Rachel Carrington

You know, I first thought this was going to be too much of a young adult movie so I stayed away from it. In fact, I didn’t watch it at all until this week. I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it because I ordinarily don’t enjoy young adult movies. That’s just me. But I was definitely wrong about this one.

Stephanie Meyer has created some pretty amazing characters, and they really come alive on the big screen. I found myself rooting for them, doubting them, and becoming more and more worried about them. When an author can make you care about the characters, she has succeeded as a writer. And I cared about Bella and Edward, although, I’ll admit at first I didn’t like Edward. He grew on me.

I know I’ll be heading to the theater for the sequel, Twilight: New Moon, which releases on November 20, 2009. If you haven’t seen the trailer, you can look it up on Hulu.com. (Which is another site I’m addicted to—nothing like being able to see your favorite tv program if you forgot to record it!)

At any rate, I guess I can now officially categorize myself as a fan girl of Twilight. The one thing that does comfort me is knowing I’m not alone.

Writing erotica.

I’ve come to realize there are a lot of things in life I just don’t want to do anymore. Writing erotica is one of them. So just like that, I’m stopping. Why? Because, quite frankly, I’m simply tired of it. I want to challenge myself more, to take risks with my writing, to write outside the box, so to speak, and that may mean I might stray away from writing romance altogether. I’m not sure. I just know, for now, I’m stopping.

I have two more erotica books under contract, one with Ellora’s Cave and the other with Cerridwen Press. I won’t submit any more manuscripts, and when those contracts are up, I’m done.  I hope you’ll continue to read what I do write and enjoy it as much as you’ve enjoyed my work so far.

Hey, folks!

Breaking the Spell released from Ellora’s Cave today!  This book has been a long time coming since it was contracted by EC in 2005.

 This is the third book in the Hot Magic Series, the first two being Indigo Spell and Unchained Spell. Here’s the direct link: http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419920943.   While you’re there, you can click on the excerpt. Oh, and yes, this book was previously released in 2004, but it has been seriously reworked (My EC editor wasn’t playing around!), and a lot of changes have been made. I can’t imagine you’ll notice much from the first book, maybe less than 10%!

Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think by posting a note on my Yahoo Group!

Talk to you later!

Hey, folks,

It looks like I’ll be attending the New Jersey Romance Writers “Put Your Heart in a Book” Conference October 23-24th. If you don’t know about the conference, you can check it out here:  http://www.njromancewriters.org/conference.asp. A lot of great authors are attending, and the workshops sound incredible.

I’m fortunate that I have a friend who’s invited me to stay with her (she lives in New York), and since I’ve never been to New York, it’s the perfect opportunity to visit the city as well. So I’m looking forward to it! If any of you are attending, please post a note to my newsletter group as I’d love to arrange to meet you!

Until next time…

There were so many costumed people at the Superman Festival, and I wish I could have gotten more pictures of them. Alas, the streets were jam-packed, and it was difficult to snag more than a couple at a time. At any rate, here are a few more pictures taken while I was in Metropolis, IL. All of you Superman fans will be happy to see The Daily Planet sign that has a prominent position outside the museum.

Hi, folks,

I just got back from vacation in St. Louis. I went to the Arch and the St. Louis Zoo and then we took some day trips to Metropolis, IL and Paducah, KY. Didn’t get any pictures from Paducah, but I took lots in Metropolis as the Superman Festival was underway. Lots of people were out in costume, and it was hilarious! I’ll post those later. For now, here are some pics of the Arch and the surrounding areas.

Ashton’s eyes widened, and her heart began to thump hard against her breastbone. “Murder?” Her voice squeaked. “Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“Weren’t you just listening? There are things I’m not supposed to talk about outside my office!”

“Well, you took a big chance! You can’t just wave a marriage certificate in someone’s face and think they’re automatically going to drop the guy they’re with!” Ashton shouted back at him.

Silence fell.

“Wait, that didn’t come out right.” She rubbed her face with her hands before peeking at

“Cross my heart.” He made the symbol as they’d done when they were kids. Then he smiled at her. “I’m just glad you’re okay. When I saw

Ashton rubbed her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her to the sofa she’d gotten on sale at Pier One Imports. “Here. Sit down. Do you want some water?”

She harrumphed. “Why do people always assume an upset person requires water? Do I look dehydrated to you?”

He took hold of her hand. “Actually, you look beautiful.”

With a sniff, she turned her head to look at him. “I do?”

“Yeah, you do.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever said that to me before.”

“That’s because you’ve always been Daniel’s little sister.”

She squinted at him. “Always?”

The tips of his ears turned red. “I guess I should go.” He smacked his knees before standing. “Are you going to be all right?”

He was nervous. The thought set her to wondering. Why would Chad Kelsey, the most self-assured man she knew, be nervous around her? She pressed her back into the cushions and pondered.

Could Monica have been right? No. Surely, she would have realized it long before now. Although, she’d never been quick on the uptake when it came to

Sexy? Where had that come from? She’d never considered him sexy before. At least not in conscious thought. He was always just

“You haven’t said why you came here tonight,” Ashton pointed out with a studious look up at his chiseled profile.

“Oh, that. Well, I just wanted to see if you were all right.”

“And you didn’t want to use the phone?”

He looked even more uncomfortable. “I-that’s-never mind. I’m going to go.”

Ashton stood up and caught hold of his arm. “Thanks for being worried about me.”

He covered her hand with his. “I’ll always worry about you, Ashton. Your safety is very important to me.”

“Why’s that?” She took a step closer to him and caught a whiff of that manly soap she’d always loved. It made her toes tingle.

He turned to face her fully and palmed her face. “Because you’re important to me.”

His pupils dilated, and Ashton saw his head dip lower. “

“Hmmm?”

“Are you going to kiss me?”

He hesitated. “Do you want me to kiss you?”

“Why, yes, I believe I do.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “But you do realize this may change things between us. I mean, once you kiss someone there’s no going back. If it’s a good kiss, that’s one thing, but if it’s a bad kiss?”

“Ashton,”

And she melted. It was definitely a good kiss. More than good. It was better than eating chocolate-covered cherries in the bed while watching Gone with the Wind.

He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

Her body was tingling in all sorts of places. “Yeah? Then why haven’t you done it?”

“Because you’ve been too busy with guys like Rex.”

She locked her arms around his neck. “Rex who?”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

She ran her hand under water and fixed her eyes on his angry face. Why hadn’t she noticed before how dark his eyes got when he was in a temper? His hair she’d always noticed. Thick and black, it curled against his collar, giving the ruthless district attorney a boyish air.

“Ashton.”

“Why are you so upset? I was giving Rex the boot.” After drying her hands on a paper towel, she tapped the marriage certificate with one finger. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you yesterday.”

Planting both hands on the counter facing her,

“Actually, you gave it to, Monica, and I had to let him know why I was dumping him. That’s the first rule of dating. You don’t just dump someone without telling them why. I mean, honestly, don’t you even know the ins and outs of dating?”

“So does that mean you’re not going to see him again?”

“What does dumping mean to you?” She turned and leaned against the counter. “Now do you want to tell me the real reason you had it in for him?”

“He’s married.” The hedge was evident in his voice.

“Yeah, but you would have told me that to my face if that was all it was. I saw the look on your face yesterday. There’s more.” She waggled her fingers. “So out with it.”

Checking her cabinets for medication, Ashton paused to look over her shoulder.  “What? Bond? For what?” Forgetting all about

 “That’s why I gave you the marriage certificate. I thought that would convince you to stay away.”

“You gave it to Monica,” she corrected again.

“Ashton.” His teeth snapped, or at least that’s what it sounded like.

“So he’s out on bond for…” She let the sentence hang.

“I’m not supposed to reveal that,” he hedged.

“Oh, knock that off. I know what color underwear you wear on Fridays. Just tell me.”

“Flowers!” Ashton met Rex at the door with a smile on her face. She’d had a hard time deciding what to wear, and after an hour, had finally settled on the red sheath with the slits up both sides. It showed flashes of her legs when she walked, and by the look on Rex’s face, she knew she’d chosen well.

She swung the door wider. “Come on in.”

Rex sauntered in, smelling like cigarette smoke. “You look sexy as hell.”

He actually thought he was going to get lucky! Ashton tried not to grimace. She’d only brought him here for a well-deserved lesson. She hadn’t wanted to believe

Rex really was married. The bastard. Well, nothing like a lesson you buy and pay for yourself.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” All smiles and little giggles, Ashton sashayed toward the kitchen, feeling his eyes on her rump.

“Actually.” His voice was close behind…too close. “What I’d like is some of this.” He yanked her close against his chest, so he could wrap his arms around her. “Isn’t that what you want?”

She wrinkled her nose. Why hadn’t she noticed the cloying scent of his cologne when she’d kissed him outside her front door? “I thought I wanted it…at least I did last night.”

He gave her a sly grin. “So what changed in the last twelve hours?”

Ashton swiped the damning piece of evidence off the kitchen counter and waved it in his face. “I discovered this.”

His face turned a ghastly color gray which only slightly mollified her. “Where did you get that?” The words came out hoarsely, like he’d had a sore throat for days.

“I never reveal my sources.” She pointed toward the door. “Now, get the hell out of my house, and thank you for the flowers.” Common courtesy dictated she add that.

Anger flashed in Rex’s eyes, and for a moment, Ashton thought she was going to have to use one of those neat little moves she’d learned just last week in kick-boxing class. But then he backed off, hands up in the air. “Okay, fine. I don’t hang around where I’m not wanted.”

“Thank God,” she muttered underneath her breath. Although, he was a good kisser. That was a little disappointing.

The front door slammed shut, and Ashton carried the roses to the sink and began shoving them into the garbage disposal.

“What in the hell was Rex Hammond doing here?”

The voice startled her, and with a shriek, she whipped around. A thorn gouged her palm, and she cursed as tiny drops of blood gathered on her skin. “

Chad saw her coming, and he knew from the look on her face, Ashton wasn’t happy. He braced himself for impact, looking up from his desk with a benign smile.

His office door reverberated with the slam. Ashton stormed forward and slapped her purse down on the edge of his desk. “What right do you have to go poking around into my love life?”

He sat back and stacked his hands behind his head. She wore a silk, purple blouse which enhanced her green eyes. God, she was beautiful. “By poking around I assume you mean the production of Rex Hammond’s marriage certificate?”

Her blonde hair swung forward, creating a silky curtain across her face. “That’s exactly what I mean.” Her eyes narrowed. “So what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” She began to tap one foot against the expensive rug lining the hardwood floor.

Did she even know what the fire in her eyes did to him? He stood, forcing himself to think of baseball, the weather, tires, anything which would take his mind off the woman standing in front of him.

“Ashton, the guy is a bum. You need to stay away from him.” In reality, Rex Hammond was far more than just a bum, but he figured the less she knew, the better. Hopefully, the marriage certificate would be enough to quell her interest in him.

Her breath hissed out from between clenched teeth. “Did you really think I’d believe Rex was married just because you have a certificate which could have been manufactured anywhere?”

His jaw clenched. “It’s the truth.”

“Well, I don’t believe it. Now, I want you to stop telling me who I need to stay away from. You’re driving me nuts.”

He came around from behind the desk. “Isn’t that what friends are for?” Unable to resist the urge to touch her, he brushed a lock of her hair away from her cheek.

Ashton grasped his wrist and looked into his eyes. “You’re impossible. I don’t know what my brother saw in you as a best friend.”

“Hey! Daniel has very good taste, and,” he fixed the collar of her shirt, “he did ask me to keep an eye on you when he moved to Boston.”

She pushed away from him and stormed to the door. “Keep an eye doesn’t mean stalk.”

The door banged against the wall, and Chad grimaced, knowing he’d catch an earful from his secretary, but it was worth it if Ashton stayed away from Rex Hammond.