Seeking change, Jaycee Dalton takes a huge gamble with a life-altering game of “Truth or Dare.”
Jaycee’s innocuous dare lands her on the doorstep of a mysterious fortune teller who throws her a curveball that shakes her to the core:The two loves of her life are coming for her.She wanted change, and she was about to get it.
Grayson Blakemore and Cade McCoy have a love that most people only dream of, but they are missing one pivotal piece - Jaycee.Tired of living half lives, Gray and Cade concoct a scheme with her friends to win her back.
Shamelessly exploiting the dare she is taking, Gray and Cade kidnap Jaycee and prove that love is more than just playing sexy games.When Jaycee discovers their devious plot, will she feel betrayed or will she turn the tables on them and play a game of her own?
Hi everyone! It’s me again, Mia. I have been a very bad blogger, and I hope you will find it in your wonderful hearts to forgive me. If not, I am sure someone can find a whip to punish me. Naughty, naughty Mia!
Onto today’s actual blog…
A couple of days ago, I realized that I hadn’t had a “me” day in awhile. With the holiday and edits, I just hadn’t found the time. So, I jump in my car and took off for the mountains. I hadn’t been driving for long when my brain started racing with the plot for a new story. (Keep in mind, this plot is not going to happen in the next book…or the next book….or even the next book. Those are already in the works in my mind.)
See, when I drive, I always have some sort of “Eureka!” moment. Always, always, always. I plot all of my stories in the car, and when I am blocked, I write the scenes in my head while I drive. I end up either yapping into the Dragon app in my iPhone or I pull over on the side of the road. The people who pass me probably think I am one strange cookie because I grab my handy-dandy notebook and write furiously for however long it takes me…yes, sometimes, it takes a while.
But, I digress…
This mini-trip raised a question in my mind that many people ask writers, “What inspires you when you write?” Well, my answer is, I have no clue!
Is it the scenery? Maybe.
Is it the music blaring out of my radio? Could be.
Is it the lull of the car? Possibly.
Is it that I am relaxed because I am behind the wheel? Perhaps.
No matter what brings on my inspirational surges, it works for me and that’s what is important. So, my question for each of you on this fine Sunday morning, “What inspires you?”
- Mia
“The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes.” - Agatha Christie
A little treat for me…
This would help my inspiration process even more, baby!
In August of this year, I woke up to a reality that said to me, “If you want it, you must do it.”For as long as I can remember, all I have ever wanted was to be three things: a wife, a mother, and a writer.I had achieved the first two so I realized that it was time to go for gold.No more waiting.No more worrying.Just doing it.
When I say that I woke up, I don’t mean that in the literal sense.LOL. I mean that an epiphany struck from nowhere, stealing my breath and shaking me awake.I didn’t want to spend my whole life not taking a chance on my dreams just to protect myself from the things that scared me.It would be far worse to be the little old lady in a rocking chair on the front porch mumbling about the what-ifs.Honestly, I was petrified.This possible future scared me far more than taking the actual risk.
I don’t believe in regrets.At all.Nor do I believe in changing the past.Life is a gift that we only get one shot at it.It is for living – not in the past, but in the present.After lots of soul searching, I accepted that this is the only thing that I knew for sure I would regret if I didn’t take the leap.So, I jumped.
Yesterday, I found out that my dreams are coming true. My first story has been accepted for publication by Siren Publishing. WOO-HOO! (Sorry, I couldn't control myself.) Right now, I have very few details because I have known for less than twenty-four hours, but I had to share the awesome news!Hope everyone is having a good week.I’m so excited for Thanksgiving.It is shaping up to be the best holiday season ever!
-Mia
Just For Good Measure. Wouldn't want you to miss out on a juicy picture.
In my blog today, I am going to deviate from the usual format.No sarcasm.No joking.No whining, bitching, or moaning.Today is about what I write about: Love.I will warn you right now that there is going to be sappiness and sentimentality in the following blog.
First, I think that I should give some background to my whole hopeless romanticism.I am from a broken family.My mother was ill for the first few years of my life, and my father was not supportive.He didn’t do the things that a person should do for his/her partner.He didn’t help her.Or comfort her.Or love her.A year passed before my mother kicked him out of the house when he told her that he was going to work; but, in reality, he was visiting his mistress.He ended up marrying that woman and having two children, but I didn’t see him anymore.From the time he moved out until the day he died, I saw him less times than I could count on my hand.But, I digress.
My parent’s marriage had a profound effect on my views on love and marriage.I had this one part of me that fantasized of falling in love, getting married, and having children.I wanted the HEAs that I always read about.But, and this is a big but, I didn’t believe that they existed.All I knew was that marriages ended and kids got hurt.Who would ever want to go through that?This internal conflict was driving me insane.My heart and my head couldn’t come to an agreement.They were in constant discord.
Then, I fell in love.He snuck under my radar, never giving me a chance to realize what I was doing.I didn’t think, I just felt.Don’t misunderstand, it was a long, hard road.After coming from what I did, I had anxiety attacks and mild freak outs.I would attempt to push him away or cut myself off from him.This came later, of course, when I realized that it was too late, and I had done the unthinkable.Instead of giving me demands and ultimatums, he just gave me enough space to breath but never wavered.He gave me what I needed even when I didn’t realize it.To this day, he has an uncanny knack for reading me.I don’t have to say a word or make a gesture.He just knows.He makes everything okay for me.It is not that he fixes my problems or anything.He is just there and that is all I need.
His love transformed me in ways that I never knew existed.For the first time, I wasn’t alone inside.I wasn’t this person or that person.I didn’t have to be what he wanted me to be because I was what he wanted.Just like he was what I wanted.Unconditional love is a beautiful thing.
After a decade together, I love him more than I thought was possible.Our love grows every day.Our friendship strengthens.We grow together.This is the kind of love I want to write about.This is the kind of love that I want everyone to experience – whether in real life or in a book, movie, or song.Obviously, I want people to have everlasting love in their daily lives.But, if that isn’t working for them at the moment, I want them to experience it through any means necessary.
To me, love is the most important thing in life.The day I started breathing wasn’t the day I was born.It was the moment that I realized I was in love.I can remember every, single detail of that day.That is how powerful it was for me.
So, when I write, I don’t want my stories to be about mere lust or superficial love.That isn’t something that interests me.My stories are about people who fall in love – no matter the odds.They aren’t perfect characters who lead perfect lives.Love is messy.Love is crazy.Love is scary.But, love is worth every damn thing.One of my largest beliefs is that “Nothing worth anything in life comes easily.”It just doesn’t.Part of the whole business of love is bonding emotionally, spiritually, and physically.If you face nothing but candy and roses, you aren’t going to connect on every level which is essential to everlasting love.
My characters are flawed because we are all human.There is no perfect person out there.When you love, you love everything.I don’t believe that a person who truly loves will say to themselves, “I love him/her unless _______.”My hubby and I don’t always see eye to eye, but I wouldn’t change anything about him.Ever.He is the man I love and that is that.My characters are the same way.They accept the other person with their whole heart, not just the easy parts or the likable parts.
I, also, write characters that don’t always pick the partner that would be expected of them.My husband and I are polar opposites.If someone had given me a pen and told me to write down what I wanted in a man, he wouldn’t have fit the picture on the surface.Fundamentally, yes, we are a match.But, I saw myself with someone very different, someone who had zero chance of making me happy.He knows this and feels the exact same way.It, in our opinions, makes our love that much more special.Therefore, when I write, I let them follow their hearts.When I first started writing, I talked and argued with them about who I thought they should be with.In the end, one character really put the screws to me and made me see all kinds of things about the three characters that I never anticipated.Now, I just don’t fight them.I do question them so I can understand, but I do not waste my energy trying to force something that isn’t going to happen.People don’t choose love.Love chooses them.
The moral of this whole blog is that love is everything.I can’t write a story that isn’t about love because I don’t want to be in a story like that.I live a love story, and I hope you do.Or will.Or have.
-Mia
"True love is a wonder that has no end or beginning." - Unknown
"When we love, it isn't because the person's perfect, it's because we learn to see an imperfect person perfectly." - Unknown
“Love isn't blind, it just only sees what matters.” – Unknown
“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.” – Albert Einstein
This is one of my favorite songs in the world. I wanted to share it with everyone because it goes hand in hand with what I discussed in my last post - loving and accepting yourself. Enjoy, my friends!
“We know that more than seventy to eighty percent of women masturbate, and ninety percent of men masturbate, and the rest lie. – Joycelyn Elders
Okay, people.It’s been a while since I have posted.I know, I know.Bad Mia.I am going to have to work on it.
Today’s post is going to touch on a very touchy subject.Yes, that was intended to be a pun. LOL.Anyway, I think that masturbation is something that is very important to the overall health of a person (Before you ask, yes, I was told this by a person who is an expert on sexuality and health – both physical and mental!) People like to trash it, joke about it, or treat it like some dirty, little secret.Well, you know what?I have a secret that I must share with anyone who will listen:PEOPLE MASTURBATE! IT FEELS GOOD! GET THE FUCK OVER IT!
Well, that was more than one secret, but you get the general idea.I was raised in a home where masturbation was bad.I don’t mean a little bad.I mean Mia will get her ass whipped – and not in a good way, bad.It was not discussed because it wasn’t done.It doesn’t exist.When it did come up, it was always, “Only horny teenage boys masturbate, Mia.” Or “You’ll go to hell if you masturbate.”Or “It doesn’t feel good.” (That was my personal favorite)Seriously, this BS was peddled to me – for years!
“The only thing about masturbation to be ashamed of is doing it badly.” – Sigmund Freud
If you are told this crap for years, you will get a complex about masturbation.You are not going to want to do it.Well, at least, I got that way for a while.I felt like someone was watching what I was doing and they were going to arrest me for being a “dirty” girl.That is a major mood-kill.
As I grew older, I grew wiser.What a novel concept!!!I discovered that I do like to masturbate.Let me rephrase that – I love to masturbate.No one is watching me, and, if they are, I better give them one helluva show. Hehehe.
So, what exactly is wrong with masturbation?Why does it have such a negative connotation?Why must society treat it like something so taboo?I know a little about the taboo, and this is not it, people!Move on.If I want to touch myself, it’s no one’s business but mine (and anyone reading this post).
“Don’t knock masturbation – it’s with someone I love.” –Woody Allen
I have no answer to a single one of these questions.No clue.I’m not even sure that I want to know because the answers are going to come from someone who is narrow-mind and will not listen to my thoughts or beliefs.I will be the first person to have a deep, in-depth conversation with someone, but they must at least respect me enough to hear my side too.Maybe that is what always bothered me in my household.I was never given enough freedom or respect to explore who I am in every way.Maybe that is why it is so liberating to be the way that I am, now.Maybe that is why I’m such a pervert.No, not that one.This is inherent.Just me.Anywhoo, I’m getting off topic.
The point to this post, other than getting to rant and rave about something that pisses me off, is that no one should be ashamed of masturbation.No one should be ashamed of anything about themselves.You are who you are.You are what you are.No one can take that away from you.Don’t let them.
As I walk down this writing journey, I find myself more every day of my life.Writing is something I love, but it has transformed.It is about me loving me.It is about me accepting me.This is mine.Period.Exclamation point.That’s all she wrote.
Don’t misunderstand me, once I have completed a story (and hopefully published it), it is no longer just about me.I won’t claim that I don’t want to share it with all of you and anyone else who wants to read it; however, when I’m going through the actual process of writing, my focus is on being true to the characters and to myself.
So, in essence, masturbation is symbolic.I guess.When I’m involved in self-pleasure, it is about me (and the luscious fantasies in my head).The moment that I’m done, it is about sharing the wealth.Don’t be dirty, people! LOL.I’m referring to the fact that masturbation does have a drastic effect on my mood which affects people around me.Wow, this is a bad analogy.I’m just going to shut up before I dig my hole any deeper.Anyone got a shovel?Oh, good! There is one.
I am going to wrap this up, my friends.Hopefully, everyone is having a great Thursday night.If not, I am going to throw in something gratuitous in honor of an upcoming movie.Here we go, Kellan Lutz in all his glory:
Love,
-Mia
“Play with yourselves.Play with each other.Just don’t play with the squirrels, they bite.“ – Unknown
