Up Close and…In the Flesh

Hope reads from EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE at In the Flesh.
Hope reading at In the Flesh.

I may write the naughty bits, I do write them, but never ever do I read Those Parts aloud. Until last night, that is.

Last night I slipped on my stilettos and stepped out of my comfort zone to read at “In the Flesh,” New York City’s premiere monthly erotica reading series hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Orgasmic, Fast Girls, Please, Sir).

Fittingly, the group meets at Happy Ending Lounge (302 Broome Street) in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The bar, housed in a former massage parlor complete with tile sauna rooms, now party coves, is certain to fascinate both architectural history buffs and the purely prurient of heart. Or both.

In_the_Flesh_Guest_Authors_Aug_19_2010My fellow readers were Abigail Ekue (The Darker Side of Lust), Hilary Thayer Hamann (Anthropology of an American Girl), Yona Zeldis McDonough (Breaking the Bank), Tony O’Neill (Sick City), Michelle Janine Robinson (Color Me Grey), and filmmaker Therese Schecter (How To Lose Your Virginity).

Since the theme was “Sex on the Beach,” I read a steamy (for me) lagoon lovemaking scene from Every Breath You Take, set in contemporary Belize.

But first I had a glass of wine. Okay, two.

In_the_Flesh_Crowd#2Along with the sexy snippets, there were miniature Baked by Melissa cupcakes, candy and chips, all free.

After five years, In the Flesh is closing its boudoir doors after December 16th, so if you like erotica and you’re in New York City, definitely check out it out. Meet-ups are on the third Thursday of the month. Admission is free. Cash bar.

Happy Valentine’s Day & Congrats Contest Winners

What better way to ring in the Day of Hearts and Flowers than by announcing good news?

((Okay, well maybe I can think of an even better way, but I do try to keep the blog-o-zine at the PG-13 level)).

Congratulations to my three latest contest winners: Jean M of Broomfield, CO; Patricia B of Jonesborough, TN; and Jessica P of Norman, OK. Like so many of you who entered, these savvy ladies knew that in Every Breath You Take…, for years Cole has been rooting for Alex to finish that novel.

Each winner will each receive an Untamed coverflat keepsake and a signed copy of Strokes of Midnight.

Didn’t win this time ’round? In love and life, there’s almost a second chance lurking around the corner. Check out my current Contest and see how you can win and yes, Share the Love with women working to build independent lives.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hope

Live from New York, It’s Lady Jane’s!

Our Lady Jane’s Salon, Manhattan’s first (and so far only) reading series devoted to romance fiction goes lives tonight. Featured authors are Andrea Pickens and yes, this Hope Tarr chick. In the spirit of ramping up for Valentine’s Day, we’ll be reading from our latest steamy romance releases and engaging in witty repartee during the Q&A.

I’m happy to report the buzz is well, buzzing. So far we’ve made TIME OUT NEW YORK, Yelp.com, and Eventful.com. Romance Novel TV will be on hand to cover the event as will Publishers’ Weekly’s own beloved romance Blog Mistress, Barbara Vey.

If you’re in the Big Apple Tonight and looking for a recession-buster outing to brighten the Monday Blues, join us at Madame X, 94 West Houston from 7-9 PM. $5 or one gently-used paperback romance novel gets you in, with proceeds to benefit Share The Love. Can you say “Oy vey and what a deal?”

Hope

Congratulations, Contest Winners!

Christmas and Hanukkah may be over, but you’d never know it around here. Many thanks to all of you who stopped by my guest blog and contest at FreshFiction. The topic was The One Who Got Away, the book was Every Breath You Take… and the conversation was lively to say the least.

Congratulations to my three contest winners: Crystal B of Williamsburg, KY; Cindy M of San Diego, CA; and Jennifer M of Oklahoma City, OK. Your signed copies of my New Year’s themed Harlequin Blaze Strokes of Midnight are on their way to you along with cover flat keepsakes for Untamed, the finale to my “Men of Roxbury House” trilogy.

And of course I always have my regular contest running here at the site, so if you haven’t already, please take a moment to click on over and enter to win.

Hope

Ps Tomorrow, the 15th, I’ll be blogging at The Pink Heart Society, so please don’t be a stranger!

Blogging Today at Fresh Fiction

I’m blogging today at FreshFiction. The topic is one that seems to resonate with a lot of us: The One Who Got Away, so if you have two ticks, please stop on over and say hi. I’ll be giving away three signed copies of Strokes of Midnight to three winners who post.

Hope

Congratulations Contest Winners!

Congratulations to my first contest winners of 2009: Elaine C-D of Ormond Beach, FL, Madelina R of Parlin, NJ, and Dianna H of Newark, OH, all of whom knew that Belmopan is the location of the resort in Belize where Cole and Alex stay in Every Breath You Take…

Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter. Prize packages with copies of my New Year’s themed Harlequin Blaze, Strokes of Midnight and cover flat keepsakes for Untamed, the finale to my “Men of Roxbury House” trilogy are on the way to the winners “as we speak.”

Didn’t win this time ’round? No worries. My new contest is posted with a new question but a repeat of the same fun prizes.

Hope

Happy New Year

2008 has been an amazing year for me. Highlights include a move to Manhattan, my first but definitely not last trip to Ireland and yes, the release of two more novels, Bound to Please and now Every Breath You Take...

Many thanks to all of you who stopped by Book Talk with J&J yesterday to chat with me about Every Breath You Take… Among those who visited to cheer me on were bestselling writer buddies, Jacquie D’Alessandro and Tony and Lori Karayianni w/a Tori Carrington. Never doubt that the romance writing community harbours some of the kindest and most generous souls on the planet. And congratulations to my three prize winners: Elaine (Lainey), Sara H, and Sarah T. I hope you enjoy my New Year’s themed Blaze, Strokes of Midnight.

In the spirit of ringing in the new, I’ll be blogging at FreshFiction.com on Monday, January 12th, and yes, there will be at least one of my back list books offered as a give-away prize. Please check my web site’s Media + Events page for event listings throughout the year.

Finally, thanks to all of you who’ve taken up my Holiday Goodness Challenge to benefit the ASPCA. Donation receipts are rolling in, but we’re not to our goal of $100 quite yet, and I have copies of Vanquished still to give away. In these tough times, your generous $10 gift means more than ever before.

Wherever you are tonight and however you choose to celebrate…

May 2009 be a year of fairy tale dreams come-true.

Hope

Congratulations, Contest Winners

Congratulations to Tracey T of Gassaway, WV, Karen H of Colorado Springs, CO, and Jessica P of Norman, OK who knew that in Every Breath You Take, Cole saw that the old Alex was still there from the glimmer in her eyes.

The three winners will each receive coverflat keepsakes for my Victorian-set historical, Untamed and TWO signed copies of Strokes at Midnight — my winter holiday Blaze — one for themselves and one inscribed to a person of the winner’s choosing, perfect for a sweet and easy holiday gift.

And if you didn’t win this time ’round, don’t despair. Check out my new contest, which just started yesterday.

Let the merry making begin…

Hope

The One Who Got Away

The One Who Got Away…We all have one, which is to say a “The One.” You know what or rather who I mean. The O-N-E. Maybe he was your first love or your first big love. Maybe he was both. Maybe you broke up with him–but I’m betting my next book advance he broke up with you. Maybe you never really had him in the first place…but again, I’m betting you did. At least long enough for a part of him to sink into your psyche and your soul. Like that tattoo you rethink years later, you can obliterate the image but not the experience. That shiny white scar is yours–for keeps.

Only by definition The One Who Got Away isn’t a keeper, or at least he hasn’t been so far. And yet who among us hasn’t been moved by those real-life stories of high school sweethearts who find each other on ClassMates.com or reunion night after years, decades apart and fall in love all over again, even marry, in mid- and sometimes late life?

In Every Breath You Take, my January Harlequin Blaze release, former FBI Special Agent Cole Whittaker and microbiologist Alexandra–Alex–Kendall meet again after five painful years apart. Like so many real life reunions, theirs is completely unexpected, the circumstances far from ideal. Alex is about to marry another man, the same man who’s hired Cole as a bodyguard to escort her on her upcoming overseas business trip. Crazy in love with her, Cole still can’t envision his life having room in it for more than The Job. And yet they have a chance, a slim one, to get it right this time: four days of 24/7, up close-and-personal togetherness in steamy Belize.

I hope you enjoy my newly posted sneak peek excerpt — it’s only going to be on my site for a blink of time, to be replaced by a more permanent excerpt in a bit, so don’t let it get away. When you get two ticks, please post a little note to let me know what you think. Or feel free to share a snippet of your One Who Got Away story, especially if he didn’t stay away forever. Happily Ever Afters, we like those around here. 🙂

Hope