A once in a lifetime review

It’s not every day I can walk into a room and announce that one of my books has been reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly. But today I can do that, and I can do it with an enormous amount of pride. Because not only did PW review a book of mine, but they awarded it a STAR review.

Usually I’d only post a snippet of a review, but well, seeing as this is a biggie for me, I’m gonna go the distance and post the whole damn thing.

(*Ahem* Please note the little, red star beside the title. )

Colors of Love: Speed, Book 2

Jess Dee. Samhain, $4.50 e-book (162p) ISBN 978-1-60928-930-0

Dee follows See You in My Dreams with a red-hot tale that has true heart. Seth Pace, guitarist and songwriter for a rock band, Speed, has the hots for the band’s manager, Luke Struthers. Luke, deeply in love with Seth, fights that attraction with everything he’s got; having grown up in an abusive home, he’s afraid of perpetuating the cycle of violence. Both men occasionally enjoy threesomes with women, so Luke hatches a plan while the band’s on tour: to bring a straight woman, Karen “Kaz” Flaherty, into bed with him and Seth and then slip away. What Luke doesn’t know is that Kaz has an extraordinary ability to read auras, and unparalleled intuition. She’s determined to find out why Luke’s aura radiates despair and help all three of them find lasting love. The sex scenes sizzle, and Dee’s skillful characterization will have readers eagerly hoping the trio get their happily ever after. (Aug.)

Reviewed on: 04/30/2012

Thank you Publisher’s Weekly, for making me one very happy writer.

Colors Of Love releases on the 24th of July, but it is available now for pre-order on Kindle and Nook.

Jess

Cartoons for the twisted mind

For those of you, who like me, enjoy your humor with a little twist…enjoy.

Jess

Colors Of Gorgeous (Or my new cover)

I am so excited to show you this stunning new cover. It is utterly gorgeous and suits the book beautifully.

It’s the cover to the second book in the Speed series, Colors of Love (The sequel to See You In My Dreams.)

So, what do you think?

(Cover designed by Kendra Egert)

Wanna know a bit more about the book? Here’s the blurb:

COLORS OF LOVE

Their true colors are hidden…until one woman turns everything upside down.

Speed, Book 2

Seth Pace, guitarist of the rock band Speed, is a born dreamer, and nothing stands in his way of making those dreams a reality. Except when it comes to band manager Luke Struthers. He’s everything Seth wants in a partner, but even after five years of perfectly explosive sex, Luke refuses to commit.

After a childhood ravaged by abuse, Luke knows he’s a potential danger to anyone foolish enough to love him. Seth is safer without him, but Luke has no idea how to cut him loose painlessly. Until he spots Seth’s kind of woman—pretty, smart, friendly. The plan: seduce her into a sexy threesome, then leave the two alone to fall in love. Problem solved.

A night of excitement with the two hottest men on the planet? Yeah, baby! Yet Kaz’s inborn ability to read auras tells her something isn’t right. It’s obvious Seth and Luke are madly in love, but subtle clues in Luke’s aura signal he’s up to something. She’s not sure what, but if she doesn’t do something quick, the two men she’s quickly come to adore will wind up without the happily ever after they both deserve.

Warning: One man + one man + one woman = a whole lot of steamy two-way and three-way M/M & M/M/F sex, a hero or two to drool over, and a heroine who recognizes true love when she sees it.

Colors Of Love releases on the 24th of July. (I know! That’s MONTHS away.) But…the good news is: It’s already available for pre-order on Amazon. Just click here to order it.

Jess

Pre-order Office Affair for just 90c

Nope, this offer isn’t going to last for long. In fact, there are only ten books available at this extraordinary price.

So, what do you have to do to get your copy? Just go to Diesel eBookstore at 11am EST, Friday (6th of April). Look on their home page, and you’ll see the title “Deal Of The Day”. That’s where you’ll find this special offer.

www.diesel-ebooks.com

Soon as ten copies are sold, the deal is over. So you may wanna hurry.

Good luck.

Jess

Changing Perspectives

(Copied from the Down Under Divas’ Blog)

Its been a while since I blogged here. A loooong while. And yes, I know, I should be punished for being so slack. But…in my defense, I haven’t actually been slacking off. Yes, my word output has decreased to a bare minimum (maybe even none) but that’s because I’ve been busy with other things. Well, just one other thing.

Me.

See, a while back I was chatting to a friend about how much weight I’d put on and how much I hated looking like this, and how determined I was to do something about it. I’d spent the summer dodging the beach and anything to do with wearing a swimsuit, because I was ashamed of how I looked without clothes. My kids suffered for it, because I continually refused to take them to the sea. My friend said the exact same thing. She’d had enough of eating like a hog and doing no exercise. It was time for a change.

I’ll tell you now, it was all just talk for me. I wasn’t really interested in doing anything about it. I’d reached a point of thinking I was okay just the way I was. Who cared if I was heavier than I had been when I was nine months pregnant? It’s not a crime to be overweight. People should learn to love themselves just the way they are. Right? Didn’t matter that my weight was affecting my health. That every joint in my body ached and I was perpetually exhausted. Didn’t matter that I didn’t even have the energy to walk my dog or kick a ball, or that I wheezed like an asthmatic every time I walked up a hill. I had to love myself just the way I was.

But then a month down the line two things happened simultaneously. I was chatting to that same friend, and she looked…amazing! Seriously. She’d shed several kilos, her skin was glowing, her hair shone and she had a radiance to her I’d never seen before. See, unlike me and my big talk/no action, she’d gone and done something about her weight. She’d joined a tiny gym and started an all new eating program. The fat was falling off her, she felt like a million dollars and she had energy to burn. That same night, someone emailed photos she’d taken of me. And as I sat staring at the pics, shocked out of my mind, I began to feel nauseous. I saw an image of someone I did not recognize at all, someone I was ashamed to be. I knew I’d picked up weight. I never knew how much, or how terrible I looked. To put it blankly, I had disgraced myself and my body.

That night I signed up for my friend’s gym program. I simply stopped thinking about it and debating, and I acted! Two days later I began my diet and my new training classes.

And guess what?

It was hell. Every second of every minute of every hour I trained was nothing less that grueling torture. I ached in places I never knew I had, I was stiff twenty-four seven, and worst of all? I didn’t have the food I craved to comfort me. I’d cut out all sugar, all salt, all preservatives, all red meat and anything that wasn’t fresh. So there I was, in absolute pain, longing for a chokkie or a piece of cake to make me feel better, and I had NONE! Instead I was forced to wrap my head around the idea of buying vegetables. Tons and tons of vegetables. And cooking them. Slicing, peeling, preparing and cooking them. I don’t even like veggies. Gimme a carrot or tomato, and I’m okay. Marrrows, peppers (capsicum), mushrooms, peas, beans, asparagus…YUCK! But that was it. That was my option. Healthy eating. It took weeks to get my head into that space. Weeks. I had to come to terms with the fact that if I cheated on my diet, it was with an extra 50g of cauliflower or broccoli. Hello? You call that cheating?

Fortunately the diet isn’t all bad. There is ample carbohydrate, ample protein and ample milk, so once my body adapted to the lack of junk food, it stopped being hungry all the time. The food I fed it nourished it. And wonder of wonder, I found myself feeling better. The cravings stopped. I didn’t miss sugar, salt or fried food. I realized I could do this. It didn’t get easier, but I could cope. As for the training, well that didn’t get easier either. In fact, as soon as my body adapted to an exercise, and I finally found my comfort zone doing it, my trainer increased the level of difficulty.

It’s two months down the line now, and I confess, I am a different person. I’ve finally wrapped my head around this new lifestyle. This new way of eating, this new way of treating my body – and exercising it 3 – 4 times a week. No, the weight isn’t falling off. It’s coming down very slowly. But I am back in my normal clothes, and I’ve packed my fat clothes away. I still long for the day I feel comfortable in a bikini though. My hair is shiny again, and my skin is clear and glowing with good health. My joints are no longer sore or achy – but my muscles are always stiff. I now have the energy to walk the dog or kick a ball with my kids – but damn, I need a nap after training sessions.

It took a long time and a bucketload of hard work to reach this point. It took a complete change of perspective to get here. It wasn’t easy, and I doubt it ever will be. But I can say, in all honesty, I am so glad I made the change. It’s nice to like myself again. It’s been too long since I did.

Jess