Tell Me You Want Me (26 page)

Jane tasted the soup. It was very good but something was missing. "I wish my dad was here to see this."

"He would be so proud of you." Austin wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I am."

"Thank you, Sweetheart."

Austin stood behind her while she added a little oregano to the soup. He wrapped his hands on her hips, nibbling her neck. "Mmm... you're the tastiest item on the menu."

She leaned back against him and sighed. "Keep tasting."

"Hey." He pressed his lips to her ear. "There's a guy right here who wants to see the chef... naked."

She laughed. "Well, Doctor, tell him if he can wait, he'll get a personal guided tour."

"That's what I like to hear." He glanced around the kitchen. "Have we christened the pantry yet?"

"That's next."

When the rush was over, the kitchen cleaned, and the staff sent home, Jane and Austin sat down with their friends and family for a meal she'd prepared especially for them.

"I would like to propose a toast." Jane raised her glass of wine.

Her guests followed suit, Gwen, Sara, and Jack raising their glasses of water. Charlotte looked around and raised her water glass too.

"To all of you here tonight—Sara, Jack, Charles, Mom, and especially Austin. It took a long time to get here—a lot of hard work, a lot of sleepless nights—but most of all, a lot of love and encouragement from you. I couldn't have done this on my own. I thank you all."

"Me too?" Charlotte giggled.

"You too, Sweetheart." Jane smiled. "Cheers."

"Cheers!"

I got hooked on trashy romance novels in junior high, but my mom took them away from me. She couldn't stop me from daydreaming, though. After I got married, I wrote some of my naughtier daydreams down and sent them to Playgirl magazine, who published two of them. I kept daydreaming and writing stories until my dirty stories turned into trashy books.

I live in Colorado, but I'll always be a loyal Wisconsin Cheesehead. When I'm not lusting after my next bad-boy hero, I'm looking for inspiration in sci-fi and action movies, football players, bloodsucking lawyers, muscle cars, and kick-butt chicks.

I'm known as "Trashy Writer" at various social media sites. I call myself a trashy writer because I want my readers to know that I enjoy mindless escapism as much as they do. I'm not out to win a Pulitzer Prize. I just want to help someone relax and get away from it all for a little while. I write romance, erotica and trash, for fun and pleasure.

I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

To learn more about me, check out my 
website
, and be sure to catch me on
Facebook
,
Goodreads
, 
Google+
, and 
Twitter
.

Watch for
Her Twisted Pleasures
, a short story collection featuring 15 interconnected tales of erotica, coming August 15, 2012.

FORGIVE ME, ALEX by Lane Diamond

A Psychological Thriller novel available via links at
Evolved Publishing
.

5-Star Review:
"Lane gets you into the head of the characters and you feel this bond with them urging you to read faster to find out what happens next. You know you are reading a great book when you need to stop reading but keep telling yourself just one more chapter, then one more leads to half the book. I felt so bad for Tony and all his loss. I wanted to murder Mitchell Norton myself. I wish I knew old Frank personally. I was caught off guard by the ending and can't wait for the next book! Well done!" – Jennifer @ Can't Put It Down Reviews

5-Star Review:
"...Lane's writing makes you really care about these people and what's going on. Lane excels in this area of sympathetic characters." – Tim C. Ward, Book Blogger & Podcaster

5-Star Review:
"I have actually read this story twice, yes twice! There are new things to discover each time you read it and I would encourage you to pick it up again, see what you can discover about Tony Hooper the second time around ... and see what you can maybe discover about yourself. I was able to understand my sick fascination with serial killers and horror gore a little better with the aide of "Forgive Me, Alex" - it is the only media representation of such a horrific character type that effectively goes beyond the curtain." – Marie Borthwick

5-Star Review:
"With a deeply attuned attention to the nature of humanity and psychosis, Diamond delves into the darkest corners of the human mind and pulls out nuggets of horror and absolution that will leave you wanting more. I look forward to more books from this amazing author. This is a book to rival any of the great thrillers you've ever read and is a definite must read!" – Kimberly Kinrade, Author of
Forbidden Mind
and
Forbidden Fire

5-Star Review:
"I think what struck me the most about the story, and what I really enjoyed, was the way Diamond explored the depths of the main characters, Tony Hooper and Mitchell Norton. It would be easy in this type of story to get caught up in the action. But correctly, I think, Diamond recognizes that the strength of the book lies in the characters, and he does an excellent job of helping the reader understand the inner workings of their minds. ... That is not to say that the "action" scenes were not well done. In fact, I found myself drawn to the most disturbing scenes, which I think is a real compliment to the manner in which they were presented." – Rich V.

EULOGY by D.T. Conklin

A Dark, Epic Fantasy novel available via links at
Evolved Publishing
.

5-Star Review:
"Conklin writes with a poet's flair, using minimal words to deliver maximum dramatic impact. Visceral, shocking, and deeply imaginative,
Eulogy
pushes to the edge . . . and then dives right over it. An unapologetic, no-holds-barred descent into madness--yet there is method in it. Readers with the fortitude to take the plunge stand to be rewarded with what may go down as one of the most ambitious, redefining forays into epic fantasy of all time." – Eldon Thompson, Author of
The Divine Talisman

5-Star Review:
"Some epic fantasies are straightforward tales of magic and adventure, where a band of heroes fights and defeats an evil overlord.
Eulogy
is not such a tale. Conklin's book overflows with magic and adventure, but the book is a puzzle -- a maze of secrets and wonders, implications and hidden meanings. A treat for readers who love a challenge!" – Tom Crosshill, Nebula-nominated Author

5-Star Review:
"Sometimes, you find a book that you know--just know--you have to finish. You know it after the first page. After the first question is asked. At times, after the first sentence is read. Because the ending taunts you with its secrets. The story tightens like a net around you. When you find
Eulogy
, you'll know it's such a book." – Dmytry Karpov

5-Star Review:
"Conklin manages to write a book that is at once recognizable as fantasy but at the same time wholly his own. There are the escapists conventions: swords, battles, beautiful women, and magic, but it's this last one, magic, where the genre is subverted in the best way possible. In the world of
Eulogy
, the system of magic is reality-bending, and as such functions on a philosophical and psychological level, posing existential questions while swords flash in the foreground. I don't want to scare away readers who are in it for the adventure. There is always that, too, from personal quests to wars that sweep across the whole landscape. I just want to point out that there is something beyond the surface, and for readers like myself, who come to the fantasy genre only rarely, it's pleasant to find a book that successfully explores the deeper side of things while remaining thoroughly entertaining." – Zach Powers "wordist"

5-Star Review:
"Conklin has written one of those books that gets in to your brain and whispers to you anytime you aren't reading it. The adventure is very much your own for with his characters, Conklin draws from the reader the magic they didn't realize they were bringing with them. Like most stories the overarching battle is good against evil, the characters each must face the darkness and demons that lie inside the soul of anyone who loves, hates, strives, and suffers. Some win. Some lose." – MJ Kaufmann "~MAJK~"