It was a dark and stormy night here in the South, and, dang, but the day was a hot one, too! The heat index topped out at 110 today–just the thought of that much heat makes me ill.

So, what’s a girl to do in this heat? Well, once she finishes up her WIP and pens the novella spinning in her head, she gets to take a few days off and enjoy some reading time.

And here are a few August releases that I’m dying to get my hands on:

1. Edge of Midnight by Shannon McKenna (because I have to read everything this woman writes!)

2. Silver Master by Jayne Ann Krentz (come on, it’s Jayne Ann!)

3. Dark Possession by Christine Feehan (I will proudly admit to being a diehard Carpathian fan)

4. Instinct by Denise A. Agnew (just found out about this one today, and it sure sounds good!)

I haven’t gotten the latest issue of the Romantic Times, so I know I’m probably missing a ton of great books. Does anyone out there have any other recommended August releases that I should put on my buy list?

If you send me an email and do not receive a response withing 3 days, please check your spam folder. I generally reply to emails as quickly as I can, but recently I’ve learned that a few of my responses have gotten tangled in spam-filtration land.

My Avon Red cover is now official! Yay! 🙂 To the right you’ll see the cover image for A RED HOT NEW YEAR, featuring my novella, New Year’s Bites. Here’s a little blurb for my tale:

While on her way to a New Year’s Eve party, Anna Summers is attacked and bitten by a large, wolf-like creature. She is saved by sexy security expert, Jon York. But Jon isn‘t quite who he seems to be, and Anna…well, she’s starting to change. The quiet, good-girl she’d been before the bite disappears, and a wild, sensual, almost…animalistic woman takes her place. The hot lust that burns through her body every moment she’s around Jon soon flares out of control. Filled with new strength and passion, Anna begins to think she may be starting the best year of her life. Yet in the shadows, someone is stalking her–waiting for another sweet bite. For Anna, the New Year that began with a blaze of passion may burn out with the dangerous rise of the moon.

For me, well, there isn’t any contest–my least favorite para creature has to be the zombie. Oh, jeez, but I hate zombies. Maybe it’s because they are depicted as being so dim-witted (or just, um, no-witted). Maybe it’s the fact that, in general, their flesh falls off their bodies as they lurch after their prey (prey that can never run fast enough). Or maybe it’s just because they eat brains. Not sexy.

Now, sure, I saw Shaun of the Dead a few years ago, and I (pretty much) enjoyed the movie. But I do not WILLINGLY make a habit of watching zombie flicks.

Now, my husband, he’s a different story. The man loves zombies. Zombie video games. Zombie movies. Zombie books. If there’s a zombie involved, he is a happy man. He even has a not-so-secret (especially now that I’m posting it on my blog) desire to make his own zombie film: Zombies from the Deep. Here’s a plot breakdown: Scuba divers find zombies in the deep–wake ’em up–zombies then storm beaches and terrorize beach goers.

Ahem. Not necessarily the movie for me, but hey–different strokes for different folks, right?

So, tell me…just what is your least favorite paranormal creature–and why?

Is it really Friday, already? Yay!!!!

Today, I’ve posted a blog entry over at the Brava Authors. I’m talking about the first romance novel I ever read–do you remember your first, hmmm?

And have you checked out the Brava Novella Contest yet? If you haven’t–then you’d better hurry! The contest officially kicked off on August 1st.