What makes firefighters so smokin' hot?

As I mentioned in my Monday blog, I've got Bella Andre guest blogging today. She's going to be giving away an autographed copy of Game for Anything and Game for Seduction to one lucky poster. Be sure to leave you email address so that we can contact you. And isn't the cover of Wild Heat HOT!!!! You're going to love this book! So take it away, Bella...

Thanks so much, Jasmine, for letting me sneak onto your blog for the day. I'm thrilled to be here!

I've written books about architects and chefs and football players, but this past year, I think I've finally met the ultimate men of my dreams. Firefighters. Hotshots, the elite of the elite, the men who run into the wildfires that everyone else runs away from.

Excuse me while I fan myself.

Of course, when I first started thinking my firefighter trilogy, I knew a little bit based on my husband's experience as a volunteer firefighter in our town. But after months of reading pretty much every book ever written on wildland firefighting, and trolling the internet for blogs and interviews, and personal (ahem!) interviews with hotshots, I realized the reason for their extreme "hotness" went way beyond their muscles.

They're sexy because they're heroes. Because they'll not only die to protect the woman they love, but because they put their lives on the line every single day for strangers, to save houses and buildings, and to protect our forests and wildlands.

If you've got any hot firefighter stories to share, I'd love to hear them. Who knows, they just might end up in my next book!

;-) Bellahttp://www.bellaandre.com/

In WILD HEAT, the first book in Bella Andre's HOTSHOTS: Men of Fire series, Logan Cain is a firefighter addicted to risk. Maya Jackson is the sultry beauty he never saw coming, targeting him as her number-one suspect in a string of deadly wildfires. But when Maya's life is threatened, Logan vows to protect the woman sworn to bring him down. And as desire ignites, nothing-not the killer fire or the killer hot on their trail-can douse the flames....Allison Brennan called it "a breathtaking, terrific, hot, hot, hot romantic suspense." Brenda Novak said, "WILD HEAT has one sexy firefighter - and a love that burns up the pages." And according to Catherine Coulter the book is "a roller coaster ride. Don't miss it."

Trekkies!

Congratulations to house-mouse, you are the winner of The Prize by Brenda Joyce. I’ll be contacting you for your snail mail address (or you can email me on skully at skullybuzz dot com if you see this first) and mailing out your prize!

For this week, I’ve got a futuristic romance, The Shadow Runners by Liz Maverick. Gosh, I think she’s got a character named after me in this one! So, post a comment, (you must type in your email address) and I’ll enter you in the drawing for Liz's book. I’ll also add you to my newsletter for updates on all the fun stuff and releases, too. I’ll announce the winner on the May 4th blog! Good luck!

My hubby and I are currently watching all the Star Trek movies and we’re working our way through Star Trek: The Next Generation, too. Up last night was First Contact. Of course, in the credits is Gene Roddenberry, because the whole Star Trek world is based on his idea, even as we move forward with new characters and new threats, like the Borg. It suddenly struck what an amazing thing this man did. His concept, his world, has taken over 40 years of television and movies. And yes, we even have a new Star Trek movie coming out in May. You may never have watched any iteration of Star Trek, but you’ve heard of it, you know what it’s about. Is it brilliance? Is it luck? I have to think it’s that he created a world so interesting and compelling that we have to keep stepping into it over and over. We can’t let it go. And that is the goal of every writer, I think, to create something that people have to keep coming back to. I felt myself in awe last night. And as I writer, I have to believe those characters and that world were actually real to him. I know mine are to me.

So, who do you admire and why? I chose a writer probably because I am a writer, but I’m sure there are any number of people in your life that you admire.

I’ve got a very special blog coming up that I don’t want you to miss. Next Tuesday, that's April 28th, Bella Andre will be my guest. She’s got a new book coming out, Wild Heat. It’s fantastic. She’ll be giving away a copy of Game for Anything and Game for Seduction to one lucky poster on that day. So don’t forget to stop by for her special blog.

Jasmine, Jennifer and JB!
http://www.skullybuzz.com/
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Forever Friends

Congratulations to Cindy (cholub 1968), you are the winner of Demon’s Kiss by Eve Silver. I’ll be contacting you for your snail mail address (or you can email me on skully at skullybuzz dot com if you see this first) and mailing out your prize!

For this week, I have a historical, The Prize by Brenda Joyce. I really love her Francesca Cahill series. So, post a comment, (you must type in your email address) and I’ll enter you in the drawing for Brenda’s book. I’ll also add you to my newsletter for updates on all the fun stuff and releases, too. I’ll announce the winner on the April 20th blog! Good luck!

We moved around a lot when I was a kid, from Canada to Michigan to Southern California to Northern California. We finally settled when I was in high school. I’m always envious of people who have friends from when they were in kindergarten. But I do have friends from high school and from all my work years. And recently I’ve been making a concerted effort to get together with them. The first picture is of me and my two high school buds, Judy and Margaret. We’re missing Nancy, but she lives down in Southern California. We spent 3 hours at Olive Garden catching up. They finally had to kick us out! But it was so much fun. Judy and Margaret have known each other since they were 2! This second picture is from Southwall Technologies. Most of these lovely people I worked with for almost 20 years. We’ve worked at a couple of different companies together. LOL, accountants tend to travel in packs. Personally, I think we look like a commercial for IHOP! That’s me, Angela, Joe, Lynn, and Kathy. This was a 3 ½ hour lunch! IHOP kicked us out, too (just kidding, but they did stop refilling the water glasses). But what a wonderful time we had.

So, do you have long-time friends from when you were a child? Maybe a best friend you’ve had all your life. Or newer friends. I’d love to hear all about them.

And don’t forget my special contest running this month. It runs through April 10th, and you can win a $50 Visa gift card. Here’s the link, it’s Fresh Fiction, and just follow the instructions! Good luck to everyone! http://freshfiction.com/contest.php?id=1682

Jasmine, Jennifer and JB!
http://www.skullybuzz.com/
Newsletter: skullybuzz-subscribe@yahoogroups.com