Sunday Smooch with Rachel Bailey

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from  Rachel Bailey but first,


... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is Lyn!


Can you please contact michelle (at) michelle-douglas (dot) com to receive your copy of Her Irresistible Protector.



And now for today's Sunday Smooch from The Nanny Proposition:

Two babies…one scandalous secret!

Discovering he's the father of an orphaned newborn rocks botanist Liam Hawke's world. But that's where nanny Jenna Peters fits in—a single mother herself, she immediately works her magic on his newborn daughter. Soon Liam himself can't resist being spellbound by this beauty.

Jenna tries to keep her irresistible boss at arm's length but it's a losing battle. Once Liam finds out who she really is, she'll have to say goodbye to the man she loves and their unconventional family…unless the seductive single dad makes her a proposition this undercover princess can't refuse!

Scene set-up
It's late at night and Jenna has just taught Liam to feed his new daughter. The baby has brought up a little bit of milk on his shirt, so she tells him to take it off so she can put it out to be washed. 


Smooch  -

Jenna took the baby, whose eyes were already closed, rocked her a few times to make sure, then laid her in the crib. “Good night, beautiful,” she whispered.

When she turned around, she was confronted by Liam’s bare chest. He was standing several feet away, but he was all she could see, and a tiny spark of electricity shot straight through her. He was balling the shirt in his hands and looking around the room, probably for the dirty clothes basket, which gave her precious moments to observe him unnoticed. She took advantage of them without thinking.

His chest was solid with faint lines of definition and a sprinkling of dark hair. Her fingers itched to test the strength of the muscles there, to feel the crispness of the hair. Then she realized he’d stilled. She raised her gaze to his face only to find he was watching her. Her stomach fluttered. He took an infinitesimal step forward, as he reached out to stroke the side of her face then cup her cheek. His gaze fell to her mouth, and the nerve endings in her lips sprang to life, tingling. Yearning.

This was wrong, she knew it was wrong, yet in this moment she couldn’t bring herself to care. All that mattered was Liam, and he was close, so close that her heart battered against her ribs.

He lowered his head, ever so slowly, until his lips brushed hers. Delicious warmth spread through her body and she couldn’t contain the moan that escaped her throat. When his mouth settled more firmly and his tongue touched hers, she knew she’d reached heaven.

She fell into the kiss—into Liam. His heat and scent. Sensation danced across every nerve in her body. She reached up, touching his bare chest with her fingertips, and she felt a shudder rip through his body. The shirt he’d been holding fell to the floor as one of his hands snaked out to press her fingers more firmly against his skin, the other to wrap around behind her, hauling her against him.

This kiss was more than anything she’d ever experienced—more intense, more uncontrollable, more glorious. Just more. And she’d never get enough. Of the kiss. Of Liam. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and she would have melted into the floor if he hadn’t been holding her up.

I have a copy of The Nanny Proposition (which is up for pre-order here and will be on the shelves on August 5) to give away to one commenter, so tell me, do you like romances with babies? If so, tell me one of your favourites!

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from J.K. Coi will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver

Have bag (s), will travel, by Sue MacKay.

For the last six weeks we (DB and I) have been living in two places every week. While we've returned to our own home for anything from two to four nights a week, we've also been in Nelson housesitting while DB oversees a business for friends who went to Europe. Throw in two trips to Christchurch and one weekend in Blenheim for me with my writing group during this time and I  started to feel confused.

By about week four I'd wake during the night and have to lie there wondering where I was and where the bathroom might be. But I wasn't as confused as my girlfriend we stayed with in Christchurch. She went sleep walking and found herself in our bedroom. And she's only been in one house all month.

By week six I was ready to spend seven straight days and nights back in my own place.

Of course there was a plus side to this. We caught up with many friends as Nelson used to be our home city. I love how easy it is to pick with people I haven't seen for a long while and have a great time catching up. We ate out most nights (the hips aren't so grateful) which is something we rarely do living in the Sounds. I could've cooked meals for these people but didn't like to make a mess in someone else's kitchen. That was my excuse anyway and it worked.

I had time to shop - as in clothes and shoes and a new lap top. Oh, and make up and books. I'm probably going to be banned from any place with a shop in it for a long time to come. and the coffee. Oh boy, did I make the most of coffee vendors. To the point I was on first name terms at one Nelson coffee cart.

We got to go for our walks in new territory. There are a lot of walking tracks in and around Nelson, and not all of them are as hilly or rugged as where we live.

So all in all, it was fun, and I'll have to convince our friends to go away again next year. I am a bit of a homebody though recently have decided I've been shut away down here too long and need to be out amongst it.

The lap top and I are taking time to get along, but hey, it's got new technology and I'm still used to working in the dim dark ages. If only it didn't lose nearly a chapter of work I might be more inclined to be friendly. The fact that I made a major blue doesn't let it off the hook.

Do you like moving around a lot, or are you a total home body?

You are so beautiful…to me

by Michelle Douglas

 A person unfamiliar with the romance genre asked me the other day: Do the main characters of romance novels conform to traditional western ideals of beauty?

It got me thinking, because the answer is: Mostly, yes.

Without exception my heroes are hottest men on two legs. They have broad shoulders, tight butts, and smiles that can melt a woman to a puddle. Their masculinity, beauty and vigour are never in doubt. After all, these are my ideal fantasy men. :-)

Want an example? Here’s how Mitch from HER IRRESISTIBLE PROTECTOR is described when Tash answers the knock on her front door:

Officer Mitchell King stared back at her like some upright holy warrior. From the top of his close-cut blond hair to the tips of his scrubbed-to-within-an-inch-of-their-lives boots. Even out of uniform he looked like he should be wearing one. Everything about him shouted clean-cut hero—the strong square jaw, the not quite even teeth and the direct blue of his eyes. A man on a mission. A man who knew right from wrong. No shades of grey here, thank you very much.

There’s a lot a reader can unpick from that description, but one thing is clear—Mitch is masculinity personified.

As a general rule my heroines are pretty with nice figures (be they slim or curvy). In THE LONER’S GUARDED HEART I have the hero initially thinking the heroine is a mouse—all quiet and small and nondescript. But the more he gets to know her the more attractive he comes to find her. In THE NANNY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS the heroine is trying to shed a few pounds and tone up, but she’s still pretty…and her curves drive the hero wild. ;-)

As a rule, these are the kind of characters we find in romances, but there are exceptions.

What about LADY OF QUALITY by Georgette Heyer? The heroine describes the hero as one of the ugliest men she’s ever met. It doesn’t stop him from also being the one man who can make her laugh and feel alive. She isn’t the kind of woman to be swayed by physical beauty or she’d have been married long ago. So the hero has to use his wit and intelligence to win her over.

Then there’s Liz Fielding’s THE BRIDESMAID’S REWARD with its plus-size heroine who is desperately trying to lose weight before her sister’s wedding. Her struggles touched a chord with me…and probably hundreds, if not thousands, of other women. A woman that many would describe as “fat” discovers her own beauty and comes to accept the love of a seriously hot hero. A hero who appreciates her for who she is… who finds her irresistible.

I love these stories. I love them for their quirkiness and I love that they force the characters to address any self-esteem issues they may have and to grow. I love that these stories refuse to package beauty up into a neat little box, but explore the greater meaning of beauty. I love these stories because truly heroic souls, who are often overshadowed by those more physically beautiful who surround them, win happiness and that once in a lifetime love.

So, tell me, do you enjoy a romance where the heroes and heroines may not be necessarily beautiful by society’s standards? Do you enjoy reading stories with plus-size heroines? And, if so, let me know if you have any favourite books exploring these themes because I’d love to read them? :-)

Her Irresistible Protector is on the shelves now!

"Are you here to arrest me, Officer King?"

When Officer Mitchell King--her ex and the only guy Tash Buckley has ever loved--arrives on her doorstep, claiming she needs his protective custody, Tash is more concerned by the heart-fluttering, pulse-racing effect he still has on her!

Confined to Mitch's beachside cabin, Tash finds it increasingly difficult to resist her delicious protector...

My Cowboy Crush

By Bronwyn Jameson

I’m currently immersed in cowboys.  Over the past month I’ve watched movies, read non-fiction about ranch life and training trail horses and the cowboy way, as well as fiction set in the American west.  I’m listening to country music. I’ve started watching the first season of Nashville.

None of this has been a hardship.  In fact, it’s fun and ridiculously addictive... partly because this is quite a switch from the rich, cosmopolitan worlds I’ve most recently been obsessed with.  I’d forgotten how much I love a good western...and a good—or wickedly bad—cowboy. 

John Wayne. Gary Cooper. Clint Eastwood. Bonanza. Rawhide. F Troop J.  I adored Anne McAllister’s Code of the West series for Silhouette and the western historicals of Maggie Osborne and Jo Goodman and Johanna Lindsey. (Does anyone else love her Angel as much as I do?)

 So when I was invited to write a novella for Montana Born Books, I jumped at the chance to create my very own cowboy story. There will be horses, of course, and barn cats and a country band that plays covers of Lady Antebellum and Sara Evans and Keith Urban. There will be work-roughened hands and leather chaps and boot-cut jeans that fit just so. 

There will be a little loping, some sauntering and that slanted look from beneath the brim of a big black hat.

Those are the superficial things. Window-dressing, if you will. Dig deeper beneath the romanticised mystique and you’ll find the real cowboy. He is a hard worker, often in uncompromising environments.  The cowboy is capable, self-reliant, tough.  A simple man whose word is his bond, who doesn’t conform to trends, who lives by his own set of values. The strong, stoic type who is inclined to let his actions do the talking.

Do you have a favourite western? A favourite cowboy depiction? What do you find most attractive about the cowboy way?

Sunday Smooch…with Michelle Douglas

Welcome to another LoveCats DownUnder Sunday Smooch!

Today we have a smooch from  Her Irresistible Protector but first 

... the winner of last week's Sunday Smooch Giveaway is samstillstanding

Can you please contact melaniemilburne (at) gmail (dot) com to receive your copy of At No Man's Command.


And now for today's Sunday Smooch from Michelle Douglas...

When Officer Mitchell King - the only guy Tash Buckley's ever loved - claims she needs his protective custody, Tash is more concerned by the effect her delicious ex still has on her than the danger she might be in! Confined to his cabin, resisting her protector might prove to be too difficult

Scene set-up: Tash and Mitch have a history…a rather fraught one, but stuck at Mitch's seaside cabin they've formed a truce. On a hike through the gorgeous native coastal forest, Tash is forced to concede that Mitch has a redeeming feature or two...

‘You’ve made me forget the bad stuff,’ Tash said.

‘That was the plan.’

She moved closer and she suddenly felt more alive than she ever had before. ‘I don’t think I will ever be able to thank you properly for that.’ She lifted her hands, flattened them against his chest. She couldn’t mistake the way his breath hitched or the way his heart pounded against her palm.

‘Tash.’

Her name growled from him and she had a feeling he’d meant it as a warning, but it came out as a caress. When she stood on tiptoe to touch her lips to his, his hands shot to her shoulders as if to put her away from him, but his lips opened to hers and their tongues danced. He tasted of the sea and summer and shady glades and she forgot who was kissing who as their bodies crashed together, needing the contact and seeking more.

Eventually he held her away from him, breathing hard as if he’d been sprinting. ‘That’s not the way to thank me, Tash.’

She gripped his forearms to try and find her balance. ‘It stopped being a thank you after the first kiss.’

‘You said this was a bad idea.’

‘When?’

‘This afternoon you said friendship was all that was on offer. This morning you backed away from a kiss.’

The words emerged through gritted teeth and she could see how tightly he held himself in check. She sympathised. She hadn’t wanted him with this kind of physical ferocity eight years ago. She could see now how careful he’d been with her back then. If he’d chosen to, he could’ve created this kind of heat in her. She wouldn’t have been ready for it. She wouldn’t have known how to deal with it. But there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she’d have succumbed to it.

He hadn’t let that happen then, but she was more than ready for it to happen now. ‘I must’ve had rocks in my head.’ Her fingers curled into the material of his shirt. ‘Besides, I understand it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.’

He groaned. ‘I’m supposed to be guarding you, protecting you.’

‘Correction—you’re making sure I’m out of harm’s way. You said the danger wouldn’t follow us here.’

‘It won’t, but—’

‘Then the idea that you need to be hyper-vigilant is nonsense and you know it.’

He didn’t say anything.

‘You know there is something that could make my holiday truly unforgettable.’

‘What’s that?’

‘A holiday fling.’

He swore. It came out sounding like an endearment.

‘I know most people consider me a tough customer with attitude to burn. That translates in some circles as me being considered something of a…bad girl.’

His eyes widened. His nostrils flared.

‘The fact of the matter is the opposite is true.’ The very opposite, in fact, but she had no intention of sharing that.

His body was beautiful and utterly beguiling and everything inside her arched towards it, aching to explore it.

His eyes gleamed in the light of the rising moon. ‘Are you telling me, Tash, that you want to do something wild and reckless?’

She smiled back at him. ‘I’m glad to see you’ve finally got with the programme, Officer King.’

If you had to go into protective custody would you choose a beachside cabin like Tash gets, a remote mountain retreat, a dilapidated vineyard nestled in rolling hills, or an outback cattle station? Or maybe you'd choose something altogether different?

Come back next Sunday, when the winner of today's giveaway will be announced and a smooch from Rachel Bailey's The Summer of Jake will be posted!

Smooch Graphic by WebWeaver

My New Toy!

By Barbara DeLeo

I'm a complete sucker for new and shiny exercise equipment and I haz a new toy! Yes, I know those late night T.V ads can be as seductive as Joe Manganiello in boxer shorts, but this is different. It's not one of these:

or one of these

it's one of these

This is my Fibit. 

What's a Fitbit and why would I ever want to use one, I hear you ask? It's the perennial problem of WWB (writer's widening butt) which comes from hours spent in a chair when the only thing getting exercise are my fingers on the keyboard and my elbow as I shovel chocolate into my bouche.

So, what is a Fitbit? Well, it's like a jazzed up pedometer. I wear it all day, hooked to the waistband of my jeans or clipped to my bra, and it counts the steps I take, how far I walked and how many floors I climbed, but that's not all. It also monitors my sleep, helps me track how much water I drink as well as what I eat. Because it syncs with my phone I can see a whole lot of charts and graphs to monitor my progress which is really motivating.

Yesterday for example, this is what I achieved. The step info fell off the bottom of my picture but it does show the green line to indicate that I met my goal of 10,000 steps.

I can set my own goals and get little messages of encouragement sent to my phone and collect stickers for milestones met. I'm also in a Fitbit group with other writers where we have a leaderboard to show how many steps we're all doing. 

One of the really interesting things I can monitor is how well I sleep. I pop my Fitbit in a little wristband at night and it monitors how long I sleep and what the quality is.Not surprisingly,  I've found that the more exercise I do during the day, the better I sleep at night. See how my sleep was much better yesterday than the day before? The red line means awake and the blue means restless.

                                                       


















So, that's my Fitbit. I'm hoping that it doesn't end up in the garage like the Ab-Circle Pro or a glorified clothes rack like my treadmill.....Have you had success using exercise equipment at home? Thought of getting a Fitbit?

Journey to the Centre of NSW

with Sharon Archer

Wide open spaces!

I thought I'd take you on a pictorial tour of our trip to see friends in Outback NSW.  They run the Four Corners Farmstay and have this seriously cool logo:  

Have pillow, ready for sleepover!

It had been raining and I had a lovely time taking pictures of reflections in puddles...

While I was playing around the puddles, I found this really clear kangaroo paw print - interesting dimples in the heel...

Actually, I just noticed this weird visual effect - if I put the picture the other way around the heel looks like an "outdent" rather than an indent!  Does it do the same for you?

I think my photographic fascinations can be summed up as reflections, sunsets and "up close and personal"!  Here are a few small things that couldn't/didn't run away!

Lace of spider silk & water droplets

We tripped out to find the geographical centre of NSW.

Yep, we found it & have the picture to prove it!

All too soon, it was time to head home again... this is our lunch spot on the trip back...

A quiet spot for lunch

Our socks didn't dry in time to pack so I hung them in the back of the car!

Laundry to go!

Stopped over night at the Lake Cargelligo Caravan Park and went for an evening walk to the lake.  

yep, more reflections!

Spotted these galahs having a drink...

Sunrise on the lake the next morning was pretty spectacular...

And the galahs looked so gorgeous with the early morning light on their rose-pink breasts...

We're back home now!  It's lovely to go away, but always wonderful to get back home... even if it is cold and wet here at the moment! 

Thanks for taking this little tour with me!  When I first travelled through the outback, many years ago now, I found the flatness and the hugeness of it daunting but now I really love it!  So do you like wide open spaces or do you prefer the cosiness of rolling hills?