Where Are They Now?

by Wendy Burke

I was going through some files the other day and rereading some of my 1 Night Stand reviews. There seemed to be a bit of a theme – ‘I wish the story was longer,’ ‘I really want to know what happened to this couple,’ ‘a happy-for-now is great, but do they stay together?’

So, I thought to myself, maybe readers need a small update, as opposed to, at this moment, sitting down and writing an entire book of ‘what happened with?’

---Grace and Jake, The One He Chose: are happily married and busy! Grace volunteers her time as a nurse at a local medical clinic for the poor.  Jake was a Physical Education teacher and baseball coach for a local high school, but the Major League Baseball Network came calling and he’s now a part-time game analyst. Grace happily travels with him. Sometimes they look at each other and smile, knowing how much Grace’s late-husband, Ben, loved them both to make sure they were together. They visit with Grace’s brother, John, (see Bear It All) often.

---Bryn and Ian, Haste Ye Back: have bridged the miles between Scotland and Michigan. They’re together now in Ann Arbor, laying waste to Kelpie’s curse and finding immense joy in their ancient history together. Bryn works for an ad agency, and Ian plays in a Celtic band at The Fourth Base, owned by high-school friend, Martin Baird and his partner, Garret Fischer (see Accidentally Beautiful.)

---Abby and Casey, For Me: a few weeks after their 1 Night Stand in Charlevoix, the two met again when Casey (who refuses to take ‘no’ for an answer!) appeared at Abby’s front door, a dozen scarlet roses in hand. She nearly fainted, shocked the man she couldn’t see during their initial ‘date’ was much better looking than the photo which appeared on her cell phone when he called. Both consider themselves ‘too old’ to refer to themselves as ‘dating,’ but they catch up as often as possible when not busy with their demanding professions.

And, what’s next?  Stay tuned and find out!

Also by Wendy Burke:

A TV producer by day and a romance writer at night, sometimes the two employments inadvertently cross –whoops! When not at her full-time TV job or part-time job in radio, Wendy is either writing or fighting off a furry attack by one of her three cats. She leads a wonderfully silly life with her way-too-cute chef husband in a suburb of ‘beautiful’ Toledo, Ohio.

She’d love to hear from you – wendyburke1994@bex.net.

www.whateverwendy.blogspot.com

Wise Men...One Year Later

  

 It’s been a year since Emmy Patterson and her fiancé Nick Klaussen were reunited through Madame Eve’s 1Night Stand agency. What have they been up to? Emmy sent a letter with her Christmas card, I’m happy to share it with you! Merry Christmas! 

      

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

          I apologize for the letter in this Christmas greeting (you know how I detest them), but so much has happened the past year, I wanted to share the news with the people I love.

          The biggest news is that I am a ‘Mrs.’ January 1^st, Nick and I will be married one year, although he’s had my heart for more than twenty!

          I won’t bore you with details of our reunion, but he told me I fainted when I first saw him after twenty years of wondering if he was coming back! It’s hard to believe Nick disappeared three presidential administrations and how many political scandals ago!

          As in all things in his life and personality, he’s adapted to ‘normal’ life so well. The two years at Coronado ‘re-integrating, before he felt ‘normal’ enough again to seek me out,  undoubtedly helped, but we both are saddened we couldn’t be together for those 600-and-some precious extra days. He still gets terribly quiet on occasion and feels guilty about his self-indulgence regarding his situational past, but he’s 99.999% the Nick I fell in love with so long ago.

          Despite not knowing Seth most of his young life, the two are very close. They get along famously! We’ll be attending a graduation in Annapolis this Spring! We’re terribly proud Seth followed in his father’s footsteps, but are still concerned about what the situation of the world could mean for him.

          I’m still ‘doing glass,’ and it’s amazing that I can do what I love and make a living at it and for so many years. It seems regardless of the ups and downs in the economy, people still want inspiring ‘pretty things’ in their homes. And, yes, Paul Stark at Third Street Gallery in Milwaukee is still my agent. And yes, although a steadfast and wonderful friend, still a flaming pain in the butt! (Love you, Paulie!)

          Nick is also doing what he loves, albeit—thankfully—in much safer environment. He’s been hired as a firearms instructor for law enforcement agencies across the state of Wisconsin. He’s also kept busy visiting with Vets at hospitals and homes—it’s touching to watch him as he so intimately knows the pain these Warriors carry with them on a daily basis.

          There is some wonderful powder falling outside, so we’re off to grab our niece, Parker and hit the Kiwanis Park hills with our trusty, rusty saucers before dark sets in!

          Wishing you a full heart, a warm hearth, and love surrounds you this holiday season!

Merry Christmas,

          Emmy & Nick

(Fritz, Marie, Boof and Harry also wish you a ‘Rrrow Mrrow Mrrow!’)

When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a silly life working in TV and radio. She shares her clean, yet perpetually dusty hovel with her her way-too-cute chef husband and three furry feline kids. She's proud to be a displaced Cheesehead, now living in Cpl. Maxwell Klinger's hometown.Find her on Facebook, Twitter (@WendyBurke1994) or send her a nasty email (wendyburke1994@bex.net) to which she will promptly respond! Her fifth book with Decadent Publishing, For Me, a Rubenesque 1Night Stand story, is on sale now at Decadent Publishing and other reputable ebook retailers.

The Best Ever...

The Best Ever available HERE

By Deanna Wadsworth 

I am so excited to have my latest 1Night Stand book come out this summer!!

I have had a lot of fun with this awesome series. My first two in the series, Bear it All and Accidentally Beautiful are interconnected with different characters and THE BEST EVER is no different. Not only is there a sneak peak of what happens to Martin and Garret from Accidentally Beautiful in my new book, but there is also a cameo of Wendy Burke’s hero and heroine, Ian and Bryn, from another 1Night Stand book called Haste Ye Back.

Wendy and I came up with the idea of sharing characters and decided to write six books interweaving characters. She rights m/f romance and I write m/m but we have found a fun way to play on the idea of six degrees of separation. In our six 1Night Stand books, readers can find out what happens to the happy couples after their 1Night Stand.

The proper reading order is:

Bear it All by Deanna Wadsworth

The One He Chose by Wendy Burke

Accidentally Beautiful by Deanna Wadsworth

Haste Ye Back by Wendy Burke

The Best Ever by Deanna Wadsworth

For Me by Wendy Burke...it’s coming soon!!

THE BEST EVER

by DEANNA WADSWORTH

BLURB: Jason Lewis is a self-proclaimed nerdy guy who hates his red hair. Bullied most of his life, at 22 social situations still make him awkward. On a trip to the World Video Game Expo in Las Vegas, he decides to enlist the help of Madame Eve in his failed romantic endeavors. While at the con, Jason runs into sexy, professional baseball pitcher Blake Huntington, the jock he tutored in high school. Blake invites him to a party but after hanging out with his high school crush all night, Jason regrets booking a 1NS "encounter" later that night. What Jason doesn't know, is that Madame Eve has already arraigned the best night ever

EXCERPT:

   From the corner of his eye, Jason noted the bed had been turned down and a strip of condoms lay on the nightstand with a bottle of lube.

   Suddenly, the illicit nature of the whole evening hit him. Sweat broke out on his skin. Shit, why had he bothered to shower? He took a quick whiff of his pits. Thank God, his deodorant was still on the job.

   Where was this guy? What if he turned out to be old? Who hired this kinda service anyway?

   Suck it up! You can do this. He may have been a gangly nerd in high school but he’d taken up karate, per Blake’s suggestion—dammit! Stop thinking about professional baseball players you’ll never stand a chance with! This is about going after what YOU want!

   The bathroom door opened and Jason smoothed his shirtfront, trying to be presentable.

   A man walked out, towel drying his hair.

   Jason sucked in a sharp breath, and his dick stood up and took notice of the big, athletic body, fresh from the shower. Tanned and muscular. Water streaked furrows into his perfect layer of chest hair. A skimpy towel hung from narrow hips, a solid thigh peeking out from the side, but his face remained hidden.

   #holycrap #hotness

   “Sorry, I kept you waiting,” the man said, slow and seductive. “I figured why waste time getting dressed.”

   Then he dropped both towels in a practiced maneuver, standing before Jason in all his naked glory. Jason’s gaze traveled from his feet, up those long legs, past a thick cock and over a perfectly chiseled abdomen.

   When their eyes met, the man’s sly grin faded in an instant. He gasped, hazel eyes wide.

   Jason let out a gasp of his own. “Blake!”

Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and a couple adorable cocker spaniels. She has been spinning tales and penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. She loves music and dancing, and can often be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the inter-workings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.

BUY LINK: 

Decadent Publishing

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/deannawadsworthauthor

TWITTER: twitter.com/DeannaWadsworth

BLOG: deannawadsworth.blogspot.com

Stop by Deanna’s blog and cast your vote on THE NAUGHTY NORTH POLE survey during her Christmas in July celebration! In case you didn’t know, in the NNP series, all of Santa’s elves have candy-flavored cum.....oh yes, that isn’t a typo LOL....and Deanna wants the READERS to decide the next yummy flavor!

Voting ends at midnight on July

My Babies...

By Wendy Burke

    I don’t have children, so between my husband, the cats and my stories – the latter two are my ‘babies.’

      And, I’m learning that ‘babies’ grow up and move out of the house.

      But, thankfully, the fine folks at Decadent Publishing want to keep my first two ‘children’ out front in the public eye.

Respite (the first child) and The One He Chose (kid #2) are part of the Buy a Book, Win a Nook promotion and my first two published works are only a BUCK during this promotion.

      So, what could be better – two great stories for a buck each and a chance to add to your electronic gadget collection – it’s a win-win all around!

    While the first two children have left the nest, their two siblings are just about ready to graduation ‘high school.’

     HasteYe Back is an ode to my dear friends in Scotland and its soul was born while sitting on a stump at Loch Lomond, then sipping an Irn-Bru at the Drover’s. 

     Wise Men Say – well, eventually I had to work my hometown, Sheboygan, Wisconsin into a story or I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

So, while those two are busy with extra-curricular activities, my ‘fifth child’ is in grad school taking advanced classes. For Me, will graduate this fall.

      And gosh darnit, my imagination is pregnant again. Like it always is!  I’ll let you know what gets spit out next!

When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a silly life working in TV and radio. She shares her clean, yet perpetually dusty hovel with her her way-too-cute chef husband and two furry feline kids. She's proud to be a displaced Cheesehead, now living in Cpl. Maxwell Klinger's hometown. 

Find her on Facebook, Twitter (@WendyBurke1994) or send her a nasty email (wendyburke1994@bex.net) to which she will promptly respond!

The four books above are available through Decadent Publishing and all reputable e-book distributors. Her fifth book, 'For Me,' another 1NightStand story through Decadent Publishing is due out this fall.

What's Next?

by Wendy Burke

What's next? Here I am again, wondering 'what's next?' when it comes to writing. 

Despite having a minimum of four dozen in-various-stages-of-completeness in my laptop, I still ask myself, 'What IS next?' 

 When I'm severely stuck, I usually email (read that whine to) my WBFF (that would be 'writing BFF') and beta reader, fellow Decadent Publishing writer, Deanna Wadsworth for a nudge. She's been flogging me for a good two years to finish something she likes to call 'Second Chance Dad,' but I'm thinking that title is already taken by some other author/publishing house and it's a bit too--the word escapes me--to use for this story. It has the title I gave it while watching Lake Michigan return again and again to the sugar-sand beaches of my hometown, Sheboygan, Wisconsin--'Wind Off the Lake.'   

 II've long wanted to use my hometown as more than just a passing setting (as in Wise Men Say), and in 'Wind Off the Lake' it works. Sheboygan is a great place to 'go home to,' and I've done that a lot in the past three years, helping my brother through a terrible illness. It never failed that every time I 'went home,' I came back with another story. 
 

Nice guy in high school!

 Sheboygan is a lovely, pleasant, simple town. Sure it's matured since my growing-up years of the 60s and 70s--it has its own problems with gangs and drugs. It pains me to see photos in the local paper of Kevlar-vested cops (good lookin' ones at that!) raiding a home near my old neighborhood. It saddens me my hometown needs a SWAT team. And, then there was the on-going 'scandal' with a former Mayor--yep, turned out he was a year behind me in high school. (Trust me, there's another work of fiction based, partially, on him as well!)

So, maybe 'Wind Off the Lake' is my next project--after all, it is 60-some-percent complete. I'd be happy and proud to show off my hometown through a little fictitious work, and maybe put that little burg on the map for something more than Mayor Bob discussing his sister-in-law's possible proclivities on a cell phone cam!

                When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a full time job behind the scenes in television, a part time job in radio and an even 'parter' time job trying to keep her house clean. She lives with her  cute chef husband and two fuzzy felines in the Great Lakes region of the Mid-West. For Me, Wendy's latest 1NightStand, and last in the series of six written with Deanna Wadsworth with overlapping characters, will be released in fall.

Wendy Burke's Bucket List...Done! Well, Maybe Not!

    You know I committed to the dear Blogmaven for Decadent Publishing, Valerie, that I would blog once a month - heck, that can't be difficult, right?

    Yeah, well sometimes it is.

    But then I thought - 'Hey, this company has afforded me the chance to knock a couple of things off my Bucket List, so I should give them some props!'

    So, Thank You, Lisa, Heather, Val, et al for getting me published.   Without you and the rest of your talented staff, tired Doughboy, Ryan would still be sitting alone in a bar in Morocco in Respite.
   
 Jake and Grace, although good friends, might have never known The One He Chose and why...
  
 Bryn wouldn't have had nearly the amazing time in Scotland without Ian urging her to Haste Ye Back...

 
    And, another Christmas would have gone by with Emmy waiting for her love to return and her listening to Elvis alone in Wise Men Say.
   
   Thanks to Decadent, there are now more than three couples and their various family and friends who have 'life' and better lives at that, afterall, you wouldn't want to be stuck in my head or laptop for eternity, now would you!

   In my lockbox are four certificates from the U.S Copyright Office with the above titles and my name on them as author---who would have thunk, huh? A little ole radio geek from Sheboygan, Wisconsin is a published writer! But then again, my old friends always knew I had people 'running around in my head.'

Thank you Decadent Publishing gang and readers! -- I know I don't say that enough!

 When not playing with the people in her head, Wendy has a silly life working in TV and radio. She shares her clean, yet perpetually dusty hovel with her her way-too-cute chef husband and two furry feline kids. She's proud to be a displaced Cheesehead, now living in Cpl. Maxwell Klinger's hometown. 

Find her on Facebook, Twitter (@WendyBurke1994) or send her a nasty email (wendyburke1994@bex.net) to which she will promptly respond!

What's on YOUR Bucket List? Tell Wendy and she'll give one commenter an ebook from her backlist!

It's Great to be Back!

by Wendy Burke

It’s been awhile since my first 1NS blog and I’m tickled pink to be back, because that means my second1NS story Haste Ye Back is nearly ready to be released.

My first encounter with Madame Eve produced The One He Chose. I thought it was a dear little story, little did I know how it would be received—5 stars from ManicReaders, 5 cherries from Whipped Cream reviews, 5 kisses from TwoLips, and a ‘Rose That Rules All’ from Romancing the Book Reviews. 

Knock me over with a feather! Wow! Who knew! Hopefully, my latest HYB story will be met with the same excitement by reviewers.

Haste Ye Back was born on the banks of Loch Lomond one fairly sunny afternoon in July 2007. It was christened by way of a dinner toast by my Scottish penpal’s mum. I hated to dump more than 20,000 words into my ‘maybe-in-another-book’ file, but it was the only way Bryn and Ian’s story was going to get told.

Fellow Decadent Publishing author, Deanna Wadsworth, pretty much was the instigator who told me I had to dump those words. She knew HYB would be the perfect follow-up to her story Accidentally Beautiful. If you haven’t noticed, Deanna and I are doing six 1NS stories, three each, with over-lapping characters. While the stories stand on their own, if you read each of them in sequence, you get an idea of how all these people know one another.

Decadent artist Dara England put a hot guy in a kilt on the cover! Who wouldn’t like that?

Fellow Maumee Valley Romance Writer of America member, Katelynn Phillips did an outstanding job with the trailer! It’ll give you a little taste of what the story is about.

In the meantime, here’s a little tease from the story itself:

Ian didn’t deny his immediate attraction to Bryn, and he couldn’t help think she felt the same—throughout their conversation she was gregarious and affectionate, her hand touched his arm, rested on his knee, and during something particularly amusing, playfully slapped his thigh, then lingered there, fingers dancing dangerously toward his inseam.

Maybe Martin and Garret had been right—this “service” was more than that. Spot on with their description of Madame Eve, even without the massive amount of pounds he’d laid out for this “arrangement,” obviously the proprietor had some sort of mental extension into the past and present to bring him someone with whom he had an immediate connection, and responded to him in the same manner. Like Eve had reached back into their collective conscious and recreated some long, lost love and relationship.

Despite the obvious closeness, easy and entertaining conversation with Bryn, still he was surprised when less than two hours into their meeting she leaned into him, her lips dragging over his ear when she whispered, “Uh, I hate to be blunt, Ian, but if I don’t get my mouth around your dick—and soon—I think I’m gonna die.”

And, yes, I’m going to admit it, Haste Ye Back is a bit more blunt—okay RAW—than The One He Chose. (Deanna WHOOPED about that, she’s now waiting for me to ‘go to the dark side’ and write m/m! But I have a few too many m/f story lines running around in my head that need attention first—but thanks for the vote of confidence DW!)

So, please enjoy Haste Ye Back. I believe a return trip to Scotland is necessary to get a possible sequel just right!

And, if you haven’t read The One He Chose, I’d like to give you a copy. Comment below—one person will win!

HASTE YE BACK is Wendy’s third book on the Decadent Publishing shelves. She’s in the process of writing 274 more which she hopes DP will be interested in! Find her on Facebook, Twitter and lurking about the internet. You could send her a nasty email: wendyburke1994@bex.net. When not playing with the people in her head, she has silly life with her way-too-cute chef husband and two furry feline kids in the Great Lakes area of the Midwest.

So, I hold my Scottish family responsible for this story--in a good way, of course.  I'm honored for all those years of friendship, finally being able to meet them, hug them, and enjoy their company. I'm sincerely hoping to Haste Ye Back soon! 

Sean Casey, Trace Adkins and me...

What do Sean Casey, Trace Adkins and I have in common with this 1Night Stand story which is on sale now?!

Well, it all goes to the process of how I write. I 'see' a character and I start writing about 'them.' I usually have NO idea what the women look like, but the men, well, no problem there. Now, granted my idea of a good lookin' dude might be completely different from someone else's. My mother once said about my being 'hooked' on some movie star, 'You have all your taste in your mouth.' Oh, well, to each his own and beauty IS in the eye of the beholder. (I'm sure some folks are just thankful that none of the characters in this story look like Russell Crowe - don't worry saving him for future endeavors!)

  But, back to Sean Casey. I just think he's cute as a button in a older athletic-guy way. Helps that he's a strappin' 6'4" and, at one time, played a mean first base. I needed an unassuming, all-American type for my hero and he just fit the bill. (I will ignore his one flaw- he hasn't returned my Tweets!)

 
Trace Adkins, on the other hand - well, you can blame that on Deanna Wadsworth - she got me into this whole 1 Night Stand thing, to the tune of THREE stories! Yes, there will be more (granted the Gods of Submissions look kindly on us) because to find out what happens to her massive bear-of-a-character, pseudo-Trace-Adkins look-a-like from Bear It All you'll just have to read The One He Chose! 


Then to find out what happens to my Sean Casey-esque character, well, who knows what Deanna will call her next 1NS story!


It's been a hoot working on this story. To be honest, I feel closer to them than I do/did with my characters in Respite. Don't know why that is, but maybe it's a 'writer thing.'


Anyway, The One He Chose has made people cry. I quote Valerie Mann (submissions editor), 'I read this and couldn't find one stinkin' Kleenex in the whole house and had to resort to toilet paper. You are scum for making me cry.' Best acceptance email ever!

The trailer has been well received as well. 'It gave me goosebumps,' one comment read.

I'm thrilled to find out what you think of it! There's an excerpt below.


Happy reading! 

 

“Grace.” The deep voice worked its way into her consciousness.

She sighed in her haziness and clutched the imaginary hand resting on her tummy. Whoever or whatever held her carried a familiar scent, one that elicited trust and caring.

Out on the porch, the mountain air had chilled. Despite the comfort of the presence around her, her body responded with a shiver.

A hand slipped into the lace triangle of her thong, caressing the area between navel and Nirvana.

Definitely not a dream.

She blinked, slowly coming to life. The frightened tone of her inquiry shocked even her “Who are you?”

“Relax.” His lips lovingly met her shoulder. “Ben sent me.”

He didn’t seem to have any malicious intent—well, at least not at the moment. And Madame Eve wouldn’t allow something hurtful to happen.

“What do you…?” The hand cupped her waxed-for-the-occasion pubic area. His callused digits followed a natural path. It’d been so long since someone had touched her in this manner, nearly two years. She didn’t blame Ben for the extended dry spell, only the disease which had dampened his interest and stamina.

 “I want you to relax and let me make love to you. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

So, this is how this Madame Eve stuff works.

With little thought, she relented to her physical loneliness. She closed her eyes and shoved the lace below her hips. The stranger assisted until her legs were completely bare. “Yes, please.”

He was strong, agile, and wonderfully gentle.

A warm, sincere, somewhat familiar voice tickled her ear. “Grace.”

She leaned into him, wanting to sigh in happy relief and cry in terrible sadness. His arms about her, she slowly turned into his embrace. She closed her eyes, waiting for the initial kiss.

Then, it came, gentle yet deep and although he was a stranger, she felt a profound connection, a silent conversation. She raised her hand to touch his cheek in encouragement. Blinking in the darkness, desperately wanting to see her soon-to-be lover, her eyes finally focused and the world came to an abrupt halt.

Wendy is a displaced Cheesehead, proud to have been born and bred in Wisconsin. She was a migrant worker for years in the radio business, until she landed in Ohio and refused to leave. When she isn’t writing for pleasure and publication, she is a TV newsroom assignment manager – a great job for her as she gets to tell people where to go and what to do! She shares her clean, yet perpetually dusty, house with her chef husband and two spoiled rotten cats. (One of who takes great delight in harfing up a hairball on Wendy’s pillow at 3AM.) Decadent Publishing has been a godsend for her as she can finally stop talking to the people in her head and allow them to speak for themselves!

Find her on Facebook (Wendy Burke Author), Twitter @WendyBurke1994 or send her a nasty email: wendyburke1994@bex.net