Building Castles - Kelly Jamieson's Blog

Coming soon: RULE OF THREE

2012-01-28T10:00:00.001-06:00

It's a little over two weeks until release day for RULE OF THREE so I thought I'd give you a sneak peek. Rule of Three is available for pre-order at Samhain (SALE! Only $3.85) and at Barnes & Noble, but strangely not at Amazon yet.

If you follow the rules, you miss all the fun...

Kassidy is a good girl who wants to be bad. Dag is a bad boy who is very, very good. And Chris? He likes to watch…

When wicked-sexy Dag returns to Chicago to catch up with his old college buddy Chris and meet The Girlfriend, none of them are anticipating the unexpected turn of events that switches a loving twosome into a scorching hot threesome. As old feelings resurface, and new attractions are explored, a storm of sexual sparks is unleashed that leads them into forbidden areas.

Always the good girl, Kassidy blossoms under the attentions of two loving men, but neither she nor Chris are expecting the ménage to take a quarter turn toward Dag…and his feelings for Chris. When it’s revealed that Dag’s attraction to Chris is one big reason he left town, a tangled mess of old hurts and new feelings might destroy friendship. Love. Might destroy everything.

Warning: This book contains a couple already in love, a couple falling in love and a couple in love who didn’t know it; also multiple scorching sex scenes including girl with boy, girl with two boys, boy with boy and two boys with girl...whew!

Here's the excerpt:

After a while, Dag said, “Come dance with me, Kassidy.” He set down his drink and rose to his feet. He held out a hand, and she looked at Chris, who smiled and nodded. She took Dag’s hand and followed him back to the dance floor, feeling a little like she were being led down a dark downtown alley at midnight, nerves fluttering in her tummy and her pulse leaping.

They moved to the music, a throbbing Latin drumbeat. Dag was a good dancer—of course—nothing flamboyant, but he knew how to move his body with an athletic grace. She let herself absorb the music, let it move her body, never taking her eyes off his face. When the rhythm slowed and merged into a slower song, he slid his hands over her waist, hips, around almost onto her ass. His heat enveloped her, the scent of his sultry aftershave filled her head as she slid her arms over his shoulders. Their hips moved together to the beat of the music.

Sex.

It felt like sex. Liquid heat slid through her body and pooled between her legs.

She bit her lip and looked over to where Chris sat. He’d crossed one ankle over the other knee, one arm stretched out along the back of the couch, looking so big and handsome and watching them.

Watching you with anyone would be a turn-on.

He lifted his chin in acknowledgement of Kassidy’s glance. She was almost afraid to tear her gaze away from him and return it to the dangerous man she was dancing with.

“Chris is watching,” Dag said.

“Yes.”

“He likes to watch.”

Dag knew that about him?

Their gazes locked. His hands slid lower on her hips, to just below the curve of her ass and his fingers moved. Dear god, he was pulling up her skirt. And it was short enough to begin with. Her pussy pulsed.The silky fabric slid higher, bunching a little beneath Dag’s fingers. “What are you doing?” she asked him through tight lips.

“Giving your boyfriend a show,” he said with a wicked glint in his eye.

Good Feeling

2012-01-21T12:40:00.000-06:00

I'm loving this song by Flo Rida right now.

Hockey!

2012-01-15T13:59:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I went to my first NHL game since the Jets returned to Winnipeg. I've been eagerly watching every game on television but I finally go to experience the excitement of a live game. And I had fantastic seats, in Row 2 close to the blue line. Wow. Apparently our fans are becoming known through the league as noisy and crazy. We went fifteen years without an NHL team after the Jets left. It took 20 minutes for season tickets to sell out for the next three years. Just getting a single ticket for a game is almost impossible. So yeah...the fans are crazy in love with our new team. The atmosphere in the building has been described as electric.

There were hard hits on the boards only a few feet away from us, hits that made me cringe. At that level, you can really see how fast those players move. Again, wow! They go full out, and in confined space like that, you can see how injuries happen so easily. I loved being able to see the players' faces. Defending the net, I saw the intensity on Mark Stuart's face again and again as he stared down his opponent, trying to anticipate his moves and keep himself between the puck and the net.

It was also cool to see the faceoffs from that angle, how focused everyone is as they wait for the puck to drop, and as soon as it does, how they move so fast, everyone knowing exactly where they're going. I saw the same pattern repeated several times, so these are obviously things they plan and work on.

The game started off a little slow, with not many shots for either team and I think that quieted the crowd a little. But it ended with huge excitement. Down 3-2, the Jets pulled their goalie for the extra man and banged away at the puck in front of the New Jersey net, seeming so close to getting it a number of times. The crowd was going crazy, trying to get the team going, but they just couldn't get that tying goal and ended up with a loss.

I wish my first live game had been a win, and I sure hope the Jets start winning again soon. I saw some ugly Tweets on Twitter from disappointed and disillusioned fans. Come on people! Your team can't win every game. Also, we wanted an NHL team. Nobody promised us Stanley Cup Champions. This team is still growing and we still get to experience NHL hockey in our city. It's great to be passionate about the team, but lets support them even through their losses.

Happy fun year

2012-01-07T12:50:00.000-06:00

I don't make New Years Resolutions because they're usually difficult to keep for a whole year and I always think it's just setting yourself up for failure. My husband always says his resolution is to work hard and make this year better than the last. I like that.

This year, however, I am going to make a resolution of sorts when it comes to my writing.

This is going to be my year of making writing fun again.

I think it's safe to say last year was a pretty crappy year for my writing. The fun got sucked out of writing. It got to the point where I sat down at the computer with my stomach in knots and stared blankly at the screen. I wasn't as productive. I wasn't as creative. I was miserable.

It happened for a few reasons. Some of them were beyond my control. Some things, though, happened because I let them. There were a few turning points in the year where I had to make some difficult decisions and take action, which was scary. But I did it. I took back control of my writing career. And things have improved so much.

How am I going to make writing fun again?

In this business there are so many things that are out of our control. So this year I'm going to focus on the things I CAN control. Here are things I'm going to focus on, and things I'm NOT going to focus on:

I've had a five-year plan for my writing because I wanted to retire from day job and I hoped that my writing would help support me financially. I'm now two years into that plan and I can see it's not going to happen. But that's okay. I may not be able to write full time as soon as I'd hoped, but it will happen some day, and in the meantime, I still get to write and share my stories with people. So I'm going to focus on that.

I can't control the publishing industry. I entered into this business at a time where the industry is going through massive changes. This had an impact on my "plan" and is beyond my control. I need to let go of that and go with the things I can control. At first I thought that when the economy gets better and the publishing industry settles down, there still might be hope of achieving my dreams. But now I don't think the publishing industry is ever going to go back the way it was, and I don't know what it's going to look like in the future. Maybe there will be a bigger place for me in it, or maybe not. I'm not giving up on the dream entirely, I'm just going to sit back and see how things shake out in the next few years. It may be that the dream I had just isn't realistic in this new world.

I love social networking, especially Twitter. I love all the information there is out there about writing and books and publishing. I love interacting with other writers and readers. But sometimes the world is a nasty place. There's a lot of hatred and ugliness out there. I'm tired of that. I'm tired of reviewers bashing authors any time they even talk about reviews; I'm tired of authors behaving badly over reviews; I'm tired of people who use all that negativity for their own agenda to draw attention to themselves, and thereby promote and perpetuate it.

Some of this I attribute to the Amazon phenomenon. There is so much pressure - especially on self-published authors, whose only way of promoting their books is on their own - to get reviews on Amazon, reviews which increase their rankings, which draw more attention to their books, which in turn sells more books. That's their livelihood and you can't blame authors for trying their hardest to do that. For self-published authors, I think it is safe to say that the majority of sales come from Amazon. It is HUGE. There are a lot of reviewers and traditionally published authors who don't get that. There are a lot of readers who don't understand that. It's caused a lot of conflict. Yes there are authors who have pushed too hard, reacted inappropriately. This is all new to people and people are making mistakes. But I'm tired of reading about it. All the time. People should just leave each other alone. So that is something I'm NOT going to focus on this year.

This year I'm backing away from some of the social networking. I think this will make me happier. It feels like a land mine at times, where an innocent comment can be misinterpreted and land you in a whole pile of steaming excrement. Having said that, if you want to interact with me - please do! I'm here and available through all the usual ways - email, Facebook, Blogger, Twitter. I will continue to send out newsletters to people who've indicated they want that. I will continue to Tweet about my writing and fun stuff and good news. I will try to post more on Facebook about those things. I will blog here and at the Nine Naughty Novelists and sometimes I'll do guest blog posts elsewhere. If you want to ask me a question or comment about my books, I'd love to hear from you.

I'm going to try not to focus on reviews (and I mean anywhere - Amazon, Goodreads, review blogs, review sites). This is a harder one, because every author wants validation for their writing. We all want to know if people like our work. So I have to keep reminding myself that there will always be some people who like it and some who don't. And that's okay. And I can't control it.

I'm going to focus less on promotion this year. Yes, we all want to sell more books, and reach more people with our stories. But there's a lot of stress involved in that too and it's always hard to know whether you're really getting any results. I'm not saying I won't do ANY promotion, because I will, but I'm not going to go crazy with a hundred guest blog posts with every new release and hammer-over-the-head promo Tweets about my books.

I will focus more on the fun things about social networking - interacting with people about fun and interesting things, celebrating other authors' good news and helping them share it, talking about books I love. I will unfollow people who are always negative, mean or self-righteous.

When it comes to my writing, one of the mistakes I made last year was trying to write what I thought I should be writing. So this year my focus will be on writing what I want to write. Yes I want to sell my books. But with other viable options for getting my stories out there, I'm just going to write the books I want to write and have fun doing it!

I think focusing less on the negative things and the things I can't control, and focusing more on the positive things and the things I can control will make writing fun again for me.

So I hope you'll come along with me for year of having fun writing and reading.

Stuff Your Stocking with Books at LASR

2011-12-30T08:48:00.000-06:00

Today I'm at Long and Short Reviews guest blogging with a heartwarming Christmas story and a giveaway of my Christmas novella, All I Want For Christmas (which is also heartwarming!) Last chance for Christmas promotion! Hope you'll drop by and comment for a chance to win.

2011-12-24T09:00:00.000-06:00

Ode to the male shopper

A last-minute buyer's cautionary tale

By: Doug Speirs

From the Winnipeg Free Press

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ode-to-the-male-shopper-136130363.html

Dustin Byfuglien. (CP)

Jim Slater (CP)

TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT

Evander Kane.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the mall
Not a woman was shopping, not a single one at all
The stores were jam-packed as far as you could see
With desperate male shoppers, bozos like me
The women were home wrapping, with ribbons and glue
They'd finished their shopping back in 2002

Us guys? We're just starting, to that I can vouch
We spent December napping, curled up on the couch
Now sweating profusely, with eyes all ablaze
We hunt for presents, manly zombies in a daze
Our wallets are stuffed, our credit cards ready
We'll buy almost anything: a bathrobe, a teddy

We do the same stupid thing, year after year
Put off all our shopping to eat snacks and drink beer
So now in a panic, we root through the stores
At the lingerie shops, we peer through the doors
We're afraid of lacy things, so we gaze from afar
Heck, it took us six hours to park the (bad word) car

We can't find a clerk, and they all seem so lazy
Listening to carols for months has driven them crazy
Our kids and our wives, they deserve so much better
Than bargain-bin toys, or a holiday sweater
See that jerk over there, the one crying by the door
He's clearly gone mad, he's shopped here before

But I won't give up, I'll browse till I die
My family will disown me if the perfect gift I don't buy
The kids want junk I wouldn't touch with a broom
Like, Alien Death Star or Zombie Killers of Doom
My wife isn't that fussy, it shows in her eyes
But I have no clue what she likes, or if it comes in her size

Time is running out, there are decisions to make
God help me if I repeat last year's shopping mistake
I thought it was brilliant, what I put 'neath the tree
It was the sort of present I wish she'd given to me
But apparently women do not get a big thrill
From a power tool set with a quarter-inch drill

So us guys trudge along at a very slow trot
Would our spouses be happy with Belgian chocolate?
As time ticks away, we start to grow frantic
What kind of (bad word) present makes a woman romantic?
A toaster? An iron? Some six-inch high heels?
Forgive us, we're guys, we're just spinning our wheels

What's that over there? It looks shiny and neat
That other guy wants it! His face I will beat
My Christmas spirit is really starting to sag
I haven't bought one thing; there's zip in my bag
Every guy in this mall is jacked on caffeine
We're edgy, we're angry, we're desperate and mean!

Dear Santa, please help me, I need a stiff drink
How do you do it? What's the name of your shrink?
Take a look in my eyes: They're lifeless and cold
Like a creepy Barbie doll (the last one's already sold)
We just need to buy something, we'll cough up the cash
Then out of this mall we'll (very bad word) dash

Hold on, what's that sound? I see a long line
In front of the Jets store; I pray I'm in time
My kids and my wife would love Dear Old Dad
If on Christmas Day in Jets gear they were officially clad
So I fight my way through, my elbows are high
A licensed Jets jersey I (more bad words) must buy

I think of the players, then call out their names:
"Bring me Slater and Byfuglien, and don't forget Kane!"
The hollow-eyed clerk forks over the gear
I've just paid a king's ransom for an NHL souvenir
But none of this matters; to home I must go
Sure, my gifts aren't original; I just went with the flow

But none of that matters, because I have to go far
Too bad I don't know where I parked the damn car
Still, I speak for all guys, the big and the small
We're just happy it's over; we're fleeing the mall
And you'll hear us exclaim, as we drive out of sight,
"Merry Christmas to all, this last line don't rhyme!"
doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 23, 2011 A4