I am very possibly the least organized person who can make myself look organized you will ever encounter. Between running marketing and promotions for my business, writing, editing, handling kid schedules and a busy executive spouse, I fake it well.
I have a ginormous, possibly unhealthy obsession with .... no, not vamps, nor weres, nor dudes who play them but SOCCER and the men who play it! My favs mostly play in the Spanish League but let's just say a huge portion of my cable bill is dedicated to all the soccer channels I get. I like it and them so much I wrote a book! It's what we do, no? "Caught Offside" is part of the Decadent Publishing 1NightStand series and there is a sequel in the works.
I have lived in three different countries, even birthed my third kid in one, and have travelled extensively. My ex-pat life in Istanbul Turkey inspired a series of additional 1NightStand stories: Turkish Delights. All three of them (Turkish Delights, Blue Cruise and Tulip Princess) have gotten great reviews and generated both a prequel (The Diplomat's Daughter) and a follow up (Flower Passage: Tarkan's Story) both novellas coming soon from Decadent.
My muse's name is Hans. He is six feet four inches of blonde haired blue eyed irresistible heat whom I dress in lederhosen....and nothing else. Currently, he is whispering in my ear about that follow up soccer story: Man. On. But I must smack him away as I have way too many editing and promotions projects on my plate right now.
I was a licensed Realtor in Ann Arbor for many years, and made very good money at it even during the downturn. I have channeled it into a new novel series releasing in the consecutive next 3 months from a new publisher, Tri Destiny to launch their erotic line: Sizzlin Books. The Realtors: Life in the House Lane consists of three novels, sort of epic style following the life of 2 people who seemed destined to hate each other, but who end up together. (Blurbs below....naturally)
I have 2 standard poodles, Roxie and Layla who serve as my alternative muses while I'm stuck. A nice long walk with those 2 usually clears my head and I've come up with some of my best plot lines and/or twists that way.
I am a Southerner by birth (Nashville, Tennessee) and a Louisville Cardinal by the Grace of God. Speaking of His Grace, I am also a preacher's kid, bona fide with all the attached urban legends fully intact.
Not only does soccer hold my fancy (mmmm.......soccer players....) I am a rabid sports fan generally, although I never played a single one. I was in the band in high school and spent many hours in bleachers for football and basketball, dated of few players and learned to love both of those games. The love for "footie" (European football) came to me late in life as it has with most Americans, as a direct result of living in Europe. Really the only sports I won't watch/enjoy/use as a distraction are: Golf and auto racing.
I am a dyed-in-the-wool, card carrying member of that group that thinks politics and religion are best left to face to face discussions and off blogs and facebook. That includes opinions about the death of famous football coaches vis a vis horrific scandals within his coaching staff, the upcoming presidential stuff and what Bill Maher said last night on Real Time. Don't get me wrong. I am a political and news junkie. But engaging in "discussions" online about it are a waste of everyone's time In My Honest and Heartfelt Opinion. I WILL arm rassle ya over who has the best defensive line in the Big Ten, or who the best goalie in the English Premiere league is....no problem. (This is my way of telling you I won't be engaging in this forum about anything relative to politics including your thoughts on the now dead SOPA thing or Mitt Romney's Special Underwear)
ME and my biz partner (left) and brewer at our One Year Anniversary party this past November. This is my way of warning you now: I have the proven ability to teach you everything you want to know about beer and/or bore you silly with same.OH! and the Best/ coolest thing about me? I own a brewery and call myself The Beer Wench for real. I even have tee shirts. Using my background in the craft micro brewing world I created a series of short stories and a "choose your romance novel" with Breathless Press. The Brewing Passion series is a lot of fun. The Tap Room is the one where YOU get to pick my heroine's hero from a fairly robust line up of options.
My Official Bio:
Microbrewery owner, beer blogger and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and soccer fan, Liz lives in the great middle west, in a Major College Town. Years of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse plus making her way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry) has prepped her for life as erotic romance author. When she isn't sweating beer inventory, sales figures or promotional efforts for her latest publication, doing pounds of laundry for her sweaty athletic children, watching La Liga on the Fox Soccer Channel, or trying to figure out what to order in for dinner, she can be found walking her standard poodles or doing Bikram Yoga. Liz loves her Foo Fighters Pandora station, and watching reruns of Deadwood, when there isn't any decent European football on the telly. If you want a beer education follow her: www.a2beerwench.com. For writing related stuff, including her backlist, go to: www.brewingpassion.com.
It's a brewery based novel of intrigue, mystery and romance.
As promised, The Realtors: Life in the House Lane.
I'll be excerpting this each month....both in PG and HOLY CRAP CAN YOU SAY THAT ON THE INTERNET? versions....
Love is an easy word to use, a hard one to demonstrate, and sometimes impossible to trust.
The Realtors is a sweeping epic, encompassing over ten years in the lives of two people who know how to love with their bodies, how to please and get pleasure, to control and be controlled. When it comes to the deeper meaning of the one word they both need, backgrounds and personalities get in the way and while their physical connection sizzles they continue to disappoint one another emotionally.
Jack Gordon has it all--money, success, a string of women--but with a deep longing for something more. When he thinks he finds it with Sara Jane Thornton, his world is never the same again. Sara releases his natural Dom, a side of him he'd thought buried out of frustration and unhappiness. Sara knows a true submissive must trust implicitly, something she cannot associate with him, no matter how many times she tries, and he fails.
With a rich cast of secondary characters, including a young man who presents a near-perfect foil to Jack's intensity, and who falls hard for Sara; The Realtors series is a romantic saga with an emphasis contemporary life and love, with a healthy dose of white-hot eroticism. Modern, busy, driven characters living lives of purpose and real-time stress, seek the ever-elusive and highly coveted combination --a friend, lover and trusted advisor who will be there for the long haul.
Floor Time (The Realtors – Book 1) releasing Jan. 30:
Jack Gordon is Ann Arbor's most delectable bachelor. At age thirty-five, he's made millions as a top-selling Ann Arbor real estate broker and has the right connections to close a deal by any means necessary. With his rugged good looks and compelling personality, he has a virtual black book most men would kill for and he uses it often, never settling for one woman for very long.
While his D/s past remains buried, exactly where he wants it, an undercurrent of boredom and dissatisfaction runs through his life now. Disastrous experience years earlier made him swear off the whole scene, but the more Jack suppresses his natural Dom, the more his frustration grows.
Sara Thornton, just a rookie in the field, has fast-tracked herself to the top of the Ann Arbor real estate market. Her life evolves into a disciplined and focused routine, exactly what she wants. However, as her career takes off, the fulfillment she seeks remains inexplicably out of reach. The one thing she knows for sure, she will not join the Jack Gordon groupies in her company, no matter how tempting that might seem.
A chance encounter, then a difficult transaction, throw Jack and Sara together and the sparks fly high and hot and often. Forced to confront the compulsions that gain momentum with each sizzling encounter, their relationship seems to spiral out of control until Jack finally admits what he needs, and shows Sara what she's been missing.
Sweat Equity (The Realtors – Book 2) releasing Feb. 14:
Jack Gordon thought he’d finally made it. He had a wildly successful career, money in the bank and even returned to his life as Dom, putting an end to a string of unfulfilling sexual encounters. Now that he's made the ultimate commitment to Sara Thornton, he believes all is right in their world. However, a series of misunderstandings and a dose of self-fulfilling prophesy bring his perfectly crafted house of cards tumbling down around him, forcing him to confront lingering misgivings about marriage and trust. Could those be the only two things he can never achieve?
Sara struggles with her intense need for Jack and her desire for less volatility in her busy life, two goals which appear to be mutually exclusive. Although willing to put in the time and emotional effort to make their relationship work, she finds it futile and frustrating, littered with clashes thanks to near-identical personalities and temperaments. Given Sara’s history, easing back into the comfortable status quo becomes easier than fighting a war with the one person who should be her safe haven. But will the easier choice satisfy her the way only Jack can? Is her "war" one that comes from without or within?
Buffeted by circumstance, temptation and distraction, Jack and Sara’s tenuous relationship crumbles, sparking a continuous quest for the ever elusive: trust, love and acceptance. By the time they rebuild a foundation for renewal, fate has other plans. This leaves them both reeling, once again questioning their destiny.
Closing Costs (The Realtors – Book 3) releasing March 10:
Love conquers all? Not likely, according to Sara Thornton. She's spent eight years coming to terms with the new parameters of her life while resigning herself to the idea that “happily ever afters” are best left to fairytales. Sales manager for her successful real estate office and juggling an added element of responsibility she never thought she'd face, Sara continues to struggle with the men in her life. Love, for her, has only meant hurt, broken trust and anger; all of which she’s completely banished from her life, so she claims.
Jack Gordon has come a long way since his earlier days of obsession with Sara. As the general manager of Stewart Realty, his own level of responsibility for the well-being of others has ramped up. He’s even honed his caretaking skills, now that he has someone who loves him unconditionally.
Continuing to invest effort and rebuild their relationship, he and Sara grow close as friends. Despite this, his ultimate question remains unanswered; the one he keeps asking, no matter how many times she says no. Sara isn't prepared for the keen focus of his need--to have her back, once and for all. Her stubborn resistance nearly rips both lives apart
The epic conclusion to The Realtors series, Closing Costs brings Jack and Sara truly full circle. Proving that the heat of lust and obsession; the need for control and to be mastered in many areas of life can lead to love —surprising you when you least expect it – if you will only allow it.
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