Pin ups

I have always been a fan of vintage pin up art. Gorgeous, voluptuous women being playful or seductive or just plain naïve. A year or so ago, I came across a wonderful new [to me] pin up named Hilda by Duane Bryers ... and I fell in love with her! I hope she brings as much joy to you as she does to me.

On the record ...

I recently did an interview for my Smashwords profile. Check it out here.

Joyous Holidays!

All my fiction titles are $.99 until December 31, 2014!

You can find them all at the Books tab on my Website, though some of the sellers are lagging a bit. They are definitely all available for $.99 at my Smashwords profile. Happy reading!

Simple joys

Waiting at a red light the other day, I was kind of daydreaming and staring off into space ... I was a passenger, so this was okay. Anyway, there were two women walking at a leisurely pace along the sidewalk, probably age fifty-five and seventy years or so. I looked at the younger woman, her expression was so stern, almost angry. I met her eyes with my own ... and smiled.

She smiled in return. The simple gesture transforming her face from average to lovely. Her features suddenly seemed animated and young, and her dark eyes sparkled.

The light changed and we drove on.

Her smile is still vivid in my mind days later. Such a simple thing. I smiled at her ... and she gave me joy. What a beautiful gift.

Release Date!

How Does Your Garden Grow?, Book 2 in the Bedtime Stories series, will release on Tuesday, May 20!

I am thrilled to introduce this beautiful couple to the world!

In the past, Mary has struggled to find a romantic connection with various men, but the chemistry simply wasn't there. After being dumped at dinner, she is invited by her long time friend to explore the possibility that there is a very valid reason for the lack of chemistry in her previous relationships.

How Does Your Garden Grow? is a short sexy tale of discovery. Come with Mary as she finds her very own extraordinary "pretty maid" among a field of ordinary "cockle shells".

Oh my!!

(c) Rosemary Gunn

It's been a long time since I've posted here!! Many apologies to my one reader. Laugh!!

A little Monday musing ...

Eventually you need to look at yourself and decide whether you will stagnate in the cesspool or walk out of the shit and become the beautiful human you are. Today is that day. You can do it.

Finishing up a couple projects. Will return soon.

Mary, Mary ...

Mary Teak has struggled with relationships for years. When one date ends in a rather humiliating manner, her friend Brenna sets a plan in motion that will allow Mary to figure out once and for all the reason behind her contrariness. Here's a tiny snippet from "How Does Your Garden Grow?" Book 2 in the Bedtime Stories series:

Mary wasn’t certain what may have passed across her face, but this felt like an invitation for more than “girl time”. Her heart beat quickened at the intensity with which Brenna watched her. Her skin tingled and flushed with excitement, but she said what came to mind. “Girls night in?” 

“Yeah, something like that.” Brenna dug into the next treat — crème brûlée — and offered it to Mary, who opened her lips without hesitation this time. No lingering essence of Brenna’s mouth remained, but Mary could pretend it did.

“So are you simply foregoing the date and getting right to the good part?”

“I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m gay.” Brenna perused the desserts, then leveled her gaze at Mary. “I’m simply expediting you along the path to realizing that you are.”

Mary sat back. She opened her mouth briefly, then closed it without a word. No, she didn’t deny it, but she needed to ponder this for a moment. Or longer.

Oh, yes ... Mary does need to ponder. And Brenna will be a gentle guide as Mary embraces her true self.

This story is truly a joy to write, as so many are not living the lives we are meant to be living. Of course not all of us will discover that we are gay, but there are other discoveries that are just as life-altering. Careers change. Lives change. People change and grow. Embrace those changes or they will destroy you.

Branching out ...

It's been nearly sixteen years since a trip to the ER landed me in the hospital with a diagnosis to an illness no one could even pronounce:

Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

A Long Crawl: My Journey Through Guillain-Barre Syndrome was written in the months following my diagnosis and is now available for download in various formats and from several online sources:
Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo to name a few.


Happy reading! ~ rg

AGAIN!!!

I HATE YAHOO!!

My yahoo mail account has been hacked ... AGAIN! So sick of that account! I apologize again for having sent out a crap-load of spam emails to all of my contacts.

Pillow hair ...

Okay that was just a teaser, this isn't really about pillow hair ... though it is about waking up. I recently came across a Chinese proverb:

When sleeping women wake, mountains move.

My heart quickened at the truth found within this simple phrase. I've read and heard many, many quotes throughout my life (some of which are written on the walls of my home), but don't recall ever hearing this one. Maybe I had heard it, but wasn't ready to listen to its meaning. I have been asleep for a long time.

I'm awake now ... and ready to move some mountains.

There's a scene in the movie Thelma and Louise where Thelma says to Louise:
"Are you awake?"
Louise responds, "I guess you can call it that ... my eyes are open."
Thelma says, "Me too. I feel awake.Wide awake. I don't remember ever feeling this awake. Know what I mean? Everything looks different."

This woman has been roused. I hope you're ready.

Sweating my ass off

and I mean that literally!

Soooo ... I've been talking about getting back into yoga. I should mention that my experience with yoga, while limited, is also quite intense. If you've heard of the P90X program, you know that YogaX is one of the hardest 90 minutes you will ever endure ... and I wasn't able to endure it many times. Forty-five minutes on my hands was killer for the wrists and pretty much eliminated the ability to complete the rest of it. I swapped out the YogaX for the XStretch while doing that routine. With all that being said, I did not do that version of yoga tonight, because honestly ... *shaking my head* I simply can't do that program again.

Anyway, my holiday stocking contained Jillian Michael's "Yoga Meltdown" (I have a photo, but for an unknown reason, Blogger won't let me post it ... bastards) and I just did it for the first time this evening.

Of course I cranked the heat up -- to I don't know ... Dante's Inferno! -- because it's winter here in Michigan! Just the thought of stripping out of my usual three layers of clothing to don yoga pants and top and NO WOOL SOCKS made me shiver. It turns out, upping the thermostat was completely unnecessary.

This DVD contains two 30-minute workouts and I went with Level 1. All I can say is, yes, the moves are traditional yoga poses ... but that's about it. This is a cardio workout and it kicked my butt. My hair was soaked and sticking to me. I was also slightly nauseous at the end, but that could have been from having my face buried in my filthy carpet. As I type this, my arms are still trembling. I loved it.

Not sure if I'll be able to do it again tomorrow, but the goal is every other day. Hell, it's a half an hour! It takes me longer than that to eat a decent meal. I've made bigger life-style changes than moving my body in ways that will improve my strength, flexibility, and mental well-being. I can do this for myself.

*rolling shoulders* Christ though ... my arms (and probably every other major muscle) are gonna be sore. *grin* I love it!!

Welcome Winter!

Yule. Winter Solstice. First Day of Winter. Shortest Day of the Year. Longest Night.

You can almost feel Nature taking that deep breath in ... pausing.

This is typically what I do during this time on the Wheel. Take that deep breath in, way in ... all the way to my pelvis ... release slowly, then hit pause. Repeat several times. Reflect on all that has happened during the past year. There's been great joy ... as well as heartrending grief. Extreme bliss ... and terrible loss. Yin and yang. Ebb and flow. I close my eyes and let the memories wash over my mind ... savoring wonderful moments ... and releasing the rest.

Winter may indeed be a time of quiet stillness, but it's also time for planning. The earth is barren and may even appear lifeless, but that's only on the surface. Nature is never completely idle. We could benefit from Her example. By all means, rest and regroup ... but also be planning for spring.

The darkness won't last. Already the days lengthen ... stretching toward the promise of spring.

Getting it right!

I've spent years trying to figure out where I'm supposed to be, what I'm supposed to be doing ... you know ... desperately seeking a true authentic self.

This would be an awesome blog post if I could shout "Eureka!" with conviction and share all the wonders of my discovery. Alas, that isn't exactly the case ... but I may be getting closer. *shrug* And really, isn't forward momentum an important element in finding our true self? I choose to believe so.

In addition to engaging in fun, intelligent conversations and surrounding myself with words and music and people who genuinely care for me, I've been eating well and walking daily.

There's also an unwanted squatter that I've been trying to evict ... my inner masochist. Maybe you have one of these in you as well. That rotten little voice that seems stuck on Repeat as it recalls all that you've done wrong, said wrong, thought of doing wrong, or actually did right, but perceived as being wrong, ad nauseum ... you know what I'm talking about. What a vile entity THAT is! No one -- and I literally mean not one person living or dead -- can beat me up like I can. *shaking my head* It is not a pretty trait ... and not one good thing will ever come of it.

Several months ago I managed to somehow fall into a website that has helped bring things into a more positive perspective and quite often has provided a bit of validation for the things I've been "getting right" all along!

So a shout-out to the creators and contributors at MindBodyGreen! What an inspiring website!



http://www.mindbodygreen.com/

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thirteen things I'm grateful for ...

1. Good health
2. An eccentric family that drives me crazy, but who are all decent humans I'm proud to call mine
3. Friends who are always in my corner fighting for me, even when I feel like throwing in the towel
4. Our growing business
5. Healthy food in my pantry and refrigerator
6. Fingerless gloves
7. A creative mind
8. Clean water
9. Technology (specifically IT) -- for better or worse, it has changed the way I live
10. To have been born in the United States
11. Daily walks that keep me sane
12. Words
13. Laughter

Broken

Fun photo shoot.
(Paying homage to one of my favorite songs and videos.)



Masks

With Halloween just a week away, it seems like an appropriate time to mention masks. There are all sorts. Mardi Gras masks. The silly plastic Halloween masks of my childhood.

And the grease-paint masks of clowns. So often, clowns are shown in such an unfavorable light that the vast majority of people find them terrifying ... myself included.

Most of the time.

The ones that always tug at my heart though are the truly sad ones with their painted on smiles.

By the way, if you follow me on Facebook, I'm taking a break from that social networking site for a while as I concentrate on finishing up some works in progress. So if you send a request or such, please be patient.

I'll be back though.

Annoyed

My yahoo account got hacked and appears to have sent out bizarre emails. I apologize if you received anything strange from me via email. =( Technology can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Passwords have been changed, etc. Again ... apologies.

Right now

Haven't done this in a while. Five things I'm into right now:

1. Hula-Hooping (What's not to love, right?)
2. Twisted By Love by Jasmine Haynes (Fascinated by reincarnation)
3. Kenny Chesney's Come Over (Well ... it's KChez without a hat ... and a sexy chick without much of anything)
4. Sudoku (for pre-beginners!)
5. Non-scary Halloween movies ('cause I'm a wimp)

Out with pretty ...

And in with practical.

Yep, when the temperatures fall to the low 30s, it's time to say bye-bye to the cute summer feet and pull on the warm woolies.

Good Evening!

Welcome to Autumn! I can hardly believe we're already a week into this gorgeous season with the added bonus of being the host of my two favorite holidays: Halloween and Thanksgiving. I've heard Autumn referred to as the evening portion of the Wheel of the Year. I love that! Evenings to me are about settling down, reflecting on the day, then letting go.

There are also the fun things that come along with the cooler temperatures ... like football (I even updated my profile photo to illustrate where my loyalties lie ... *shaking my head* Can't help who ya love, right?), bonfires, sweaters, and cider mills ... maybe even a hayride. (<< The link will take you to a little partial flash from a while ago. Sexy fun with Kit and Ethan! **I'm noticing several photos from my blogs are simply not showing up anymore, so I apologize for the missing eye candy.)

A couple of things are currently in the works -- I know they've been "in the works" for oh-so-long, and I thank you for your patience as my life jerks the reins from my hands and runs wild! I've been doing the read-through/revision/expansion for the re-issue of Hearts A Plenty and am really [really!] anticipating it going live again in late fall! YAY!!! Followed in the spring with the release of Tattered Hearts.

I had no idea just how dear to my heart this series would become. When the idea for Vintage Love first came to me, it was fairly straightforward ... small town, sexy people, lots of secrets. Originally it had been planned as a trilogy to begin with Frank Britton and Lydia Sharp (Salvage My Heart, now VL #3), followed by an as-of-then list of characters I wasn't really sure of. Then the Thanksgiving challenge was issued and I decided to have Hearts A Plenty begin the series with a steamy m/f/m introducing Claire Mason, Jared Young, and Mark Pierce. That would be followed by Stella James and Eric Mason in Tattered Hearts, then Frank and Lydia's story, before finally winding up the series with Reclaim Her Heart, a m/f/m f/m/m featuring Charlotte Britton, Gabriel Mason, and Quinn Parker. Yes, the small midwest town of Awry has burrowed deeply into my heart. Looking forward to sharing it with you!

Also on the drawing board are several Bedtime Stories featuring Bicycle Built For Two, and Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, as well as "loading the toad" for Three Men in a Tub and Waltzing Matilda.

And on that note ... I wish you a wonderful evening!