New Girl

Meet my new best friends:

Have you seen this ridiculously funny show yet? Because I'll tell you, I missed the boat on it for several seasons, only to recently discover it on Netflix. And then I binged on them and now I'm done and very lonely.

:(

I know, I know...you don't have time to watch another show. And you shouldn't. You should be reading. Might I suggest any of the books on the sidebar of this website? :D

But at 21 minutes a pop without commercials, this show is the perfect-sized bite of comedy and heart. And it occurred to me, as I was ingesting every episode I could get my eyeballs on, just why I love to watch.

1. Schmidt.
2. The lead character's name is Jess.
3. Nick.
4. Winston.
5. Every line Schmidt says.
6. Guest stars: Rob Reiner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Justin Long, Steve Amell, Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) from True Blood, Dermot Mulroney, Taylor Swift (I mean really, who wasn't on it?)
7. Schmidt.
8. This show is the perfect blend of sexy and funny. 

Before I go on a Schmidt fandom quote-a-thon (he's my fave if you couldn't tell)...

...let's talk about reason #6.

There are two things I love in romance: sexy and funny. I love the steamy stuff, but a bit of levity is always nice. And when you can get across a big, heartfelt emotional moment after being ridiculously funny? Well, that's a win in a BIG way. New Girl does just that. You may think Nick the curmudgeonly man-child until 

(warning: *SPOILER* below)

he kisses Jess and you literally feel your internal organs rock around in your torso. Seriously. Have you seen this kiss? It's epic. Amazing. And the fact that it's one of the most romantic kisses I've seen on the silliest show I've ever watched makes it all the more special.

Watch it. Then watch it again.

Hey, watch it a third time. No judging here. What's another :35 seconds?

(*END SPOILER*)

Love funny & sexy? Might I humbly recommend New Girl for your television watching enjoyment. Might I also not-so humbly recommend my book, Hard to Handle, book 2 in my Love in the Balance series. It's available on e-book for $2.99, and the paperback will be in a store near you in March. 

Hot, motorcycle-riding, scruffy guy is still in love with the hot, petite blonde he loved and left a year ago. Think he'll get her back? (Yes.) But he'll have a helluva time doing it...

Happy watching (and reading)!

~Jess

PS, you got some Schmidt on your face.

Jessica Lemmon writes sassy, sexy contemporary romance with a squeeze of humor. She blogs on this site on rotation with the other Sassy Chicks. You can find out more at www.jessicalemmon.com, LIKE her at www.facebook.com/authorjessicalemmon, and tweet her in 140-character bursts on Twitter: @lemmony

Interview & Giveaway with Jim Cangany

Hot WIPs & Sassy Chicks is pleased to present a follow-up interview with Jim Cangany, author of Fallen Star and Lucky Star.

Q             Welcome back. You were here last April. What have you been up to since then?

A             2013 was a busy year for me. Fallen Star, Book One in my North Star Trilogy, was published in June. I also had a short story, The Christmas Angel, published in December. Lucky Star, Book Two in the North Star Trilogy comes out in a few weeks, February 14, to be exact.

Q             A ring is featured on the cover of Fallen Star. Does it have a connection to the story?

A             Yes, a vital one. The ring is a Claddagh. Those who have read Fallen Star know the hero, E.J., is proud of his Irish heritage and the Claddagh gave me an opportunity to expand on that. I don't want to give too much away, but the scenes in which it is featured are pretty important.

Q             You're a guy who writes romance, a field in which the vast majority of authors are women. Do you have any particular insights you can share with us on that issue?

A             The number one lesson I've learned is that, in the end, it's the story that matters. If you have a well-written story with characters that readers care about, it doesn't matter if the author is a man or a woman.

Q             What's up next after Lucky Star?

A             The final installment of The North Star Trilogy, Wish Upon a Star, is finished and is scheduled to come out in October. My current project is a contemporary romance with a completely new group of characters.

Q             Favorite season of the year?

A             Fall. I live in Central Indiana, where we get spectacular colors as the leave change along mild temperatures.

Q             Sweet or salty?

A             I lean toward the salty side. I love my tortilla chips and potato chips.

Q             Dream vehicle?

A             I would love to have a 60s or 70s era British roadster. An MG or a Triumph would be beyond awesome!

Q             Celebrity you'd most like to meet?

A             Grace Potter of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. She is the real-life Cassandra Lawrence, after all!

Connect with Jim!

Website - www.JimCangany.com

Twitter - @jimcangany

Facebook - Jim Cangany Author

 

Lucky Star blurb

 

In Annie, E.J.'s found his North Star. In E.J., Annie's found someone who truly loves her for just her. Everything's great, right? Wrong! Despite their obvious feelings for each other, somebody’s intent on tearing down the foundation they've built. And E.J.’s the target. First his career is derailed. Then his reputation is sullied.

Annie’s determined to find the culprit. But how’s she going to do that when, as her alter-ego Cassandra Lawrence, she has a new album to record and a tour to plan? E.J. desperately wants to prove he’s worthy of Annie. Is it even possible when every time things are headed in the right direction, disaster strikes?

Can they figure out figure out who is so intent on driving them apart and put a stop to it before irreparable damage is done? From Northern California to New York and points in between, our lovers struggle to keep their unlikeliest of relationships alive amid joy, heartache and everything in between. But it's not until all appears lost once and for all that they learn faith--in themselves and each other--is what matters most. 

 

 

*** GIVEAWAY ***

 

Jim is giving away ONE $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter! Please comment for your chance to win. Jim will choose the winner next week.

Wondering what to comment? Ask Jim a question about RWA, his already released novel, or his upcoming novel!

 



Interview with Kendall Grey!

Hey everyone. Tamara Mataya here. Today we've scored an interview with the undeniably sassy chick, Kendall Grey! 

If you're not acquainted with her sexy Hard Rock Harlots series, RUN out and grab them. Warning - they're not for wimpy prudes.

1. Unlike STRINGS, and BEATS, NOCTURNES is dual POV. What prompted the change in format? Do you prefer single or dual POV?

All of my urban fantasy books have multiple POVs--like a TON of them. HAHA! So, writing in more than a single first person POV was easy for me. I'm not sure which one I prefer, but I really like being able to get inside more than one character's head in a book because I think it makes the characters more multi-dimensional. STRINGS and BEATS were all told in single POVs, and I felt that worked for Letty and Jinx. But I knew people HATED Rax with a passion after BEATS (I kinda did too, the stupid bastard!), so I had to find a way to show he wasn't as bad as he seemed. Getting inside his head allowed me to do that. Also, readers knew next to nothing about Eve going into NOCTURNES, and I wanted to give her a fair shake too. Hence, the dual POVs. It was a risk veering from the status quo on this series, but I can't imagine Rax's and Eve's story any other way.

2. As a musician and synaesthete, music and sound tend to bleed into my manuscripts. Are you a musical person IRL as well, or is the music industry just something that appealed to you to write into the HARD ROCK HARLOTS series?

I was in band all through grade school, and I sang in a couple of rock bands in high school and college. Other than that, I don't have any training or insider knowledge about the music business. I've always LOVED music though, and with a little research, I was able to write about what it might be like to live on the road with disgustingly hot (and horny) musicians. HA!

3. I have a book about an up-and-coming (pun intended ;) ) band, and I also include the band's song lyrics in parts of the book. Do you write the songs first, and work the manuscript around them, or write the book first, and find lyrics for the songs later?

Some of the lyrics in NOCTURNES were ones I'd written ages ago for another project. I didn't get to use them for that book, but I always save ideas like that. Never know when you might need them! In addition to the saved lyrics, I also wrote some songs along the way when I got to a place in the manuscript where I thought I needed lyrics. I think some of them are kind of lame and cheesy, but they serve their purpose. And it's fun pretending to be a rock star. :-)

4. Which character's POV has been your favourite to write from?

In the Hard Rock Harlots series? Probably Letty's. She's just balls-to-the-wall insane. Crazy. Funny. Filter-less. Smart when she needs to be. She has a way with words I think many of us wish we could emulate, though we'd probably get in big trouble for it. HA! Rax's POV was fun too because he was drunk most of the time. I kept asking myself, "What would a hot, drunk rock star say here?" Yeah. Good times. :-)

5. If you could use the force and BAM everyone suddenly GETS one thing about your writing, what would it be?

Wow, that's a great question. In real life, I tend to think in metaphors. When I'm involved in a face-to-face conversation, my wheels are turning, and I'm comparing everything the person says to something else in order to make sense out of it for myself--relating what they're saying to my own life experiences helps me assimilate what they're saying. Some readers don't like that I use a lot of similes and metaphors. I'm not sure if my analogies don't make sense to them, or they're too over-the-top, too complicated, too off-the-wall…? I just write the same way I think, I guess. Not sure if that's good or bad.

6. You can save the life of *any* fictional character. Who do you choose, and why?

I don't read much at all, so I don't really know a lot of fictional characters aside from my own. Dr. Zoe Morgan from my JUST BREATHE urban fantasy trilogy is the person I wish I could be. She's a whale biologist (I LOVE WHALES SO MUCH!) with some...issues. She's smart, determined, and fiercely loyal despite her flaws, and I just love how strong she comes across (at least in my mind). And did I mention her "hero" is a hot Australian rock star with Elemental and super dream powers? Yeah, that might have come into play in my choice. Just a little. ;-) But…WHALES!

7. Are you working on anything new that's blowing your hair back? We love a good tease. ;)

I'm working on a short story for an anthology with several KICKASS authors. Not sure when that will be out, but it should be in the next few months. I also have four Hard Rock Harlots shorts planned for 2014, along with a stand-alone contemporary romance (NOTHING like my other stuff), a 5-book JUST BREATHE spin-off series, another possible contemporary series, and (don't laugh) a Middle Grades novel I hope to write with my ten-year-old daughter. Needless to say, the next couple of years will be very busy for me!

One of my favourite lines of yours, is from Rax's song in NOCTURNES. 'Your eyes close but it's me who dies.' Guess that's not a question, just a fangirly moment. :) Your work is SO MUCH MORE THAN 'smut' and I just wanted to say I enjoy the shit out of it.

Thank you so much. These books are much more than smut to me too, but some don't see it that way. To each her own. We all forge our own meanings from art, and some things are more relevant to individuals than others. Interpretation is a beautiful thing. That's why it's called ART. :-)

 Kendall Grey is the self-appointed past, present, and future president of the Authors Behaving Badly Club. A whale warrior and indie freedom fighter, she spends summers in the corner (usually with a dunce cap on her head) and winters hunched at the peak of Mt. Trouble, fiery pens of fury (complete with invisible ink) flying across the pages. She has a big set of cajones, and she's not afraid to use them. In her spare time, Kendall speaks your mind so you don't have to.
Kendall lives off a dirt road near Atlanta, Georgia, but don't hold that against her.
Experience her questionable antics at kendallgrey.com.

Sassy New Year!

Happy 2014! Wow, it’s here. Can you believe it? Here's some of the fun stuff that happened to me in 2013:

January

·         My debut, Tempting the Billionaire was published in January by Grand Central Publishing.

·         I had a launch party (and reading) to celebrate the release of TtB with 50+ of my closest fam & friends.

May

with Kathy Love

·         I attended my first Romance Times Convention in Kansas City, MO. I hung out with my agency sisters and made a new bestie in Maisey Yates whom I’d hung out with on Twitter for 3 years but had never met. So we roomed together (natch) along with Teri Anne Stanley in our haunted hotel room (to be fair, the entire hotel was haunted). I also met my agent, my editor, author Kathy Love whom I’ve loved forEVAH. And E.L. James of Fifty fame.

with E.L. James at RT 2013

"Jess, Enjoy my manwhore <3 Maisey Yates"

June

·         I attended my second Lori Foster Reader-Author Get-together and even had a seat to give away bookmarks and buttons. Met so many fantastic authors, including Charley Davidson seires fave: Darynda Jones

·         I turned 29!

·         Again!

September-December

·       Can’t Let Go (novella prequel to Hard to Handle) released in September, and we got to get up close & personal with Aiden and Sadie rather than just seeing them in the background of Tempting the Billionaire. (Side note: my head may or may not have nearly exploded from how difficult that timeline was to construct.) O__O       
  

·         Hard to Handle (eBook) released in October. Aiden and Sadie + Sexytimes = happy readers. :-)

Hard to Handle

·         IF YOU DARE, also known as my haunted house romance released in November and the world meets smexy Marcus.

Smexy Marcus

·         A week later, Tempting the Billionaire went to paperback! Shane August, in the pulp!

·         My first REAL signing! The Romancing the Holidays happened in Ohio with fellow romance authors Jules Bennett, Macy Beckett, Toni Blake, Tonya Kappes, and more. (Not that I’m name-dropping.) Lori Foster. (I’m totes name-dropping.) Copious pics available by clicking HERE, if you're into that sort of thing.

·         Attended an author/reader Christmas party at Lori Foster’s house.

So…what’s ahead for 2014?

·         Another signing with Lori Foster & Co. in February.

·         Hard to Handle goes to paperback in March.

·         New Orleans Romance Times Convention in May.

·         The Millionaire Affair (book 3, Landon’s story) goes to eBook & paperback in June.

·     Also in June, I'll turn 29! Again! 

·         MORE books in the works…stay tuned for the continuation of the Love in the Balance series PLUS brand new, sexy heroes.

AND, I’m going to eat healthy and exercise. But who cares about that, right? Bring on the sexy heroes!

WHAT ABOUT YOU? What awesomeness happened to you in 2013? Or, if last year was a bust, what are you looking forward to experiencing in 2014? DO TELL!

Happy New Year!

Jess :-)

Jessica Lemmon writes sassy, sexy contemporary romance with a squeeze of humor. She blogs on this site on rotation with the other Sassy Chicks. You can find out more at www.jessicalemmon.com, LIKE her at www.facebook.com/authorjessicalemmon, and tweet her in 140-character bursts on Twitter: @lemmony