Reviewed by Wendi Zwaduk
When I want super hot romance, there’s one author I turn to: Victoria Blisse. Why? Her stories are steamy and sweet while keeping the reader wriggling in their seat. The story flows well and I felt like I was right there with the characters, strolling the beach side. By the time I finished the book, I was ready to go back to the beginning and start again.

Oh sure, I wanted to know more about Tom and Helen, but that’s part of the nature of a short story. You won’t get all the details. It didn’t take away from the story at all and really kept me interested. I wanted to know what would happen next. Tom was a bit of a conundrum because I wasn’t sure about him at first. Why was he there? Why’d he choose her? But as I read, Ms. Blisse’s pacing worked well in revealing him bit by bit. Helen cracked me up. She knows what she wants and is great at stifling herself. She wants to succumb to Tom. Wants to feel him and yet she holds back. It’s great to see how these characters come to terms with themselves and their situations. I loved it.

If you want a steamy read for a chilly night, then you need to read Sweet Surrender.

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Don’t worry, there’s no WI calendar photos of me in this blog. Maybe if there is an outcry for me to pose with nothing but cream buns covering my modesty I might just ‘treat’ you to that!

But this Naked chef writes recipes for the Total-E-Bound Newsletter and she is called Victoria Blisse.

You didn’t see that coming did you? :)

In this months newsletter, if you haven’t seen it already I’ve outlined a lovely recipe for making MarshMallows! They’re yummy and chewy and sweet and light and go beautifully in hot chocolate.

Every month there will be a recipe by me in that Newsletter. I love to cook and so I’m really happy to have this chance to share some of my tried and tested recipes with you.

And now, a naked chef just to get your juices going. ;)

We welcome Lauren Fraser to Friends Friday today, hello Lauren, thanks for joining us! :)

Where have all the good men gone?

One of my favorite types of stories are older women/younger men stories. I’m not entirely sure what the lure of them is for me but I do find myself drawn to them for whatever reason. Now, I’m happily married and have been for 13 years, so I’m not out there dating, but as I look at my friends who are still single, already they are experiencing the shallow end of the dating pool. Where did all the good men go?

Since I’ve left the dating scene a lot has changed. Gosh I sound like my grandma, LOL, but in all honesty 15 years ago when I met my husband the very idea of meeting someone on the internet was a bit unheard of, heck I met my hubby in a bar, which would be kind of a freak thing now, LOL.

I just saw a commercial the other day that said 1 in 5 relationships starts online. Holy moly is it really that high? Looking at all of this from a research perspective how do single people go about finding that special someone? How did you meet your significant other? Work? Online? Through friends?

Maybe that’s what I like about the older woman/younger man stories. I’m a little old school and I kind of like that whole WOWZA first meeting. You know what I’m talking about, where it’s all about that initial physical attraction that draws you in. Chemistry, heat, passion all that good stuff that makes for a fun read. LOL

What about you? What type of stories do you like to read?

Holidays are all about relaxation. And what better way to relax than with a hot holiday fling?

On vacation in Mexico with her two best friends, forty-one-year-old Celeste Kopp vows to break out of her middle-aged rut and live life to the fullest. Taking surf lessons is on the top of her to do list. However, when she meets sexy surf instructor Ben, the idea of a holiday fling with a younger man becomes the only thing on her list.

Ben is more than willing to live out Celeste’s fantasies as well as a few of his own. But their holiday romance turns out to be more than either of them bargained for when the connection between them deepens. Being with Celeste forces Ben to deal with his own baggage in a way he never expected.

As the vacation draws to a close, Celeste realizes she wants so much more from Ben than a holiday fling, but can she convince him that their future together is worth the risk?

Sex Sin and Surf available from Ellora’s Cave

Bio

Lauren Fraser resides in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and two children. When she’s not busy writing, Lauren loves to spend time with her family outside—camping, hiking and kayaking.

Lauren writes about love and relationships in many different forms, but in the end she’s a sucker for a happy ending. She is multi-published and loves to hear from her readers. For the latest updates and contests visit her website.

Website: http://www.laurenfraser.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/lauren_fraser

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Lauren.Fraser.Author

The lovely editor of Uniform Behaviour Joins us today for an extra special Friends Thursday!

My First Editing Gig

Editing an anthology has been something I’ve wanted to do for some time. Then it looked as though the dream was going to become reality when a publisher asked me to edit an anthology. Sadly, before that happened they sold the business and I was back to square one.

Being a determined sort of person, the idea never really went away. Then I decided to just go for it – I’d do the whole thing from beginning to end in eBook form and put it out through a distributor that had been recommended to me. Although I wouldn’t be able to see my lovely creation in print form (though never say never!), I would at least have complete control from the call for submissions right through to the final manuscript.

I finally bit the bullet and put together a call for submissions and posted it. Then I stared at my email inbox intently before realising that not even the fastest writers are going to send something immediately – duh! I forced myself to be patient and soon submissions started to appear in my inbox when I was least expecting it.

There was no way I was going to be able to wait until the closing date to start reading. I was far too excited! So I created some Yes, No and Maybe folders on my computer and read them as I received them. Some went into the Yes folder without a moment’s hesitation. Others I deliberated over, mainly due to multiple submissions for the same type of uniform, rather than writing quality.

I didn’t want to start on any cover design until I had a fair few stories in, mainly because I already had a good idea of what I wanted, but it took a while to get a story which actually fitted! I didn’t feel I could have a guy in army uniform on the cover, but no stories with that uniform. Luckily, the soldier stories came in. In fact, I ended up with several, but I accepted three as they’re all so different.

The cover design aspect was fun. I’ve mucked around with graphics programs myself, but I’m totally rubbish. I knew early on that I wanted to have a cover professionally designed. After all, why go to all the trouble of putting the anthology together, getting some fabulous stories from wicked writers and then undersell it with a substandard cover? Never gonna happen. So I got some recommendations. Then after some to-ing and fro-ing, my awesome designer came back with a few designs, one of which was the glorious cover you see today!

Finally, the closing date for submissions arrived. And I didn’t have enough stories. Damn. So I extended it and had the waiting game all over again. Luckily, the extension gave me enough submissions, and they were all fab! Everything was coming together. I decided on the final stories and sent out the acceptance and rejection emails. Needless to say, the rejection emails were by far the worst part of the project.

I wrote my introduction, ordered the stories and started assembling the manuscript. Then a professional-proofreading angel came from the skies and offered to look over it And boy, I’m glad she did. I thought I’d done a good job myself, but when I got her edits back I was very glad of her eagle eyes!

Soon, it was time to write my blurb, which would be appearing on websites everywhere. As someone who has worked in Marketing since leaving University, I wasn’t actually too concerned about this part. I was happy with the result and hope it successfully sells the book! Only time will tell, I guess. With all the admin stuff done, the manuscript complete, cover sorted; it was time to send, send, send to the distributor!

After what felt like forever, but in reality was only a few weeks, the book was released! Uniform Behaviour was alive. Let’s just say I did a great deal of happy dancing that week. I raved online, I Facebooked, I Tweeted, I told everyone who would listen. And so did my lovely authors.

Now, a few short weeks later, I’m still deliriously happy. The reviews have been positive so far and I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved. That’s right, we. Not me. Obviously I had something to do with it, but the book wouldn’t have been possible without the contributing authors, the cover designer, the distributor and my lovely friends who’ve helped with promo and offered advice and encouragement. Uniform Behaviour was most definitely a team effort.

It’s paying off already. Word is getting round about the book, and I’m glad. Not only because it’s my first editing gig, but because the book represents several very important parts of my life. Writing, reading, editing and charity. And not necessarily in that order. I just hope that the first three elements have combined successfully enough that I can be proud of my contribution to the fourth. I say this because, for those of you that don’t know, a percentage of the proceeds from the book will be donated to UK charity Help for Heroes. The organisation raises money for servicemen and women wounded in current conflict. So by purchasing a copy of Uniform Behaviour, you’ll not only get sixteen wonderfully smutty stories, you’ll also get the satisfaction of knowing you’re donating to a very worthy cause. And for that, I thank you.

I’m just here to send you all over to the Gale Stanley blog today to read my guest blog all about setting scenes and Sweet Surrender!

It’s a good read, go on over to the Gale Stanley blog and leave me a comment. I love comments. :)