Freaky Friday: Gettin’ in the Mood

Yes, we’re talking sex! It ain’t called Hot & Bothered for nothin’ folks! This week we’re playing a little Q & A. We pose the question, you spill all the juicy details! We do mean ALL the details. So what are we asking today? We want to know what you do to set the mood when it comes time for your characters to get their freak on. Is it a process where you surround yourself with certain mood enhancing items? Do you simply think sex and you are ready to write? Or are you one of those lucky writers, eagerly rubbing your hands together with a sinister smile on your face thinking…“Oh yeah, Sex!” with a cheesy 70’s porn track is playing in the background of your mind.  Bom Chica Bow Wow…

To show you that we play fair, we are even putting ourselves up on the block for a little sharing time, too.

MJ: Honestly, being new to writing sex, I have found that the first time it took quite a bit to set the mood, I was like a virgin nervously waiting for the inevitable hotel room trip or backseat on prom night. I am trying to find my rhythm still. Setting the mood is imperative for me to help my characters get their freak on… if I don’t, then I am prone to torturing them for days while I try to work through the scene. Lights dimmed, maybe a candle, and music are all a necessity when I try to get in the mood. Then when all else fails, I go to my movie shelf, snatch Chocolat, and settle in for a little visual stimulation with a glass of wine in hand.

Ally: It doesn’t take much to get me in the mood for writing sex. :)  In fact, I love writing the steamy scenes so much that, more often than not, I have to get myself out of the mood and my mind onto something other than sex.  The steamy stuff doesn’t always come easy, however.  Sometimes I do have to put a little effort in to get a scene just right and that’s when I break out the heavy artillery:  The perfect music–forget the mushy gushy stuff…nothing works better for me than angry rock.  My infamous smelly man candles–a little mouthwatering aromatherapy does amazing things to my creativity.  Let’s not forget the right mood-enhancing drink–a beer if I’m writing, say, on the sly, wall sex and something sweet and tangy like a daiquiri if I’m writing soft and sensual, in a bed sex.  Finally, and regardless of whether or not I’ve set the mood, I have to be alone and uninterrupted.  I can’t write sex with the kids poking their heads into the room every five minutes–that’s a total buzz kill!  This would probably explain why I usually write the sex scenes really late at night or into the wee hours of the morning.

Now it’s your turn to share!  You know you want to, so don’t be shy–lay it on us.  Then make sure you come back next week for an extra special installment of Freaky Friday.  We’re not going to say exactly what’s happening just yet, but…ehem…(whispers) it might involve a guest blogger and a giveaway.

~MJ & Ally

New Promo!

Check out Jennifer Leeland’s new release on the Promotions page!

High ~

While I wait patiently for my mother to put the wii controller down and pick up the first half of my manuscript so I can have her valuable input, I needed to do something to keep my creativity going. After some deliberation, I decided to plot out my next story. Each and every time I sit down with a new story idea, it is inevitable I will feel the high that comes along with it.  

There is a certain joy to sitting down and letting your mind toy with the possibilities, fingers flying across the keys, staring at the screen, while begging the muse not to leave you hanging. Nothing quite compares to that initial feeling of the putting the story idea on paper (except possibly when you get to write ‘the end’). I confess, there is a little indulgence on my part. Laying down the foundation for my hero is something I live for. Oh don’t get me wrong, I put as much time and effort into my heroine, but for me, the man I envision while dreaming up my hero is by far the most self indulgent pleasure I have allowed myself. Why? Um I am a writer and I live in my own fantasy world surrounded by all the licakble men I dream up…  

Ok seriously, every last painful bit spent trying to figure out how to plot my story creates a high and it’s all enjoyable for me. After weeks of feeling nothing but complete emptiness as I stared at a blank word document, it is nice to feel that again. To be excited about doing something, no matter how trivial, seems to put me on the road to honing the craft that I enjoy so much. As Ally has said before, writing is like a drug, and I just can’t get enough of it. So during those times when I am not writing, it feels as though I am missing something from my life. So, have I totally lost my mind or are there others that feel the same?  

Xoxo,

 MJ

Forget Platonic…Get Friendly

Getting Friendly by Moira McTark 

Let’s be honest now—we’ve all had a friend, maybe more, whom we’ve thought of in more than platonic ways.  Sometimes it’s just a simple, fleeting “Hmm, I wonder what if…” kind of thought and other times it’s a bedroom door locked, extra batteries on hand, full-fledged “Oh, oh, ooooh!” fantasy.

Nichole Drake has burned out more than her fair share of battery-operated devices fantasizing about her best friend and roommate, Matt Reeves.  Problem is, Matt doesn’t have a clue what’s going on in the bedroom next door—he’s too busy trying to keep his mind off of his sexy roommate with temporary, leggy, blonde playthings.  Not only is Nichole bad news in that she’s his best friend’s little sister, she’s also the most commitment-phobic person he knows—letting his libido get the best of him would certainly end in disaster.  

But, caught in a last minute bind that has the potential to ruin Nichole’s career, dependable Matt comes to the rescue.  Only Nichole’s not quite prepared for just how ready he is to help out…and, quite frankly, neither is Matt.

Moira McTark has, once again, taken a classic, all-too-real life scenario and worked her steamy magic on it.  Getting Friendly is a hot and sexy, yet heartwarming and sweet story of friendship, love, sex, and the struggle to have it all.  I was laughing and snorting almost immediately, wiggling in my seat and holding my breath in the middle, and then sniffling and reaching for the Kleenex at the end.  And there’s nothing I love more than to be emotionally engaged on all levels by a story.  Of course, the body oil and the god of love in skimpy undies probably had something to do with why I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen, too.

If you like this kind of read or perhaps you’re interested in fueling a friend fantasy of your own, click on the cover to both read an excerpt and to buy Getting Friendly.  For more Moira McTark, check out her website and her blog.

~Ally

Guilty Pleasures

Shopping! Oh yes, it is one of my guilty little pleasures! (Note I said one… I admit to having a few) As I am sure many divas can attest, shopping is what we do best (especially if it is on someone else’s dime) However, I am not going to discuss personal shopping… this is in regards to characters.

Recently, I was writing a scene that started off as a banquet. Of course I wanted the heroine to look hot, so I sent her shopping. Well, since I can’t do it in real life, splurging was totally in my vocabulary where she was concerned. Jimmy Choo, Vera Wang, Manolo Blahnik, Armani, Prada, Ferragamo… no designer was too good for my girl and she tried them all. I scoured sites for the perfect outfit complete with shoes. Not being a girl who indulges often, she deserved this moment and I was going to give it to her. My budget of course has its limits as do the credit cards, but the joy of shopping for my dear Sydney was a way to indulge with out forking over the cash. It was another way to connect with my character, a chance to live through her for a short time, and most importantly - it was fun.

Is it weird that I enjoyed ‘virtual shopping’ for my characters clothing? Maybe to some it might seem that way. Does anyone else have any odd things they do when writing? Certainly there are others out there like me that indulge their guilty pleasures through their characters. Care to share with us?

 Xoxo, MJ

Gentlemen…Start My Engines!

Well, it’s official…

The new NASCAR season is underway and anyone who knows me knows how much I luurrve racing and even more so the hotties behind the wheels of those sexy speedmachines.  Yep, you can laugh at me and my crazy crush or obsession…whatever you want to call it—I know getting pissed and screaming at my television screen when things get tense or fanning myself over Kasey Kahne or Dale Jr. in a pair of Wranglers is bit, dare I say, redneckish.  As you should be able to tell from the fact that I’m blogging about this—I don’t care.  Think me a nut or even comparable to a giddy teenager girl in the middle of the boys’ locker room.  Racing inspires me to write and that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?

While I’ve yet to sit in the stands at a NASCAR race, my husband took me to my first local about eight years ago.  Shortly thereafter, I started writing again after several years of burying my notebooks full of cheesy, romantic stories at the back of the closet.  There is just something about the adrenaline and the tension at the racetrack that gets me going.  Hoping no one gets hurt, but yet at the same time secretly willing a crash into the wall just so I can feel that exhilarating rush of both thrill and fear.  I’ll be honest and admit that being surrounded in the stands by a bunch of good looking guys, decked out in Abercrombie and smelling good enough to crawl on and rub myself all over has something to do with my excitement at the track, too.  I’m not sure why it is—perhaps the rush gets to them, too—but the men around here seem to “get their prowl on” on race nights and, despite the fact that I’m married, I won’t deny getting more than a little jazzed up myself being in the presence of and breathing in all that testosterone.  And while it might seem a bit masochist—or maybe even whorish—to keep going back for more, I can’t seem to stop…because some of my best writing has come in the wee hours of the morning after a Friday night race.

I know that sounds a bit crazy—I go to races or watch NASCAR on TV, jack up my libido, and then retreat to my computer to write—but I know I’m not the only one who does those kinds of things to get the creativity flowing again.  And as I said before, that’s all that really matters, isn’t it?  As a writer, there’s nothing more important than waking the muse and riding the wave of words that ensues.

So, I ask you…what inspires you?  Tell us about the surefire tricks you use to kick starting your creativity.  If you don’t have any and you just wait patiently for the muse to stir on her own, that’s cool, too.  Tell us if you’re a fan and if by chance there’s any driver in particular that really revs up your engines like Kasey and the decadent smelling eye candy in the stands do mine.

~Ally

Check out the Promotions Page…

…for the details on the early release of Jenna Bayley-Burke’s “For Kicks”!

Braggin’ On My Divas & Dudes…

Many have heard me talk about inspiration before, but you know honestly, there is nothing that inspires me more than my fellow divas and dudes at Romance Divas. It is a place that I honestly have no idea how I found it, but if it was a person, I would gladly kiss the ground they walked on.

The divas and dudes have created a warm atmosphere to nurture the writer within, a place to call home, to share your accomplishments, goals, and even vent your writing frustrations. It is a place to feed your soul, to sit with a cup of coffee or glass of wine, and indulge in a little time with friends. Published and pre-published writers alike abound there, beckoning the writer within to break free and be noticed. Everyone goes for the same reasons, to indulge in time with people like them. The people that carry notebooks around to jot down story ideas that come to them on a whim, or sit buried with their heads in the laptop or computer screen for hours on end, or argue with the inner voices they hear in their heads while attempting to put a story to paper.

These are the people you will find there, the people you will come to love and call your friends, the people that you will talk about as if they lived next door to you their whole lives. People you will come to love and respect because of who they are, and even more so when they put themselves on the line with their brutal honesty. Their talent amazes me and leaves me wondering at times, what makes me worthy to be among them. Don’t believe me? Hop on over to Romance Divas and find out for yourself, or visit any of the divas or dudes listed on the right. I dare you to find someone among them who doesn’t inspire you.

Xoxo,

MJ

What’s the One Thing…

My best friend and I have had many a conversation about our dreams and life aspirations (among many other things as best friends do).  Jes has always had a pretty good sense of what she wanted to accomplish in life, whereas I took a little longer reaching that point.  For example, I’m nearly 30 and am finally just now getting my act together enough to finish a college degree.  You could say I tend to go about things backwards sometimes.

I remember a very specific chat with Jes in which I was having a ‘woe is me’ kind of day, which happens a lot being a stay at home mom—I simply don’t get out often enough.  I was looking ahead to what I was going to do with my time once the kids were in school.  At the time I was only contemplating going back to school, so she and I were tossing around ideas for majors.  To help me narrow down my array of interests, Jes asked me this:  What’s the one thing in the world you would do for free?  Now mind you, it’s not feasible for me to do anything for free, but I humored her and considered the question.  Then, like bird crap falling from the sky, it hit me…

I would write for free.

I love to write.  Absolutely, without a doubt…hell, I’d even pay to write if I had to.  I’m addicted to it.  It’s like a really good drug I can’t get enough of.  Sometimes it’s hard to get the words out, but those are the moments that make the “fixes” of flowing pages all that much sweeter.  If I should die without selling a single thing that I write, I truly believe I would still go happy.  As MJ said as well, writing is my outlet.  It’s more than just a means to make money—it’s a means of living for me.  And, by that, I mean it’s what I do for me.  Some people run, some people read…I write.

So, our dreams and goals in life revolve around getting our stories on the computer screen.  What are yours?  What’s the one thing in the world you would do for free?

Kisses,

~Ally

Chasing Dreams

Starting this blog has been a real inspiration. Why? I see it as another stepping stone on my way to reaching my dream. Stop and think about how many times you have thought of that one dream you had… you know the one I am talking about. The one that got you excited, made you want to crawl out of bed in the morning, and look at the world with a renewed sense of hope and motivation. Why aren’t you chasing that dream?

Recently, I think that is a question both my partner in crime (aka Ally) and I have asked ourselves. What good is a dream if you never take the steps to acquire it? I have often held desires to be a great many things, but none pulled at me the way writing does. It is an outlet, not just for creativity, but for my heart and soul as well. It feels good to get up in the morning and know that although I have not yet achieved my dream, I am on the road to making it happen.

Dreams are meant to inspire you, push you forward, and teach you to love life. If you aren’t taking steps to make that one special dream come true, then I must ask you why? After all, what good is a dream if it is kept a secret never to be pursued? Think about it…. everyone’s dreams deserve a chance at being fulfilled, even yours.

Xoxo,

MJ