Can I just say YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!?

Jen and I are so thrilled to finally see Driven to Distraction available in print. It seemed like a long road to get it there, but now that it has arrived, good golly, we’re so stoked!!!!!

And the cherry on top of our release day sundae? We have two awesome quotes from authors we love and respect.

“A fabulous talent, Ashleigh Raine never fails to satisfy.”
~Cheyenne McCray, New York Times bestselling author

“Original…erotic…emotional, Driven to Distraction is an absolute must read!”
~Lucy Monroe, national bestselling author

Driven to Distraction is now available online in paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders, as well as brick and mortar stores everywhere.

Want to learn more? Read an excerpt: Roadside Attraction, Garage Rendezvous, After Race Romp, Helicopter Stunt

Still want to learn more? Over on my personal blog, I wrote about the various inspirations for the book and the scenes. Come on over and check it out!

We just posted our new contest, to win goodies from Comic Con.

Go to our contest page for info on how to enter. It includes answering fun questions about sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal movies and TV shows.

For the record, my favorite sci-fi movie of 2008 so far is Cloverfield, and I’m most looking forward to Hancock. So enter our contest today and let me know what you’re most interested in…

Our super big celebratory contest for the release of Driven to Distraction in paperback is now over and the winners names have been drawn. Without further ado, the winners are:

Prize package #1, which includes a copy of the movie Kicking & Screaming on DVD, autographed by Lisa, who was an extra in the movie, a Driven to Distraction tote bag and a goodie from Hollywood.

The winner is…Chris Villafano! Congratulations!

Prize package #2, which includes a copy of the movie Where the Truth Lies on DVD, autographed by Lisa, who was an extra in the movie, a Driven to Distraction tote bag and a goodie from Hollywood.

The winner is…Diane Pollock! Woot! Woot!

Prize package #3, which includes an autographed paperback copy of Mesmerized, an anthology including our story “Magic in the Works”, and a Driven to Distraction tote bag and a goodie from Hollywood.

The winner is…Cheryl McInnis! Yippee!!

And our Grand Prize Package, which includes an autographed paperback copy of Legendary Tails IV (with our story “Orgasm Fairy”), Things that Go Bump in the Night IV (with our story “Twofold Desires”), The Twelve Quickies of Christmas Volume 1 (with our story “Angel in Moonlight”) and Mesmerized (with our story “Magic in the Works”). A copy of the movie In Good Company, autographed by Lisa, who was an extra in the movie. Lots of Hollywood goodies including key chain, clapboard, deck of cards, license plate, star map and other goodies. And a Driven to Distraction tote bag.

The winner is…Jackie Wisherd! Three cheers!!!

Congratulations to all our winners. Please drop us an email with your street address so we can send out your prizes!

We’ll be posting another contest later today or tomorrow, so make sure you head on back over to our website soon.

Today you can find Lisa and I guest blogging over at the Writeminded blog. We interviewed Blaina and Jay from Driven to Distraction, and we’re giving away an autographed copy of Driven to Distraction to one lucky commenter. So head on over and check it out!

And don’t forget, today’s the last day to enter our contest on our website to win DVDs, autographed books and lots of Hollywood goodies.

Driven to Distraction is coming out in paperback in less than one month–wahoo!–and we’re celebrating with a big contest. We’re giving away movies on DVD, books and lots of Hollywood goodies. Head on over to our contest page to read
about our contest and all the cool giveaways, and to learn how to enter.

Have fun and good luck!

I got the call for this gig while I was on the set of I Love You, Man. I knew I wasn’t going to be leaving any time soon–the rumor was 3AM!–so when I discovered I had to be in downtown LA at 7:30AM, I was not thrilled one bit.

Luckily, the wardrobe for both shoots was about the same, so all I had to do was add a couple shirts, jackets and a pair of pants to my gig bag before I went to sleep around 2AM. We surprisingly got out a little after 1AM. I was still going to be sleep-deprived, but I wasn’t the only one and the extra hours of sleep definitely helped.

I got to the set on time and went through the usual rigmarole. The weather was awfully gloomy and threatening to rain some more. I was trying to keep as much of a sunny disposition as I could. It wasn’t their fault I’d been stuck on a late shoot the night before.

The wardrobe lady loved my stuff and that truly made my day. She excitedly tugged at a couple of my shirts and a jacket and said, "Is this vintage?!" I replied, "Yeah. It used to be a dress, but I opened it up to be a jacket." She tugged on it, "Great! Wear that over whatever else you want in order to keep warm."

I didn’t have much to go under it, so I just grabbed an extra shirt and put it on over the one I was wearing. I’d come prepared with one of my heaviest coats. I was good to go…despite my awful habit of wanting to lay down and close my eyes. The blacktop was looking so comfortable…

Anyway, we hopped in a van to go to the set and the incredibly awesomely nice PA started placing us. (I really wish more PAs could be like him. He was so nice and without a bad attitude toward us extras. I really appreciated it after the hell I had on Raising The Bar.) I followed him as he set up crosses for people to do and since I’d been holding a book said, "If you want, I can just sit somewhere in frame and read. If that’d work."

He liked the idea and sat me on a bench behind where the action was to take place. I tell ya, my mental capacity at this point probably couldn’t have handled a cross, so sitting on that bench reading was perfect. I even made sure I wasn’t static when the cameras were rolling. I was just so thankful to be there, doing that on a day when I was really off my game like that.

I even sat there between takes, between setups, the entire time. I didn’t bother going to holding. I mean, whether I read on the park bench or read in holding didn’t really matter. Plus, I had my feet up on the bench and since there was only a chair in holding, it wasn’t as comfy.

Okay, now, here’s the surreal part of this gig. Imagine all the sleep-deprivation creating a good fog in my brain… I’m reading a book because that was about the extent of the actions I could perform on such low energy… And the scene…well…the two lead actors were shouting "Penis!" at the top of their lungs.

Y’know, when two young kids are just having cute fun together kissing and goofing off in between. Well, that’s what the scene happened to be. I don’t know why they were repeatedly yelling "Penis!", but it does make me want to see the movie in order to find out. Plus, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll make it into the finished product due to my static location.

So, there you have it… The day I spent in a haze, on a park bench, reading a book while the scene revolved around two people yelling "Penis! PENIS! PeeeeeeNIS! PEEnis! PEEENIIIS!!!"

I love being an extra. The truth is almost always waaaaaaaay stranger than fiction.

Today we’re blogging over on the Samhain Publishing Blog, talking about what upcoming movies we’re most interested in seeing. Indiana Jones 4 opened today. Wahoo! Once the crowds die down, I can’t wait to go see it. What movies are you looking forward to seeing? Pop on over to the Samhain blog and let us know!

Lisa’s been a busy little extra in Hollywood the past two weeks. If you enjoy movies and TV and like to read about the behind-the-scenes life, take a few minutes and read her two newest tales.

I Love You, Man

Raising the Bar (2)

…or at least Driven to Distraction is being talked about, over on Beyond Her Book, Barbara Vey’s blog on publishersweekly.com. If you get a chance, please hop on by and leave Barb a comment, letting her know you came by her blog to see the review for Driven to Distraction. It’s super-exciting to be featured with great authors Mary Balogh, Patricia Briggs and Naomi Novik, among others. And even more exciting that the reviewer loved Driven to Distraction.

What can I say about the RT convention that hasn’t already been said elsewhere? Probably not a lot. Yes, the hotel was a rundown dump. Yes, some of the “models” (I put models in quotes because to call the troublemakers models is an insult to the true cover models in attendance) took bad behavior to a new, disgusting and disturbing level. But still, even in the midst of plaster dust, missing towel racks and the lingering odors of mold, mildew and must, I still had fun visiting with friends and meeting new ones.

Some of the highlights from my week:

–I won a Sony Ebook reader at Wednesday night’s ebook expo. You can see a photo of me (with friends Beth Williamson and Cindy Szolyga) and my new ereader over on the Beyond Her Book Publishers Weekly blog written by Barbara Vey (who is an absolute sweetheart and was a pleasure to see as she ran all over the convention, catching all the goings on). I’ve been eying the Sony Reader for awhile, and now I have one. I love my new toy! Not only did I get the Reader, it also came with a fun and funky purple and black skin and a Dooney & Bourke Reader cover and keychain. Click the link to see a photo of the one I got. Unfortunately, my keychain has gone missing. I’ve searched all my luggage and bags and it’s disappeared. I do have to dedicate this win to Marty Mathews, Samhain’s author liaison and all-around awesome person. Without her, I never would’ve won. She brought me the ticket when I was busy working and couldn’t get away to grab one myself. And she nudged me to pay attention when they called out the winning numbers. I even told her afterward that she should’ve won, rather than me, and she shrugged it off and told me I deserved it. Have I mentioned lately how much I adore Marty?

–Staying up until 3 am my first night at RT with my bud Heather Osborn, editor for TOR. Heather and I have been friends for-evah–forever being around 13 years–but I haven’t seen her in a few years. We spent half the night laughing our asses off. It was the perfect way to start my RT week.

–Going on a Pittsburgh adventure with Shiloh Walker and her hubby. Shiloh and I discovered we have something in common–wherever we go, whenever we travel, we collect books on local ghost stories. So on Friday we decided to get some fresh air and find a bookstore. We hit up Pittsburgh’s public transportation–the T–and with the help of some locals, we made our way to the mall, about 40 stops away on the opposite end of the line. We found a bunch of ghost story books, and then had lunch in a fun little cafe with to-die-for chocolate fondue for dessert, before racing back to the hotel so I could do my hour in Club RT.

–Throwing an impromptu party in my hotel room on Friday night. The hotel, as some sort of compensation for the awful, awful living conditions, gave everyone vouchers for food and alcohol. Shiloh, her hubby and I pooled our vouchers together, bought a bunch of appetizers, and invited pretty much whoever we ran across to join us up in the room. I was one of the lucky few with a fridge, stocked with alcohol thanks to my editor Angie. So the drinks flowed, the appetizers disappeared, and we laughed and gabbed for half the night. Plus I got to meet Smart Bitch Sarah–which is how she was introduced to me. She was a hoot! I think the most amusing part of that evening was watching JC Wilder roll around on the bed laughing, her head landing in the remnants of frosting from the cake Shiloh Walker provided. So if you kissed JC on top of the head later in the week and thought she tasted sweet, you got a taste of our party too!

–Meeting Laura Bradford, who is one hell of an awesome literary agent who represents some of my best writing buds, Lauren Dane and Anya Bast. I had a great time talking about the industry with her during one of the parties as we huddled in a corner because the room was so crowded. Ms. Bradford is one classy lady–now I know why her clients love her so much!

Honestly, it’s impossible to sum up the RT experience in just a single blog post. I’ve been home for almost two days, but I still feel like I could sleep for a week. But you know what? I’m already thinking about next year and what it might bring, who I might see, and the experiences I’ll have. I hope to see some of you next year in Orlando!