GOOB Report

I'm posting this a day early because I have big news to announce tomorrow.

First, I'm loving the Get Off Our Butts Challenge. For one thing, I've met several new (to me) bloggers and it's been very exciting to see how the challenge has spread throughout blogland. Second, making the promise to participate has made me more aware of how little I have been exercising lately and it's made me push a bit harder.
My goal for the week was to exercise for 60 mins on three days and to write 5,000 words.

And.....

 

There were a couple days when I aimed for 60 mins but only got 30 or 45 but instead of adding that all up and saying it was good enough for the week, I decided to make it that I had to exercise for 60 mins per day for 3 days and no fudging, which means I probably exercised for an extra 60-90 mins this week. Yay! Thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement.

I also met my writing goal. Currently I'm at 5,003 words.

 

For next week, I'm going to set the same goals: exercise for 60 mins 3 days and write 5,000 words.

 

How about the rest of you?

 

And, if you achieved your goals, feel free to copy the I Did It! photo to put on your blog.

When Spanking World Meet Real World

I'll let you in on a little secret. When attorneys are just hanging around in court without their clients there is a lot of joking and smack talk going on. It's sort of like a geek locker room. 

So, yesterday I was in court with several other attorneys and we were all trying to get our cases handled so we could be on our way. They probably had other important cases to handle and I just wanted to get back into my sweat pants. 

Anyway, one of the other attorneys was not cooperating and I don't know what came over me, but I said "Go stand in the corner!"

He didn't. And everyone laughed, but on the way home I thought "my two worlds are totally colliding and I might need to be more careful." 

How about you? What stories do you have about slip ups or near slip ups? 

Writing Wednesday---Gifts for Writers

I'm trying to get into the holiday spirit so I though this week I'd talk about gifts for the writers on your gift list. 

Or maybe just some suggestions of what I'd like, but they are such great ideas, I'm sure everyone will want them. 

1. An Alpha Smart. Mine was stolen and I haven't replaced it yet, but I miss it. Basically an alpha smart is a keyboard w/a small screen where you can see about 4 lines of text at a time. It's battery operated most do not have internet capability. It's great for writing when you are doing your first draft and don't want to go back and edit (I prefer to do my editing on my computer and you can easily transfer your files from Alphie to pc). I'm also hesitant to take my 17" laptop to the local coffee shop for writing because then anyone around can see the naughty things I'm writing and I'm not sure I want to be that public about it. It's small and easy to use almost anywhere and if you are easily distracted by access to the internet (this is a big one for me), the Alpha Smart will help you get your writing done. The link goes to Amazon, but I think they can be found used on ebay as well. I've used this in the car too, so a great idea for those of you who spend time waiting for kids after practice etc. 

Alpha Smart

2. Lap desk for lap tops. There are a wide range of options available to make it easy to write in bed or away from your desk. 

3. Gift certificate for a manicure that includes a paraffin treatment and hand massage. Writers need to keep their fingers limber, right? 

4. Crockpot. I've found that I just get on a roll late in the afternoon and I don't want to stop what I'm doing to whip up yet another gourmet meal (ha!). With a crockpot your favorite writer can dump a bunch of ingredients in during the morning and have a nice dinner without taking a lot of time for preparation. 

5. Housekeeping services. Well, who wouldn't like that? 

6. Fun mugs and coasters for motivation and a good laugh. Plus, if you have enough mugs you don't need to do dishes as often. See gift idea #5. 

7. Comfy clothes, because you can never have enough sweat pants. 

8. Books on Writing. One of my favorites is Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. 

9. An ereader. Can't believe I almost forgot. Everyone who loves books and even those who are just fond of books, ought to have one. I'm surprised by the number of writers I've encountered who don't have one. 

10. Encouragement. When your books sell well and you have lots of nice reviews, life is wonderful. But, when sales slump or you get an ugly review or you just start to wonder if any of it matters or if you'll ever be able to write anything worth reading again, a little dose of encouragement can work wonders. If you know a writer, make sure you give them sincere encouragement (as opposed to blathering) on a regular basis. 

What about the rest of you? What's on your wish list? Any other books you'd recommend? 

I Got Off My Butt!

Everyone is motivated differently. For some, the promise of a prize or reward will get them into gear. For others, it might be a fear of punishment.

 For me, I hate not doing what I say I'm going to do, so I need public accountability. 

That's why I'm optimistic about the Get Off Our Butts (GOOB) challenge. 

Yesterday was the first day. Usually I walk my dog just enough to get things taken care of, if you know what I mean. But yesterday we walked an additional 10 mins or so in order to work on my goal of 60 mins of exercise. After that, the day took off and it seemed like it was almost 5 pm and getting dark and I had only done 20 mins, but I knew I'd made a promise, so I rode my stationery bike for 20 min  two different times to make up the promised exercise. 

Sometimes it's just a matter of remembering. 

And not wanting to admit that I didn't do it. 

How did the rest of you do? 

Get Off Our Butts Challenge

Hi Everyone! 

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I had a lovely time  with family and friends during Thanksgiving, but now I'm ready to kick it into gear and what better way to do it than with the Get Off Our Butts Challenge. 

Anastasia and Minelle decided to make weekly exercise goals and invited me to join them. Now, we're inviting any of you who would like to Get Off Your Butt to join in too. 

How does it work? Easy, post your weekly goals on your blog and then on Saturday let us know how you did. 

If you'd like a copy of the official Get Off Our Butts logo, I think you can just copy the one here or email me and I'll send it to you. 

Also, if you are participating, let me know and I'll try to make a list so we can check on each other. Plus, if you accomplish your goals, there's a photo for you to post on your blog. But, I'm saving it as a surprise. 

My goals--Exercise for at least one hour 3 times per week. 

Writing goals--- 5,000 words per week. 

Come back Saturday for my report. 

Thanksgiving Treat

Do you remember how some TV stations used to show a burning log and play Christmas music on Christmas day?

Well, here's my version of that.

Wishing you all a joyous, safe Thanksgiving.

Brand Spanking New Cover

I decided to change the cover on my new book, The Birthday Wish.  Although I liked the other one with the border, when it reduced down to a thumbnail on Amazon it wasn't as eye catching as I'd hoped it would be. So, voila, I made another one.

What do you think?

The Next Big Thing

I tagged Monique DeVere in The Next Big Thing and her post is up now, so I hope you'll go and check it out here. 

Thanks Monique. And your Next Big Thing sound great.

Spanking Story Six Sentences

Happy Sunday! 

This week's selection for Six Sentence Sunday comes from my collection of short spanking stories, The Long Arm of the Law. This story is called Dinner At The Club. 

Here's the set up. Parker and her husband attended a charity dinner at their country club where Parker "accidentally" spilled wine on a snotty woman who had been getting under her skin all night. Unfortunately for Parker, her husband knew it was no accident. Here's what happened when they got home. 

She tossed the red dress into the hamper for the dry cleaners and changed into what she referred to as her naughty girl uniform. It consisted of a large green Wilkins College football jersey with the number 20 on the back and a pair of sensible cotton panties. Parker had acquired the Jersey by stealing it from Peter’s roommate’s dresser. The night that Peter discovered her thievery was also the first night that he had spanked her. Since then she’d tried---really hard---to be a good girl, but sometimes it was just too difficult. 

Liebster Award

Anastasia Vitsky  nominated me for the Liebster Award. I'm honored, though I was more excited when I thought it said Lobster Award. Ah well. 

The Rules

• When one receives the award, one posts 11 random facts about oneself and answers the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
• Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (while making sure one notifies the blogger that one nominated them!)
• One writes up 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.
• One is not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated one’s own blog!
• One pastes the award picture into ones blog. (You can google the image, there are plenty of them!)

Random Facts about Celeste Jones

1. I'm left handed. 

2. I once worked at a humane society. 

3. I'm not a huge fan of Christmas and will be pretty happy when December 26 gets here. 

4. Despite #3, I am planning to do some fun Christmas things here on my blog, so maybe my attitude will change. 

5. I never liked Seinfeld. Every episode is based on a lie or being mean to someone and I just don't get why everyone loves it. 

6. I knit hats, mittens, scarves and slippers that I donate to local shelters. 

7. I had ancestors on the Mayflower. 

8.  I can read on my kindle and knit at the same time. 

9. I love looking at the birds at my bird feeder and I'm ok w/feeding the squirrels too. 

10. I'm currently playing 5 games of Words With Friends with my son. He wins most of the time. 

11. I make my own laundry detergent. 

Questions from Ana:

1. What food did you dislike eating as a child? Olives. Still do. 
2. What is your favorite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night
3. Who is your favorite Disney villain? Cruella DeVille
4. Do you like, dislike, or not care about hearing spoilers for a story? Don't care. 
5. What is your favorite reading position? In bed. 
6. How many books do you currently have on your want-to-read list? 12
7. Have you ever “forgotten” to return a book to a friend or a library because you loved it and wanted to keep it? No, but I"m starting to suspect that you have done that. :) 
8. Describe one of your spanking (real life or story) fantasies in 11 or fewer words. New neighbor who spanks. 
9. What is one of your pet peeves about spanking stories? Lots of "thwack, smack, crack" in all caps and !!! 
10. Hulu, Amazon Prime streaming, TiVo, or Netflix?  (or whatever else you use…) Netflix
11. Your (uncensored) first response to finding out that I nominated you for this award. "You like me. You really like me." heehee 

My questions for my nominees: 

1. What is your favorite holiday? 

2. Dogs or cats or neither? 

3. Share a vacation nightmare. 

4. Do you have any tattoos?

5. What was your worst date?

6. What movie can you watch over and over? 

7. What, if any, ereader do you use? 

8. If you could have a super power, what would it be? 

9. What's your favorite cookie? 
10. What is your guilty pleasure? 
11. What book have you been recommending to your friends lately? 

My nominees:

Anyone else who wants to participate. Just leave a comment that links to your blog post and I'll check it out. I know lots of others have been nominated and I don't want to repeat but I also don't want to leave anyone out who would like to be part of the fun. 

Or maybe all of you can just answer the questions in the comments. I know this is like breaking a chain letter, but I don't want to leave anyone out who wants to participate. 

Writing Wednesday---Suspending Disbelief

According to Dictionary.com Suspending disbelief is:  a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment 

In my newest book, The Birthday Wish, Mimi blows out a candle that she's jammed into a frozen cupcake, makes a wish, and is transported to the home of Paolo, where she spends an evening having her wishes and fantasies fulfilled. 

As a writer I had to ask myself, how far is too far? How much will readers suspend disbelief and go along with my premise that a birthday wish, or two, could physically transport my heroine from place to place within a fantasy world and then return her to her own life at the end. 

How much did I need to explain? 

Mimi was clearly a real person (whether Paolo is or not, you'll have to buy the book to find out) who had real feelings and anxieties even within a surreal situation. 

I think we all like to think that magical and mysterious things can happen, so I decided to simply rely on the power of a good birthday wish to propel the story along. 

How about you? How much are you willing to suspend disbelief? What are some elements that are just too much? 

Six Sentence Sunday from The Birthday Wish

In my new erotic spanking novella, The Birthday Wish, Mimi blows out a lone candle on a cupcake and finds herself transported from her kitchen to the home of the sexy and mysterious Paolo. Is it a dream or reality? 

“W-what’s happening?” Mimi forced herself to break the silence.

“I am seducing you, can’t you tell?” Paolo teased. He knelt next to her lounge chair, gave her hair another tug and pressed his lips to the tender spot on her neck just below her left ear.

“N-no, I’m pretty clear on the seduction part. What I meant was, how did I get here? Is this a dream?”

Paolo’s teeth nipped her ear. “Does that feel like a dream to you?” 

Please visit the other Six Sentence Sunday participants

Love Our Lurkers Day

I'm very excited to participate in my first Love Our Lurkers Day!

I know there are lots of you who visit regularly and today is the day that I'd love to hear from you.

And...as a way to entice you out of hiding, I'l be giving away a copy of my new book, The Birthday Wish, to one lucky commenter. Maybe more if I get some extra good responses. Come on out and wow me!

All you have to do is leave a comment with either a fun birthday memory or a birthday wish that you'd like to come true.

It really would mean a lot to me if you'd come out and play.

P.S. I will be away from my computer most of the day today, but I'll be back later to continue the conversation with all of you so please party on without me, at least temporarily.

The Next Big Thing---Spanking Style

I was tagged by Constance Masters  and Patty Devlin for The Next Big Thing. Thank you Constance and Patty!

• Give credit to the person/blog that tagged you
• Post the rules for this hop
• Answer these ten questions about your current WIP (Work In Progress) on your blog
• Tag five other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them.

11. What is the working title of your book?

I just published a book yesterday, so I’m going to talk about that one. Bending the rules a bit, sorry.

The Birthday Wish

22.    What genre does the book fall under?

I’m calling it a contemporary erotic spanking novella. 

33.   Which actors would you choose to play your characters for the movie rendition?

I’m always disappointed when I love a book and then the actors in the movie version don’t fit what I’d imagined, so I think I’ll leave the imagining to my readers.

44. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Lonely forty year old woman blows out a birthday candle and finds herself over the knee of a sexy and mysterious stranger.

55.   How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Just over a week. I did some writing sprints with Anastasia Vitsky that forced me to stay in my seat and write. The book is just under 14,000 words.

66. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Self-published.

77. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’d compare it to my own book, Twenty One Days to a Better Attitude because there’s a lot of humor in it.

88.  Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I had the idea to write a short story collection about birthday spankings because I thought the topic would lend itself to many different scenarios, but then Mimi and Paolo got pretty hot and heavy and it turned into a stand alone story.

99.   What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Mimi, the heroine is 40 and divorced and she’s no cougar, so I think that might appeal to readers. Plus, I love the ending. That’s all I’m saying. 

10. Tag. 

I'm calling out these five  four writers. 

Paloma Beck 

Monique DeVere

Emma K Gardner

Adaline Raine

New Spanking Story Available On Amazon

Self-publishing is wonderful for an impatient writer like me!

The Birthday Wish is now available on Amazon.

I've enrolled the book in Kindle Direct Publishing Select so that means it will only be available on Amazon, but if you are an Amazon Prime member, you may borrow it.

  Wooohooo! 

Writing Wednesday

Hi Everyone!

I'm visiting Paloma Beck today to talk about Self-publishing. Please stop by and say hello.

P.S. The Birthday Wish should be available soon. I'll keep you posted!

Cover Reveal For The Birthday Wish

TA-DA

I made another cover! This one was a little trickier than last time and I'm still working on getting it converted to the proper format to upload to Amazon, but I'm pleased with the result so far. 

The Birthday Wish will be available soon, but I wanted to show off the cover (and ask for any suggested changes). 

What do you think? 

Here's the blurb for the book: 

Divorced, alone, and jabbing a candle into a frozen cupcake was not Mimi's idea of a perfect 40th birthday.  Heck, it wasn't her idea of ANY birthday.  She hated her body, hated her life, and most especially hated her non-existent sex life.  And she was absolutely certain that she’d never fulfill her secret desire to be spanked.

Until she closed her eyes, blew out the candle, and made a wish...

Birthday Spanking Six Sentences

Welcome Sunday Sixers! 

This week I am featuring my current work in progress (hopefully not too much more work), currently entitled Birthday Spankings. It's the story of Mimi who finds herself alone on her 40th birthday and makes a wish----and what a wish it turns out to be! She's transported to an exotic location and wined and dined (and other things) by a man named Paolo who knows all about Mimi's wishes and fantasies. 

Enjoy! 

Although she didn’t resist his efforts to dance with her, her feet were none too cooperative. After the third time she stepped on his foot, Paolo stopped dancing, turned her around and gave her five firm swats on the ass before returning to their dancing position. “I am perfectly capable of leading this dance, Mimi, if only you will let me.”

It took three passes in front of the pool before Mimi’s mouth stopped hanging open. Had he just spanked her? His hand at the small of her back dipped low and gave a squeeze. The sting reassured her that Paolo had, in fact, spanked her. 

By the way, I'm having trouble with a title for this one. Any suggestions? 

Be sure to visit the other Six Sentence Sunday posts here. 

Birthday Spankings!

I have a new book that will be out soon. I know I've teased you before with that---and Newlywed...Again is on my list of things that need a major overhaul----but this one is almost ready to launch.

It's the story of Mimi who finds herself divorced and alone on her 40th birthday. She makes a wish on a birthday candle and finds herself transported to the home of sexy Paolo who fulfills her birthday fantasies. Later, she's left to wonder--was it real or all a dream?

“Happy Birthday to me.” She closed her eyes, made a wish, blew out the candle and opened her eyes prepared to enjoy her birthday treat.

She blinked. Confusion spun in her head and fear beat through her veins.  Where was she? This most certainly was not her kitchen. Or anywhere she’d ever been, for that matter.

Standing in the middle of a lavish living room filled with overstuffed couches, artwork and fresh flowers, none of which were carnations, it felt like stepping into a page of a magazine.  Although night had fallen the exterior could be seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a view of a pool and patio area lit by torches.

Mimi caught a reflection of herself in the mirror above the fireplace. Her sensible work clothes had been replaced by a short red cocktail dress with halter top and modesty defying slit up to her hip bone. Forty-year old women weren’t supposed to show that much thigh. She clutched at the two pieces of fabric and tried to cover herself though it was clearly pointless.  

While she gaped at herself in the mirror another reflection entered her view---a man in a tuxedo carrying two champagne flutes. He handed one to Mimi. She took it from his hand, looking at him with brows furrowed with confusion. He clinked the edge of his glass to hers. “Happy Birthday, Mimi.”

“How do you know my name?” She challenged. “Where am I?” She craned her neck to look past him. “What’s going on?”

“It’s your birthday. Aren’t birthdays supposed to be about surprises?” He cocked his head and smiled. She finished off her champagne and set the flute on an end table. Frustrated at his non-answer, her fingers itched to slap him.

She looked up into his face, preparing to smack that smile away, but she just couldn’t do it. He was gorgeous. She stared into his dark eyes and her breath caught in her throat. She turned her head to look out the window, to gather her thoughts.  What is going on? I nearly slapped the most attractive man I’ve ever seen, let alone spoken to. 

So, here's my question. What's your birthday spanking fantasy? Has it ever come true? 

Congratulations Joseph McNamara!

Joseph was the lucky winner of the $10 Amazon gift card drawing from Me for Spank or Treat.

Thanks to everyone who participated. It was great fun...and you never know when it might happen again.