A friend sent this to be yesterday. Don’t judge me because I think it’s funny…

The Wedding Invitation:

 The Reason for the Invitation:

 And yes, my Funny Bone is stuck at thirteen years old, why do you ask?

Did you know there are Vampire Wines?

I didn’t know that. How did I live this long without finding out? Do you want ot know how I found out? Do you suppose I was down in a cellar with a really hot vampire who was overcome with lust for me?

Nope! But I do have this friend, Laura Wright, who just sold an awesome vampire series to NAL. Remember this name–Laura Wright–she’s going to be the Next Big Thing in paranormal! And we’ll have her here on the blog when her first vampire book comes out (Laura has written several Silhouette Desires).

So anyone, we were celebrating her sale this weekend and I thought I’d get her something. So I asked a wine master of the store I was at,  and she said  that there actually Vampire Wines.

I was so excited! Then I found out that the store I was at was out of the Vampire Wine. Bummer. I got her another bottle of wine named EVIL.  But dang, that’ll teach me to wait until the last minute!

I just did a quick Google and found Witches Falls Winery  but the label is a little sedate, don’t you think? It’s not really celebrating witches in all their magical glory. Anyway…

Am I the only one who didn’t know vampires and witches are out there fermenting grapes? And which wine would you pick, judging on the label?  Oh, and how was your weekend?

And P.S. to Margaret:  I bought a Jim Butcher book this weekend! Finally!

Hey witches! So here’s a question, what do you all think of anthologies? Do you like reading collections of shorter stories by different authors in one book?

Just for fun, I’m putting here a random unedited scene for my novella  in the anthology SUN, SAND, SEX. This was one of my favorite scenes to write–it just amused me. I did have to edit one word in there because that word attracts Internet Trolls. Read it if you like or skip it–whatever makes you happy today!

Excerpt from YOU GIVE LOVE A GOOD NAME

Copyright Jennifer Apodaca

Nick took a step toward her before his brain kicked in. It was the damned pink panties. When she’d opened the door and he’d seen her wearing a thin pink tank top, she’d taken his breath away.
Then he’d seen the panties and his blood went south. He’d hardened so fast it was a wonder he didn’t get dizzy.
Clenching his fists, he knew his hard on strained against his pants. “Lexie-”
She stepped up to him and put her hand on his chest. “I’m tired of being cautious and worrying about tomorrow. I want to try impulsive.”
He caught her hand and inhaled. Damn, she smelled like that flower, night jasmine or whatever, mixed with warm skin. His whole body throbbed with hard core lust. They were both on adrenaline overload. He could control this, he would control it. “No. No sex.” He barely got the words out.
Her body deflated, and her hand slid from his grasp. “Okay. Thanks again, Nick. I’ll call you in I’m in trouble, but not for sex. Good night.” She reached for the door.
She was making him crazy, infuriating him. He wanted her naked and under him, looking up with unfocused eyes while he drove himself into her. He wanted her breath to hitch and pant as she lost control, her body shivering and spasming with pleasure while he watched.
Then she had the nerve to pull open her door, put a hand on her hip and stare at him expectantly.
He had to shock them both back to reality. “If anyone walks by, they are going to see you in your panties.”
She looked down. The expression on her face was priceless, total shock.
Nick reached over, closed the door and locked it. Then he turned to see Lexie walking quickly to her dresser. Away from him. Her tight ass covered by the sheer pink panties twitching in her rush. He was going to burst into flames. Before he realized it, he was moving. He scooped her up in his arms.
“Nick! What are you doing!”
“Putting you in your bed and covering you up before I do something stupid.” He all but dropped her on the bed and wrenched the covers up over her.
She sat up, leaning back against the pillows. “I’m not going to attack you!”
He stared down at her.
Her gaze moved to his crotch. Then her gaze slid up. “Oh.”
“I don’t get emotionally or sexually involved with my work. Ever.” He’d learned that the hard way, and he never forgot the lesson.
She blinked, her mouth tightening as she seemed to battle with herself, then she lowered her gaze back to his crotch. She jerked her head looking everywhere but at him. “Okay. Got it. You should leave now.”
Nick leaned down, putting a hand on either side of her hips so he was nose to nose with her. “I’m not leaving you alone so another lunatic can break in here. I’m staying. And if you don’t stop talking, or wiggling that prime ass of yours in front of me, I’m going to strip you down to your skin and f**k you until you are screaming my name in pleasure, over and over. And then when I regain my senses and realize that I screwed up, I will be forced to take you back to Santa Barbara immediately and insist that you be locked up in a cell where you’re safe until we find your stalker. Your choice.”
“I’ll stop talking.”

My DSL went down yesterday and I couldn’t get it back.  Nothing I did worked…I tried spells, threats, begging, I offered the Internet Gods cauldrons of Appletinis…nada.

Then my husband came home. He spent, oh, ten minutes fiddling with it. And like magic…the DSL started working.

We don’t even know what he did…now that’s some powerful magic!

Hopefully the Internet and DSL will play nice.

And now, to totally change the subject, is anyone else tired of John and Kate Plus Eight? I’d never even heard of this show until the Big News that they might be cheating on each other.

Seriously, do we care?

Erika found BLOOD MAGIC in Borders under the sign “great reads.”

Thanks for the picture Erika! She’s also been promoting SOUL MAGIC on her blog, very cool!

My weekend was fine, I mostly am working now and it’s slow going, but getting better.  How was your weekend?

Here’s the cover for SOUL MAGIC! The book will be out November 24th 2009.

 From the back cover: 

KISS OR KILL

When an ancient pact is broken, powerful witches who use their magic to help humanity become the twisted playthings of demons, and witch hunters-mortal men who once protected them-are cursed with longing to spill their blood: an irresistible craving that will cost witches their lives and witch hunters their souls.

The Wing Slayer Hunters fight this curse, guarding innocent witches until the urge to harm them grows too strong. Then the Wing Slayers must kill their own. Wing Slayer Sutton West has always honored that vow. His own father killed himself rather than go rogue. But now Sutton is tempted as never before by Carla Fisk, a brilliant psychologist and dynamic witch whose twin sister, Keri, was murdered by rogues.

Bound by blood and passion, Carla and Sutton dare not succumb to their deadly attraction. Yet when a mysterious rogue named Styx joins forces with the demon Asmodeus, witch and hunter have no choice but to work together. For Keri’s immortal soul is at stake-and with it, balanced on a knife-edge, is the fate of humanity itself.

Saturday was hectic, we celebrated one of my kid’s birthdays and that required some effort on my part–baking a cake, cooking dinner, cleaning house…where are my witch powers when I need them?”

Sunday was quieter which was great for me! I needed to catch my breath.

So have you guys heard some of the talk about Linda Howard’s book DEATH ANGEL? I finished reading the book last week and it left me unsure how I felt about it. I absolutely commend Linda Howard for doing something different, and I’m glad a read the book.

The book is about a woman of questionable character who is the mistress of a drug lord. Basically, she’s a bimbo. The drug lord “gives” her to a stone cold killer for sex as payment.  The killer ends up being the hero of the book. I was totally into this story for two thirds of the way through.

Then the story takes a dramatic and shocking twist, causing first the heroine to have an epiphany that significantly changes her. When the hero finds her again, he too has a life changing epiphany. Oddly, I wasn’t quite as engaged in the last third of the book, but I did still want to finish it.

I think the book was different and interesting. While I saw that some people were angry in reviews (I read them AFTER I read the book), I personally love it when authors go for it, try something different, twist the story into a whole new surprising direction.

So have any of you read the book? What do you feel about author trying new or different stories? And finally, how was your weekend?