Its not often you get to meet someone you’ve watched, adored and practically idolized (for twenty-two years) from afar. On November 18, 2009, I had the opportunity to do just that. Andre Agassi had written his autobiography and he was here in the LA area signing his work. I never had the chance to see him in person on any other occasion and I knew if I didn’t go, I’d likely not have the chance again. So I left work early and ventured forth to Borders in Century City, purchased my copy and began the journey that is his book while I waited in line. (If you know me, you know that I rarely read out of my favorite sub-genres within the main romance genre. But I’ll confess right here and now that I feel such admiration for this individual that it wasn’t difficult to dive right into his book.)

His wonderful sense of humor shines through the writing and the pain he felt, both physically and emotionally is acute.

Finally, around 7:30 PM, we were ushered indoors having been given explicit instructions about conduct and what to expect – no cameras (yeah, right, let me run to my car and put it away) no personalization, no breathing, no heartbeat. The line moved quickly, which made me suspect they were herding us through like cattle.

Upon my speedy approach to my heart’s destination (Oooo, purple prose!! LOL) I snapped a pic. Note the blonde Gestapo in black at his right and the pink shirt Gestapo between us. In a way I’m surprised the Fraus Gestapo didn’t confiscate my camera, but I suppose they didn’t have the facilities to house the amount of photography equipment in violation. In other words, *everyone* was snapping happily away.

After a short stint at the very front of the line, the pink shirt Gestapo took my book and handed it to Andre (because clearly I was incapable – NOT!) I stepped up to the table.

Me: “Hi.” I smiled

Andre: Looked up and smiled back. “Hi.” He bent to the task of autographing my copy.

Me: “I, too, am an author.”

Andre: His eyes, the windows to his soul, simply came to life. “YOU ARE?”

Me: “Yes, I write historical romance. Here’s my card.” I slid my business card to him across the smooth desktop.

(Gestapo in black promptly swept it into a pile of items meant for Andre.)

Andre: “Well, there’s historical romance in here!” He indicated his book.

Me: I grinned. “Excellent.”

At once I was ushered off to the side. I didn’t even get to say ‘Thank you.’
In rebellion, I snapped a couple more pix:

In time, I’m sure I will forget the Fraus Gestapo, but I will never forget my twenty seconds with one of my favorite people on Earth.

I wish all of you the same – but much longer – sort of opportunity.
Blessings -
G.

Only one holiday makes me giddy like a little 
kid – and that's Halloween.
  
More than a few places on this planet cause 
that same child-like feeling in me – Disneyland 
is one of them. Combine the two and I'm done for 
– in a good way.  

The best thing about Disneyland is the tiny details 
that sadly, most people miss because they are too 
busy running from one ride to the next. 
Here are a few shots I took when we visited the Dis 
on Friday, October 30th, '09:
  
Let's begin with a shop that I could spend a large
fortune in, "Disneyana." Here are a couple of close-
ups of goodies in the window and in the store:



  
And speaking of windows, here is my favorite - 
I always have to take a peek at this one
no matter what time of year it is. Look closely - 
so many amazing goodies in here!:

  
  
The detail of Fantasyland's architecture 
always thrills me:

 

Have you ever watched the window above Snow White's
Scary Adventrue? Just about every twenty seconds,
the Evil Queen peeks out of the window:


It is said that the clock above (and below) is set
to the exact time Walt Disney died.

Most of the time you can find me in
in New Orleans Square. As I am quite
fond of the Victorian era, and simply
MAD about "Tim Burton's The Nightmare
Before Christmas," you can imagine how
I drool over the Haunted Mansion Holiday
attraction every year:

I get a kick out of Main Street, too.
You can only see the pumpkins if you look
closely:
 
(Just FYI - In his younger days, Steve Martin
worked in the Main Street Magic Shop.   )

Thank you so much for letting me share my love for
the Dis with you. If I make it back before Christmas,
I'll take more pix and post them here. May your holidays be filled with warmth and loved ones.
XO
G.

The following scene was removed from the story because it was originally  in Vald’s point of view. 
I thought I’d resurrect it for Halloween:

     “Remove your hands from around my throat, Vlad. I will answer the summons to attend the countess when I see fit and not before.”

     Count Vlad Tepes was one of the Lords on the High Council of vampires and their queen, Countess Erzebet Batheroy, had been his obsession for hundreds of years. He would do anything for her, even go as far as allowing the queen’s many lovers access to her bed.

     “She wants more than a word with you, Pup. It would be considered wise if you were to bow to her wishes,” Vlad hissed in Dacious’s ear.

     Dacious seized the count’s wrist and freed himself from Vlad’s grip. “I bow to no creation,” he growled.

     Vlad laughed insincerely. “Perhaps not, but were you to lay yourself at the feet of Erzebet, you would find more pleasure at the mercy of her hands than any highly-skilled whore could ever give you.”

     “You heard what I have to say on the subject,” Dacious pronounced. He turned from Count Vlad Tepes and walked away.

      At once, Vlad materialized from a mist in front of Dacious in order to hamper his steps. “Do not turn your back on me, Pup!” he ground out, his fangs emerging beneath his parted lips.

     Without batting an eyelash, Dacious turned invisible and walked through the infuriated vampire.

     Vlad froze. No mist. No other form had the Pup chosen for his transition, as was the way of the brethren. He turned away casually, pretending the nonexistent mode of transformation hadn’t ruffled his feathers in the least. However, his mind raced.

      Silent suspicion pierced the night air around him.

     His queen had wanted the pup for a bedmate since the first night Dacious came to court. Vlad scoffed, good taste can be so subjective.

     Erzebet was his, damn it. His hands flexed into fists. Was it not himself who’d rescued her from that horrid little walled-up room and made her immortal? A deep primal growl threatened to escape from him, but he forced a breath through his nostrils instead.

     Something was odd about the Pup. He’d always known it, but now he could smell it.

August 22, 2009

Day eighteen of the blog tour

TORTURED, erotic medieval, Harlequin Spice, Aug.’09-Amanda McIntyre

See the book trailer at:  http://www.amandamcintyre.net/tortured.html#trailer

In a time of chaos, darkness, and violence, it is better to live only in the moment, lest your memories eat you alive. 

A young woman blessed with “sight seeks vengeance against a tyrannical lord responsible for her mother’s murder.  Forced to become an executioner’s apprentice, she encounters a Roman prisoner who offers her a way to escape her prison and find a future.  Torn between desire, duty, and the chance for revenge, her choice to live or die leaves her TORTURED.  (Available now, Harlequin Spice, Aug. ‘09)

I want to thank my friend Genella for having me here today at her lovely internet abode!  It’s always kind of fun to poke around and see what’s going on!  If you haven’t read about all of Genella’s exciting news yet, be sure to check out her various books above and see what’s happening!  Congrats my friend, you are on a roll!

Well, here I am already the 18^th day into my blog and it’s been a lot of fun!  I’ve shared some of my “summer vacation” memories and had some fantastic discussions with folks along the way.  I kind of feel like I’m doing an Internet documentary, of sorts!  I think of how long it used to take to get a communication to another soul—lets see;

*776 BC, they used the first homing pigeons to send messages about the winners of the Olympics

*200BC first humans used as foot messengers/horseback

*100 BC the first bound books were made

*1450 newspapers show up in Europe

1835 Samuel Morse invents the Morse code

1861 the US begins the pony express for mail

1914 the first cross continental phone call was made (can you bring home some bread?)

1949 Network television begins

1966 Xerox invents the first telecopier

1976 Apple invents the first home computer (it would be 20 years later before this house had one!)

1994 The us govt. release control of internet, giving us “WWW” effectively creating the ability to have communication at lightspeed

*more stats found at http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_history_of_communication.htm

It doesn’t seem all that long ago, does it?  And who knows where technology will be twenty years from now!

And where is all this leading, you might ask?  Well, given that my heroine lived in an age traditionally known as the “dark ages,” she had to rely pretty much on what was in front of her at the time.  I have to wonder what it might have been like had she had an ITOUCH or a Blackberry?  I suspect that she and Dryston would not have had near the adventure they did!  Perhaps they wouldn’t have met except on Match dot com?  It is food for thought and a hilarious medieval comedy to be sure to think about though!  So I would like to pose the question to each of you…if you could live without (permanently) one electronic or technological device in your home or car—what would it be?

Oh, the answers I can only imagine are rolling around in heads, right now!;)  Leave your comments here for a chance to win a copy of TORTURED!

Next blog stop: McIntyre’s House of Muse!  Yep! I’m tossing some shrimp on the barby, turning on my little Chinese lanterns on the deck roof and getting out the patio chimney for s’amores later on! Come on by, we’re going to get a sneak peek at another NEVER BEFORE PUBLICIZED excerpt of TORTURED, a brief story featuring Thomas Rodin, never before published until now, some more Gods of Football pics and a few fun giveaways through the weekend! Including a few copies of Diary of Cozette, one of Tortured, and who knows what other mischief I can get into!

May the wind be at your back~

Amanda

www.amandamcintyre.net

Assignments from bosses are usually . . . well, let’s be honest – not so fun.
This past Monday, a potential boss (OK, an editor, but still in the category of boss) instructed me to read a few historical erotic romances.

I read:
In the Dark, by Brynn Paulin

Georgie and the Dragon, by Cindy Spencer Pape

Mist and Stone, by Bronwyn Green

All stories are from the anthology “Brits in Time.”

To date, it was the best assignment I’ve ever gotten from a boss.

Good news coming soon – I can feel it on the wind.
Hugs -
G.

Hello all!

It turns out that more and more of my friends are stepping up and admitting their interest in the supernatural. Well, they’ve come to the right place!

Back in 2004, my dear friend and I went on a crazy, four-day whirl-wind trip to New Orleans. It was the first time for both of us. We stayed at a bed and breakfast a couple of blocks over from Bourbon Street called the Lanaux Mansion. Here are a couple of pix first from the exterior and then from the interior (of a different room, not ours) – Can you see the orbs or are those just dust specks? You be the judge!:

At the north end of Bourbon Street, just before the residential neighborhood begins, sat our favorite night spot, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop. It was built sometime before 1772, and is one of the few remaining original “French architecture” structures in the French Quarter.
How perfectly natural that the Scarlett Harlott and I were drawn to the place where ‘Privateer’ Jean Lafitte operated his ‘legitimate’ business. Tee-hee! (Note: I can not take credit for the first pic – I just wanted you to see what the front looks like. Notice at the far left of the photo, the way the building leans?)

One of our preferred events was Ghost Expeditions put on by the ISPR (International Society of Paranormal Researchers) people. They took us to a non-disclosed, authentically haunted location and let us experience the place in a small group setting. FYI – There was no electricity at this location – and it was dark, man. Here are a couple of pix from that – Orbs or dust?

And then there was the cemetery. I can’t remember the name of it, but I went all crazy with the camera.

Thanks for stopping by – I plan on going back to my beloved New Orleans very soon!

G.

Consider this a late entry.  

I’ve been to a few conventions in my time – but the best of the best is RT.

This year I roomied with my friend Arial Burnz.
(Sorry – Arial made me remove the beautiful pic of her and her HAND MADE butterfly mask.)
We are crazy together. She and I can talk for HOURS! I was afraid we’d never get any sleep.

 This is Arial at the Faery Ball – she’d just had a crash-landing. Hear her saying, “AAAAAAW.”

 Night owl that I am, I hung out with Cathy and Courtney at the bar, “Gatorville,” where we giggled well into to wee hours.

Here they are at the Faery Ball – Cathy’s wings were so huge!:

During RT, I signed mock-up covers of my first ebook release. Here are my girls Cathy and Courtney at my signing:

 
Here are my friends, Christine London (romance author) and her hubby Larry, who sat across from us at the Faery Ball:

I shall finish up with two of the three “Lust in Time” gals, Kristi Astor/Kristina Cook and Amanda McIntyre and me. For some reason, I can’t remember which dinner we were at. Must be the WAY too many Rum Punches and the Butterscotch Martini (courtesy of Jimmy Gaskin. Thanks for the candy, J-man!)

 
We had a BLAST! I hope you all can join us next year (April 28 – May 2, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio.) Just FYI – April 30 is my birthday – I’m not expecting presents, but I’d love to see you there! Your presence would be the best present ever.

(((GREAT BIG HUGS)))

G.

I wanted to let you know that I have an internet

radio interview about my book, “Remember Me” on:

www.healthylife.net 

My segment starts around 8:40 AM PACIFIC TIME (after a few commercials) and will be about 8 minutes long, so don’t miss it!

Leave a message below that you heard the broadcast and what part of the interview you enjoyed the most, and if 10 or more people leave comments about it (by May 15th, 2009, before 12:00 Noon, PT) I’ll be drawing a name of some lucky poster who will win a little goody from my Cafe Press Store!

I hope you “tune in!”

Blessings!

G.

If your darker side peeks through more oft than naught like mine does, you may find this interesting. While doing research with another author for period music (mid to late Victorian) I ran across this English translation of a poem which inspired the French composer, Camille Saint-Saens to write one of my favorite pieces of music, ”Danse Macabre”:

Zig, zig, zig, Death in cadence,

Striking a tomb with his heel,

Death at midnight plays a dance-tune,

Zig, zig, zag, on his violin.

The winter wind blows, and the night is dark;

Moans are heard in the linden trees.

White skeletons pass through the gloom,

Running and leaping in their shrouds.

Zig, zig, zig, each one is frisking,

You can hear the cracking of the bones of the dancers.

A lustful couple sits on the moss

So as to taste long lost delights.

Zig zig, zig, Death continues

The unending scraping on his instrument.

A veil has fallen! The dancer is naked.

Her partner grasps her amorously.

The lady, it’s said, is a marchioness or baroness

And her green gallant, a poor cartwright.

Horror! Look how she gives herself to him,

Like the rustic was a baron.

Zig, zig, zig. What a saraband!

They all hold hands and dance in circles.

Zig, zig, zag. You can see in the crowd

The king dancing among the peasants.

But hist! All of a sudden, they leave the dance,

They push forward, they fly; the cock has crowed.

Oh what a beautiful night for the poor world!

Long live death and equality!

Ah, the seduction of the dark side -

G.

Known as “RT” to those of us who are addicted to the yearly event,
The Romantic Times Booklovers Convention is the ultimate gathering
of romance readers, authors and yes, male cover models –
adding to the visual ambiance of the week. Also in attendance
at RT: Literary agents, publishers (both print and ebook) and booksellers.

As most of you know, “Remember Me” is going to be released on April 21st.

I have my very first book signing (ebook signing, to be exact)
at the Expo (April 22nd – 4:30 to 6:30 PM) there in Orlando, FL, and I’ll have a cool healing stone give-a-way for the event.  I’m so excited – everything is so surreal right now.

I can’t wait for RT – I will be in the air for most of the day on
the 21st, so no release day party for me! Ah, the irony.

I hope to see you there!
Blessings!

G.