The writings and ramblings of Colette Saucier

Good evening, dear readers! The video below will demonstrate how to make the perfect dirty dry vodka martini, so scroll on down if that's all you want. I usually have a guest join me for Cocktails , but we have been working on a "critical" project at my soul-sucking day job "without enough resources," which means middle management's poor planning is forcing the peons to work a lot of overtime (without compensation). Thus, I have not had the time to entertain. I have, however, been a guest on Karen Docter's Killer Book Bench with an excerpt from The Proud and the Prejudiced. So I suppose tonight my guest is I! Thus, if you want to know more, I will direct you there because if you leave a comment, you could win a $20 Amazon Gift Card. Click here to read the excerpt and to qualify for the giveaway. (By the way, the hardback is now available for Pre-order directly from the publisher ahead of its release date. Of course, it is already available...

Good evening, dear readers!   Thank you for joining me for Cocktails with Colette , my Happy Hour feature,  which I have on Thursday evenings on occasion to introduce you to some of my  author friends. You might notice that, although I usually have a picture of my own special dirty vodka martini, tonight I have something a little sweeter for your consumption. I call this the "Cosmo Compro" (as in "compromise") because, as always, I am trying to watch my weight - and lately have only watched it go up! This is approximately one part raspberry/pomegranate sorbet light vodka (I really should get a job as a D-minus-list celebrity endorser), one part (or so) club soda, and a bit of lime juice, garnished with a cherry. (I say "approximately" because when I fixed one for my daughter at a 1:1 ratio, she said it just tasted like the  flavored fizzy water my step-mother always has -- so  adjust to your own taste.)  And get this:  it's only 75 calorie...

Good evening, dear readers!   Thank you for joining me for my Happy Hour feature, Cocktails with Colette , which I have on Thursday evenings occasionally to introduce you to my author friends. Normally, I use a picture of a dirty vodka martini, but in honor of my guest tonight, I am sharing a postcard for St~Germaine , as Scarlet Hawthorne 's favourite drink is the St~Germaine Cocktail (which is quite yummy, I must admit - recipe below in "Meet the Author" - use champagne ). So pour the cocktail of your choice as I introduce our guest. Scarlet is currently in the middle of the blog tour for her new release Deadline , and she joined me for Coffee last month for the cover reveal . Part romance, part mystery, and part police procedural, Deadline has been on Amazon's "Hot New Release" lists since its debut! In honor of this, Scarlet is offering an additional giveaway here on Cocktails in addition to the blog tour giveaway for three signed paperbacks. Ju...

Good evening, dear readers!   As my Facebook followers know, Tuesday night is PUB NIGHT; however, tonight the "pub" will be my balcony! Since I'm staying in this evening, I have a special Tuesday edition of  Cocktails with Colette , with an extra-special guest. Tonight I am thrilled to introduce you to a talented actress, playwright, and now Director . She also happens to be an amazing muse !  Please raise your glass to Gabrielle-Renée , who is here to tell you about how she became involved in her latest project, the play she will be directing next month at the Strawberry Theatre Festival in New York, Felt Left Out . Also, you can check out the behind-the-scenes video diary here .  As anyone who has seen The Producers knows, plays need backers! So if you have ever "felt left out," perhaps you would be willing to show your support. ~Colette F elt Left Out is a dramatic parody written by my good friend and fellow actor Brett Crandall. In it, th...

Greetings, dear readers!   As promised, we have a unique Cocktails with Colette in store for you this week!  Dr. Charley Ferrer - America's Intimacy & Sex Expert - has just left filming a segment for The Dr. Oz Show (to be broadcast next month) to join me here and shake up more than just cocktails with answers to some of my readers' questions submitted over the last several days - and y'all were not shy! Dr. Charley is a world renowned Clinical Sexologist and Sex Therapist, as well as the award winning author of over thirteen books on self-empowerment, women’s sexuality, and BDSM . Her upcoming books include 30 Shades of Kink and Sexploring:  30-Days to a Better Sex Life . Plus Dr. Charley will be joining me for a LIVE CHAT - THURSDAY NIGHT - at 8:00 EST!  UPDATE:   If you missed the chat, no worries! We have a recording for your viewing and listening pleasure! BE WARNED: It is "no holds barred" and the questions and answers can be extr...

Good evening, dear readers!   Thank you for joining me for my Happy Hour feature, Cocktails with Colette , which I will have on Thursday evenings occasionally to introduce you to my friends who write in genres other than romance. So grab those martini shakers (remember - just a gentle shake) as I introduce our guest. Tonight Shane KP O’Neill, author of The Dracula Chronicles , visits all the way from NORWAY! As someone who cannot bear snow, I find the thought of living someplace so cold quite vexing, especially when he is originally from Ireland ! (As many of you may recall, I am kelly-green with envy that my daughter will be spending the entire month of August in Ireland.<<grumble-grumble>>This after spending last August in Scotland!) Although Shane and I  have both written vampire novels, they could not be more different. Whereas I have written in the Paranormal Romance genre, Shane's Dracula Chronicles get our hearts racing for a completely different ...

Good evening, dear readers!   Thank you for joining me for my new feature, Cocktails with Colette , which I will have on Thursday evenings now and then to introduce you to my friends who write in genres other than romance. (If you are looking for the Doggone Blog Hop to Vote for "Amadeus" as Top Dog for charity, click here.) Tonight I am thrilled to introduce you to an author who joins us for Happy Hour from "across the pond" (and if you've been reading my blog long enough, you know what a complete Anglophile I am and how I cannot wait to get back there!). Scott Cairns and I became acquainted because we were both selected 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Semi-finalists - the final 25 out of 10,000 entries! If that tells you anything, you should know that his novel Silver should jump to the top of your TBR list! So shake yourself a martini ( gently - you don't want to water it down) and hear what Scott has to tell us this evening... ~Colette...

Good evening, dear readers!   Thank you for joining me for Happy Hour tonight! This is the first of a new feature I will have on Thursday evenings now and then to introduce you to my friends who write in genres other than romance. I for one adore true crime and suspense, which is why I am moving into the romantic suspense sub-genre myself, so I know I cannot be the only reader who may on occasion set aside a romance for a chilling thriller!  I am excited to introduce as my first gentleman caller Rick Portier , the author of Shooter in the Crosshairs . This novel had me hooked from page one, and I read it in two days! (Damn that soul-sucking day job...)  Ever since I read it, I've wanted him to come on my blog and give you the inside scoop (I can't believe he says I got him drunk - that makes me sound like such a bed influence!), and he finally agreed! So check out what Rick has to tell you, then be sure to add this one to the top of your TBR list! ~Colette Col...