Jack Johnson ROCKS the Billboards

Oh, Saaaamaaaanthaaaaa!!! Well, well, well, what do you know? Look who's on the cover of the latest issue of RollingStone magazine. C'mon, you know you've been Sitting, Waiting, Wishing for his newly released album! I even saw it for sale at Starbucks this week! Surprised? Nah... you shouldn't be. This new album, Sleep Though The Static is currently #1 on the Billboards! That is, #1 on The Billboard 200, the Billboard Comprehensive Albums, the Top Digital Albums, and the Top Rock Albums!!! Go Jack!

Do You Remember the times you made fun of my fondness for the soulful sounds of Jack Johnson? Thinking I was a Flake? Well, girl friend, those days are Gone because in Times Like These, I obviously don't Walk Alone. There are millions of Jack Johnson fans. And someday... maybe someday... you'll be thinking to yourself, "If I Had Eyes, I'd be a Jack Johnson fan, too."

So tell me, did this news turn your world Upside Down or what? Don't worry... I know what would cheer you up. Come on over to my place, I'll fix you up some Banana Pancakes and expose you to some Sexy Plexi. You know you want some. ;o)

Go here to the Jack Johnson's website to the video section of this laid back surfer dude music artist. "If I Had Eyes" is from his new album. "Upside Down" from the Curious George movie is another of my favorites and the lyrics can apply to adults, too. :)

EDITED FOR CORRECTION:

From the Oxford American Dictionary:

flake |flak|

noun

1. a snowflake.

2. informal: a crazy or eccentric person.

Samantha has never called me a flake, especially in regard to definition number two. I really just wanted to use that song title in my post. However, I am like a snowflake.... unique and delicate. There's no one out there like me! :) ... but I'm not cold. ;p

And here's Jack Johnson performing one of my favorites,
Better Together:

A day of Futuristic Romance

Today is the release date of two futuristic romances that I will be reading in the not so distant future.

First up is Netherwood by Michele Lang. Netherwood is the latest novel in Dorchester's SHOMI line of speculative romance novels that combine the elements of suspense, paranormal, fantasy and sci fi with most powerful and compelling element of all--romance. Michele describes Netherwood as a futuristic Robin Hood story in which intergalactic sheriff, Talia Fortune hunts down cyber outlaw Kovner, a.k.a. The Avenger. Talia's hunt brings her to the Gray Forest where she finds The Avenger and her perspective of her world and self is ultimately shattered. Stop over at Sarai's blog, Thoughts of an aspiring writer and check out her interview with Michele Lang, where you'll also find Sarai's review of Michele's new novel, Netherwood.

The second book of My Futuristic Romance Day, is Ann Aguirre's much buzzed about novel, Grimspace. The heroine, Sirantha Jax, has the rare ability to navigate or jump ships through grimspace. A tragic crash kills her crew and she is imprisoned and tortured. Her talent, however, is a valuable one, and she is ultimately rescued by a group of rogues, lead by March, who need her help with their mission to disrupt the current monopoly on space travel.

I have heard nothing but outstanding things about this novel, including a wonderfully written review of Grimspace by Katie(babs) on Ramblings on Romance. I love a heroine centered romance and from what I hear, Jax is a wonderfully complex character who is heartbroken and emotionally vulnerable, yet a strong and determined woman. I just can't resist the combination of romance woven with action packed sci fi or fantasy adventure. I'm truly looking forward to this novel.

It looks to me like there's no better time than the present to get in on the futuristic romance scene! :)

REVIEW: Riding Wild by Jaci Burton

There's good reason why the cover to Jaci Burton's latest release, Riding Wild, is splashed with the color of flames... this book is on FIRE!

Riding Wild is a fast paced novel full of suspense, emotional and sexual heat between bad boy thief Mac Canfield and good girl private investigator Lily West. When Lily is hired to test the museum security protecting a high profile artifact, she witnesses its theft by none other than Mac, her bad boy crush of ten years ago who broke her heart. As Lily confronts Mac outside the museum, she becomes overrun with conflicting emotions as she has never truly gotten over him, and is disheartened as it appears he hasn't changed his bad boy ways after all these years. Not to mention she wants the artifact back. Mac is equally stunned to be face to face with Lily as he realizes the sweet, innocent girl-next-door he once knew has transformed into a strong willed, independent woman who can totally kick ass. As they deal with the shock of seeing each other, they come under fire by yet someone else after the artifact. As it turns out, things are not exactly what they seem--the artifact is more than just a piece of art, and Mac is more than just a thief. So in order to both preserve the secrecy of his mission and to keep Lily safe, he is forced to essentially kidnap her. Mac whisks Lily away on his Harley and she finally gets the ride on the wild side she always wanted.

Riding Wild is highly charged with emotional and sexual tension. Mac and Lily are unable to deny their stong, insatiable desire for each other and the sexual tension builds. The intense heat between them leads to extremely passionate, erotic sex and ultimately to the realization of the love they have always shared. Throughout this wild and sensual adventure, Mac and Lily work through issues of trust and troubled pasts, and in the process discover the true meaning of love and acceptance.

Jaci Burton expertly weaves this compelling story of secret agent intrigue and erotic romance and should not be missed. Riding Wild is the first novel in Jaci's new Wild Riders series, which means more tantalizing stories of sexy heroes riding fast motorcycles and souped up cars, dangerous missions and sensual romance. Riding Temptation is the next Wild Riders novel, due in October 2008, followed by Riding on Instinct, tentatively due in April 2009.

GRADE: A-

My Random List of Six

I've been blog tagged by Jill. Her blog is Romance Rookie. 

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog

3. Share six random things about you

4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry

5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blog.

Six random things about me.... 

1. I'm a coffee addict. I started drinking coffee regularly after my second child was born because I was chronically sleep deprived and could barely keep my eyes open past 3:00 in the afternoon. Now I drink maybe 3 cups a day, but also LOVE coffee anything! Coffee drinks...hot, cold, frozen, alcoholic (Espresso Martinis YUM!), coffee ice cream, coffee candy, coffee desserts, etc...

2. I am not a "cat person," yet have four cats. I do love my pets, but I'm not really the "cat lady" that I must look like from the outside. I'm more of a "kitten person," and well, yeah, they grow. I've been suckered TWICE to adopted the last brother/sister pair in the shelter because I didn't want them to be separated. TWICE I did this. I won't be making that mistake ever again. 

3. I cry a lot. I've always have been a crier, and probably always will be. I wasn't even allowed to watch The Little House on the Prairie when I was a kid, because I'd be a basket case every time. I'm serious. I saw the Spiderwick Chronicles movie last weekend with my nine year old daughter. At the end, I said to her, "I cried." She sighs and says, "I know, Mommy." lol Yeah, so things like movies, books, Hallmark commercials, songs on the radio... they all get to me. My latest example is the Alicia Keys song, "Like You'll Never See Me Again." I can't listen to it without getting that burn behind the eyes. But I don't cry when I see roadkill anymore, so that's good. ;p

4. I love ethnic foods. My favorites are Thai, Mexican and Indian. I'm going out to dinner with my friend Kate tonight for Turkish food, which I'm really excited about. I have only had some traditional Turkish appetizers in the past... can't wait to discover something new! I will try anything once and refuse to get grossed out over what other cultures eat. I'm not vegetarian. I eat animal flesh, so really folks, there's not really much that's more gross than that.

5. I'm a world class procrastinator. Case in point, Jill tagged me Sunday and here I am posting this on Thursday. *rolling eyes* I'm going to try very, very, very hard not to procrastinate doing my taxes this year. Because when you are expecting a refund, it is extremely lame to mail them out on April 15. Just saying. 

6. I've lived in New Jersey my entire life, always within 30 minutes of New York City, barring traffic, and it wasn't until I started dating my husband (who immigrated here when he was 11) that I ever saw the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island, where my own grandparents passed through in the 1920s when they immigrated to the US! He was also the one who took me around to all the touristy places in NYC. 

I tag the following people: Anna, Amy, Sarai, Kat, and um... hmm... I think I need more blog friends. Humpf.

Camping Fun

I took my older girl scout troop camping this past weekend. Yup. You read that right. Camping. In February. In the beautiful Appalachian Mountains that roll through north western New Jersey. 

Guess which car is mine? ....

Inevitably, wherever you are driving to in New Jersey on a Friday afternoon or evening, you sit in traffic. So to help pass the time and control the volume of chatter and giggles that quickly turn to shrieks, I decide to play some music from my ipod using this handy dandy tape cassette thingy that lets me broadcast my tunes via the car speakers. One of the girls is a HUGE My Chemical Romance fan, and is thrilled to learn that I have a few (three) My Chemical Romance songs on my playlist. As the song starts playing, I remember that the song is the explicit version of I'm Not Okay. I should have skipped to the next song. But no. I can handle this. I tell them I will censor the single curse word in the whole song by simply turning the volume off for the few seconds it takes for the dude to sing it. No problem. I know the curse is at the end of the song, so after the first two verses, my fingers start lingering over the volume knob, and I'm saying, "Here... it's here, right?" Totally at the ready. The girls are saying, "No, not yet." Fingers twitching. I say, "I know its coming.... It's at the end... riiiiight NOW!" And I lower the volume totally off. Four.... three... two.. one. I turn the volume back up, but a slight slip sends the volume WAAAY up. In perfect time to hear the words, "I'M NOT O-FUCKING-KAY!" in full volume, louder than loud. Nice. All I can muster is "I'm so sorry." What else am I supposed to say? (In my head I was saying "Don't tell your parents about this," but I would never ever EVER tell a child to not to tell their parents something, so I guess "Sorry" will just have to do). The girls are in hysterics. "Mrs. A, you ROCK!" Which would normally be 'music to my ears', but not exactly in this context. *sigh*

Recall the instructions from the Snow Tubing trip two weeks ago when the girls needed to bring a brown bag lunch-type meal with them for dinner? Well, the same instructions applied for this trip. You know what's coming, don't you? Its now after 7:00 pm and we're a good 30 minutes from camp, so when the girls ask if they can start eating in the car, my daughter turns to me with a worried look on her face. "Mom?" Oh shit. How did I forget to pack us dinner... AGAIN? Poor kid. So this time, Mickey D saves the day. She got her crispy ranch chicken snack wrap and french fries. Sure beats the turkey on wheat I would have packed her if I had remembered, true? ;)

We finally get to camp, settle into our cabin, and head to the commons for some fun. When we get back to the cabin later that night, I run into a spot of trouble with my ski jacket. I can't unzip it. I zip it up a bit to unsnag it, but it's not caught on anything, and still won't unzip. Thankfully, I'm able to pull the jacket over my head, but as I try to determine the cause of its unzipability, I end up zipping the zipper all the way up. Stupid. Now the opening is too small for me to slip my head through. And none of the capable and resourceful girl scout leaders in our cabin is able to fix it. Which means I now have no coat for the next two days. So of course it snows Saturday. And Sunday. *big sigh*

The good news is that the theme for this camping weekend is Pajama Party. Which simply means some wholesome and relaxing girl time. The girls get manicures, bake cookies, sip hot cocoa, weave baskets (don't laugh... it was really cool. I made one, too!), have a snowball fight, make s'mores, act out an outrageously funny and original skit, build a snowman, and simply spend quality time with each other. So despite the slip with blasting the 'F' word to a car full of girl scouts, forgetting to pack my daughter and myself a dinner again, and being coatless, I'd say the camping was pretty awesome. :)

Stood Up

My girl got stood up on her first non date thing.  Well, she still claims it wasn't a date, which is a good thing, because even though she was disappointed, she was not heartbroken.   She waited for 20 minutes before giving up and having her dad drive her to a friend's house to shoot some hoops.  The boy called her later that afternoon with no explanation for why he didn't show up and asked her if she wanted to reschedule for Sunday.  Her response: "No. I don't think so."  She told me she needed some time to decide whether or not she wanted to take a chance on him standing her up again.  That's my girl. 

Oh! And the friend who she hung out with playing hoops?  The other boy who had asked to join them on their non date downtown!   ;o) 

"The Liar's Diary" by Patry Francis

Once again I have come up a day (or two) late and a dollar short. I am making this post on behalf of "The Liar's Diary Blog Day" that took place on January 29, 2008. The Liar's Diary is the debut novel by author Patry Francis and was released on paperback on January 29, 2008. Ms. Francis is currently fighting an aggressive form of cancer, and has fallen seriously ill during a time when she would be needing to promote her novel. So some of Ms. Francis' kind hearted writer friends and readers have taken it upon themselves to spread awareness of the novel by starting "The Liar's Diary Blog Day" and encouraging fellow bloggers to mention Ms. Francis' book. It is really great to see that how wonderfully supportive the people you meet in the blog world can be toward each other, especially in a time of need. My thoughts are with Ms. Francis and her loved ones, and send her the strength she needs to fight her battles. I learned of this from Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books and have also seen the novel recently mentioned at Dionne Galace: It's not Chick Porn. The author of the latter blog, BAM, recently purchased The Liar's Diary, and recently shared her enthusiasm for the novel. It looks like an engrossing read. I hope you check it out.

Snow Tubing ... A Rock Band ... and A First (non)Date

<--Heavenly Ski Resort, Lake Tahoe, CA, NV. 

NOT where I was snow tubing last weekend. 

Last Saturday night, my coleader and I, took eleven 12 and 13 year old girls from our Cadette girl scout troop snow tubing at this beautiful resort roughly two hours away from our town. We've had this event on the calendar since October, so mind you, there was plenty of time to be prepared. It was very clearly established that everyone was to bring their own brown bag dinner to eat on the cold-exhaust fumed-two-hour-ride-on-a-hard-seat school bus. I FORGOT TO PACK A DINNER FOR MYSELF AND MY DAUGHTER. So we shared a baggie of pretzels on the bus. The facilities at the resort were gorgeous. There was a beautiful outdoor heated pool and hot tub--it looked so inviting as it was dimly lit and the steam was rising from the water. Inviting, indeed. As we walk past it with the girls to get from the lodge to the snow tubing hill, two young men come walking by wearing ONLY A TOWEL AROUND THEIR WAIST. I kid you not. Nice wholesome girl scout experience. Shocks and giggles later, we hit the hill and get in some fun snow tubing. Still not having eaten dinner, my daughter and I share a tiny $10 ceasar salad at 9:30 pm in the lodge. We all have a voucher for some hot cocoa before heading home, so everyone gets their 

large cocoa (sugar and caffeine at 10 pm. Oh joy.) So we get to the bus and start settling in when I notice that three of the girls used their cocoa vouchers for coffee. COFFEE! @.@ Oh yeah! And two girls met a boy on the slopes, exchanged AIM names and were IMing from the one girl's cell phone on the entire bus ride home. *sigh* I made sure I was sitting on the seat across the aisle from them so I could eavesdrop, but still. I then let the mom know about it when we got back. I wasn't sure exactly how to handle that.

But you know? That whole night was piece of cake compared to what has unfolded since. I've swiftly moved on to some new preteen drama. On Sunday evening, my daughter got asked by a group of boys in her school to join their rock band. She's first string violin in the school orchestra, and it just so happens they are looking for someone to play the violin for a few songs. Of course, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that she's also sweet, funny, and has a great figure. But what do I know? I'm just her mom. I think the first song up on the rehearsal schedule is "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan.  Anyway... I had to have a serious talk with her. I mean... she said yes without even asking them the name of their band!?Sooo important! AND she didn't find out who's on lead vocals?!! Tsk tsk. Kids these days.

Wait. There's more. Another boy, asked her to hang out with him downtown on Saturday afternoon. Alone. She claims its not a date. Okay fine. But when yet ANOTHER boy asked her to hang out this weekend, she asked the first boy if second boy could come along (they all know each other), and the first boy said, "Ehh... No. Just the two of us this time."

"That's a date," I said.

"Nooo. How can it be a date if we're not 'going out?' " she said.

"If you go out of the house on Saturday to hang out with him, you are 'going out with him.' You don't have to be his 'girlfriend' to 'go out' with him," I said.

"It's not a date," she said.

Umm... Its a date.

So she's been waiting for the last couple of days for our permission to go on this non-date. We've given her some very solid non-answers so far, but have finally decided to let her go. I know the boy and am acquainted enough with his mom to feel that he's not a complete stranger. We figure if they like each other and have been friendly since the summer, they should be able to spend some time together like she would with a girl friend. Especially if its not a date. But it is. Is it? *sigh* We decided that they have to have a plan in place for what they want to do, and they have to stick to it. Any changes in the plan, and she calls me immediately. The plan should be something like: Meet at predetermined location, walk to first place (ex. coffee shop for cocoa), walk to secondary location (ex. comic book store, movie theater lobby for video games, but NO MOVIE), then you walk back to where we pick you up. He leaves his skateboard at home*** and no loitering.  And in the fine print, it says I can have that GPS chip inserted under her skin first thing after school tomorrow! :)

***NOTE:  We have nothing against skateboarders.  We like them. We even own a skateboard. We just feel its not appropriate on a (non)date in a pedestrian area. :)

REVIEW: Demon Night by Meljean Brook

Series Overview:

In Meljean Brook's Guardian series, demons, guardians, nosferatu, vampires, and perhaps a few other creatures from Hell, coexist with humankind, although for the most part, humans are pretty much unaware of their existence. In an extremely simplified explanation, the nosferatu are the most contemptible creatures of all existence who pretty much roam Earth in full bloodlust. Demons are sent to Earth from Hell to essentially deceive and tempt humans to sin and hopefully even cause their death. Demons are not permitted to actually kill humans... just manipulate them to 'cause' their deaths. Guardians were created for the sole purpose of protecting humans from the demons and nosferatu, and their priority is to preserve human life at all costs. For a more background information, check out Meljean's website, especially her new Guardians Primer and the Doyen Scrolls section. And to truly understand and appreciate the world and characters of this series, read the books! Each installment is a riveting story of danger and excitement that is brought to life by incredibly realistic characters.

Book Review:

Guardian Ethan McCabe, a.k.a. Drifter, has been living next door to his human female charge, Charlie Newcomb, as she has become the possible target of an organized vampire attack. From the onset of the novel, the attraction between Ethan and Charlie is subtle yet unmistakable as they interact from the safety behind the wall separating their apartment balconies. When circumstances bring them face to face, there is no denying the inevitable romance that develops between the Guardian and his charge. While Ethan is guarding Charlie, the newly established Guardian organization, Special Investigations, is trying to determine who or what is behind a series of serious disturbances within vampire communities around the globe. Making things even more complicated for the Guardians, Charlie's scientist sister, Jane, is immersed in research that unknowingly to her, has tremendous significance to vampires, demons and consequently the Guardians. The situation gets even more dire when the ultimate demon from Hell shows up. So as the Guardians attempt to find connections between all of these activities, and as the implications of Jane's research are revealed, the the story becomes more and more engrossing, and of course Ethan and Charlie fall deeper in love.

Demon Night is an intense novel teeming with incredibly real characters, fierce action, and undeniably heart wrenching plot twists. The love story of Charlie and Ethan is a wonderful blend of humor, tenderness, and passion. Charlie is a complicated character, one who has made some serious mistakes in her past that have been tremendously difficult to make amends for. Despite the odds against her, Charlie has survived and although she is vulnerable and somewhat insecure, she makes huge strides in developing her self worth which in turn strengthens her bonds with the people she cares about and gives her the confidence she needs to maintain control of her life. Ethan is a troubled cowboy turned Guardian, a combination that makes for a very sexy, easy going, reliable hero who takes your breath away with his relentless dedication to protecting Charlie and searching for what she truly needs. Of course, the way he talks and carries himself, and the way he kisses doesn't hurt his image much either.

Meljean Brook has a wonderful talent for seamlessly blending the overarching plot of the series with the story arc of the individual novel. She writes scenes that make your pulse race and your eyes widen. And just when you think the situation is stable, and a conflict is resolved, another plot twist has you right back on the edge of your seat. Meljean consistently delivers emotional intensity straight through to the very end of the story, and of course gives her characters the happily ever after they truly deserve. Demon Night is an exceptional novel that should not be missed. It will leave you amazingly satisfied yet wanting more, and fortunately, Meljean has two more installments in the Guardians Series expected before the end of 2008.

GRADE: A

One of my favorite sites to visit, The Good, The Bad, The Unread has an Exclusive Sneak Peak of Demon Night posted, where you can read the first four chapters of Demon Night.

Demon Night is the third full length novel in Meljean Brook's Guardian Series. To make the most of this series, check out all of Meljean's stories:

"Falling for Anthony" (Guardians, book 1) in Hot Spell anthology, November 2005

Demon Angel (Guardians, book 2) January 2007

"Paradise" (Guardians, book 3) in Wild Thing anthology, May 2007

Demon Moon (Guardians, book 4), June 2007

Demon Night (Guardians, book 5) February 5, 2008

Coming soon...

"Thicker Than Blood" (Guardians, book 6) in First Blood anthology August 5, 2008

Demon Bound (Guardians, book 7) November 2008

Anthologies: Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?

I read primarily paranormal romance and I love reading series romances, because quite honestly, I love when something really, really great lasts a really, really long time ... heh heh. If an author has built a truly fascinating world for her (or his) series and the characters in that world are richly developed, the magic of that author's writing lingers throughout the months between book releases. I'm still enjoying the author's work as I speculate over the overall story arc of the series and anticipate the next installment. And that next series installment might just turn out to be a short in an anthology and I know I won't want to miss a beat.

So herein lies my love-hate relationship with anthologies...

The part I love is that for $7.99 I get to sample the story telling voices of four, or if I'm really lucky--five authors. Most of the time I am buying an anthology because there is a story in it by one of my favorite series authors. But what are the chances that the other stories in the anthology are stand alone titles by those authors? Slim chances. It is more than likely that the authors' sites will state something along the lines that this story can be read alone, but is best read in order. *sigh* Did I mention I'm a stickler for reading a series in chronological order? And of course, I only want to do what's best. So now I am faced with the decision to either let the book sit on my shelf having just read at best 100 pages of it, or buy the backlists of the other authors in the anthology. Which isn't always a bad thing. For my wallet yes, but its also a great way for me to discover some new authors.

Speaking of a that $7.99 anthology sitting on my shelf that is only partially read, I'd like to mention that some anthologies sell for $14. FOURTEEN DOLLARS for four hundred pages of four short stories. Is it me, or is that a bit excessive? I have bought them before. I paid $14 for the WILD THING anthology last July so that I could read Meljean Brook's contribution, "Paradise," book 3 of her Guardians series. I also more recently bought Enchanted Seasons for Nalini Singh's short, "Beat of Temptation". Both anthologies, that I spent a total of $28 on, sit on my shelf all unread except for Meljean's and Nalini's stories, respectively. *sigh* I will probably go back and read the others some day, but I really don't understand why the books had to be listed at $14. :(

I realize that my personal love-hate relationship with anthologies is truly governed by my obsessive need to read an author's COMPLETE series IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER and by the expense it ends up incurring when I then explore the other authors' series. I just can't keep myself from buying them, and I still haven't decided if I love them or hate them. Either way, I seem to be the exact market publishers are targeting, don't you think?

Ummm... having said all of that, here are two anthologies that are on my current wish list:

FIRST BLOOD Featuring stories from Meljean Brook, Susan Sizemore, Erin McCarthy, and Chris Marie Green.
Paranormal Romance.
$7.99 Berkely Sensation
Release date August 08.




AND NEWS OF THIS ONE HOT OFF THE PRESS:
An anthology that I have barely any information on, but know that I want right now:

Title TBA Featuring stories by Jeaniene Frost, Melissa Marr, Vicki Pettersson, Kim Harrison, Jocelynn Drake.
Adult Urban Fantasy Anthology
Price TBA Eos line of HarperCollins, Tentative release date May 09.

What a fantastic author line up! Jeaniene Frost's contribution will be a short story from Bones' POV in New Orleans before he meets Cat. Did I mention that I want this book like right now? RIGHT. NOW. :)

So, how do you feel about anthologies? Do you buy them without hesitation even if you are initially only interested in one author's story? Or, if applicable, do you just skip that story in the author's series? Have you ever discovered a new favorite author from reading an anthology? And finally, does the anthology's list price play a role in your decision to buy the book?