Hi everyone! Today I am very excited to welcome back one of my favorite and most frequent guests, the fabulous L.A. Witt! L.A. is here today to talk to us about her new release, Covet Thy Neighbor, the latest in the Tucker Springs series (which I reviewed earlier this week and totally loved). She has also brought a great giveaway! Please join me in welcoming her back!
Welcome to the Riptide Publishing/L. A. Witt blog tour Covet Thy Neighbor, part of the Tucker Springs series!
Every comment on this blog tour enters you in a drawing for a choice of two eBooks off my backlist (excluding Something New Under the Sun) and a $10 Riptide Publishing store credit. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 31st, and winners will be announced on April 2nd. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries.
Note: I am on vacation for the month of March, and will be gallivanting around France and the UK with my husband and Aleks Voinov. As such, I won’t be online as much as I normally am, and may not be able to respond to comments as quickly as I’d like, but will try to post responses as often as possible.
Nine Weird Things in my Workspace
Like a lot of writers, I have a designated workspace. In my case, it’s the spare bedroom on our second floor, which I have commandeered as an office. And what is an office without fun and strange things to lighten the mood, inspire me, or just stare at when I’m thinking?
So, I thought I’d pick out nine of the oddball things that help me stay focused and keep my sanity. Here they are in absolutely no semblance of order.
The Squirrel. He lives in the tree outside my office window, and is very distracting. Also has a penchant for trying to carry very large sticks up the tree, and when he fails, he vents his anger by doing backflips on the ground. I’m still trying to catch this on camera.- The Retractable Bear Claw Back Scratcher. Laugh all you want. First time I got that annoying itch right between my shoulder blades, this thing earned the $3.99 I paid for it at OfficeMax.
The Evil Eye. Given to me by Heidi Cullinan, this Turkish evil eye is there to ward off evil, negativity, and general bad juju.
Walter the Noble Toad of Destiny and The Cat. Walter is my recently adopted mascot, and will be accompanying me to book signings in the future. He has a number of outfits that he will wear to these events, and will hopefully be acquiring a crocheted penis hat from Anne Tenino very soon. The cat, as you can see on the left, has her own bed on my desk. I actually have two cats, and they both spend a great deal of time on my desk. The one pictured is Tubby. Midget usually likes to encroach on non-cat territory, i.e., my keyboard.
The Books I Always Need Within Arm’s Reach. Of all of those books, the 55,000+ Baby Names definitely gets the most use. And yes, those bookends are canons. And they are awesome. And the cigar box on top of the books is where I keep receipts before I enter them into my spreadsheet.- The FedEx Frog & The Bowl of Gir. Probably no explanation I could offer would detract from the weirdness of that little arrangement.
The Shi Shi Dogs, Succorbenoth & Oscar. From Okinawa, these little guys stand beside doorways and gates (or in this case, either side of my laptop) to keep good spirits in and bad spirits out. They occasionally offer plot advice as well.- The Laser Pointer. I have cats. Enough said.
The Band. Bet you can’t guess what my favorite band is.
And so, it is surrounded by these creatures and objects that I write filth, fun, and frivolity. Though I think I’m starting to figure out why I always feel like I’m being watched…
L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer currently living in the glamorous and ultra-futuristic metropolis of Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two cats, and a disembodied penguin brain that communicates with her telepathically. In addition to writing smut and disturbing the locals, L.A. is said to be working with the US government to perfect a genetic modification that will allow humans to survive indefinitely on Corn Pops and beef jerky. This is all a cover, though, as her primary leisure activity is hunting down her arch nemesis, erotica author Lauren Gallagher, who is also said to be lurking somewhere in Omaha.
L. A.’s backlist is available on her website, and updates (as well as random thoughts and the odd snarky comment) can be found on her blog or on Twitter (@GallagherWitt).
COVET THY NEIGHBOR Blurb
Opposites attract, but heaven help these two.
Tattoo artist Seth Wheeler thinks he’s struck gold when Darren Romero rents the apartment across the hall. The new guy is gorgeous, witty, and single, plus he’s just the right blend of bold and flirtatious. Perfect.
Except then Darren reveals that he moved to Tucker Springs to take a job as the youth pastor at the New Light Church. Seth is not only an atheist, but was thrown out by his ultra-religious family when he came out. He tends to avoid believers, not out of judgment but out of self-preservation.
But Darren doesn’t give up easily, and he steadily chips away at Seth’s defenses. Darren is everything Seth wants in a man . . . except for that one massive detail he just can’t overlook. Is Darren’s religion the real problem, or is it just a convenient smokescreen to keep him from facing deeper fears? It’s either see the light, or risk pushing Darren away forever.
Covet Thy Neighbor is available March 25th from Riptide Publishing, and is part of the Tucker Springs series.
Lol – I don’t think I have anything that interesting on my desks; computer desk & crafting desk – although that desk does get some peculiar mixes…brushes, beads, wire, painting mediums… Although I do have a frog (fabric paperweight I guess) on one corner of the computer desk 🙂
My desk is mostly a mess of papers but I have a bunch of Pikachu toys that make me happy when I look at them.
Great post! My desk is nowhere near as interesting as yours, my only eye catcher is a little ceramic train with an engine and three coaches that contain my various pencils and biros. And I have a squirrel that visits the balcony every morning and empties the birdfeeder 🙂 oh those sunflower seeds seem to be yummy!
My desk is basically a massive stack of papers so nothing muse inspiring…but I can see how such a set up could work.
Love your books! Please count me in. Thanks!
I covet this book and seem to be stalking you around the web. I, too, have an evil eye charm from Turkey; it hangs over my bed along with my dream catchers.
Does your squirrel make very odd noises, like an irate over-heated kettle? I couldn’t work out what was making these weird noises, and had to creep around until I surprised two squirrels being very aggressive and swearing at each other.
I like your Shi Shi dogs. They remind me of that wonderful book of yours set on Okinawa, Conduct Unbecoming, which should be used as a guidebook by all visitors and a conduct book (ref 18th century) by the military!
PS I love Covet They Neighbor! And can I say that your titles are brilliant!
Please enter me in this contest. You’re one of my favorite writers.
I would feel like I am being watched in your office. The squirrel would drive my cat nuts. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
Haha! Your workspace is hilarious! But whatever gets the job done must be a good thing! 😉
OceanAkers @ aol.com
Thanks so much for this glimpse into your workspace. I’m really looking forward to reading Covet Thy Neighbor.
Your workspace is so much more interesting than mine, as I ban the cats from the room, although I do have a cat calendar to keep me entertained. I’m glad you had a great time over in Europe!
Your desk and writing space is delightful. Very fun to read about it, thank you! The Tucker Springs series is definitely one of my favorites, and I’m looking forward to this title. Congratulations on your publication! Thanks!
Your workspace, and your description of it, are full of joyousness and playfulness. I should have stolen your ideas when I had a workspace! Enjoyed this post, thanks. I have a hand blown glass owl from Jo Myles, to start…
Urb
brendurbanist at gmail dot com
Mostly papers on my desk 🙂 Count me in please!
penumbrareads (at) gmail (dot) com
Loving Tucker Springs! Count me in, please.
Thanks!
chellebee66(at)gmail(dot)com
I need to see video of this back-flipping squirrel. Now.
THE FEDEX FROG AND THE BOWL OF GIR sounds like a children’s book waiting to happen. I have a SuperGrover jack-in-the-box, SJ Sharkie mascot, Lego Scottish bagpiper minifigure, and Pearls Before Swine Rat and Croc plushes on my desk…I know there’s a Mr. T In Your Pocket there somewhere (press a button for one of six Mr. T quotes–it’s awesome!), but I can’t find it…
Everyone needs a noble toad of destiny! (The things you don’t think you’ll ever say/type.) Thanks for the tour, L.A.
HAHAHA!! OMG, the squirrel!! pfftt!! That is awesome. LOL…
ah, totally get the lasers too… ehhe… used to have cats… now have a dog.. same thing! LOL… <3 Love your office~
Judi
arella3173_loveless@yahoo(dot)com
I gave up my desk during my last move so my office now consists of wherever I happen to sit down with my laptop. Not the most productive, but at least I can quickly change it if I get bored. I think I need my own set of Shi Shi dogs.