I Know It's Around Here Somewhere

As many of you have probably noticed, the Bat Cave has been a bit of a Dead Zone this week. This is mostly because work has been kicking my ass. Plus, when I get tired, my brain atrophies and blogging inspiration flees the scene. I've had a devil of a time coming up with stuff to bore amuse you all with.

Yes, KristieJ - I'm still reading Ride The Fire. See above: work kicked Wendy's ass this week. I am halfway through the book though.

I had some general running around to do today, so I made a stop at Borders. Once there I discovered they're doing some minor renovating. Of note? The romance section is a lot roomier now. I don't think they've done away with shelf space, but they've opened up the area a lot more. Makes it really handy for browsing. Anyway, there was one book in particular I wanted to get, and goody goody - they had it in stock. Here's what I picked up:

Texas Hold Him by Lisa Cooke - As part of my futile quest to convince publishers that yes, some readers really do like historicals not set in England, I do my very best to buy all the non-English historicals on my To Be Bought list brand, spankin' new. Not used. Not swapping with friends. I buy them new. This one caught my eye because it sounded really grand, and it takes place in post-Civil War New Orleans.

Description:

As if losing the war to the Yankees weren’t bad enough, Lottie Mason must get $15,000 dollars to protect her ailing father from prison. None of her friends have that kind of money and the only place she can think of to get it is from the thriving riverboat gambling enterprise on the Mississippi. Problem is, she doesn’t know a thing about playing cards. So she approaches the best gambler on the river to offer him a deal. She’ll pay him a percentage of her earnings if he’ll teach her to gamble.

Texan Dyer Straights has his own demons to fight and teaching Lottie poker is the last thing he wants to do. When Lottie’s pestering finally pushes him to the end of his rope, he makes her the most scandalous deal he can think of in order to scare her away…he’ll teach her the game if she’ll give him a night in his bed.

What he doesn’t know is, it’s an offer she can’t refuse.

Dyer Straights?! Seriously? Not quite the worst name I've ever seen slapped on a hero, but damn it's in the running. Ahem, anywho....I've got a bit of a "thing" for desperate heroines. It's kinda sick actually. Also? Best opening line ever.

"To the good folk of the world, God gave a conscience. To everyone else, evidently, he gave a gun."

Hell it was worth paying full price for just that line alone. But honestly? Dyer Straights?

So I'm casually browsing the romance section and nothing else is jumping up and biting me in the butt. Well I can't very well just buy one book. I mean, how wrong is that? So I did what I always do when faced with this quandary. I hit the erotic romance section. That's where I found Nailed by Amie Stuart. A few reasons why I decided to go with this one. Amie is one of my homegirls over on Twitter. The plot description sounded intriguing. And lastly? I about choked when I saw the title. Ahhhh, the subtleties of erotic romance titles. ::snort::

Description:

As resident fix-it girl for an apartment complex in a tiny Texas town, Bonnie James makes enough money to pay the bills and have a little fun on the side. She likes checking out the other tenants and sometimes indulges in her own sexual fantasies by watching them late at night. It's exciting, it's erotic, and it always leaves her ready and willing for more.

When you're a bounty hunter, late night stake-outs are part of the job. So Wynn Collier should be concentrating on his own business, not watching a Peeping Tom with the sweetest body west of the Mississippi. But he's a hot-blooded male on a hot Texas night and he can't resist the chance to investigate every one of her delectable curves.

Heck, that's good enough for me. Easy, thy name is Wendy. Now to find my blogging inspiration. I know I left it lying around here somewhere....