Wolff Wednesday: Ideas, anyone?

So, I mentioned last week that I sold three Superromances to Harlequin, but what I didn't mention is that my editor is looking for a couple Blaze proposals from me as well. The first proposal I have done-- it's a romantic comedy type called Lyrics and Lingerie that is a little out of my comfort zone as there's nothing dark or spooky about it. At the same time, I love it-- I'll post the beginning here, so you can tell me what you think.

But I'm struggling with the second proposal, trying to decide what kind of occupation to give my hero. This is a darker story, one that is more my usual style. My heroine, Cara, is a tax attorney who has basically run away from her boring life, looking for some excitement. She finds my hero (who is still nameless because I want to know what he does before I pick a name that fits him from the list you guys gave me before) who is "mad, bad and dangerous to know." I don't know much about him yet, except that he has a new tattoo (they meet in a tattoo parlor) he's tall, dark and handsome (big shock) and he's also pretty cynical about love and women.

So, any ideas on occupations for tall, dark and handsome? What kind of jobs seem sexy to you?

Oh, and as promised, here's an excerpt from Lingerie and Letters. It's still in the proposal stage and may never see the light of day, but I had a ton of fun writing the first few chapters ;)

Excerpt from Lyrics and Lingerie

She was the most erotic, ride-me-til-I’m-blind wet dream he’d ever had—and that was saying something, especially as he would have sworn on a stack of platinum records that he was wide awake despite the early hour of the morning.

After pushing aside the gauzy curtains his decorator had hung over his sliding glass door just last week, Jake Rawlins leaned against the already warm glass and spent a few moments simply reveling in the view. After all, it wasn’t every day a man—no matter how famous he was—came home to a woman bent over the railing of his fourth floor balcony and wiggling her naked ass for all it was worth.

Though if he was being honest—something sixteen years in show biz had convinced him was highly overrated—she wasn’t actually naked. That lacy little scrap of lime-green nothingness resting between her nicely rounded cheeks definitely counted as clothing of the best kind, but there was more than enough of her hanging out to convince him she had the sweetest, sexiest, heart-shaped ass he had ever seen.

Not to mention a killer pair of legs and some pretty impressive stamina.

As he contemplated just how many hours of yoga little-miss-I’ve-been-a-bad-girl-and-really-need-a-spanking must have needed to be able to hold that upside-down-ass-in-the-air position for this many minutes, his near-dead libido sprang to life for the first time in way too long. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed—and then some-- to keep from reaching out and seeing if that creamy skin was really as soft and silky as it looked. But until he figured out exactly who she was and what she wanted, Mr. Happy’s rodeo days were on hold.
So who was she? His eyes narrowed in speculation. The one fan who hadn’t yet thrown him over for Toby Keith? An aspiring star trying to sleep her way to the top? Or an escapee from an insane asylum?

As it had been months since anyone had so much as asked him to sign a body part, he was definitely leaning toward the latter. But who knew mental institutions had such hot patients? When it came time to get back into the swing of things, he might have to lay off the single bars in search of greener pastures.

Taking an absent swig of his rapidly warming beer, Jake took his time checking out every glorious inch of his unexpected visitor that he could see—which wasn’t as much as he would have liked as her fabulous ass was currently blocking his view of her breasts. But what he could see looked so good that he might be able to live with the disappointment.
She wiggled again, a wicked little twist of her hips that made his cock hard and his beer go down the wrong pipe. Sweet Jesus, she was explosive.

Do it again, he urged silently when his coughing fit finally ended, please do it again. She shimmied—almost as if she’d heard his plea—and his blood pressure skyrocketed. What would it feel like to have her move against him that way as he plunged into her over and over again? She wiggled a third time and he decided—crazy woman or not-- he had to find out.

Dropping his beer on the end table, Jake fumbled the balcony door open and stepped into the wet and sticky New Orleans air. Before he could talk himself out of it, he reached a hand out to see if –- maybe, just maybe—that peaches-and-cream skin felt as good as it looked.
“Hey, watch it!” The indignant yelp that greeted his tentative touch was definitely not as friendly as he’d been expecting. She was, after all, the one currently flaunting her flexibility on his balcony.

“I am watching it,” he answered. “Hard not to as it’s one of the finest I’ve ever seen. And so’s that pretty little scrap of lace currently playing at preserving your modesty.”

One angry sapphire eye peered around a shapely knee. “Got a thing for underwear, do you?”

He wouldn’t exactly call it a thing. There was a time not so long ago when women had tossed their underwear to him by the thousands—everything from bikinis and edible undies to boy shorts and what amounted to little more than lace-edged dental floss. But as he eyed the storm clouds gathering in that one cerulean eye, he decided discretion might definitely be the better part of staying alive. So he contented himself with a simple, “No more than the next guy.” Her answering snort told him she wasn’t overly impressed with his hard-won modesty.

“Well, this is all there is to see. So why don’t you head back in and—“ she looked him over from neck to toe with that one, narrowed eye—“get some sleep. No offense, but you look like hell.”

He felt like hell, but that was no reason to break the party up so soon—especially since he hadn’t finished his beer yet. “I was on my way to do just that when I noticed you. Manners and simple curiosity compelled me to come out and see if I could be of assistance.”

“I don’t need your help.” Her tone was acerbic, but her face was growing redder by the moment—more, he had no doubt, from her upside down position than from any embarrassment she might be feeling.

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Then you’ve simply mistaken my balcony for your latest yoga lesson?” he asked in the Tennessee twang he’d never been able to shake. “I think my last girlfriend called that position the downward dog.”

The eye narrowed even more, until all he could see was a slit of cobalt. It really was a shame that such a shapely backside belonged to such a prickly woman. “I wouldn’t know.” Her voice could have frozen water vapor in hell. “I’m not a big yoga aficianado.”

Jake clucked his tongue as he sadly shook his head. “And here I was having such fantasies about what I could do with a practitioner of the fine sport of yoga. You just went and spoiled all my fun.”

“And the day started off so badly.”

Book Tuesday: Tempted

I know I've mentioned that I'm writing a YA-- Rip Tide-- and that I am currently obsessing about it as it is out on submission. But what I haven't told you is that while I was working on the partial, I read every YA I could get my hands on, trying to strike the right balance. I am an erotica author after all, and I wanted to see just what was acceptable in YA and what wasn't.

Anyway, as I gobbled up a ton of YAs, particularly paranormal YAs as that is what Rip Tide is, I fell for the P.C. and Kristen Cast House of Night Series. Originally, I picked up one just to get a feel for it. Two days later I was back at Target, buying the next four. Which leads me to the book of the week: Tempted. It is the much anticipated book 6 in the House of Night series-- which documents its main character (Zoey Redbird) being marked as a vampire and the adventures that happens to this priestess in training in her first years at the House of Night Academy. And I am dying to get my hands on it-- unfortunately I have to wait a whole week as it doesn't release until October 27th. But I can promise I'll be first in line for the book Tuesday morning (yes, I obsess about books, in case you haven't noticed ;)

In the meantime, here's the back cover blurb to tide you-- and me-- over :

So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul? Find out in the next spectacular installment in the House of Night series, TEMPTED.

Movie Monday: Fame

So, I'm a big fan of the Arts and a big fan of musicals, so the remake of the classic Fame should have been a shoo-in for me to love. Which is why I dragged husband to see it, over protests of how The Informant was such a better movie. Yes, ladies, you read correctly. I loved the first Fame so much that I willingly gave up a Matt Damon movie (sigh) to see it. And boy, was that a mistake.

The first Fame was filled with plot twists and character studies-- moments of real angst and real exhiliration. Moments that were painful for the audience-- and exciting. The new movie, which had a lot of potential, was nothing but a cop-out. There were no particularly interesting story lines, and even the ones they tried to mimic form the first movie (Coco sobbing as she let a man photograph her nude for her chance at a big break or Bruno and Mr. Zeferelli's argument over classic musiv vs. modern music) were handled so badly that they were superfluous to the plot instead of important to it.

Now, in case you hadn't noticed, I much prefer to spend Movie Mondays and Book Tuesdays talking about books and movies that I did like, biut this movie was so disappointing thta I couldn't resist saying something here. Not because it was an awful movie (I can still respect awful movies because they take risks. Riskys thatdon't pan out, mind you, but risks nonetheless). This movie, which played off the glory of its predecessor, didn't even do that. The word that comes to mind most, when I think about the movie, is Blah. Two hours of boring, blah, manufactured conflicts.

I can't believe I gave Matt Damon up for this.

So how about you? Did any of you see Fame this time around? Did you like it? If you haven't seen it, what movies have you seen in the theater lately? What do you recommend?

Winner of Lucinda, Darkly

The winner of Lucinda, Darkly is Linda Henderson. Congrtaulations!! E-mail me at tracy@tracywolff.com and I'll get it out to you this week. Thanks, everyone, for commenting!

Family Game Night-- a disaster in the making!

As you've probably gleaned from other posts of mine, I have three kidlets who I love excessively-- and who drive me absolutely bonkers at least part of the time (they're all male, which is an experience in and of itself). Anyway, there's a wide gap between my oldest and my youngest (ten years) with my middle one seven years younger than the oldest. What this usually translates to is three children running off in three separate directions with me in the middle like elastigirl trying to follow all three of them.

Which is why I came up with the brilliant idea of playing a board game the other night. My friend, Lori Borrill, blogged on board games over at our group blog ( http://www.sizzlingpens.blogspot.com/ ) the other day and her post made it sound like so much fun that I figured it couldn't be as bad as I remembered it being the last time I tried to play a game with the group of them. I was right- it was so much worse.

The oldest (a 7th grader who is so sophomoric I fear his head-- or mine-- will explode at any minute) did nothing but torment the younger two with the fact that he was more proficient at the game than they were. The middle one whined incessantly about the fact that the oldest was beating him, and the baby-- well, he did what he always does. He climbed into the middle of the game board at a crucial point and started throwing all the game pieces and cards around. Needless to say, the game ended with tears and angry shouts from the oldest two and a promise to myself not to try this again for quite some time.

Family game night is wonderful in theory-- not so great in application when you have a just-turned three year old running around. We gave up on Pirates of the Caribbean and ended up playing Lucky Ducks instead--you know the game with the ducks on a circle and the absolutely obnoxious quacking noise that goes nonstop? My oldest two dropped out quickly, less than impressed, and I was left with a headache of gigantic proportions.

So much for bonding over Milton Bradley. Maybe next year ...

How about you? Any favorite games you like to play-- now or as a child? Any suggestions on a game that might captivate the whole family?

Good News!

It's a quick Wolff Wednesday today as I am swamped, but I wanted to share the news. I just got a three book contract with Harlequin for my next three Superromances, including Matt's story (the best friend in From Friend to Father) so I am very, very happy today! And the news came yesterday-- on my birthday-- so who could ask for a better present???

Here's a quick excerpt from what I have written for Matt's book so far. Presently, the working title is What Love Means but that is definitely subject to change. My heroine, Camille, is a commitment-phobe to the extreme, so hopefully you'll enjoy the merry chase she leads Matt on before she catches him ;)

Prologue for What Love Means

“Do you have to go?”
A twinge of uneasiness worked its way down Camille Arraby’s spine at the words, though she continued to load her overnight bag. “My flight leaves in two hours—I’ve got to get to the airport.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Matt Jenkins climbed off the rumpled bed where they’d just spent another incredible night, and crossed to her.
She watched him prowl across the room, his long, lean, nearly naked form a truly beautiful sight this early in the morning. His dark auburn hair had fallen over his eyes and his too full lips were curved in the sexy grin she loved.
The twinge got a little more pronounced and for the first time that she could remember, Camille regretted the fact that she had to go. She wasn’t nearly as ready to leave Austin—and Matt—as she’d expected to be.
But Brazil—and Carnaval—were in full swing and they wouldn’t wait forever. Besides, it was better to walk away now, on a high note, than wait for things to sour as they inevitably would.
“So what did you mean?” she asked, lightly, as he circled her waist with his hands and pulled her close.
“I was asking you to stay.” He nuzzled her neck and she sighed, letting her head fall back as desire moved through her all over again.
“I can’t.”
His mouth moved lower, to the hollow of her throat, and she actually felt her knees tremble. “You can.”
“Matt. You knew all along I was leaving today.”
“I know.”
“So what’s the problem?” Her voice hitched as he flicked open the first two buttons of her shirt, ran his tongue over the curve of her breast.
“The problem is that when we made the deal, I didn’t expect that I’d want you to stay.”
“And now you do?”
He lifted his head so that his warm brown eyes met hers and Camille shuddered with unfulfilled desire. She’d never met a man like Matt, who could make her respond so effortlessly—and powerfully—to his lightest touch.
“Now I do.” He stroked the back of his hand down her cheek. “Stay, Camille. Please. I’ve never felt like this before and I want to see where it goes.”
“I’ve already given up my room and my job, already have my flights booked to Rio and then on to Italy.”
“You can stay with me for a while—and getting another one of those temp jobs of yours can’t be that difficult. You’ve been through three in the two months I’ve known you.”
For one long second, Camille let his words sweep over her. Let herself imagine staying here with Matt indefinitely—spending hours and days and weeks together, in bed and out.
Doing all those wonderful things couples did when they were falling in love.
The images that flashed through her mind didn’t send her running for the hills as they normally would have, and that—more than anything else could—had her taking a cautious step back.
Pulling free of Matt’s embrace, she turned back to her bag. Rearranged the items in it, once, twice, as she struggled for the right words to say. But nothing came and silent minutes dragged by as Matt waited patiently for her answer, not pushing her but not backing down either.
As she slid her make-up case to the bottom of the bag, Camille wanted nothing more than to run—as fast and as far as she could.
Wanted nothing more than to fling herself into Matt’s arms and stay until this thing between them burned itself out.
But doing that was only asking for trouble, only asking for entanglements. Already Matt had sneaked through a crack in her defenses and taken up residence in an untouched spot in her heart. If she stayed, his presence inside her would grow until she was no longer complete without him. And that was something she would never, could never, allow.
When she finally looked up at him again, Camille made sure none of her doubts—none of her longing—showed on her face. “I can’t stay, Matt. You know that as well as I do. I was perfectly clear about the fact that I was leaving when we hooked up.”
“I know. But plans can change.”
“Not mine.”
“Bull.” This time when he grabbed her, his hands weren’t quite as gentle as they had been. Somehow, the edginess was just as arousing as the care. “Your plans change all the time. They change with the wind, with your whims. Why can’t you change them now? For me?”
“My plane tickets are non-refundable.” Her answer was flippant, but her heart was pounding hard and fast.
He cursed. “I’ll pay for the stupid tickets. I’ll pay for a hundred tickets if you’ll stay for just a little while longer.” His hands slid up her arms and neck until he was cupping her face. “Please, Camille. Stay.”
“Matt.” She shook her head, fought against the lump in her stomach that was growing with every word he said.
“Damn it, do you think this is easy for me? I’m not used to having to beg a woman to spend time with me.”
Of course he wasn’t used to begging—he was gorgeous and smart, and if not rich, certainly well off from his partnership in one of the city’s leading architectural firms. He was a prime catch—just one more reason she was determined to throw him back before he could do the same to her.
Before she broke her own rules and let him all the way into her heart.
Before she was the one pleading with him to stay.
“I don’t want you to beg.” The words came out sharp, stilted.
“So what do you want?”
“To see Carnaval. To dance in the plaza and run through the streets with the parades. To visit the art museums and hanglide through the hills. I wasn’t to stand on the beach at dawn and watch the tide roll in.”
“Okay. All right.” He closed his eyes, ran a hand over his face. “Give me a couple days, let me rearrange my schedule and I’ll go with you. You’ll still see plenty of Carnaval.”
The twinge turned into a full-blown panic attack, and it took every ounce of willpower she had to keep her hand from shaking as she slung her bag over her shoulder. “Come on, Matt. It’s been fun, but we both know it’s time to move on—before things get messy and predictable.”
“They don’t have to—“
“Sure they do, sweets.” With a sassy grin, Camille reached up and patted her lover’s cheek. “That’s the way of relationships. Short and sweet turns long and nasty, until both people wish they’d gotten out when the getting was good.”
His eyes narrowed. “Do you really believe that?”
“I do. And so do you—at least you did six weeks ago, when we first met.”
“That was different.”
“Baby, it’s always different.” She started to say more, but a car horn sounded from the street in front of his house. “I’ve got to go. My cab’s here.”
“I thought I was taking you to the airport.”
“It’s still early—go back to bed.” Standing on tiptoes, she brushed her lips against his once, twice. Then gasped as his mouth turned frenzied on hers.
He kissed her like no one ever had—hard and hot and with a desperation that nearly overwhelmed her. That nearly had her dropping her bag and following him back into bed, where he was so sure they belonged.
That nearly had her saying to hell with Rio and Italy and the world—she was more than content to stay right here, in Austin, Texas.
But then the horn sounded again and she was pulling away. Smiling at him. Walking out the door and reminding herself, with every step, of all the reasons she was doing the right thing.
After all, there was a big, bright world out there and in her thirty-two years she’d only managed to see about half of it. It was time—past time—to get started visiting the other half.

Book Tuesday: Lucinda, Dangerously

Can I just say, right now, how much I love Sunny.? Love, love, love, love, loooooove her! I got hooked on Mona Lisa Awakening after it first came out and have been a huge fan ever since. I loved when she moved to mass market with her last Mona Lisa book-- good for her-- and was thrilled when she started a brand new series starring the Demon Princess, Lucinda. In the first book, Lucinda, Darkly, Lucinda, quite simply, kicks ass and takes names.

The second book in the series, Lucinda, Dangerously, is no exception. I love this book. I love everything about this book. The characters are incredibly sympathetic, the sci-fi/paranormal world she's built (hell) are awesome and the sex is hot, hot, hot. There's not much about this book that I can criticize. So, this Book Tuesday goes out to Sunny and her fabulous new release (and it is new-- it just came out last Tuesday. I was at my local B and N panting over it and searching through their book carts until I found it).

Anyway, if you're a fan of paranormal romance, erotic romance or paranormal erotic romance, this is the book for you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Have any of you read Sunny before? If so, tell me what you think of her. Which book is your favorite? If you haven't, leave a comment and be entered to win a copy of her brand new Lucinda, Dangerously.