Am I happy?

LOL, what do you think?

Look what I just noticed on MBaM’s best seller list:

In the last three weeks

01.	Stay With Me by Maya Banks
02.	The Wallflower by Dana Marie Bell
03.	Claiming Their Mate by Paige McKellan
04.	Rachel’s Totem by Marie Harte
05.	Treasured by Crystal Jordan
06.	Out of Bounds by T. A. Chase
07.	Regina in the Sun by R. G. Alexander
08.	Some Kind of Hero by Michelle Cary
09.	Take A Stranger No More by Beth Kery
10.	Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee

Thank you, to all of you who bought the book. It wouldn’t have made the list without you.

BTW – Check out Maya Bank’s Stay With Me. It was released on Tuesday, MBaM was down for most of the day, and now she has another number one bestseller. Wow. That is pretty darn extraordinary.

Jess

What do readers look for in a hero?

So, some of you readers spoke out earlier, and told me about your ideal heroes. Curious to know what we look for in a man and in a hero? Read on:

- “I don’t really have a visual description. My ideal hero is the hero who is oh-so-in-love with his heroine. I adore when he isn’t ultra-alpha. May have uncertainties, takes consideration in decisions. Not a whimp, just conscientious.” (Kathy)

- “I love a strong dominant man who also has a sensitive side. Dark sexy eyes and a sexy quirk to his grin would be nice too.
A man who takes the time and effort to stay in relatively good shape would necessary. If he doesn’t care enough to take care of himself than…
I want one who likes to play and experiment sexually.” (Sandie)

- “Well, in addition to Hot, Sexy, Creative, and Confident – I love it when the hero knows that he’s crazy for the heroine and goes after her without hesitation.
This way, the story is awesome to read because the hero is on the hunt and that can lead to some very hot scenes! ” (Karen)

- “A tall man with green eyes and a captivating smile who makes me laugh and sings only for me. aka-My Husband. ” (Jambrea)

- “As far as looks, I like tall, dark and handsome. Blue eyes too. My husband fits that description.
As far as character – funny, patient, and intelligent. Maybe handy with power tools!” (Valerie)

- “Navy seal , dark hair that is slightly on the longish side okay would have to be ex navy seal lol. Smart he has to have a brain, sensitive supportive and caring, good sense of humor. Built but not overly so, nice tan, and piercing blue eyes. Can I get that to go please?” (Tina)

LOL. What do you think?

Personally, my romance hero is just like Daniel Tanner: Blonde hair, blue eyes, and sexy as a pin-up model. On top of all that, he’s smart, kind, funny and he adores his heroine.

As for my real life hero. That’s easy. My hubby!

Jess

Daniel and Amy become friends

If you’re wondering how the hero and heroine of Photo Opportunity (Daniel Tanner and Amy Morgan) became friends in the first place, all those years ago, I have the answer for you.

This is a scene from the original draft of Photo Opportunity (the sweet but not erotic version).

It starts with Amy talking to her friend and colleague, Maggie McGill, about Daniel. (Yep, Amy and Maggie speak about Daniel a lot.)

Anyway, I’ve skipped the boring bits and cut straight to the chase. Enjoy:

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: The original version

Maggie finished the last of her chocolate and licked her fingers. “You know,” she mulled out loud, “I don’t even know how you and Daniel met. I guess I just kind of assumed you were in nappies together. You seem to have known him forever.”
Amy grinned. “Not quite that long. We were fourteen.”
Maggie looked sceptical. “Teenagers?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Uh uh, I don’t see how that could work. There is no way a boy and a girl could be friends at that age. Far too many adolescent hormones flying around. I bet he was trying to pick you up and you were to innocent to realize it.”
Amy laughed. “To be honest, it wasn’t hormones that brought us together. It was chemistry.”
“Hormones, chemistry, same thing.”
“No, I’m being serious. It really was chemistry. Or Science class to be exact.”
“Science class? Tell me more.”
“The whole story or the shortened version?”
“The whole story.”
“We met at school. Even though we were in the same class, we’d never really spoken to each other. But then our science teacher paired us up for some experiment.” Amy scrunched up her nose in concentration, “I don’t remember what it was, but we were mixing all sorts of chemicals to see their reactions.”
She smiled as the memories came flitting back. “Daniel was brilliant at science. He loved the subject but loathed the class, found it drab and boring. So when we were told to follow this strict formula for the experiment he deliberately tossed caution to the wind and made up his own recipe – just to see the results.”
“That sounds like typical Daniel behaviour,” Maggie interjected.
“It was. But I didn’t know him at the time, so you can imagine how shocked I was. He selected a whole lot of chemicals that had nothing to do with the actual experiment. I was concerned and amazed and I told him so. But he just responded by saying it would be more fun his way and asked me to measure out a teaspoonful of something I wasn’t supposed to be holding.”
“And you listened to him?” Maggie shot her a sucker look.
Amy grinned. “Not at first. I argued for a while, but Daniel can be very persuasive when he wants to be.”
“Don’t I know it.” Maggie nodded in understanding. “I watched him sweet talk his way out of a parking fine outside the Clinic the other day. So what happened next?”
“Well I tried to convince him to change his mind…” as Amy spoke, she lost herself in the memories. For the second time, she was back in the science lab staring at Daniel, askance.
“Please tell me you’re not being serious about this.” Sure he was cute and all, but was the guy absolutely crazy too?
“Sorry, can’t do that.” He put down the flask he’d been holding and gave her a challenging look. “Come on, where’s your sense of adventure? Let’s try something different for a change. We already know what the results should be. It’s in the textbook, page sixty-three.”
“Where’s my sense of adventure? I leave it at home when I come to school. We can’t just do things your way. What if it goes wrong and we get into trouble?”
Listen,” he cajoled, flashing a wicked dimple, “I promise that if anything goes wrong, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Amy considered his idea for a while. He probably was crazy, but he was also right. The entire experiment was displayed in the textbook, result and all. And the class was pretty drab. Besides, when last had she done anything exciting at school? “Okay. You’re on.” She poured a tiny amount out of the bottle she was holding. “Here you go, one teaspoon coming up.”
Daniel looked at her as if seeing her for the first time and grinned. “You’re alright, Morgan.”
Five minutes later and they had only one bottle left to use. Daniel picked it up. “Ammonia,” he read, “I wonder …” Without bothering to measure out an amount, he poured a healthy dose into the flask.
The next thing Amy knew, there was a fizzing sound and the liquid started to bubble. Daniel studied the concoction with interest, while Amy looked around to see if anyone else had noticed what was going on at their table. Then she heard a pop and a foul stench filled the room.
“Morgan,” Daniel said to her in hushed tones, “our experiment just popped.”
“So did my nose. I’ve never smelt anything this bad in my life. What do we do?”
“Either switch flasks with the next table and blame it on them,” he flashed her a dimpled smile, confirming that he was teasing, “or get the hell out of here.” He grabbed her hand. “Option two, I think. Let’s move it.”
They joined the line of pupils desperately trying to get out of the lab.
When they were a safe distance away from the class and lounging on the grass outside, Daniel turned to her and said, “Told you it would be more fun my way.” He winked. “Stick with me, Morgan, we have the potential to achieve many more great things together.”

Lol, it’s fun to reread the original drafts.

Meanwhile, the erotic version is now available at MyBookstoreAndMore, and BooksonBoard.

Jess

NOW AVAILABLE – PHOTO OPPORTUNITY

Photo Opportunity is now officially available at Samhain Publishing.

You can check out the book and an excerpt at:

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/photo-opportunity

or you can head straight on over to MBAM and buy yourself a copy:

http://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/product_info.php?products_id=960

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY:

Can friends become lovers…can lovers remain friends?

Daniel Tanner’s through with being loved like the proverbial brother. He intends to make his best friend, Amy Morgan, blaze with the same desire he feels for her. The plan? Initiate a series of escapades that will have Amy falling into his arms—and into his bed.

When her trusted buddy suddenly turns up the heat, Amy finds it impossible to resist his sexy advances. But as his best friend, she knows a thing or two about Daniel. While he may be charming and gorgeous, he’s also commitment phobic.

If she trusts her heart to him, she’s sure he’ll leave it—and their friendship—shattered in a million pieces.

Warning: Contains smoking hot love scenes between two best friends who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other.

And now, I very proudly bring you Samhain’s new releases for May 2, 2008:

Eyes of Fire by CJ England $6.50 $5.85

Photo Opportunity by Jess Dee $4.50 $4.05

Temptation Unleashed by Kari Thomas $5.50 $4.95

Jess

It’s Friday!

Yes, it is. As I stare at my calendar, I clearly see it is 9:44am on Friday, the 2nd of May, 2008.

Which means PHOTO OPPORTUNITY should be available.

But, oh no. It’s never that simple, is it? See in Macon, GA, in the United States, where Samhain is based, it is still Thursday. I have to wait another 12 hours or so until I can break open the champagne.

Lord, how long can one day be?

I hereby swear not to obsessively watch the clock, count the minutes or listen to the second hand ticking by.

But keep watching. Next time I post, it’ll be to say the book is officially available.

Jess