Latest On The Nocturnal Nina Blog
Tag Team Tuesday with Naima Simone
I’m chatting about guilty pleasure television with Naima Simone. We’d love to hear from you if you’re a Scandal fan or if there’s a show we need to add to our TBW list. Feel free to chat with us in the comment section of our conversation on Facebook!
Nina Crespo:
What hooked you onto the television series Scandal?
Naima Simone:
You know, actually, I was a late bloomer to Scandal. I kept reading posts about it all over Facebook with people talking about Olivia and Fitz like they were real! LOL! Arguing over them, rooting for them, just going crazy. So finally, I was home one Saturday, nothing to do, and decided to watch the first episode on Netflix. I watched the entire first season that weekend! Between Olivia herself–FIERCE!!–and the forbidden love story along with the Law & Order-on-crack shenanigans…it was over. Oh! And let’s not forget her wardrobe…
Nina:
Law & Order-on-crack-shenanigans. LOL! You do have a way with words. I was late to the party on Scandal, too. I binged watched seasons for days. Okay, obvious question, who’s your favorite character and why? Bet I know the answer. And yes, I’m still giving you “the look” because you said that you would kick me off of the island so you could have him all to yourself.
Naima:
See…you may think I’m about to cheat with this question, but I’m not. Because these two characters are flipsides of the same coin. Jake and Huck. Jake is sane. Huck? Seeeeriously straddling that line. Jake is charming and can be social and affable. You see Huck on the sidewalk, you’re crossing to the other side of the street ’cause that wild-eyed stare is a tad bit unsettling. Plus he doesn’t do small talk. Buuuut…they’re both ruthless, cold, trained killers. Even though Huck appears a little more unhinged, both can be merciless–especially if someone they love is threatened. Actually, to me, Jake is the scarier of the two because he can appear friendly and even harmless. This is also why I find him INCREDIBLY sexy, by the way… And also, they share an ironclad code of honor. Which is sexier. All that to say my fave character is Jake/Huck. 🙂
Nina:
Hmm. So, based on your analysis, and since we’re both on #TeamJake, what does that say about us?
Naima:
Uhh, it says one of two things. Either we love strong, complicated, alpha men…or we’re both going to end up starring on episodes of Snapped and Deadly Women. Strangely, I’m not as off put by the latter as I should be…hee-hee!
Nina:
Ha! (Excuse me as I clean spit-out wine from my computer). Strangely, I’m onboard with that explanation!
Speaking of wine, Jake getting stabbed last season had me gulping glasses of it until the next episode. Is there a scene or plot line on Scandal that you loved, totally shocked you, had you yelling at the TV or made you cry?
Naima:
YAAAAAAHHHHSS-UH!! Jake getting stabbed had me about to pull a Hell-No-We-Won’t-Go on Shonda Rhimes! LOL!! I was grieving, mad, shocked… One plot line that had me shocked, like WT%$#@??!! was when we found out Olivia’s mother was not only alive, but a freakin’ terrorist! Yooooo!!! First, we thought she was dead. Then when we found out she was alive, we believed she was a victim of Papa Pope’s twisted schemes. THEN, to discover she was the Big Evil all along? Worse than Papa Pope?? Awesome! Oh…and I love every Papa Pope diatribe. He’s the best at ’em!
Nina:
I know! That was just crazy, and you’re right. No one can lay it out there like Papa Pope. I’d also have to add Cyrus’s plot lines to the list. I actually felt sorry for him when he lost his first husband, but oddly, at the same time, I couldn’t hate Jake.
I’m also hooked on The Musketeers on BBC America. One fantastic reason. Luke Pasqualino. He’s giving Jake a run for his money on my drool-worthy TV characters list. What about TV shows, which one’s are on your hot to watch list?
Naima:
A friend of mine told me about The Musketeers! I haven’t watched it yet though, but I need to see if it’s on Netflix. My fave BBC America show is Sherlock. Oh, Benedict Cumberbatch, yes sexy thang, you! Not to mention, it’s just an awesome show, too. 🙂 Other shows that I looooove are Arrow, The Flash, Evolution of Evil, Scream and a ton of reality TV shows. Bravo, WE and VHI are my pimps! LOL!!
Nina:
I’m with you on Arrow, but if I get into my series list, this conversation will never end. So, back to Scandal–what are you hoping or possibly dreading to see happen this season?
Naima:
I’m hoping to see Jake make it through the season. That’s number one. I’d hate for this to be a repeat of the Grey’s Anatomy debacle. *side-eye* Then, I would love to see Liv choose Jake over Fitz. I’d also love to see Huck’s wife get the axe…painfully. Snitches get stitches, yo!! I would LOVE to see Cyrus actually fall in love with his boy toy hubby! I want to see Liv get over on Papa Pope at least once! And what do I dread seeing happen? Liv going back to Fitz…boooooo!!!
Nina:
Yay! #TeamJake all the way. Huck’s wife. Agreed! Well, I could chat with you forever, but unfortunately, it has to end. One last question. What would you buy for a dollar?
Naima:
You are talking to a woman whose husband stops at the $1 Store first in grocery shopping before he heads to Walmart and Aldi. What can I NOT buy for a dollar is the question! I buy earbuds, book lights, pizza snacks, Christmas decorations, big bottles of Arizona teas, Cherry Cokes, flip-flops… Yeah, I’m up on the $1 Store. 😀 But something I haven’t found there that I would buy? Wal-Dryl!
Nina:
Dollar Store? Our husbands must be twins! Mine keeps dragging me in there under protest. I end up buying crazy stuff I don’t need like a lifetime supply of cheap masking tape or a giant, plastic, green crayon. What the heck is Wal-Dryl?
Naima:
LOLOL!! What?? Everyone needs a giant, plastic, green crayon! My kids are so acquainted with the Dollar Store, when they walk in they’re like, “Hi, Lola!” to the cashier, because yes, they’re on a first name basis with the cashiers. *smh* I just duck and head for the snack aisle and my Arizona tea. And Wal-Dryl is the ambrosia of allergy-challenged sufferers everywhere. Cheaper than Benadryl but works just as niiiice. You get all floaty as your nasal passages clear and your eyes stop watering. My husband accuses me of taking it like candy…I beg to differ, sir! I have allergies. *sniff. sniff* See? Allergies!
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All right, people. Tag! You’re it. ;) You’ve learned more about us now tell us about you. Log into Facebook and join the conversation. You can also find us on Thursday nights tweeting about, you guessed it. Scandal!!! We also can’t resist getting our tweets in about How to Get Away with Murder. See you there 🙂
Naima’s page: https://www.facebook.com/naima.simone.3
Nina’s page: (must be logged in to access it.)
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNinaCrespo
Tag Team Tuesday with Juliette Cross
I went back to high school with Juliette Cross! Check out the conversation. We’d love to hear about your favorite, or not so favorite, high school memories. Chat with us in the comment section of this post on Facebook!
Nina:
How would you classify your status in high school — geek, athlete, complete creative or something else? I was more of a bookworm, but I popped my head up every now and then and had fun.
Juliette:
I was in the “middle clique”–not a geek, not popular (or a “bow-head” as we used to call them), and not an athlete, though I was captain of the dance team. I had friends on every echelon of the high school hierarchy.
Nina:
Bow-head (as in hair bow)? I’m from the southwest. Never heard that one. Is that a common term where you’re from or was that a school thing?
Juliette:
Bow-head was a regional term where I was from (south Louisiana) in the eighties. The bigger the bow, the dumber the chick. So yeah, I never wore bows. I’ve never been a bow kind of a girl.
Nina:
Note to self: Ditch all bows around Juliette. Lol!
Captain of the dance team. Great! I was a drum major. I got to boss people around. I also had free access to watch all of the varsity football and basketball games. Cute guys in uniforms. Need I say more? What about your dance team uniforms? Cool or not? My second year as a drum major, we cut 14 inches off of our skirts to finally make them cute.
Juliette:
Drum major? That is SO awesome. Yes! I loved being on the dance team. We were all “middle crowd” girls, and we were a small team. Very close. I loved to dance, too. Our pep rally uniforms were similar to the cheerleaders, but I loved those short skirts. 😉 And we had sparkly sequin-covered uniforms with SUPER short skirts for the football field. Loved it!
Nina:
All right. Favorite subject. Mine was band. I loved music. Still do.
Juliette:
My favorite subject was English. I hate to be cliché, but it truly was. I had two phenomenal teachers–one fueled my love of Shakespeare and classic lit and the other drove me toward my love of creative writing. In 10th grade, Ms. Anderson asked us all to write a short story. I fell deeply and utterly in love with writing. I can still remember the exact classroom and the view from where I sat near the windows. My first-grade teacher always said I daydreamed too much. I did. But I finally knew why. I was a writer.
Nina:
You knew your destiny. Wow! That’s great. I honestly didn’t have a clear picture about what I wanted back then. I did know I wanted a job that involved travel so flight attendant was my first pick. It almost happened but, at the last minute, I changed my mind. I did end up traveling, just not like I expected. It’s funny how things shape up.
If you could go back in time, what nugget of wisdom would you give your high school-aged self?
Juliette:
Don’t try to grow up so fast. The world will wait.
Nina:
Great advice. I’d share the same and pass on the standard –be yourself!
Okay, random question. If I gave you a coupon for a lifetime supply of free ice cream, what would you do with it?
Juliette
I’d arrange some sort of reading contest through our local library, open to all kids throughout the parish. (Louisiana has parishes, not counties.) And the coupon would be the winning prize. I have a passion for reading and our youth. Our library puts on amazing programs for the kids of our community, so I’d definitely contribute my lifetime supply of ice cream their program. (While I love ice cream, I’d feel a bit gluttonous keeping it for myself.)
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All right, people. Tag! You’re it. ;) You’ve learned more about us. Now, tell us about you. Log into Facebook and join the conversation.
https://www.facebook.com/juliettecrossauthor
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Nina Crespo presents Deception by A.S. Fenichel
When Demons threaten Regency London, only a Lady can stop them.
Lillian Dellacourt is beautiful, refined and absolutely lethal. She’s also the most feared and merciless demon hunter in The Company. She’s come a long way from the penniless seamstress’s daughter sold to the highest bidder, and it wasn’t by trusting a man, let alone an exiled Marquis with more on his mind than slaying the hellspawn . . .
For Dorian Lambert, Marquis de Montalembert, being sent to keep track of Lillian is no mean task. He’s wanted the fiery vixen since he first heard of her five years ago. But wooing the lady while fighting the demon uprising is no easy feat, especially when the lady’s tongue is as sharp as the Japanese sai blades she favors for eviscerating the spawn of hell.
These two will have to learn to trust each other fast, because the demon master is back, and he’s planning to turn Edinburgh into a living hell…
Amazon BN Kobo iBooks Kensington
About the Author:
A.S. Fenichel gave up a successful career in New York City to follow her husband to Texas and pursue her lifelong dream of being a professional writer. She’s never looked back.
A.S. adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story.
Multi-published in historical, paranormal, erotic and contemporary romance, A.S. is the author of The Demon Hunters series, the Psychic Mates series, and more. With several books currently contracted to multiple publishers, A.S. will be bringing you her brand of edgy romance for years to come.
Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in the East Texas with her real life hero, her wonderful husband. When not reading or writing she enjoys cooking, travel, history, and puttering in her garden. Her babies are both rescues and include a demanding dog and a temperamental cat both of which bring constant joy and laughter.
Web Site- http://asfenichel.net/
Blog – http://asfenichel.net/blog/
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5154640.A_S_Fenichel
Twitter – https://twitter.com/asfenichel
Tsu – https://www.tsu.co/ASFenichel
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/A.S.Fenichel
Google + – https://plus.google.com/113195747154467378107/posts
Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/asfenichel/boards/
Nina Crespo presents The Reaper’s Kiss by Abigail Baker
Death pardons no one.
There’s one problem with Ollie Dormier’s infamous skull tattoos: her customers will be dead before their new ink heals. As an employee of Death, Ollie’s job is to tattoo her Deathmark onto unwitting and elusive humans so that their Grim Reapers can find them and ferry their souls to the Afterlife. And if she refuses? She faces a Level Ten Offense and an eternity in hell.
Once Ollie is forced to put her Deathmark on her best friend, she ignores the promise of hell to save her friend by rebelling. She throws in her lot with Brent Hume, a Reaper unlike any other. He swears he can help her, and they take off across North America with Death’s police hot on their trail. Trouble is, Ollie knows that her only chance at living to see a day free of despair is to make a deal with the Head of Death, and he has made this clear to Ollie and the rest of the world that Death despises bartering and the souls it wants are non-negotiable.
About the Author
Abigail Baker shares her home with a Siamese cat endearingly named “The Other Cat” and two rescued mutts with mundane human names that people think are cute. In addition to writing about rebellious heroines, she enjoys hiking, discovering craft beers, baking the perfect vanilla bean cupcake, and rock climbing (going as far as scaling 800 vertical feet to the summit of Devil’s Tower National Monument in 2013).
Abigail won first place in RWA’s Golden Network’s 2011 Golden Pen in Paranormal Romance for Tattoo of Your Name Across My Soul, the book now known as The Reaper’s Kiss (Deathmark Book One). She regularly blogs about life observances at abigailbakerbooks.com, lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains, and can be easily found hiking any of Colorado’s best trails.
Nina Crespo presents Stranger at My Door by Mari Manning
COMING SOON – Join Mari’s mailing list for release date!
In stiletto heels and painted on jeans, the notorious Dinah Pittman sashays into El Royo, Texas, to bury her father, a local ex-cop who died in prison without revealing the whereabouts of the money he stole eight years earlier.
After losing his fiancée and his nerve to a drug bust gone wrong, Rafe Morales has returned to El Royo and joined the local police force, looking for a fresh start and a nice girl to settle down with.
When the two men who testified against Dinah’s father turn up dead, Rafe and Dinah are thrown together. While wrestling with his psychic wounds, Rafe must also juggle his growing attraction to Dinah with his duty to protect her from a murderer. As Dinah pushes toward the truth about the robbery and her father’s guilt, she must also face some hard facts about herself and her life to earn Rafe’s love.
About the Author
I have always wanted to write romance novels. Well, at least since I was sixteen. Then it took another 25 years or so before I actually put pen to paper. (There were careers to start and kids to raise, houses to keep and dinner to cook.) It took six years to write the first one. I loved it, but I was alone in my delight. I decided to write another. This one took about the same amount of time. I sent it off to editors and agents. No one wanted it . . . but it was chosen as a Writing with the Stars book for RT.
What an experience that was! To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. I’d spent so many years in my little office writing, it had never occured to me that the world of romance publishing was a sophisticated bit of marketing and commerce with a core of artistic endeavor inside. Like a Tootsie Roll Pop.
By the way, I was cut in the first round of Writing with the Stars. Ah well.
Since then, I’ve joined Romance Writers of America and the Chicago North RWA chapter. The members of Chicago North have been amazing. They are truly committed to helping other writers, and twice a month we meet to discuss opportunities and triumphs, as well as disappointments. I have learned so much, and I hope some day I will be able to give back as much as I learned.
I sold my first book, Holding Out for a Hero in February 2012 It is a contemporary romance with a little suspense. My second book, Angel Without Wings was release in 2013. Also contemporary romance with a little suspense.
I’ve been very busy since then on a three-book series of romantic suspense set in the hill country of Texas. The first, Stranger at My Door, was released from Entangled Publishing on August 18. The second Stranger in My House will debut this coming December. Fingers crossed, I am hoping the third, Stranger in My Bed, will also be published by Entangled.
Nina Crespo presents Wedding Matilda by Heather Hiestand
Orphaned as a boy, Ewan Hales is proud to make his living as secretary to the manager at Redcake’s Tea Shop. But the startling news that he’s heir to the Earl of Fitzwalter changes everything. While tendering his resignation to lovely Matilda Redcake, however, Ewan is struck by her spirit, the luscious bow of her lips—and a realization. Matilda might not marry a working man—but will she wed a future nobleman?
Ewan’s unruly hair and roguish kisses are tempting, but Matilda has far too many problems to consider romance. With sabotage at a cake factory threatening the family empire, she must focus her considerable willpower on keeping Redcake’s from ruin—until she learns that her young son has been kidnapped. Together, she and Ewan must uncover the truth before they can savor the sweet freedom of love…
Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | GooglePlay
About the Author
Heather Hiestand was born in Illinois, but her family migrated west before she started school. Since then she has claimed Washington State as home, except for a few years in California. She wrote her first story at age seven and went on to major in creative writing at the University of Washington. Her first published fiction was a mystery short story, but since then it has been all about the many flavors of romance. Heather’s first published romance short story was set in the Victorian period, and she continues to return, fascinated by the rapid changes of the nineteenth century. The author of many novels, novellas, and short stories, she has achieved best-seller status at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. With her husband and son, she makes her home in a small town and supposedly works out of her tiny office, though she mostly writes in her easy chair in the living room.
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