The Sunshine Award

I've had a pretty busy day today. Yesterday I took over Silver Publishing's facebook page so I really didn't get to spend a lot of quality time with my husband. Since we live at least 45 minutes to the nearest town, as a general rule we spend one day a week doing all of our shopping and so forth. When I arrived home tonight I had a notice on my facebook page that my very good friend, Michele L. Montgomery had given me a Sunshine Award.

For those who do not know Michele, she is not only an amazing writer, she also owns Top2Bottom reviews. When she's not writing or reading homoerotic romances, she's reviewing them. In my opinion, her review site is one of the fairest and best I've ever come across. I count myself very lucky to call Michele a friend. I've known Michele for over two years, but really in the past year we've become much closer. Not only does she have a very sweet and generous nature, she is truly one of the nicest people I've ever been privileged to call a friend AND hopefully I'll be meeting her this year when she is dragged back my way by her husband. LOL! Thank you for being such a good friend, Michele. *Hugs*

You can follow Top2Bottom reviews here: http://top2bottomreviews.wordpress.com/
AND you can follow Michele's Blog here: http://www.michelelmontgomery.com/blog/

Now that I've had the honor of talking about my friend, I'll post the rest of the rules to sending this award to ten other people.

The Rules Are:

 Thank the person who gave you the award and provide a link.

* Write a post about it

* Answer the questions below.

* Pass it on to 10 bloggers who you think really deserve it and let them know

* Answer 10 Questions:

Favorite color: Navy

Favorite animal: Dog

Favorite number: 159

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Ice Cold Water

Facebook or Twitter: Facebook

My passion: Writing and Reading---again keeping this answer as they are mine too

Getting or giving presents: Giving Presents

Favorite pattern: I don't have one.

Favorite day of the week: Sunday

Favourite flower: Daisies

Now I'm passing the award on to these people: 

Freddy MacKay

Blak Rayne

RJ Scott

Erotic Horizon

West Thornhill

Amber Kell

Ava March

Shawn Lane

DC Juris

Dawn Roberto

Happy Labor Day!

Friends,

It's been a good weekend for me. We watched a few rentals and I did some writing. I've been working hard on my next Men of Charlestown book, Angel's Redemption, and my goal is to finish it within the next two weeks. Luckily, my muses have been both very talkative and cooperative so far. Let's hope that continues!

I also took some time to read Shawn Lane's latest book, Can't be His. I've never tried to hide that Shawn is one of my favorite authors. She's such a versatile writer she keeps me, as a reader, always guessing what kind of book she's written this time. She writes great angsty stories, but I also believe she writes wonderful sweet stories too. Since I needed a sexy, romantic story last night, Can't be His was a perfect read for me. I loved it and I hope y'all all check it out at Amber Quill Press.

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day. I plan on cooking out, watching some television and doing a lot of writing! 

Snow Fun and Upcoming Reads

I have a feeling that this is going to be a busy week! Even though we've had our first batch of snowfall here at the Ozark National Forest, it really looks beautiful outside. What's funny our sheltie, Lil, does not like snow so it's been creatively interesting to get her to go outside to do her business. I've had to bribe her with extra cookies and/or go outside with her AND I've even thrown one of her toys out to get her to chase after it.

Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't.

On the bright side, when I'm not cleaning up dog puddles on my floor, there are some really great releases this week in the gay romance world. Two of my favorite friends and authors, Shawn Lane and Ava March both have releases this week. Pulling Apart by Shawn Lane was released over the weekend and it's a great quick read. It's the continuation of Noah and Charlie's story from Pulling Away.




Ava March's book His Client, is being released tomorrow by Loose Id.and I can not wait to read it! I love Ava's books and I have a feeling by all of some of the teasers she's given us on her blog that this is going to be an exceptional book. (I love her cover!)



When I'm not reading, I'll be finishing up my book, No Greater Love finished, sent off to my friend Linda for her approval, and submitted. I'm ready to write next book in the Men of Charlestown series. Shiloh and Allen from Yummy Indulgences will be making an appearance in it, and so will Nick and Josh from His Christmas Wish. I'm also going to be guest blogging at Silver Publishing's blog on the 19th of this month, so I hope everyone will stop by and say hello.


It looks like my week is going to be full! I'm tired already:)

Contest to win His Christmas Wish

Hey y'all:)

I just finished my final edits for my Christmas story, His Christmas Wish. Whew!
It's due to be published the 21st of December. So, I decided to hold another contest to win a copy of it. All you have to do is send an email to andianderson@live.com with the word contest on the subject line. You have until 11:59 pm on the 20th to enter. I'll send the winner a copy of the book first thing on the 21st.

I've been fairly busy. I'm working on my current WIP and I hope to have it finished by the end of next week. I've read some really great Christmas stories this week. One of my favorites was The Naughty Ones by Shawn Lane. If you haven't read this book, don't hesitate any longer and buy it and read it soon!





I hope everyone has a great week!

Whew! Is it only Tuesday night?

It's been a busy week. I've been overwhelmed with tests, haircuts, father in law's health, reading, reviewing and writing on my Christmas story, His Christmas Wish...WHEW! I'm already tired and it's not even October!

I thought I would share a picture of one of my heroes, Carter...okay it's really Nate Berkus, but Carter looks like him. Isn't Nate a cutie pie? He is so adorable and he seems super nice, too. Carter is a little nerdier than Nate AND he wears glasses.


I hope y'all are all having a great week! I know I'm on the countdown to Shawn Lane's newest release, The Beach House, on Saturday. It's going to be my reward for working hard and getting a lot of writing done this week. :)




Have a great night:)

"Spells", Shawn Lane, Writing and Sexy Heroes

I've had an interesting week. My 82 year old Grandmother had a "spell" last week. After taking her to the hospital that "spell" was a minor heart attack. She is the type of person that could be on her death bead, and still want to cook and please everyone. She is one of the strongest women I know, so when she says that she had a "spell" then we know something is wrong.

After surgery, she's doing much better. I wanted to stay with her a few more days, but she insisted that I come home. The only reason I agreed was because my mother is now there with her, otherwise I would have been as stubborn as she is and just parked it at her house anyway.

When I got home last night, I really re-read one of my blue collar stories and totally hated it. So, I threw it out and started over. Last night I wrote a little over four thousand words and tonight I hope to do close to the same. I'm very happy with how this one is turning out, and is totally in love with my heroes Allen and Shiloh.




Allen is my blue collared worker. He's a supervisor at a rendering plant, and has worked there for 15 years. Because he lives in a small town, he's very discreet about his homosexuality and because of that, he has closed himself off emotionally from others in the process. When I started envisioning Allen my mind immediately went to an actor named Charlie David. He stars in Dante's Cove and admittedly isn't the best actor in the world, but he sure is nice to look at.

Shiloh owns a bakery and is very out about his sexuality. He's fun and flirty and the minute Allen comes into his store to order his parents anniversary cake, sparks fly and the hormones start raging! But, with Allen being in the closet, this will cause problem between the two men. Not to mention problems Allen will have if he comes out at work.

I admit I surf the web a lot. I'm always looking for ideas and when I come across pretty or interesting men, I usually save their picture and put it under my inspirational men file. This picture of a young man struck me for some reason. I don't know if it's the sweetness in his face or the lost look in his eyes that called out to me. Yes, he's very young, but when I saw him Shiloh was born. Just add about ten years and he's the perfect Shiloh.



I'm really excited about this story. I'm anxious to get it done. Shiloh has been bugging me for a while now. He's even more persistent than Sidney, and believe me, that says a lot! I think this book will be a longer one than I've written in the past. Both men have a lot to say and I think it'll be a fun ride watching it come together.

I want to thank Shawn Lane for my interview last Friday. I had a great time answering her questions, especially about Jack. *wink* I also read both Only in his Dreams and Only for Him and fell in love with this series. If you haven't read them yet, you should. They were awesome and Barnaby will be a favorite character of mine. I can't wait until next Only book comes out!

Y'all have a great night!

My Little Rant on a Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day it is today! It's been hard staying inside and pounding away at my keyboard today. I've written about two thousand words on one of my blue collared labor stories, and I plan on writing more tonight.

One story will be about Chase and David. Chase is an emergency room RN and Dave is a mechanic. Chase has been out of the closet for years. He's recently gotten out of a bad relationship and is looking for a man who isn't ashamed to be seen and to be out and proud with him. Enter Dave, who has lived firmly in the closet all of his life. Dave knows that if he gives into his desires he will be disowned by many family members and friends. Once Chase and Dave meet, sparks fly and both men have to decide if their love is worth fighting for.

When I've pictured Chase in my mind, I've thought of Paul Walker. Paul has been in several movies, but he's best known as being in the Fast and Furious movies. There is something sexy about him, not to mention he has that boy next door quality about him that I absolutely love!


Dave has been a harder character for me. He's older than Chase and has had a rough family life and a tough time keeping his attraction for men under wraps all of his life. Chris and I watched Road House the other day and once I saw Sam Elliot, Dave was born. There is something about Sam's tough exterior, including that sexy voice that makes him the perfect example of male heterosexuality. Personally, I think he's even sexier once I thought of him being with another man; especially Chase!


I just read Still the One by Shawn Lane. I LOVED IT! My good friend Jack and his wonderful partner Shayne have both pointed out that I need to continue reviewing books on goodreads. I admit that I've been very slack at writing reviews. It's not that I don't want to write them, but finding the time and well having my own book on the chopping block has made me Leary of reviewing. It's not that some people didn't like it because not every book will appeal to everyone, it's the way it's reviewed and said that is often hurtful and sometimes downright mean.
So after much thought, I've decided to try to review at least a couple of books a week. I'm making it a goal of mine to make sure and point out good things about the book,even if it's not a favorite of mine. Since some of the reviews on there have been spiteful and just cruel, and as Jack and Shayne pointed out, it's time for us more positive people to keep reviewing and block out the people who constantly write negative things about books they supposedly love.

For those who are on goodreads, I heartily recommend becoming friends with Erotic Horizon and Lily. Both of them are outstanding and fair reviewers. They are not spiteful and even when they aren't crazy about a book they've read, are tactful about it. It's apparent that both of them actually love what they do and what they read and I know when I read a review by either of them, it will be fair, entertaining and unbiased.

There are several other friends I have on goodreads that write great reviews. Eyre, Maggie, Shayne (Yes you Shayne), Jack, Drew and Lindsay. I'm hoping they will start showing up more often and reviewing more books, too. After all Lily and Erotic Horizon can't do it all by themselves! LOL!

I've decided to put my money where my mouth is and try to show up on Goodreads more often. Shayne pointed out that there has been some negativity there, but instead of giving into it, banding together with other positive friends and make it fun again. So, I'm going to join Jack and Shayne and make an effort to make it a more positive place.

Now, I'm taking a few hours off and I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine! Y'all have a great rest of the night and a great week!

Weekend Plans

I've been visiting with some family this week. Ashley and Snow White spent a couple of nights with us and we had a great time! The bad thing about company is that I haven't wrote a single word this week! Now I've got to play catch up, but it'll be worth every second because I really enjoyed their company.

I mailed my contract for A Realistic Romance out to Extasy books and now I'm waiting to hear from them. I'm sure I'll be getting some edits soon, and hopefully I'll have a release date for y'all pretty soon as well.

I've got three books I'm working on. Two Blue Collared Hero books and my book about Samuel's brother Sidney. I've got to get a system together where I work on them equally, which will be easier said that done because I am not the greatest at keeping organized sometimes. I'm determined to give it a shot though.

Chris is dragging er...taking me to a car show in the morning. I enjoy going to them sometimes, but I'm not in the mood to go. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll feel differently about it, especially if it's as pretty a day tomorrow as it has been today.

I am reading one book this weekend.

Shawn Lane will have a new book out from Amber Quill Press this weekend called Still the One. YAY! It's a continuation of Malcolm and Dusty's story. I'm pretty excited to read that. Otherwise I plan on doing a lot of writing.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Happy Reading!

Sometimes I need to be reminded...

I saw this picture of Adam Lambert on Face book and I had to share it because I really liked it. He's definitely taking glam rock to whole other level! Plus, he's an inspiration to a character I'll be working on real soon. :)

Not a lot has been going on this past week. The weather has been beautiful, which was nice. Chris and I splurged and went to see Hot Tub Time Machine Friday night. It was interesting seeing how different we are now, especially with technology, than we were in the early eighties. It's hard to believe that we survived without cell phones and internet!

It was a funny movie, but of course I enjoyed looking at John Cusack more than anything. *wink* I think he'd be great with Samuel's brother Sidney. John is almost like the boy next door, I bet it wouldn't take a lot to make him a little nerdy...hmmm....


I admit I've had the hum-drums this week. It's been hard to stay motivated for some reason. I don't know, maybe we all get this way at one time or the other. Then suddenly Chris does something that reminds me how lucky I am. Out of nowhere he picked some daffodils and wildflowers this afternoon and brought them to me. It reminded me that no matter what, I know I can always rely on him in the end.

AND Shawn Lane wrote a short about Kevin and Michael from Car Wash! If you haven't' read it, you should go over there and check it out! It was great! Here is the link if you are interested http://smlgr8.blogspot.com/2010/03/kevins-interlude.html .

I still haven't heard anything from any of the publishers. Of course I check my inbox a thousand times a day! I've been told the waiting is the hardest part, and I certainly believe that. UGH!

I'm going to start my blue collar book this week. I've been hashing out a plot in my mind, so hopefully it'll go really smooth!

Spring Forward

Can you believe it's already time to spring our clocks forward? I don't know about y'all, but I've been ready for Spring for months! I've missed the colorful flowers and lush green leaves on the trees. I'm ready to break out some of my cute sandals and put away my clunky winter shoes! Woo Hoo!

It's been a busy week this week. My mother, Ashley and Snow White came over and spent a couple of days with us. It's amazing how fast my niece is growing! It was great having some quality time with them and as usual, time flies when we're all together. Lucky for us we'll be seeing them this coming Friday. We're all meeting at my Grandmother's house and spending the day with her. That will be a fun filled day for sure!

Unfortunately now, my husband Chris is sick. He's running a temperature and has a bad head cold. It must be going around because Ashley said that Snow White is sick, my mother-in-law is sick and I've read that Shayne is sick. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for everyone to have a speedy recovery really soon!




I haven't had any time to write this week. Staring tomorrow (hopefully) I'll be working on my two projects. I'm continuing to work on Angel's Redemption which is Jack and Riley's story and I'm starting a new book tomorrow. I'm planning on submitting at least two Blue Collared themed books to Amber Quill Press within the next couple of months. I've been brainstorming the storyline with my sister and Jack and I think I've got a good handle on what I'm going to write.

Now all I have to do is get it written and submitted. Whew! I'm already tired!



I will have to take time out to read Shawn Lane's newest book, Only in his Dreams, tomorrow. This is the first book in her highly anticipated "Only" series and I can't wait to read it! It's going to be great!

I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Ice Ice Baby

Arkansas weather is unpredictable at best. It's always changing and we never know from one moment to the next what it's going to be like. At the beginning of the week, it was almost seventy degrees out, now there is over six inches of ice and snow on the ground! It definitely keeps everyone on their toes!

Of course, Chris is like a kid when it comes to playing in the snow. He's already out on his four wheeler doing donuts and God know what else. He tried to get me to go with him, but I just watch from the window and smile at wave at him while standing in my toasty warm house while drinking my hot chocolate.

I found a picture of my niece that was taken over a year ago experiencing her first snow. (Isn't that hat hilarious?) Ashley promises more to come. Apparently Snow White is finally gotten old enough to appreciate it. She's at such a fun age right now and I'm really looking forward to seeing her reaction when she is old enough to appreciate snow for the first time.

I felt a little melancholy yesterday while I watched the snow fall. The snow always reminds me of our girl Daisiemae. She loved the snow, so I couldn't resist posting this picture of her enjoying the snow fall around her. I really miss her.
We did take some pictures today and I'll post them soon. It's just a matter of getting Chris to upload them into the computer! I'm anxious for y'all to see our new baby girl, Lily, and see how beautiful it is here when it's all covered in bright snow.

Merrick and Samuel are coming along pretty nicely. Thanks to some sound advice from Shawn, and a little tweaking I need to do, I plan on writing my heart out today. Thank you, Shawn! I have every intention of getting it completed pretty quickly. I'm having a hard time coming up with a title for it, but hopefully something will come to mind soon!

I need to get busy! I've got other heroes that are impatiently waiting in line to have their story written, and I'm itching to get their story told almost as badly as they are!

Y'all have a great weekend!

Happy M.L.K day!

Whew! I've had a busy week! I've been working hard on my newest book. I've written close to seven thousand words on it so far. I hope everyone will love Merrick and Samuel as much as I do. I'm still working on a title for it, when I decide, I'll let y'all know!

After this book, it's back to Ryan and Blake. Ryan's been impatiently tapping on my shoulder for the past week. Some people are so impatient!

We also have a new addition to the family! Her name is Lily, (I've always named my female dogs after flowers) and she's the sweetest puppy in the world. She was given to us by an acquaintance of my husbands. He had found out that we lost our girl, Daisie, and knew we were having a tough time with it. Out of the goodness of his heart, he decided to let us have her. She's six months old, looks a lot like my Daisie in some ways and we love her! As soon as I get the pictures of her downloaded onto my computer I'll post it so y'all can see her!

As a devout M/M romance reader, today has been a good day. Devon Rhodes has a new release through Total E-bound books called Gaymes. I had to indulge myself and buy a copy. Can't wait to read it.



Shawn Lane has finished her new book. She's told us so much about Barnaby I think we are all excited to read it! Congrats, Shawn! I hate to stop lusting after the fair Ashton, though. He's been some of my favorite eye candy, that's for sure!

Here's to a Brighter and Happier New Year!

Happy New Year! Don't you just love his smile?? So Sexy!

I know I'm a couple of days late in posting this phrase, so I apologize for it's tardiness. For the past couple of weeks, Chris and I have been homebodies. We did go out to eat on New Years Eve, but otherwise we celebrated it at home together quietly. Neither one of us really wanted to go out this year. 2009 was a very difficult year for both of us, and both of us were ready to see the New Year start.

I want to take a moment and thank all of my friends who have left me a thoughtful message about the loss of Daisie. That meant the world to me. It's been very hard for us to come to grips with, but we're getting better. I still have moments that I forget that she's gone and I look for her. Those are the worst because then reality sinks in and I remember that she's gone. We've decided to look into adopting a sheltie who needs a good home. Both of us are missing our girl, and we think this will be a good way for us to cope with her loss. Thank you again, for your compassion, friendship and support. It means a lot to me and I'll never forget it.

Now on a more positive note, I'm getting ready to start writing again. I've taken a couple of weeks off, and I'm just about ready to get back on the horse, so to speak. I'm not sure which story I'll work on first, but I'll know more once I get started on it.

In the past few days I've read some great books. The Best Gift by Shawn Lane was great! I fell in love with one of the heroes...Malcolm is such a sweetheart! Whew! he's so sexy and humanly complicated. God, I loved him! Let's all pray that Shawn will continue to grace us with updates on her lovable characters. I'm hoping she might even continue Malcolm and Dusty's story someday. I would love to see how everything comes together for them.
Shawn is still the best at writing about characters that I absolutely fall for. If you haven't read The Best Gift yet, do yourself a favor and read it! It started my New Year off great!

I also read Silver and Gold by Devon Rhodes. I've been following Devon's blog now for a few weeks and I'm always entertained by it. She's very personal and favors us with lots of sexy Eye Candy when she can. I really enjoyed Silver and Gold. Abe was a scene stealer to me. So cute and sexy! I know Devon had a blast writing about him! I'm hoping that she's going to write more about Abe and Geoff...surely she wouldn't tease us with that short novella about them!

Here's to everyone having a great week! I know that better times are ahead for all of us! See you soon!

Just another lazy day

What crazy weather we have here in Arkansas. One moment it's in the 20's and we're freezing to death, and then today it's in the 60's and absolutely gorgeous outside! No wonder everyone seems to have the sniffles!

I'm feeling lazy today, but I'm bound and determined to get some writing done tonight. Plus, I had to read "Ticket to Ride" by Shawn Lane. Oh my Gosh! It's so good! Once again, Shawn really did a great job in making me fall in love with her characters. It really has a great suspenseful storyline, too. Shawn should write romantic mystery/suspense more often. It was great!

I really think I'm going to put a hold on the book I've been working on, and continue Ryan and Blake's story while it's still fresh on my mind. It will be good to write about them again. I really do love them!

I hope everyone has a great Monday! Take care!

This week at a glance

I'm finally able to sit down and relax. As you know, it's been an emotional roller coaster this week at our home. We buried my husband's beloved Aunt this week. The funeral was hard because of not only saying goodbye to Aunt Bonnie, but watching Chris grieve was very difficult to take. I really felt very helpless through it all. All I could do is offer comfort and keep reassuring him of how much she loved him and how proud of him she was.

Believe it or not, one of the best things happened to Chris at the funeral. There were several people from Bonnie's work that came. After the funeral was over, they approached my husband and I and immediately started telling him that they recognized him from all of the photographs of him (it was our wedding pictures) on her desk. They called my husband by name, and told him how proud and how much Bonnie talked about him. They told him how much she loved him, and that he was always the apple of Bonnie and David's eye. I watched my husband take a deep breath and the weight of the the world was lifted off of his shoulders. It really was a nice way for him to have closure.

I actually finished Christmas decorating today. Tomorrow I plan to start the continuation of Ryan and Blake's story. But, I've been anxious to read Shawn Lane's newest book Ticket to Ride. I'll have to read it before I can get started! She's been teasing us all with it on her blog and I've been dying to read it!


Thank you to all of my friends here. Your well wishes and kind words meant the world to me.