SKATING SOAP STARS & MORE!

Rebecca Budig (ex-Greenlee; All My Children) will host the second edition of Ice Theatre of New York's Celeb Skate 2013: A Toast To The Movies on Sunday, June 9 at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

Film Actress Sean Young (ex-Maggie; The Young & the Restless) will don her skates again after her Skating With the Stars performance, Olympic Fencer Tim Morehouse will use a different blade on the ice and You Tube Sensation Michael Buckley will attempt his double Salchow in hopes of dazzling judges like fashion icon Nicole Miller, award winning dance choreographer David Dorfman, Olympic Medalist Sasha Cohen and ITNY Founder/Director Moira North. 

As the audience votes for their favorites, the Ice Theatre of New York’s Special Events and Education & Outreach Ensemble will perform “Oceans” dedicated to inspire the imaginations of NYC public schools children.  Also performing will be Wolfgang Bientzle, German Wheel World Champion.

Following the Skate-Off, join the company, celebrities and guests for a fabulous social evening on the Sunset Terrace for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: http://www.icetheatre.org/celeb-skate-2013.html

Regular readers of this blog know that I am a longtime supporter of The Ice Theatre of New York.  They provided the videos for my series of enhanced Figure Skating Mysteries.  As a result, anyone who buys a ticket to the above event, contact me at: AlinaAdams@gmail.com and I'll say thanks by sending you the enhanced ebook of your choice (Murder on Ice, On Thin Ice, Axel of Evil, Death Drop, Skate Crime).

ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #210-2

“Tell me that Iris is lying,” Donna challenged Marley.

Her daughter shrugged and dutifully parroted, “Iris is lying.  When is she ever not?”

“Iris told me you’re the one who drove Sarah out of town.  That it’s all part of some diabolical plan of yours to claim Daisy for yourself while stringing both Grant and Dennis along indefinitely.”

Marley looked up innocently.  “Now, does that sound like something I would do?”

“No.”

“You have your answer then.”

“It sounds like something I would do.”

“Here to offer me pointers?”

“Is Iris telling the truth?”

“Highly unlikely.”

“Is Iris telling the truth?” Donna repeated, emphasizing each word and forcing Marley to look at her as she asked.

Her daughter hesitated for a long, excruciating beat.  And then she said, “Yes.”

****

Donna comes to a horrifying realization about Marley as Jamie presses Matt to call off his wife, Frankie finally faces the consequences of her actions, Rachel makes a promise to Russ as Chase makes a threat to Rachel, and Amanda gets a clue.

All on today's AWT: http://www.anotherworldtoday.com/2013/2013_210p2.html

REVIEW ROUND UP

Some recent reviews for Alina Adams titles from around the web.

About Counterpoint: An Interactive Family Saga, a reader writes on Amazon:

This novel was very enticing, and I waited to see how the next chapter would go. . . this is a progressive creation, so there will be many more chapters, I hope. The one I've read so far was very good!! 

About my Figure Skating Mystery series, which includes Murder on Ice, On Thin Ice, Axel of Evil, Death Drop and Skate Crime, Hobo Mama (love the handle!) writes on Facebook:

I'm currently reading an ice skating murder mystery that's sooo fun! (Alina

Adams, if you're interested in a good cozy!)

And, finally, over at Exceptionalistic.com, there's a review of Skinny Spices by Erica Levy Klein, the searchable cookbook I produced:

I’m excited because I’ve been using many of Erica’s spice mixes for one of my least favorite foods.  Can you guess what it is?

It’s chicken.  I am not a chicken fan.  I barely like chicken nuggets.  I also can’t eat chicken plain by any means. I don’t see how people do it.  Yuck.

I have, however, been trying to force myself to eat it because it is healthier than other meats.  It is much, much better with some of these spices.  What’s better is she includes an entire library of recipes broken down by spice.

Do you just love sage, ginger, or cardamon?  Pick and choose your recipe based on the spice you enjoy.

If none of this convinced you that you need this book, the nutritional value alone should.  I love cutting out recipes out of magazines.  Most of the time there is no nutritional information.  It’s hard to pull out a recipe and try to still count calories when you have no idea.

Each of these recipes comes with a list of nutritional data and exchanges.

You can’t go wrong if you are in to trying new recipes and are also watching your calorie intake.  

Stop by to read the entire review, and enter to win a free copy, too!

THE START OF A SOAP?

I wrote the following piece for Kveller.com.  I thought I was being reasonable.  I didn't expect there to be a controversy.  I was wrong.  Please read and chime in with your thoughts....

We talk a lot here at Kveller about mom friends. Where to find them, how to make them, the care and feeding of… The ritual of proper playground hook-up etiquette has become a mating dance of its own, with questions of when to call, what it means when they don’t call back, and the fear of coming off as seeming too needy.

But, the reality is that, in the year 2013, odds are that the parent you end up hitting it off with by the sandbox, the one you begin looking forward to seeing to help break up the monotony of your day, the one you start fantasizing about asking out for coffee without the kids so you guys can really talk and maybe become real friends with–sans sandbox–could well be not a fellow mom, but a dad.

And then you’re faced with that infamous “When Harry Met Sally” dilemma: Can men and women (and/or moms and dads) ever be just friends?

You’d think I’d be an expert on the subject. I wrote a whole book about it in 2000, When a Man Loves a Woman (though, considering it was a romance novel, you can guess for yourselves what the answer proved to be there).

The fact is I’ve always had male friends. I was the little girl who preferred playing with boys over girls in elementary school (baseball beats dress up). I had guy friends in high school and in college and on the job. And because I work in television, that often meant late-night editing sessions, work-related black tie events, and even overnight, week-long trips to exotic locations like Albany, NY and Huntington, West Virginia. Where my stories would often begin with, “So, it was 2 in the morning and I turned to So-and-So and said…”

My husband has always had women friends, too. Some of them even pre-date me and it’s not unusual, if I’m out of town, for me to call my husband at 2 a.m. only to hear, “Oh, So-and-So is here, we’re watching movies. Say hi!”

Now, it is very possible (and has been frequently suggested) that I am too stupid to live. But, I prefer to trust my husband. Just like he prefers to trust me.

Read the entire piece - and the comments it inspired - at: http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/can-moms-dads-be-just-friends/

MORE ALL MY CHILDREN & ONE LIFE TO LIVE

It's Friday, and that means it's time for MORE All My Children and MORE One Life to Live, the weekly recap shows that I'm writing for Prospect Park:

In Episode #1 of AMC, we've got a look back at 40+ years in Pine Valley, plus interviews with Vincent Irizarry (David), Denyse Tontz (Miranda) and Executive Producer Ginger Smith.  Watch here.

For OLTL, Erika Slezak (Viki) catches you up on Llanview's hottest stories, plus Robert Gorrie (Matthew) and Executive Producer Jennifer Pepperman.  Watch here.

Check out both shows and make sure you leave comments on TOLN's Facebook page or via email.  They really do want to hear from you in order to make these shows exactly what the fans are looking for - you have my word.  Your voice will be heard.

(Let me know what you think, too).

Plus, like I said earlier, they're looking for people to chat live with the actors over Skype and more.  Details, here.

BEACH BOOK BLOWOUT - ALL BOOKS ONLY 99 CENTS SALE

Summer is almost here!  (Yes, it is, pay no attention to the weather.)  And you know what that means?  That means it's time for Beach Reads!  Romance! Mystery! Erotica! YA!  Romance!  Family Saga!  Romance!

I admit it, I love Beach Reads.  The steamier, sexier, soapier the better (growing up, while other kids were reading "Sweet Valley High," I was reading Sidney Sheldon).

That's why I joined the Book Lover's Buffet, a blow out sale of hundreds of books, all priced at just $.99 cents May 1-3 ONLY.  I have two books in the sale, "Counterpoint: An Interactive Family Saga," and "Murder on Ice: A Figure Skating Mystery."  Check both out (and a whole bunch of other titles), here.

Another author participating in the sale is Joan Reeves, with her book, "Scents and Sensuality."  Read all about it, below!

***

A Kiss Isn't Just A Kiss
by Joan Reeves

Is a kiss just a kiss? That's what Herman Hupfeld wrote in the song, "As Time Goes By," better known as the love song from the movie "Casablanca."

Or is a kiss – that first kiss – something more? Something special?

In 1971, Desmond Morris published Intimate Behavior: A Zoologist's Classic Study of Human Intimacy. In his book, he doesn't talk about the magic of a kiss. He discusses the 12 steps of human intimacy, of which The Kiss is just one step.

Morris begins with Step 1: Eye To Body – visually sizing up a potential mate – and ends with Step 12: Genital To Genital Contact – which you probably don't need defined.

Step 7 in Morris's study of intimate behavior is Mouth To Mouth – Kissing. In most romance novels, that first kiss is a seminal event in the growing relationship between heroine and hero. By the first kiss, the couple in question are acting on their desire, and they're curious as to how that kiss will make them feel. Will it knock their socks off or put the damper on their growing desire?

Obviously, much depends on that kiss. If it increases their desire, which it should, then they face the problem of backing away from each other if there are circumstances that keep them apart. Of course, they may, for their own reasons, disavow the effects of the kiss. After all, a romance is all about overcoming obstacles to achieve a worthy goal – each other.

I tend to believe that a kiss, especially a first kiss, is pure magic. Hollywood pays a lot of attention to the first kiss in romantic movies. I pay a lot of attention to the first kiss in the romance novels I write.

Here's an excerpt – the first kiss – from my latest contemporary romance, Scents and Sensuality, available at most ebook sellers, and on sale at Amazon during the Big Blowout Sale May 1-3 for only $.99.

Excerpt, The Kiss

Was it really all right to be herself with him? To show her true personality? "Nicole said men prefer women who aren't so serious. She said men like women who are sexy and flirty. I'm not like that. I'm serious and thoughtful and introverted. And shy."

She was shy? Oddly, Harrison liked that. Most of the women he'd had in his bed didn't know the meaning of the word shy. He'd never had a woman hesitate to tell him in detail what to do, where to touch, how to touch, and when to touch as she pursued her own orgasm. As if he were so unskilled that he didn't know anything about women.

"I really don't know much about pop culture and clubbing and all the stuff that Nicole knows," Amanda said.

"Your friend doesn't know what she's talking about," Harrison said. He stopped moving. Now they weren't dancing. They were just swaying in time to the music. "There's nothing wrong with the real you, sweetheart."

With that one sentence, he had her. She could smell him, and his scent was strong. Musky. Maybe it was just physiology, she thought, with the tiny part of her brain that still worked. Something about her female pheromone receptors went bonkers when he was near. He'd said sweetheart. Amanda didn't know if it was what he'd said or the endearment that warmed her so completely.

In a voice so intense that it made gooseflesh break out on her arms, he said, "You don't have to pretend to be someone you're not. I like you just the way you are."

The song stopped. Still they swayed, cheek to cheek, breast to chest, heat to heat. The song started again.

"You're beautiful," he whispered against her cheek. "And you're incredibly sexy without playing silly games. You're sexy without even trying. And I want you."

His words wove a spell around her lonely heart. "I want you too," she confessed.

Harrison smiled and nuzzled the tender flesh of her neck where her pulse throbbed.

In a voice so soft that he had to strain to hear, Amanda said, "You don't have to say that...that I'm sexy. I...I won't change my mind about...about...you know." She fell silent.

Harrison pulled away from her a little so he could look at her, gauge her reactions. "Are you trying to say you won't change your mind about having a raging affair with me?"

Amanda took a deep breath and exhaled. She met his eyes directly. "Despite what you say, I know I'm not sexy. I just want to be honest with you. It's important to me to be honest. I don't like lies. They just cause problems. So here's the bald truth. I'm a flop with men, and I was desperate for a date for my cousin's wedding. Nicole helped me hook you. She tutored me on how to be a hot babe because that's what men want."

Harrison found it hard to accept that she believed all that. "That's a hell of a lot of honesty."

His comment was like the release gate on a dam. A flood of words poured out of Amanda. "I don't want you to be confused by Nicole's tricks and think I'm something I'm not. Even though I'm more than willing to...you know...have that raging affair with you."

Amanda spoke faster to get all the words out before she lost her courage. "I was just pretending. So you may not really want me now that you know the truth. I'm not a sexy hot babe, and you don't have to tell me I am just to--"

Harrison's mouth swooped down and captured hers, shutting off the frantic torrent of words. Amanda was frozen for a split second, then the feel of his mouth on hers broke through the paralysis. His lips were warm. They pressed against hers, teasing, shaping hers. The tip of his tongue licked, demanded entrance. She sighed, and his tongue plunged into her mouth. She forgot that she didn't know much about kissing. She welcomed him. She pressed her body as tightly as possible to his and couldn't hold back the moan that rose to her lips.

****

I hope you'll take advantage of the sale to grab a copy of Scents and Sensuality and watch Amanda and Harrison navigate all the steps of intimacy in a book that's sassy, sexy, and funny.

Joan Reeves is a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet who – no, wait, that's someone else. Seriously? Okay, if we must be serious. Joan Reeves is a multi-published print and ebook author. She's also published all over the web under her own name, various pseudonyms, and as a ghost.

You can find Joan on her blog SlingWords (http://SlingWords.blogspot.com) or her website http://www.JoanReeves.com  Follow her on Twitter: @JoanReeves.

Joan's Vision Statement? "It's never too late to live happily ever after."

Buy Link

http://www.amazon.com/SCENTS-and-SENSUALITY-ebook/dp/B00BTIDUHW/

MY NEW SOAP JOB - AND HOW I GOT THERE

I am writing this blog post on the 5:55 a.m. train from Manhattan heading to Stamford, CT (after having taken two subways to get to Grand Central Station, first). Because, for the first time since before my daughter was born, I have a job that requires reporting to an office.

Seven years ago, pregnant with my third child and too sick and tired to keep making what, in retrospect, was a ridiculously short, five subways stops commute, I gave up my office gig for the freelancer’s life. I was, however, remarkably fortunate in that my then employer, Procter & Gamble Productions, producers of the soap operas “As the World Turns” and “Guiding Light,” promptly hired me to keep on doing more or less what I’d been doing up to that point, only from home and at a lower salary–which I deemed infinitely fair.

Alas, the bad economy struck a number of industries, and my area of expertise, television soap operas, proved among them. First “Guiding Light” was cancelled, then “As the World Turns,” and then even ABC’s “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.” So there I was, with a fantastic 15 years worth of experience to my resume… and no shows to work on. (The remaining soaps taped in Los Angeles, and I have a husband who believes that if you leave the island of Manhattan, you fall off the edge of the Earth, “There Be Monsters” style.)

So for five years, I hustled in other fields, writing and producing enhanced mystery novels and romance ebooks, and taking freelance assignments for a variety of parenting and education publications.

And then, something that I thought would never, ever happen… happened. A production company picked up the rights to “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” intending to broadcast them over the Internet (they premiered April 29, make sure to watch!). I knew I had to get in on this (one of the benefits to being so narrowly specialized is that when an opportunity presents itself, there’s no mistaking it). I worked for almost 18 months, sending unremitting emails to everyone I knew–and people I didn’t know, either; I’m very shy and retiring that way–to get my foot in the door. And then I got my foot in the door. Except that my foot, along with the rest of me, needed to report to Stamford, CT the following week.

Read the entire piece at: http://www.kveller.com/blog/parenting/back-to-the-daily-grind-after-seven-years/

HOW TO WATCH AMC & OLTL ON HULU

Today is the big day!  The first episodes of All My Children and One Life to Live in over a year are finally up on Hulu!

Click here to watch AMC and here to watch OLTL.

I don't think it's possible to overstate just how critically important these episodes are to all soap fans - not just those of AMC and OLTL. 

If this move from television to the Internet is a success, it is entirely possible that other late, lamented shows like As the World Turns, Guiding Light, heck, maybe even Another World and Ryan's Hope and Edge of Night might become candidates for revival, as well.

Back in November of 2011, I wrote about the fact that there is only one way to bring our beloved soaps back: Prove that they can still make money.

A year and a half later, AMC and OLTL's revival has made it possible for us to do just that.  Watch the shows.  More importantly, watch the commercials.  Don't skip through them and don't tune out as soon as one airs.  Watching the commercials is what's going to make this experiment a success and lead to more opportunities down the line.  This is critically important.  And it's something anyone can do.

The fate of the entire genre is in your hands.  Soap fans got their miraculous second chance.  Let's not blow it.

ANOTHER WORLD TODAY EPISODE #208-1

Dennis was waiting for Donna in front of C-Squared’s building.  He’d called and told her there was an emergency.  She needed to get down here right away.

Donna did.

And Dennis led her towards Matt’s office.  He refused to answer her questions along the way.  He figured, in this case, a picture was worth an infinite amount of words.  (Just in case they were too late, Dennis had also snapped an actual picture with his phone.  One could never be too careful in matters like this.)

Luckily for Dennis – not so much for anyone else – Matt and Olivia had obviously decided to take their time.  Because there was no need for external visual aids.  As soon as Donna stepped through the door, she understood exactly what was going on.

And so did Olivia and Matt.

For a long, fraught moment, the four of them held in frozen, shocked silence.  Donna stared at Matt and Olivia.  Matt stared at his wife.  And Olivia zeroed in on Dennis, who she knew had to be the cause of all this.  She had a pretty good idea of why he’d done it, too.

“You son of a bitch,” Olivia was the first to speak.

“I believe,” Donna managed to pull herself together, refusing to let this little tramp see just how horrified she was by the scene in front of them.  “What you meant to say was: It’s not what you think.”

“Oh, it’s exactly what you think.”

****

Dennis helps Donna get an eyeful of Matt and Olivia, Jamie continues a painful lie, Lucas takes a chance, Amanda's plan backfires, Marley continues her dangerous juggling act, and Rachel and Felicia encounter a new challenge.

How they react to it, though, is up to you: http://www.anotherworldtoday.com/2013/2013_208p1.html