Penny Pimpin'

Congratulations to the first winner of 2012

2012-01-06T07:29:00.000-05:00

The winner, via random.org, of the Songs of Anarchy CD is.....

Marquetta W!!!!

Congrats! The winner has been contacted. I appreciate everyone for stopping by and reading and commenting!

Pimpin My Faves of 2011 plus a Giveaway

2011-12-31T14:25:00.000-05:00

I’ve been agonizing over how I wanted to do this and then I realized there was no reason for it; my blog…my rules! So, in usual fashion, I’m just gonna wing it!

The time has come for end of the year wrap ups. Last year, I’d had such a bad year that I decided to wait until after the first of January to look forward instead of looking back. 2011 wasn’t the best year I’ve ever had but it was good enough that I feel ok to look back on it, so here goes! Below is my list of my favorite things from this year; books, tv shows, music and outings. Afterwards, there’s a Sons of Anarchy-themed (what else??) giveaway; WOOT!

Fave books of the year (**Note – these are books I read this year but they did not necessarily come out this year**)

Persuader – Lee Child –

I read the entire series of Jack Reacher books by Lee Child this year. I cannot say enough about how much I love these books! Action, adventure, explosions, fights, mysteries, impossible challenges and, in the middle of it all, an Ex-Army MP drifter who is the BADDEST. BAD. ASS. IN. BADASS. TOWN! I could have put several of the books in the series on this list but I picked Persuader because it’s a book early in the series and, while reading it, I was fully aware that there were several other books written in the series and I was STILL on the edge of my seat with my heart racing as I read, wondering if Jack was going to be able to make it out of the situation alive! Now THAT is some good writing!

Pale Demon – Kim Harrison – Lots of Trent; quiet as its kept, he’s my favorite!

Dreams of a Dark Warrior – Kresley Cole – so much torturous fun!! It sounds wrong but it was so right!

Kiss of Snow – Nalini Singh – I’d anticipated this one for a while and it did not disappoint!

Magic Slays – Ilona Andrews – Kate and Curran RULE!

Fave New TV shows of the year

Game of Thrones - HBO – WINTER IS COMING, BITCHES!! Ned Stark. The Iron Throne. Khal Drogo. The Khaleesi. Jon Snow. Littlefinger. It doesn’t matter if you know the names; just….just watch it. Or read it. AND watch it. Trust me. It’s worth it. The definition of EPIC. I say again; TRUST ME.

Revenge- ABC – Incredible, soapy fun!

Suits -USA - Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter is the reason to watch the show. Period. And Gina Torres is his boss! SCORE!

Happy Endings - ABC – one of the best comedy ensembles on tv. I’ve had plenty of good laughs with this show this year. It’s worth a watch for Damon Wayans, Jr., alone. I think he may be funnier than his father. Hilarity.

Suburgatory - ABC – oddly enough, I don’t really like the main character of the show but I love a lot of the supporting characters. Even with that, the show makes me laugh and that’s all I really want from my half hour comedies!

Fave returning TV shows of the year

Sons of Anarchy - FX –

I’m pretty sure not one of you reading this is surprised to see this show at the top of my list! I am a SOA ADDICT and proud of it! My pimpage of the show has brought a couple of my co workers, my cousin and several of my Tweeps into the ranks of my fellow SOA addicts and I’m ecstatic about it! This season was STELLAR! As usual, I’m already counting down the days until September!

Justified - FX – This is one of the shows that keeps me occupied during the long break between SOA seasons. Last season was incredible and I’m so looking forward to the new season that starts in a couple of weeks. Timothy Olyphant as US Marshall Raylan Givens is THE. MAN. Period.

Archer - FX – Best animated show on tv, hands down! Very adult, very funny, very quotable and I’m very much looking forward to it coming back in a couple of weeks!

Parks and Recreation - NBC – My favorite returning comedy. If you were a fan of the early years of The Office and the cute development of the Jim and Pam relationship, you should be watching Parks and Rec. They have a couple that rivals Jim and Pam! Plus, Parks and Rec brought us “Treat Yo’ Self” Day:

It’s the best day of the yeeeeaaarrr!

Fave Music of the Year

My fave new music of the year, by a looooong margin, was Adele’s 21. By such a long margin, in fact, that I don’t have anything else to put here. Oh…except my fave rap lyric of the year:

“If we ever do this whoopty whoop, I want allll that bleepty bleep” – Andre 3000

Yep. That.

My fave outing of the year

My trip to Authors After Dark in Philly - met so many of my tweeps, had some successful writerly type meetings AND was introduced to a bunch of new to me authors; it was the trip of the year for me! I wrote about it here, in case you missed it.

Well, there you have it; all the high points of 2011 for me! My family traditionally gives each other gifts on New Year’s Eve so I’m going to extend that to my blog family too! I have a copy of the Songs of Anarchy CD, songs from Sons of Anarchy seasons 1 – 4, courtesy of my bestie Chena, to give away.

If you want it, tell me something that you loved in 2011, whether its on my list or not. That’s it! I’ll pick a winner at random on January 5^,2012. Contest is open to all.

Thanks for hanging in there with me in 2011! Looking forward to more fun in 2012! Everyone have a happy, safe and prosperous New Year!!

I'm still here!

2011-11-07T15:01:00.001-05:00

Hello, lovely blog readers! This is just a quick note to say hi there, hello…I haven’t forgotten about you and I hope you haven’t forgotten about me! This year, and in particular, the past six weeks have been very stressful in my personal life which has kept me from reading, writing, blogging and tweeting as much as I would like to. It’s kept me from blogging AT ALL but, I didn’t want you to think I haven’t been THINKING about blogging because I definitely have! Here, for your reading pleasure, are ideas that might have become blogs in the last few months, if circumstances had been different:

1) Your "UUUNNNPH" song! - What is that song that runs in your head when you see someone that you find ridiculously attractive? Do you have one? Do you go old skool or new skool with your song choice(s)? (for the record, the song that I heard on my I-Pod that prompted this topic was Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover by Sophie B. Hawkins; that’s my JAM!)

2) The novels of Lee Childs – Jack Reacher, the main character of the series is (excuse my French) THE EM EFFIN MAN!!!! He deserves a blog post all his own and still may get one in the near future.

3) My blog anniversary - Sigh. Yeah. Turns out, I kinda missed it. Sigh. That fact should surprise no one. BUT, I had a big post and giveaway planned for the month after the anniversary but then we had a serious ailment befall a family member and all plans for EVERYTHING (work, play, blog, reading, writing…everything!) got shifted to the back burner. Soooo..happy belated to blogiversary to us all! :-)

4) Sons of Anarchy (of course!!!) - THIS. SEASON. Oh my goodness! I had MEANT to steer those of you that are still non watchers towards Netflix to get caught up before this season started but it doesn’t seem to have worked out that way. Seriously, though, if you’re not watching the show….WHAT. IS. WRONG. WITH. YOU?!?!?!

5) The End of the Harry Potter Saga - It was an idea but, quite frankly, I think I still might be just a little too emotional about this situation to write about it yet. Yes, it's THAT serious!

I could go on listing ideas, but just know that I really do have posts PLANNED and I truly have MEANT to be writing them...but it just hasn't worked out. And now, it's November again and I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) once again so I'm writing like crazy this month, just not blogging that much. But, hey, I did manage to do this one!

I have a big end of the year post planned, along with several giveaways to thank you for hanging in there with me, inconsistent blogger that I am. I HOPE to write more posts before then, but if not, we have that to look forward to, at least!! Thanks, as always, for stopping by! I appreciate you!

KLB Virtual Journey - REVIEW - Decadent Dreams by Ty Langston

2011-09-04T00:23:00.001-04:00

Beth Mason seemingly has it all. A successful bakery/cafe calledDecadent Dreams, good friends, and a nice home in Stamford, New York. After her boyfriend dumps her for not spending enough time with him, Beth decides she's been through enough and she wants more in a relationship.Throwing herself back into the dating scene, Beth decides to go onto an online dating website called 'A Foreign Affair.'

Enjoying the different types of men from all over the world that ‘A Foreign Affair’ catered to, Beth became struck by a handsome man from Belarus named Yuri who was the former manager of the famed Rhapsody night club. After realizing that they had a lot in common, the two struck up a close, intense relationship. Yuri, who’s been depressed since his nightclub burned to the ground and watching his best friend’s parents both die from a terminal illness, decided to take Beth up on an invite and join her for a fun-filled weekend in New York City. With both of them full of emotions, will the weekend be just what they needed or more than they bargained for?

This story was a new experience for me. I don’t read a lot of erotica or novellas. Don’t get me wrong; I like the down and dirty…I just think I like it in a longer form. (wait…that sounds dirtier than I wanted it to!) I was intrigued by the synopsis of this story though, so I decided to read it.

I really liked the concept of the Foreign Affairs website. The full service aspect of the site and the way it caters to its members lends itself to a great premise for a wonderful relationship stemming out of an online encounter. I don’t think the novella format gave enough time for the relationship to truly develop, organically, so that the reader is fully invested in the love story of Yuri and Beth. Their story was interesting; I just think it needed a bit more fleshing out.

And speaking of flesh J, this story certainly lives up to it’s erotic billing! Yuri and Beth share some scorching hot scenes, once they are together and able to do the things they’ve only been dreaming about during the months they’ve been in contact online. I may have mentioned it before but I’m a big fan of shower scenes and bathroom scenes and this story delivers on both fronts! I particularly liked the nightclub bathroom scene!

There were several secondary characters introduced in the story, complete with back stories. Their inclusion in the story, while taking a little bit of time that could have been used to further develop Yuri and Beth, did intrigue me, as well. Yuri’s best friend Nik, in particular, is an interesting character who seems as if he's being set up for his own story. I’m looking forward to his story to see how his situation works out. If you are a fan of the novella length book and are looking for some sizzling sex, give Decadent Dreams a try!

Thanks to the ladies of KLB for allowing me to take part in this blog tour. To join the ladies of KLB and participate in a conversation about this book, please click here. Thank you, as always, for dropping by!

One More AAD Philly Post

2011-08-21T19:26:00.002-04:00

A week ago today, I returned home from my first ever con, the Authors After Dark Conference in Philadelphia, PA, also known as AADPhilly. It’s been a week and I’m STILL on a high from the fun I had! I wanted to go through all of my swag and have a giveaway ready before I did this post but that hasn’t worked out, so we’ll consider this my part one post. Once I have everything together for my giveaway, I’ll do a part two. Deal? Cool!

Months ago when registration first opened for AAD, I had no knowledge of the conference and, therefore, no interest in going. I saw that several of my tweeps were discussing it on Twitter but I wasn’t paying much attention. There was a frenzy amongst my tweeps when registration opened and I got caught up in it when my friend Adrienne of DrensBSpot urged me to register, informing me that it would be a great opportunity to meet so many of my buddies on Twitter . I decided to register, for that very reason. From that point, my main motivation for going to AAD was the opportunity to meet and hang out with my tweeple. I knew that it was a conference for authors and readers to hang out together and I knew there was going to be a big signing on Saturday and several authors I am familiar with were going to be there so I was also interested in that. Recently, I found out that there would be some industry folks at the conference, willing to meet with aspiring authors, such as myself, so I also started to look forward to that. But, first and foremost, I was most excited about the time I would get to spend with some of the folks I speak with on a daily basis on Twitter. As a result, my expectations going in may have been a little different than many other attendees. I write all of that to say…I had a BALL! The trip met and far exceeded my expectations and I’m so very glad Dren talked me into it!

I’d originally made plans to take the train up and to stay at a different hotel than the con hotel but circumstance worked out so that I ended up riding with Adrienne and rooming with her in the con hotel. I’m so glad of both of those things; Adrienne was the BEST. DRIVER. EVER (thanks 5 Hour Energy!) and being in the hotel was extremely beneficial to my all around experience.

Adrienne and I arrived early on Thursday after having left NC at 12:45am. Adrienne did all the driving and I did all the sleeping; thanks buddy! When we arrived, our room wasn’t ready yet so we started meeting people before we’d had a chance to freshen up and get situated. I considered hiding until I’d had a chance to pull myself together but then I caught sight of my buddy Bells from Hanging with Bells and all thoughts of not meeting my girls right then flew right out the window! Right before the Welcome event, I met Bells and Marq from Love To Read For Fun, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Pam from Wicked Lil Pixie, Mandy from Smexybooks, Danielle from Lush Book Reviews and Kat from Tigris Eden’s Garden of Books. After that, the meeting and greeting was fast and furious! I met Felicia aka @FERISHIA and her friend Dina. I saw Jennifer Estep, whose books I already love and I also met Monica Burns, a new to me author who was a complete riot and whose books I can’t wait to read now! And all this was before we ever checked in! We did finally get our room and I was able to hit the afternoon panels and appointments a little more put together. Big shouts to everyone that was on board with that whole "we're all going to pretend that we DIDN'T see Penny in her road ensemble earlier" plan; love you ladies! J

From that point forward, the con was a big, happy, fun blur of panels, meals, balls (heh heh; yep…I’m 12!), pictures (more about the LACK of those below), books, swag and laughter! I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I attended as a reader but got so much out of the con as a writer, as well. I met some of my favorite authors as well as a bunch of new to me authors and came home with bags full of books to add to my TBR shelf. I had so many fun moments and met so many great folks that I’m afraid to list them all out, for fear I’d miss someone. What I will do, though, is list just a few of the many highlights for me:

-Meeting and spending time with authors Larissa Ione, Lara Adrian, Nicole Peeler, Jennifer Estep, Carolyn Crane, Monica Burns, Caridad Pineiro, JA Saare, PJ Schnyder, Jessa Slade, Meljean Brook, Dakota Cassidy, Melissa Ecker, Ava Riley, Eliza Gayle, Kris Cook and Karin Harlow/Tabke. They were all so approachable and down to earth! And so tolerant of so many of us going into full fangirl mode in their presence! It was awesome! Some were new to me, some were my tweeps and a couple were already amongst my fave authors but I came away with a new level of love for each of them.

-Meeting so many of my Twitter friends and gaining new tweeps! I loved all of the Tweep meet ups; usually distinguishable by all the hugging and squeeing!

-The Pin the Penis on the Founding Father game. Yup….take a minute to soak that in. Imagine Thomas Jefferson littered with paper peens...with smiley faces! It happened and it was FABULOUS!

-The Guess the Author by the Sex Scene panel. All of the panelists were fantastic but Nicole Peeler deserves special attention for her fantastic, dramatic sex scene readings! Loved the twist of using names of attendees and their fave male celebrities instead of the character names in the readings. And the scenes picked were great; I’m not even a little bit ashamed to say that I knew the J.R. Ward scene two sentences in! And I was by no means alone; folks all over the room started nodding their heads. Good times!

-The Mythos Ball. I don’t do costumes and had considered not attending either of the balls but I’m so glad I did. It was great to see those that did dress up; everyone looked lovely! Plus, the music was great and the company was top notch. It was great seeing all the authors, publishers, editors and readers all getting their collective groove on.

-The impromptu birthday party for Larissa Ione in Bells, Marq and Cat’s room. We got to spend time with Larissa Ione and Lara Adrian and the Sisterhood of the Werefly was born. Plus….CAKE! It was, as Cat would say, THE BIZNAZ!

-The times I was in the middle of a conversation with a new friend…only to realize that I was actually talking to someone I already knew from a blog or Twitter!! That’s what happened with @Toriaimeegirl, @Katiebabs, @j_hussein, @iqb2001 and @JeanniePBlair.

-The Aspiring Authors Mixer. Great information shared by a bunch of industry professionals. So glad I attended and glad to have met so many people willing to help newbies like myself.

-Sitting with Jen from Not Now...I’m Reading at the SteamPunk Ball during the Sideshow performance. She saved my night with a picture of Randy Orton. Now that’s a good friend right there!

-This picture. Thanks to Jen for getting us all together for this pic; I’m so glad we have this memento of our time together!

-The ride there and back with Adrienne. Lots of laughs and lots of creativity. Thanks again for everything, Dren!

Unfortunately, what I don’t have to share with you is my own personal pictures. Don’t ask me why; I have no idea. I had my camera phone with me everywhere I was but I was too busy smiling and posing for pics to worry about taking them, it would seem. I did manage to take all of ONE picture while I was in Philly; this is me and Decadent Publishing Executive Editor Heather Bennett sharing a bag of ball cookies. Make of that what you will. J

Thankfully, all of my wonderful tweeps took lots of pictures and have posted them, with their own memories and recollections of the conference. Please click on the links below to for pictures and many more memories from some of my con buddies.

Jen - Authors After Dark 2011 Wrap Up
Tigris Eden - The Good, the Bad and the Sad Ugly of AAD Philly
Bells - My AAD Philly 2011 Experience
Danielle (@iqb2001) - Authors After Dark Recap
Ava Riley - What #AAD Philly Taught Me...
Marq - My AAD Adventure
Spaz P - Spaz Goes to A...NOT ANOTHER AAD POST! Philly
Jen - Authors After Dark 2011 Part 1 and Part 2
Dren - AAD Philly - A Writer's Perspective - Full of Win!
Dren - AAD Philly - A Blogger's Perspective

Though I had a spectacular time and got everything I wanted out of the con, I know there were those that did not. There were some unfortunate and, in at least one case, ugly incidents that I became aware of that did mar the experience for several people. I was not personally affected but some of my friends were and I didn't care for it at all. As a result, I will most likely not attend next year. I am very glad, however, that I did attend this year. My first con was everything I wanted it to be and more. Thanks to everyone I met and spent time with; you were the ones that made the trip so much fun.

An AAD swag giveaway will be coming soon as well as some reviews for several of the books I received so look for those posts in the near future. Thanks to all who made my experience so great and thanks, as always, for stopping by!

WINNER of Dead, Undead and Somewhere in Between by JA Saare

2011-06-01T07:06:00.000-04:00

We have a winner!! Random.org picked commenter number 5 so CONGRATULATIONS to

Les121 !!!!!!!

Your PDF copy of the book will be coming directly from KLB Virtual Events.

Thanks to all who entered! I appreciate your comments!! :-) And thanks again to KLB for allowing me to be a part of their Virtual Tours!

KLB Virtual Journey - REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between by JA Saare

2011-05-26T01:17:00.000-04:00

I am, once again, THRILLED to be participating in another KLB Virtual Event! Thanks to the ladies of KLB for allowing me to be a part of this Virtual Journey!

One bad corpse can ruin your whole day. No one knows that better than Rhiannon Murphy. She’s left behind the flash and sass of Miami for the no-nonsense groove of New York City, eager for a clean slate and a fresh start. A bartender by trade, a loud mouth by choice, and a necromancer by chance; she’s managed to keep her nifty talent hidden from those around her – until now.

The deliciously good-looking vampire Disco knows her secret, and when he strolls into her bar to solicit help investigating the mysterious disappearances of his kind from the city, she discovers he’s not the kind of person that appreciates the significance of the word no.

But in a world where vampires peddle their blood as the latest and greatest drug of choice, it’s only a matter of time before the next big thing hits the market. Someone or something is killing vampires to steal their hearts, and unlike Rhiannon, this isn’t their first stroll around the undead block.

I've been interested in reading this book since I started hearing great buzz about it months ago on Twitter. However, anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a sucker for a hot blonde and anything that has to do with Sons of Anarchy. So, when my buddy Bells put a picture of Charlie Hunnam (Jax from Sons of Anarchy) on her blog and said that's who she saw in her mind as Disco....wellll....you KNOW I had to MAKE.IT.MY.BUSINESS. to become acquainted with this man!

Disco lived up to his billing! Hot, blonde, bad ass...everything I like in a hero! He and Rhiannon don't click right away because she also lives up to her billing; she's quite the prickly pear, our heroine. They have a slow burn type of relationship that builds up to some....well, I don't want to give too much away...but there's some hot steaminess, folks! Both are flawed and we learn about the darkness in their respective backgrounds as the story unfolds. I like the way they are able to help each other through the fallout of their tragic pasts.

The story begins in a strip club; my kinda story!! If you like your urban fantasy gritty and raw, this is your type of story. Bar fights, blood, knives, guns, vampires, necromancers, ghosts, demons...its got it all! Plenty of action and a very strong, kick ass heroine. Disco is the main man in this story but by no means is he the only man candy! There are a few other intriguing characters to obsess over, as well, with just enough of their stories revealed to make you wish for more. But even if the characters didn't leave you wanting for more; the ending surely will! No spoilers but I did NOT see that ending coming! I can't wait for the next book in the series! I love the concept and can't wait to see how it plays out!

Would you like a chance to meet Rhiannon and Disco and find out why the ending left me with my mouth hanging open in shock? Leave a comment on this review and I'll enter you in a drawing for a PDF copy of Dead, Undead or Somewhere in Between! It's the special edition re-release which includes an author's note, vignettes, and the first two chapters of the next book in the Rhiannon's Law series, The Renfield Syndrome. A winner will be chosen at random from comments posted before 11:59pm EST on 5/31/11.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks again to KLB for the opportunity to review this book! Be sure to stop by all of the blogs on this virtual journey for additional reviews, interviews and chances to win. Next up will be Tawania at Wicked Readings by Tawania.

KLB Virtual Journey 10 Days 10 Blogs: Alien in the Family by Gini Koch

2011-05-07T00:00:00.030-04:00

I had so much fun doing the KLB Virtual Journey for Eternal Rider that I talked my best friend into joining the newest journey! I present a guest review of Alien in the Family by Gini Koch by Chena (aka Beans628 on Twitter) for the KLB Virtual Journey,

Alien in the Family

Series: Katherine "Kitty" Katt

Genre: Sci-Fi, Romance

Author: Gini Koch
Format: Paperback, 457 pages

Published: April 5th 2011 by DAW

Summary from BarnesandNoble.com

Super-Being Exterminator Kitty Katt and the Alpha Centaurian she loves, Jeff Martini, should be finalizing their wedding plans. But that was before she discovers Jeff is in line to become Emperor back on his home world. Kitty knows she is everything a royal family wouldn't approve of, and is bracing herself for the worst. As it turns out, the royal family is just the beginning. Especially when extraterrestrial Amazonian terrorists are determined to start and end Kitty and Jeff's nuptial festivities with a bang.

I saw Gini Koch’s name and raves for her Alien series all over Twitter for weeks before I decided to give them a try. It has turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because this series is awesome – and keeps getting better! We rejoin Katherine “Kitty” Katt, Airborne leader extraordinaire as she’s planning her wedding to sexy alien, Jeff Martini. Of course, nothing thus far has gone smoothly for these two so why would their wedding be any different?! This time around, Kitty, Martini and the Scooby gang (as I affectionately like to call them) are embroiled in what has become their specialty: multi-faceted plots, all in play at the same time. They’ve got a menagerie of aliens set on crowning the king of their choosing, man-hating Amazons determined to brain all of the men in Kitty’s life and an evil, suddenly sentient being out to control all worlds. And if all of that wasn’t enough, the representatives from Alpha Centauri are en route to attend (or is it disrupt?) the nuptials.

This installment took a closer look at Kitty’s relationship with her BFF, James Reader. (Insert fan girl SQUEE here) I LOVE READER!! There were some tense moments in this book when it looked liked he wasn’t going to make it. I tell you now: if that had happened, I might not have read the series anymore. Reade is THAT amazing! He and Kitty bonded from the moment they met. The traffic-stopping ex-model has helped her navigate her new life amongst the Alpha Centaurians and keeping her sane in the process. Martini has always been jealous of their closeness and he’s awfully lucky Reader is gay. Because I’m not sure which one of them Kitty would have picked otherwise. Reader has a way of keeping the Kitty craziness in check while always having her back.

Koch also gives major face time to Kitty’s oldest BFF, Chuckie, in this book. I actually like Chuckie. He’s a former nerd, current C.I.A. badass and conspiracy theorist. Due to the unknown intentions of the soon-to-arrive aliens, Chuckie temporarily takes over the Alpha and Airborne units. His needling of the always jealous Martini is priceless. Chuckie is less persistent in his efforts to win Kitty back than he was in book two. Once he realizes that he will always be her friend and that she truly loves Martini, he backs off. I found him to be incredibly charming.

Koch deftly handles the addition of new characters and manages to weave them into the story without being too confusing. The newest Airborne team member, Tito Hernandez, doctor/MMA fighter adds not only skill but laughs as well. He is a quick thinker like most of the other humans on the team. There are also a number of aliens who join up with Airborne to fight the baddies, but they fit in seamlessly (even with Kitty’s nicknames…and their REAL names!).

One of the biggest developments in this book was the maturity and evolution of Kitty and Martini as a power couple. In the first two books, Martini’s jealousy overshadowed the entire relationship and Kitty’s uncertainty and paranoia didn’t help them. As they move closer to the wedding, they deal with all of their fears and questions just as like any other real-life couple. I enjoyed the two of them so much more when they dialed back their insecurities and ramped up their commitment to each other. The wedding, when it FINALLY happens, is both sweet and laugh out loud funny.

In addition to Koch’s kick ass characters and witty dialogue, I think she’s also may have written the best bachelorette party EVER. EVER! Of course, MY dream party would include Rick Springfield, but that’s just me (don’t judge me!)! And, ahem, she also includes a hot (I mean, smoking!) bathtub scene!!! I’m already anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, Alien Proliferation in December. I’ve got the A-C fever…and I don’t give a damn!!

Special thanks and shout out to the ladies of KLB Virtual Events for giving me the opportunity to participate in the AITF tour!

WINNER - KLB Eternal Rider Virtual Journey Giveaway

2011-04-21T06:59:00.000-04:00

And the winner, chosen via the random number generator on Random.org, is..........

KAHEA!!!

The winner has been contacted via email. Thank you to all for your wonderful comments and welcome to all of my new followers! Thanks most of all to Larissa Ione for stopping by (I haven't stopped squeeing over it yet!) and to the ladies of KLB Virtual Events for including me in this book tour. Happy Reading, all and congrats to Kahea!

KLB Virtual Events Blog Tour - Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione - Day 8 - Review + Giveaway

2011-04-18T00:31:00.000-04:00

Title – Eternal Rider

Author – Larissa Ione

Series – Lords of Deliverance Book 1 (related to the Demonica series)

Pages – 412 (includes a 10 page excerpt of Immortal Rider, the next book in the series)

They are here. They ride. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
His name is Ares, and the fate of mankind rests on his powerful shoulders. If he falls to the forces of evil, the world falls too. As one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, he is far stronger than any mortal, but even he cannot fight his destiny forever. Not when his own brother plots against him.
Yet there is one last hope. Gifted in a way other humans can't-or won't-understand, Cara Thornhart is the key to both this Horseman's safety and his doom. But involving Cara will prove treacherous, even beyond the maddening, dangerous desire that seizes them the moment they meet. For staving off eternal darkness could have a staggering cost: Cara's life.

Hello and welcome to Day 8 of the KLB Virtual Events Blog Tour of Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione. I thank the wonderful ladies of KLB for including me in this blog tour!
Have you read Larissa Ione before? I’m a fairly new reader to her books but I can tell you that her books include great world building, rich characters and snappy dialogue. Oh yeah…and BLISTERINGLY HOT SMUTTINESS!! Oh my gracious!! And this book was no exception! Ok…sorry…didn’t mean to yell..and maybe I should discuss the storyline before I get into the hotness. I guess.

I have not yet finished the Demonica series but I wanted to be a part of this blog tour and figured any information I needed from the Demonica series would be included in this book and I was correct. Usually, I prefer to read all books in order, even if they aren’t all required to be read, as such; I’m just a stickler like that. If you have an issue with spoilers, you may want to read the entire Demonica series first since this book does give away some events from the Demonica series. Also, there is a BUNCH of information and a fairly large number of characters introduced in the beginning of this book, if you are not already familiar with the myth and lore of the Demonica series. It’s needed for readers, such as myself, who did not read the entire Demonica series but may feel like a bit of a re-tread for those that have read it. Don’t let that put you off, though; the story moves right along and you need the information in order to understand the events.

Events that occur in Sin Undone, the last book of the Demonica series, set the action of this book into motion. Reseph, one of the siblings who would become the Four Horsemen of the Apocalpyse, has his Seal broken which changes him into Pestilence. Just so you know…Pestilence is NOT a nice guy! He bares no resemblance to the man he used to be. Larissa is very good at writing characters that are very bad! I was actually taken aback by a few of the things Pestilence does and says in this book (in particular, a line about ripping someone a new orifice and then..ahem…enjoying the new hole….gave me pause!) but that’s a good thing; it’s a mark of good writing that I was so disturbed by his evil deeds! Now that his Seal has been broken, next up is Ares who will become War. Pestilence is determined to find a way to break his Seal, Ares is determined not to let it happen and Cara unwittingly becomes a major player in their conflict. That’s about as much as I can give you without giving away too much; after all, I DO want you to read it for yourself!

Now…back to the hotness! I’m not necessarily a big fan of war in general…but WAR in the guise of Ares….COULD GET IT! Violence and aggression and conflict turn him on. And a turned on Ares, quite frankly, makes your panties sweat. Phew! Two words folks; Shower. Sex. I’m a big fan and Larissa does NOT disappoint.

As far as the romance is concerned, I believed the relationship. They started as a emotionally scarred timid woman and an emotionally unavailable, unyielding man but they had believable growth and grew to be what they needed to be for their partner. I liked Ares a bit more than I liked Cara, especially in the beginning, but I usually like the guy more; go figure!

If you’re read the Demonica series, you’ll be happy to know that there are several cameos from familiar characters and some scenes set in Underworld General Hospital. I smiled each time a character I knew showed up; I always like to know what’s going on with characters after the events of their specific books.

A host of new characters (for me, at least) were developed in this book and there are two I’m extremely interested in knowing more about. Limos, the female sibling of the four, is one bad ass chick and I can’t wait to hear more about her! And Thanatos, who will be Death if his Seal is broken, is the big blonde one of the bunch. And, if you read this blog regularly, you know I like the big blonde ones! J I’m glad to have had an opportunity to read and review this book and look forward to the rest of the series. I give Eternal Rider a strong 4 out of 5 stars.

Leave a comment below for your chance to win either a $15 gift certificate from Borders or an equivalent book purchase from The Book Depository. Please be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win. The contest ends 4/20/11 at 11:59pm so get your comments in quickly! The contest is open to all who care to enter. Thanks again to the ladies of KLB for including me on the book tour and thanks to you for stopping by!

REVIEW - Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward Contains Spoilers

2011-04-04T22:14:00.000-04:00

Title – Lover Unleashed

Author – J.R. Ward

Series – Black Dagger Brotherhood - Book 9

Pages – 489

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.
When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.
As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy.

Before I start, I have a couple of confessions to make. First, I LOVE this series. This is one of the few series that I will consider paying FULL PRICE for a hardback in the series. That, in this age of weekly coupons and discounts and markdowns (not to mention ridiculous gas prices keeping my pocketbook on lock), is a big thing for me. As it happens, I did pay full price for this book…plus some, in order to get a signed copy. Keep that in mind as you read this because the price that was paid might have added to my….passion. (or is that vehemence? You decide). Secondly, I am usually in the minority in my feelings about this series. I am not on Team Qhuay (I LOVE Qhuinn….I like Blay….I’ve never wanted to see them together. I am on board for a threesome HEA though, so that my boy Qhuinn can get all of his tastes satisfied whenever he wants, but I believe I may be the only member of Team Qhublayla. Hmph.) . I like Jane and always have. I thought the fact that V’s glowing hand could make her corporeal was a beautiful thing that meant they belonged to each other. I liked Phury’s book, which I know a lot of folks HATED and consider one of the least romantic of the series. On the other hand, Z’s book, which is considered one of the most romantic of the series, is one of my least favorites (note – one of my least favorites in the BDB series is equal to some of my most favorites in many other series so please understand that does not mean I didn’t like the book; I just didn’t like it as much as several others). So, knowing that I usually fall on the other side of popular opinion, I was not worried when I started seeing ratings on Goodreads and comments on Twitter indicating that this book was getting mediocre ratings. From the comments I did read, I could see that the Team Qhuay folks were upset that there was no significant progress with their relationship and the romance fans were disappointed in the lack of focus on Manny and Payne. Neither thing bothered me that much so I figured I’d LOVE this book and, once again, be in the on the opposite side of popular opinion.

Not. So. Much.

I did not hate the book but I did have some issues with it. There were things to like so I will end on a high note and discuss those things later. We’ll start, however, with what did not work for me. There are two items that I’m not going to specifically name…but I’m going to try to work them into my reivew. See if you can spot them!

-The word “verily” can quite verily KICK. ROCKS.

-Annnnnnnnnnd where was Lassiter? And what was the whole subplot about Murhder doing in the last book if there was to be no progression on it at all in this book?

-Annnnnnnnnnnnnd from what I understand, Veck was introduced because he’s to be featured in a future fallen angels book. I would have preferred he be introduced in that series so that more time could have been spent on the characters of this series that I care about. True?

-Ohhhhhhhhhh yeaaaaaahhhhhh…..ANNNNNND I know that John is with Xhex now and can take care of himself blah blah blah but Qhuinn IS responsible for his life. You think they might have wanted to spend more than three minutes in each other’s presence for the whole book? Ya feel me?

-I love Qhuinn and V. They are two of my favorites in the series. I gotta admit, though, I was NOT in love with Qhuinn’s whole since-I-can’t-have-Blay-I’m-gonna-kill-myself-by-starving vibe and I didn’t really believe V’s whole I-was-jacking-it-but-I-can’t-tell-my-girl-EVEN-THOUGH-SHE-KNOWS-I-DO-IT-SINCE-SHE-LIKES-TO-WATCH-ME drama. It just didn’t ring true with me. True?

-Annnnnnnnnnnnnd Qhuinn without his piercings? BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

-Annnnnnnnnd ohhhhhhhh shiiiiiiiiiit….Manny can cure paralysis with just a look at his junk?!?! For reals? My back hurts; you think it’ll be fixed because I just read about his cure all junk? Maybe?

Ok…I think that’s enough of that. On to a happier subject; the things that did work for me.

-I was just happy to be back in Caldwell. I love those Brothers; I truly do!

-I like the Manny and Payne pairing, even with the whirlwind romance and the dick of destiny.

-I LOVE the way Butch figured out how to help Vishous! Their relationship is still one of my faves.

-I like that we got to check in with Detective De La Cruz and now know that he’s still looking for Butch. I like the continuity there and I think that’s going to lead to more in the future.

-I like getting a little more insight into Saxton and Layla.

-I am not yet invested in the story of the new rogue band of bastards WITH THE EXCEPTION of when they were GETTIN.IT.IN with Kandy! LITERALLY! J.R. Ward is always good for some down and dirty and she did not disappoint! Yeah…it wasn’t the featured couple but…hey…smut is smut and we’ll take it!

-Loved the scene with everyone hanging out together; I like the happy family moments! I’m a sap like that!

All in all, I give the book at 3.5 out of 5. It wasn't my favorite in the series but it wasn't my least favorite, either. And, my motto still remains, some BDB, whether its the best or not, is always better than no BDB! And trust…I will be buying the next one as soon as it comes out because I love these characters and this series. Ya feel me? Verily. True? Word. J

THE TRIUMPHANT ONE IS......

2011-03-08T07:05:00.000-05:00

(yeah...for SOME reason this week, I'm not inclined to use "winner". Hmph) Sorry about the late post; the "Lost Glasses Caper of 2011" had me a little discombobulated yesterday! Anyway....thanks to Random.org, the Triumphant One is commenter number TWO:

QUEEN CITY E

Congrats, Erica! I'll contact you about your gift card shortly!

Thanks, as always, to all who stopped by, read and commented on Twitter, FB and on here. Much appreciated!

Pimpin my February Obsessions

2011-03-01T20:51:00.000-05:00

It is that time again; time to discuss my obsessions for the month. February was a good month, tv-wise, for me because a couple of my favorite shows returned.

Archer - The very adult cartoon that comes on Fx on Thursday nights is one of my favorite things EVER! It makes me laugh hysterically which is something we all need sometimes, ya know? If you haven’t watched, I highly recommend it. Just know that it is definitely not for children, even though it is a cartoon. Also, there are a lot of in-jokes so you might want to start with Season 1, in order to get it all. But truly, even if you just watch one episode, you’ll be laughing. And your mouth might be hanging open in shock at some point, too. I swear, the show is SO inappropriate! I LOVE IT!

Justified – You will see a theme on this blog with television shows on the Fx channel. Apparently, Fx is my favorite channel and a bunch of the shows I’m obsessed with air there. Justified joins Sons of Anarchy and Archer as “can’t miss” tv for me. The writing is sharp and witty and the action is great but the real reason to watch Justified is Timothy Olyphant’s portrayal of Raylan Givens, the US Marshall assigned to the backwoods of Kentucky where he grew up. Raylan Givens is, quite simply, THE. MAN.

WWE – I was a big fan of the WWF/WWE back in the day, when Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H and, of course, The Rock were the main stars. My love of wrestling goes waaaay back to the days of Dusty Rhodes and Jimmy Supafly Snooka and Magnum TA in the NWA (I DID grow up in North Carolina, after all!) but I haven’t watched in years, mainly because all of my faves have moved on. Well, that has certainly changed in the last month and there was one moment that changed it. THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP IS BACK!! LONG LIVE THE ROCK!! I won’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched this video but I will mention that, even though I KNOW that’s he’s coming out, my heart skips a beat EVERY time I watch it and I hear, “IF YOU SMELLLLLLLLL…”

Oh, that man. Welcome back, Rocky!

The Losers – I’ll admit; unless a movie is a Harry Potter movie, a Marvel comics movie or….yeah that’s about it….I’m usually notoriously late on seeing it. I don’t really care to go to the movies that much and even though I have Netflix , I catch up more on TV using that. So, I’m usually months behind the crowd seeing most movies. Which is why The Losers is in my obsessions post now…instead of sometime last year! Jeffery Dean Morgan + Idris Elba + Oscar Jaenada + Chris EM EFFIN Evans = HELL. YES.

I was also obsessed with Twitter and several Facebook Games (Bejeweled Blitz, Zuma Blitz and Family Feud, just in case you’re wondering) this past month. What I wasn’t obsessed with, unfortunately, was writing, reading or exercising! I need to be devoting as much time to those things as I am to my other obsessions but, in order to do so, I’ve got to scale something back. So, you may not see me as frequently on Twitter this month. Or on Facebook. And I may not get to watch everything I want. But I hope when it comes time to do my March obsessions post, I have good news to share on the writing, reading and exercising front.

So, what were you obsessed with in February? Do you share any of my obsessions? Do you plan on checking any of them out, if you haven’t already? Leave me a comment below to be entered into my monthly drawing for your chance to win either a $15 gift certificate from Borders or an equivalent book purchase from The Book Depository. If you want to be entered into the giveaway, just let me know in your post & don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you. You don’t have to be a follower to enter but I’d appreciate it if you’d become a follower if you aren’t one already. The contest ends Sunday 3/6/11 at 11:59pm EST and is open to all who care to enter and can benefit from a Borders gift certificate or a book purchase from Book Depository. Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

Guest Post by Erica (Queen City E) - TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF!

2011-02-13T11:27:00.000-05:00

Today, I present Penny Pimpin's first guest post by my sister, Erica (QueenCityE). She is pimping a concept that is so perfect for this blog because it includes some of our favorite books and tv shows. Oh...and a whoooole lot of shirtlessness! Enjoy!

Pimpin a concept: Take Your Shirt Off!

I was talking to a male friend the other day, who was also a fan of the Legend of the Seeker series (based on the Sword of Truth fantasy series by Terry Goodkind). We discussed how much we enjoyed the Seeker concept and the actors and actresses chosen for the series. From the male perspective, it seems there were no bad choices as far as the females featured on the show (though many of them were annoying, he found most of them easy on the eyes.) For me, one of the selling points was how often The Seeker (Craig Horner) was filmed without a shirt on.

I mentioned this, and he seemed to be surprised I'd be interested in such a small guy. I had to school him on one of my philosophies...and a concept I'd like to "Pimp" here on my sisters blog; the more shirtless, the better.

I find many of my favorite television experiences in recent years have had a lot to do with how much bare chest I get to see. There is a direct correlation to how well a show is doing to how much skin is shown or is that just my personal opinion?

I'm not the biggest fan of the True Blood series, mostly because I loved the Sookie Stackhouse books, but I did not miss an episode with Eggs; because he was almost certain to be shown sans shirt. To be honest, all the shows that Mehcad Brooks has been on understood that the more you show his rippling and glistening chocolate body the better!

His character, Jerome, from The Game may have started out in an Skybox suite trying to impress his bosses, but before long he was sunning poolside in Miami showing off his amazing abs. With his background in basketball (he starred in the movies Glory Road and Just Wright) it's no surprise the producers of The Deep End had him showing off his guns in a basketball scene, but I think the show would have made it longer if they'd had him play in a skins vs. shirts game, with Brooks being on the skins team! The same is true about his other failed series, My Generation, which showed him in a wife beater, but not out of one!

The 6'5 native Texan, Brooks, seems to have hit gold with the AllState commercial, in which he is the wished for "new boyfriend" who appears, surprise, surprise, shirtless! Oh yeah. No surprise that is my favorite commercial.

True Blood may not have a script I enjoy, but I can't complain about some of their overall casting choices. Another 6'5 hunk is Alcide, played by Pittsburgh native Joe Manganiello.

He's of course been shirtless in that Louisiana heat, but fans of How I Met Your Mother will remember his shirtless scenes in NYC. His character, Brad, was only in five or six episodes, but made the biggest impression on me when he surrendered the shirt off his back to his friend Marshall on his wedding day and then ran around the wedding with nothing on under his jacket. I'm starting to think that's how I'd like my groom to dress:D

There are other shows that understand shirtless is better. Dmitry on So You Think You Can Dance showed that a little chest never hurt anyone. And the producer's of Dancing With The Stars, unlike his counterparts on the football field, had no problems not covering Ochocinco.

Another friend just reminded me of how much Shonda Rimes must subscribe to my theory, as well, because the Grey's Anatomy cast is always featuring at least one of the physicians without their scrubs or lab coat. These days 6'1 former teacher Jessie Williams, aka Dr. Jackson Avery, has been doing the topless taunt more often than not. Wasn't McSteamy's first episode one in which he walked out the shower in just a towel?

Ms. Rimes, I think we could be friends.

Finally, the producers that really understand and put into action the "Bare is Better" mantra is Smallville. Whether it's Clark Kent (Tom Welling), Oliver Queen (Justin Hartley), or Aquaman (Alan Ritchson), when they are not in street clothes, often times they are missing half their apparel altogether. In addition, another bonus is they often show members of this terrific trio wet, sometimes just standing topless in the rain.

It goes without saying that a period piece like Spartacus has a lot of bronzed beefcake...which is another great reason to give the Starz series a look. However, the History Channel also gives you some strong sternums to eyeball, so don't sleep on them either.

All in all what I'm basically saying, and the overall message I want to convey here, is the same thing I used to yell at my TV during Legend of the Seeker. Come on, "Take Your Shirt Off!!!"

Here, here! Thanks for the post, Erica!! So, what do you guys think? Is there enough shirtlessness on tv or is more needed? And more importantly, are there any shirtless shows out there that we're missing? Let us know!!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

My First Review - Venom by Jennifer Estep

2011-02-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

I’m going to try my hand at reviews. I still haven’t decided how I’d like to do my reviews, to keep them standardized. I’m working on a couple of different ideas so I will try out different formats for my first few, to see which I like the best. So, here goes. My first review. J

***Contains slight spoilers if you have not read the first two books in the series yet***

Title – Venom

Author – Jennifer Estep

Series – Elemental Assassins – Book Three

Pages – 389

Synopsis - It’s hard to be a badass assassin when a giant is beating the crap out of you. Luckily, I never let pride get in the way of my work. My current mission is personal: annihilate Mab Monroe, the Fire elemental who murdered my family. Which means protecting my identity, even if I have to conceal my powerful Stone and Ice magic when I need it most. To the public, I’m Gin Blanco, owner of Ashland’s best barbecue joint. To my friends, I’m the Spider, retired assassin. I still do favors on the side. Like ridding a vampire friend of her oversized stalker—Mab’s right-hand goon who almost got me dead with his massive fists. At least irresistible Owen Grayson is on my side. The man knows too much about me, but I’ll take my chances. Then there’s Detective Bria Coolidge, one of Ashland’s finest. Until recently, I thought my baby sister was dead. She probably thinks the same about me. Little does she know, I’m a cold-blooded killer … who is about to save her life

My sister Melinda introduced me to these books and I’m glad she did. This is a solid urban fantasy series. The first two books are Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies. It’s got elements I’ve never read before, which I always enjoy. There are vampires and giants and dwarves and Elementals; people who have abilities over Air, Ice, Stone and Fire. I would recommend starting at the beginning of the series, because I’m very anal about reading series books in order but if you don’t start at the beginning, you won’t be too lost because the major events of the two previous books are mentioned, in detail. If you don’t want to know what happens in the first two books before reading them, though, then definitely read in order.

What Worked For Me – I like the recurring characters in the series. My favorite character so far is Finnegan Lane or Finn, Gin’s stepbrother. He ‘s not book boyfriend material but he seems to be such a real character; like someone I might meet in real life. He’s cocky and funny and sexy; I like it! I also love all of the food references in the books. Gin owns a restaurant and likes to cook and the author goes into detail about the food. I’m always hungry when reading these books, but it’s a good thing. Also, she has some of the recipes listed on her website. (http://www.jenniferestep.com/). The action in the books is exciting and believable. Oh..and there was a shower sex scene which ALWAYS gets a thumb up from this reviewer!

What Didn’t Work For Me – I have found the books to be very repetitive. The same things are described, multiple times, the same exact way in all of the books. The same thoughts and feelings are expressed several times within the same book. It only concerns me because it takes me out of the moment when I stop and think “didn’t I already read this?” or “yeah, we already know this”. It’s an issue of mine that may not affect anyone else. It’s really the only thing about the books that I don’t like and it is by no means a reason for me not to continue reading. Also, there’s a character that was in the first two books that I LOATHED that is not actually in this book but is mentioned several times. It makes me think the character may still return in the future which I would HATE were it to occur. Seriously, just reading the name makes me sneer. Which is, of course, a compliment to the author; any time writing can evoke the correct strong emotions (because I’ve GOT to believe she WANTS us to hate this character!), the writer is doing something right!

All in all, I give this a 4 out of 5…uhhhh…..hmmm….yeah…haven’t come up with a rating system yet. Asteriks? Pennies? Cookies? Pimp Hat Feathers? Well, that’s an issue for another day, I guess. For now, I’ll just go with my Goodreads rating of 4 out of 5 stars!

Thanks for stopping by to read my review. Let me know what you think and if you’ve read the books and/or plan to. The feedback is much appreciated!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

2011-02-05T06:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you for commenting and sharing your faves in tv, movies and music! I saw a lot of interesting things that I need to add to my To Be Read and To Be Viewed and To Be Listened To lists! I appreciate your taking them time to pimp to me! And now….for our winner! The winner of the Border’s gift card or Book Depository purchase is:

Commenter Number 3 - DREN!

Congrats, Dren! You’ll receive an e-mail from me shortly.

Time for you to pimp to me!

2011-02-01T07:00:00.002-05:00

Alright then…so that whole “I’m going to blog more” resolution hasn’t really come to fruition yet…but never fear; I WILL be a better blogger this year! At some point. Sigh. Well, 2011 has been weird for me so far. Not bad, just weird. I just finished my first book of the year on the 23rd. That’s almost inconceivable to me but it’s true. I’ve been reading but I hadn’t been really grabbed by anything I was reading and kept abandoning books, in search of something that would grab me. I’ve had more interest in my writing. BUT…I apparently did not write enough notes for myself on my Work In Progress because I’m trying to edit it and there are parts where I have NO IDEA what the H I was talking about in my notes! Sigh. I haven’t done anything on the blog either…obviously. I plan to do better, though. I promise. I have big things in store for the blog, including reviews and polls and random rants. You just wait; you’ll love it!

This is usually my Obsessions post for the month but I haven’t really been completely obsessed with anything so far this year. See…I told you….weird. So, I’m going to leave it to you to give me a new obsession! What series should I be reading that I’m not? What show should I be watching that I’m not? What book boyfriend must I know about? What upcoming movie should I start obsessing about now? Give me a suggestion below to enter for your chance to win either a $15 gift certificate from Borders or an equivalent book purchase from The Book Depository. Help break me out of my reading/viewing/watching slump and have a chance to win! If you want to be entered into the giveaway, just let me know in your post & don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you. You don’t have to be a follower to enter but I’d appreciate it if you’d become a follower if you aren’t one already. The contest ends Friday 02/4/11 at 11:59pm EST and is open to all who care to enter and can benefit from a Borders gift certificate or a book purchase from Book Depository. I appreciate you stopping by….and I promise to do better! J

First new winner of the year!

2011-01-03T07:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Random.org, we have a winner of the Season One DVD of Sons of Anarchy and that winner is....

JEN D!

Congrats, Jen! I'll be sending you an e-mail shortly. Thanks to all who commented!

Welcoming 2011 with a Sons of Anarchy DVD giveaway

2010-12-31T12:09:00.000-05:00

The time has come for end of the year reflections, lists, projections, resolutions, etc. I’m going to keep mine short and sweet and throw in a giveaway, to boot!

2010 was, without a doubt, the worst year of my life. (For those that don’t know, my dad passed away on 1/3/10 which set the tone for my year.) I tried to write an end of the year post that ENDED on a happy note, at least, but every post I tried to write was just filled with sadness about this year so I scrapped that idea. Instead of doing a 2010 wrap up, I’m just going to look forward to 2011!

I have high hopes for 2011, folks! It is going to be better than 2010; I believe it and I’m speaking it into existence! This past year, while being tinged with sadness , had some very good moments. I met WONDERFUL people both online and in real life that helped to keep me sane and smiling when I didn’t think it was possible. I got a job after having been unemployed for close to a year. I started a blog. I finished a sprint triathlon. I did NaNoWriMo for the first time and won! I bowed to Tweer pressure (Twitter Peer Pressure) and tried several new authors that I’d never read before and found some new obsessions. I’m going to take all the best things of 2010 & use them to make 2011 effin fantastic! A few of my 2011 plans:

1) I’m going to spend a lot of time on Twitter. And I don’t feel bad about it AT ALL. That’s where my tweeps are! And I love my tweeps! Twitter is also the reason I now read Karen Marie Moning, Jeaniene Frost, Gini Koch, Carolyn Crane and Larissa Ione so it can’t be a bad thing, right? I’m going to be doing more cheering for my Cowboys and Orangemen, squeeing, screaming, DM’ing, commiserating, laughing, discovering and learning this year on Twitter with my tweeps and I can’t wait!

2) I’m going to write more. This is always on my list of resolutions but this is the first year that I really did something about it. Thanks to Adrienne at DrensBSpot for giving me that final nudge I needed to finally do NaNoWriMo this year. Now that I have, I realize I have stories in me that must come out! This year, I’m going to finish the trilogy that was started with my NaNo novel.

3) I’m doing another sprint triathlon. It was something I never considered I’d be able to do and I’m still in awe that I did it. I owe so much thanks to my sisters and the wonderful women of Tri It For Life because I most assuredly would not have been able to do it without them. The wheels kinda fell off of my exercise wagon right after I finished the tri but 2011 will be full of training for the next one.

4) I’m going to do more pimping here on Penny Pimpin’! The only goal I had for my blog when I started it was to have a place to talk about some of my favorite things with some of my favorite people and I met that goal! This year, my goal is to do it a little more often. Heh heh. And I’m going to start doing reviews. I think. I don’t know if I have the heart to do reviews because I’m always afraid I’ll offend the author or the readers that loved a book if I don’t like it. I’m going to give it a try, though.

And speaking of pimping…there has been one thing that I have pimped more than anything else all year…on this blog…on Twitter…on Facebook…at work….to total strangers……I think you know of what I speak. It’s a little show….with this guy….and some motorcycles….. :-) If you’ve spent any time with me this year in any way, then you know I’m talking about Sons of Anarchy! Its an obsession, plain and simple. I have pimped it…HARD…all year and it has also been one of my joys of the year; watching it, discussing it and pimping it! And I plan to carry that into the new year. In fact, I’m going to start the year off with some major pimpage; I’ve giving away season one of Sons of Anarchy on DVD!

I mean, what kind of pimp would I be if I didn’t offer a little taste to get someone addicted?!?! Oh…hang on…wait….I think that’s a PUSHER…not a PIMP….ahem. Hmph. Well, shoot…same difference; I PUSH Sons of Anarchy too! Tee hee! If you’d like to win the DVD, just leave a comment about something positive from 2010 that you plan to carry into 2011 & don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you if you win. You don’t have to be a follower to enter but I’d appreciate it if you’d become a follower if you aren’t one already. The contest ends Sunday 1/2/11 at 11:59pm EST and the winner will be drawn using Random.org. I purchased the DVD from Amazon.com and already have it in my possession and will be mailing it to the winner.

Well, that’s it. Goodbye 2010. Hello 2011! Hope to have a great year with all of you wonderful folks out there! Thank you for stopping by! Happy New Year to all who are celebrating! Be safe and have fun!! Talk to you next year!

Winner Post!

2010-12-11T07:20:00.001-05:00

Thanks to random.org, we have a winner and it is..........

Theresa @ The Creative Well

Congrats, Theresa! You've won a $10 Borders Gift Certificate for commenting on my November Obsessions Blog.

An email has been sent to the winner. Thanks to all who commented! See me again at the end of December for another chance to win!

Pimpin' My November Obsessions + Borders GC Giveaway

2010-12-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Happy December, folks! It’s time for my monthly obsessions post. Let’s see….what was I obsessed with in November? Any guesses?? *Waggles eyebrows and tilts head towards the upper left hand corner of the blog*

1) National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo

I’M A WINNER!! I took on the challenge of attempting to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November and I DID IT! In order to do it, though, I let some things slide. I didn’t do any blog posts (sorry ‘bout that!), I cut down my TV viewing, I cut down on my Twitter time, I cut down on my gym time (between us, that was probably NOT actually related to NaNoWriMo….but…I’m just gonna go ahead and throw it in there anyway!) and I cut out my reading time, for the most part. And you know what? I was ok with it! I immersed myself in my own world that I decided to create and I enjoyed my time there. I’m so glad I did this challenge. I now know that I can find the time to do some writing every day. I won’t be trying to do 50,000 words in a month so I won’t HAVE to let everything else fall by the wayside, if I don’t want to. I’m also very excited about the project I started. It was originally just a quick idea I came up with to work on specifically for NaNo but now, I LOVE it! It’s the first novel in a planned trilogy and I’m very excited to start editing it so I can keep the ball rolling with the story. This is something else I owe to Twitter. Along with all my new buddies and new books that I’ve discovered as a result of Twitter, it can also be credited with my discovery of NaNoWriMo. Several people I followed last year did it or talked about it which caused me to look into it and I vowed then that I’d do it this year. And now, I’m a winner! Thanks Twitter!

For more info - http://www.nanowrimo.org/

2) Sons Of Anarchy

The Sons of Anarchy season three finale was this past Tuesday and my goodness it was a DOOZY! Even though I decided to give up some of my tv time every day in order to write in November, it was never even a consideration to give up Sons of Anarchy. I’m addicted and I’m not afraid to say it! November was the time to be watching for Season three and I was right there; eyes pinned to the screen! And I was NOT disappointed! People…if you haven’t started watching this show yet….I BEG YOU TO DO SO! Best show on TV; hands down! I’m starting to feel like its my personal mission to get everyone I know addicted to this show! So, if you feel like I’m being a little heavy handed with it….GET OVER IT! I’m on a MISSION; it’s what I gotta do! Tee hee hee!

For more info - http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/

3) Family

It was Thanksgiving and I had family in town; woot! I live very close to my mom, my sisters and my niece but the rest of our family is much farther away and its always a treat to get to see any of them. This has been a tough year for our family and it was nice to be able to hang out with the fam for a happy occasion for a change. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I did a big “Things I’m Thankful About” blogpost that included my fam that didn’t get posted..mainly because I did it only in my head. Never fear, though; it’ll be a part of my year end wrap up blog.

And there you have it! I really was all about NaNo for November and I have no regrets! What were you obsessed with during November? Tell me...tell me; I'm always looking for a new one! Share your obsessions in the comments and I'll enter you into a drawing to win a $10 gift certificate for Borders, which may just help you further your obsessions. If you want to be entered into the giveaway, just let me know in your post and don't forget to include your e-mail address so I can contact you. You don't have to be a follower to enter but I'd appreciate it if you would become a follower. The contest ends Friday 12/10/10 at 11:59pm EST and is open to all how care to enter and can benefit from a Borders gift certificate. I appreciate you stopping by!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

2010-11-06T22:57:00.000-04:00

Ummm...so obsessed am I with NaNoWriMo that I kinda sorta forgot that I needed to pick and post a winner! OOPS! sorry folks! I took Dren's advice and used random.org to pick a winner this time...though I still think my low tech method was fine and dandy! :-) The winner of the $10 Borders gift certficate is:

A BUCKEYE GIRL READS

Congrats! The winner has been sent an e-mail. Thanks to everyone for commenting! And keep those obsessions coming! And for all of you who indicated that you are ready to jump on the Sons of Anarchy bandwagon....IIII'MMMM WAIIITIINNGG!!!

Pimpin' Current Obsessions + another Giveaway!

2010-10-31T19:08:00.000-04:00

Today, my friends, we talk about…OBSESSIONS! I think I’m going to do a monthly post on obsessions. If you’re anything like me, you will sometimes find yourself completely obsessed with something at any given time. It could be a new series of books you were introduced to. It could be the next movie in a series you’re addicted to that’s coming out soon. It could be a new artist or a new song by your favorite artist that you’re listening to over and over again. Or, it could be a television series that someone pimped to you that has become your new obsession (*throws a non judgmental side-eye over to Hanging With Bells*). It could even be a food, a restaurant, a candy….any obsession is fair game to be discussed here. And, if you’re anything like me, these obsessions sometimes stay forever and sometimes run their course and go away…as something new comes along to take its place. That’s why I think a monthly feature would be good; to keep everyone up to date on what I’m currently obsessing over and to find out what everyone else is finding themselves obsessed with….to see if its something I need to check out! Without further ado, here are my October Obsessions:

Sons of Anarchy

What – TV Show

Where - FX Channel

When – Tuesday Nights at 10pm

Why - I really don’t think anyone is surprised by this one! This will probably be a constant obsession since I am obsessed with the show when its currently in season (as it is now) and when its not! An added perk this month was Bells from Hanging with Bells becoming interested in the series this month, which has given me someone new to obsess with! SCORE! J The why of it all, though, is the writing, the storytelling and the acting…and of course….HIM:

Charlie Hunnam aka Jackson "Jax" Teller

Need More Info? - http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/soa/

Terriers

What – TV Show

Where – FX channel

When – Wednesday night – 10pm

Why – This is a new show this season that has steadily grown on me. Now that the show is close to being canceled because there aren’t enough viewers, OF COURSE I’m completely obsessed with it! FX is fast becoming my Go-To Channel for obsessions! Along with SOA and Terriers, you’ll also see me obsessed with Justified and Archer when those two shows return! As far as Terriers is concerned, though, I highly recommend giving it a try if you need a new show. It’ll make you laugh…it’ll make you cry and….as an added bonus, its got Michael Raymond-James aka Rene from the first season of True Blood and Rockmond Dunbar of Soul Food and Prison Break; hubba hubba!

Michael Raymond-James

Rockmond Dunbar

Need More Info? - http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/originals/terriers/

National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo

What – A challenge to write a 50,000 word novel between 12am November 1^st and 11:59pm November 30^th.

Why – Earlier this year, I completed a triathlon, which is something I never thought I could do. I’ve always thought I COULD write a book, I’ve just never given it a serious try. I figured now was the time to make the attempt. Even though NaNoWriMo doesn’t start until tomorrow, I’ve been obsessed with it for the last couple of weeks. I will most likely be up at midnight tonight, getting started and I’ll HOPEFULLY be a crazy writing fool during the month of November! Wish me luck!

Need More Info? - http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Elemental Assassins Urban Fantasy Series

What – Book series by Jennifer Estep

Which – Spider’s Bite and Web of Lies

Why – I haven’t devoted much time to books this month, being so busy with my other obsessions BUT my sisters, Melinda and Erica, introduced me to the Jennifer Estep novels and I have been obsessed with the books both for the world building and the different take on urban fantasy…but also for all the good FOOD AND DRINKS described in detail within the books! Be advised, if you haven’t read the books yet and plan to…read on a full stomach! And, be sure to check out her website, where she lists some of her recipes!

Need More Info? - http://www.jenniferestep.com/

Well, that’s it for my obsessions this month; what are you obsessed with? Share your obsessions in the comments and I’ll enter you into a drawing to win a $10 gift certificate for Borders, which may help you further your obsessions! If you want to be entered into the giveaway, just let me know in your post & don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you. You don’t have to be a follower to enter but I’d appreciate it if you’d become a follower if you aren’t one already. The contest ends Friday 11/05/10 at 11:59pmEST and is open to all who care to enter and can benefit from a Borders gift certificate. As always, thanks for stopping by!

We Have a Winner!

2010-10-30T18:26:00.000-04:00

After a very high tech drawing procedure involving ripped up pieces of paper and a neutral party (my sister) drawing a piece of paper out of a bag, I now have a winner of my very first Giveaway:

PAMELA!

An email will be sent to the winner shortly. Thanks to all for playing and congrats to Pam!

My Very First Giveaway - Burning Up by Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, Angela Knight & Virginia Kantra

2010-10-24T13:08:00.000-04:00

I've decided to do my first giveaway; WOO HOO! What prompted it, you ask? Was it the fact that I reached 25 followers? No. Was it the fact that this is my big monumental FOURTH post? No. Was it the fact that I have a habit of buying books that I've entered contests for....before the contest winners have been announced? DING DING DING! Sigh. I'm really going to need to start keeping track of all the contests I enter one of these days. Until then, though, I'll just let my absent mindedness benefit someone else! The details of the giveaway are below but first, let's discuss anthologies.

What’s your feeling on book anthologies? I CURRENTLY find them to be a great resource for finding new authors to try out. There was a time, however, when I would buy an anthology just for the one story by the author I was familiar with and ONLY read the story by that author! That was back when I was very focused on the authors I knew and loved and wasn’t particularly interested in other/new authors UNLESS I was in the bookstore and was won over by an intriguing cover and/or I got a recommendation from another reader whose opinion I valued. Times have changed, though. Now that I’m on Twitter, I add books to my TBR pile fast and furiously, based on how many folks I see talking about them in a positive light. I don’t want to be left behind; I wanna be caught up in the obsessions too! I also make a habit of buying and anthologies and reading ALL of the stories contained within. I can’t take the credit for discovering the benefits of anthologies, though; that goes to my sister Melinda. Years ago, I bought the, “Out Of This World” anthology, because it had a J.D. Robb novella in it. I ONLY read the J.D. Robb story and never even considered the others. Melinda, however, read them all. The other stories in the anthology were by Maggie Shayne, Susan Krinard and Laurell K. Hamilton. Melinda was intrigued enough by the Laurell K. Hamilton story to decide to start reading the series that the short story was taken from, the Anita Blake series, which she later recommended to me. I mentioned in an earlier post, it was the Melanie Rawn Dragon/Sunrunners books that opened my mind to fantasy books as a whole but it was the Laurell K. Hamilton Anita Blake series that introduced me to urban fantasy/paranormal romance books, in particular. My love for that series in has waned slightly with the last few books but there was a time when they were among my favorites of all time. Those books introduced me to sexy vampires and shapeshifters and I’ve been OBSESSED with them both since then. After I started reading those books, I asked my sister how she came across them and she mentioned the short story from the anthology. I know this sounds silly, but it really was like a lightbulb went off for me; “OH….you read the other stories TOO? Hmph. What a novel idea!” Prior to then, I would only buy anthologies that had at least one story by an author that I knew and read already. Now, I not only buy those but I’ll occasionally buy ones that don’t include any authors I read, just to see if I can discover a new obsession. In addition to Laurell K. Hamilton, I also started reading Angela Knight, Patricia Briggs and Meljean Brook, among others, as a result of first encountering their stories in various anthologies. So, thank you Melinda for, once again, opening my mind to something I hadn’t previously considered!

Now, time for my very first giveaway; WOOT! I’m giving away an anthology, in hopes of maybe turning someone else on to an author they may never have tried; a kind of Pimpin’ It Forward, if you will. Or, if you’re like I once was and only want to read a story by an author you know but didn’t feel like paying for a whole book to get one short story, now’s your chance to grab one, free of charge! I recently entered a contest to win the Burning Up anthology which includes stories by Angela Knight, Nalini Singh, Virginia Kantra and Meljean Brook.

Unfortunately, I FORGOT about that and bought the book before the contest ended. I won the book in the contest and now I’ve got two copies. I figured the one I bought would make a great first giveaway for my blog. Entering is easy; just make a comment below and let me know your opinion of anthologies and if you’ve ever discovered an author via an anthology. If you want to be entered into the giveaway, just let me know in your post & don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you. You don’t have to be a follower to enter but I’d appreciate it if you’d become a follower if you aren’t one already. The contest ends Friday 10/29/10 at 11:59pmEST and is open to all who care to enter. As always, thanks for stopping by!

Pimpin' Book Boyfriends

2010-10-16T14:21:00.000-04:00

So, I’ve learned that I may actually be one of the laziest bloggers to ever live. In my defense, I did have a triathlon that I was working towards that was taking up a lot of my free time (in case you missed it, I DID complete it on 9/26/10; WOOT!) and then, as a result of doing the bulk of my walk portion of the tri in the pouring rain, I got a nasty case of bronchitis that kept me out of work and laid out for several days in the week following the triathlon…but…yeahhhh…all of that happened a couple of weeks ago. There’s really no excuse for me not to have posted anything so I’ll just cop to being lazy and leave it at that. Moving on!

Now that I’ve admitted to blogger laziness, I think its perfectly acceptable for me to steal today’s idea from someone else and then put YOU to work on MY blog (more about that later)! HA! Barnes and Noble has a question on their Facebook page today asking what book character you would most like to date. I’m amazed at how many people have named JUST one character! I’m finding it hard to narrow it down to just THREE! I have many, many book loves going back many years and it’s just too hard to narrow it down to just one so I flat out refuse! Its my blog; I can be ornery if I want to! Here, in no particular order, are the top 3 book characters I’d like to date:

1) Roarke – J.D. Robb’s In Death series – a devastatingly attractive multi-gazillionaire that owns nearly half the planet (AND some stuff OFF planet, too) who has all the qualities of a bad boy even while trying to be good, speaks with an Irish brogue, would do ANYTHING for the woman he loves (see bad boy trying to be good) and who is just as comfortable being charming and witty as he is with being cold, calculating and deadly, should the situation call for it ; who WOULDN’T want to date that dude? (Blogger’s note – If you are not familiar with the In Death series, never fear; there’s a pimpin’ post coming about it in the near future, since the newest book will be out in a few weeks)

Honorable mention in this series – Ian McNabb

2) Rhage – J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series – I actually have a few book boyfriends from the BDB series, greedy, dirty minx that I am, but Rhage gets the mention because he was the one I loved first! From his first mention in Dark Lover, I was intrigued by Hollywood. I have a thing for big sexy blonde types (check), I like guys with a great sense of humor (check) and I like a man to have some fight in him, a beast within, as it were (CHECK!) so Rhage certainly fits the bill! I was sold, though, when he went out to eat with Mary in Lover Eternal. I like a man with a healthy appetite and Rhage put a HURTIN’ on some food in that book! I LOVED it!

Honorable mentions in this series – Vishous, John Matthew & Qhuinn

3) Joe Morelli – Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series – There are only two men to love in this series and the heroine of the series loves them both and WHO COULD BLAME HER? Morelli gets my vote, though, because he’s the more stable of the two. He’s definitely a man you could see yourself marrying and living a comfortable life with. He seems like a regular sexy guy who loves sports, loves his girl and puts up with her ridiculous antics, loves his family, takes his job seriously, isn’t afraid to have a good time and is willing to overlook an occasional transgression, whether it be criminal or relationship-wise. What’s not to love?

Honorable mention in this series – Ranger (OF COURSE!)

I decided to cut myself off at 3 for a couple of reasons; first, I really could go on and on with book crushes but I know you've probably got other things to do than read about all the book men I love but, mainly, I wanted to leave some men out there for YOU to talk about! Remember me saying I was going to put you to work? Now its your turn to do some pimpin of your own! Who are YOUR favorite book boyfriends? Which character or characters would you like to date and why? Introduce us to them and tell us a little to get us interested, if you please! I know I'm always on the lookout for more men to add to my fantasy stable and I'm betting I'm not alone!

As always, thanks for stopping by and I promise to try to be less lazy in the future! (Notice I didn’t say I promise NOT to be lazy…I’m just going to try to be LESS lazy. Ahem. No need to out and out LIE to you nice folks!) Can’t wait to see who you mention! Now...get to pimpin!

Pimpin' The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. Ward

2010-09-12T11:53:00.000-04:00

WARNING – Ahead, there may be gushing, fanaticism, run on sentences, tangents & fan girly squealing. You have been warned!

Back Cover of Dark Lover by J.R. Ward - Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) Novel #1

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Among them, none relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood...

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed- orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate - Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead…

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn't there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both…

And so began the series that kicked my lifelong pimpage of books to a whole new level! The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward is one of my favorite book series EVER! I became aware of the series from a mention at the back of another book that I was reading (which, unfortunately, I can’t even remember now! That book was BB or "Before BDB" and a lot of books read back then have since dropped out of the forefront of my mind!). I ordered the first book, Dark Lover, received it, settled in to read it, made it about 42 pages in before I calmly put the book down, walked over to my computer, ordered all of the other books in the series (at that time, there were three other books to order) and requested EXPEDITED delivery before I settled right back in to read some more! That same day, I started the pimping! I called my sisters, I texted my girlfriends, I told co-workers…..even folks that weren’t regular readers! I told fellow readers who don’t read romance or paranormal. The more into the series I got, the more my pimping grew. I told cousins, random folks on the internet, strangers that I met at OTHER author’s book signings, passerby’s in the bookstore, people in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, that nosy chick at the grocery store that asked about the book I was carrying in my purse….it didn’t matter! If someone looked like they COULD read, I told them about the BDB! I have always been one to share my opinions about a book, or a series of books or a TV show or a song, etc, if I really loved it, but the way I became with the BDB was even new to me! It was as if I couldn’t NOT tell people about the books!

And, please understand, my BDB adoration was not limited to pimpage of the books. Oh no….it goes MUCH further than that! I have named my car after one of the Brothers. I use variations of the Brothers names for all of my passwords at work. I have bought at least two of the books multiple times because I loan them out to other people to read…and then find that I can’t be without them and NEED to have them in my possession! I have called in to work to finish a book (I don’t work there anymore but it doesn’t have anything to do with that incident….I DON’T THINK….heh heh…). I've started to distrust anyone that smells like baby powder (if you haven't read the books, you won't understand that one yet but if you're read them...YOU KNOW!). I’m obsessed, plain and simple. And I have NO shame about it. NONE. The series ROCKS.

Enough about me and my feelings, though! Let me give you a bit about the books in a well thought out intelligent manner, just in case you aren’t acquainted with them yet. THE BOOKS ARE MADE OF AWESOMENESS! Oh…sorry….that slipped out. What I meant to say is that there are currently eight full length novels in the series plus an Insider’s Guide.

The newest book in the series, published in April of this year is Lover Mine:

Each book is considered paranormal romance and has a Happily Ever After (HEA) although some of have thought that the romance has been a little thin in a couple of the books. I have a slight preference for urban fantasy books over paranormal romance books so I’m most interested in the overall story being told about the struggle between good and evil in the books but the romance aspect is something to tune in for, as well. There are some eyeball sweatin type sex scenes, so…gird your loins. For real. If you're reading out in public, some of the scenes will have obsessively checking to make sure no one is looking at the book over your shoulder...and they might have you looking at perfect strangers with a certain gleam in your eye! Don't say I didn't give you a heads up! The writing is sharp and includes a lot of American pop culture references but even if you don’t get them, I still think you’ll enjoy the stories as a whole. You don’t HAVE to read the books in order but I highly recommend it. You will laugh, you might cry, you’ll be shocked, you’ll be pleased and you’ll always want for more! Crave for more. NEED more. The series is like a drug. Seriously. I feel I should put that disclaimer out there; you WILL get addicted so just be ready.

So there you have it! For those of you that have read them, have you also had the inability to stop pimping the series? Have you given in to obsession as well? Comment and let us all know! And, if you haven’t read them yet and do, let me know because I’m ALWAYS up to discuss these books! ALWAYS!

Thanks for stopping by! Happy Reading! True. :-)

2 Pimps in One; Sons of Anarchy & The Succubus Diaries

2010-09-05T22:06:00.000-04:00

Hi! Welcome to my blog! The name pretty much says it all; I’m Penny and this is my spot to pimp out my faves. Let’s get started with the pimpin, shall we? I’ve decided to dedicate my first post to one of my favorite television shows which is also going to lead me to pimp out a new favorite book series, as well! First blogpost and we’re already experiencing the coveted Pimp within a Pimp! WOOT!

Sons of Anarchy is the most bad azz show on television right now. Period. That's what I think. This is how FX Networks describes it:

FX's original series, Sons of Anarchy, is an adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club's (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that, Charming. The MC must confront threats from drug dealers, corporate developers, and overzealous law officers. Behind the MC's familial lifestyle and legally thriving automotive shop is a ruthless and illegally thriving arms business. The seduction of money, power, and blood.

Jackson 'Jax' Teller (Charlie Hunnam) is the MC's vice-president, whose loyalty to the club is tested by his growing apprehension for its lawlessness; Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) is Jax's force-of-nature mother; and Clarence 'Clay' Morrow (Ron Perlman) is Jax's stepfather and MC president. The triangle of Mother, Son, and Stepfather will ultimately reveal the dark secrets in this family's past and the lengths they will go to protect their sins.

The description is accurate but it only scratches the surface of all that the show offers. There’s something for everyone (as long as they are of age, that is; the show has a TV-MA rating and is heavy on the adult stuff!). Its got drama, intrigue, humor, mystery, bikes, hot guys, loose women, gang bangers, white supremacists, a porn studio (no, for real, it does!), bombs, prostitutes, revival meetings, shootings, maimings, tattoos, carnivals, babies, babies mamas, doctors, drugs, sex and rock n roll! And, there's a great love story, as well. WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK??!? If you like classic tales, you should know that the show’s creator, Kurt Sutter, freely admits that the show is loosely based on Hamlet. Don’t let the bikers and the strong language and the TV-MA rating scare you away. Even if you don’t think it's your kind of entertainment, I’d still say give it a try. I didn’t get hooked in by the advertising or the word of mouth; I actually started watching because a friend of mine had a small role on the show in a couple of episodes and I wanted to see him. Once I tuned in one time, I was HOOKED and kicking myself for not having started watching earlier. The writing is sharp, the actors are fantastic and the story is compelling. It is just great entertainment and I highly recommend it.

There…that sounded all official-like and well thought out and all that good stuff, right? Great, because when I first conceived this post, ALL I planned on saying is “You should watch this show because THIS GUY is on it”:

Yeah….probably wouldn’t have been a very informative but it would have been accurate! THAT GUY is Charlie Hunnam aka Jackson “Jax Teller”. Seriously, I could write a BOOK about my love for the character Jax Teller. I won’t…but I could. What I will say is that he is a strong alpha male character who would do anything for his family and the woman he loves (and I’m not going to tell you who she is because it’s slightly spoilery, if you’ve never watched). And when I say “anything”…. I DO MEAN ANYTHING. He is the character that sold me on the show and a mutual love for him is what leads me to the subject of our pimp within a pimp; The Succubus Diaries series by Jill Myles.

Jackie was an ordinary museum docent until a mysterious vampire and a fallen angel made her into a succubus. Now a sexy immortal, she’s caught between an age-old war between angels, demons, and the immortals exiled to earth. When everyone else is choosing sides, which will she pick? The good guy or the bad boy? Maybe she wants both…

Firstly, HELLLOOOO Mr. Cover Man; How YOU doin?? Gentlemen Prefer Succubi is the first of The Succubus Diaries books. Succubi Like it Hot is the second book and its also available now. The third book, due out in December is My Fair Succubi. I’ve read the first two books and loved them! They are steamy and witty, have several laugh out loud moments and are a different spin on vampires and angels. The Succubus Diaries were on the list (yes, there’s a pimpin list already!) to eventually get their own pimp BUT they moved up to the first blog spot because Jill Myles recently posted pictures of who she envisions as her characters on her Facebook page and she thinks of one of her characters as....you guessed it....Charlie Hunnam aka Jax Teller! WOOT! As I told her on her page, if I didn’t already think she was fantastic....THAT DID IT!! I usually like to make up my own mind about what characters should look like BUT in this case, I think I’m going to re-read the books and imagine Noah as Charlie…just because!

And there you have it; my first blogpost! Hope you enjoyed it! Sons of Anarchy season 3 premieres in the US on Fx this Tuesday, September 7th and the first two Succubus Diaries are out and available for purchase. Please let me know if you have or plan to watch or read either; I’d love to discuss with you! Thanks for stopping by and come back!

Penny

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