New Review Found!!!

Okay, so I engaged in the ultimate nerdiness and Googled myself the other day. And while that, in itself, was worth the giggles, the outcome was worth the effort!

RRT Erotic posted a review on Dance With Me from Torrid Teasers Volume 12 and Best of Torrid Teasers Volume 1. Here's what they had to say:

Returning to their alma mater, Olivia Collins and James Markham find out they are going to be dancing together as they did in college. Olivia is still in love with James and with just one moment in his presence all the feelings come rushing back. However, she won't let it show. She's got her own successful career and doesn't need to rehash old memories. James is thrilled to see Olivia but her cold shoulder treatment is ticking him off. Two can play that game. But can two people who were deeply in love once find that love again as they dance together once more?

"Dance With Me" is a wonderfully sweet romance, with lots of heat, between the lead protagonists. Ms. Chapman does a great job of giving enough background on James and Olivia so that even though it's a short story, the reader feels connected from the start.

TORRID TEASERS VOLUME 12 is exciting, steamy, and a fun read.

Yay!!! Betcha don't think that was so nerdy after all now, do you?

A New Review for "Dance"

I'm so excited!!! Torrid Teasers, Volume 12 received a fabulous review from The Romance Studio - 4-1/2 hearts!!!

At the risk of sounding too vain, here's what reviewer LindaL had to say about "Dance":

"Dance with Me": Olivia Collins, dance teacher, hasn't forgotten James. As her best friend and dance partner, they shared an insurmountable closeness. Their life together was filled with the blissful art of dance, on the stage and off. She loved him with an awe-consuming passion until he left, breaking her heart. James Markham was certain Olivia would be the last person he would ever see again. Because of his actions, he wondered would she ever forgive him. Fate has a way of bringing the two lost lovers back together when a mix-up in a student's choreographer's schedule puts them together at their alma mater. James has one chance to prove his love for her still abounds and he can only hope that Olivia will give him the opportunity to remind her of those feelings that once captured them on and off the dance floor back into each other's heart.

"Dance with Me" is full of romance that carries the reader into a poignant travel from love, to disloyalty, to romance and discovering true love all over again. It was as if Olivia and James were soul mates carrying a torch for the other that has not been forgotten. I loved how Olivia counted the days they had been apart. One can practically feel the tension between the two. Mary Ongjoco Chapman has a way of stirring the reader's heart and allowing the characters to actually dance from the pages and emit in-depth emotions.

Torrid Teasers Volume 12: Dance With Me & Love in the Bahamas by Mary Ongjoco Chapman & Cassi Armstrong are two tales of romance that arouse and engage the reader. With a few turn of events, these stories do not disappoint.

Yep, can you tell I'm thrilled? Du-uh!! We've had some great reviews on these stories, but this one's the icing on the cake!

"Dance" can be found in e-book format only in Torrid Teasers, Vol. 12: Dance With Me and Love in the Bahamas from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid or in print or e-book format The Best of Torrid Teasers Volume 1, a collection of the best Teasers from 2006.

The Best of!

I just got the hard copy of The Best of Torrid Teasers, Volume 1 in the mail yesterday.

Whoa. I mean, yeah, I knew I was in some fierce company with this group of writers, but my God, do I feel like a small fish. A very itty, bitty one about thisbig.

Now, I've known since, oh, I think late October that this was happening, but it hadn't seem quite real back then. So the other day, when I mentioned to a fellow writer which people were being featured in The Best of..., she said, "Wow. You're in with some pretty heavy hitters in that lineup." (I think she may have had baseball on the brain, hence the terminology)

So, yeah, I knew. But until I read through all the other stories last night, the reality of it all didn't hit me just how heavy those hitters really were.

The ten stories range in "spice," but all deal with sex and love and sex while in love. Some I enjoyed more than others, some were written better than others, but all were tantalizing and made me bond with the characters on some level. If I do say so myself.

Which still makes me wonder, How in the world did I get in a book with them? Trust me, it's mind-boggling.

On the one hand, knowing that I was able to take my place with those talented writers is prompting me to "up" my level of writing. On the other hand, it's making me wonder if I can tempt fate with success, thus proving that lightning can strike twice (modern science says that it is possible, btw).

So, I'm taking a good, hard look at some stories I've been working on. I've got some good ideas on how to make one in particular fly off thepage. Let's see if I can keep this good streak going, and maybe get some contracts in '07, eh?

Cross your fingers -- I'll need all the good vibes I can get.


MySpace Comments Graphics

Kickin' back, gettin' ready to write...

So, I've still got Jay D. Henley's CD Perfectly Normal playing right now--guess you'd say I'm still in a country sorta mood--and I'm trying to motivate myself to write. Still have a ways to go on the stories under construction, but I've a good idea where at least one of them is going. That's a change.

People ask where my story ideas come from. Well, Perfectly Normal is a good place to start. Jay Henley's got a rich baritone voice that wraps around you with the suppleness of a favorite leather jacket or that spreads through you like the slow, warm burn after a shot of smooth whiskey.

I love voices. Love how it gets laden with emotion or wrought with frustration. Love the highs and lows of the pitch. Love the roughness or smoothness of its timbre. And just the right voice sparks a story in my mind.

Every time I hear Jay Henley's voice, I think, "Now that's a voice to seduce a woman. That's a voice to win a woman's heart. That's a voice that would inspire a woman to surrender body and soul to a man, and yet demand the same surrender in return."

Faith Hill's voice inspires me that way, too. The clarity and exactness in her voice and expression speaks to me of a woman who loves with her whole heart and soul.

Dolly Parton's voice indicates she's a woman who tells it like it is, knows without apology who she is and where she's from, and isn't afraid to live life to the fullest--even if others don't understand why.

Celine Dion? Not so much. Can't stand listening to her. It's the equivalent of dragging fingernails down a chalkboard.

James Brown? Good God, y'all...shoot me now, why don't you.

Anyway, so people's voices inspire the formation of my characters and, subsequently, my stories. My characters often tell me where the storyline is headed, even if I hadn't intended on going that way in the first place, and so often they're bang on.

Welcome Back!!!

Well, so obviously I'm not the world's best blogger. If I were, I would've posted something more recently than *sic* September 2006. I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I'll try to do better in 2007.

In the meantime, I've had a new release come out this month. My Torrid Teaser "Dance With Me" was re-released by Whiskey Creek Press Torrid in The Best of Torrid Teasers, Vol. 1. This book gathers ten of the best Teasers from 2006, and presents them in a single volume for your reading and collecting pleasure. It's available in both e-book and print format, so order plenty! In the meantime, here's an exerpt:

This week had been torture. Plain and simple.

Each day Olivia had left the dance studio, her body humming from the sensual onslaught she endured while they learned and perfected the intricate steps of Deanna’s dances. Six hours a day of James’ body pressed flush to hers, leaving her skin on fire from his touch.

His unique scent mingled with sweat, aftershave, and, yes, sex. She forced herself to concentrate on the dance as his hands circled her waist as she danced en pointe and he lifted her high, holding her steady when her legs were anything but. She reveled in the sound of his laughter, warm and inviting, over silly mistakes that they made. Her body heated when she noticed the glow in his eyes as he watched during her pas seul. She nearly burned up completely from the simmering heat as they danced the sultry tango.

It was almost as if they were back in college, almost as if they were still friends.

Still lovers.

Six hours a day for three days straight of James Markham’s hands. His scent. His laugh. It was enough to turn any woman into a sex-starved maniac. No wonder every day she rushed back to her hotel suite, jumped directly into the shower, and played with herself until she moaned her release.

Exactly what she had done before he pounded on her door.

Okay, so coming by oneself was only marginally fulfilling, but what else could she do? Jump him and fuck him silly? Yeah, right.

It didn’t help to have him here, in her room. Not when the low hum in her body, which had haunted her all week after spending six hours a day with him, just kicked into a full-blown buzz.

Olivia returned his intense gaze. She flicked her eyes to the hands still gripping her arms and wished for a split-second that his hands were doing more than just holding her. Her whole body ached to give itself over to him, to surrender to him, to feel his arms wrapped around her once again. And God, it was getting harder by the minute to keep from giving in.

So that's a little teaser for you. So, click on Whiskey Creek Press Torrid and order your copy, already!

Perfectly Normal

I've turned into a country music fan. Well, er, almost.

CD Babyrecommended an up-and-coming country singer named Jay D. Henley and his CD, Perfectly Normal. And I've been listening to it constantly!

Is this weird? Yes -- for me, it's weird. Why? Because we're talking about the same person who just sang a concert of music from the Gilded Age, and who has been (until recently) singing/screaming/blaring Green Day's American Idiot CD for weeks on end.

And believe me, my stepdaughter has been thrilled that I've been pseudo-punking out with her, curse words and all.

But...gosh. What to say about Jay Henley? His voice is all country and downright gorgeous. Totally down-home and smooth, like a longneck and a whiskey chaser.

It's easy to hear why a girl'd fall in love with his voice.

So, if you're in the mood for traditional country sound by a killer singer, pick up Perfectly Normal by Jay D. Henley.

Music for the moment

I am a sucker for a love song. There--I've freely admitted it. *sigh*
And I further admit that I'm becoming a bit of a techno-geek. Well, to a point. But perhaps that's a subject for a later blog.

Anyway, I've got to tell you about this great CD I just bought: Clark Country by Steve and Doug Clark. They're a pair of country music songwriters, who issued an EP in 2004. I stumbled across their song "Sometimes" when I opened Yahoo! Musicmatch Jukebox on the new laptop I purchased this past February. Okay, okay--so it's taken me a while to explore what's on my machine. Big deal.

So, I clicked on their ballad "Sometimes," and I almost started crying. Really. Perhaps hormones had a hand in my emotional state, but this happens each time I listen to it, and I'm just struck over and over by the beauty of the song itself.

The music itself is gorgeous in its simplicity. The lyrics are just as beautiful. Together, they're astounding. Uncomplicated in its composition, unfettered by unnecessary orchestration, this song is, in a word, touching. It's played by a typical country combo (sounds like synth/piano, drums, bass, guitar), the singer--I'm not sure if it's Steve or Doug--has an honest, pure quality to his tone, and (I'm a stickler for this) I can understand every damn word he's singing. His diction is fabulous.

I absolutely love this song and this CD.

"Just when you think your heart won't mend, it's love that finds you in the end." That's the last line of the refrain to "Sometimes." And it's so true. And it's nudging me to make a story out of it, but I need to wait until Alecto's story is finished.

Of course I had to send a fan e-mail to Doug Clark; I am, after all, a performer in my own right, and appreciate the kind words others have given me, so I understand how important this is to other performers. Doug was gracious enough to email me back, and suggested that he and his brother might be able to do a longer CD in the future, perhaps adding to this one. I, for one, will definitely purchase it.

If you're in the mood for some honest-to-God excellent country music, I encourage you to click on CD Baby and pick up Clark Country.

Another Review in for "Dance!"

Romance Junkieshas given "Dance With Me" a 3.5 Blue Ribbon rating!!! Thanks to Deborah Kimpton for her gracious review!

"DANCE WITH ME tells the story of Olivia Collins and James Markham: college pals, best friends and then lovers. They have spent more than six years apart and on different sides of the world. Ms. Ongjoco Chapman shows us in this book that love prevails -- no matter what the circumstances.

"The end of their relationship meant heartbreak for Olivia, who has almost subconsciously followed James and his every move over the years. She has been a tortured soul ever since their separation and only found comfort in her work as a dance teacher. He, meanwhile, seems to have flourished. Now the pair have been brought together to dance once more and it would appear that some things can never be forgotten.

"Set against the backdrop of an arts center opening, the story follows Olivia and James as they work together by day and yearn for each other by night. We discover whether or not true love really can survive the first flush of youth and the passing of time. The story is a gentle reminder that, though we can make mistakes in our youth, we may be able to put things right somewhere along the line. The author is clearly a woman who believes that love will find a way even if you have to travel over a few bumps in the road to get there. I found this to be an enjoyable story containing amusing little touches that I think most women will relate to."

By Romance Junkies Reviewer: Deborah Kimpton

All I can say is...wow.

"Dance With Me in Torrid Teasers, Volume 12...now available from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid. Download your copy today.