants, what Noah needs. Hell, who wouldn't be seduced by that? It's romantic fantasy at its best.

Um, so I won't give away the big ol' spoiler, but I'm guessing you can figure it out. The finale is very emotionally satisfying, and I finished the story with a big smile and an "awww, that is so romantic" kind of sigh. Definitely giving this little story a thumbs up. And the rest of the anthology looks good too (I've read about half of the other entries so far). If you're looking for a tasty manlove collection, you can't go wrong with this one.

As I mentioned earlier, miz lisabea is interviewing author Jet Mykles over at her blog today. So go forth and enjoy! Happy MLM!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

I got somethin'


Look at what just arrived in MY mail today! Ok, s'rsly is that not a hot cover? humina. Thanks to the lovely Ann Aguirre and a very nice contest on her blog, I have this very pretty spicy book to read. I'm tickled because a. it's romantica/erotica/whatever-you-call-it-a and you KNOW I love me some hawtness, b. anthologies are such a nice way to try new-to-me authors, and c. hell, it is just exciting when you win a free book. heh.

Behind closed doors, the real games begin…

Winning it big.
That's the name of the game at Las Vegas's Liege Hotel and Casino, where the hottest fantasies hinge on a roll of the dice…and the tantalizing knowledge that anything could happen before sunrise.

Cocktail waitress Carinna wants a man to tie her up, not tie her down. Little does she know that her most willing partner yet has something else planned for this fiery Latina bombshell.

Dahlia is a burlesque dancer with a brain for business and a bod for sin. Her latest admirer may be a sweet-talking Casanova, but despite what he thinks she's not giving anything away free.

Meanwhile, Amy has the perfect plan to rob the Liege Casino blind…until the intimidating owner catches her red-handed. Now she knows she's going to pay… with both pleasure and pain.

Professional shill Cassidy is ready to experience a breathless rendezvous with her "friend with benefits." But when he proposes five delicious nights of sexy blackjack, the stakes have never been so high.


Watch this space for an upcoming review. Assuming I can tear my eyes from the cover and start reading. lol.

Monday, May 5, 2008

MLM - I got nothin'


...well, in fact I DO have something. But that something is a book and not a review (yet). What I have in my hot little hands is the second book in the Jesse and Gideon series (I'm sure they actually have a name, but I am going with Jesse and Gideon because I luvs them). You remember Master of Obsidian by Jamie Craig? This is book 2. Oh yes, there are MORE stories with these two fantastic guys.

More crimes to be solved. More mysteries to unfold. More kinky vampire sex games. More hot manlove!

You can read an excerpt here

Happy ManLove Monday everybody! Head over to lisabea's for a totally fun interview with m/m author Ally Blue.

Friday, May 2, 2008

A box o' books!

How cool is this? Rachael has a pay it forward contest on her blog and the lucky winner will receive a box of books! Go forth and win. Just...well, not too many of you, cuz I don't wanna make my odds of winning too slim. heh.

Thanks to the indomitable CJ for the heads up.

This deserves a repeat posting of White Shirt, methinks.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Surrender to Surrender

Remember how on Sunday I talked about how I had an extra copy of Pamela Clare's French and Indian era romance Surrender and how it would be going to one lucky commenter? Well, after taking all of the names in the kitty, assigning them each a unique number and then running the numbers through an online "random number generator" (im in ur internets, messin ur science!), I have a winner to announce. .....

MaryM!!!

Congratulations, Mary. You are the proud new owner of a historical novel. Or you will be once you email me at sulawesigirl4 at yahoo dot com and give me a place to mail this lovely book to.

Thanks to everyone for playing.