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

Books to Movies: Does it matter?

Hi all,

I've been talking to some friends of mine about what I would like to see if my book, Carinian's Seeker Vampire Council of Ethics Book 1, was made into a movie. The topic of race came up.

The Vampire Council of Ethics series is a multicultural series. And when I say multicultural, I mean REALLY. In fact, the whole series is a nice mix of folks from various backgrounds, races and just about everything. The main couple is of different races. The secondary cast is multi-racial, and even the bad guys get into the mix a bit. In the end, there's Black, White, East Indian, Japanese, Native American, African, etc.

So here is the question that sent me to the blogs to get your advice:

If the books were made into a TV series or movie (like True Blood) would it matter to you if the main couple in Carinian's Seeker (white male, black female) was switched around to black male, white female?

The thought from the film maker chicklet was that it is more socially acceptable to see a white female with a black male than the other way around and that swapping the races might attract a larger audience.

But that made me think of the recent Star Trek movie. I mean Spock and Uhura had a seriously hot thing going on. Now how many of us saw that coming? Not me! But did I think it was cool and that the characters made it work? Sure did!

Personally, I like movies that stick as close to the book as possible, but the other argument is that if the acting is done well, will people really care if the races were switched?

What do you think?

TJ

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

More Paperbacks for Summer

Piggybacking on NJ's post regarding paperbacks to pack along with you on your travels, the first and second books in the Vampire Council of Ethics series are both available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Borders, etc.


CARINIAN'S SEEKER
Series: Vampire Council of Ethics (V.C.O.E.) - Book One

Order at: Amazon | B & N | MbaM | MbaM

Beautiful genius, Carinian Derrickson, wants to live long enough to date a man from the future generations of spacemen, complete with ray guns and starships. She's not crazy, she's just afraid of dying young of some dreaded disease, like all the rest of her family. Her research into gene therapy has shown her the way to extend her life is by emulating traits only before seen in fiction. Vampire fiction. Only the beings that shouldn't exist are very real indeed.

SERATI'S FLAME
Series: Vampire Council of Ethics (V.C.O.E.) - Book Two

Order Print Copies at Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble

There’s a rogue on the loose, and the Vampire Council of Ethics has just the man for the job. Alaan Serati, along with his team of elite fighters, is a Seeker for the V.C.O.E. The lethal vampire law enforcement assassin is also the most eligible bachelor of Clan Serati. His job: Take out the rogue vampire who killed his mate years ago. But working with a fellow Seeker quickly becomes a pain in his backside. How is he supposed to accomplish the mission if he can’t keep his mind or his hands off of his fellow officer?

For more years than she wants to remember, Tameth Serati-Cole has worked almost every day, side by side, with the gruff and gorgeous Alaan. It’s been hell considering the special bond between them, something rarely developed between mates. But Alaan doesn’t really want her. He’s still pining away for the woman taken from him years ago. So when he declares his need to bond with her, this lady Seeker ain’t biting…even if she’s wanted to since the day they met.

Happy Hump Day!

Hi all! Still working on three manuscripts all at the same time, though less frantically since work is just as busy as the stories in my head. One book is the story of Alaina Bixler, the daughter of Carin and Bix. I hadn't planned to continue the Vampire Council of Ethics series after the third book (Kenoe's story, due out in July) but I got an idea in my head that I just couldn't shake, so it's in the works. And speaking of Kenoe's story, it's now up on the Samhain Publishing coming soon web page.

HATSEPT HEAT, V.C.O.E. Book 3 Coming next month!

Gas (damn it!) and Pictures From Ireland ;D

I promise there are pictures from Ireland below, but first I just have to say...

I am not going to complain about gas prices in the U.S. anymore. Hell, I'm not even going to whine or whimper. Why? Because I just came back from overseas and the price of gas over there is ri-goddamned-diculous!

For example, I spent $57 USD to put a QUARTER TANK of gas in a little Mazda rental car. Most folks on this side of the pond I've told this story to jump on the, "Well, it's because the dollar is weak right now" band wagon. But let me tell you what the folks over there said.

One guy told me, "Well, it's so bloody expensive because almost 80% of our gas price goes to taxes."

Another said, "Even before the dollar started takin' a beatin', I can remember paying alot for petrol. We buy it by the liter here at about 1.25 GBP right now. But it was around .89 GBP back in 2003, which would amount to more than 7.00 USD. And the dollar wasn't quite outpacing the GBP at the time, but it was kicking the piss out of the Euro by quite a bit back then."

While I was blessedly oblivious to how much it would cost me to replace the gas in our little rental, these are a couple of scenes from the streets of Dublin.

Next, hop over to www.dynamicthree.com/blog to see more pics of our trip to Dublin, Ireland and Liverpool in the UK.


A really cool billboard promoting a local theater production


This is the coolest damned bus I've ever seen. And I spent quite a bit of time behind it ;D


Shops don't stay open late on Sunday as people are usually hanging out with their families. These folks are enjoying the nice weather on a Sunday afternoon.

Happy Almost Friday!

TJ
www.tjmichaels.com

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Promo Day, everybody!

SERATI'S FLAME, Book 2 in the Vampire Council of Ethics series, is now up for pre-order on Amazon.com. It's received awesome reviews in the eBook world, and I'm even more stoked about it coming in print. Woohoo!

Samhain Publishing
Genre: Vampire / Paranormal
Series: Vampire Council of Ethics (V.C.O.E.) - Book Two; Previous Book: Carinian's Seeker
ISBN (eBook): 1-59998-549-7 - Aug '07
ISBN (Print): 978-1599988092 - Jun '08

Pre-Order at Amazon.com
or
Get the eBook at: Samhain Publishing

Click HERE then scroll down to read reviews and excerpts. Enjoy!

First, the blurb: For two Seekers of justice, hunting rogues is dangerous business. But not as dangerous as their yearning for each other.

There’s a rogue on the loose, and the Vampire Council of Ethics has just the man for the job. Alaan Serati, along with his team of elite fighters, is a Seeker for the V.C.O.E. The lethal vampire law enforcement assassin is also the most eligible bachelor of Clan Serati. His job: Take out the rogue vampire who killed his mate years ago. But working with a fellow Seeker quickly becomes a pain in his backside. How is he supposed to accomplish the mission if he can’t keep his mind or his hands off of his fellow officer?

For more years than she wants to remember, Tameth Serati-Cole has worked almost every day, side by side, with the gruff and gorgeous Alaan. It’s been hell considering the special bond between them, something rarely developed between mates. But Alaan doesn’t really want her. He’s still pining away for the woman taken from him years ago. So when he declares his need to bond with Tameth, this lady Seeker ain’t biting…even if she’s wanted to since the day they met.

Warning, this title contains the following: Hot monkey sex, lots of biting, and rolling around in backseats.

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

The Man In The Relationship?

Hey ladies, have you ever felt like you were the "man" in a relationship. And men, have you ever felt like you're the "woman" in the relationship? It's something I've really been thinking about and thought I'd get ya'lls (yes, it's a word ;D) on this.

The stereotypical "man" is one who wants sex all the time, tunes out his woman when she nags about trivial things (like a cup in the sink, or a piece of lint on the floor), while the stereotypical "woman" is the one with the headache (so, er, no sex except on special occasions, like the return of Christ or something), who nags her man about chores and the honey-do list, and is constantly demanding that he talk to her.

Well, what if the roles are reversed? What if it's the woman who's always chasing her man down to get some, and he's the one with the damned headache all the time? Or the woman who just doesn't see the point about trying to keep a perfect house and couldn't care less about a cup in the sink? Or the woman is the one who deals with her man being always stuck up under her and he's the one that complains if she doesn't give him her undivided attention when he wants it, whenever he wants it, regardless of what else she has going on?

Yes, it does happen! Been there, done that!

Men, do you want a woman with more balls than you? Probably not. So I wonder what it is about this current generation of females (according to my college age daughter who thinks they're all crazy) who believe they want someone who is sooooo sensitive and less manly?

Me, I want a hunky, male man, not a sorta-woman man.

So, whatcha think?

TJ

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

Squeeee! It's Out!

The second book in the Vampire Council of Ethics is released today! Talk about psyched! The first book, Carinian's Seeker, V.C.O.E. Book 1 has received rave reviews. I hope you enjoy this follow up just as much. It's Alaan's story...'nuff said ;D

Yummy excerpt below '*wink*'

TJ
..• ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.•´ .•´¨¨))
((¸¸.•´ ..•´ www.tjmichaels.com -:¦:-
-:¦:- ((¸¸.•´* www.dynamicthree.com
SERATI'S FLAME, Aug. 21, 2007
EGYPTIAN VOYAGE, Aug. 29, 2007
FERAL FASCINATION, Summer 2007

Excerpt - PG13

“Damned woman,” Alaan grumbled to himself. “Of all people, why does Tameth Serati-Cole have to be my Second? Nothing but trouble, hanging out with that Clan Hatsept pipsqueak, pale-faced, stringy-haired pimp. Who cares if she outranks almost every Seeker in the Western territories? She’s still a royal pain in the ass…”

And strong, reliable, beautiful. Hair so thick and long he wouldn’t mind wrapping himself in it. Not to mention a killer body that called to him whenever she walked by, and an ass so perfect… Wait a minute. What the hell was he thinking? The more he thought about the woman, the stronger the longing was that crept up the back of his mind and surrounded his heart with the need for a mate. But he couldn’t walk that path again. He couldn’t feel this way about Tameth, or anyone else. It wasn’t worth the heartache. His position as both a Seeker and son to the Serati Matriarch made life too dangerous for any woman foolish enough to love him.

Pushing away the dull, empty ache centered in his chest along with the raging hard-on that accompanied images of Tameth these days, Alaan painted on his customary scowl and walked the last flight of stairs up to her apartments.

He stopped cold in the middle of the wide, long hallway. What the hell was that? It sounded like…moaning. Sensing no danger, he started moving towards Tameth’s door with slow, measured steps, his boots silent as he padded across the plush carpet. All was quiet except for a murmur so faint Alaan was sure he would have missed it if not for his exceptional hearing. Something about the sound made his heart rate kick up. The sheaths covering his fangs tingled and itched, and the typically smooth skin over his brows furrowed into a deep frown. The barely audible sound caused a fierce physical reaction as his keen eyesight raked the area from one end of the long stretch to the other. There it was again, a feminine gasp and sigh that sounded like…

“Oh, yes, God, that feels so good. Mmm, a little lower.”

Tameth?

“Whatever you want, baby, however you want it,” whispered a seductive male voice. A very familiar, too-smooth male voice.

Before he’d even made a decision on what to do next, Alaan sprinted the final distance to Tameth’s door, moving silently towards the source of the noises.

Her cries of pleasure wrapped around his cock and squeezed, while at the same time the very thought of her with another male had his gut twisting in knots. A scorching surge of anger whipped through him so blazing hot, the ends of his hair singed a coal black.

So she was moaning, eh? Well, the person who made her create that sound had better be prepared to have the living shit kicked out of him.

With one huge shoulder braced against the door, Alaan readied himself to force it open, then decided to change his tactic. To hell with the subtle approach. He stepped back, lifted a heavily-booted size thirteen and kicked with all his strength. The door flew several feet into the room followed by a pissed off six-foot-five, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound Seeker.

Fangs bared in fury, Alaan burst into Tameth’s living room ready to do some serious damage. His fingers automatically closed over the handle of the customized laser-sighted titanium pistol in the holster at the small of his back. Then his whole body went completely still.

Please, God, let the earth open up and swallow me now.

A fully clothed Kenoe sat on the couch, knees spread, with an equally clothed Tameth sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him receiving a shoulder massage. The two couldn’t have looked more like best girlfriends if they’d tried.

And both of them had the smirk from hell plastered across their smug faces.

"Uh, please tell me you’re going to pay for that, Alaan,” Tameth said easily, nodding towards the ruined door flat on the carpet. Without waiting for a response, she leaned her head to the side and Kenoe pressed his pale fingers into an obviously sore spot on her shoulder.

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

Thursday Thirteen - GRUMP!

Thirteen Things I'd Rather Be Doing by Author, TJ Michaels You know, I think I'm in the grumpiest mood I've been in for a long time. Bottom line is I haven't had any time off from the day job since February while other folks in the office are taking weeks at a time. Why? I'm actually not sure. So, I'm tired, physically and mentally tired. Sitting at my desk with vertigo, feeling like I've got the blow chunks is most unpleasant. However, it did get me to thinking of other things I'd rather be doing. Of course writing is at the top of the list, but that's a given. So here are a few other things I'd like to be doing right now: 1. Looking out over the Grand Canyon (minus the heat, of course ;D) 2. Napping curled up with a teddy bear 3. Winning the lottery! 4. Playing golf (and doing it rather badly) 5. Packing for a trip to Seattle 6. Interviewing for another job 7. Better yet, accepting an offer for another job! 8. Kissing a hunky guy that's actually MINE 9. Enjoying my daughter's cinnamon rolls with my feet kicked up 10. Enjoying my daughter's iced green tea with ginger drink (feet still kicked up) 11. Playing WarCraft III with my son 12. Working on a new book with my writing partner, Grey Sinclaire 13. Relaxing while reading a book by any of the Ladies

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

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!