Sunday, October 20, 2013

Whose Spirit Are You Channeling? (Big Cocks and Broomsticks Hop)

Welcome to the Big Cocks and Broomsticks Giveaway Hop!

 


It’s Halloween and time to commune with the spirits. As a writer of paranormal, and every other type of erotic romance known to woman, I find the spirit world fascinating. Especially when everyday reality is not exactly working out.

After an exotic summer vacation, I ended up with a health problem and inspiration to write a book. This all led to a fascination with Bob Marley and reggae. After reading on his Facebook site that he helped a fan through more than a few difficult times, I knew I wasn’t alone.

In the ranks of Elvis, he was one of the few people larger than life. So large it’s as if he’s still with us 30 years later. The local grocery store is even selling Bob Marley tea. I believe he lives on through his music and message. As writers, what we create will last forever. Creativity is one of the most powerful forces there is, and when one creator uses what another created to create something new, it’s unstoppable.

I’m reading his biography now, which is full of research material (including Jamaican patois) I can apply to my latest work in progress. I played a CD of one of his concerts, dancing and becoming his creative energy. I’ve had it checked out so long, it’s a wonder Netflix hasn’t come after it. And while doing karaoke recently at RomantiCon, I did one of his songs, dancing and singing the way he did. It was almost as if he was in the room.

Or maybe I’m just weird because I’m a writer…



my giveaway:

So whose spirit would you channel if you could? Leave a comment with your answer and I will draw one lucky winner to receive a fun Halloween prize with a little beauty (purple wings eyelashes) and a little beastliness (gummy boogers and chocolate candy).

Hop on over to the next blog and thanks for stopping by!


;


Afton Locke
Unlock your fantasies…
www.aftonlocke.com

    erotic romances Coming Soon from Ellora’s Cave:
Entrance to Ecstasy - paranormal anthology
Stripper With Spice - contemporary
Under Holly’s Stockings - contemporary holiday

==================================================================

November 12, 2013:
THANK YOU everyone for participating in the blog hop! Stay in touch:
 
Web site: http://www.aftonlocke.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afton.locke
Twitter: http://twitter.com/aftonlocke
Newsletter - The Love Chronicle: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thelovechronicle/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3159922.Afton_Locke
 
Don’t miss my upcoming releases:
 
Stripper With Spice - When a woman struggles to give up a bland old career, a young, hot stripper is exactly the ingredient she needs.

Under Holly’s Stockings - (releases Dec.) When a woman wearing sexy, red stockings propositions a “bah-humbug” guy to spend Christmas in bed, he decides to get into the holiday spirit.

Entrance to Ecstasy - (releases Dec. 24) print anthology of Cicada (a haunted house + an alpha ghost = one hot summer) and Candelabra (feeling cold? Heat up with a fire elemental fairy and a little hot wax.)

And the moment you’ve all been waiting for:
The randomly selected winner of my blog hop page is: Kimmyl

Congratulations! I will email you.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

RomantiCon - a tantalizing tradition

I just attended my third RomantiCon #Rcon13, hosted by Ellora's Cave -- http://ecromanticon.com/. Due to a weighty personal problem, I wasn’t in the mood to go this time, but since I’d signed up months ago and committed to doing a workshop, I decided to follow through. I’m so glad I did. All the fun and excitement distracted me from everything else. After all, who has time to think when wondering: Which shade of lipstick should I wear? Which shoes? Which Caveman do I want to photographed with?

My room was perfect, and since we had just about the entire hotel, there were no noisy tourists running up and down the halls. The food was great. I finally met the authors I’d been wanting to meet, such as Jayne Rylon, Laurann Dohner, and Sabrina York. Am hoping some of their superstardom drifted over to me by osmosis!

And now I can say I’ve got a workshop under my belt. Eve Vaughn and Koko Brown did the Fabulous Fusion workshop with me to celebrate EC’s interracial line of books. By the time everyone left the room, bonds from laughter, fun, learning, and deep sharing had been formed.

RomantiCon has the best book signings too. Like last year, my books were flying off the table. I got to chat with author Alexa Day. She knows all about Jamaica and I happen to be writing a book set there. How lucky is that? Rodney and Diamond were entertaining emcees, making the time pass quickly. Because authors were arranged by first name this year, I got a front-row view of the Cavemen’s dance performance. What a treat. Kudos to Nick Soto for his stellar choreography.

We got to learn some of those moves from Nick and Ace at zumba, which is so much more fun than sitting at a computer all day. This year they did it for two days. I participated on the first day, but on the second I just planned to take pictures. Well, I couldn’t stay in my seat for more than five minutes, so I joined in, jeans and all. (Luckily, they were stretch jeans.) After that, I learned some new yoga moves and how to belly dance.

Last year, the fantasy photo shoot was all new to me. This year, I was prepared, sporting 5-inch heels. It’s a good thing I wore them because I chose two tall guys to pose with, DeAngelo and Axl, the new guys on the block. Hopefully, the picture will inspire me to write another book as last year’s photo with David did.

And how about those parties! I love the themes. My belly dance outfit was a fun sewing project I worked on over the summer. My favorite night, though, is the Thursday meet and greet. I’m a big karaoke fan and made sure to practice this year ahead of time. When the DJ remembered me from last year, a wonderful feeling of familiarity came over me. RomantiCon isn’t just a one-time fun thing. It’s an annual tradition. I got the same feeling of déjà vu while having breakfast with Lisa Foxx and Sara Brookes.

To me, the Cavemen make it extra special. Each is unique and adds to the experience. I finally introduced myself to Justin and realized what mesmerizing eyes he has. Shy and sweet Ace was my backup dancer for karaoke again. Nick always inspires me to dance. Taylor has such thought provoking Facebook pictures. Axl is basic male, no frills needed. DeAngelo won the Alpha Caveman title, and it was well deserved. Wonderfully charming and polite, he made me feel like the belle of the ball. I think I danced with him every night. (I need to find out the name of that cologne he wears and buy a gallon of it for the hubby.)

I had no idea my convention experience would end on such a high note on bingo night. Because it was my birthday, I’d dropped a few hints earlier. When ten o’clock drew near, however, I was sure it would be forgotten. When Rodney said, “Guys, line up,” to the other birthday girl, I felt even worse. My name never sounded so good when Rodney called me up front. I got to “celebrate” with most of the guys, and we were all wearing our jammies. Sigh. What a dream!

Is RomantiCon YOUR tradition?

Afton Locke
Unlock your fantasies…
www.aftonlocke.com
Stripper With Spice - coming soon from EC!