xPost - See you at the movies!

(This is x-posted from my blog over at the Romance Studio this Wednesday. Hope you enjoy it!)

I was sitting in my room bugging the hell out of my daughter to help me come up with a blog subject. And guess what? Neither of us could come up with a single thing to talk about. So my next natural train of thought was, ‘what new book do I have coming out’ in hopes of coming up with a loosely related subject to blog about. No luck…sort of.

Death and Roses is releasing next month from Ellora’s Cave as part of the Hunters for Hire Sci-Fi continuity series. Death and Roses is an erotic romance about a female Super Soldier who meets up with the soldier she believes killed the only man who’s ever loved her. There's more to every author than just writing, writing, writing, right? *say that 10 times really fast* And since I really don’t like talking about my books all the time, I wanted to think of something 'not' bookish. My upcoming sci-fi led me to another thought: FUTURISTIC MOVIES!

I am absolutely thrilled that Resident Evil 4: Afterlife is coming out on September 10^th in 3D and Imax 3D! *tj dancing around doing a very high pitched squeeee!* I’m totally excited because I like series. Love them, in fact. It doesn’t matter whether the series is done in film or book form, I totally heart them. To be honest, my wallet takes a bit of a beating because when I buy a book in a series, or watch a movie in a series and I love it…I gotta have the whole darn thing!

If you’re not familiar with the Resident Evil franchise, it started with the first movie where Alice (Milla Jovovich - remember her in Fifth Element? No? <---Here’s a picture of her in that movie from 1997) is an amnesiac who doesn’t remember that she works as an operative for a nasty bio-agent manufacturer called the Umbrella Corporation. Then she gets her memory back. That’s real bad news for the bad guys considering her character kicks major ass. I think that’s why I love Alice – any book I write has to have a heroine that can hold her own, which Alice does in spades.

Each Resident Evil movie carries along that same story line of ‘get the bad guys’, but if that’s true, what makes me anticipate this new one? Well, the last movie not only killed off the gorgeous Oded Fehr (gorgeous guy to the right--->), but pretty much made it look as if no one exists on Earth but poor Alice. Her last line in movie number three to the bad guys who’d gone underground to hide was, “Hello boys. I’m coming for you. And I’m bringing a few of my friends.” A few of her friends turns out to be a room several stories high full of clones…of herself.

Hell, one Alice is hard enough to deal with. I’m wondering what they’re going to do with hundreds of her…or will they do anything at all?

Now, I don’t know if Blogger will let me do this, so if it doesn’t work, hop over to my personal blog to take a look at the trailer at TJ Michaels dot com.

See you at the movies!

TJ is an award winning multi-published author of contemporary, paranormal and multicultural romance who’s even managed a couple of CAPA nominations from The Romance Studio!

Visit her on Twitter, Facebook and of course her own site.
Visit her publishers at Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Pocket Books

Video Blather and Chats

Hi all,

I just published my very first video blog! Yay! It's over at my website -- Click Here

But in addition, me and as many authors as can make it from the Holiday Hottie contest are chatting live at both the Ellora's Cave and the Samhain Cafe reader loops. In addition to closing out the Holiday Hottie contest so we can announce the grand prize winners, we'll also be doing some contests, recipe swaps, jokes and just plain ole fun.

When: December 19, 2009
Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm EST
Where: Ellora's Cave and Samhain Cafe Yahoo groups

Now...go check out my first vBlog! And no laughing...on second thought do laugh because I'm just plain silly ;D

TJ
www.tjmichaels.com

Welcome to Autumn

Welcome to Autumn!

Fall is actually my favorite time of year. I love the crisp, sunny days and the way the leaves turn color. Then there is Thanksgiving and Halloween--two wonderful holidays!

I'm not fond of the fact that it means winter is almost here, but I enjoy autumn for what it is--a time of change, endings and new beginnings. I know that for most folks the time of great change is on January 1st, but for me it's always been fall.

Maybe it's the throwback to when September meant going back to school, meeting new friends and starting a new school year. My school days are long behind me now, but I fall is always a hopeful time of year for me.

I'm upbeat and excited about the possibilities of life. Two weeks ago I started a plan to try and find some balance in my life--not an easy task. So far, I've managed to work some form of exercise into my life almost every day. That's a big step forward.

How do you feel about the onset of fall? Are you looking forward to it or is another season your favorite?

I'm So Lazy...

That's it. Guess.

I'll come by tomorrow and tell you what they are.

No ides, just a new release! And a chat tonight!

I'm thrilled! The Sixth Curse of Spring released yesterday!

The blurb:

Wondering if she'll ever find the right guy, Mckenzie goes to see her "let it be" tree. There, she finds more than she bargained for with sexy Jake Bremmer. Jake's moved back home, and he's not much like Mckenzie remembers him, even when they share one wild lip-lock. She finds his sensual dominance more appealing than she'd ever thought possible.

Jake's come home to figure out himself, and he when he sees Mckenzie, he realizes she's something that he's missed. He doesn't understand why she doesn't remember the previous kisses they've shared, but he's determined to make this one stick. Even if he has to order her around a bit to do it.

Cursed into Mckenzie's silver maple, Deidre plots to take care of Jake for good this time. She'll make him stick out in Mckenzie's mind as the worst guy of them all with a curse leveled to bring them both into passion, before she strips it all away.Will this sixth curse of spring bring about the final try for Jake and Mckenzie, or will they find their way to each other against cursed odds?

To read and excerpt.

My pals, Melissa Lopez and Mari from Marissa Alwin will be chatting at 9 EST M-Spot chat. Melissa and I both had new releases yesterday so there will be plenty to talk about!

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen

http://www.mechelearmstrong.com/

http://www.melanylogen.com/

Nothing About Writing Today ;D

I'm working on a deadline to rewrite a novella for submission to my editor. But there's work, and preparing to move to a new house, getting my son through his junior year in high school, getting my daughter (who is kicking and screaming, by the way) through college and all kinds of stuff.

So today, I just wanna laugh my ass off.

As an author of multicultural romance, I'm gonna go out on a limb and share one of the things that cracks me up...at my own expense of course (No, it's not Hard Gay...this time ;D)

STEPHEN LYNCH! Comedian and all out nutball has a song about interracial dating - it's called VANILLA ICE CREAM. And it's funny as hell! This subject gets danced around sometimes, but this is the first time I think I've heard a comedian address it in this manner. And as a sistah, it was nice to find that it's totally positive while still making you laugh your butt off. My kids even put it on their iPods so we can laugh in the car over it. It's fabulous! So take a listen...

You Tube Video (first 30 seconds in talking, but I promise he'll get to the song - click HERE

To Visit Stephen's Site to hear this song (better quality) - click HERE

TJ
..* ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.*´ .*´¨¨))
((¸¸.*´ ..*´ www.tjmichaels.com -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.*´* www.dynamicthree.com
CARINIAN'S SEEKER, V.C.O.E. Bk 1 ~ CAPA 2007 Nominee
SERATI'S FLAME, V.C.O.E. Bk 2 ~ In Print June 2008
WILD WINTER, Ellora's Cave ~ Now In Print
HATSEPT HEAT, V.C.O.E. Bk 3, Samhain Publishing ~ July 2008
JAGUAR'S RULE, Pocket Books Anthology ~ Feb 2009

NEVER Thought I Would Say It, But....

I'm totally hooked on a video game! This totally ruins all my "mother moments" when I tell my son to "get off that blasted computer" because he's been gaming too long. Or my daughter to "get up and take the puppies out" in between wild bouts of Kirby Air Ride.

Yes, boys and girls, TJ is hooked on WarCraft. World of WarCraft, to be exact. I haven't been playing all that long, but it's something I started doing so that my son and I could have something that we do together. And we make a great team!

God, but it's become an addiction really FAST! Since it's played online you can check in on friends and group members to get help in completing quests and things like that. And I've seen some of my fellow authors out there, too! For example, Heather Holland is, like, the WarCraft goddess or something! She's awesome! And it's alot of fun. Helps to get my mind off of work (day job) and writing, so I can relax a bit before getting back to it.

Have a vice? Tell the rest of us so we can have an opportunity to pick up more habits (LOL!)

TJ
www.tjmichaels.com

Shop 'Til You Drop!

My sister is visiting, and for two solid days, we went from store to store to store to store shopping.

I freely admit, that in our family, she got all the shopping genes. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the bookstore, grocery store and thrift shops as well as the next girl. But that's where it ends.

I honestly can't find any joy in going through every rack in a store and loading up on stuff to try on. When I clothes shop, I find something I like and buy multiples. If I have a top I like, you can be certain I have it in several colors. I find a pair of jeans I like, I buy several pairs. You get the idea.

And shoes! Don't get me started on shoes. *NJ ducking flying shoes*

I just didn't get the memo on why women like shoes so much. I can't wear heels--those are instruments of torture, not footwear, especially for someone like me who has had foot problems since I was a kid. Can you say fallen arches! I can never seem to find what I want--plain, sensible shoes, sneakers, and boots.

But the fact remains that my sister does enjoy it and I enjoy being with her. We don't get to spend as much time as we'd like together these days. We're a 5 and 1/2 hour drive from one another, so with work and commitments and such, we see each other about three or four times a year.

So, while I'm not particularly enamored of shopping, I put on my sneakers and shopped.

Not that I actually enjoyed the shopping, mind you, but because the company was great. And my sister's enthusiasm for shopping made me forget my aching feet!

You know its time to clean when...

1. You reach for the remote and the spiders slap your hand.
2. You reach into the meat keeper in the fridge and the cheese is growing over the contents.
3. You look into the fridge and realize most of the contents are a mystery to you.
4. The dust bunnies chase the dogs out of the bedroom.
5. When you try to sweep the floor, the dust bunnies grab the broom and hit you.
6. You have to use a lead rope to guide guests into your house.
7. You have the remote in hand and can't find the tv.
8. Your clean clothes are more wadded up than the dirty ones.
9. The dog carries around the food bowl for fear of losing it.
10. When you realize your youngest child has been buried alive under stacks of Cosmopolitan from 1979.

xPost: Come Over To Ellora's Cave Today!

Hey everybody!

I'm hosting a List Mom day at the Ellora's Cave readers group on Yahoo today. Since it's release day (SQUEEE! Egyptian Voyage hit the cyber shelves!) we're doing a half day release day hype type event. Lots of excerpts and prizes, so COME GET SOME ;D

Starts at 1:00 pm EST and ends at 6:00 pm EST

Get to the readers group here: Ellora's Cave Reader Chat

Also, LAST DAY for the ARCANE AUGUST contest! Better get your entry in so you can have a chance to take home your share of TEN books! For details, visit The Scoop page on my website HERE: The Scoop

Newsletters, Contests and Chats! Oh my!

First, the chat...

The Dynamic Trio are hosting the TRS Wild Wednesday event on August 1st. The theme is "Lions, Shifters and Were" and all of us will be there
promoting our paranormal releases. Come get some, baby! Play with Lauren Dane, Shelley Munro, and TJ Michaels.

When: August 1, 2007
Time: 9:00 pm EST
Where: www.theromancegalleria.com

***********************
Now the contests...
Arcane August is here! To celebrate the release of SERATI'S FLAME~Vampire Council of Ethics Book 2, and EGYPTIAN VOYAGE I'm holding a HA-YUGE contest. So, wanna get your share (yes, means you could win more than one) of TEN awesome novels? Visit TJ On A Tangent for details. (Note: This is the only time this newsletter will be available to non-subscribers). Contest begins August 1 and runs until the release of EGYPTIAN VOYAGE on August 29th. Good luck and happy hunting!

***********************
And finally, the newsletter...

The August edition of TJ On A Tangent is now available. To subscribe, visit www.tjmichaels.com. News, Funnies and a damned good butterscotch martini await!

TJ
..* ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.*´ .*´¨¨))
((¸¸.*´ ..*´ www.tjmichaels.com -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.*´* www.dynamicthree.com
CARINIAN'S SEEKER, V.C.O.E. Book 1, Available Print & Digital
SERATI'S FLAME, V.C.O.E. Book 2, Samhain Publishing ~ August 2007
EGYPTIAN VOYAGE, Ellora's Cave ~ August 2007
FERAL FASCINATION, Ellora's Cave ~ In Print Summer 2007

Friday The Thirteenth!

Friday the 13th

Friggatriskaidekaphobia, or the fear of Friday the 13th is alive and well in today’s society. Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky? When did it first start? No one can say for sure, but the fact remains that many cultures consider the day to be a very unlucky one.

There are, however, many popular theories about the origin of the Friday the 13th jinx. Most common is the bible story of the Last Supper. It is thought that Judas was the 13th at supper and he betrayed Jesus. Many refute this tale, saying that Judas wasn’t there as he had left in order to betray Jesus, leaving only 12 dinner guests.

There is a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla and the uninvited 13th guest, Loki, who causes havoc with his arrival.

On Friday 13th, 1306, King Phillip of France arrested the Knight Templar and began torturing and executing them.

In Britain, public hangings traditionally took place on Fridays and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the gallows.

Some people believe that Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday. But that’s a whole other story.

However it came about, the fact remains that the Friday the 13th superstition is alive and well in the world today. Most high-rises lack a 13th floor. Airplanes have no 13th aisle. Hospitals, hotels and apartment buildings regularly have no number 13, and many cities don’t have a 13th Avenue or Street.

Whatever you believe, or don’t believe, I hope you have a fabulous Friday the 13th, free from all troubles and fears.

Check out:
http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/scary.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th

Calling all Ladies!

Back in the old days, a Lady was thought of as fragile, well mannered, and unfortunately sexless woman who was not expected to fulfill her husbands sexual needs - hence along came the mistress. But these days, Ladies are strong, solid individuals with a bit of classy, sexy and attitude stirred in, in the correct amounts at the perfect time.

Today's Ladies make sure their mates have no misinterpretations of who will satisfy their needs. In fact, Ladies, in a nurturing way, may even take it upon ourselves to teach their mates a thing or two about what's sexy and receive a bit of 'tutoring' in return. And may even dress the part *wink*

Ladies are secure in themselves, know who they are, and roll with the punches. They remember what life was like in their early years, but wouldn't trade 40 for 20 any day of the week.

Judith Martin says, "Miss Manners cannot think of a more succinct definition of a lady than someone who wants to punch someone in the nose...but doesn't."

Lillian Day says, "A lady is one who never shows her underwear unintentionally."

So, in addition to yourself, who are some of your favorite "Ladies" ?

Some of mine...are right here on this blog!