Anniversary

I can not believe it has been a year since my life made a 180 degree turn. Actually, it began to turn on December 19, 2010, one month and five days after my 40th birthday. It was this date in December that I suffered the absolute worst and horrifying headache I have ever had.  I chose to do nothing about it, I refused to be a weenie and rush to the ER because of a bad headache. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor here in town for the end of that month and I mentioned it to him. Thus, it began.

I was scheduled for a MRI and a meeting with a neurologist. The MRI came back clear, but the neurologist was still concerned with all the possibilities. He called in for another MRI and and MRA, just to be safe, along with countless blood tests.  The blood work was clear, but there, in the MRI, was a problem.

I'm interrupting myself here because there is a family history of aneurisms on my Dad's side. His Mother, my namesake, died of a brain aneurism in the 1950's, when my Daddy was 12. To say it was sudden and unexpected would be an understatement. My Dad's aunt, Lela Mae's sister, has aneurisms in her neck. Now you know.

My problem was that family trait, an aneurism sitting there behind my right eye. Neurologist sends me to the neurosurgeon.

February, 2011
 My Mom went with me to the appointments, my rock. Dr. White listens to the family history and wants to operate ASAP to clip it before it ruptures. I want to wait until May. The school year will be almost over. My students wont need me as much. I needed to see them through the state testing. The doctors and my Mom, I remember then all disbelieving my insistence that I wait. I compromised and told them I wanted to talk to my family and my principal before I schedule anything.  I will just summerize by saying that they all agreed sooner was better than later.  Surgery is scheduled for spring break.

March 2011
The week before my surgery date I am being completely dorky. It is brain surgery, so I cut and color my hair, lest my doctors see my roots. My students, my beautiful, beautiful "babies" have brought me so many cards, gifts, and chocolate! They know I will be out for six weeks, minimum. The DATE is set for Spring Break, March 17, so, me being me, I get a pedicure and have my toes painted a guacamole green color; no pinching me for no green while I am under the knife.

Mom and I stayed in Dallas at a hotel the night before and showed up bright and early for the surgery.  I don't remember much about that morning, except for making stupid, nervous jokes before I go to sleep. Needless to say, I came out fine after. still teaching middle school. still slightly nutty. But I will always celebrate St. Patrick's Day for a different reason

RUINATION, a Review

                       

RUINATION:
The Rake and The Recluse, Book Four

By Jenn LeBlanc
Author and Photographer

It only gets hotter! Looking for a book on a cold winter night to help warm you up? Perhaps a bit of summertime sizzle? With each new installment in The Rake and The Recluse serial, you find the story drawing you in more and more. You are turning the page, holding your breath for the big reveal, the "Aha!" when you realize that you have run smack into another cliff hanger! This one is no different.

We pick up the story in RUINATION after Francine's disappearance. We all know who is behind it, and there is never a doubt  as to the culprit for Gideon and Perry. Our heros are off and running to rescue Francine before she falls victim to ruination by Hepplewort, who only wants her as his wife to produce an heir.  I think it is safe to say that Gideon and Perry save the day, and Gideon, Tenth Duke of Roxleigh, one time recluse, sets his mind to ruining Francine for any other man. (And, boy, does he ever!)

The date is set.          
The bride and groom
are ready. The only
thing missing now is
Perry, who returns
with some shocking
news of his own.

This is when the evil laughter I imagine as Jenn LeBlanc's plays in my head while we wait for the next installment of The Rake and The Recluse, Book Five: SUBMISSION.

Would I recommend this book to you? ABSOLUTELY! But, you must remember that this is a six part serial and they should be read in order: FREEDOM, FOUND, TAKEN, RUINATION, and soon to be released, SUBMISSION, and the conclusion,  RETRIBUTION.

If you like your hero handsome, tall, strong, and powerful with plenty of -all I can think of to describe Gideon is- "Oh, yes..." to season him a bit more, then this is for you. What are you waiting for?

Available now as e-book from
Amazon.com  $1.99
BarnesandNoble.com  $1.99
AllRomance.com  $1.99

Mask of the Gladiator

The Mask of the Gladiator  
   by Georgie Lee
   Released by Carina Press

Rome, 41 AD

Livia Duronius is driven to seek out a gladiator after watching him triumph in the Colosseum. His touch arouses a sense of hope she hasn't felt since Rome fell under the tyrannical rule of Caligula-and her late husband betrayed her. Though in danger of losing more than her heart, she vows to see him again, even after she learns her uncle has arranged her marriage to a senator.

Senator Titus Marius cannot resist indulging in a passionate encounter with the veiled woman who waits for him after the games, though he faces execution if his true identity is discovered. Bound by honor to wed another, and embroiled in a plot to free Rome from madness, he never expects to see the mystery woman again.

When the fates reunite them in the marriage bed, Titus vows to protect Livia at all costs-even from the lecherous eyes of the emperor...


********************************


Mask of the Gladiator, by Georgie Lee, is a very short novella that I found uneventful. It is difficult to come up with the words I need about such a short story without giving the story away... It seemed to me that there was an attempt to pack too much into a small space, and none of it worked. 


We start the story with the wealthy widow, Livia, who was attending a Gladiator match. She becomes enthralled by the victor, and seeks out the slave and ends up having sex.


The masked "slave" gladiator is actually Titus, a member of the Senate who is in disguise. Titus is on the brink of meeting his betrothed, and guess who she happens to be?


Yep.


I really could not find anything I liked about this story. Maybe it is because the heroine jumped right into sex a few minutes after meeting the gladiator? I do not know. The beginning was long, the middle was so-so, and the end was predictable.


I am not saying "Don't read this book," but I am saying that I will not be re-reading this one.

The Professor, My Review

The Professor presses his palm against her flank, feeling the liquid warmth of her blood, hotter than her skin. Hot, like the life force that he has claimed... The power over life and death is the ultimate thrill.

Someone is murdering women on South Carolina's college campuses: three women, three different schools. The Governor's order to State Law Enforcement Agent Mick O'Shaughnessy is simple: make it stop. More political maneuvering diverts Mick to nearby Douglass College. There, instead of another dead body, he finds Meg Connelly, grad student and faculty advisor for the latest victim.

Determined to finish her master's degree, Meg doesn't need anybody's help - including her estranged family - to succeed. There's something irresistible about Mick, but the last time she let someone get close to her, she lost everything except her self-respect.

As the investigation heats up, so does their relationship. But Mick's interest in Meg doesn't just endanger her heart--it puts her in the sights of the killer.

Once he gets her alone, he can take all the time he needs...

********************************************************

I loved this book! I honestly did not want to put it

We meet Agent Mick O’Shaughnessy at the beginning of the book when his is pulled in as part of a special task force to solve murders that are affecting small town college campuses. Crimes that are so horrific in type, but the killers unique calling card is the only thing that all three victims have in common. Mick and the rest of his task force find themselves working against the clock to stop the next murder from happening, but the killer is getting is getting antsy.

Meg Connelly is our heroine, a strong woman who has had to face much of the world alone. She finds herself placed in Agent O’Shaughnessy’s path after a drunken sorority member’s actions get reported to the police. Sparks immediately begin to fly  between the Agent and the Sorority Advisor, Meg. Having already survived abandonment, Meg tries to resist Mick’s advances until it is unavoidable

In the middle of the wonderful tension between Mick and Meg, our murderer begins to get nervous as Mick and his task force start to form a picture of who the killer might be. The Professor begins to make plans to move as he feels the path leading to him, but he will not move without one more kill, and this time it is personal against Mick.

Filled with enjoyable, down to earth characters, and one wonderfully rotten villain who you cheerfully despise, I never felt as if one character upstaged another. The secondary characters are woven into the fabric of the story so fluidly, that I could not see the story’s evolution without them.

Cathy Perkins’ debut novel, The Professor, from Carolina Press, is a fun, edgy, mystery, romantic must read. I promise you will become an immediate fan and look forward to the next book by Ms. Perkins.

• ISBN-13: 9781426893117
• Publisher: Carina Press
• Publication date: 1/23/2012
• Sold by: Barnes & Noble, Amazon
• Format: eBook
• Sales rank: 223,376
• File size: 924 KB

Sizzling HOT Read: FLASH POINT by Shelli Stevens

Flash Point (Holding Out for A Hero #3)

by Shelli Stevens

If you have NOT read books 1, Going Down, and 2, Command and Control, of this series, WHY HAVEN”T YOU!?! Oh, for goodness sakes, you must read the first two so you can meet the two older brothers to our Flash Point hero, Todd Wyatt and his cupcake dealer, Kate.

Kate is local home town girl who has been a friend to the Wyatt family forever, and has had a crush on Todd for almost that long. Owning a successful bakery in town, she stays busy tempting everyone’s sweet tooth, especially Todd’s. Kate soon finds herself the victim of some not so funny pranks that worry Todd, and he finds himself more upset by the comfort that she receives from the shop owner next door.

Kate is tired of waiting for Todd to see her as more than his cupcake supplier and honorary sister /friend and makes plans to seduce the man she loves, and to finally give herself to a man. The question is, will her heart survive?

Hometown boy. The youngest of three All American boys. Fireman. Todd has everything going for him. His reputation speaks for itself, he can have any woman he wants, and does, and he veers far and wide from relationships. That is until a drunken kiss by his longtime friend, ate, now he can’t stop thinking about her. His feelings become clouded after her total seduction of him and she finds herself in danger. Will our hero fire fighter find a blazing love, or will he extinguish her feelings forever?

*****************************************************************

One taste of her lips, and friendship is off the menu.

Kate has always been everybody’s friend and the de-facto little sister to the Wyatt brothers. But her feelings for Todd Wyatt, the town’s hottest firefighter, run far beyond the sibling variety. Not that he’s ever noticed.

After years of nursing her crush, Kate decides it’s time to take action. Except she has one awkward little secret: she’s still a virgin. She hopes she can seduce Todd without him realizing just how inexperienced she is.

In Todd’s mind, Kate’s the sweet girl he teases and hits up for free cupcakes. One surprise kiss over the summer, though, and suddenly she’s jumped from the platonic side of his brain to the want-her-in-my-bed side. Even though the last thing he wants is to lose her friendship, his resistance to her determined seduction is slipping. Fast.

When malicious attacks on her bakery escalate, it soon becomes clear that for all Kate’s friends, she’s made at least one big enemy. And if they don’t figure it out soon, things could take a deadly turn.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9781609283810
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
• Publication date: 3/8/2011
• Sold by: Barnes & Noble, Amazon
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 124
• Sales rank: 6,474
• Series: Holding Out for a Hero Series, #3
• File size: 801 KB
• Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

TAKEN will Take Your Breath Away

TAKEN : The Rake And The Recluse : Part Three

by Jenn LeBlanc

A woman out of time.

A man stifled by propriety.

A nemesis determined to take her away.

A brother to the rescue.

How will a powerful Duke deal with a woman who doesn't know her place? How will a woman used to the 21st century survive in time where she is considered property?

THE RAKE AND THE RECLUSE Part THREE brings Francine and Gideon closer than they ever imagined possible, until the unimaginable tears them apart. What will Gideon do if he loses her, this time, forever? This is the third installment of the completely revised novel, with all new material.

Francine Larrabee woke up on the wrong side of the century. She was fairly certain she went to sleep in her own comfy bed, but she doesn’t quite seem to be there now. Only adding to her problems is that she has no voice, is constantly being glowered at by a large, stunning man who is obsessed with propriety, and she is apparently betrothed to another horrid little man, determined to ruin her, and any other girls that get in his way.

How does she find herself in the past, when she couldn’t even find herself in her present? How does a self sufficient businesswoman survive in a time when women were still considered property for the whole of their lives and what is she going to do with this man who draws her to him so fiercely?

If you are not following along with Jenn LeBlanc’s book, what are you waiting on?!? You have got to read this story! 

What can I say about TAKEN, the third installment of her unique, six book, illustrated romance The Rake and the Recluse serial? Several things come to mind. Before I start, there is one key suggestion for enjoying this story to its fullest and that is the books should be read in order. You cannot just jump into book three and know what is going on, you need to start at the beginning, because it’s a very good place to start.

Jenn LeBlanc not only draws you into a well-written story, but she incorporates one of her other passions, photography into the story. Not only is the story great, she is able to draw on that photographer’s eye to give such detail in her writing that it is almost tangible.

In TAKEN, Gideon begins to come loose of his propriety shell when it comes to Francine. We start to see glimpses of that ”thing” that his brother Perry, the rake has. Francine, our 21 century, time traveling heroine, tempts Gideon, and herself, looking for the elusive happiness she has wanted.  But there is trouble far closer than either of them expect…

Perry finds himself as the guardian of three young ladies, and now starts to appreciate those rules that he so enjoyed breaking, and I believe he gets a little kick discussing propriety with Gideon about Francine. Perry hires a tutor and chaperone for his new charges, and she is definitely a firecracker, keeping the men on their toes.

Jenn has succeeded in turning up the heat in TAKEN! Every book manages to get a few degrees hotter than the previous, and this is no exception. A midnight make -out session. a private dance lesson, not-quite-proper horse rides through the park…  Yes, steam is in the pages of this one. The chief complaint? Being forced to wait for book four, but I am certain it will be worth it.

So, as I said, “What are you waiting for”? Get your copy of TAKEN, and be prepared to be taken on a fun ride!

Available in ebook format at Barnes and Noble beginning JANUARY 17. 

         BN ID: 2940013744134

         Publisher: Iris Photo Agency

         Publication date: 1/12/2012

         Sold by: Barnes & Noble

         Format: eBook

         Sales rank: 167,476

         Series: The Rake And The Recluse, #3

         File size: 1 MB

                  Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses

  

Taken Will Take Your Breath Away!