1. I wanted to order this cool pumpkin cake for Halloween, except Zoo told me I was insane (his point?) and besides, no one was coming here for Halloween.  Except now, we’re having lots of friends here for dinner and Williams Sonoma is out of the cake.  Or it was yesterday.  Which was the last day to order to get it in time for Halloween.  Today, back in stock.  Someone somewhere does not want me to have this cake.

2. I was interviewed for Romantic Times Magazine’s Clubhouse Feature in their December issue!  Very cool to be asked.  Zoo likes that the article is about him – he’s thinking of having it framed for his office.

3. Sons of Anarchy tonight!  Someone dies.  *notTignotTignotTig*  Instead, I would like to offer up my character, Zane.  *looks over shoulder at digruntled SEAL* What?  If you’re not going to talk to me, what else do you expect me to do?

Damned pumpkin cake.  Damned SEAL.

*sighs and pours Diet Coke*  It’s going to be a long, cake-less night.

So Zoo comes home the other night and says, I think I really freaked out this woman on the train.

Now, Zoo always has train stories.  A couple of weeks ago he IM’d me to let me know a pregnant woman almost threw up on him. Last week, it was sparks and fire coming out of the heat vent.  So this could be anything.

Me: What did you do?

Zoo:  Well, the woman sitting next to me was reading a romance.  And so I said to her, oh, do you like to read romance and she was kind of like, sometimes.  But I didn’t believe her – I think she thought I would make fun of her.

Me: (thinks that this is going downhill fast)

Zoo: So yeah, so I’m like, oh, my wife writes romance novels.  And I gave her a bookmark.

Me:  That old ratty one you keep reusing in whatever book you’re reading?

Zoo: No, I carry some of your new ones.

Me: Oh.  What did she say?

Zoo: She just kind of took it.  Looked freaked.  Basically, I either made you a sale or lost you a sale.

Me: I don’t know if you should be my promo person.  At least maybe not say that I’m related to you?

Zoo:  Hey, at least I didn’t pass them out a Wake, like your mother did.

Me: You’ve got a point there.

So I’m between the iPhone and the new Palm Pre.  Although Sprint annoyed me, because, even though I’ve been a loyal Sprint customer for 9 years, I have to wait until August 1st to get the Pre at the discount price.  

When I said to Sprint Customer service, so basically, any idiot can walk into the sprint store now and get the discounted price but I have to wait until August 1st, he said, no ma’am, any idiot who isn’t a Sprint customer.

*snorts*

Anyway, Zoo and I went to buy a new mattress and a bed on Sunday – we end up in Sleepy’s trying out all the beds (which, to be honest, always grosses me out because, you know how many other people were also lying on those beds trying them out?)

This connects to the first part of the blog really.  

See, the sales guy had an iPhone.  So I got to try it out and look at it.  And the other sales guy had a Palm Pre, and I got to try it out.  I told them they should sell phones and mattresses, because they were each so knowledgable about the different phones.

Of course, I’m still not sure which one I want.  They’re both pretty cool.  But I adore my new mattress – it’s so comfortable.

I’ve done lots of writing the past few weeks – my editor liked Cam’s book (yay!) and the revisions are very do-able.  Along with the revision, I’m working up a proposal for the connected book and  I’m also revising a Sydney book.  And still, I’ve managed to get in lots of reading over the past few weeks too.  I finally read the first Sookie Stackhouse, Dead Until Dark, because I want to start watching the True Blood series.  And although I’m not a huge first person fan, I really liked the book.  I bought the next books but I’m thinking about not reading them all at once, because I tend to glom and then OD on a series.

First, I’m behind on life and behind on announcing my contest winner for April!  The winner of a signed copy of Coming Undone is Anne Muller, so congrats, and thanks so much for entering!  The next winner will be drawn at the end of this month to be announced the first week in June.  Really.

And speaking of giveaways, the wonderful Emily from Waxcreative has a great blog post up featuring my new site and there’s also a cool giveaway there, so head over, answer her questions and you’ll be eligible to win a copy of Risking It All.

OMG – and can we please discuss the ending of Grey’s Anatomy?!  Because no, I did not see the 007 thing coming at all – it was one of those gasp moments except there was no one to gasp with because Zoo was sleeping and he doesn’t like the show anyway.

Okay, the book is calling.  Well, it’s more like my editor is expecting it, because my hero and heroine are firmly planted with their backs facing me, refusing to talk.  They don’t like me much and at this point, the feeling is mutual.

Larissa and I have a Sydney book releasing today, book 4 in the ACRO Series!

TAMING THE FIRE – AVAILABLE NOW!!!

by Sydney Croft

POWER. PLEASURE. DANGER. IT DOESN’T GET ANY HOTTER THAN THIS.  

He came to the underground London club for a night of extreme sex play with the enigmatic “Mistress Rik”. But the Special Agent known as Trance is really on a search-and-rescue mission to keep her alive. Part predator, Ulrika “Rik” Jaegar possesses feral powers that make her a danger to others–and to herself. That’s why the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives (ACRO) wants to recruit her to their side….To do so, Trance will have to pull off the impossible: capture and control Rik, both woman and beast.

On the run from the deadly agency that changed her into a pleasure-seeking shape shifter, Rik uses sex to rein in her own raging desires. Operating on pure instinct, she trusts no one…especially the magnificent alpha male with the power to seduce her into submission. An undercover agent with unique hypnotic gifts, Trance is surprised by his instinct to hold Rik and keep her safe — but he has a job to do. And as he hunts her down, as Rik and Trance are thrust into the ultimate game of domination and submission, they’ll enter a place where surrender is their sole hope of survival — and the only thing that can tame the wild beast in both of them…

You can read an excerpt here!

Gus called shotgun

Originally uploaded by Stephanie Tyler

As you may remember, author Jo Leigh lost her husband to cancer earlier this year. You can read about their story here. It’s truly a romantic reunion story with a tragic ending, which left Jo with many unpaid medical expenses / bills and no health insurance to help cover them.

My favorite thing about the romance community is the way it bands together when the need arises to help one of its own – this time is no exception. Please check out the items up for aution by clicking the box above – and feel free to post the box on your website or any loops you might frequent.

I’ll post more details as they come along.

You have made your point. You made it when my cable box went out. And then again, when my internet and phone began to go out at random intervals (FWIW Cablevision, I’m switching to Fios ASAP) And then you made your point again when something we haven’t been able to locate died in our attic – and again when I went downstairs to find the washing machine broken with a load of clothing in it. And all of this just as we get home from Pittsburgh Childrens, where the kid had another (planned) spinal surgery. (she’s fine, btw – up and about and smiling!)

I pray the exterminator and the repairmen have mercy on me.

*Update – the washing machine repairman will be here before 11AM. Thank you TISO.

Maybe I can actually get some writing done today. I’m totally beginning to see why some writers leave the house to write – it’s beginning to look like a nice option for me.

ARIES: Free Will Astrology for the week of September 11th:

Some people would like the world better if it didn’t have oddballs, freaks, black sheep, misfits, and crackpots. Personally, I’m very much in favor of these types, and celebrate the entertaining diversity they add to the world. I hope you share my attitude, Aries, because you’re going to have to be in intimate relationship with your own inner weirdo in the coming week. If you’re prejudiced against people who don’t act normal, you’ll have trouble dealing with the unusual urges and needs that will be welling up in you. But if you’ve developed an appreciation for anomalous behavior, you’ll be able to love yourself just right.

So basically, I’ll be fine as long as I can embrace my inner oddball, freak, black sheep, misfit and crackpot. Not a problem…

In the meantime, by inner misfit will be praying hard for Maya and Alison and anyone else affected by Ike. Please stay safe!

Steph T.