Thank you kindly for visiting yesterday! It was great having Jill Shalvis aboard. I had random.org pick me a number from 1-43 and the generator drew lucky number:

 

17!

 

JV, please email me at: magnificentsin @ aol . com  (without the spaces of course!) and I'll get you hooked up with Jill Shalvis  for your free book!

Hey Pirates, Wenches, Crew and Lurkers! It's Sin and today I have the extreme honor and pleasure of welcoming aboard New York Times Bestseller and recent RITA award  winning author Jill Shalvis. She was gracious enough to take time out of her busy schedule to tell us a bit about how her daily life really goes. (Seriously, the woman has bionic fingers- three books are coming out before December. Animal Attraction (Book 2 to Animal Magnetism), Head over Heels (Book 3 in her Lucky Harbor series) and Christmas in Lucky Harbor (which is the 2-1 of Simply Irresistible and The Sweetest Thing.) So please raise your rum tankards high in the air and welcome aboard Jill Shavis!

People ALWAYS ask me about my research. I’ll get: how do you write those scenes (with a wink, wink). The truth is, it’s the other parts that are the hardest (no pun intended). Creating the tension in daily situations, the character building …


But the other day I had a new and exciting experience in research. I’m currently writing a story with a hero who rides a motorcycle. A Harley to be exact. And since I knew NOTHING about this, I decided I needed to ride a Harley …

Hmm, riding a Harley . . . For some reason I didn’t think this would be a big deal. But first I had to find someone who was willing to be subjected to all sorts of stupid questions (doesn’t that leather chafe?) and then get him to give me a ride.

So I found a guy, through a friend of a friend of a friend. I called home and got Alpha Man on the line and said “don’t worry but I’m going on a date this afternoon with a leather-wearing, badass Harley driving dude. Okay?"

Now Alpha Man, well used to my occupation, didn’t bat an eye. “Wear a helmet” was his only comment. “And don’t forget to get milk on the way home.”

Fine. So I’d forgotten to pick up milk three days running and the kids were whining about not being able to eat cereal. That seemed insignificant in the light of this exciting adventure. So I said “I’m not kidding, you know. I’m really going riding on a Harley.”

“Is the life insurance paid up?” he asked.

Men.

I did get my ride, and wow, there is something about the power of the beast between your legs and the roar of the engine and the danger and the wind in your hair . . . And the bugs in your teeth.

Afterwards I found myself grateful to get back into my car, thinking maybe I’m not quite as adventurous as I’d thought.

Oh, and I remembered to get milk on the way home. The glamorous, sexy lifestyle of a writer …

Oh and P.S. … I’m going to be doing a giveaway VERY soon so make sure to stop by my site (http://www.jillshalvis.com) and sign up for my newsletter, and if you have Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/jillshalvis) , come “like” me to be entered.

Grab a drink and pull up to the bar! Jill will be here to answer questions today! One lucky commenter will receive a copy of Simply Irresistible! (Paper or e-format. Winner's choice.)

First and foremost I must wish the Captain a wondermous and happiest birthday today. Happy birthday Hellion. May the hotties be hot and the rum be plentiful.

 

   'ello wenches and pirates. It's me (in case you've started to miss the sound of my voice or something) here with the wonderful debut author Miranda Neville. Her book Never Resist Temptation, set in Regency England, released yesterday, February 24, 2009 from Avon books. Run out to your nearest bookstore and pick it up today, if you haven't already got a copy. And if so, get another and give it to someone.

So without further ado, give a warm welcome to Miranda.

***

Aagh, me ‘earties, thanks for inviting me on board. My gal Jacobin's just who you cutthroats need in your galley. She'll toss your scurvy seacook out of the porthole, grab Cap'n Hellion's bottle of rum, and turn it into a Run Baba sooner than you can say "couteau." And if you're really good she'll bring her hottie, aka Anthony, Earl of Storrington (unless he's all tied up.)

Can I drop the pirate lingo now? I like pirates as much as the next girl but NEVER RESIST TEMPTATION plants us squarely in Regency England with not so much as a cutlass in sight. In fact we start out in Regency Ground Zero, the Prince Regent's seaside palace at Brighton (so maybe there's a pirate or two offshore) where Jacobin de Chastelux, daughter of a French aristocrat and niece of an English baron, is working as a pastry cook. Because, despite her background, Jacobin has what we nowadays call a marketable skill. She learned to cook from her uncle's incredibly handsome chef (who isn't the hero).

Just as well, because Jacobin is on her own. First her horrible uncle lost her in a card game to the evil Earl of Storrington, then she's suspected of trying to poison Uncle Candover. The good news is she's been offered another job. The bad news: her new employer is none other than the dastardly Earl.

Turns out the Earl (Anthony) isn't the disgusting old rake she'd envisioned. When he visits her in the kitchen the heat gets turned up to high and it isn't just in the oven. But Anthony has issues and his own motives for using her. Plus there's that little matter of a murder charge hanging over her. You'll have to read the book to discover how Jacobin and Anthony resolve their differences, track down the real murderer and learn to appreciate whipped cream.

I had a lot of fun with the food in the book and I use authentic recipes from the cookbooks of Antonin Carême, history's first "celebrity chef." He worked for French monarchs, the Tzar of Russia and, for a short time, the Prince Regent. Reading about him was the catalyst that made me decide to write a romance with a culinary background.

I know one of you villains is writing about a contemporary chef. Let's face it, there's something very sexy about food. How do you use food in your writing? Can you think of any romances with good eating scenes? The best answer wins a prize. (Hint: it involves chocolate)