Rainbows and Elbows

Who says you can't lick your own elbow? My daughter came pretty darn close. I don't have the foggiest idea why she was trying but I ran and grabbed the camera. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

My kids found this rainbow this evening after a round of thunderstorms moved through. It was purty. And since we just recently had St. Patrick's Day, they begged me to take them to find the gold!

Check it out!!

Seeing Eye Mate is a finalist in the Fantasm Awards for Best Werewolf Romance!! Of course I'm in there with Lauren Dane, Keri Arthur, and Angela Knight but hey, I am uber excited about it :) I wasn't even aware of the awards. Someone else had to tell me which leaves me red-cheeked. You can vote for your favorites here:

http://www.geocities.com/ctmrrsn/form2006.html

Thanks for the nomination!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things my kids want to do today (Spring Break)
Annmarie McKenna



1. Go to the Zoo
2. Go to Tumble Drum
3. Go to Chuckie Cheese
4. Go Ice Skating
5. Go to the Park
6. Go golfing
7. Go Swimming
8. Basketball
9. The Movies
10. Camping
11. the Arch
12. Play outside with friends
13. The Carousel






Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Two Sighted

My beautiful new cover courtesy of Vanessa Hawthorne :) May 8th is getting closer and closer!

Midsummer Night's Steam

MY COVER! It's lickalicious as Beth or Ally so eloquently put it :)

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons I Won't Get Any Writing Done Today Annmarie McKenna 1. My son :) Need I say more? 2. Have to create this TT and cruise others. 3. Have to take my 5 yr old to the doc. She hurt her finger yesterday and today it's a pretty shade of blue and nice and swollen. 4. Parent/Teacher conference. 5. Shopping. No seriously. I have an 8 yr old and a 2 yr old who don't fit into their warm weather clothes anymore. 6. I'll probably have to go to lunch while I'm shopping. 7. Take one kid to gymnastics. 8. Pick her up, drop the second one off. 9. Pick that one up. 10. Dinner. 11. Emails. God those suckers are addictive. 12. Can you say, PROCRASTINATION? 13. Survivor. :)Is it even on tonight? Hmm...I think it was on last night. Maybe I will get some writing done after all... Thursday is not such a good day for me. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Slash and Burn

I'm part of a new m/m blog called Slash and Burn! Come check us out now and then. I believe there will be prizes given away this week to those who comment :) Join Ally Blue, Amanda Young, Anne Cain, Barbara Sheridan, Joely Skye, Leigh Ellwood, and Olivia Lorenz as we chat about Samhain books as well as other publishers and anything else we can think of LOL! Drop by and let us know what you think, please! The first post should be up later today.

Disney on Ice--money, biting, and men, oh my!

Okay, I admit it. I took my four kiddos to Disney Princesses on Ice last night. First off, we got lost. I had directions, but the highway sign didn't say the name of the street I needed. It was more a comglomeration of "downtown" than anything. It was also the last exit for downtown so I suddenly found myself crossing the river into another state. Nice. I calmly *snort* called my hubby and asked him how to get back.

I told myself the event was all in the spirit of providing my three girls and one son a night of over-expensive fun, filled with $10 cotton candy, $4.75 bottled water, and $3.50 popcorn. Don't even mention the "toys". There was nothing under 12 bucks. While my kids begged the entire night for one of said light up tieras, wands, spinning princesses, or singing roses, I held strong. "We'll share mommy!" Pfft. My kids can't share the popcorn w/o dumping it all over the ground, how would they share a cool light up toy?

No.

So I compromised and told them I would take them to the Disney Store today so they could pick up some similiar, and much cheaper, trinket that will quickly find its way to lost or broken anyhow.

So, post biting incident between the 2 yr old son and 6 yr old daughter--the boy drew blood in front of 5000 people for God sake!--we settled in to watch the show. The first part was a scene from Aladdin. O. M. G. The guy who played Prince Ali Ababwa can grace one of my covers anyday! He had a body to die for. He needed it for all the lifts and twists they did.

The show was really good. It even entertained my 2 yr old son for the entire hour and a half. He sat on my lap for the whole thing and, aside from turning to me after each segment and saying, "Is it over?", he watched the every minute of it. And I must say, the fire breathing dragon from Sleeping Beauty was the best :)

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things To Do On A Rainy Day with Four Kids Under 8 Annmarie McKenna1. Visit the Rec Plex for swimming, ice skating, rock climbing. 2. Play games--Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Go Fish, etc. 3. Read Books--just not mommie's books :) 4. Paint 5. Get out the kids cookbook and let them make whatever they want. 6. Put up a tent and have an indoor campout. 7. Picnic on the carpet. 8. Head to the movies. 9. Tumble Drum is always a winner. For the kids at least. 10. Grab your umbrella and galoshes and join the raindrops. You know you want to... 11. Mud wrestling. Take lots of pictures. 12. Put on a fashion show. Even my 2 yr. old son loves this. 13. There's always Cat in the Hat... Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Sexy Acronym

- Annmarie McKenna's Sexy Acronym -
A is for... Appetizing
N is for... Naked
N is for... Nasty
M is for... Mouth-watering
A is for... Alluring
R is for... Racy
I is for... Inviting
E is for... Erotic

M is for... Mouth-watering
C is for... Carnal
K is for... Keen
E is for... Erotic
N is for... Nude
N is for... Nasty
A is for... Appetizing
The Sexy Acronym Generator atQuizUniverse.com

Binky Schminky

My son will be 3 in less than 2 months. He is the baby of 4 kids, the only boy. Not one of my girls used a pacifier. (they have their own thumb sucking issues, lol.) My son, however, uses a binky and carries a blanket. Aw...he's so cute. Not! It's time for the pacifier to go bye-bye. We originally encouraged the pacifier since he was born tongue-tied to help strengthen his tongue so we wouldn't have to snip it, but it's time to let go now. How? And why do I find this so hard to do?

I don't let my kids get away with not eating a meal and then snacking all day. I don't give in to my 6 yr olds massive tantrums at bed time because "she can't go to sleep". I don't buy them toys when we go to the store no matter how loud they scream. So why is it I can't throw the dang things away and be done with it?

Because he's the baby? The only boy? (oh and by the way, no one told me how different boys were than girls) Holy crap! He's such a sweetie...about 15 minutes out of the day, LOL. The rest, he's a monster. And his vocabulary is bigger than mine! Has been for more than a year. We certainly don't have the verbal issues many toddlers and parents do. I can more than hold an adult sized conversation with him. And he remembers EVERYTHING! Heck the kid's been going on the potty since he was a year and half--not potty trained because he doesn't "feel" when to go yet, but will go everytime he sits on it. He's just now in the last week started saying, "I need to go potty." Thank you, God!

So why is it I can't convince him it's time to let go of the binky? What in his tiny but vast brain won't let him give up his vice? In a few months he starts preschool. "You can't have a binky at preschool," I say. "Yes I can." Adamant little boy.

How did you do it? I've heard toss 'em and be done with it, let him scream it out. For how long? I can see this going on for days on end. I heard one mom say they gave them to the binky fairy--tied them to balloons and sent them into the sky. Only use them at night--*snort*--that's not working :)
Grr...

Tagged-Writing Meme

I've been tagged! Nicole Austin tagged me. For other authors reading this, join in, it's fun :)

The instructions: Turn to page 123 in your work-in-progress. (If you haven’t gotten to page 123 yet, then turn to page 23. If you haven’t gotten there yet, then get busy and write page 23.) Count down four sentences and then instead of just the fifth sentence, give us the whole paragraph.

This is a bit from page 23 (it doesn't have 123 pages:)) of Two Sighted. I gave a few paragraphs :)

Lord knows how many times he’d seen her off in another world but she seemed more than capable of snapping out of it in time to prevent questions. Usually. Twice Kyle had stepped in and diverted a possible disaster. Both times she’d been sitting at her desk, a far away look on her face, when someone had stopped to speak with her.

Kyle had simply strode out of his office and detoured them.

Thank God it didn’t happen on a routine basis. If it did, he’d have made a space for her inside his office, something he knew she would protest.

I tag Maya Banks! You're it :)

GO Fetch! by Shelly Laurenston

OMG. If you haven't read Shelly's Pack Challenge or GO Fetch, you have to. They are hilariously funny and sexy good reads! LOL funny. I finished today and can't wait for the third installment Here Kitty, Kitty.

Blurb:

How much trouble can one small female be to a modern-day shapeshifting Viking? Well...it really depends on local gun laws.

Conall Víga-Feilan, direct descendent of Viking shifters, never thought he'd meet a female strong enough to be his mate. He especially didn't think a short, viper-tongued human would ever fit the bill. But Miki Kendrick isn't some average human. With an IQ off the charts and a special skill with weapons of all kinds, Miki brings the big blond pooch to his knees-and keeps him there.

Miki's way too smart to ever believe in love and she knows a guy like Conall could only want one thing from her. But with the Pack's enemies on her tail and a few days stuck alone with the one man who makes her absolutely wild, Miki is about to discover how persistent one Viking wolf can be.

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, and strong violence.

Thirteen Things about me I can't stand :)by Annmarie McKenna 1. I'm a chronic nail biter. 2. I'm a slob--can't stand housecleaning. 3. One word--Procrastination 4. Tiny bit of OCD in that I can't leave the house without checking to make sure I have everything ten times. 5. After having checked items above said ten times, I STILL have to turn the car around because I forgot something. 6. Did I mention I'm extremely forgetful? 7. That I can't force myself to excercise more. 8. I say I'll do a lot of things that never get done. 9. I think the worst. Ugh. Always. My glass is half empty. 10.Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm a very forgetful person. 11. That I get very frustrated helping my kids with their homework. 12. I can't cook and I really want too. 13. That I can't say no. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Some things you never wanted to know about me :)

Okay, so here's a few facts about me you probably never really cared about. It was cute though. I got it from a good friend of mine today and decided to post it here :) Feel free to share your own answers...

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. blue jeans
2. Eddie Bauer Sweatshirt

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:
1. good personality
2. devotion

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. write
2. travel

Two of Your Least Favorite Things to do:
1. scrub toilets
2. mop

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. a jeep
2. one week alone :)

Two pets you had/have:
1. dog and cat--Emily and Hershey
2. 2 parakeets--Tweeter and Sparkle

Two things you did last night:
1. CORE critique group
2. daughter's soccer practice

Two things you ate today:
1. Quizno's
2. bagel

Two people you Last Talked To:
1. My hubby
2. My sister

Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
1. registering my daughter for kindergarten
2. taking two dd's to gymnastics

Two longest car rides:
1. Gulf Shores, Alabama
2. Virginia Beach, VA

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Halloween

Two favorite beverages:
1. Mountain Dew
2. Peppermint Mocha

Two of Your Best Qualities:
1. reliable
2. honest

Two Qualities You Look for in Another Person:
1. loyalty
2. fun to be around

Fantasmagorical

Coming July 13th, 2007!

Yep, that's right, Friday the 13th :) Bad omen? Nah. I think it's fun. Here's a blurb:

Welcome to Fantasm Island! Leave your inhibitions at the door and let your fantasies soar.

That’s what the brochure said anyway. A week long fling with a stranger. Where’s the harm in that? Take a compatibility quiz and a slew of other health tests, sign a strict privacy agreement and give license to any sexual fantasy you’ve ever had. Evan Knight couldn’t wait.

Gabe and Lance have been searching for their perfect third for what seems like forever. One look at the woman he and his best friend and lover Lance have chosen to claim during her time on the island, and Gabe thinks they may have finally found her.

But what if Evan isn’t interested in more than the fling she signed up for? Or worse, what if she can’t handle two men who are into each other too? Gabe and Lance have one week to convince Evan that the three of them belong together…and they’ll use every bit of seduction in their arsenal to make sure when the fantasy ends, their reality together will only just be beginning.

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit fantasmagorical sex, graphic language, ménage a trois, and hot nekkid man-love.

Two Sighted is coming :)

May 8th! It's moved up a week. Yay!

Here's the Blurb and a sneak peek :)

Even with her shaky past, Aislinn can’t help but to secretly want Kyle. When she witnesses his death in a vision, how can she tell him without giving away her secret or her lust?

Aislinn Campbell is a clairvoyant, the latest in a long line of first-born daughters to the previous first-born daughter. All of them have fiery red hair and a second sight. Hiding from her ex in the presence of a sexy ex-military millionaire seems the safest way to start over. Until she “sees” his death.

Kyle Turner III has been keeping a close eye on Aislinn. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about his personal assistant, including her secret and ugly past. He also wants her in his bed more than his next breath. When he receives an anonymous warning that something might happen at his annual Fourth of July bash, he doesn’t take it lightly. He knows exactly who sent the warning and he knows she’s being watched by her bastard of an ex.

After he’s injured in an accident, Kyle isn’t about to leave Aislinn unprotected for a second. He coaxes her into more than just tending to his wounds. Because making Aislinn believe in him and her together far outweighs anything her ex can dish out.

Excerpt:

(c)Annmarie McKenna 2007

Bright light from the full moon glinted off the stainless steel appliances in the immaculate kitchen. A scream echoed through the large space, drowning out the grunts and moans coming from the two men who fought near the center, arms locked in a combative embrace. The sickening thud of flesh on flesh was followed by a spurt of blood that showered the island countertop. The man dressed in black from head to toe took advantage, flinging them both to the ground with a bone- jarring crunch. He rolled, kneeling above the other man who was wearing only boxers. With a snick, the man in black flicked open a switchblade. He swung it in an arc above his head, catching the moonlight, making the metal glow. The knife slashed through the air into the bare chest of the man below and another scream pierced the kitchen’s confines.
“Yoo-hoo.”
Aislinn Campbell sucked in a breath and shook her head, trying to ward off the last vestiges of the vision that plagued her yet again.
“Are you there, hon? Earth to Aislinn.” Christina Marshall, the closest friend Aislinn had—the only friend she had—waved a hand in front of her face.
Aislinn flushed with embarrassment. Of all the times for her to have a vision—at work in front of numerous co-workers. Great. She could probably count the minutes until word got around about her freakiness. Fighting the urge to cover her ears against the memories of past taunts, she fisted her hands on the arms of the ergonomic computer chair.
Her gaze traveled from one side of the room to the other, taking everything in. No one seemed to be looking except for Chris and hopefully her friend was too busy picking on her fingernail to notice Aislinn’s momentary distress.
“So how late did he make you stay last night,” Chris asked, amusement touching her voice.
Aislinn cleared her throat. Chris didn’t act like anything weird had happened. “What?”
Chris dropped her hand and propped a butt cheek on the corner of Aislinn’s desk. She looked her typical bored self, but Aislinn could see her attention was focused on something. Her gaze darted between the bank of elevators and Aislinn.
If she didn’t know better, Aislinn might be offended. Despite her protests, Chris was seriously interested in one of their boss’s bodyguards. Aislinn hadn’t figured out which one yet. And she didn’t care. No man would ever have that kind of hold over her again.
“You know,” Chris murmured. “Last night. The meeting. How long did he make you stay?”
“Oh. That. Not too late. Seven twenty-eight.”
Chris laughed. “Not too late, but late enough you noticed the exact minute you walked out the door? Were his cronies with him?” she sneered.
Aislinn straightened the paperwork on her desk. Not even eight o’clock in the morning and already Mr. Turner had four messages. Her mouth went dry thinking about Kyle Turner III. Somehow she had to warn him without drawing attention to herself.
Right. And just how did she go about that? Please watch yourself Mr. Turner. I think someone’s going to kill you in a kitchen.
That was grounds for whacko of the century if she ever heard one. She could see her padded cell now. Either that or his cronies, as Chris referred to them, would call her an accomplice and have her locked away in a different kind of cell. One with bars.

TGIF!

My new parakeet. Okay, not mine. My hubby and I got her for the kids. They're calling her Tweeter :) Spent the first day not moving from the spot she is on this perch. The second day she started singing. The third day, holy crap, she won't shut up! LOL. Poor baby is scared to death and doesn't want anything to do with a human hand in her "home". I read the manual they sent home with us that they do better with a companion so we're thinking about adding a friend.