January 2008 Torrid Sizzler of the Month Award!

Torrid Sizzler Of The Month Award,

January 2008!

JACKIE'S BEANSTALK

has been chosen as the Torrid Sizzler this month!

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Jackie’s dated a long string of losers and is, quite frankly, fed up with men and the whole dating scene. That is until one day when she finds an enormous beanstalk growing in her garden. Not bashful, she climbs it and finds a whole world—and one very handsome man—living at the top of it.

Should she commit to the dream man at the top of the stalk? Or should she tough it out with the men that surround her in her own neighborhood? Only Jackie can tell whether her destiny lies at the end of a giant beanstalk.

5 Angels from Fallen Angel Reviews!

"Jackie's Beanstalk by Rusty Wicks is hot, sexy and fun! ... I got such a kick out of this take on the old fairytale. Ms. Wicks has a sense of humor that makes this story shine. It is smart and witty and it has heart, too. ... Jackie's Beanstalk shows that dreams do come true and happily-ever-after isn't only for fairytales! A must read!" - Fallen Angel Reviews

Island Treasures released!

ISLAND TREASURES, BOOK 1 releases on January 1st!

Available here at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid!

An excerpt from Island Treasures:

“Please, be careful with this one. Fragile. Fra-gile. It’s fragile, do you understand?”

Abby reached for the shiny silver container and lifted it gently from the dock to the waiting arms of the muscular man who stood on the ferry.

A gold tooth glittered as he took her case and set it beside him with more care than she’d expected. Although she doubted his ability to understand English, her wide-eyed look, friendly smile and incessant head nodding must have bridged the language barrier. Either that or it was the fact that she was the only woman on the dock who didn’t have black hair, brown eyes and a mustache. That may have helped her cause—and her camera equipment.

Whatever the reason for his friendliness, Abby was grateful. She just wanted to get her stuff transported without anything getting broken. This trip was going to be difficult enough without starting off with cracked lenses. Or worse.

Hefting her duffel bag to her shoulder, she reached out and grasped the hand the swarthy sailor offered. Her hand, small and fine-boned, disappeared inside his beefy grip as she stepped onto the deck and smiled up at him.

“Thank you. Thank you very much for your help.” She smiled so broadly her face felt stretched. It was the last smile she had in her, too. Exhausted from a series of trans-global flights, she knew one more smile would lay her flat. Just one.

“You. Are. Vel… Velcome,” he said, tipping his dun-colored cap. With a quick glance at her tight jeans and blue eyes, he nodded and smiled, flashing one last gold glint in her direction before he reached up and took a mesh crate containing a live chicken from a local woman.

Carrying the metal box to the nearest empty space, she placed it on the floor beside her, dropped her bag and let her legs fold. Settling onto the hard wooden bench as gratefully as if it was a tufted velvet sofa, Abby let her head fall back and her eyes close.

She had done it. Just one more ride—a short one, even—and the journey would be over. From Pensacola to New York to London to Split. And from Split by ferry to Hvar. Halfway around the world.

Hell, I hope one of the guys is waiting for me when I get there. I don’t think I’ve got the patience to hang around on some Croatian island waiting for them to get their asses in gear and—what am I ranting about? They’ll be there. They’re going to be curious as hell—no one’s going to want to miss the fireworks, will they? Probably the whole damn crew will be waiting for me when I get off this ferry. Waiting to see what I’ll do, what I’ll say…

New Year's Resolutions?

You Will Keep Your New Year's Resolution

You planning on making a resolution that's smart, attainable, and perfect for where your life is.

Will You Keep Your New Year's Resolution?

Snowboarding

It's my new love. My honey bought me a board for Christmas and already I'm hooked. Why haven't I tried this before? Why didn't anyone tell me it's a world of fun zipping across the snow attached to a board? Huh?

Today I'm going snowboarding. What about you? What have you got planned for this Sunday afternoon? Hmmm?

I'm an enquiring mind. I need to know! *BG*

Wrapping Up

Wrapping up the old year around here. Filing things, getting my computer tuned up, straightening bills and receipts so the accountant will be pleased when I hand them over at tax time. Yes, around here it's wrap-up time. That way, I'll be set to jump right in to 2008 when it arrives.

What's going on at your house? Wrapping up?

Back to work

Yeah, I'm finally back to work. Writing, that is. I've been on a little bit of a writer's vacation, I guess you could call it, but I think now that the holidays are over I'm going to get my butt in gear and begin to work on a new story. Something hot. Something sexy. Something that makes this long, cold, snowy Maine winter speed by a little quicker. ;-)

Hope your holidays were wonderful. Ours were fab, but as I said, now it's time for me to get back in gear. You? Why don't you take a few more days off to rest, relax and spend time with the fam. Someone's got to eat all those leftovers and play with all the neat stuff Santa left, right? So have fun, live a little. This time of year only comes around once every 365 days, remember?!

Cookies, cookies, cookies!

Egads! We've got cookies every damn place. Really. Really.

If you read this blog with any regularity you know I take baking lessons so I love to bake. I get great recipes from the bakery where I take lessons and I'm always trying new things. But this year, I think I went overboard. It looks like we've been under a Betty Crocker invasion.

Tea, anyone? Hot chocolate? Coffee? And maybe a dozen or two cookies to wash down? Please?

Gloomy. Perfect for hot chocolate!

Today is one of those grey, gloomy days that come so often in Maine in the winter. I never mind them, not really. Sometimes I even bundle up and venture out to the beach on days like this. I walk and think, looking at the bits of beach glass, stones and shells thrown ashore by the high tide. Not today, though. Today is the perfect kind of day for settling in beside the fire place with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate. Maybe a movie this afternoon. A Christmas movie, yes, that's the thing!

Let it snow!

Maine is already getting pounded by Old Man Winter! I think I've discovered new muscles in the last week, just by shoveling. Who needs a gym when winter is on the doorstep? And who can get to the gym with these roads?

Actually things are pretty clear here this morning. I'm going to dash out and pick up the last few gifts and some more baking supplies before the weather takes another turn. Too, I promised I'd stop by the bakery and help make some cookies. Tomorrow I just may have a new recipe to share.

That is, if I'm not shoveling!

Happy Wednesday. Now, dash away Rusty...

Christmas In Cheyenne

Thought I'd share an excerpt from Christmas In Cheyenne. Enjoy!

Spending Christmas Eve in a remote logging cabin in the middle of nowhere wasn’t Cheyenne’s idea of a dream holiday. It hadn’t been her intention to spend her holiday in the cabin but then things hadn’t been working out as she planned for a while. Ever since she left TJ three months ago it seemed her life had been a constant series of ups and downs, with heart-stopping dips in between. The past forty-eight hours had been one of the heart-stoppingest times she’d had so far.

It had never been her plan to be in the middle of a roaring snowstorm, stranded in a barren wilderness with a strange man. But that’s exactly where she was, at least until the snow let up some. And she would have to wait for the stranger to—well, to do whatever he was going to do. He had been out cold for nearly two days now and she had no idea whether or not he was going to live or die. Cheyenne wouldn’t leave him as long as he was breathing but if he died she was leaving, snow or no snow. She had no intention of being stranded with a dead man. Men had given her enough trouble when they were alive. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what sort of issues could come up if she was hitched to a dead guy. No—if he died, she was leaving.

There were no communication routes out of the cabin that she had been able to discover. She’d checked for phone lines or some sort of radio, but hadn’t found anything even remotely familiar. The battery on her cell phone had died the day of the plane crash. Its battery had been low when she’d boarded the small Cessna but she had thought she’d be charging it in her hotel room on Oahu within hours. Now she knew she’d be more likely to charge the damn thing on Mars than in Hawaii.

Cheyenne tossed another log into the oversized fireplace and stretched, hoping to pull some of the kinks from her neck. Sleeping in an old, lumpy armchair hadn’t done anything great for her back but the only other space was the bed and that’s where she’d put the guy. Had she been sure he wasn’t going to die anytime soon she would have gotten under the covers with him. But she wasn’t sure, and wasn’t taking a chance on waking up with a corpse.

Bunking in the chair gave her a sore body and stiff back but that hardly mattered. It was a reminder she was alive.

A rustling grabbed her attention and she turned to look at the man in the bed. He was staring at her.

Cheyenne rose, conscious she had removed her bra sometime yesterday. She was busty, and her breasts jiggled beneath the loose plaid flannel men’s shirt she had found in the cupboard. She hoped the stranger’s eyes were on her face and not on her other assets.

“You’re awake.” Her voice was loud in the small space, the only other sound the snakelike hiss and crackle of the fire. “It’s good to see you awake. How do you feel?”

She reached the side of the bed and looked down at him. Now that he was awake, she was acutely aware of their close quarters. That and the fact that they were isolated—very isolated.
There was also the matter of his nakedness. It was a situation she didn’t think he had noticed yet, but sooner or later he would figure out his clothes had been removed. Would he mind? Or would he change from lamb to lion and assume she was his dinner?

“I don’t know. Kind of fuzzy, I guess.”

She reached out to smooth his hair away from the bump on his forehead. It was a gesture that came instinctively.

“That’s understandable after what you’ve been through.” She stroked his hair again, more to touch the thick, black waves than to check on the bruised lump. It looked ugly but now that he had awakened she was pretty sure it wasn’t going to kill him.

Torrid Teasers Volume 40 is available from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid. You can purchase it here.

Grinch? Or no Grinch?

Nope, You're Not a Grinch

Although you may feel Grinch-like at times, it's just because you're worn out from the holidays.You get into the holiday spirit more than most people - and you truly enjoy celebrating with your family and friends.

Are You a Grinch?

HO HO HO!!

Okay, so in Maine we're in full holiday gear. The stockings are hung, the mistletoe dangles in a number of places, and we've got cookies out the keister. I guess it helps that I take baking lessons and all year long I put aside cookie recipes that I think we should try at Christmastime. Ahh, my behind is going to be huge by New Year's!! But hey, I'm loving every minute of this!!

Snow. We've already got tons of snow. I wake every morning to the sound of the plow, and I love it. Yeah, I get a kick out of snow. Um, until February. Then I loathe the stuff. Really!

Hope your week before the big holiday season is going well. And whatever holiday you're celebrating, or not celebrating, I wish you well. At this time of the year, and any other. :)

What are you having for breakfast?

We're having Banana Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.


In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.


In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.


Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

12 Days?

For the twelve days of Christmas, your true love will send you:

Twelve punk rockers drumming Eleven marshmallows a-puffing Ten elves a-leaping Nine ladies singing Eight cows a-milking Seven rumballs a-drunkening Six kittens a-meowing Five golden coins Four calling bill collectors Three French fries Two Jesus action figures And a crazy homeless person in an apple tree

What Will You Get for the 12 Days of Christmas?

Let the games begin!

Good God in heaven, I was in the mall yesterday and it is like the wild, crazy, free-for-all version of the Olympics! I saw free falls, shot puts with packages, sprints to Santa's lap and other stuff waaaay to weird to mention!

Oh, and did I say that I had a blast?! I love going to the mall during the nutty season. Love the music, scents, sounds and signs of the season. Even love driving in snow.

Go figure.

Naughty or Nice?

You Were Nice This Year

You Were 35% Naughty, 65% Nice Okay, so you weren't *entirely* nice this yearBut Santa doesn't expect a modern girl to be perfectYou were good enough - and you'll be rewarded for it

Were You a Naughty Girl or Nice Girl this Year?

12 Torrid Days of Christmas

Availabe beginning today from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, is the sizzling hot, steamier-than-steamy volume, 12 Torrid Days of Christmas. If you like your holidays to smoke, this is the selection you've got to request to fill your holiday stocking!

Add a dash of passion, eroticism and sizzling sex to this turned-on version of the Twelve Days of Christmas! A partridge in a pear tree, lords a leaping, and maids a milking have never been so incredibly sexy! Jingle your bells and more with stories that will heat your Christmas days and nights!

Emma Sinclair, CJ England and I give a whole new meaning to the holiday story.

My stories are

Turtledoves, Meow,

A Ring and a Prayer,

Goose Steps in the Snow

and

A Dance and a Dream.

'Tis the season!

I'm so excited! It's December 1st and in our house, the holiday season has officially begun! One of the reasons I'm celebrating today is because Annmarie Ortega and I have a release over at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid. Our Torrid Teasers, Volume 40 is available starting today!

Here's a bit about the two stories:

Jack’s Frost by Annmarie Ortega

Stranded on a deserted road on Christmas Eve, a woman meets a man named Jack Frost who will change her life forever.

Christmas In Cheyenne by Rusty Wicks

When a small plane headed for Hawaii crashes in the mountains a few days before Christmas there are only two survivors. Cheyenne manages to drag an achingly handsome, albeit unconscious, man to a cabin and they settle in as a blizzard rages. Chances for rescue are slim and as long as the snow flies there’s little hope of walking out of the mountains.

But when Jason wakes the couple finds that being stranded for the Christmas holidays in a remote log cabin isn’t the worst thing that could happen to either of them. In fact, as the heat in the tiny cabin increases they realize they’re being together is a gift that is too precious to ignore.