Is this my love life?

Choose your craving...

A. Climbing into fresh sheets

B. Reading a book

C. Intimacy

D. Skydiving

Take the letter you chose and find the description. Does this describe your lovemaking?

A. Working hard, you like to relax, and there's nothing better than climbing into a bed with fresh sheets. Be careful though, seeing your bed as a place of comfy may lessen your chances of getting lucky between the sheets. If you must, try new, exciting places outside of the bedroom to add a bit of spice.

B. You love to read. I'm guessing you enjoy diving into a world of fantasy. Depending on what genre you read, it says a lot about who you are. If erotica is your guilty pleasure, you could be searching for excitement. You like spice, but might be apprehensive in taking the initiative with that special someone. Take baby steps in bringing spice into real life. Suspense and thriller? You love an adrenaline rush but like keeping it safe.

C.  Sensuality is your craving. Kisses, hand holding, cuddling...all of the fuzzy, ooey-gooey things lovers do. Problem is, when all of the intimacy is happening outside of the bedroom, sometimes it gets a little boring inside. Are you someone who wants, on occasion, for your partner to rip off your clothes, throw you up against the wall (no one getting hurt please) and he becomes a Tarzan to your Jane? Suggestion: Read B. Dive into an erotic novel then ask yourself what you'd like to try and make the initiative.

D. You are all about an adrenaline rush. You like to experience life, jumping out of planes, climbing the highest mountains...there is no taking the backseat for an adrenaline junkie. This is wonderful, except, people who are all about the excitement may sometimes forget to slow down and tap into sensuality. Love isn't always about the high. It's about the connection, too.

Hot Box Monday: The Price is Right

Scrolling through Amazon, you'll see books of all genres at all different prices. For my traditionally published books, I have no control over the prices, but for my self-published lot, I can name the price. I'm not exactly a control freak, but I like having my hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.

I posted a question on Facebook a few days ago asking what prices readers are willing to pay for an ebook and if certain aspects, like whether the author is unknown or the book is in a series, makes a difference. I received lots of helpful feedback. After all, who better to ask than those who buy.

What I heard was, readers will spend in upwards of $7.00, but are comfy at $2.99-3.99. What are some considerations?

1. If the book is in a series

2. Word count

3. If one book in the series is free

What I learned most is readers love series.

Second Chance Series:

Second Chance Cowboy FREE at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Second-Chance-Cowboy-Rhonda-Carver-ebook/dp/B00H1B6ADC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1395666795&sr=8-4&keywords=rhonda+lee+carver

Second Ride Cowboy (Book 2)
Second Round Cowboy (Book 3)
Buy Link:http://www.amazon.com/Second-Round-Cowboy-Chance-Series-ebook/dp/B00I1OMGQ8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395666664&sr=8-3&keywords=rhonda+lee+carver

Excerpt: Double Dare

Her mouth on him sent him close to the edge.

     Damn, Jag could’ve come in her mouth. He wanted the moment to last, wanted to prolong the pleasure, but he didn’t know how much longer his balls could take the bittersweet agony. With her hot mouth on him, he wouldn’t last long at all and he wanted to know what a woman like Zoe tasted like, felt like.

     Lifting her up, he turned her back to the wall, steadying her. He pressed his mouth against her moist lips, burying his tongue deep inside her sweetness. He lifted his face and whispered, “I want to taste you. All of you.”

     “Yes.” The husky tone of her voice made him shudder.

     Bracing her petite frame with his hands on her slender hips, he stepped back and swept a glance over her. Her nipples hardened into pebbles and invited him. He wasted no time in lowering his mouth to the pink tips. He sampled each pale mound before sliding his tongue down her flat stomach, twirling his tongue in and out of her belly button. He heard her sharp intake of breath as her fingers gripped his shoulders. The sharp sting of her nails in his skin encouraged him to continue his exploration.

     A faint musky scent floated around his nostrils as he found the bare silky skin between her inner thighs. With the pads of his thumbs, he separated her moist folds and uncovered her slick delicacy. Repositioning his fingers, he softly touched her clit with his forefinger and she arched against his hand. His tempo quickened, making circular motions until the bead tripled in size and she dripped with dew.

     She’d gone from wet to slippery and ready and he slipped a finger inside her narrow passage. She welcomed him with a shimmy of her hips, rolling against his digit, and he plunged deeper, simulating what he would do soon with his cock.

     Her thrusts became wilder as he slid two fingers into her wet cave. “Jag...”

     The desperation in her voice reached his ears and he realized he couldn’t hold back much longer. The time came to bring her release. He buried his tongue into her warm shell, deftly sucking her, swallowing her juices. She obliged him with an arching of her back and the opening of her thighs, permitting him deeper access when his tongue and fingers joined in bringing her closer to release. The tense rotation of her hips meeting his mouth and the clenching of her muscles told him she fell fast.

     Seconds later, a rumbled moan drifted from her parted lips.

     Jag smiled as she tugged at him, silently pleading for him to be inside her, and he didn’t stop. He continued his focus on her most intimate part until she came again and again. When her limbs grew relaxed, he picked up her pleasure-stilled body into his arms. She tucked her face against his shoulder.

     Her body tensed as he stepped onto the shadowed patio. “Uh, you made a wrong turn. The bed is in the room,” she said in a whisper.

     Setting her down easily onto her feet near the wrought iron railing, he nuzzled her neck with his lips. “You don’t like the outdoors?”

     “Nothing against the outdoors. I have something against strangers seeing my naked ass.” 

Buy Link: 

http://www.amazon.com/Double-Dare-Rhonda-Lee-Carver-ebook/dp/B00J2HLLA0/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395318753&sr=1-12&keywords=rhonda+lee+carver

Wicked Wednesday: Do men wash their hands?

I can't be the only one who wonders if a man washes his hands when he goes to the bathroom. I remember when my friends and I would go out for a girl's night and we'd watch men go into the restroom, making bets on whether he would wash his hands or not. There was never any positive way of knowing if he had or not, but there were signs. No bar ever had towels or dryers (or maybe it was just the bars we attended. After all, we were poor people in college) so if a man came out with wet jeans, on the thighs or backside, we knew he'd washed. No signs of wet spots meant he'd skipped washing. Another sign, if he came out rubbing or shaking his hands, he probably at least rinsed.

Why is this important? Think about it...how many germs can one person have on their hands at one given time? The answer is...150 different species of bacteria. Eck!

So, let's think about this. A man is sitting with you, both of you are chatting, having a drink, maybe the mind is slipping to what will happen between the sheets later. He excuses himself and heads into the public restroom. He unzips, unloads, touches, shakes, loads and zips. Then he starts for the sink, his mind reeling...should he wash...should he not wash...what shall he do? I've read that between 50-90% of people don't wash their hands after they use the restroom, so I'm going to guess ol' loverboy will pass the sink. Fifteen minutes later, you and loverboy are in the bedroom, going at each other, ripping and breaking seams. His hands are all over you, and we can only imagine how many others' germs are on you now. And then, where will his hands go next? Down south? In your mouth? Maybe the question is, where will your mouth go? The same place where he'd touched a while ago in the bathroom?

Have I made you sick yet?

This is why I say with great pride, "My heroes all wash their hands. Sometimes twice."

http://www.amazon.com/Double-Dare-Rhonda-Lee-Carver-ebook/dp/B00J2HLLA0/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395168977&sr=1-9&keywords=rhonda+lee+carver

Hot Box Monday--To shave or not to shave?!?

It's Monday again. I'd rather have slept late, but I was up with daylight. After getting the kidlets off to school, I had laundry to do. Yay me! However, my mind is always on my writing. I've been pondering a question. Not a biggie at all, but just one of those things that needle your mind. In my latest WIP, Double Dare, I gave the heroine "springy curls" down south. I wrote it, stopped, and then reread it several times. Sure, I don't have to mention whether she's bare, groomed, bushed or whatever, but mentioning the landscaping just seemed, well, right. I actually rewrote this part several times, going back and forth between bare and hair. I understand there's a trend--bare is in. I also realize I don't like trends. But when it comes to hair "there" I tend to sway on the side of bare.

Shaving pubes isn't anything new. It traces back...way back...to Egyptians and Greeks. However, the amount of hair a woman shaves has increased.

Who grooms and who doesn't? Does it have anything to do with age? I remember reading once that women 50 and younger trim or go bare. 50+ like the natural look.

I think the movies give us the idea that everyone is heading to the wax shop and leaving with a Brazilian or "Hollywoood Wax" nowadays. Yeah, right. Spreading my legs wide and having some stranger apply sticky torture to my delicate places...uhh...hell no. I say, "Razor please."

Now, I'm off to write. To give hair or not? That is the question...

And if you want to know which I chose, you'll have to read Double Dare. Releasing very soon.

Hump Day Hotties

I know, I know...it's Wednesday. It's neither the beginning of the week, or the end of the week. It's that single day stuck smack dab in the middle. It's just blah! Well, let me help you out with some eye candy. It may not make your day go faster, but at least it'll give you something to dream about.

Up for a skinny dip? It's a bit cold here, but I'd warm up.

Aww, he's alone in bed. What a shame! Anyone want to help him out?

Looks like someone needs a hand undressing.

The ball of smoke just took away all of his clothing...oh noooo...what shall he do?

Hot Box Monday

A Bug in Writing

Y'all know I love editing. I enjoy helping others bring their baby to a polished life. Over the weekend I edited a great manuscript by a great writer friend. She's not published yet, but I'm sure she'll be popping open the champagne any day now. I found some common mistakes in her work. As much as I despise them, and I'm sure all writers do, these sneaky bastards find their way into every story.

What are these roach-like bugs? If you see one, you know there must be a hundred more lurking...

1. Fancy words. Think about our every day speech and the conversations we have with people. Writing proper grammar doesn't mean writing uptight language. A reputable writer once told me, "Less is more. Simple is best." So true...

2. Each paragraph must connect to the next, but a new thought deserves a new paragraph. When I first fishtailed my way into writing, I wanted to write long paragraphs. Long paragraphs have their place in books, but my opinion, as a reader and a writer, shorties flow better.

3. Make assumption (no) Assume (yes)
    Is a function of (no) Depends on (yes)
    Is an illustration (no) Illustrates (yes)

    Get my drift (yes)

Wicked Wednesday

Organization.

This word scares me as much as promoting.

I've made a huge effort lately to get organized. Juggling a writing career, freelance editing and kids, my planner doesn't work like it used to. On top of all this, I have three stories at once swarming inside of my head. I'm always wondering, "Which do I write first?"

I've learned, like I'm sure you have, that social networking is a killer to creativity. Facebook--good as a marketing tool, not good for accomplishing a word count. Sometimes I wonder why I even open FB before I'm finished with my goal for the day.

Once upon a time I would edit my work as I wrote. Mistake. It slows creativity. I now vomit out words and worry about polishing later. Maybe this doesn't work for every writer, but I like going back over and filling in all of the cracks, voids and holes within a story. After all, I enjoy freelance editing for this very reason. I love the polishing stage.

Each day I make a list of what I must do. I also find measuring importance is critical. For instance, if my goal is to write 5,000 words, write a blog, and wash the dishes...what I'll do is get the dishes out of the way because once I sit down at the laptop I'll be there for a long time. I get my word count in. The blog I'll write later. My evenings are family time.

Hot Box Monday

Promotion. I cringe. I suck at it and I'm not afraid to admit it. Unfortunately, writing without promoting can mean the death of a book which a writer thinks should have sold like hotcakes (the fluffy, sweet, fruit-filled ones). So, I sat down with a glass of wine and a Valium--just kidding--and researched the hell out of "ways to promote a book."

Do I feel any better? Hell no! There are so many avenues, so many ideas, that I find myself a little lost in all of the advertising spew. I have decided that I should take baby steps, maybe even bug steps, in this overwhelming process of promoting my loves--a.k.a books. I hope to find one helpful promotion tactic a week.

This week I've researched social media. What day and time is best to post? After reading several articles written about the benefits of social networking, this is what I've come up with for two popular sites:

Facebook: Wednesdays. Best time, 1 P.M.- 4 P.M.
                  Avoid, 8 P.M.- 8 A.M.

Twitter: Monday-Thursday. Best time, 1 P.M.-3 P.M.
              Avoid, 8 P.M. - 9 A.M.

And there you have it folks. What do you think?

Best wishes, R.