"You've earned yourself a spanking." Maddie Taylor is visiting today!

Hi Everyone!

Today, I have the fabulous, Maddie Taylor over on my blog! She’s here to share a HOT snippet of her new book, His Rebellious Mate! Enjoy!

Like a shot, she took off, running headlong through the darkness. She wasn’t quick enough and hadn’t gone more than a few yards when a steely arm wrapped around her waist from behind. Lifted off her feet, her body slammed hard against his broad chest, the force enough to force the breath from her lungs in a whoosh. While she gasped for air, he rotated her body, catching her against his hip, and, as if she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes, the brute followed his partner through the trees.
Although stunned, her shock didn’t last long. Straining against his grasp, she kicked, bucked, and fought with all her might. It had no effect on him. He didn’t slow or even flinch, acting like he carried a struggling woman through a dark forest every day.
Perhaps he did!
Holy crap.
Redoubling her efforts, she raked her nails down his forearm. This elicited a reaction, but not the one she expected. Instead of dropping her, he swung her around and flipped her over his shoulder, moving her so fast, she got light-headed. Then, to her utter shock, his huge hand came down hard on her ass—twice.
“No way,” she screamed. “No how!”
In a fit of anger, she pounded on his back with her fists, rocking and bowing her body, not caring if she fell from the shoulder of this tree of a man. She wasn’t about to let anyone—particularly a barbaric behemoth of an alien—spank her.
Handling her one hundred sixty-pound frame with ease, he set her down in front of him with an angry growl. In the back of her mind, she knew it was crazy to go toe-to-toe with him, yet her outrage overrode common sense, and the basic need for self-preservation.
She angled her head back and glared up at him. Then froze, as a wavering shaft of light from the rising alien moon broke through the branches, and she caught her first good look at her captor.
Black hair surrounded a very human-like face, with slashes of dark brows knitted together in obvious anger. They didn’t detract from the masculine beauty of his bronze skin, angular cheekbones, firm jaw, and full sensuous lips. But it was his eyes that she found so compelling, and unusual. If not for the glimmer of moonlight, they would have appeared black. Instead, his gaze glowed golden in the low light.
In a word, he was breathtaking.

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His Rebellious Mate Blurb
Staunchly loyal Eryn Lockwood heads up security on the USIF Odyssey, an all-female research ship charged with finding a new world to call home. Her team is guarding a group of scientists exploring an uninhabited planet when they are set upon by a band of powerful alien warriors. Entranced by Eryn’s long auburn hair, fair skin, and green eyes, the fiercest of the attackers gives chase, and claims her for his own.  As his would-be mate, his old-fashioned ways infuriate her, especially when he takes her over his knee for some firm-handed discipline.

Though a fiery passion ignites between them, Eryn remains steadfast in her need to escape. To fulfill her mission and save her people, she commits an unpardonable act, something she’ll never forget…and he can never forgive. Returning to Earth, she attempts to pick up the pieces of her life, but thoughts of her gorgeous, golden-eyed alien consume her.
Master Warrior Ramikin, the biggest, baddest, and most skilled fighter on Primaria, has never been bested—until now! And by the beautiful Earth woman destined to be his! Furious, he lets her go, resolved to eradicate her from his thoughts. But Eryn’s face haunts his dreams, and he lives every day yearning for what can never be.

An alliance between their worlds thrusts them back together, but not everyone is in favor of mingling their two species. When anti-integration zealots assault Eryn, it is Ram who races to save her, but he is seconds too late.  With her life hanging by a thread, the deep, mate-bond between them becomes clear. Is there hope for the independent, rebellious soldier and the proud warrior she betrayed?  Will they be able to put aside the past and come together to fight those who would tear them apart?  And, as they accept their fate, can Eryn and Ram recapture the passion they once shared?

Publisher’s Note:  His Rebellious Mate is an erotic romance in the Primarian Mates series. While it stands alone, it includes characters and underlying themes from The Barbarian’s Captive and His By Command.   It contains sexual scenes, spanking, and mild BDSM themes. If this subject matter offends you, please don’t buy the book.

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That’s all I have for today. Thanks, so much for coming over, Maddie!

Have a great day, everyone! 

Meredith's Monday Musings: Donating Hair

Hey All!

Happy Monday! How's everyone day going? Mine is great! I got my edits from my editor last week, so I've been working really hard to make the changes that she suggested. I'm hoping to send them back to her sometime this week, so I can have my book published soon.

Today's topic for Meredith's Monday Musing is: Donating Hair!

About five years ago, I read an article about a little girl who had cancer. She had been very depressed because as a result of the chemotherapy she took to get better, it made her lose her hair. She cried because she didn't look like other girls her age. This story broke my heart. This poor child was already suffering so much because she was being poked and proded by doctors to try and heal her cancer, she shouldn't have had to cry because she had lost her hair.

After reading that news clip, I decided to donate my hair! I donated twelve inches and sent it to Locks of Love. It was a transition for me to go from having super long hair to pretty short hair (in my book), but I knew it was totally worth it. If I could help just one person with my donation, it totally made up for any transition that I had to go through.

I got so much happiness about donating my twelve inches of hair, two years later I decided to donate another twelve inches of my hair to the charity Locks of Love again. This time, it was easier for me to do because I knew what to expect with the going from super long hair to short hair. Again, I knew any annoyance I was having of getting use to short hair was worth it, because I was helping someone who needed it.

It's two years later and I'm about ready to donate my hair again. I'm super excited because I'm getting annoyed at having to take care of this beast I call a head of hair. Washing it takes like a good six minutes. I use more shampoo and conditioner because I have more hair right now. Don't get me started on having to brush it. Every time I get out of the shower, I always wish that I could have someone else brush my hair for me. I do not have the patience to be gentle and take my time to get all the knots out.

I was preparing to donate my hair to Locks of Love again when a good friend of mine told me that they made people pay for the wigs that my donated hair provides. When I heard that, I couldn't believe it! I had always been under the impression that this charity gave the wigs away for free, since they were receiving the hair for free. I did my research and turns out I was wrong. They do indeed charge clients for their wigs. That broke my heart! I don't understand how a company to do this. There are so many children and adults out there who have to suffer with losing their hair due to cancer. The least a charity could do would be to give wigs away for free to help these people suffer, even a little bit less.

After finding out this information, I've decided to donate my hair to a different charity. I have it down to two. One charity is named: Wigs for Kids. All of the hair donations in this charity go to children and they receive their wigs for free. The second charity is named: Pantene Beautiful Lengths. All of the hair donations in this charity go to women and they receive their wigs for free. I haven't decided which charity I'll donate my hair to. I'm thinking of maybe waiting until my hair is sixteen inches then cutting the sixteen inches off and donating eight inches to each charity, but I'm not sure.

Donating my hair is something that is so easy to do and is a great way to help someone in need. I highly encourage everyone to do this, if they can. It takes so little for us to help those in need. Who knows, we might need wigs someday. It's just something for y'all to consider.

That's all I have for today. I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday! :-)

Meredith's Monday Musings: Difficulty of finding the perfect cover

Hey Everyone!

Happy Monday! Did y'all have a hoppy Easter? LOL! Get it, Hoppy, instead of happy. ;-) I had a great Easter. I sadly didn't get to spend it with family, but I did a bunch of writing yesterday on a secret project, so I call it a win. :-)

Today's topic for Meredith's Monday Musing is: Finding the perfect cover!

If you ask any author, I think they'll tell you that finding the perfect cover for their story is one of the most important, yet hardest things for them to do. For starters, a cover has to have either a person/people on it who look like the characters that you've just described in your story. This can be challenging at times. For instance, if I were to write a story about a heroine who was plus-sized, it'd be difficult to find a stock image with a plus-sized woman because there just aren't that many out there. Unfortunately, cover artists can't make women on stock images look heavier. So, that's an issue.

Furthermore, finding the right background to fit the story can be really hard! Lets say a story takes place mostly at a BDSM club. There really aren't that many stock photos of an actual BDSM club for cover artists to use. As a result, they have to get created to create a background that looks like a BDSM club, while making sure that readers understand that's what the background is supposed to be. It sounds easy, but it's not.

Tagging along with the background issue, finding a cover that will sell books too is difficult. Say I wrote a book about a dental hygienist falling in love with the dentist she works for. The cover artist can create a cover with a hot couple at the dentist. It sounds perfect, there's a hot couple on the cover to represent the characters and the background accurately reflects where the story takes place. However, many people have dental phobias. So seeing that background of the dental office might actually make readers not want to buy your story. That isn't good! Therefore, cover artists and authors need to work together and compromise to create a cover that not only correctly represents the characters and setting, but will also sell copies of the book.

Additionally, one thorn that is in cover artists' sides is Amazon. The biggest retailer of e-books is Amazon. Sadly, they are a bit prudish when it comes to covers. I might have my perfect cover with the heroine and hero in a sexy pose, where it looks like the hero is about to pleasure the heroine, but Amazon will throw it in their dungeon. (If this happens, the book will tank like the Titanic). This is really unfortunate for authors and cover artists because the cover might be absolutely perfect for the story, but they can't use it because Amazon will essentially hide it from readers.

Another issue that might not make the most sense, but it happens all the time is a cover might be perfect for one person, but not to another. For instance, a cover artist designs a cover and they think it perfectly represents the author's book and when they send it to the author, the author might think it has nothing to do with the book. This is where the author and cover artist have to work together and compromise to create a cover that represents the book well, but will also sell copies of the story. Another instance of this could be if you work on a box set with multiple authors. If a cover is handed to the group, some authors might love it, while others hate it. In that situation, the authors will have to compromise to choose a cover that works for everyone.

As an author, I'm very grateful to my cover artist, Korey Mae Johnson. She creates some pretty hot covers, while also abiding by Amazon's prudish rules. As an author, I get the best of both worlds with that.

That's all I have for now. Have a happy Monday, everyone!

Meredith's Monday Musings: Beauty and the Beast

Hello Folks!

Happy Monday! Less than one week left before Easter? Is everyone ready for it? I'm not. I still have to go buy my Easter meal. I'll get to the store sometime this week. One thing I'm really happy for is lent ends in 6 days! Woot woot! Going cold turkey with something you love is hard!!

To get on point, the topic for Meredith's Monday Musing today is: Beauty and the Beast!

I have a confession to make. I LOVE the animated version of Beauty and the Beast. It is my all time favorite Disney movie. Growing up, I watched the video so many times that my parents had to buy me a new copy of it for Christmas.

There's something so magical about the movie. Obviously, there's talking furniture in it, so duh there's magic in it, but I'm talking about the story. I love the concept that a beautiful lady looks beyond the hero's physical features and at his heart. Belle didn't care that Beast's outward appearance was not as handsome as Gaston's. She fell in love with his sweet personality. There's something so romantic about that to me.

On top of the beautiful love story, the movie has some awesome music in it. When I do the dishes, I love blasting the song, "Be Our Guest". It has a great beat and makes washing the dishes fun! Don't get me started on the actual "Beauty and the Beast" song. It's so romantic and makes me want to tear up each time I hear it.

I have to admit to you all there are two things that really make this movie fantastic. One is Belle's dress. As some of you might know, yellow is my favorite color. So growing up, I ALWAYS wanted to have a dress like Belle's. I was convinced if I did, I would be transformed into a princess. I went so far to tell my parents that for my wedding, my wedding dress would be Belle's dress. I've since changed my mind on that, but that goes to show you how much I love that dress! The second thing that made me fall in love with this movie was Beast's library that he gifted to Belle. Even as a little kid, I thought that was the most romantic thing a man could ever give to a woman. I would fantasize how it would feel to just sit and read in there. Oh my gosh, even know I wish that I could have a library like it.

Needless to say, I was in love with the animated version of this movie growing up. So when I heard that they were making a live action version of it, I got super excited, but also a little nervous. This movie was my favorite Disney movie, I was afraid that the life action version wouldn't live up to the animated version. I am very happy to say that it does!! The live action movie followed the animated version perfectly! The few changes they made to it, didn't harm the essence of the story either. It was super well done, which I am grateful for.

Do y'all have a favorite Disney movie? (It's okay if you don't).

That's all for now, folks! I hope that everyone has a great Monday!

Meredith's Monday Musing: Author Newsletters

Greetings, Everyone!

Happy Monday! Can you all believe that it's April? I feel like it should still be February! Life is moving so fast, I can't believe it! Besides time flying by, I've been super-de-duper busy! I just got my comments back from my beta reader on my current WIP. I have to fix some issues, then my WIP will get sent to my editor. I'm excited! I think y'all will like this story.

Getting to the point of this post, today's topic for Meredith's Monday Musing is: Author Newsletters!

It seems like 2017 is going to be the year that every author creates their own newsletter. I think newsletters are great because it's a way for authors to directly connect with anyone who wants to sign up for their newsletters. Authors no longer have to worry about if their posts on Facebook or Twitter will be seen by all their fans. All they have to do is send out their newsletter and boom, they can guarantee that their fans get the information they want to share.

Additionally, authors can track via their newsletter homepage what readers click on in the newsletter, how many people opened it up, etc. I think that's really cool because this lets authors know precisely what parts of their newsletter are the biggest hit with their fans and which parts aren't as successful. Therefore, authors will know what to promote more and what to maybe revamp to get readers to like it more.

I'm a part of a newsletter with two amazing authors, Maddie Taylor and Morganna Williams. It has been amazing working with them to fill our newsletter with steamy content for our readers. Plus, we all get to share the load on producing a newsletter each month, so it's nice not to have the entire burden on just one of our shoulders.

Obviously, I'm a fan of newsletters from the authors perspective. However, as a reader, I'm not as in love with them. For the newsletters that I sign up for, I do enjoy receiving them to see what some of my favorite authors are up to. One of the biggest things that annoys me though is there have been a couple of newsletters that I haven't signed up for, yet my email address was added to that person's newsletter. My email is fairly well known, so I get a bit angry when a newsletter I know for 100% I didn't sign up for, shows up in my inbox. The few times it has happened, I've messaged the individual and they've taken me off their list. It just baffles me why someone would put another person on their list if they haven't signed up for it. That isn't right.

The only other thing that frustrates me about newsletters as a reader is I wish that authors would add more content to their newsletters. I'm on Facebook enough to know when someone has a new release. So, when I get that author's email and see that their newsletter only has an announcement that they're having a new release, it makes me sad. I enjoy snippets of the story or even announcements of what the author is planning to work on next, etc. I know that's more of a personal opinion, so I don't let it get in the way of my love for newsletter too much.

What do y'all think about newsletters? Do you love 'em or hate 'em?

While I have you all, don't forget to sign up for mine. It comes out every month and has a bunch of steamy content!!

Have a great Monday, everyone!