Archived news - 2007

August 2007

Can you hear me smiling?

It's so wonderful to be so happy about where you are.  And just exactly where am I? 

Three days away from Impure Longings releasing and smack in the middle of working on a couple of other stories, including another Regency I started in 2005 and the contemporary Alyssa and I are doing together.

As promised, I added pages for both upcoming releases, Ensnared by Innocence (Regency shapeshifter) and Candy Corn & Cocky Kisses (sequel to Orchids & Orgasms, which by the way just received its first review—5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies.  That news made my day!).

You know what's fantastic about being an adult?  You can buy a pink kitty bed for your "Princess" just because you love it, even though your husband thinks it's a waste of money. And the question of the day is: Does Princess Kitty love her new bed as much as you do?

No. She can't stand it.

But both of her brothers love it.

And we've decided that since they're color blind, we won't make any derogatory comments about their masculinity. ;) As I keep telling Mr. Lyons, real men wear pink with confidence. (Or lounge on it.)

Last week, I participated in a fantastic online course presented by Delilah Devlin and Elle James called How to Write 50 Books a Year. I learned so much, but more than that, I was also able to connect with several other authors, both published and aspiring, that are writing despite physical disabilities.  We were sharing such great information that I started a discussion group called Writing Beyond Fibromyalgia. If anyone is interested, you can subscribe or visit the group.

That's it for now.  I'm off to plop Pretty Princess back in her pretty pink bed (which I'm going to keep doing until she gives up and stays).  Be HAPPY!

:-) Larissa

The minister wouldn’t have had a Ben Wa ball in his mouth.

Lexi, from Orchids & Orgasms

Contest Announcements - August 2007

Cast the leads!
To celebrate my first erotic regency release from Ellora's Cave, I'm giving away a hard-to-find DVD of the movie Firelight and a paperback copy of erotic stories from BetterSex.com, featuring my regency short story, The Pirate's Pleasure (this is the only copy of this book I'll be giving away—ever!).

To win, you must be subscribed to Larissa's Lair (only 6-12 emails a year!)

To enter, read the excerpt posted on the Impure Longings book page or at my Lair (they're different) and email me, telling me which actors you'd chose as the starring roles if you were casting the movie version.

The winner will be whoever sends in the most creative or thoughtful answer.  If I get several great responses, the winner will be selected randomly among those.

Firelight is one of my favorite movies of all time.  I love the historical "romance book" feel to it, the beautiful filmography, and the emotion.  If you haven't seen this movie yet, you're in for a treat!

Contest runs until August 15th. Good Luck!

July 2007

July 14th update: Added a contest to celebrate the upcoming erotic Regency release of Impure Longings.  Also posted a new complete short erotic story for your reading enjoyment.  :-)

July 1: Aiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!

The sound I made when I ran out of paper the other day and opened the paper tray in our printer only to discover a pointy-ass scorpion waving his pointy-ass stinger in my face.

Aiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! {Actually, SHIT!!! A SNAKE!!!}

The sound I made when I recently saw a snake crawling around on our front porch.

Yipppppeeeeeeeeeee!! (about forty-seven times)

The sound of excitement I made when my editor recently accepted two stories I submitted. I've got them both up on my Books page, but don't have individual pages made yet.  I'll do that by next month, and you can read more about each story when the new Larissa's Lair becomes available around July 15th.

Speaking of my Lair, the newsletter sign-up on my site kept messing up. To simplify things, I created a Larissa's Lair Yahoo Group. Every other month, I'll e-mail the latest Lair, which always includes details about recent writing and book news, excerpts, occasional recipes, and contest announcements.  If you'd like to receive 6 or so e-mails a year click on the "wild woman."  :)

I've added the excerpt for Impure Longings.  Stay tuned for a fun contest that will feature my all time favorite movie, Firelight, as part of the prize.  Watching Firelight is like reading a wonderful, historical romance.

Orchids & Orgasms is available! Another Yippee!

Lady Jaided, the official ezine of Ellora's Cave, has a neat page where they interview authors.  Yours truly is featured the entire month of July (about halfway down the page).  Check it out if you want to learn my deepest erotic fantasy. ;)

Grasshopper hunters hard at work.

And yes, if you're wondering, they did do their job and save me from the snake.  :-) Good kitties.

>^..^<  Larissa

Contest Announcements - July 2007

Congrats to Ami H. who won our GET BALLED Contest!

Thanks to everyone who entered, we had some truly fabulous entries and wish we could've more winners!

 

June 2007

June 12 update - Okay, I admit it, I am so gosh-darn excited about  Orchids almost being released, I just had to sign on and holler.  Yeeeee Hawwww! 'Kay, now that I sound like a total hick >^..^< let me also mention that I've just uploaded the nifty cool book trailer Alyssa made - you can catch it on the Orchids page, and don't forget to enter our June contest while you're there.

And...I've submitted TWO other stories to my editor since my last ramble. Go me!! Now I'm off to do all that housework I ignored in favor of FINISHING BOOKS! (We should all send Mr. Lyons thank you's of guitar strings and coupons for a clean sink. haha!)  I'm smiling big and hope you are too!  ;) Larissa

June 1st - Pastors, Rabbits & Priests

Is that not the most hilarious typo you've seen in ages?  I caught that on a television description last week and couldn't quit laughing. (Hope I haven't offended any cottontails out there.)

It's here! For real this time. :) The cover for Orchids & Orgasms along with a bang-up Get Balled contest (details below). For once, I'm thankful my mom isn't reading my website! haha

With my waterproof crayons, I drew a countdown chart in the shower and it's currently at 19 days.  By the time it gets to zero, my first EC release will be for sale and I couldn't be happier.

As reported in my Lair last month, I completed a sexy Regency story featuring lots of stallions and studs that I'll be submitting for the annual Ellora's Cave Caveman compilations. I'm also putting the FINAL touches (I promise!!) on two other projects I hope to submit soon. See? When I ignore housework, I do get things done!

I'm way behind on site updates. Several chocolate recipes and various articles are clamoring for inclusion and I'll try to get that done by next month—chocolate promise!

If you read my most recent Write it Right column in Wicked Escapes, you'll see that I found a way to work in my new motto. It might not have been the smoothest inclusion on record, but hey, I made it work. :-)

And now, here's a little picture of one of our rodent catchers hard at work.

"Oh, momsters," CJ's saying, "I have such a hard life. Don't you want to bring me some caviar? Or a can of sardines? Tuna? Anything??"

Have a wonderful June and I'll see you next month!

>^..^< Larissa

Contest Announcements - June 2007

Announcing the GET BALLED Contest

Do you wanna Get Balled?!

Alyssa and I are giving away a pair of Ben Wa balls to celebrate the release of our first joint Ellora's Cave title, Orchids & Orgasms.

To enter, read the excerpt on my Orchids book page and follow the easy instructions right beneath it.

You must be 18 to enter. Contest runs the month of June and the winner will be announced the first week of July. 

Culinary Delights Contest

brought to you by Larissa Lyons and Alyssa Brooks

Thank you to everyone who sent in their wonderful summer recipes! Several entries really stood out and it was tough picking just one—so we didn't!

Congratulations to Pat N, who won our grand prize for her recipe dedicated to Wicked Escapes—Wicked Escapes Goes Skinny Dipping!

We also want to congratulate two honorable mention winners for their efforts, who will receive their choice of one of Larissa's current releases or a print copy of The Firefighter from Alyssa. These winners are: Angelle D. and Lisa G.

All of the entered recipes will be shared in the July edition of Wicked Escapes, but for your upcoming summer picnics, here's the winning entry from Pat N.

Wicked Escapes Goes Skinny Dipping

This is a low-calorie, low-fat dip that makes a summer meal because it is so sensuous that after you and your partner enjoy it you don't want more food—just one another. The recipe is dedicated to Wicked Escapes, the world's greatest website. Note from Larissa: with an intro like that—and ingredients like what follows, how could we not select Pat as our winner??? >^..^<

1 eight ounce package fat free cream cheese, room temperature
1 half cup fat free sour cream
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 fourth cup bell pepper, finely chopped
1 fourth cup green onion (white part only), finely chopped
1 fourth cup crushed peanuts
1 cup mango chutney
1 fourth cup shredded coconut

Mix all ingredients except chutney and coconut together. Spoon into shallow, attractive serving dish and smooth top. Spread chutney over dip, covering to edges. Sprinkle with coconut. Chill for at least an hour.

Serve with vegetable sticks or low-fat crackers. Dip can also be kissed or licked from your favorite body places. Use your imagination.

May 2007

Abracadabra...

I wave my magic wand and grant you the precursor to the cover for Orchids & Orgasms and a release date of June 20th!

I've been a busy bee lately...between talking with Alyssa on the phone and pretending to clean my house (really think I'm medaling in that event this year) and finding creative ways to eat chocolate without sugar, the edits came in for both Orchids and Impure Longings.

Fortunately, taking care of those were relatively painless and I'm happy to report that I also wrote the blurb and made the book page for Impure Longings, for any of you erotic Regency fans that might want to get a sneak peek.

I have a new motto, compliments of Garfield (& my mother, who sent this to me) — "If I bring you a dead rodent, I expect thanks." Catchy, isn't it? :) I haven't figured out yet where in the world I can use this, but I'm sure something will come to me.  And how nice of me to refrain from incorporating any photographs of the dead rodents recently presented to Mr. Lyons and myself from our WildBoys. It seems there's something about outside cats and the country that equals rodent guts on the porch. I must admit I tend to leave the "appreciative vocalization of thanks" to Mr. Lyons because I'm too busy looking the other way.

The new issue of Wicked Escapes will be available beginning May 15th and since I'm currently revising the next unfinished story on my list, I'll bid you adeiu until next month.  Cheers!  :-) Larissa

April 2007

I have FANTASTIC news to share: Ellora's Cave has contracted my Regency novella IMPURE LONGINGS!! I am so excited that this story will finally make it out of my computer and into the public eye. Certain characters sometimes grab a hold of your heart and the two in this story have claimed pieces of mine.  I'll be sharing the blurb and more information in coming months.

In other news, I'm waiting to hear on five—yes, five!—short stories that I've submitted. These are erotica, much along the lines of my free short stories. I'm hoping to report positive news on next month's update! Toes crossed!! (Can't type with fingers otherwise occupied.)

Oh, and I received the final cover for the BetterSex.com Erotic Stories anthology. It's featured on my new Print Books page (the one I hope to be adding more covers to soon!). The book officially goes on sale later this month; when it does, I'll add the link.

Ta da! What do you think of my version of "modern art"? I wanted to call it Embracing Couple. Mr. Lyons said Humping Veggies was more appropriate.

Ah, well...I'll be a nice wife and refrain from making a derogatory comment about men.

The carrots do remind me to announce my current Culinary Delights contest which has just started and runs through the month of April. Break out your recipe books and enter—the prizes are really neat.

And because I keep coming to my own website to check recipes I've posted and been too lazy to put in my recipe box, I'm adding a Chocolate Creations page. Eventually, I'll incorporate all of the chocolately recipes I've shared over at my Lair, as well as many of the healthy, from-scratch staples Mr. Lyons and I prepare on a regular basis. For now, I'm starting off with Chocolate Sprinkle Cheesecake.

Wherever you are, I hope you enjoy the budding of spring and treat yourself to a few great books!

Until next month...

>^..^< Larissa

Contest Announcements - April 2007

Culinary Delights Contest

brought to you by Larissa Lyons and Alyssa Brooks

Need to steam things up between you and your lover? Start in the kitchen! Wicked Escapes is giving away one copy of Fork Me, Spoon Me: A Sensual Cookbook as well as a personalized Wicked Escapes apron and promotional items from our authors. To enter, email us with the recipe for your favorite home-cooked summertime meal, be it a cool pasta salad, easy-to-make casserole or great BBQ/for-the-grill concoction. We'll compile the entries into in a downloadable .PDF file for our readers after the contest!

Don't forget to follow the rules!

▪ Email the recipe for your favorite home-cooked summertime meal (notes included in your entry telling us how much you like Wicked Escapes won't hurt your chances, either).

▪ Contest begins March 15th 2007 and ends May 1st 2007.

▪ Winner will be selected from qualifying entries and announced in our next issue of Wicked Escapes.

▪ You must be 18 years or older to enter.

▪ You must be a member of the Wicked Escapes mailing list to enter (yahoo or regular email).

▪ Only one entry per person.

Good luck!!!

March 2007

Happy Spring! I think it officially starts around the 20th of March, but I'm reusing a 2001 calendar so can't say for sure. I think I'm thrifty...my friends think I'm a goofball. :)  I just posted an EXCERPT for Orchids & Orgasms and a new interview featuring moi was posted today at TRS. If you want to find out why Alyssa told me to STOP SHOWERING, you can read it here.

February began unexpectedly...after x-rays showed no broken bones in my ankle (yea), I was ordered by the friendly doc to "get thyself to the hospital" for blood clot tests on my legs (grrrr). Fortunately, that was negative, too, but once again, I was sitting there (foot elevated, of course) perplexed by a medical condition (this time blue, swollen toes) that defied explanation. Even all the blood work came back looking good—no lupus, which the doc really suspected might be behind the latest bodily goings on. Chalk it up to fibromyalgia, or so sayeth my husband and mom. Me? I'm just happy to have found some relief.

How, you might ask? (Or might not, depending on whether you chose to read this far...haha.) I left home for a couple of weeks and sought assistance from a wonderful friend/mentor I've known for years. She treated my body & legs with several sessions of pranic healing (think reiki, only different). Between that, some herbs geared toward improving circulation, and a few other alternative therapies, I'm doing much, much better.

But little writing got done. (Sure that doesn't surprise anyone!)

I'm still mucho excited about the upcoming summer release from Ellora's Cave and I did enter a short story writing contest. (Winners announced in April!)

Thanks for stopping by!  Larissa

February 2007

Did you see my new banner?  Located front & center on my homepage?  Just in case you missed it, here it is again for your viewing pleasure:

Ta da!!!!!!!!!!!  A book, a book! I finished another book.  Okay, Alyssa and I finished one of the many attempts at writing a story together we've started since meeting, and best of all...the story was accepted by Ellora's Cave! It's about...well...orchids and orgasms! Duh! :)

Oops! I meant to announce the Wicked Escapes winners last month, but forgot. Never fear, the winning story titles and authors are shown below, in contest announcements.

Now, to report on Arresting: while Alyssa was doing the critique last month (to the 52,000 word sequel to Awakening, that was supposed to only be about 20K!), she questioned why I didn't flesh it out to full single-title length and query an agent with it! Wow... I was touched when she suggested that. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to work on the manuscript, incorporating her critique comments, with the idea of maybe one day sending it off to New York.  (Maybe? you ask, What's holding me back?  A little case of chicken-shit author-itis).  I'll keep you posted.

As I write this the last day of January, I have what might be a broken ankle (grrrrr) and some very unhappy toes (not to mention the rather disillusioned bump on my noggin I got when I fell on my crutches and careened into some furniture).  My body seems to be saying "Where's the damn sugar!?" Okay, so I totally made that up.  The sugar part (just feeling ornery, I guess), not the my-body-needs-some-help part. Tomorrow morning, I'm hoping to find a nice (gentle) doctor that can help fix my ankle.  Hopefully, when March rolls around, it'll be a little warmer and my body will be singing the blues harp blues (that's harmonica, if you didn't know...another little project I've wanted to learn for some time).

Before I bore you further, This is Larissa Lyons, signing off.  Gonna find a kitty to pet and a great book to read.

>^..^<  Larissa

Contest Announcements - February 2007

2nd Annual Wicked Escapes Writing Contest

2007 Winners Announced!

This year, we were overwhelmed with great entries and choosing the winners wasn't easy! After several weeks and conversations, Alyssa and I narrowed it down to our final choices.  We're thrilled to announce this year's line-up. Congratulations, everyone!

Both Gwen and Angelle received gift certificates to Amazon.com for submitting the winning short stories.

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to everyone who
took the time to send in their work! Please do so again next year!

January 2007

I hope everyone had a memorable New Year's Eve while bidding farewell to 2006. I know I did. Shortly after enjoying the Chocolate Martini recipe my writing friend Cat Johnson shared (I made it with rum instead of vodka—hmmm, would that make it a Chocolate Daiquiri?—and added a generous dash of Eagle Brand condensed milk), I rung in the New Year at 11:59 p.m., while allowing my last bite of homemade ice cream to dissolve in my mouth. >^..^<

Little more than a week into January and I'm happy to report that not only did I complete Arresting, and send the manuscript to Alyssa for her critique during the last day of 2006, I've also stayed strong and haven't eaten any sugar so far this year. Yea. Whoop-te-do. Hard to get too excited when I am definitely still craving it. Grrrr.

I just uploaded a new article, Confessions of a Confused Writer, to my Articles section. It gives all sorts of details about my current writing projects. After reading it, my parents e-mailed with a suggestion: I should be writing magazine articles instead of erotic fiction. Oh, well. Read the article and send me your suggestion!

In writing news, I'm still waiting to find out when the BetterSex anthology book will be released, but I did submit several original short stories to print anthologies late last year and I've summarized those below. Hopefully, I'll get good news sometime this spring.
 

Wicked Escapes, the free online ezine I sponsor with Alyssa Brooks, will have a new format this year. Starting this month, we'll be releasing a new issue every other month, usually on the 15th. We're also welcoming a new author and her wonderful erotic fiction column that features sexy stories about two couples stranded on a desert island. Check out Wicked Escapes for all the juicy details and great fiction.

After the 15th, I'll announce the Wicked Escapes winners in the Contests section below. Stay tuned...we received some fantastic entries and will be sharing those throughout the year with readers.

As always, treat yourself wonderfully. You deserve it.

>^..^<  Larissa

 

Contest Announcements - January 2007

2nd Annual Wicked Escapes Writing Contest

Thanks to all who entered! We had some fabulous short stories and Escapes submitted. I can't wait to share them with readers. >^..^< Winners will be announced in the January issue of Wicked Escapes.

Archived news from 2006