Tantalizing Trivia: Bread & Butter

December 18, 2016December 10, 2016

When I was growing up, my mother put bread and butter on the table every night for supper. Butter she kept in a butter dish in the cupboard.

That’s right. Not the refrigerator. The cupboard.

The bread was usually the unhealthy white stuff the bread man delivered twice a week (when I was really young) or was purchased at the supermarket. But my mom baked her own bread, too, and it was fabulous.

But we ate bread and butter with every meal.

When you go to restaurants, you’re usually served bread/rolls and butter before your meal. There are a lot of theories as to why this is.

Breaking bread is a sign of hospitality
In the past, tavern owners served one meal at one time, so people ate bread and butter to tide them over until meal time
Eating bread and butter gives patrons something to do while waiting for their meal
Bread (a simple carb) actually makes one hungrier.

The phrase bread-and-butter is also an idiom meaning livelihood, the source of one’s food.

Bread is found in every culture because it’s a basic food that supports life. To butter someone up is to flatter them. So butter just makes bread better.

But I no longer eat bread and butter with every meal. I think it was a calorie/carb/fat decision.

The Purse Project: Maggie Mundy

September 18, 2016September 17, 20161 Comment

At first glance, the items in my bag seems just like anyone else’s contents, but there are a few giveaways about me.

I am asthmatic, so I have to carry a puffer unless you want me to sound like Darth Vader.
The lanyard on my car key is from Romance Writers of Australia, so my writing gig is out of the bag, so to speak.
The owl tape measure is due to the fact I collect owls. I reckon it is my totem animal.
I am an operating room nurse, and the nail file keeps my nails clean and neat. No false nails for me.
Last but not least I have my business card. It has a lady with blood dripping from her mouth. Maybe people should be afraid. Don’t worry it’s all just in my head or in the books I write.

I also carry:

Lipstick
Car and house keys
Wallet
Notebook
Brush
Pen
Hand cream
Tissues
Perfume spray

You can’t be found if no one knows where you are.

Idolize is book one in the The Dark Storm series. The books are based around the lives of actors on the show.

Cassi moved to LA to escape a violent past and wants anonymity for herself and her son. She is starting to get her life back on track when she meets Declan Reed. He is latest hit on the Hollywood scene, playing the lead in the TV series Dark Storm. She gets the love of a TV star and the fame that comes with it causes her past to come back and haunt her with what could be fatal consequences.

Excerpt

Cassi knew it was the brandy talking, but when would she have a Hollywood actor captive in a cabin again? He put his glass down and raised one eyebrow as he peered at her. Then he patted the couch in front of him. Okay, she had drunk two big brandies, but what was he suggesting here?

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted it so she gazed in his eyes. She gulped. He didn’t need to say anything. She would kiss him anyway. All he needed to do was ask.

“When you left that day, you took part of me with you. I’ve been looking around and meeting other people and other women trying to find it. I was a fool to let you go then. Now you’re here, Cassi, I’m not going to let you go without telling you how much I care.”

His face was close as his palm cupped her cheek. Her mouth hung open and she felt a strong ache between her legs showing the need for physical contact she had not received for so long. She could feel his breath on her lips. His eyes connected with hers and then moved down to her lips. He ran his thumb along her lower lip and she moved forward. She knew this wasn’t real and something he had rehearsed, but didn’t care. He only had to say the word and she would have sex with him all night long. He didn’t say anything more, but their lips almost touched. Then he moved away.

Breathe.

“It’s a scene from our next episode. It doesn’t turn out well as she’s a vampire and sells me out. I get back at her through some crazy ritual, though. Sorry I took the advantage by adding your name.”

Declan was still holding his palm against her cheek and she didn’t want him to move away.

“You’re good.” He was more than good as she was putty in his hands right now.

Buy now at Amazon.

About Maggie Mundy:

I live in Adelaide, Australia with my husband, one cat, two dogs and a snake. I have a motorbike that I would like to ride more than I do and I love walking at the beach and listening to the waves. I’ve always loved reading all forms of fiction from high fantasy and paranormal to contemporary and decided the stories in my head needed to be written down. It was either that or start on medication. Unlike many, I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until a few years back. I started off doing a degree in drama but soon realized my love was in writing, though there is a play lurking somewhere on my computer. My day job is as a nurse in the operating room. I believe romance can be fun to read and write but it’s exciting to spice it up with the uncertainty that comes with suspense where the rules can be broken.

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Blood Pressure Awareness with Author Brynley Bush

May 18, 2016May 19, 2016

May is National Blood Pressure month, and Roman Castile, the dark and dangerous heartthrob from The Power Games, is a prime candidate for high blood pressure. When a person’s in a stressful situation, their body produces a surge of hormones which temporarily increases their blood pressure by causing their heart to beat faster and their blood vessels to narrow. Although he’s young—not quite thirty—this successful internet entrepreneur has plenty of stress in his life. Not only does he run his own company, but he’s a contestant on The Power Games, a sexy “Survivor Meets Hunger Games” reality show that’s designed to promote Club Helix, an over-the-top, no-expense-spared, sophisticated, BDSM-themed resort where guests can indulge their darkest fantasies in Sin City.

The competition to stay in the games is enough to raise anyone’s blood pressure, but Roman’s partner for the games, the reserved but beautiful Ava Summers, ups the ante. Talk about causing a surge of hormones! The sparks fly when these two are together, and Roman wants nothing more than to break down Ava’s reserves and make her his. But to win the title of the Club Helix Dom and sub and take home the one-million-dollar cash prize, Ava’s got to learn to trust Roman, and Roman has to break down the walls Ava’s erected around her emotions and earn her trust.

Roman’s blood pressure won’t be going down anytime soon, because Ava’s hiding something. She’s got ulterior motives for being on the show. And she isn’t submissive. But Roman won’t settle for anything less than all of the dark-haired beauty he’s starting to fall for.

For the last two years, I’ve lived a life of lies and deceit.

Now I’m about to live the ultimate lie—pretending to be a submissive on a BDSM reality show to take down the man who stole everything from me.

Then I meet him.

A sadistic Dominant who gets his pleasure from my pain, he’s the only man who can help me.

But first I’ll have to give him everything.

The Power Games is available at Loose Id.

You can also purchase it a Amazon.

Brynley Bush has had a lifelong love affair with words. She earned her degree in English and Creative Writing and wrote magazine feature stories for years before turning to writing fiction. She writes the kind of books she likes to read: steamy contemporary romances featuring smart, sassy heroines with a sense of humor and strong, dominant alpha males who love their women a little feisty. When she’s not writing, she loves to read, spend time with her family, and travel.

Follow Brynley on her website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Amazon

NaNo–A Crackpot Theory

November 18, 2015November 12, 20151 Comment

November is National Novel Writing Month. It’s also the month in which NaNoWriMo takes place. For those who might not know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It’s an annual challenge to complete a 50,000-word book in 30 days.

NaNo is a great idea, no question. I, personally, have never participated, but I know several authors who have had magnificent success. I even know the first participant who actually sold the book she wrote during NaNo. She won a Rita for that book, too. And it’s a great book.

There are two reasons I’ve never participated.

There are only 30 days in November. Why not have National Novel Writing Month in a month with 31 days? There are seven months with 31 days, as opposed to only four with 30 days. I do not know a single author who wouldn’t kill for that extra day.
Who picks November to put life on hiatus in order to write 50,000 words? A single man who goes home to Mom’s for Thanksgiving or a married man whose wife handles Thanksgiving and all it entails, that’s who. Come on! The only worse month would be December–and at least December has 31 days.