Mischief at Midnight by Rayne Forrest

Welcome to Twenty-six Keys and the My Sexy Saturday blog hop for February 28, 2015. Like a lot of us, I'm wondering where the month went.

Today I'm celebrating a "new" release - Mischief at Midnight. Actually, this book is a re-release having been published as part of a two-author anthology at the old Whiskey Creek Publishing. Well, WCP sold out to Start Publishing (which kept the Whiskey Creek name) and a lot of rights reverted back to a lot of authors. Since my titles have had the benefit of being edited, I'm slowly self-publishing them. 

Mischief at Midnight is set in the near future when service drones are available to do housework and cooking. Put me on the waiting list!

Here are seven sexy paragraphs from Mischief at Midnight.

~~~~

Dallas stepped closer to her, breathing in her exotic scent. He gently plucked the diamond collar from her fingers and draped it around the graceful column of her neck. The stones were real, but they couldn’t match Madelyn’s inner beauty. Everything he’d ever learned about women told him she was a rare gem.And he was a drone, in her home for one purpose only—to serve dinner.

Like hell.

He fastened the clasp of the necklace and bent to her. His eyes closed as his lips caressed the soft skin of her shoulder, once, then again. Gentle kisses to lure her to a moment when he could confess his transgression and beg for her forgiveness. Madelyn inhaled sharply. To his utter amazement she tilted her head, inviting him to continue. Being ten kinds of a fool, he did, worshipping her with kisses.

She thought he was a personal pleasure drone and she clearly needed a moment of what those drones’ programming offered. How much more trouble could he be in if he gave it to her?

Dallas slipped his arms around her waist, splaying his hands across the gentle swell of her belly to pull her back against him. His manhood responded, surging strongly, swelling in quick wonderful jolts that echoed his racing pulse. His lips teased at her earlobe on their way to shower small kisses along her jaw.

She moaned, a low, dark sound of a woman caught unsuspecting by her own desire. Dallas bent her forward, his erection nestling between her buttocks. She boldly pressed her rump firmly to him, wiggling her hips. Her hand snaked between them, her questing fingers gauging his length and girth. Gooseflesh shivered across his belly and chest. His balls drew up close to his body. His penis throbbed with unwarranted anticipation and he reminded himself firmly that this momentary indulgence would not continue after the dinner.

“Oh, my,” she whispered breathlessly. “You really do have a few upgrades.”

~~~~~

More about Mischief at Midnight, available now at Amazon:

Madelyn Murphy isn’t your typical spoiled rich girl. She only has one household drone, after all. Why? Because she’s so liberal, she does her own cooking.

Triple D Drones’ owner, Dallas Dyson, has made a fortune in the service drone industry. He’ll even lend a helping hand himself if someone’s in a pinch.

When Madelyn’s service drone breaks just before a dinner party, she calls Triple D Drones for help. When the new “Dallas” prototype shows up to lend a hand, Madelyn finds she needs help with more than serving dinner. Isn’t service what a Triple D drone does best?

Rayne Forrest
http://www.rayneforrest.com

Across Time by Rayne Forrest

Across Time is now available at Amber Heat
http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/1954-Across-Time.aspx

The secrets of Adhara VII unlock their past and present, and threaten a future fast unraveling unless Corri and Devin take a leap of faith – across time.  

Corri Dunn’s mission to distant Adhara VII begins on a downhill slide. Not only have her superiors withheld vital information, but Devin Tremaine knows what it is. Corri must face Devin, and what happened between them five years ago, or lose her command. Confronting the truth means facing the fact she still loves Devin. She wants him back in her life, and her bed, but she has to complete her assignment first.

Devin Tremaine made one big mistake in his life – he lost Corri Dunn when she needed his understanding and he couldn’t give it. Now they’re both at Adhara VII, caught in a web of deceit – and renewed passion. Corri’s been sent into a trap and he’s the only one who can save her. 

EXCERPT:

Oh hell! He was walking toward her. Corri was aware of her crewmembers behind her in the meadow. It couldn’t be helped. If she walked over the rim and out of sight her security people would come running. She had to stand her ground.

He wasn’t even breathing hard when he stopped about six feet away. He took off his sunglasses to look her up and down.

Her heart pounded in her chest but she kept her tone cool. “Do I pass inspection?”

“You always did, Dunn. Congratulations on getting the Avery McKenna.”

“Thank you.” She’d had the ship three years. “What are you doing here, Tremaine? And don’t try and weasel out of telling me the truth.”

“We all take orders. Mine said come here. Didn’t yours?”

“We can stand here and verbally spar all day and get nowhere. But I’d rather have some answers. Wouldn’t you?”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, eh, Dunn?”

“Is that what you are? My enemy?”

“It’s not what I want to be. It’s what you made me.” His gaze warred with hers.

“That’s not true,” she denied, moving away from him. She wasn’t ready for this conversation. In truth, maybe she had made him the enemy.

“Look, Dunn, let’s wave the white flag.”

Corri fought the urge to fidget under the calculating look Devin gave her. In that instant she knew with a certainty she didn’t question that he knew more about why they were here at Adhara VII than she did.

“I can’t, Tremaine. It’s as simple as that. I have a job to do here.”

“Do you, now? Part of the job ramming your ship’s titanium nose up my fuel vents?”

She flashed him her best smile. “Afraid to tap the braking thrusters, were you?”

“What did you hope to accomplish? A star UFPA captain dropping into orbit and the first thing she does is break the regs. I’m disappointed.”

“So deal with it. Your people made the proper adjustment.”

“My people should not have been required to do so.”

“I’ll instruct my flight crew to be more precise in their measurements.”

Devin paused and looked her up and down again. She clamped her teeth firmly together and struggled to remain silent under his perusal.

“Well, Dunn. You know where to find me should you reconsider that white flag.” He turned to leave, then stopped and looked back at her. “Nice job getting here in four days. New engines?”

Corri looked at him and saw the boyish interest in more speed, more power and having his toys be bigger and better than the other kids.

“Oh yeah, Tremaine,” she replied smoothly. “They’re amazing. Too bad you’ll never get a look at them.”

He flashed that ear-to-ear grin of his, transforming his face. It made her flush warm with memories of him, of them together. She pushed them away, knowing she couldn’t go back.

“Maybe before we pull out of here, you’ll change your mind,” he said softly, a touch of Irish lilt in his voice.

“No. I won’t.” She turned and headed down the hillside to her landing site and refused to look back.

= = = = =

Across Time

sci-fi romance from author Rayne Forrest

available now at Amber Heat, an imprint of Amber Quill Press

http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/1954-Across-Time.aspx

New cover reveal - Across Time

Corri Dunn’s mission to distant Adhara VII begins on a downhill slide. Not only have her superiors withheld vital information, but Devin Tremaine knows what it is. Corri must face Devin, and what happened between them five years ago, or lose her command. Confronting the truth means facing the fact she still loves Devin. She wants him back in her life, and her bed, but she has to complete her assignment first.

Devin Tremaine made one big mistake in his life – he lost Corri Dunn when she needed his understanding and he couldn’t give it. Now they’re both at Adhara VII, caught in a web of deceit – and renewed passion. Corri’s been sent into a trap and he’s the only one who can save her.

The secrets of Adhara VII unlock their past, present and a future fast unraveling. To survive, Corri and Devin must make a leap of faith – across time. 

*****

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be with Amber Quill Press and to have them publish Across Time. While I write both contemporary and sci-fi, I actually enjoy writing sci-fi a bit better. It's fun to build a world where all the rules are mine. I suppose that says something about me, but there is it. Veritas. 

Interviewers ask the question, "What inspired the story?" all the time. I think it's a prerequisite for an interview. Across Time developed from a scene in a television show where the hero was white water rafting. I thought it would be cool to have our hero and heroine stuck together on a raft. So then I had to create a planet with a river and a couple of space ships to get them to the planet. Yes, it was fun! 

The title Across Time has myriad meaning. It references love surviving across time, both the love between our main characters and the love of fellow man. Then there's that pesky temporal shift business of moving between time lines that the characters have to sort out to stop the bad guys from going back in time to wreak havoc.

I do wish the cover had our main characters Devin Tremaine and Corri Dunn on the it in some sort of sexy pose, but when I saw the picture of the city on the mound, it was too perfect to the city in the story. The coin flip went in favor of the city. You'll just have to believe me when I say the romance is in the story and Devin and Corri do like to get busy. Besides, finding pictures of couples in 24th century fashions isn't easy, even with google. 


To read an excerpt from Across Time, please visit my website at http://www.rayneforrest.com/AcrossTime.html

Rayne 
www.rayneforrest.com
www.twitter.com/rayneforrest

Pieces of April

Sometimes I really do think I lost my mind when I decided to cram a writing career into my life. What? Like I didn’t already have enough to do? Jeez. And I’m not alone. Everyone I talk with seems to be in a similar space - a space already crammed full of things to do and people to tend see. Gainful employment has taken a more important role in life as the economy continues to waver.

But enough. It's April and sometime this month Across Time will once again be available. Across Time was the very first book I had go on sale back in 2004. It's been reworked (I write a better love scene these days) and I'm pleased with the result. And joy of joys, it will be available in paperback so I can give a copy to my mother and get her off my back. I mean it will make her happy. 

Music from the 1970’s. Is it better if you actually remember hearing the songs on AM radio? I think so. I heard a song by Three Dog Night on the radio recently and I was amazed at how well the music held up. A lot of critics wrote the band off as too lightweight, but when you hear an old song, and still remember all the words, it’s a special thing. Jeremiah was a bullfrog, but he’s the best known bullfrog in rock ‘n roll history. Gotta love that. Jeremiah got me thinking about Pieces of April. 

I've got pieces off April, I keep them in a memory bouquet.

I've got pieces of April, and it's a morning in May. 

It's a lovely, sentimental refrain, isn't it? The images it brings to mind are romantic, softly blurred. But what a wonderful thing to have special memories to carry with us. The first time Across Time was picked up by a publisher, the ebook industry was in its infancy. No one knew what to expect. Most of us thought ebook publishing was viable and it has proven to be so. Were they glory days? Not so much for me although I'm sure they were for some. I was on a steep learning curve, but it was exciting to see a book with my name on it go on sale - and a few people bought it! 

Across Time has been gathering dust on my hard drive for many years. Deciding to send it out into the world again was a difficult decision. No matter what happens, I'll have pieces of this April to carry into the future with me because the future carries us across time. 

Rayne

Ch-ch-changes!

This turned out to be the Saturday I updated my website. The site needed it so it was time well spent. But why stop there? I decided to change the look of Twenty-six Keys, too.

Change can be good.

Now if Blogger would only get their "compose" option fixed.......

Rayne

When least expected

Life has a way of handing you the unexpected, and it's not always a bad thing. Sometimes it's something you've wished could happen. Or maybe it's something you planned to work towards and never quite got around to it, being absorbed with the busyness of the daily grind. And I've certainly been busy.

Yesterday, Super Bowl Sunday, marked ten years since I sat at the computer and began to write my first book. While that story remains unpublished, I've had what I consider to be great success with my writing career. After all, I never set out to have a writing career. I set out to write a novel just to see if I could.

I guess I got my answer.

As for the universe talking to me, yes, it did. I've long pondered what to do about my older stories, the ones which had limited runs at publishers no one ever heard of and never became mainstream, or were at houses that closed, or should have closed. Today, a simple email was a signal it's time to move forward and get those books back out.

The epublishing world was a lot different back in 2003. It's matured, and, thankfully, so have I. It's going to take a little time to go through those stories and apply those things I've learned in the last ten years, but I think the stories are worth it. My technical skills are better and it's important to me to do the best I can in everything I do.

So I suppose I'm climbing "back on the horse." We'll see how it works out.

I think it's going to be fun again.

Rayne

Available today - Step Into Tomorrow

They say good things come to those who wait, and I've waited a long time to get this story to a worthy publisher. Enjoy!

Step Into Tomorrow
futuristic time travel/erotic romance
Rayne Forrest
available now at Amber Quill Press

http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/413-Step-Into-Tomorrow.aspx

Rhys St. Clair is the best of a select group of highly trained time specialists. When events in the layers of time run amok, it’s his job to step through the Matrix and fix the problem. A mistake in his calculations sends him back to the year 1996 and nets him more than he ever bargained for – Sophia Townsend.

Sophia Townsend needs a life makeover. When a confused stranger shows up inside her home, with no idea of where he is, or even what year it is, it doesn’t take Sophia long to figure out the man in her living room is the most interesting guy she’s ever met, and the sexiest, too.

When Rhys whisks her away, Sophia isn’t sure if she’s been kidnapped, or if the handsome stranger is taking her on the greatest adventure of her life. When the truth catches up to them, Rhys has only one thing left to offer her – but only if she’s brave enough to step into tomorrow with him.

INTRO
“I could’ve done better.”

“No doubt. You’ve had practice. Now open that fancy atlas you bought and figure out where we can stop for the night, because we’re stopping as soon as it gets dark. I want off this main thoroughfare before we lose the light, too.”

Sophia gave him a surprised look then grabbed up the book and started rapidly flipping through the pages.

Rhys hoped she realized they would share a room tonight. And a bed. He couldn’t let her out of his sight. It was too risky. She’d bolt like the hounds of Hell were after her. Thank all deities she’d never see the real thing. They’d blocked the way out of the lower layers of time known as Hell.

The thought of being in a bed with her, even if he stayed on top of the covers while she was under them, brought his cock to attention. The memory of her beneath him burned in his blood. He wanted her, and he had five years to get her. Starting tonight would work out just fine.

“Oh, and find a place that has, um, what’s it called? Room service? I’m hungry.”

“Eat your crackers if you need food,” she shot back. “We can cross the state line and look for a place. Crossing the state line makes you a worse sort of felon or something.”

“Really? You mean I might become wanted by NASA?”

She groaned. “Why me? Why does it always have to be me? Why do I get the good ones?” She finally shifted in her seat to face him. “It’s the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rhys. The F-B-I. Not NASA. NASA is the people who go into outer space. You know outer space. Isn’t that where you came from? Didn’t Scotty beam you down?”

His hands clenched around the steering wheel as he gave her the truth.

“No, beautiful. I didn’t come here from outer space. I came from the seventeenth layer of time. Oz.”

EXCERPT

Rhys had only one option. Well, two, but letting them arrest him wouldn’t work. What would happen when he vanished without a trace from a holding cell one bright, sunny day? He went back to the bed and crawled back under the sheet.
He had to put his arms around her one more time before he sent her back to her life. He gathered her close. “Sophie. Wake up, beautiful.”

She opened sleepy eyes and blinked. Gods, she looked like a woman who’d been fucked, and well, all night long.

He lowered his lips to hers and poured everything he had into the kiss. All the wonder of the night spent in her arms, all his longing for a life with her. All his regret.

She clung to him, returning his kiss with awakening passion and her own longing. He pulled away.

“Sophie, the authorities are outside. You need to get dressed and walk out of here like nothing ever happened. Tell them you needed to get away for a night, and you’re going home.”

Her face paled. “I won’t leave you! What will you do? Where will you go?”
“You have to leave me. I’ll be fine. I’ll go out away from civilization and put down a marker. Hector will find me and get me home.”

“I can’t go home! There’s nothing there for me.”

He hesitated. More than anything, he wanted to be with her. But what had to be, had to be. They had to go their separate ways. It was the only solution—for her. She deserved better than him.

“There’s no time and no choice. Go home, beautiful. Go back to your life.”

“No. We’ve got to think of something else.” She pushed him away. He mourned the loss of her touch, for his arms that would be empty for the rest of his life—without the chance to really know her.

“Don’t fight me on this. I’ve already done you enough harm. Forget about me. Forget you ever knew me.”


Step Into Tomorrow
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-051-1
futuristic time travel/erotic romance
available now at Amber Quill Press
http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/413-Step-Into-Tomorrow.aspx


Rayne Forrest
Visit my website: http://www.rayneforrest.com
Read my personal blog: http://twentysixkeys.blogpspot.com
Check out the MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/rayneforrest
Join my mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/authorrayneforrest
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rayneforrest

Step Into Tomorrow

Step Into Tomorrow. I wonder if I attempted to send myself a subliminal message when I settled on that title for my next book. Every book needs a title, and I prefer a title that has something to do with the actual story. Most folks do. The story has a time travel theme and requires a leap of faith for the heroine to stay with her man. Beyond that, don't we all step in tomorrow on a daily basis?

Step Into Tomorrow is set to release next weekend at the Amber Heat imprint of Amber Quill Press. I'm pleased to be associated with Amber Quill, which is a "by invitation only" publisher. The first ebook I ever purchased was at Amber Quill way back in 2003, and I quickly learned they were a cut above the rest when it the quality of the books they published. I hope that the Rayne Forrest brand will have a long association with Amber Quill Press.

Stepping into a new year, with a new publisher, has made me stop and once again seriously consider if it's time to launch a new author brand. I've learned so much, grown so much, that perhaps it's time for a fresh start. Author branding is something to think about. My older stories - Across Time, The Curiosity Shoppe, Truest Treasure, A Hero's Bargain, Mountain High, Under a Painted Moon - remain as good stories, but my voice as a writer has matured. I've pondered the question of a fresh start for a while.

If I want to explore some of the ideas for stories I have, it may be the way to go. It's always good for a reader to know what to expect when they buy a book from [fill in the name]. I don't think a Rayne Forrest reader would like to buy a Rayne Forrest book and discover it was something other than erotic romance. Say...inspirational. This is what I mean by author branding.

I guess I won't find a clear answer until I step into some more distant tomorrow. Perhaps like most other important decisions in my life, I'll simply wake up one morning and know. My continued musings on the subject probably mean I will start anew some day, but the right time to do so hasn't yet arrived. Know thyself.

While I search for the perfect path to take, I have the opportunity to work with some amazing people, for which I'm grateful.

So...next weekend, new book! If you'd like to read an excerpt, I invite you to visit my website at http://www.rayneforrest.com/StepIntoTomorrow.html . If you'd like to get on the Amber Quill Press mailing list, visit http://www.amberquillpress.com/AQP_newsletters.html to sign up. Or you can check back at Twenty-six Keys. After the book goes live, I'll be making the promo rounds on the blogs and such.

Until then, play safe.

Rayne

UPDATE: Step Into Tomorrow is now available at Amber Heat at
http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/413-Step-Into-Tomorrow.aspx

Giving thanks for changes

As the Thanksgiving weekend draws to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the changes in my life over the last few years. There have been many.

Time marches on, and with the passing of my grandparent’s generation, my family has drifted into the busyness of our individual lives. To recreate the big traditional dinner we once shared is too exhausting to contemplate, so we don’t. I make myself content knowing that all but one of my family is in good health, and the youngest generation, while it’s unlikely I will get to know them well, are thriving.

Those around me in busyness, mostly at my day job, bemoan the same changes in their own families. If you’re one of the lucky ones with a good job, you’re working harder than ever just to tread water. And we’re told to get used to it, because the demand that we work harder and harder with fewer rewards is now the new norm. We’re older, but we dare not falter, not with pensions to protect.

I am thankful to have a job, no matter what it does to my mental and emotional health. I’m even more thankful to have my mortgage paid in full.

This year, the Thanksgiving table I sat at was not my own, and while the hosts graciously included my mother and stepdad, I was not among family. My partner was, and for that I am thankful, even as my soul was lonely for my own bygone days. The conversation swirled around me with chitchat about people I don’t know and have no connection to, all in that family world in which I have no history. But I am thankful they value me enough to include me at their table.

Trips down memory lane are counterproductive. With family scattering, and friends determined to run away from their lives to warmer climes, the years to come will see my Thanksgiving rituals be private ones. This I know, and to survive the holidays on my own, I will need to guard them well. I am thankful to have the strength to accomplish this.

But if just one thing in life is constant, it is that change is inevitable. Sometimes one is even thankful for those changes. The wheel may yet turn full circle some future day, and the Thanksgiving table I sit at will be among my own. I would like that, and be doubly thankful.

Life this Labor Day

This Labor Day weekend is a mixed bag for me. I'm grateful to have a job, but concerned what will happen in 2011. I see changes on the horizon, that like this weekend, are mixed.

Being a holiday weekend, I stacked a few vacation days before and after so that I have six days in a row for rest and relaxation. HA! What rest? So far this mini-vacation I've met with my financial advisor, stacked firewood, weed whacked for my neighbor (I gotta get me one of those battery-powered things!), spread mulch, helped re-lay a walkway made with pavers, been to the grocery twice, tackled laundry, went on a bike ride, and in between it all, I've written (blogs count, right?).

This is rest?

The folks will be here this afternoon for a nice grilled dinner. Maybe I'll get to rest tomorrow. HA!

Don't be fooled. I am blessed. I have great health and energy, and I have family and friends around me, and they are basically healthy right now. I have two great jobs - helping people and writing. If the day job gets shaky in 2011, and we go to a four-day work week, that will give me more time to write. My home is paid for, and it won't hurt me to embrace a more minimalist lifestyle. I am truly blessed.

Not everyone is so lucky.

This Labor Day my thoughts are with those who work hard for a living, who save when they make enough to do so, who live modestly, and through no fault of their own have lost their jobs. Do the big boys with all the money who manipulated the rest of us into this crisis feel their pain? I don't think so, and that makes me angry.

Too many good people are struggling this Labor Day. I look at my own fears for the future - will I be able to continue to enjoy all the things I've worked for my entire life? Will I be able to actually retire some day? Would I be able to financially weather a health crisis? When will I have saved enough to be able to replace my eleven year old vehicle?

If I experience these fears, from my little sheltered tower, how much worse is it for those in the trenches? I can only imagine.

The future is clouded for a reason. In my life, I think it's to encourage me to live in the now. To embrace what I have. To let go of worry and to trust that a loving God will, indeed, see me through.

It ain't easy, but I'll continue to work hard at it.

A new season

1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8


When I stop moving, stop working, stop hustling and bustling around, these ancient words always come to mind. In typical fashion, I usually remember the opening in reverse, “for everything there is a time,” but I don’t think that matters too much. It doesn’t change the meaning of the words, or how I apply them to my life. Most recently, my life has seen a season of trying new things, and laying the groundwork for my last working years. A time to plant, as it were.

At a glance, those two things might seem to be at odds, but my life is one of polar opposites. Maybe it’s because I’m a Gemini. Anyway, I’ve gone through a time of serious home improvement work with new roof shingles, the installation of a central air conditioning system, and now a roof over my patio. All of this was done to ‘feather my nest’ in preparation of scaling back and working less hours. If the economy cooperates, it may actually happen.

It’s been difficult to be away from the writing, but it was important to accomplish these items without incurring any debt. I love to write! It defines who I am in ways nothing else does. Yes, I’m someone’s wife, someone’s best friend, someone’s daughter, but that defines me in relation to another. That I am a writer defines me to myself.

So, a season of hard work is behind me, one I don’t regret experiencing. I learned something every step of the way, which I consider important. I’ve eased into a season of taking better care of myself so I can once again tap into that central part of me and let the words flow. I’m more than a little excited at the prospect.

Where should I go first? What new characters await me? Can I attain the new goals I seek? I will if it is my season to do so. I’ve scattered so many stones along the way. It could be my time to gather them together and shore up old bridges even as I build new ones.

As exciting as it is to move forward again, it’s also daunting. The mistakes of the past, the ones that made it easy to set aside my keyboard for a small space of time, will always plague me. In the epublishing business, those mistakes were, and remain, visible. All I can do is set them behind me, and hope the lessons learned were not in vain. It is time to trust that the right people will come into my life.

And it’s time to trust that you are still there, waiting for a story.

Rayne
http://www.rayneforrest.com

Website fun, snowblowing, and a little success

It's been a snowy winter at my little house in the woods. My beloved has kept track, and we've had a total of sixty-five (65) inches this season. That is far and above what is normal for us. Our usual total is maybe twenty, if we're lucky. Worse is that we've had the cold temperatures to keep what snow is on the ground from melting.

Is it all bad? No, of course not. The winter weather compelled us to finally break down and get a generator, which we will need, sooner or later. It also brought us a snowblower, albeit a used one. Being previously owned hardly matters because it runs good, and did the job during the last two major snows. Without it, we'd still be snowed in.

Does all this lead you to believe I've been writing? Yes! I have been writing. This is a good thing. I just wish I had more time to practice my craft, but real life intrudes. With my honey able to do less and less, more and more falls to me. Like going out in the cold and wind and using the snowblower. Sitting at my desk in my cozy, warm office would have been a lot more fun. I probably would not have come down with a cold, either. But I digress.

Being otherwise occupied, it's been a little while since I checked on my website. Today was the day I set aside to check on it, the mailing list, the blog, etc. So, here's my question. How can a website suddenly lose content? All it does is sit there on a webhosting server and look pretty.

Seriously. I clicked through the pages and found text missing. I opened my local software and the text was there. This makes me suspicious. I re-published the site, and all looks well, but that doesn't explain how it could happen. I intend to ask around and see if anyone else has had that problem, or if they've all dumped their paid webhosting in favor of free blogs. That is a thought worthy of consideration.

Now for a pat on the back - for me! Late last year I decided I needed to concentrate on my health. I'm not a sprout anymore, but a mature flower. Blessed with good health, I've not had a serious illness in my life - and I want to keep it that way.

To that end, I've made a conscious effort to eat better and exercise more. I'm delighted to report I've shed five percent of my total body weight. The "experts" say that's enough to stave off that metabolic disorder that leads to so many nasty issues. I'll keep going, but my program is geared toward better diet, not less food. Getting to that ten-percent mark won't happen until the weather warms up and I can get out and walk and ride my bike.

That's okay. I can't afford to constantly buy smaller clothes. Anyway, the program is working, and I'm happy with the progress I've made. And yes, I've enjoyed buying a few new (smaller) pieces of clothing.

So that's my update. Now, if I can just come up with a title, I'll get that story I just polished off.. or up...submitted.

Rayne

Rayne's Ramblings - How to cut a deal on a used tv for Christmas

Time marches on. Christmas is almost upon us again. Didn't we just do this last year? There doesn't seem to be an escape from the yearly rut. My tree is up, and my house is decorated. Several presents are wrapped and/or bagged and under the tree. (I love those gift bags!)

With the economy being what it is, my beloved and I agreed to keep our spending in check. That lasted until HE saw a 42" Vizio television with a 120 ghz refresh rate in his price range. We've been together over fifteen years and I never knew the man could grovel with such style and panache. And effectively. Yes, I caved in and agreed we could get the blasted thing, PROVIDED I got the older flat screen for in the bedroom. I even agreed to split the cost with him since it could be his Christmas present. It's amamzing that three-hundred fifty bucks can get me a used tv....

I never saw him so eager to jump in the pickup and head for town. It was almost embarrassing. The man is sixty-one, for heaven's sake. (Yes, he robbed the cradle when he met me.) It took a lot of fast talking to convince him to wait and see if they go on sale just before the big day.

He whimpers well, too.

In other happy Christmas news, the die-T is progressing quite well. The new slacks that were snug a month ago fit fine now. But I have a new worry. My rings are starting to slide around a bit on my finger. No more wearing the good stuff for everyday.

Do my fingers type faster? Oh, he$$ no. I wouldn't be that lucky.

This year, as Christmas approaches, I'll have an edit to do on an upcoming release, "A Hero's Bargain." I'm looking forward to getting this story out. It's another science-fiction piece, and I like it. The story turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

And this is enough rambling for one session. Check out the books to the right. I'll probably be letting my paid website go at the first of the year, so watch for this site to be updated with more frequency.

The new frugal is a bit of a drag, isn't it?

Rayne Forrest

PS. Don't forget to join my mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/authorrayneforrest so you don't miss the announcement about the release of "A Hero's Bargain."

Rayne's Ramblings: Diet is DIE with a T

To say that 2009 has been a year of rest for me is probably understating the fact. The peaks and valleys of upheaval smoothed out, and gave me some peace. But like any good rolling stone, I haven't stopped long enough to let the moss gather.

Being an introspective sort of person, I constantly take stock of where my life is now, and where it is going. With those around me finally healthy again, this past summer was the right time for me to look at my own health. I've been making a few positive changes. Unfortunately, with free time scarce, it meant moving away from the computer, and, well, moving myself. Okay, it meant moving my ass. And my arms.

One of these days I hope to scale back the amount of hours I spend working outside the home. To do that, I've got to be firmly entrenched in an exercise routine. Yeah, yeah, you read it everywhere you go. I read it, too. But this was the year I took it to heart. And kicking, screaming, and begrudging every moment spent away from my writing, I began. And you know what? It hasn't been too bad.

Honest. I actually look forward to my walks. My upper body workout? Eeyyyyy, not so much, but I do it. Twenty minutes a day? I don't think so. I bust through the movements and I move on, but at least I'm doing them. Maybe some day I'll start to enjoy them..OR NOT..but I'm not giving up.

And diet? Well, diet is simply DIE with a T. You stop eating, you die. So that's definitely a one day at a time change, too. Some days, I do great. Other days, not so good, but it seems like I'm doing better all the time. The easiest thing has been eating at least one piece of fruit a day. As soon as I hop in my car to drive home from the day job, I munch on an apple. So far, they haven't outlawed THAT while driving.

Am I making progress? The last pair of slacks I bought were a size smaller. However, there is one drink I won't give up. Give up my coffee? I'll rip your hand off if you try to take my coffee away, but I can tolerate a fat-free creamer.

So, Rayne's rambling again. Perhaps. I look at the changes made this past year as positive steps for my writing, because they are positive steps for me. Feeling better, sleeping better (I've always been a champ at that), and eating better can only help me write better. That's my theory.

What's up next for Rayne the author? A science-fiction erotic romance entitled, A Hero's Bargain, coming early in 2010.

What's up next for Rayne the woman? Perhaps a wardrobe full of smaller-sized clothes. Wouldn't that be wonderful? It certainly would.

Rayne's Ramblings: The hokey-pokey

This has been a productive summer for me. I used to wonder if the writing would get easier, and now I have an answer. For me, yes, it has. I’m much more relaxed about this business than I used to be.

Part of that is I don’t spend a lot of time out on all the lists, and groups. Maybe I should, I don’t know. Trying to do the personal appearances took a chunk out of precious writing time, so I think it’s a necessity that I limit time spent on the Internet. Does that hurt sales? I don’t think so. I believe that the best promotion is the best book you can write.

When I was first starting out, the prevailing wisdom said you had to promo at the review sites in their “live” chat rooms. I did it. Some review sites bragged of having hundreds of people show up for a chat. When I wasn’t headlining those events, I went as myself, not the author, and I never encountered more than twenty-three people at a “live” chat, even when some rather big-name, New York authors were there.

The prevailing wisdom said, “You must have contests.” So I did. I got to know those people who haunt the lists waiting for a contest. I don’t bother much with contests, these days. T-shirts, bookmarks, promo cd’s – all the little klitchy things. I did them all.

And nothing – absolutely nothing – makes any difference if you don’t have a good book.

If I have just one shot at giving any advice to a new writer, or an old one, for that matter, I make it this: Forget everything that fills up your hours with counterproductive activities, and learn, learn, learn all you can to make your writing better.

And a better story leads to greater personal satisfaction, and that, my friends, is the hokey-pokey of this business. That’s what it’s all about.

Rayne
http://www.rayneforrest.com

Challengers, refrigerators, men and romance

I have a fascination with the headline news. Go ahead and call me a sucker, but things like, “NC sheriff’s deputy uses Corvette to stop speeders” grabs my attention. Personally, I’d use a Corvette to catch good-looking guys, but to each their own. But, today’s blog isn’t about Corvettes. Or the new Camaro. Or Challenger. It’s about refrigerators.

Say what? What does any of that have to do with romance? More than you think.

Labor Day weekend, 2001, just nine days before the world changed forever, we bought a new refrigerator. It was one of those side-by-side jobs with the ice dispenser in the door. Very nice. Very expensive, too, but neither of us had ever had a new refrigerator before. We come from modest backgrounds, and used hand-me-down appliances that still worked weren’t anything a can of spray appliance paint couldn’t spruce-up.

Well, our love affair with the big, black box in the kitchen went south in a hurry. My beloved and I came home one day to the thing spitting ice cubes out onto the ceramic tile floor. Not good. Even worse, three of the tiles had gotten so cold they cracked. The replacements aren’t a perfect match, either. We had the box repaired and moved on.

Before long, the freezer wasn’t freezing. We discovered the problem was in the electronics. If we unplugged it, and let it “thaw” out, we could plug it back in and it would be fine. At a couple hundred dollars a house call, the repairman doing what we could do ourselves was out of the question. I declared we’d have to live with it until the mortgage was paid off. My beloved agreed. We’d muddle through for a couple more years.

And so we did until last month, and the big, black box did it again. It was the sixth time in as many years, and my patience snapped. We went shopping and picked up one of those units with the freezer on the bottom.

Um, the romance part of this? I’m getting to it.

New refrigerators are ridiculously overpriced. I mean, really totally over the top. We almost decided to continue to endure the old one. I’m the one that carted frozen stuff up and down the basement stairs, and moved food from the ‘fridge to the cooler and then back. All he did was unplug the thing from the wall. If he could continue, so could I.

But then my honey, this balding, bad-boy ex-lead guitarist and two-time cancer survivor said he’d pay for the new refrigerator.

You might say, “and well he should,” but I disagree. For years, this man has been squirreling away his pennies for one last hot car in which to relive a small part of his youth while he can still have fun doing it. So instead of putting his money down on a new Challenger with a V8 Hemi, he plunked it down on domesticity.

Pretty darned romantic, if you ask me.

Rayne
website
mailing list

Rayne's Ramblings - I used to want a Kindle

I wanted a Kindle. Let me count the ways I wanted a Kindle! Being of German and Scot descent, however, I couldn’t justify the cost when my trusty old laptop works great for reading. My laptop usually goes where I go, even to bed, but after all these years, I was ready to throw it over for something smaller and lighter - a Kindle.

Maybe not so fast…

I’m a sucker for the Yahoo headline news. Every time I log on, there are one or two articles I can’t resist reading. It’s so freakin’ easy to just click and go. But, I digress, again.

On July 20, 2009, the headline popped up “Pirated copies of Orwell books pulled from Kindle.” Okay, I clicked. It seems the Kindle shop offered Orwell’s “1984” and “Animal Farm” when they didn’t have the clear rights to do so.

Someone at Amazon asleep at the wheel? It’s not the first time, the recent de-listing of GLBT literature being another example of snoozing. (They “corrected” that problem, too.) Amazon pulled the stories. BUT… and you knew there would be one…BUT they also wiped the stories off of people’s Kindles.

And this is where they lost my money.

I don’t care that monies were refunded. What I care about is BIG BROTHER. The very thing Orwell wrote about. To my way of thinking, that’s a bit too much control being exerted by a company that borderlines on being a monopoly.

I’d like to know why they didn’t let the people who purchased the stories, in good faith may I add, keep them, and pay the Orwell estate and publishers the going rate royalty. Other than the fact it’s too easy to be high-handed and just show the world how powerful Amazon has really become.

And what of those people who paid for merchandise with those little temporary credit cards? Did they get their money back, too? I’ve always wondered how that would work.

I think I’ll stick with my old trusty laptop that stills works like the day I got it. Save my money for something really special, whatever that may be.

A rep at Amazon did say they were taking steps that in the future, if this situation occurs again, customers won’t lose books. That doesn’t ease my concern that a giant company thought it was a good idea to build a "rescind" feature into their device.

One more thing, and this if for all the epublished authors out there. At the end of the article, the AP acknowledged that digital libraries are growing rapidly. They also said, in a nutshell, that piracy has not had a “measurable impact on sales.”

Just whose sales are they referring to?

Oh yeah. Amazon’s sales. The little guy in the trenches hardly counts.

Rayne Forrest
website
myspace
mailing list

July again

July again. How did this happen? It seems like just yesterday it was March and the trees were bare. Now my backyard Eden is lush and green, visited nightly by fireflies. My beloved and I sit on the patio and laugh at the cat’s antics as he stalks them. Shooter seems to know it’s just a game to pass the time. Either that or he’s tasted fireflies and doesn’t care for the flavor. Who knows with cats?

After so many years of intense gardening, I’ve scaled back. The deer have won. We set aside a little patch of dirt outside the kitchen window and beside the patio for a daylily patch. I moved one of every variety I have into it, and it’s lovely. Looking out the window at that bright splash of color actually does ease the pain of being at the sink working. (I’m just not a kitchen person.)

I’ve been taking stock of my writing. My beloved’s battle with cancer took a lot out of both of us. More so him, of course, but almost losing him definitely altered my outlook on life. I set better priorities for myself, and the nose to the grindstone style of working is pretty far down the list. Earlier this season, as we sat on the patio wrapped in robes against the morning chill, he asked me if I planned to continue writing. It’s a big question, and the answer is yes, I do.

It’s time to forge ahead, get back in the game, not that I really left. I have more than a few completed manuscripts ready to go out the door. I hope my editors will be pleased to get them, but it’s always a roll of the dice.

The ideas never stop coming. I’ve seven concept folders started with bits and pieces of ideas, photos, and even one or two opening chapters. It’s time to pick one and starting composing prose.

First, though, it’s time for a bike ride with my beloved on this last day of my long holiday weekend. He has a new bike, you see, and even though it’s supposed to be a birthday present for a birthday at the end of this month, he has it now and can’t wait to test it out.

Life’s too short not to enjoy what you have.

Rayne Forrest
http://www.rayneforrest.com