Some Dark Romantic: blog hop

Showing posts with label blog hop. Show all posts

Monday, July 6, 2015

Calling All Creators!

Click this caption to learn more!

One of my good bloggy pals, Yolanda Renèe, hollered at me recently about a groovy every-other-monthly* blog hop she and Denise Covey are reinstating: Write...Edit...Publish! OK, so it's got "write" in the title, which might make you think it's for writers only—BUT IT AIN'T! Artistry of all types is welcome, so long as you follow the prompts for that particular month. Hope y'all'll check it out!

*WTF is bi-monthly, anyway? Twice a month? Every two months? It'll get jiggy with any month regardless of its sex? Doesn't every-other-monthly just make more sense???

Friday, November 7, 2014

Iiiiiiit's BAAA-AAACK!!!!!!! (Resurrection Blogfest III)

Today is the day! My third bloggiversary! AND my...

RESURRECTION

BLOGFEST

III!

YES! Today, participants in this blogfest will BRING OUT THEIR DEAD!

Posts, that it. If you require further elucidation, clicketh hither.

But if you're ready for some reanimated blog posts, read on.

To celebrate my third year of blogging (!!!), I'm resurrecting my Valentine's Day post (published on 2/10/14), in which I wax poetic about "What love is." I was going to bring back a post in which I bitched about crimes against grammar but reckoned that, as an author of romance dark and whimsical, I might be best served by accentuating that which is warm and fuzzy. But if you'd rather read a rant, thither thou goest. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and please do be sure to check out the other participants' resurrected posts (see linky list all the way down). The three qualifying bloggers who'll be selected at random to win either a $20 Amazon Gift Card OR my book and some book swag will be announced on Monday, November 10, 2014 (God willing). (If you're just learning about this blogfest, it's not too late to sign up ~ you've got till 11:59pm on November 7 to do so and follow the rules to qualify!)

And now...onto the revivified post!

* * *

What love is...

By Durdana shoshe (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

In a previous post, I bitched about how ruinous loving is. And it is.

But that's not all it is.

In my late 30s, I began to draw parallels between romantic and paternal love. Not in an Oedipus/Electra kinda way, 'cause that's gross. The love my parents (who are not perfect people) show me and my sis, and even more, the love I feel for my son, is straightforward and manifests in obvious ways:

Love looks out for you, as regards basic needs and comforts (food, rest, shelter, chocolate*).
Love needs to see you well and happy.
Love wants you to feel better ASAFP when you're not well, whether it's from physical, mental, or emotional trauma.
Love shares with you, without conditions or expectations.
Love laughs with you.
Love does for you.
Love accepts the feelings of anger, disappointment, and sadness you engender, but will always want to hold you close again (eventually; but the wait shouldn't be too long).
Love waits for you to get your head out of your ass and apologize for whatever heinous fuckery you've perpetrated.
Love understands that you may never apologize and forgives you anyway.
Love may hurt you, but it'll want to fix that hurt, too, even when it doesn't understand WTF your problem is (see #2).
Love wants to touch you (to the degrees appropriate to your relationship).
Love wants you to want its touch (see parenthetical statement in #11).
Love recognizes and respects that you are your own person.

But the critical factor of real Love: You don't have to work for it, you don't have to earn it; it's just always there for you. Always.

Now, in my early 40s, I feel that's what I should expect, when it comes to romantic love: obvious demonstrations of love that don't demand anything extraordinary of me, and a well of that same feeling within me for the other person, one that never runs dry.

And lots of exhausting, mind-annihilating, earth-shaking, God-revealing sex. Of course.

Maybe romantic love won't happen for me.

But I believe it happens.

Wishing you all Love, now and forever.

*chocolate is totally a basic need.

* * *

Resurrection Blogfest III Participants!

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Monday, October 27, 2014

Resurrection Blogfest, the Third

So, like, as of November 7, 2014, I'll have been blogging for three years. That's some shit, huh? (Be a sport and pretend it is.)

Brace yourselves—it's time for...

RESURRECTION

BLOGFEST

III!

For this blogfest, participants will resurrect a blog post that they initially published between November 8, 2013 and November 6, 2014 (or, since my second Resurrection Blogfest, whether they participated or not) which they believe merits one more glance before it gives up the ghost for good. In addition to this being the easiest friggin' blogfest around...

...there will be PRIZES!!!

Here's the dealio, yo:

Sign up by entering your blog's name and URL on the linky-list, below. The linky-list will close after 11:59pm EST* on Friday, November 7, 2014.
Upload the blogfest badge in this post to the sidebar of your blog and link it back to this announcement post, to help spread the word. (It's not a "button" and there isn't a code for it; you'll have to download the image, upload to your blog's sidebar, and manually link it back to this post.)
Follow me on the Twitter (@GothMomLite) and re-tweet anything with this tag: #ResurrectionBlogfestIII. (Folks without Twitter accounts are welcome to participate, but must promote the blogfest on some other social media platform.)
On November 7, your blog post must feature the blogfest badge as well as your resurrected blog post. Be sure to include the date on which it was originally posted. (Do give the title of the original blog post but please do not make readers have to click back to the original post—copy/paste it into your November 7, 2014 post.)
I'll review all entries to make sure they fit the above criteria. Failure to have the badge on your sidebar, in your post, the resurrected post, and/or the date and title of the original post will disqualify you from the drawing (see #6 below).
Three qualifying participants (see #5 above) will be selected at random to win EITHER A) a $20 Amazon gift card OR B) a print copy of my book and some book swag (see image below). The three winners can take their pick of either prize A or B (and I won't be hurt if you opt for A). (Probably.)
Winners should be announced on or around Monday, November 10. (God willing.)

Prize Option B: Book and Swag!

Participants should know that:

*All days/times are based on EST.
Subject matter is up to participants but whatever the topic, the post must have originally appeared on your blog on/since November 8, 2013 up to/including November 6, 2014.
It's OK to sign up if you've just started blogging and have only a few posts in your bloggy repertoire.
It's also OK for participants to enter more than one blog, however, in the spirit of Highlander—THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE prize per participant.
Participants whose Resurrection Blogfest III posts are not up by 11:59pm EST on Nov. 7 will be removed from the linky-list.
Topics/blogs with adult themes should have the appropriate preliminary warning before any participants or readers see your blog/post. Any participants' links that take the clicker to adult subject matter without warning will be removed at my discretion. And don't give me any crap about not knowing what I mean by "adult themes," 'cause you totally do.
Participants are expected to read and comment on other participants' entries beginning November 7 and on through that weekend (based on previous years' sign-ups, this should not be an unmanageable number of blog posts to read through/comment on over the course of three days).
Winners who opt for the $20 Amazon Gift Card will receive it via e-mail; those who choose the book/swag package will have to provide me with a mailing address (I'm happy to ship the book and swag-s-swag anywhere mail can be delivered).

Dudes, you don't have to come up with any new content for this blogfest, so whatareya waiting for? Sign up and Tweet the hell out of this blogfest already, gosh.

(Whether you choose to participate or not, please help me get the word out by sharing this post on the social media platform of your choice. You can do this easily by clicking one of the icons just above this post's tag: "Posted by Mina Lobo at 2:00 AM." THANKS!)

The image used for the Resurrection Blogfest III badge was taken from a pic snapped pour moi.

Remember to enter your blog's name on the linky list below!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Memento mori...

Click here for more on
Resurrection Blogfest II.

A memento is a remembrance, or a reminder, of something. I'm using it in two senses for this post, the first: a reminder to all that my Resurrection Blogfest II is this week, on November 7. Folks who've already signed up, make sure you've got the badge up on your sideboards—if you don't, you're not eligible for the random drawing/an Amazon gift card. For a refresher of the hop's rules, and for those who've not yet signed up, but would like to, click here.

Mori is Latin for "die" or "death." Thus a memento mori is an admonition that death comes for one and all. This is the second reminder, one which hit me, hard, when I went to snap the pic for the badge.

On a day off, I betook myself to a rather largish cemetery in Manhattan. It occupies at least two whole city blocks, with Broadway cutting through the middle. Banners hung in several places, proclaiming it an "active" cemetery, which made me second guess my decision to go in and snap piccies of headstones. Or at least wish I'd brought a machete with me, or somethin'.

Anyway, a tall stone wall surrounds the place, so unless you've been there before, you've no idea what you'll find once within. The neighborhood was absurdly quiet. As I approached the open gate, with maybe 45 minutes to spare before the place closed up shop for the day, I felt my first serious misgivings. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I could see the Hudson River from where I strolled. But I was about to enter a city of the dead and, even though I had a clear purpose, I suddenly questioned what the hell I was doing there.

I went in, nonetheless. Another internal stone wall blocked the view as I made my way up the circular drive. All was silent but for birdsong, and then I turned the corner. Gently rolling hills and leafy trees met my eyes, several railed stairways led to points up and down, and tombstones, statues of mourning angels, and mausoleums dotted the lush green grasses. I paused to turn 'round, take it all in. My omnipresent tinnitus seemed to ring louder in my ears than even at bedtime. Every atom in my body seemed to riot, screaming at me to get the fuck out of there, what was I, crazy???

But I needed a blogfest badge, and I'd trekked all the way the hell over there so, damn it, I wasn't about to leave without some pictures. Almost panting from the heebie-jeebies, I decided to head past some of the mausoleums, which were up a slope, and remember feeling grateful for the blacktop pathway. Didn't want to tread on the grass and inadvertently disrespect another's remains. And then I felt as though I did that anyway, just by virtue of being alive, in this sacred place, on this gorgeous pseudo-summery fall day. I took breath, I moved my legs and swung my arms, surely that in itself was an affront to those made dust by time. I began to fancy that if a horde of those yet undusty were to arise to expel me from their home, I wouldn't blame them. Sure, I'd screech myself into a stupor, but I wouldn't blame them.

That symbol is IHS,
a Greek abbreviation of Jesus.

I got some pics of the mausoleums, told myself that the air I sucked in through my nose did not smell strange at all, why should it? Then I backtracked till I was closer to the entrance. I checked my phone compulsively for the time, wondering if groundskeepers typically cruised through the joint to check for (living) folks before closing up the main gate. I finally ran into someone, a handsome young security guard, who told me I should've signed in when I first arrived. I checked my phone, saw it was 20 minutes till closing, and was about to argue the point but then shrugged and followed him down a hill and into an office building. It occurred to me that this was exactly how a horror movie might begin, with an unsuspecting idiot following any old dude in a uniform into the "office," only to get dunked into a tub of embalming fluid. I signed the guest book, allowed him to lead me back out, and finally decided to get the hell out of dodge, as my poor beleaguered nerves really could take no more.

I hiked up a long-ass flight of steps and then scurried along the winding drive, the security guard not far behind me, until I exited via the main gate. Within moments, I heard it clang shut behind me as the young man locked up for the day. My heart racing, I made for the nearest bus stop and waited, wishing desperately that I'd chosen some other point in my life to have quit smoking.

That visit yielded me an acceptable image for my blogfest badge, but left me in a rather shell-shocked state. I boarded the M5 and cruised down the Upper West Side, music blaring in my headphones and thoughts racing through my mind. One thought beat out all the rest and settled deeply into my being, and it was this: ultimately, we don't really know what there is at the end. All we can know, and all we can truly ever have, however fleeting, is a spark of love. Given to us, perhaps, by some divine being, we shelter its easily doused light for a brief time, then pass it on to another. You give it to a lover, your flesh and blood, or to a stranger who gets in your way but you let by, rather than knocking past him with an elbow to his kidney. All we can ever truly have is that love, and we don't have it for long. It seems the only thing we can do, really, is be warmed by it and then warm others with it, while we can.

Monday, October 28, 2013

"Conjured" for Spooktoberfest!

Right, so; here's my entry for fellow blogging buddies/writers Dani and Jackie's boogety-boo blog hop...
Spooktoberfest!

Participants were challenged to compose flash fiction between 300-500 words which:

had to be set in the location depicted in one of the four pictures provided; and
had to use three out of six words listed (the three I used are in purple).

To see all the pics, possible word choices, and check out links to other participants' entries, click here or there.

This is the pic.

October was a busy month of work travel for me and though I'd decided on the pic, no story emerged in my mind. Then just this past weekend, as I settled in for the night at the B&B I stayed at while visiting my Kid for Family Weekend at his college, one of the other images demanded my attention. A weird and, frankly, rather disturbing story unfolded in rhyme, much darker than is my wont...I think. It turned out to be the sequel to my first Spooktoberfest entry, though it's told from a different point of view and it's nowhere near as lighthearted. Anyway, er...hope you enjoy?

Conjured by Mina Lobo
(300 words)

I'm the wretch that lurks at the bottom of the stairs
with the long, sharp beak and the coarse dark hairs,
whom you summoned to your home in the middle of the night,
whom you called when quite alone; now I have you in my sights.

You thought yourself so lonely and you felt yourself to ache
for some pleasures yet unknown, thus this action you did take:
you dug out that old spellbook that you'd hidden long ago,
when your last attempt went sour; yes, you stashed it down below

In the basement of your duplex, just behind your ancient dryer.
(You'd have been better off if you'd tossed it in the fire.)
Skimming quickly through its pages, soon you saw the thing you craved,
little knowing it was you who would find herself enslaved.

As others' children left to go begging for some sweets,
you sought to entertain yourself with one especial treat.
You went into your room and bubbled up a potion,
then mixed it with some cream to concoct this haunting lotion.

The scent so arousing, the sentiment inspired,
by all your burning hopes, and your dreams, and desires.
And with the aid of beings you believed safe to enlist,
you crafted what a thing like me can't possibly resist.

It called me from the deep, and up your dirty steps,
I wake you from your sleep, your eyes go wide and next,
your throat prepares a scream; I keep it from this task
by covering your lips and sliding off my mask.

You moan as though it's tragic that what appeared is me,
well knowing that your magic is what caused this beast to be.
I lean into your body and whisper what I'll do,
then on your moonlit bedding, I lay right into you.

Monday, October 21, 2013

A Two-fer: A Writerly Type Blog Hop & A Review

One of my good bloggy friends, Allyson Lindt, tagged me in a hop AND I've just finished reading her most recent contemporary romance, so for today's post I'm offering a two-fer-the-price-of-one. (Not that I'm charging y'all to read this, or anything, but you know what I mean...) So first, let's go to—

The Hop!

For this writerly-type hop, authors who've been tagged answer a buncha questions, then tag 3 of their fellow writers to do the same. (There's always a catch.) The questions are as follows:

What are you working on right now?
'Cause I'm pressed for time (and lazy), I'm gonna rip off the answer I gave in an interview I did earlier this month, with one of the gals I'm tagging for this Hop:

A mini-anthology of three short stories, as I want to show my more “modern voice.” In terms of fiction, my readers will have come to know the “Homer meets Jane Austen” voice I used in That Fatal Kiss, so I want folks to know I’m not a one-trick pony. Two of the shorts are paranormal/supernatural stories set in the present, and the third tale will follow Hades and Persephone as they settle into married life (with all the horrors that entails).

How does it differ from other works in its genre?
Well, I claim to be an author of "dark and whimsical romance." While there's plenty of paranormal stuff out there, even funny paranormal (MaryJanice Davidson & Katie MacAlister are two of my fave writers), my particular brand of whimsy has an especially sophisticated edge to it. I like to think so, anyway. (Be a lamb and don't shatter my delusions, if you disagree.) (Better still, don't disagree; it's not nice to contradict a Goth Mom.)

Why do you write what you do?
Oh, why the hell not? J/K. In her answer to this question, Allyson said she writes about what she wants to read: characters "living" in her world. I write about the world in which I'd like to live: one filled with magic. Also, I'm getting a little tired of the preponderance of nubile virgin chicks in the 21st century of romance fiction. C'mon, folks—in the 21st century??!?!!?! I want to read about middle-aged gals, like me, who've been around the block a few times, stalled, and eventually got their motors running again. (I'm hoping that last bit comes to pass for me sooner, rather than later.)

How does your writing process work?
When it's working, with lots of coffee. Formerly, with cigarettes, too, but I've been off them for a little over two months now. (Yay, me!) Uh...I like to write at night, possibly because when The Kid was little, that's the only time I had to write. I usually write a first draft long-hand, then typing it out becomes the second draft, though I've also written first drafts on my laptop (which I find both exhilarating and terrifying).

Writerly-friends, I tag YOU:

Samantha Redstreake Geary

Yolanda Renée

Priscilla Shay

And now...

THE REVIEW!

TOEING THE LINE is #2 in Allyson's Bits & Bytes series (though actually, a prequel makes this the 3rd book, technically). Here's the gist of it:

Zane’s time in the Air Force doing electronic surveillance has taught him a thing or two about keeping secrets. But when his best friend, Riley, finds out what he’s kept from her, their “friends with benefits” relationship won’t be what threatens their growing feelings for each other.

Riley tends to fall hard and fast for the guys she dates, and it never ends with the wedding bells she expects. Tired of the heartbreak and unsure if she even knows what love is, she swears off unreliable things like dating and trying to find that elusive happily-ever-after spark. Focusing on her art seems like the perfect distraction, except she’s missing the physical side of being half a couple. Fortunately, her best friend, Zane, is happy to model for her drawings and tie her up in the bedroom, with no expectations. Just fun.

Zane’s granddad raised him with the belief that people who bring joy to the world should be protected at all costs. For Zane, his best friend Riley is one of those people, and he definitely doesn’t mind when making her happy involves helping her pursue her creative dream and some sport sex with a hint of kink. They can have fun, and he can keep her from falling for the next idiot who comes along while she searches for her Prince Charming.

Regardless of her resolution, as things heat up between them Riley finds herself falling again. She needs to decide if she’s in love with the idea of being in love, or if—despite Zane’s insistence that she deserves someone better—what she feels for him is the real thing. If she can’t learn to trust her heart and convince Zane he’s exactly what she needs, it will obliterate a lifelong friendship.

The idea of "no-strings-sex" seems a recurring theme in this series. Interestingly, apart from book 1, the couples involved already know each other, they've already got a history. With history, there are, naturally enough, feelings, which tend to make "no-strings-sex" tricky to pull off. On the other hand, when the sex is as hot as Zane and Riley's, I can understand being reluctant to leave off having it. The book starts off hard and fast with some spicy remote-sex, and develops into lightly-kinky real-life sex not too far down the storyline.

In this work of fiction, Allyson explores a truth that always amazes me: how people so intimately involved with one another physically can be completely clueless about one another's emotions (and sometimes, about their own). I can truly empathize with Riley's confusion as to whether what she feels for a man is actually love, or if she's just so lonely that she projects feelings which aren't real. (I really, truly can.) Toward the end of the tale, Riley does seem to have come to a resolution on this matter, which isn't altogether clear to me—I'd have liked to have seen what brought her to the point of action which broke through the impasse her relationship with Zane'd hit. But her choice didn't surprise, as every thought of hers (and Zane's—love the name, BTW) led up to this very moment.

TOEING THE LINE is a fun, quick, steamy read set in a modern world that fans of shows like The Big Bang Theory may really get into. I look forward to more of Allyson Lindt's hip love stories...and as it happens, her newest contemporary romance novella, Unconventional Fling, is available TODAY!

Click here to read Chapter 1 for FREE!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Resurrection Blogfest II

Guess whose second anniversary of blogging is coming up.

C'mon, now—GUESS!

Didja guess me? 'Cause if you did, YOU'D BE RIGHT!!!

(Cue ominous rumble of thunder.)

Y'all, I hereby announce...

Sometimes, dead posts come back!

RESURRECTION
BLOGFEST
II!

For last year's Resurrection Blogfest, participants resurrected a blog post from the first year of blogging that they felt didn't get enough love the first time around. For Resurrection Blogfest II, I invite folks to resurrect a blog post published between November 8, 2012 and November 6, 2013 (or, since my first Resurrection Blogfest, whether you participated or not) that you think ought to see the light of day one more time before it shuffles off this mortal coil.

There will be PRIZES!!!

Here be the rules:

Sign up by entering your blog's name and URL on the linky-list, below. The linky-list will close after 11:59pm EST* on Thursday, November 7, 2013.
Upload the blogfest badge in this post to the sidebar of your blog and link it back to this announcement post, to help spread the word. (It's not a "button" and there isn't a code for it; you'll have to download the image, upload to your blog's sidebar, and manually link it back to this post.)
Follow me on the Twitter (@GothMomLite) and re-tweet anything with this tag: #ResurrectionBlogfestII. (Folks without Twitter accounts are welcome to participate, but must promote the blogfest on some other social media platform.)
On November 7, your blog post must feature the blogfest badge as well as your resurrected blog post. Be sure to include the date on which it was originally posted and link back to that original post.
I'll review all entries to make sure they fit the above criteria. Failure to have the badge on your sidebar, in your post, the resurrected post, and/or the date and link to the original post will disqualify you from the drawing.
Three winners will be selected at random to win $20 Amazon gift cards!
Winners should be announced on or around Monday, November 11. (God willing.)

Participants should know that:

*All days/times are based on EST.
Subject matter is up to participants but whatever the topic, the post must have originally appeared on your blog on/since November 8, 2012 up to/including November 6, 2013.
It's OK to sign up if you've only just started blogging and only have a few posts in your bloggy repertoire.
It's also OK for participants to enter more than one blog, however, in the spirit of Highlander—THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE prize per participant.
Participants whose Resurrection Blogfest II posts are not up by 11:59pm EST on Nov. 7 will be removed from the linky-list.
Topics/blogs with adult themes should have the appropriate preliminary warning before any participants or readers see your blog/post. Any participants' links that take the clicker to adult subject matter without warning will be removed at my discretion. And don't give me any crap about not knowing what I mean by "adult themes," 'cause you totally do.
Participants are expected to read and comment on other participants' entries beginning November 7 and on through that weekend (based on last year's sign-ups, this should not be an unmanageable number of blog posts to read through/comment on over the course of four days).
The three $20 Amazon Gift Cards are to be sent to the respective winners via e-mail.

Peeps, this has to be one of the easiest blogfests going, seeing as I'm not making you come up with any new content for it. Sign up and Tweet the hell out of this blogfest already, sheesh.

(Whether you choose to participate or not, please help me get the word out by sharing this post on the social media platform of your choice. You can do this easily by clicking one of the icons just above this post's tag: "Posted by Mina Lobo at 12:00 AM." THANKS!)

The image used for the Resurrection Blogfest II badge was taken from a pic snapped by me.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Let Me Give You the Fever...

Click here to burn from all the sex-ay!

...July Fever, that is...

My post for Sofia Grey's July Fever is now live! Click here to check it out and leave a comment for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

(Be sure to leave your comment on Sofia's site, not here.)

Other authors are also offering giveaways, every day during July, AND there are weekly prize bundles, too. There's nothing to lose and so much smutty fun to gain, so tell a friend and be sure to have plenty of ice handy for...well, I'll leave that to y'all's imaginations.

1blog + 31 authors = 31 Days of Hotness

Friday, July 12, 2013

July Fever Continues!

Click here to burn from all the sex-ay!

1blog + 31 authors = 31 Days of Hotness

Sofia Grey is hosting July Fever, with giveaways every day during July, AND weekly prize bundles, too.

Look who’s featured for the next 6 days:

13-Jul	NICOLA CLAIRE	First 2 books in Sweet Seduction series
14-Jul	KRISTA AMES	1 copy each - Take Me Home, Cowboy AND All Bets Are On anthology& a goodie bag
15-Jul	EVA LEFOY	1 copies of Sweet Cravings (ebook)
16-Jul	TRISH McCALLAN	giveaway TBC
17-Jul	JJ DeBENEDETTO	ebook copies of all four books in the Dream Series
18-Jul	PARKER KINCADE	ecopy of Spring Training