Random Thoughts from an Unbalanced Mind...or Melissa's Blog: Military Week: Cat Johnson

Random Thoughts from an Unbalanced Mind...or Melissa's Blog: Military Week: Cat Johnson: CAT JOHNSON’S RED HOT & TRUE BLUE MILITARY HEROES I get asked the same question a lot—why did I start writing military romance...

NOW ON PREORDER!

Preorder A FEW GOOD MEN today

and wake up with a my hot hero June 19th!

eBook release June 19, 2012- PREORDER and wake up to it on release day!

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MY GREAT BIG CHICAGO RT 2012 ADVENTURE

What happens at RT, stays at RT...except on Twitter, and cell phone pics, and Youtube, and blog posts--you get the picture!

So I won't tell you that during my week at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Chicago I mixed shots with a few well-known authors, or that I had a brief but satisfying "Scottish Fling" which ended in a threesome (photo, at least) with two cover models, and witnessed a male striptease the next night, or drank some strange foreign liquor (washed down with chocolate TimTams) with some folks from down under, or that I got thongs as a gift from a reader (book thongs, that is), or that I flew to Chicago with an automatic weapon packed in my suitcase...but I will show you pictures!

 

  

 

For more of the expose' in pictures (of the cowboy nature) check out my blog post at the Wild & Wicked Cowboys Blog

NEW RELEASE: BOBBY

Happy release day!

Today marks the long awaited Samhain Publishing eRelease of BOBBY (Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 6). We first met the brooding, steely-eyed small town deputy sheriff in JACK (Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 2) when Jack Gordon is home at the Gordon family horse farm in Pigeon Hollow on a break from his Black Ops unit duties.

We get to enjoy Bobby Barton again in a larger role in JARED (Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 4) as Jared Gordon's best friend during the trying time when a Hollywood film crew moves in to focus on their tiny town. We get more of Bobby, and his protective side, as heroine Lizzie Barton's brother in COLE (Red, Hot, & Blue, Book 5).

Now Bobby gets his own tale, and his own girl, as we wrap up the continuing reality show sub-plot in Jared and Cole.

For the full Red, Hot, & Blue Series reading order go here.

On a side note, this past week I got notification that TEXAS TWO-STEP was up for Best  Erotic Western Romance in 2011. The voting is happening now through the end of March at The Romance Reviews. Long live cowboys! Now, back to Bobby...

BOBBY

When the reality TV cameras stop rolling, things really start to heat up. 

Deputy Sheriff Bobby Barton agrees to put up with a reality TV show in his town for two reasons: it’ll be good for local business, and the producers promise to keep out of his. Except the show keeps creeping into his personal life. Plus, against his better judgment, he finds himself hoping that the show’s assistant producer, Christy Dunne, will creep into his bed.

Christy never mixed business with pleasure, but Bobby has her breaking all her own rules. When she makes a decision that can cost her job, suddenly she’s scrambling to keep her career from crashing. Though landing in Bobby’s bed might make it worth all the uproar.

With cameras all over town, a meddling executive producer manipulating everyone’s lives, their own scruples getting in the way, and the show’s deadline looming, Bobby and Christy can’t think about love. Then again, how can they not?

This book has been previously published and has been revised from its original release. 

Warning: Contains one sexy, brooding, overprotective officer of the law who uses his handcuffs for more than catching criminals.

 Enjoy this EXCERPT from BOBBY-

The sun was just making its presence known in the eastern sky when Christy and her cameraman, John Fletcher—Fletch for short—pulled up and parked on the road in front of the Barton house.

Christy spared a moment to take a second glance at the peachy glow on the horizon. She didn’t see the sun rise in L.A. often. There was that one night her girlfriends took her out for her birthday and then to a diner for breakfast after the dance club closed. But she didn’t remember noticing the sunrise. No surprise there.

Fletch yawned. “You have no mercy, dragging a man out to work before his first cup of coffee.” The video camera balanced tenuously on his shoulder, making Christy want to put her hand up to steady it.

She put one finger to her lips. “Shhh. I want to sneak in and get him as he’s waking up.”

Fletch managed to raise a sleepy but suggestive-looking eyebrow. “You’re just hoping he’s naked.”

Christy frowned at him and opened the back door stealthily, hoping he didn’t notice she hadn’t denied the accusation.

It still amazed her how everyone around Pigeon Hollow left their doors unlocked. Once Mrs. Barton had assured her she was welcome to let herself in at anytime, day or night, she had begun to plan how to best capture Bobby without his being on guard because of the camera. Today’s little fishing excursion was the perfect excuse to sneak in and find the man right where she wanted him, in more ways than one—in bed. Which was why she was sneaking in just before five, when he’d told her to arrive by five-thirty.

She crept through the silent kitchen and down the hall to where she knew Bobby’s bedroom was. Mrs. Barton, the quintessential southern hostess, had given her a tour of the house on the first day. Bobby, unhappy Mandy had named him as a main character for the show, had scowled the entire time.

At first Christy had assumed Bobby’s reaction to her being privy to his home life was caused by embarrassment. After all, he had to be thirty, but he still lived with his parents in spite of having what appeared to be a good job. That was before Christy gleaned the real situation. Bobby was there to help raise his sister’s fatherless son, or formerly fatherless son. But that was a whole other story, one she’d had on tape, the tape she’d turned over to Bobby. The decision that would likely cost her job.

When she had realized that the reason Bobby wanted that tape was because he didn’t want his nephew or his sister exposed to the entire world, and not to protect his own reputation, she’d finally given it up to him. But the bonus side, which made up for the crap she’d taken from Mandy over it, was that he now owed her. He owed her big and she intended to collect.

Her heart started to beat a little faster when she reached Bobby’s closed bedroom door. She turned the knob tentatively, not knowing if this was the one door in Pigeon Hollow that would actually be locked.

It opened and her heart pounded harder as she stepped into the room lit by only the soft glow of early morning light creeping through the half-raised blinds.

Bobby slept with the two windows open, a fan propped in one, blowing on him where he lay on the bed. It figured he didn’t have an air conditioner in his room, even in the summer. Mr. Tough Guy wasn’t the type.

He slept face up, on top of the sheets, totally exposed and clad in only dark- colored boxer briefs. In the dimly lit room, Christy’s eyes widened. There was a lot of man contained in those briefs—long, thick, hard. She swallowed at the sight.

In hindsight, this had probably been a risky idea. She’d never considered he slept on top of the covers. What if the man had slept in the nude? She swallowed and was very aware that Fletch had begun filming next to her. The tape was rolling. Too late now.

She glanced back to the underwear and the man within them. Privately, she’d been torn as to whether this staunch public servant would be a boxer or a brief man. This morning had answered her question. His garment was neither and both at the same time, much like the man himself. Yes, Deputy Bobby—as Mandy called him—was a paradox all right.

Bobby stirred in his sleep. With a groan, he reached down and rubbed his impressively thick length through his underwear before rolling over onto his stomach and showing her his other asset. That side was just as nice to look at as the other. This man was definitely a two-sided coin, and both sides were equally attractive.

The red glowing numbers on the bedside alarm clock changed to 5:00 and a deafening beeping filled the room. Christy jumped. Fletch cursed. Bobby rolled over and slapped the button. Then he made Christy fear for her life, no exaggeration, since it seemed the deputy slept with his weapon. Or at least with it right next to his bed on the nightstand.

Gun drawn and wearing a glare that could kill without bullets, Bobby growled, “This here is a good way to get yourselves shot.”

With another withering glance in her direction, but without any sign of self- consciousness, he stood. He grabbed a pair of jeans off the bedside chair and strode into the hall on his way to what Christy assumed would be the bathroom.

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “You get all that, Fletch?”

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RERELEASE: BENEATH THE SURFACE

A multiauthor anthology I was in recently went out of print so what did I do? I brushed up the story, gave it a shiny new cover and uploaded it to the sites I haven't been shut out of (meaning all sites except Bookstrand).

It's my pleasure to reintroduce you to BENEATH THE SURFACE, my contemporary short story set in Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. Enjoy!

BENEATH THE SURFACE

Rick Jones is on a mission and the answers he seeks may lie deep beneath the streets of New York within the secrets of Grand Central Terminal. While Rick goes both undercover and underground in search of clues, he encounters a woman he finds just as intriguing as the mystery he’s working to solve.

Beth Cooke’s job as a conservation expert at the landmark train station gives Rick just the in he needs to explore areas otherwise off-limits to the public. He only hope Beth isn’t equally off-limits. Rick’s determined to both satisfy his desire for her and find the answers to his questions, but will Beth believe him when the truth is finally revealed?

This story has been previously published. It has been reedited from the original version.

15,000 words $. 99

Download at:

Amazon (Kindle)

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Smashwords (multiple formats)

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COWBOY LUST PAPERBACK PREORDER & COVER ART REVEAL

There's a reason Western romance novels never go out of fashion. The cowboy is an iconic figure embodying the dichotomy of the fiercely independent, earthy alpha male juxtaposed with the male as a nurturer and protector. Cowboys take care of their women in every possible way. Wild and wayward women are gentled by the scent of horse and cow and the sight of sun-kissed skin, the feel of work-hardened thighs and arms, and the sound of a deep-voiced Texas drawl. Contributors at the top of the Western romance genre, including Charlene Teglia, Randi Alexander, and Cat Johnson, have corralled here strong and memorable characters ranging from a rodeo star and a cop on horseback to a feisty female gunslinger. Traversing romantic settings from Montana, Texas, California, Mexico, and the Outback of Australia, the stories in Cowboy Lust are risky and risqué, full of studs in spurs hot enough to send you to a vacation on a dude ranch!

~

With a forward by Lorelei James, 15 hot cowboy stories by 15 different authors, and edited by Delilah Devlin, this paperback is sure to pack a punch.

~

PREORDER from Amazon.com NOW & have the paperback in your hands on the August 14, 2012 release date

TEXAS TWO-STEP: COWBOY SHUFFLE

So my mother just called to say "You didn't put up a new post about Cowboy Shuffle. Doesn't it release today?"

Yes, it does, and even though it's all over Twitter, and Facebook, and the ARe Cafe, and Google+, and on my landing page here at the site, and in the ARe Wildfire newsletter, and at the Wild & Wicked Cowboy blog, on top of a few other blogs where the owners were kind enough to feature me, it wasn't here on my own blog. So yes, Mother, you are right, it should be on here too because there are some, I'm sure, who count this as their one stop shopping for all news Cat Johnson. So here it is, the official announcement that indeed, today is the release of Texas Two-Step:Cowboy Shuffle, which is the sequel to last year's Texas Two-Step.

Now for the good news/bad news.

No, it's not coming to Amazon or BN. My apologies. All Romance, who put out the book, decided to make it an exclusive so it is only available at AllRomance.com right now, but like Texas Two-Step, it will be soon uploaded to the iBookstore to be read in the iBooks app on iPads, iPod Touches and iPhones. Install the free iBooks App on your iDevice (I just made up that word, works nicely though, doesn't it? LOL) and then go to the STORE tab, then do a search by entering in the top right field Cat Johnson and all my titles available on the iBookstore will appear. My free read "Cat Snips" is there so you can practice on a free book without fear if you are an iBooks virgin.

The good news is ARe sells multiple formats so books purchased there in ePub can be easily sideloaded onto Nooks or iBooks, PDFs can be read on computers or multiple eReaders, and the Mobi format can be loaded to a Kindle. I also know you can somehow add your Kindle email address to ARe and click "Send to my Kindle" on books in your library at ARe and they will magically fly to your Kindle. (One hint, you may need to turn the Kindle off then on again to see the new books). There are FAQs for all this at ARe, and I have worked personally with the customer service folks there as well, and they are every helpful and understanding.

More good news is that there are NO geographical restrictions at ARe. If you have an email address, you can download an eBook. Unlike Amazon, it doesn't matter what country you're in. You can be in the space shuttle, or deployed to Afghanistan, or even living in Canada (shh, don't tell Amazon, they like to restrict what you Canucks read), but as long as you have internet access and an email address you can sign up for a free ARe account and download both free and paid books from the site.

So that's it. Your new release post is up. Yes, I was being lazy, Mother was right--but isn't she always? LOL

Gotta go. Mom is back on the phone confused on how to get the book to her Kindle once again...

"Go to the ARe site, log in, click on the Library tab,  find the book in your list then click Send to Kindle...Yes, Mother, call me back if that doesn't work."

Ring, ring

"It's still not here."

"Turn it off then back on again."

"Okay, I shut it off, now back on... nope still not--oh wait, there it is! Thank you."

"Yes, Mother. You're welcome."