All I want for Christmas...

Is Christmas shopping as crazy for you as it is for me? I wish I was one of those wonderfully organized people who have everything sorted out by the end of November. But no, every year I am totally surprised that it's already mid-December and Christmas is coming. Oh. My. God. Need to buy presents. Now!

Panic usually sets in sometime around 10 December, because my loved ones are spread out all around the world and there's no way I could go and visit them all. So cards and gifts need to be sent off at least two weeks before Christmas to have even the slightest chance to reach their destination before New Years Eve.

Also, my family and friends never really say what they would like for Christmas. This is nice, on the one hand, because I get to surprise them and scary, on the other, because I get to obsess over what they might like, what they will probably already have and if I'm actually any good at choosing gifts.

Following two disastrously wrong choices (long story but let me tell you, I'm still cringing at the thought of the rash she got from last year's organic bath oil) I decided I'd better ask one of my best friends what she would like for Christmas this year. This resulted in an attack of the giggles on the phone (I'm glad she at least can see my failures as a source for amusement). When she could speak again, she informed me that my inability to choose appropriate gifts for her was a riot (thanks a million, dearie) and that this year she would make it easy for me by giving me a hint. I should have known that this would lead to even more trouble, but there I was actually delighted for a moment.

Until she said: "Sex toys." And there was a slight pause, in which I tried to wrap my head around the idea of giving one of my best friends, a newly divorced mother of two, a sex toy for Christmas. Images of ball-gags, double dildos, floggers and anal beads flashed madly through my mind. I almost choked at the thought of giving her nipple clamps. Not because there's anything wrong with nipple clamps. I just can't imagine her sitting under the tree with a smart 5-year-old and a very inquisitive toddler on Christmas morning unwrapping a pair of those, or an anatomically correct dildo, or ... Well, you get the image, I guess.

Needless to say, I tried to talk her out of it. She insisted. And here I am, contemplating what to buy her. I'm assuming that it should be something she could use either on her own or with a partner. And whatever it is, it shouldn't be too obvious. Because, you know, the kids will certainly unearth it at some point ant then this is what happens and your wonderful offspring begins to suspect you capable of ghastly deeds...

So, sexy, one-woman, not too obvious sex toys. Suggestions any one? These are the candidates I'm considering at the moment:

Too obvious? Too ridiculous?
What about this one?

I personally adore this one, but I'm not the one who'd have to explain the concept of the ball-gag to a 5-year-old...

So, what do you think? Which one should I buy? Or would you choose something else entirely? Help!

Oh, and speaking of Christmas prezzies. My fabulous publishers Total-E-Bound have a Christmas contest going and you can win a Kindle!

I'll be Hitting the Hot Spot on the 19th. Drop by, if you like.

Subspace Anthology - Out today

Here it is - all new and shiny with my name (and a few more famous ones) on the cover:

Get your copy at Total-E-Bound. Right now. Go ahead. You know, you want it.
(Just trying out my psychic powers on you - is it working already?).

Sunday snog special: Excerpt from "The Accidental Sub"

Today's Sunday snog comes from my brandnew story "The Accidental Sub". In fact, it is so brandnew that it will not be released until tomorrow! "The Accidental Sub" is in TEB's Subspace anthology - with five other hot stories. Here's the blurb - and don't forget to have a look at the sneak preview below.

And here's your Sunday snog special hot sneak preview excerpt:

Jon woke slowly. He had the strange feeling that someone was breathing into his face. He wrinkled his nose and his bed shook with tiny tremors. He frowned. Had the mattress just giggled? Jon shook his head slightly and opened his eyes. He realised that he was still half lying on Catherine’s soft, warm body, and that she was staring at him with her large green eyes and smiling. She had a lovely smile, Jon thought, his head still a little fuzzy with sleep.
“You will probably want to punish me,” Catherine whispered. “I know that, but maybe we could talk first?”
Jon nodded. Talking sounded like a good idea. He still had no idea what had just happened.
Catherine smiled again, and Jon suddenly wanted to kiss that lovely mouth. He leaned a little closer, and she widened her eyes in anticipation. He hesitated for the briefest of moments, then his mouth closed over hers in a sensual kiss. Oh boy, would they have something to talk about, he thought, before his tongue invaded her warm, inviting mouth to tangle with hers, and he got very much distracted.
Catherine tasted delicious, her breath a little tangy from the hot and sour dim sum sauce she had eaten. He pushed his tongue into her mouth again and again in imitation of their earlier lovemaking. When had he last kissed a woman this passionately? He couldn’t remember.
He stroked his hands over her body, caressing her breasts, her waist, then her hips. She responded eagerly to his touch, arching her body and pressing herself against him. He realised that her hands were still tied over her head. Reluctantly breaking the kiss, he reached up to free her wrists.

Want more? "The Accidental Sub" is in TEB's brandnew Subspace anthology, available at TEB from November 14th.

Want more Sunday snogs? Drop by Victoria Blisses site and pucker up for more smooches and snogs.

Release date is drawing near!

When I looked at the calendar this morning it suddenly struck me: just one more week (or seven days or 10,080 minutes, I'm not doing seconds, because I'm not THAT desperate ... yet) until the the release of TEB's brandnew Subspace Anthology, which means (drumroll in the background) only one week (seven days, 10,080 minutes...) until my story "The Accidental Sub" will be out. I don't know about you, but for me seeing one of my stories published is always a great event. It is totally thrilling, but it also scares me to death. What if nobody likes it? What if I get a bad review - or, maybe even worse - no reviews at all?
That's why I'll be trembling in my boots for the rest of the week. Trembling with a combination of fear and anticipation. Wait, that doesn't sound that scary ... Okay, I'll be over here in my little writer's corner waiting for (the) release.
Feel free to drop by and tease me ... er ... leave a comment, I meant.

Happy Halloween!

Yes, it's that time of the year again. Halloween has come around and I'm still pondering costumes. I recently acquired a black skirt and a corset (no, not the one at the top of this page but an underbust one in simple black satin) which, worn over a long-sleeved blouse, would make an excellent Mortitia Adams costume. But then, I'd have to buy a whig because I don't have the hair to go with it... Or I could wear my favourite summer skirt with a white blouse and lots of bangles and a  head cloth and be a fortune teller. Ah, decisions, decisions. There's also the option to put on ripped jeans and a dirty T-shirt and some spooky make-up. Zombies are all the rage at the moment, after all. Only somehow, I don't find them particularly appealing... 

What are you doing for Halloween? Make jack o'lanterns? Dress up in a cool costume? Have a party? Take the kids trick-or-treating? 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Soooo excited!

Do you ever count the days until a certain event? I'm sure everyone does that as a kid waiting for their birthday or Christmas. But as a grown up? Somehow along the way we seem to lose the ability to get THAT excited about anything.

Well, let me tell you, waiting for the publication of my second story with TEB "The Accidental Sub" has me counting the days (18 days! 18 days! not counting today, though, so maybe 19?) and bouncing up and down with excitement. The coolest thing about it? I'm going to be in the Subspace Anthology with Sierra Cartwright (wow!), Desiree Holt (oooh!) and Jan Irving (yay!) as well as Elizabeth Coldwell and Justine Elyot. Soooo excited!

Right. Before this gets any more embarrassing with me leaving puddles on the floor or starting to drool...

It's that time of the month again...

I'll be Hitting the Hot Spot tomorrow, writing about my problem with sudden bouts of (inappropriate) inspiration during my evil day job. Drop by tomorrow and read more!

I'll be back here soon with more on my next release "The Accidental Sub", which will come out on 14 November. So, stay tuned!