And the Mother of the Year Award Goes To....

Massive understatement time: Things change when you have babies. I'm very lucky in that I have two pretty easygoing ones, but obviously we're still working out our routines. There are some days when bedtime (for the adults) rolls around and I think "What did I even DO all day?"

But! It's not all baby, all the time around here. We've been doing a decent job of keeping up with the DVR, and as I mentioned in a recent post, we managed to knock out the third season of Orange is the New Black in a timely fashion. I've been knitting here and there, and the heat is a contributing factor of why I haven't been doing that as much lately. AND! I've even been writing a bit. Not as much as I did pre-babies (or, let's be real here, pre-pregnancy), and there are definitely days where I don't write a single word, but still! There has been some writing!

One baby has a tendency to be a little fussier than her sister and sometimes demands to be held, as babies have been known to do. Sometimes that happens just as I'm getting on a good writing roll, but hey, three-month-olds aren't known for their timing. The other night, I had just gotten into the swing of things when Miss Fussypants started squawking, and it was my turn to pick her up. I'm getting pretty damn awesome at doing things while holding babies at the same time...but I was up to a sex scene. Awkward.

I think I've mentioned before on here that I'm the type of writer who needs to write in order. I thought about jumping to another scene while the baby wiggled around and fell asleep on me, but it didn't happen. Oh well, I thought. I'll continue it/finish up tomorrow.

Then, naturally, the same exact thing happened at the same time. The words had just started flowing when one of the little people needed my attention. (The same one, if you're interested.) So I picked her up, got her snuggled on me, looked at my computer screen with the cursor blinking expectantly....

And I did it. I wrote a sex scene while holding my infant daughter.

Okay, okay, plenty of parents have done worse. (The two of us have probably already done worse in the past three months.) I'm not ashamed of what I write, and it's not like she's going to remember it anyway. And it was a very "healthy" sex scene - filled with enthusiastic consent and contraception and all those good things I hope to teach my daughters about. (When they're 40. Just kidding.) 

As I said, things change. We'll find our new normal eventually. And I probably still have a couple years before I have to start being really careful about what words of mine they can see on the computer screen.

Promo - An Alien to Love, by Jessica E. Subject

Fellow sci-fi romance author Jessica E. Subject has a new collection out, and this time there's an awesome giveaway to help celebrate! I read Another Night, Another Planet a ways back, and it was super adorable and romantic, so I'm more than happy to help spread the word about this great compilation. Check out the teasers and don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Buy Links:

Amazon US | UK | Canada | Australia | Germany

All Romance | iBooks | Kobo

Add to Goodreads

 
About the Author:

Jessica E. Subject is the author of contemporary and science fiction romance, ranging from sweet to erotic. In her stories, you could meet clones, or a sexy alien or two. You may even be transported to another planet for a romantic rendezvous. 

When Jessica isn't reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk with her giant, hairy dog her family adopted from the local animal shelter.

Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com and on twitter @jsubject.

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To celebrate the release of AN ALIEN TO LOVE, and four years published, Jessica E. Subject is hosting a contest for a $25 e-gift certificate from Amazon.com or All Romance eBooks. Enter using the Rafflecopter widget placed below, or follow the link.

Please Note: Contest is international. No substitutions can be made. Must be 18 or over to enter. Void where prohibited by law. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jumping on a Bandwagon

Heyo! I'm alive, the babies are wonderful, but blogging and writing has taken a bit of a backseat, as I expected. Also, I am apparently a masochist, since I let myself be talked into doing some work from home earlier than I expected. Meh, I might have gone back for a few days this summer anyway. I'm hoping to finish up this big assignment tomorrow, and then I might actually get a chance to write! I've been poking around at some fanfic here and there, but my fingers are getting itchy and knowing myself, I'll probably jump right into a new original project and pretend that I'll get it done in a timely fashion.

Although I don't have much to report on the writing front, I didn't want to completely abandon my site, and I did come across something fun and relevant to blog about. A popular topic/question in author interviews is "dream casting" our books and stories - like if all our dreams came true and our work inspired a huge Hollywood blockbuster, who would play the starring roles? It's a fun game to play, and sometimes the answers come more easily than others.

Throughout the years, I've never been able to find a suitable actress that matched my vision of my beloved Ro, from Disintegration and the upcoming The Fall of the Midnight Scorpions. I've tossed around some ideas with friends, but no one ever felt quite right. Until....

Like many other people, I spent last week watching the new season of Orange is the New Black. Anyone who's spent any time on the internet since then has likely noticed all the attention actress Ruby Rose has gotten due to her role on the show. I wouldn't say I completely loved her storyline, but I can definitely appreciate her charisma and appeal. And while I watched, I found myself thinking that I might have finally found my Ro. Sure, she might have a few too many tattoos to be 100% accurate, but the rest all fits. So who cares about hype and popularity? I'm fine with jumping on the Ruby Rose bandwagon!

My Mother's Day Excuse

It's been about a month since my last post, but this time there's an excellent reason - four weeks ago, the twins decided to make an early appearance! In the middle of the night, of course, because that's when all the chaos and drama always happens, right? Despite being two months early, they are doing extremely well, and should be coming home this week or next. (Cue the "oh god, what have I done" panic now.)

For privacy reasons, I'm not going to share too many details, but I will say that both girls share a name with strong female fictional characters I admire and appreciate. (I don't want to say "named after", as that's a little intense, and Mr. Landen probably doesn't have the same connection to those characters as I do...instead, I say their names are "inspired by". ;) ) And when I say "strong", I don't necessarily mean physically, though both can hold their own in a fight - they're also confident, passionate, determined women who stand up for what's right. I don't think me finding those traits admirable means I'm setting the bar too high or putting too much pressure on my new daughters. At least I hope not....

Anyway, I obviously haven't written anything in a while. I'm filled with IDEAS! and I swear I will put them down on paper (or type them in a document, rather) eventually. For now, though, I'll be letting something else prevent me from falling asleep at night.

Happy Mother's Day!

Smart People Read Books

Eeep, it's been a while since I checked in over here. Between promoting Elysium, gestating these twins, and actually getting some writing done, it's been a busy time in the Landen house! So today I'm totally going to take the slacker route and point you in the direction of my featured post over at All Romance. As the title suggests, Smart People Read Books. I even manage to quote Virgil in there, so you definitely don't want to miss out! ;)

“In groves we live, and lie on mossy beds,
By crystal streams, that murmur thro’ the meads:
But pass yon easy hill, and thence descend;
The path conducts you to your journey’s end.”

Elysium is Out Today!

It's release day, yaaaay! I really can't say it enough, Elysium is one of the best stories I've ever written, and I am so very in love with this entire project, from the first flash of an idea to the gorgeous cover design. I've already shared the blurb, so today I'm posting the official excerpt:

We sat in silence. It was the first time a client had asked me so many personal questions. On one hand, I worried about coming across as unprofessional, but on the other, it felt good to verbalize those thoughts for a change. Putting that aside, April hadn’t come to play psychiatrist with me. I had a job to do.

“Anything else before we get started?” I pushed off the edge of the desk and straightened.

She didn’t get up. “Do you ever go into your own virtual realities?”

“Actually, I don’t.” I ran a finger along the top of one of the screens. “First of all, it needs to be monitored from the outside. I can’t do both at the same time.”

“Got it.” She nodded. “What else?”

A clammy feeling crawled over me. “Nothing.”

“You said ‘first of all.’ That means there must be a second.”

She’d paid attention, I’d give her that. I tried to backtrack. “Forget it.”

Sliding her arm off the chair, she leaned forward, ginger hair spilling over her shoulders. “I want to know what I’m getting into. Tell me.” Face upturned, she stared at me and I struggled to breathe in a normal rhythm. “Please?”

Don’t say it, don’t admit to it, she doesn’t need to know…. Talking to her eased a little of the tension that had been twisting tighter and tighter over time. I ignored the voices telling me not to make a confession, but the words spilled out faster than I’d intended.

“With all the misery and heartache I see in the world, the temptation exists to disappear into a painless fantasy.” The chill spreading through me intensified. “I’m afraid I’d lose myself and never want to come out.”

April blinked her long lashes and straightened in the chair. “That’s one of the reasons I’m anxious about going in there.”

Elysium is available at all major online book retailers. As an additional bonus, I also have a guest post up at the 1Night Stand blog today about why I chose to write in first-person this time around. Stay tuned for news about future guest appearances!

Promo - The Complete Underground Series, by Jessica E. Subject

In the future, deception runs deep and betrayal can come from anyone. Will the rebels defeat Planet Core and love freely again, or end up fighting for their lives?

Today I'm thrilled to help promote fellow sci-fi romance author Jessica E. Subject's new box set, The Complete Underground Series! For a short time, this set will be available for a steal, at only $0.99! This set has it all - action, rebellion, futuristic worlds, and all sorts of pairings to satisfy any reader.

Still need convincing? Here's an excerpt!

The door slid open, and Brook rushed into the room she’d left less than an hour ago. After she’d been told Melina had been killed by the same creature that had attacked Calla. Now she knew the truth. Now, she had to get on the mission.

Her father glanced up, his hard brown eyes steely in their determination. “Brook, what are you doing here?”

“Daddy, I—” No, I can’t be weak anymore. I have to stand up to him.With a deep breath, she took the empty seat beside Jager, the new mission commander. “Malock, I request permission to join SFEA-4. You are short a biologist, and I am the only one left sufficiently trained for the mission.”

“Denied. Now, please leave the room. You do not have clearance to be here.”

Brook stood, flinging the chair against the wall. Wrong answer. She refused to back down from him anymore. Slamming her hands on the table, she leaned forward and glared at him. “Your last biologist was attacked by an unknown predator, the mission commander killed. You need me there to study it, find out what we’re up against.”

“The answer is still no,” he growled.

She straightened her back. “It’s because I’m your daughter, isn’t it? You’d rather keep me sheltered here while you put everyone else’s life in danger.”

Malock stared, nostrils flaring. “This has nothing to do with the fact that you’re my daughter.” He sighed and shook his head. “But if you want to go, fine. It’s your death sentence.”

He stood and nodded to Jager. “You know what to do.” He turned his attention to the rest of the table. “Your mission directives will be presented to you before departure. Please be familiar with them prior to setting up camp.”

Her father made his way around the table, stopping beside her. She tensed when he rested a hand on her shoulder.
He shook his head. “You left me with no choice.” Then he marched out of the room.

Jager took the floor, and Brook picked up her chair and returned to her seat. The new mission commander projected a holographic image of the foreign landscape across the table, but she couldn’t concentrate on his presentation. Her father’s cryptic words echoed through her mind. Your death sentence…. No choice….
Was the entire mission doomed for failure? Were they all being sent to die? Why would Planet Core do that? Airondelle was supposed to be the corporation’s future.

Brook focused on Jager, but his words went in one ear and out the other. A pit of worry grew in her stomach. Would her father really allow her to be ripped apart by a predator in the night? No, I can’t think about that. She’d demanded to go on the mission. And if Melina could survive on the planet, so could she. She just had to find her first.

“Okay, let’s roll out.”

Out? Time to go, already?

The rest of the crew pushed away from the conference table and trooped out the door with excited murmurs. A far cry from the turmoil rolling through her.

“Let’s go, Malock.” Jager raised his eyebrows. “Or did you change your mind?”

She stood and released a deep breath. Even with her trepidation, she refused to back out now. Melina waited for her. “No, I’m looking forward to seeing Airondelle for myself.”

Brook spun away and rushed to catch up with her comrades. If she revealed her plans, she’d be stopped before she could find her lover. She would have to hide Melina right under their noses to bring her home. She pushed her shoulders back. I can do this. I have to.

The all-terrain vehicles sat loaded with equipment for the mission in front of the swirling mass of the portal. Her father certainly wasn’t wasting any time getting a team back to Airondelle. Crewmembers already filled the first vehicle, so she hopped into the back of the second.

Jager passed around everyone’s mission directives then shoved in on her left. Thank goodness he was the last to load. With his bulk, he occupied both of the remaining seats.

Before she had time to read her personal orders, they proceeded into the portal. She passed through the spinning matter, her body pulled and stretched in every direction. Unknown forces pushed on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She gripped the seat, hoping she wouldn’t get pulled out. But the awkwardness didn’t last long. The transporter room light years away, clean, fresh air poured into her lungs. The alien vegetation of the foreign planet lined the rough dirt road they traveled. She yearned to explore the flora and fauna on a more intimate level. And she would, after setting up camp.

She opened the folder with her mission directive inside. Instead of the stack of papers detailing what Planet Core expected of her, she found a single sheet. Her father’s handwriting scrawled across the page. You can never know the truth.

Hard, cold steel pressed against her temple. A gun. Her breath caught. What the fuck is going on? She grabbed her knapsack and launched out of the vehicle.

If you're a sci-fi romance fan, don't miss out!

Buy Links:
Amazon Decadent Publishing All Romance

About the Author:
Jessica E. Subject is the author of contemporary and science fiction romance, ranging from sweet to erotic. In her stories, you could meet clones, or a sexy alien or two. You may even be transported to another planet for a romantic rendezvous.

When Jessica isn't reading, writing, or doing dreaded housework, she likes to get out and walk with her giant, hairy dog her family adopted from the local animal shelter.

Jessica lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and two energetic children. And she loves to hear from her readers. You can find her at jessicasubject.com and on twitter @jsubject.
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