Interview w/ Houston Havens--menage, cookies, and stubborn,stubborn men

On the run, branded a traitor by her government, Fay Avalon has to depend on three brothers for shelter. Sinful Surrender is Book 1 of Houston Havens’ new romance series, Psychic Ménage. Why be tempted by one man’s seduction when you can be loved by three? Top psychic spy Fay Avalon saw too much on her latest mind traveling mission and is now on the run from her post-catastrophic dystopian government, searching for the truth and proof. She escapes but is shot down, landing in the arms of the enemy.

In Drakker and Arlo’s world, women are so rare the men have accepted a polyandrous lifestyle. When the brothers stumble upon Fay unconscious in the wreckage of an aircraft, they are immediately attracted to her. Arlo wants to keep her, but Drakker knows they can’t. They must take her to their brother Logan Abán, leader of their people.

Logan struggles with trusting anyone, even himself. When a beautiful, intelligent, and intriguing woman falls into their laps, his denied desires for intimacy challenge his need to trust the spy. He’s frustrated by romantic Arlo’s claims of her innocence. Even when pragmatic and dominating Drakker defends her as well, Logan refuses to trust his gut.

Can one woman satisfy the diverse desires of three men? Will Logan’s fears be realized by betrayal? Is Fay to be sentenced to death as a spy, suffer a fate worse than death by being returned to her government as a traitor, or will she find a new life and love as the wife of three sexy brothers?

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Welcome to the Herd, Houston! *passes over a plate of goodies* How goes it?

Hi Anna! *sits down cross-legged on the floor after snatching two cookies* It's going! I shouldn't be eating these. You know white sugar's bad for you right? *Gives a shrug* but what the hey, I've got to be sinful once in a blue moon, don't I? After all, I am an erotic-romance author. Notice I said EROTIC-ROMANCE not erotiCA....there is a big difference. 

*snags a brownie* But it tastes...so...good! lol My granddad always said if it tastes good it's good for ya (at least your mental health lol). I'm a big fan of both erotica and erotic romance. Loves them both. Alright. *brushes some brownie crumbs away* So, if you had 10 seconds to hook someone what sexy bits of yum would you whisper in their ear about Sinful Surrender?

The Support the Troops Auction is LIVE!!! Come Bid!! & Please Share :D

It's HERE!!! The Support The Troops Auction is LIVE!! 

We've got 67 auction packages you can bid on and everything goes to help the USO of North Carolina where I volunteer. For more info on what we do please check out their site. It's an amazing organization that I'm so honored to be a small part of it. 

Before yall head over to start bidding I want to give a huge thank you to all of the authors, bloggers and professionals in the industry who generously donated their talents with books, jewelry, author services, neat reader ops and some fun random items. Yall are amazing and I just can't express my thanks enough. We doubled the items in the auction from last year and whew yall had me BUSY! 

And now all of the auction goodies. Yall please come by and check them out, share as often and much as you'd like on any social media and come out and bid and bid often! heh It's for a great cause :D Oh and we have a FB events page if you want to come hang out :D 

Quote-tastic/Review-- shut up and kiss me?! -- Second Chance Summer by Jill Shalvis

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) 

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.

Sooooo. Jill Shalvis. Yall know I love me some Jill Shalvis. Her books are just so damn fun. And she's quirky as hell which totally works for me. Anywho. She's got a new series and I just couldn't resist. And couldn't resist sharing a handful of quotes. lol I have no willpower when it comes to picking just one. Sooo. To kick things off....

A Duke but No Gentleman (Masters of Seduction #1) by Alexandra Hawkins

***Blogger friends. I know. I suck! I'm still not visiting blogs. I'm trying desperately to get everything done for the Support the Troops Auction that starts tomorrow. We ended up with over 60 donations and that means 60+ listings and 60+ individual graphics. It's double what we had last year. Eeps! I will visit blogs as soon as I can and catch up with you all :D And...the auction listings are HERE if you want to check them out. OMG there are some AMAZING ones! ~Anna

 

This was me for pretty much all of A Duke But No Gentleman. It...did not go well.

Read ahead at your own risk. I'm including spoilers because I don't know how else to do this one.

Word from the Herd: Hatedoms (aka mean girl syndrome)

**Just a quick note first: Yall I'm crazy behind in blog visits. We had an internet outage in my area and now I'm working on the auction (and making 50+ graphics by Monday) now that I have the internet back. I promise I haven't forgotten yall. I'll be around as soon as I have them done.

Earlier this month I reviewed a book and got a nice front row seat of the phenom known as hatedoms. 

Ah, yes, it was "lovely". And yall are gonna get to hear about it. lol

'Hatedom: A Fandom that is dedicated to hating a work, idea, community or author, instead of loving it.

The Bucket List: Puzzles (and 'help' from #TheHerd)

Ironic by Harper Miller

Fun, sexy, hilarious. Hot damn! I pretty much loved everything about Ironic. The characters, the sex, the humor. The one night stand and some surprises. Harper Miller rocked this short story hard and left me totally smitten.

I'm ready to feast my eyes on 8.5 inches of cut man meat and pray to the dick gods that he's thick. If he's long and thick, jack-motherfucking-pot.

The quick of it is that Mimi finally has some free time after work's kept her crazy busy and she's....got some needs. A little browsing on a kink meet-up site and she's ready to get those met with one luscious specimen of a man and his very impressive cock.

Risk It (Rule Breakers #4) by Jennifer Chance

As dominating in business as he is in bed, Rand Sterling Winston, IV, always gets what he wants. And even before he realizes that she’s scammed him into paying triple the cost for her friend’s painting, he wants Dani Michaels. To catch her alone, Rand demands she personally deliver his purchase. The attraction between them is immediate and electric, and he knows she feels it, too. So when the part-time petty thief rebuffs his advances, he gives her a choice: a night in jail or an evening with him.

Despite her checkered past, Dani has never met someone like Rand: brooding, intense, and oh-so tempting. Only a man with a broken soul could make losing control feel this dangerous. Still, when Rand proposes a no-strings, no-holds-barred affair, Dani’s more than a little intrigued. It’ll be the trickiest con she's ever run and a chance to indulge her steamiest fantasies—nothing more. But as their encounters grow increasingly intimate, Dani uncovers a vulnerable side to Rand’s steely exterior . . . and opens her heart to the ultimate risk.

Type: Contemporary Romance, Erotic
Heat: 3 out of 5
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Amazon | Goodreads

A con artist and her mark. A month long...arrangement. Lots of nekkid sweaty sex. Fancy smancy events and a little breaking and entering. Risk It was one seriously hot and heavy make-a-girl-pant good time as Rand and Dani head off and have a little fun together. Excellent!

• Rand and Dani were just enjoyable people. They're very different in ways but were two that just got each others mindset and were fun together. Both just slightly damaged. Competitive and not willing to back down. Dani was a little hard, would do whatever it took to survive and had some fire in her that I enjoyed and Rand. Well. He's Rand Sterling Winston the fucking Fourth! And he was yummy with his alpha male self. Likes his control but could give it up for good reason too.

Guest Post w/ TS Krupa--She's going all #TastyDelight on us! [There's pie, people. There's pie!]

Andy Parker is a war widow raising her fifteen-year-old daughter on her own. Hayden Grace dreams of becoming a professional snowboarder, and Andy is doing everything she can to make that happen. When Hayden Grace’s passion begins to falter, Andy is at a loss for how to re-inspire her daughter.

Andy does her best balancing Hadyen Grace’s competition schedule, practice, and school with her own work schedule at home, in the city, and on the mountain. But work starts to demand more from Andy. Then, Andy receives an opportunity of a lifetime. An opportunity that will turn their lives upside down. But is it too good to be true?

Soon, mother and daughter find themselves in Aspen for Hayden Grace’s first national competition when a chance encounter brings Andy into a passionate, unexpected romance, a romance that could change everything. Will Andy be able to find the happiness she deserves?

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Hey guys!! So today TS Krupa is meme-jacking us and bringing a Tasty Delight to the blog. *noms* It looks so good! Check her out and leave her some comment love! ~Anna

My mother would make Polish Apple Cake for every occasion in our house. We would have a large meal and lots of people would be lingering around the table drinking coffee and talking. Mom would get up and go into the kitchen and come back with a huge tray covered in a wide array of desserts and there was ALWAYS Polish Apple Cake. People came to expect it.  It was and continues to be a staple for all gatherings. I wanted to share this recipe with ya’ll as it means so much to me!

Quote-tastic/Review-- bwok bwok-- Nauti Deceptions by Lora Leigh

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) 

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.

 

Ahhh Lora Leigh. So I love the Nauti Series. I read it ages ago but just now having space to post to the blog. I seriously hardcore loved this one. Older hero, fiercely determined heroine, yummy sex. A little action on the suspense side. Total book noms.

Books. Books! *squeals with delight*---New Releases (June 23) & Book Deals

All kinds of goodies today! Just click on the category on the left side of the widget and it'll bring up new releases, sales and freebies to scroll through. Once you've clicked on a book to check it out you can hit the back button to return to the original page.

Tasty Delights-- Corn Casserole

Some noms for today! I love corn and saw this recipe last year in my Paula Deen cookbook and just had to make it.

Rock the Blog-- Widgets & Blogging Tools I Adore

Rock the Blog is a "How To" for bloggers!

From graphics to html and all kinds of bloggery goodness!

Since I'm based on Blogger most posts will revolve around the Blogger platform though some ideas may apply to Wordpress as well.

Another slightly different Rock the Blog today. Last time I shared my favorite blogging tips. This time I'm sharing some of my favorite blog TOOLS. There were a few submissions for Rock the Blog topics that included how I do my drop down menus and graphics so figured I'd do a combo post with all of my different favorite tools. If you have a request for a Rock the Blog please check out the link at the bottom of the post and submit it via that :) If it's something I know how to do I'm totally up for doing a post. Alright. Here we go.

Drive It Deep (Desert Dogs #2.5) by Cara McKenna

This is one of the rare times I really curse myself for being a non-blurb reader. Often that leads to fun surprises. But, unfortunately, with Drive It Deep that wasn't the case and it's definitely one I would have avoided had I peeked at the blurb. First though. I freaking love Cara McKenna's books. I rave about them often and they consistently get 4-5 stars from me but for the first time that wasn't the case and I'm not recommending one of her books. Which just guts me.

Drive It Deep takes place two years prior to the previous book in the series despite being book 2.5. It's the story of the heroine from book two--Raina, who got a hea with another man in that book-- and Miah--one of her best friends-- having a failed romance all those years ago. Hooking up and then her breaking his heart. While the writing was impeccable, as always, and the sex scenes blisteringly hot a very nice man was hurt badly when he just didn't deserve it. If you read the series that's implied in the other books that they had a failed go at things but actually seeing it happen on page was a very different thing and not in a good way.

Dead Ice (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #24) by Laurell K. Hamilton

*does some silly reader-girl dancing about*

Yay! Some of the old Anita was peeking out and I loved it!! This series. Some love it. Some hate it. Some love to hate it. And do so passionately. People are all over the place with it. And I can be too. It's one I love overall but some books are hit or miss for me. Dead Ice...definitely landing on the hit side of things. I was nervous about starting Dead Ice but within a few pages that nervousness started turning to excitement because I could see that old Anita from earlier in the series peeking out and that...was freaking awesome. I've missed her!

Guest Post w/ Regina Kyle--Come Meet the Men!

 Hey guys! We've got Regina Kyle taking over the blog today. She's got some yummy mens for yall. *noms* Give her a nice welcome and hit those comments! ~Anna

PS--Some of yall are gonna be CRAZY jealous of her in about 30 seconds...

Gabe Nelson would be a great district attorney, but his public image is too boring to get voters' attention. Tattoo artist Devin Padilla can help him show off his fun, sexy side, but she needs something in return—his legal expertise to track down her missing brother. She's not Gabe's type, but they can't keep their hands off each other, whether it's good for his image or not.

At first, Devin thinks she got the easy end of the bargain. Gabe's the sexiest stuffed shirt in Manhattan, and his kisses practically set her on fire. But every deal has its fine print. As their relationship goes from business to pleasure, Devin realizes this one won't cost her soul…it'll just steal her heart.

Amazon | All Romance | Book Depository | BAM | Goodreads

Howdy, fellow cat herders and soup burners! I’m Regina Kyle and I write super steamy contemporary romance for Harlequin Blaze. I’m stoked to be here today for my first ever visit to Herding Cats and Burning Soup.

Desperado (Taggart Brothers #1) by Lisa Bingham

So. Here's the thing. It was like Bingham <bless her> sat down and said 'okay, lets write a book just for Anna with all her favoritest things in it' and BAM....Desperado was born! lol It's a contemporary. But..historical-ish. There's a broody damaged hero. And a social heroine that's just full of life. She's his brother's best friend. There's a treasure hunt of sorts (competition). It's hot. And sexy. And funny too. There was lots of mouth watering food. And an amazing set of friends and family. And I just wanted to dive right in and roll around in all the awesome that was them. <lets out a big gusty breath> lol

#FavoriteHeroines2015 Blog Giveaway Hop! June 17-24th

June 17th-24th we're sharing our favorite kickass heroines! Come meet these awesome ladies and find out why they're the best of the best. Be sure to stop by each blog. There's a giveaway at every stop!

Shattered Duty (Deadly Ops #3) by Katie Reus

Shattered Duty totally made up for the lack of truly yummy Romantic-Suspense in my readery life as of late. It's one of those Rom-Suspense you can just fall into and get all wrapped up in--both the romance and the suspense--and then all the sudden you realize...dammit!...it's almost over! Nooooo!!!!!!!!

The quick of it is that the big bad is planning on doing...some big bad shit. And he needs to be taken down. Something the heroine is all for taking part in. Especially when this big bad is the one who destroyed another agent's life by murdering his wife and unborn child. An agent that's gone rogue to avenge their murders. And an agent she owes more than he realizes. Despite their different objectives...he just wants to flat out murder the sonofabitch and she's got to keep said sonofabitch alive long enough to prevent the big bad shit he's got planned...they've got to find a way to work together and pull everything off. Ahhhh dilemma

Quote-tastic/Review--Cocky thing!-- Cade by Liliana Hart

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) 

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.

I had to dig around a little for a quote tastic pic this week but landed on Cade (yay I love that name!) that I read ages ago for book club. It was my first from Hart and a pretty fun read. Had a couple of good quotes too :) The hero was a bit of a cocky thing...

Books. Books! *squeals with delight*---New Releases (June 16) & Book Deals

All kinds of goodies today! Just click on the category on the left side of the widget and it'll bring up new releases, sales and freebies to scroll through. Once you've clicked on a book to check it out you can hit the back button to return to the original page.

Everything links over to Amazon. If you do pick one up it helps the Herd! Yay! We earn a small commission (about 7%) for any purchase made through us. It doesn't cost you anything extra and helps keep the blog running (so thank you!). It's greatly appreciated!

Let me know if you grab anything! It helps me for picking future 99cent and freebie deals! ~Anna

Word from the Herd--Everyone's a Best Seller! *glances around*

Everyone's a Best Selling Author!!

Okay. So I know that's not exactly true.

But some days it feels like every single author I pick up is a best seller of some sort.

What got me thinking about it was a blitz post about a box set I saw on a friend's blog. There were a crazy ton of authors in it (15-20is) and looking down the list pretty much every single one of them had a best selling author (of some sort) attached to their name. I'd not heard of a single one of them. That can totally happen but it got me wondering and looking around and thinking about the topic and if the label meant anything to me as a reader anymore.

Does it mean the same thing it used to mean?

For me not really.

Guest Post w/ Kimberly Kincaid-- Inspiration, Anyone?

Jesse Oliver was a medic in Afghanistan, but back home in Pine Mountain he’s happy to switch gears as the Double Shot bar’s new sous chef. When his apartment floods and his old Army buddy offers the family’s dilapidated lake house as temporary quarters, Jesse thinks a little remodeling on the creaky duplex sounds like a fair return favor. That’s before he sets eyes on the gorgeous woman moving into the other side of the cabin—and discovers she’s his buddy’s kid sister, a.k.a totally off limits.

Kat McMarrin has fought hard for her space, and she’s not too interested in sharing it. Of course, her job as a physical therapist means she won’t see much of Jesse, even if he’s a few thin floorboards away—unless she seeks him out. And with his sculpted body and slow-burn gaze, she might be tempted. Maybe the fixer-upper projects she has planned for the cabin will keep her mind off him. Or maybe her instincts to strip the place down will get out of hand…

Amazon | Goodreads

As an author, I get asked where my inspiration comes from all the time. It’s a loaded question, because the answer varies depending on the project, and, okay, sometimes even on the day. I will say that I never wait for inspiration to come to me—I tend to either bribe it out of myself (“You can surf Pinterest for pictures of Taylor Kinney if you come up with a plot outline for that novella. And go!”), or it smacks me in the sternum at the most inopportune moment.

and then there was a sad...a couple dnfs--The Perfect Stranger, The Unleashing, Sharp Shootin' Cowboy

Alas, sometimes a dnf happens. Here are a few that were misses for me.

Cat Thursday-- And the Paws have it!!

Because they're just...too...cute!

Asking for It by Lilah Pace

Asking For It is not the read for everyone. It's dark, edgy, pushes the boundaries of what many would find acceptable. But it was...amazing! I couldn't put this one down and instantly wanted more as a risky fetish brings together two people who very much need each other.

The quick of it is that Vivienne and Jonah both have a particular need. Rape Fantasy is what does it for them. It's something they crave and have never been able to find that someone who could fulfill the need that simmers in them. Until a chance encounter brings them into each others lives. An opportunity is given. A risk taken. A craving indulged. And oh. It was scorching as these two did a little role playing, spiced things up and did a little soul searching.

Vicious Cycle (Vicious Cycle #1) by Katie Ashley

Unfortunately, Vicious Cycle was not for me. The only way I can think to explain it is like watching a little girl playing dress up in her mother's clothes and high heels. All the bits are there but things just don't fit quite right. This one was trying to be a motorcycle club romance but it just couldn't quite figure out how to get there and ended up being a pretty flat rendition of one. The words might have been right, the set up right but it lacked the grit, depth and believable flavors of an MC.

I was actually doing okay with this one for the first little bit. It was no where near the levels of Sheehan or Joanna Wylde's MCs but none the less it was entertaining. A single daddy who was new to the job raising his daughter, her life being in danger and her school teacher snooping around and getting involved in their world. It had some great elements that were working for me. But then slowly bit by bit it fell apart and kept getting more outlandish and unbelievable.

Quote-tastic/Review--a damn birthday present?--Sweet Ache by K. Bromberg

Join us every Monday and share a favorite quote that's grabbed ya for one reason or another. 

Everyone's welcome to join in. Authors, bloggers, readers. The more the merrier! Just grab the button and toss up your post :) 

No blog? No worries, just leave your favorites in the comment section.

Oh K. Bromberg. She kills me. This was my second read from her and gah they're an excellent mix of romance, heat, laughs and some pretty serious shit too. I had a hard time picking just one quote this week so I went with three. LOL These two could be a spot cheesy now and again with their innuendo and such but it was so fun and they had a great time with it throughout--including with some funny candy ones since he's a sweets junkie. Anywho so starting it off... loved how they turned the tables on each other...

Books. Books! *squeals with delight*---New Releases (June 9) & Book Deals

All kinds of goodies today! Just click on the category on the left side of the widget and it'll bring up new releases, sales and freebies to scroll through. Once you've clicked on a book to check it out you can hit the back button to return to the original page.

Everything links over to Amazon. If you do pick one up it helps the Herd! Yay! We earn a small commission (about 7%) for any purchase made through us. It doesn't cost you anything extra and helps keep the blog running (so thank you!). It's greatly appreciated!

Let me know if you grab anything! It helps me for picking future 99cent and freebie deals! ~Anna

Tasty Delights--No Bake Chocolate Torte w/ Strawberries

Tasty Delights and Dazzling Disasters is all about playing in the kitchen and having some fun.

I'll share my delights and my disasters. Yall feel free to join in and create your own posts, share your favorite recipes, what have you. If you have a recipe suggestion just let me know!

A couple weeks back there was a video floating around Facebook and I decided I had to try it. A chocolate torte with an oreo crust. *noms* It was supposed to be crazy easy and fast and tasty too.

Wells. I had one of those at least. It was delicious! But since I try not to eat much dairy these days...easy and fast kind of turned into dazzling disaster before becoming a tasty delight....

Tag: The Cat Herder [Edition 8]

I get tagged, tweeted, private messaged all the time with variations of... "omg this so reminded me of you! (or) that book you're reading!" which...okay...at this point...kinda makes me nervous. I just never know WHAT it's going to be. lol

And I thought it might be fun to start putting those random and wonderfully weird things people think just scream...me. This feature won't always be, erm, family friendly. Heh. Big <tackle hugs> to everyone who tags me. Yall really make my days so fun :)

  

Just some fun for today :D