Happy Book Birthday to me! “The Cowboy and the Rose” by Tess Quinn

Today is the release date for my second novella in the Burdock brothers series published through The Wild Rose Press under my pseudonym Tess Quinn. The book is called ‘The Cowboy and the Rose,’ and it’s available for sale at The Wild Rose Press website here for $2.50. It’ll come up on Amazon and B&N in a couple weeks but right now, enjoy the fabulosity a bit early straight from the Publisher’s mouth!



Here is a bit of information about the book for you to enjoy.

A bond from the past, desire steeped in magic, love forged in passion… Gabe Burdock has two weeks to bond his power with April Willow or lose his magic. As a witch, his control over the earth contributes to the success of his vineyard, and he’ll sacrifice anything to keep it…anything except his heart.To escape her abusive father’s control, April is ready to bond with Gabe, even if it means tying herself to a cowboy who claims he can’t love her. But when Gabe and April touch, their passion explodes, and their magical bond cannot be denied. Can they put aside their fears and risk everything for love? Or will two witches lose their chance at happiness?

“April? What happened?”

“I’m sorry,” she stammered, confused by the overly concerned expression in his face. “I hate storms. The noise frightened me. I’m so sorry. I hate behaving so childishly.” She felt even more ridiculous for goggling at his incredibly bare chest. If she stopped shaking, she could count the definitions in his abs.

Gabe relaxed. “Are you okay now?”

All thoughts of the storm had slipped out of her mind the minute his beautiful body entered her room. “I’m fine,” she said with surprising control. “Thank you for coming.”

“No problem.” He turned to leave when the clock downstairs struck midnight. Her fingertips tingled and her skin flashed hot and cold. Even the storm quieted, as if waiting for the ominous music of time to finish its tune.

“It’s my birthday,” she whispered.

Gabe must have heard her because he whipped around. His face was so expressive. April could see the shock and panic written all over it. She knew he was afraid of the bonding ritual that he didn’t quite believe, and she was slightly amused as she watched the expressions play across his features.

“It’s okay,” she said, leaning back against the headboard. “I’ve read stories about bonding. They’re never clear about what happens directly after midnight.”

Movie Monday: The Hunger Games

I know I’m a little late posting a blog entry that was due yesterday but I was pushing on this book to get finished first. Now that it is, for anyone who hasn’t seen the Hunger Games trailer, enjoy!

Friday Reads: Nora Roberts and Mindy Kaling

For my Friday Reads post, I decided to give you guys a glimpse of my To-Read list. I have two books that I’m dying to get to once I finish up with my crazy long to-do list. Here’s the info:

Back Cover Summary: The historic hotel in Boonsboro has endured war and peace, the changing of hands, and even rumored hauntings. Now it’s getting a major face-lift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect in the family, Beckett’s social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there’s another project he’s got his eye on: the girl he’s been waiting to kiss since he was sixteen. After losing her husband and returning to her hometown, Clare Brewster soon settles into her life as the mother of three young sons while running the town’s bookstore. Though busy and with little time for romance, Clare is drawn across the street by Beckett’s transformation of the old inn, wanting to take a closer look…at both the building and the man behind it. With the grand opening inching closer, Beckett is happy to give Clare a private tour — one room at a time, in between blueprint meetings and kindergarten pickups. It’s no first date, but these stolen moments are the beginning of something that could arouse the secret yearning that resides in Clare’s independent heart — and open the door to the extraordinary adventure of what comes next…

And here’s the second book I am really excited about reading:

Back Cover Summary: Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

I’ll keep you posted once I read both of them. Now, back to edits and read throughs and proposals and workshops…etc. etc. Cheers!

Movies Monday: Top Ten Scariest Flicks of ALL TIME

Happy Halloween everyone! For my Movies Monday blog post, I want to share with you the top ten scariest movies of all time! Muahahahaha. Enjoy!

10. 28 Days Later (2003)

9. The Exorcist (1973)

8. Halloween (1978)

7. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

6. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

5. Silence of the Lambs (1991)

4. The Devil’s Backbone (2001)

3. The Shining (1980)

2. The Ring (2002)

1. Psycho (1960)

I totally missed my blog post yesterday, so I’m valiently attempting to salvage the situation by posting a TV Tuesday post instead. As some of you know, I’m totally addicted to TV crime dramas. However, this new show that’s premiering on Friday at 9 is something totally different.

GRIMM is about the last survivor of the Grimm brothers who can see creatures for who they really are, and he helps solve all these awesome crimes that are actually like the fairy tales. How freakin’ cool is that?

My only complaint is that the timing is setting the show up for failure. Friday at 9? Seriously? At least there is DVR. Set the show for recording, people! I have a good feeling about this. Here is the premiere snippet. Enjoy!

The Mr. Darcy Principle

Yesterday was my first official bookclub meeting and we read one of the best classic romances of all time, Pride and Prejudice. The question is, why is P&P so popular? I have the answer for you!

Mr. Darcy.

Mr. Darcy is sexy, rich, aloof. A type of man that you can’t have…so that means you obviously want him, right? But we all know that Mr. Darcy isn’t exactly a perfect specimen. He calls Elizabeth “plain” which is another word for ugly. He says there is nothing about her that could be tempting, which is another way of sayin she’s ugly, and most importantly, he refuses to dance with her, refuses to be “in her company” and acts like a total jackass to her because he thinks she’s UGLY.

He doesn’t exactly have a glowing personality, right? Everything about him in the first third of the novel points to the assumption that he’s a douchebag. The second third of the novel isn’t any better. He falls for Elizabeth, supposedly, but then when he proposes the first time, he claims that he is going against his better judgment, his breeding, and the fact that her parents are idiots, because he “loves her.” Was it love when he told his best friend to stay away from Jane because she came from a poor family with a marriage-hungry mother? No, no it wasn’t.

So why do we like Mr. Darcy? Why is he so awesome? Are sexiness, wealth, and an aloof personality really enough? Obviously not because that’s the reason so many women opt for divorce. However, it doesn’t hurt. I strongly believe that Elizabeth started falling for him when she was really able to SEE his wealth. She says so in the book!

“It has me coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberly.”

I also think that his aloof personality, what Elizabeth and the rest of the P&P cast refer to as ‘vanity,’ is actually something that she possessed herself, which is why she felt akin to him. Mary, Elizabeth’s sister, says the line in the book that really cinched the title Pride and Prejudice . She defines Vanity and Pride, and both definitions really apply to Elizabeth and Darcy.

“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates mroe to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”

You see what I’m talking about? Yes, Elizabeth likes Darcy for his money and for his aloof personality. Sexiness? That goes without saying. But again, that’s really not enough. Dary still acted like an ass for most of the book. The key lies in one paragraph in Chapter 6 of the novel.

“Occupied in observing Mr. Bingly’s attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she herself was becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression in her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying…of this, she was perfectly unaware; to her, he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with.”

So there is the key behind the Mr. Darcy principle. Even though he made her think his opinion of her was negative, he was thoroughly engrossed with her intelligence that was an ultimate turn on.

And herin also lies the reason why so many women love this book. Because Mr. Darcy saw beyond the surface, like so many men are unable to do. He fell for Elizabeth because she was smart, sassy, and she would match him word for word.

Another element that really tips the scales in Darcy’s favor is his ultimate dedication to making her happy. He dealt with his long-time enemy, paid him in cash, to make her happy. His actions demonstrate that he’s fit to act as a provider, a man who can take care of his woman, and who doesn’t want that?

So that’s the Darcy Principle! Unplugged. Darcy is into smart chicks, and Elizabeth is into wealthy, sexy providers who have a similar personality, whether it be vanity or pride, as she does. The vanity/pride debate is for another day.

What do you guys think about the Darcy Principle? I’d love to hear other viewpoints!

Cheers,

Nisha

Movies Trailer…THE AVENGERS

This post doesn’t need much of an introduction. The trailer speaks for why I want to see the movie all by itself. It comes out my birthday weekend so you’ll know where I’ll be on my 27th. Enjoy!

When I saw this preview, I knew that my life was made. I am so excited about this movie, you have NO idea. I loved the Muppets growing up, and even today, I know that kids get totally stoked about Ms. Piggy and Kermit even though Jim Henson has long since passed. So here is the FABU trailer for the new Muppets movie! Enjoy.

Sexy Sunday: Hot actors that have stayed hot

I am totally enamored with Entertainment Weekly’s Reunion Edition that was released a couple days ago. The issue has pictures and interviews from casts of favorite TV shows that fans have never forgotten. This Sexy Sunday is dedicated to the men who have stayed Hot over the years.

Friday Reads: Here’s to You Shel Silverstein

Have you ever read something that makes such a statement, you lose your breath over it? Shel Silverstein does that for me. I recently bought one of his anthologies of poetry released after his death. ‘Everything On It’ is just as fabulous as “Falling Up” or “Light In the Attic.” If you don’t have it on your shelf, you should. Here’s a little preview of its awesomeness:

“Although I cannot see your face/ As you flip these poems awhile/ Somewhere from some far off place/ I hear you laughing- and I smile.” p.9

If you haven’t picked up some Silverstein in a while, check it out! He really touches the heart, whether your a child or an adult. Cheers.