.@LindaSteinberg asks Do Looks Matter? #Beauty and the Beast #new release #contemporary romance

LINDA STEINBERG  asks  Do Looks Matter?

Do you judge a book by its cover?

Of course. We all do, literally. What’s the first thing that snags a reader’s interest in a book? It’s the cover. If that sparks our curiosity, we’ll check out the blurb and maybe read an excerpt before deciding to commit to a purchase.

Although we may try not to judge people the same way, we can’t help ourselves. If there’s a line of single women at a dance, which one does a guy approach? The prettiest, of course. And we can’t attribute that superficial attitude to just men. If we’re trying to meet someone on a dating site, don’t we click first on the profile of the best looking man? Although I believe women do rate other qualities higher than looks when searching for a partner, don’t we always give the handsome one the first shot at fulfilling our expectations?

How many romance novels have you read with an average looking hero? Not many, I’d guess. We want the man of our fantasies to be devastatingly handsome as well as possessing the qualities of honor, bravery, sincerity and kindness. Which is why it’s called fiction.

@SloaneBCollins - How Do You Indulge? #notagirliegirl #indulgingmynails #plottingprincesses

Hi, everyone.  This is my first official post as a Plotting Princess, and I’m thrilled to be here.  I’ve been trying to decide what to write about instead of just talking about who I am, what I write (Contemporary Romance), etc. I came up with a subject that might be near and dear to many hearts. 

I’m not much of a girlie-girl, but I like to indulge every so often.  I love shoes, but due to a knee injury, I’ve had to give up all my gorgeous heels and wear flats.  I adore handbags, but I pretty much use a tote bag. For my job, it’s all business clothes.  So how can I indulge in something that feels extravagant and not go broke? 

Nail polish!  A few months ago I joined a “club” in which I get 3 nail polishes every month.  I adore trying the gorgeous new colors, and have stepped WAY outside my box with blues, silvers, purples, greens, metallics, glitters(!), and of course, my favorite: red. 

I decided to get organized, and make a swatch sheet with all the colors, so now it’s easy to decide which to use.  I can go elegant, romantic, funky, sedate, or wild. 

When I was through, the drawer looked like a treasure chest dripping with jewels.  Aren’t they pretty?  And the fact they’re in identical bottles makes my heart go pitty-pat.

.@VickiBatman - Is the party over? After Christmas blues #MFRWorg #RLFblog #plottingprincesses

Last week, I returned from a vacation after Christmas. We'd left Christmas afternoon and drove six-seven hours to see Handsome's mom and other family members. The next day, we drove to our vacation destination.

Where we stayed was snow-covered and quite beautiful. In fact, we had mostly gray days with flurries and a snow during our stay. All I wanted to do was stay in bed and read.

Then we drove home with tiny-tiny sleet pelting the windshield. The roads were clear--thankfully. We drove over a pass and into sunshine spreading into a valley. That didn't last long. A thick fog blanketed everything. Normally, we see hills and antelopes. I could see the cars in front of me and considered it lucky we could accelerate to 60. We did make it home, tacking an extra hour on our return.

Tales from the Crate - Games Puppies Play #crazy dog by Karilyn Bentley

Crazy Puppy with new ball-ball and rope bone

As you probably know, we are the proud owners of a crazy puppy we lovingly refer to as The Kraken. Despite owning several dogs over the course of our marriage, we have never adopted one that liked to play with anything except pizzle sticks and beef bones. So image our surprise when Crazy Puppy played fetch without being taught. We were ecstatic. For all of a day. She is obsessed with ball-ball. Or frisbee. Or any object she can fetch, return to you and ram into your leg. While still chewing. With that in mind, here is a list of some toys/games one can play with a puppy.

.#PlottingPrincesses ~ Alicia Dean: will she expire without coffee? #Author #Interview #MFRWorg

Kicking off 2015 with an author interview! The Plotting Princesses welcome Alicia Dean. 

Let's get to know her:

Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma. She has three grown children and a huge network of supportive friends and family. She writes mostly contemporary suspense and paranormal, but has also written in other genres, including a few vintage historicals.

Favorite movie: Gone with the Wind

Favorite book: Mystic River
Last book read: Guardian
Favorite color: Red
Stilettos or flip-flops: Neither (so what do you wear, Alicia?)
Coffee or tea: Strong Coffee
E-book or paperback: E-book
Pencil or pen: Pen

Favorite song: Something Elvis – Can’t choose one

Zeus - Father of Gods and Men

If you’re looking for a blog on mythology, you’ve come to the wrong place. Zeus, is our brand new puppy that we brought home on December 7^th when he was eight weeks old. Our older dachshund is named Ashley. We now have A-Z weenie dogs.

When you get a new puppy, you should be careful what you name him. Puppies seem to take on the personality of their name. In mythology Zeus was considered “King of the Gods.” Our Zeus is just a puppy, but he now reigns supreme over our household. He has taken all of the older dogs toys, her bed, he has us jumping at all hours day or night and the common words in our house are “No Zeus. Stop Zeus.”

He’s part lover, part terror, part sweet baby. In fact, my son has renamed him Zeusifer – after Lucifer. At this stage of his life, everything goes into his mouth including fingers, toys, electrical cords, furniture, blankets, stuffing (don’t ask) leaves, sticks, grass. You name it and the puppy has tasted it. His teeth are like little razor blades and you don’t want any of your body parts in his mouth.

Our older dog has been very patient with him, but she’s growled at him several times when his teeth sank into her nose. And she has held him down a time or two to stop him from biting her. But recently I watched her playfully chasing him through the house, and sighed with happiness. She’d been lonely since our other dog passed ten months ago and it was so good to see her playing once again.