I had to know...

It's 60% Love and 40% Lust

You and your guy are hot for one another, but you've also got a bit of a love thing going on.

Are Your Feelings For Him Lust or Love?

Just because I love it

I love this cover!!!

100th Post!

Hard to believe this in my hundreth post! This whole sensual romance writing journey has pretty much taken me by surprise but I'm learning, settling in and having fun with it. I hope my readers are enjoying themselves as much as I am.

Here's to the continuation of a journey, and the next hundred posts!

Baking Lesson

My true love, baking! I had my baking lesson today with the local baker. It was cool, a day that felt almost like fall, so it was perfect for baking. Here's a recipe for you to try at your house!

Breakfast Bread

Bread:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Topping:
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add vanilla, milk and egg. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. Sprinkle topping over top before baking.

Place in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

I love Tully!

I'm so excited! Celtic Love Knots, Volume 4 is out at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid! I love Celtic lore so writing Taming Tully and Maidensong were truly labors of love. I hope you'll go check it out!

Here's a taste of what you'll find inside the pages of CLK4:

Taming Tully is a story filled with pookas, cluricauns and fairies—but it’s also filled with love. When Maureen meets Sean she promptly forgets all the strange things that have been happening to her since her arrival in Ireland.


An excerpt from Taming Tully:

“What are you looking for, Maureen? What is it that’s got you in such a state this fine morning?”

“My colored pencils…they’ve gone missing.” Maureen dropped to her knees and looked beneath the chintz sofa, assorted armchairs and knick-knack covered tables in the room. She didn’t see the expensive pencils anywhere.

Damn. Yesterday it was my red bra, today it’s my pencils. What the hell is going on in this place, anyway? How can anyone live where things disappear on a daily basis?

Maureen stood up and looked down to where her aunt sat, nestled on the sofa like a kite tethered to a tree. She seemed small and frail, as if a gentle breeze could lift her up and away. But despite the nearly translucent cast to her wrinkled face, Aunt Tess looked better than she had yesterday. And that was the point, wasn’t it?

The elderly woman had just gotten past a vicious bout with pneumonia. Since there was no one else in the family who could tend her during her recovery…well, Maureen found herself in Tully before she knew that the family whirlwinds had even convened.

She reached down and tucked a brightly patterned green quilt around her aunt’s shoulders.

“Have everything you need, Aunt Tess?”

When the woman nodded her cap of white curls and smiled up at her, warmth flooded Maureen’s heart. She knew that coming to Ireland had been the right decision. After all, putting her life on hold for a month or so wasn’t the most terrible thing in the world. It wasn’t as if her life had been going that well, anyway.

“I do, dear heart. Going for a walk in the glen, are you? That’s good, then. Don’t forget to take your jacket. It’s a stiff wind I’m feeling in my bones.”

Aunt Tess sipped from the ever-present delicate Beleek teacup before setting it on the table beside her.

“You sure you don’t need anything?” Maureen’s gaze passed over the table holding the tea things. She did a quick mental inventory to see that all of her aunt’s needs were spoken for.

“No, don’t worry a bit about me. I’ve got my e-reader, you know.” The elderly woman held up the small silver device and grinned. “Today I’ve a Maeve Binchy. What else could I need? Tea and Maeve on an afternoon…I’ve got it all.”

“I won’t be too long, then. Love you.” Maureen planted a fast kiss on the white curls.

“Don’t forget the jacket,” called Aunt Tess. “And mind the pookas, you hear?”

Scorching Summer!

Have you read this yet? I promise, this is one hot volume of stories. It's getting great reviews and since I've read it I can personally vouch for the readability of all the other stories. Oh, yeah, there's one story in this called Vows that I'm pretty attached to! ;)

4 Hearts from Love Romances:

Valerie said...

"...This is a very entertaining anthology with some really good stories that are different and fun. Fans of the paranormal should enjoy this one. Just the right thing to take to the beach, as it is also available as a paperback. This reviewer did find some of the stories a bit weaker than others, but overall, this selection held this reviewer’s interest and it was a fun, exciting read. Each author gives the reader some really interesting characters, intriguing plots and plenty of hot sex. There are vampires, wizards, witches, elves, demons and ghosts. The reader, if reading by the beach, will certainly need to go take a dip every now and then.

This reviewer particularly liked Conjuring Cade, Vows and A Taste of the Forbidden. These three stories are very well written, exciting and Conjuring Cade had this reviewer laughing out loud. Anthologies are a wonderful way of getting to know new authors and how they write. This reviewer has added some of these authors to her *watch out for* list and will be eagerly awaiting new releases as well as looking at their back list. Summer Solstice Scorchers is an anthology well worth the investment and this reviewer hopes that the reader will enjoy it as much as she did."

I had to know

You Are 44% Bitchy

Generally, you're an average woman, with average moods. But sometimes... well, watch out! Sometimes, you let your mean side get the better of you. And you enjoy every minute of it.

How Bitchy Are You?

Holiday Fun

Having a party at my house today. Swimming, horseshoes, grilling, family and friends. Thought I'd share a few of the recipes from the upcoming fun. Enjoy! And I hope you've got a safe, happy Labor Day planned!

grilled shrimp

4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
skewers

Stir together all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill for an hour.

Thread shrimp onto wet skewers, piercing once on each end. Discard marinade.

Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

kid-friendly sweet potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes, sliced
1 apple - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 t. cinnamon
2 T. granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter

Combine all ingredients except butter. Divide evenly onto four pieces of aluminum foil. Top each with an equal amount of butter. Tightly seal foil around each portion.

Place foil packets on the grill, and cook 40 minutes, turning every 5 to 10 minutes, until potatoes and apples are tender.

aunt jane's peach ice cream

2 1/2 pounds fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and chopped
1 cup sugar
1 pint half-and-half cream
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole milk

Puree peaches with the sugar and half-and-half in batches in a blender or food processor.

In a gallon ice cream freezer container, combine all ingredients. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to freeze the ice cream.

aunt tippy's cookies

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
4 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two cookie sheets.

Cream the sugar with the butter. Add the baking powder, eggs, milk and flour. Mix until combined.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Place cookies on the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake until lightly browned

September 1st releases at WCPT!!

Hi everyone! Happy September 1st! Hope you're all having a great holiday weekend. I'm supposed to be grilling hot dogs right now but I thought I'd just pop in really, really fast and say hello.

I've just been over to the WCPT site and taken a good long look at the new releases for September. Woo Hoo!! Now that's a lovely lineup of covers! And the stories sound hot, with lots of choices so that everyone seems destined to find something to their liking.

I've got to say I'm loving the Celtic Love Knots covers, not just because mine is this month's selection, either. I mean, that cover is just so perfectly attuned to the sort of stories it holds each month. This month Taming Tully and Maidensong will hopefully entertain readers, and do justice to the beautiful cover. Fingers crossed!

September's selections are all exciting and all look perfectly fabulous. I think I may just have to begin reading them today, and work my way through the list, LOL. I mean really, who can resist? Especially with titles like

Tarot Card Anthology: Book 1,

The Peacekeeper Journals II: The Gates of Life,

The Bride Wore Boots,

Cindy Revisited,

Loving Gabriel,

A Slave's Way Out,

Bird in a Gilded Cage: The Myth of Mirabella,

Men of Alaska: Heart of the Storm,

Torrid Teasers Volume 34:Can't Walk Away/Captive Audience,

Torrid Teasers Volume 35: Treasure/Black Angel, and

Celtic Love Knots 4: Taming Tully and Maidensong.

Whew! So much to read, so little time! Oh, that's right--I've got a whole month's worth of interesting reading right at my fingertips, don't I?

Best get cracking. First, back to my grill...

See you in September!

September 1st my Celtic Love Knots, Volume 4 is being released from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid. I am so excited about this release. Taming Tully and Maidensong were fun to write, especially since they deal with a topic I'm very much interested in--Celtic lore. I hope you'll check the CLK4 out. It's getting rave reviews! :)

And now, a short excerpt from Maidensong. Enjoy!

“Interested in Pictish symbols, are you?”

The voice startled her. It came from directly behind her and she whirled around so quickly that she became off-balance. Her body tipped and she banged her shoulder into the ten-foot-high pink granite stone she had been examining.

“Shit!” Dianne cried as she grabbed her shoulder. Stars danced behind her eyelids as the pain raced through her body. When it subsided she opened her eyes.

The owner of the voice was tall and handsome in a rugged sort of way. His hair fell in full ebony curls across his brow and his eyes were a deeper, richer green than the lush grass that they were standing on. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular body and wore the outfit of every hiker in the Scottish highlands: jeans, a woolen sweater and hiking boots. His sweater was a deep loden green that matched his eyes.

“Didn’t mean to scare you. Are you all right?” He leaned closer to where she stood, rubbing her shoulder, and looked into her eyes with such intensity that she wondered what he was doing.

“Do I look all right?” she asked, scowling. “And what are you looking for, anyway?”

He pulled away from her and smiled. When he smiled it was as if the sun dimmed, she was so overwhelmed with the way his features moved on his face.

Handsome when you’re serious, Lord-have-mercy gorgeous when you’re smiling.

“I was looking to see whether or not you had a concussion,” he answered. “Apparently you do not.”

“I smacked my shoulder, not my head. And what were you doing, sneaking up on me like that? Did you try to scare me half to death?”

He tilted his head and a lock of black silk fell across his eye. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you at all. And I wasn’t sneaking up on you, either. I didn’t try to conceal myself in any way.”

“So what, then? What were you doing if you weren’t trying to scare the pants off me?” She stopped rubbing her shoulder and stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

“I was merely trying to meet you, that’s all. It’s not every day I find a beautiful woman at the Maiden Stone,” he said. He surveyed her the way she had examined him. When his eyes met hers again he grinned. “And I did not say I wasn’t open to getting your pants off of you, mind.”
He waggled his eyebrows rakishly and, coupled with his thick Scottish accent, the effect was hilarious. She threw her head back and laughed out loud, a sound that reverberated through the trees at the edge of the clearing.

“Fair enough. Hard way to meet someone,” she said.

“Ach, I did not say anything about hardness, either,” he answered with a grin. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Cabe Pitts, and you’re…” He let his words trail off as he lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head, his intention obvious.

What have I got to lose? A handsome man appears out of nowhere in a romantic spot and wants to know my name – how did I get so lucky? So what if he’s broken my shoulder first.

“Dianne Tomes.” She put her hand out to him and when he surrounded it with his big one she felt a distinct jolt. Her nerves tingled and her nipples puckered beneath the thick sweater she wore. And she felt other slippery sensations, too. She rubbed her thighs together as she let his hand go. “Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure, fair Dianne, is all mine. So, what are you doing here, in this magical spot? What brings you here?” Cabe leaned against the mammoth stone and crossed his arms. She saw his muscles tense beneath his jeans as he crossed his legs at the ankles.

This guy is hot. Who knew Scottish men could be so rugged? But where’s his kilt? I’d pay to see his legs!

“The Maiden Stone, of course.” Dianne ran a hand across the cool granite, touched her fingers to the carved symbols. “I read about it and decided to look for it when I visited Scotland. I’m staying at the Inverurie Inn for a few days, so here I am.”

She realized she was babbling but felt powerless to stop it. He grinned at her as if he knew it, too. She wondered if he had this effect on every woman he met.

I’ll bet you drive all the women wild, Cabe. And I’ll bet you know that you’re doing it, too.

“You’ll know, then, the legend of the stone,” Cabe said. He looked at the Celtic cross above his head with a serious expression on his face. “You’ll know that this stone is the result of a wish that was granted. It’s said that any wish uttered here will come true—eventually.”

“I’ve heard that,” answered Dianne. “This is the spot where a beautiful maiden met a handsome young man, isn’t it?”

“Aye.”

“And that handsome man pushed her into making a bargain with him,” she said.

“Well, I canna say for sure that he pushed her. It’s quite likely that she stumbled or fell but yes, a bargain between the two was struck,” said Cabe, nodding his head.

What sign is he?

You Should Be With an Air Sign!

Your best match is a Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius Why? You crave excitement and playful banter Only an Air Sign can match your wit - and keep you on your toes As for fun, an Air Sign guy will show you plenty? with tons of surprises Just be sure to introduce him to some new playful experiences as well!

What Sign Guy Should You Date?

Jackie's Beanstalk cover!

OOH, I just love this cover! Really, truly love it! So much fun, so sexy and pretty, too!

Just to celebrate the new cover, I'm going to post a small, early excerpt from Jackie's Beanstalk. Enjoy!!

His tongue slid wetly along the gentle slope of her neck as his mouth moved lower to nip her collarbone. Her skin warmed as his tender mouth touched her body with tiny kisses that were more whispers than touch.

As his lips circled her hard nipple, pulling it into his heat and stroking it with his tongue, she arched her body, pressing herself to his touch. She felt the delicious sensations, the tingling that began somewhere deep within her and would spread—she knew—to enfold her fully. She longed for the feel of his touch lower...much lower.

A moan escaped from her body. It was a long, long sound filled with remembrances of passion shared and the promise of delights yet to come.

When his mouth danced along the flat planes of her abdomen, traveling toward what could only be—

* * * *

“Shit!”

She felt the tremors fill her body as the riding mower bounced off the trunk of a spreading maple. Her jaw snapped shut, trapping her lower lip between her teeth and she tasted blood.
It took only a second to back the John Deere from its position against the tree, about the same amount of time that it had taken to collide with the maple. She climbed off the machine and strode to the front of the little tractor. There were scrapes in the green paint and a good-sized dent in the front by the right tire.

“Shit!” She swore out loud as she left the tree behind and headed for the rest of the large yard. Swearing out loud on a hot July day didn’t seem particularly unusual. After all, there wasn’t anyone to hear her, anyone to mind whether or not she swore or sang church hymns.

Jackie Wallace lived alone in the large farmhouse that had been her parents’ home. When they moved to Sarasota they left Jackie the keys to the house, the keys to their old Caddy and the key to the cupboard where they stored the economy-size bags of dog food for their old dog, Lady. Jackie’s parents had been gone for a year and Jackie and Lady were falling into a lifestyle that, if not exactly adventurous, was at least comfortable.

She’d been especially thankful for the house—and Lady—to come home to when her boyfriend of two years tossed her out of his townhouse. He said he needed to “find himself” when in actuality what he planned to find was the recently divorced woman who had purchased the townhouse adjacent to his.

Jackie knew she had to stop thinking about Troy. It was driving her crazy, thinking about him and the things they once did together. Besides, if she hit that damn tree too many more times she was going to kill it. And what would she tell her father when she spoke with him on the phone? “Oh, by the way, I killed the tree you planted when I was born. How? Oh, I keep smashing into it when I mow the lawn. Why am I crashing into the tree? Oh, I just keep thinking about Troy and his incredible lovemaking talents, that’s all.”

Yeah, I’d better keep my mind off of Troy—his tongue, his cock, his talents—all of it, thought Jackie. It was too dangerous to think about him when she was—

“Shit!”

Jackie looked over the dented front fender of the tractor. If she stood up in the seat and stretched her neck out far and to the left, she could just make out the edge of what remained of her mailbox. But just barely.

* * * *

“I don’t think so, Kerry,” said Jackie. She reached down to scratch Lady’s silky fur. The dog was lying on her foot but she didn’t have the heart to move her. “I think I’m just going to stay in tonight, channel surf and see if I can’t find a good old movie to watch. Something romantic. Something sappy and a perfect match for a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough. Thanks anyway.”

She listened to the conversation from the tiny cell phone and scowled. Her best friend could be infuriating at times, but especially so just after a break up. Kerry was in a secure relationship with a guy who would move heaven and hell to make her happy. What did she know about being single?

“No, you’re wrong. No, I am not hiding at home. There are just no single guys that interest me, that’s all. You’ve been parading losers past me for a month. I can’t take it anymore. No, I don’t want to go to The Dugout. What does this guy look like anyway? The last ‘friend’ of George’s was practically a midget. No, don’t even go there. The guy stared at my nipples all night like a baby at a nursing mothers convention. Remember?”

Jackie grimaced as she heard Kerry’s justification of the last man she and George had foisted upon her. They were spoken so loudly Lady’s ears perked up.

“Um…yeah. All right. But after this one, we’re paid in full for that whole thing, all right? You can’t expect me to pay forever for something that happened when we were seven. Fine. What time will you be here? Fine.”

Jackie slapped the phone closed with a sigh. Then she gazed at the dog.

“Sorry, Lady. You’re on your own tonight, but I’ll leave you the Cookie Dough. Just don’t touch the Mint Chocolate Chip—that one’s mine!”

Hot Summer Nights excerpt...

In September the anthology Hot Summer Nights will be released from Liquid Silver Books. I'm thrilled to be part of this volume with talented authors Bonnie Dee and Jayelle Drewry. It is a hot, sexy trio of stories that is sure to heat up any night--or day!

My story is titled Sun Kissed. Here's an excerpt:

“Bess?”

Her eyes flew open, and she sat up straight. Exposing her breasts to his view didn’t startle her as completely as the idea she may have let him glimpse her dream.

Nonsense. She had been asleep. He couldn’t know what was going through her mind. Could he?

Bess shook her head to clear it. Forcing herself to concentrate on Clay’s words wasn’t easy. Although she was conscious, her body was still highly aroused.

“I’m sorry to disturb you. I ... I knocked, but there was no answer,” Clay said. His eyes dropped, and his gaze lingered on her breasts. When he spoke again, there was a smile on his face. “I didn’t mean to bother you while you were bathing, but I hoped to speak with you. If you’d prefer I return later...”

“No, you can stay. But I don’t think I can talk with someone who’s fully dressed while I’m naked. If you’d give me a moment...”

“I could disrobe.”

The words hung in the air—but only for an instant. Perhaps the erotic dream had lowered her inhibitions, because despite her earlier doubts about being intimate with Clay, Bess nodded. Her pussy tingled in anticipation. Clay pulled his shirt over his head, unzipped and pushed his shorts and swimsuit down, and stepped out of them so quickly it made her smile.

“May I?”

Celtic Love Knots, Volume 4

September 1st is the release day for Celtic Love Knots, Volume 4 from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid! I am beyond thrilled about this release. I had such a blast writing the stories for it because they involved a bit of research into an area that I'm very much interested in--Celtic lore. Maidensong and Taming Tully are getting rave reviews!

Marlene at Fallen Angel reviews said..

"I loved Celtic Love Knots, Volume 4 by Rusty Wicks. This is a small volume that is big on entertainment and I had too much fun reading it!...Maidensong is clever, and fun, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Dianne’s internal dialogue is wonderful and the reader gets a true glimpse into the mind of this character. The plot is fast paced and well written. ...Taming Tully is sharp and witty, with a twist at the end that made me laugh out loud. It was a mystery of sorts, with romance and humor thrown in as well. The writing is clear and concise, and vivid enough that I felt I could see the whole picture before me as the story unfolded. The premise of this story is enchanting.Kudos to Ms. Wicks for a perfectly wonderful read!" - 5 Angels

Brandywine at Enchanting Reviews said...

"I was enthralled from beginning to end!" - 4 Enchantments

Baking? Nuh uh!

Baking lessons? Today, when it's a gazillion degrees in the shade, even in cooler-than-most-other-spots Maine? Nuh uh, not me! Sorry! If you're here looking for a scrumptious recipe then I'm going to disappoint you. Again, sorry! But really, I just couldn't face the hot bakery ovens today. I just couldn't!!

Instead, I hit the beach. Now, that's more my style for a sweltering Friday afternoon. Lying in my beach chair, a copy of a new romance open in my hand and a tall glass of--well, you'll just have to fill that in yourself. Hey, some info is private! ;)

Hope you're having a wonderful Friday!

~Rusty

Monday Fun

Ah, I love a man in a kilt...

In Scotland, the most important time for a young lad is when he "comes of age" and is allowed to purchase and wear his first kilt.

A young lad went to a tailor shop and found the material he wanted for his first kilt. He took the material to the tailor and said, "I'd like ye to make me a kilt with this material here and, if ye don't mind, I'd like ye to make me a pair of matching underwear for it. I hear it gets a might drafty up dem tings!"

So the tailor took the material and promised to call the young lad when the order was completed.

A few days later, the tailor called the lad back to the shop. "Here's ye kilt, and here's ye matching underwear, and here's five yards of the material left over. Ye might want to take it home and keep it in case you want anything else made of it."

The lad rushed home with his order, threw the material in his room and donned his kilt. So pleased, he decided to run to his girlfriend's house to show off his new purchases. In his excitement, he forgot to don his underwear.

When his girlfriend answered the door, he pointed to his kilt. "Well, what do ye think?"

"Ah, but dat's a fine looking kilt," she exclaimed.

"Aye, and if ye like it, ye'll really like what's underneath," he boasted, lifting the edge of his kilt.e

"Oh, but dat's a dandy!"

Still not realizing he didn't have his underwear on he nodded. "Aye, and if ye like it, I've got five more yards of it at home!"

An 86 from Mrs. Giggles

I'm still smiling over the fact that Mrs. Giggles gave my latest release, Timing, a score of 86!

"...Timing is more women's fiction than romance if we want to classify it as something because this story deals with Lisa trying to determine what the "right" thing to do is rather than a romance story of sweetness and sunshine. Tom is from all appearances a perfect catch - she likes him, he's gorgeous, he has a stable career, and he adores her. Is it "terribly selfish and immature", as Lisa puts it, to resent him for his inability to give her an orgasm and his turning sex into something she's come to dread? And oh god, he wants to do it all the time... " --Mrs. Giggles

Friday's Baking Lesson

Just a quick blog post. Wanted to share one of this week's baking lesson recipes. Thankfully I love beach walking with the dogs or my behind would be huge from eating so many yummy treats!! Enjoy!

Berry Bundles

1 cup softened butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Glaze:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Cream butter and sugar together. Add extract. Gradually add flour. Cover and chill dough for one hour.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Make an indentation in the center of each ball, then fill with jam.

Bake at 350°F degrees for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Combine glaze ingredients, and drizzle over cooled cookies.

The Mead Steed, Timing--All Good!!

Just such a happy time for me. The Mead Steed has been in the "Hot Titles" top ten list since it's release on August 1st. Please go on over to Whiskey Creek Press Torrid and take a peek. Irish Eyes is on sale this month, so it's a good time to pick both up!! *hint, hint* ;)

Liquid Silver Books' Homepage still has my latest release, Timing, there for all to see. I love that cover, loved writing it and I'm hoping readers will really enjoy Lisa and Tom's story. Check it out, please. There are some really interesting, hot titles up on the Homepage with my book. I know you won't be disappointed if you take a peek!

Have a great weekend!

Giggled

I've been Giggled.

Mrs. Giggles has reviewed Timing on her site. I've been smiling since I've seen her review.

She gave it an 86!

Take a peek at the review, please. In case you missed it, it's here.

Oh, it's been a good week!