How to use this Page

As the political season in the United States heats up, it has become controversial in certain circles to say “Black Lives Matter.” A few (perhaps even many) object because they don’t believe that black lives matter equally. Most, however, it seems to me, are responding out of fundamental misunderstandings of what “Black Lives Matter” means in the USA in 2016. (I will set aside crude partisanship as an explanation that, to the extent that it is true, does not require further comment.)

The post Saying “Black lives matter” appeared first on OUPblog.

Add a Comment

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

I don’t usually read romantic suspense because the heroine is usually put into a dire, life-threatening situation, and sometimes that just stresses me out.  I ventured outside of my comfort zone because Irresistible Force features a K-9 dog.  I wasn’t sure how big a part the dog would play in the story, but anything with the word “dog” pretty  much gets my attention.  I’m so glad I picked this up!  While there are several uncomfortable scenes for our heroine, Shay, she thinks well under pressure and refuses to allow herself to be a victim.  It helped that James, her police officer love interest, is brave, kind, and understanding, and oh, yeah, Bogart the dog puts all of his training to the test to save Shay from danger.  Thank goodness!

Shay is need of a serious break.  Her whole life has been one traumatic misunderstanding after another.  After an abusive experience when she was a young girl, she has lived with whispers, taunts, and outright bullying at one school after another.  Now an IT professional, she’s changed her name and buried her past behind her.  Or so she thinks.  When her ex, a powerful, wealthy banker, just can’t take “no” for an answer, all of her fears from her childhood catch up with her.  Fearful of Eric, who is stalking her, she rescues a shepherd from the animal shelter where she works as a volunteer.  A woman brought the dog in to be destroyed, claiming that he was aggressive and had attacked a child.  When he turned out to be anything but, Shay renamed the animal Prince and took her home, thankful to have such a trustworthy guardian at her side.

Police officer James Cannon is desperately searching for his canine partner, Bogart.  He gets a tip that the dog is at a cabin in the woods, and he confronts Shay, accusing her of dognapping his partner.  By the time they work out the misunderstanding, Shay can’t help but act on her attraction to the gorgeous cop.  She wants to be in charge for a change, and after another frightening encounter with Eric earlier in the day, she throws her inhibitions out the window.  Her no-strings encounter backfires because James is a great guy and wants more than what she’s originally willing to offer, but Shay’s demons won’t let her trust him.

Shay is a tragic character, and I couldn’t help liking her.  I wanted her to finally have a happy ending, because up until the start of this book, life has done nothing but crap on her.  Eric is a first-class bastard, and once Shay finds the courage to call it quits with him, he refuses to let her go.  His ego won’t let her call the shots, and his need to be in control puts her in an unenviable situation.  With the power that comes with his position at the bank, he arranges for Shay’s placement company to have her temped to bank.  Then he does everything he can to make her regret ever having met him.

Normally I would think the heroine was an idiot for not just going to the authorities when someone is harassing them, but Shay’s previous run-ins with the law makes it perfectly logical that she would avoid trying to get help from anyone.  She has always had one person to rely on, and that has always been herself.  The whole world seemed like it was out to get her when she was younger, so her reluctance to trust was believable.  James is still kind of an unknown, too.  She’s just met him, they got off on the wrong foot, and she can’t bring herself to confide in him, especially when he isn’t exactly upfront with her.  I loved the push and pull between them, and wondered how they would ever come to an understanding that allowed them to be open and trusting with each other.

If you like romantic suspense, you will love Irresistible Force. The hero is everything that Shay needs, Bogart has a starring role, and Shay learns to open her heart and finally learn to trust.  If you are like me and on the fence about romantic suspense, you have to give this book a try.  I couldn’t put it down, and even though I was squirming near the end during Shay’s life and death ordeal, I knew that James and Bogart would eventually race to her rescue – but only after Shay found the strength to save herself from the danger confronting her.  I can hardly wait to meet the protagonists from Force of Attraction, the next book in the series.

Grade:  B+

Review copy provided by publisher

From Amazon:

“Incredible! You’ll be on the edge of your seat to see if the heroine can make it out alive.”—Catherine Coulter, New York Times bestselling author

When adrenaline runs high, so does the force of desire…

For Shay Appleton, it’s love at first sight when a gorgeous stray dog is brought into the animal shelter where she works. She just knows he’ll make a terrific watch dog—and with an abusive ex who won’t let go, she needs all the protection she can get. But Shay never suspected that her new pet is actually a trained police K-9 named Bogart—until Bogart’s even more gorgeous, human partner shows up on her doorstep.

IRRESISTIBLE FORCE by D.D. Ayres

Officer James Cannon is one tall, strong alpha male who’s convinced that Shay stole his dog. But once he gets closer to the suspect, he realizes that this stubborn, independent woman not only needs a guard dog, she needs James as well. It seems that someone from her past is stalking her, and threatening her life. When danger meets desire, will James risk his career and his best friend…to protect the woman who’s stolen his heart?

The post Review: Irresistible Force by D D Ayres appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

Add a Comment

• Do red-tailed hawks eat road kill? (If fresh, yes).


• Does Oregon pay for braces for kids in foster care? (No.)


• What time are trial advocacy classes at the University of Washington. (Late afternoon.)


• What testimony did the original grand jury hear in the Phoebe Prince case? (Actually, I couldn’t find that, which makes sense. Grand jury testimony is sealed. Still I would like to know more.)

Taken a class in fighting in close quarters. At the end, someone sat behind you in your car and attacked you with a training gun, a training knife, a plastic bag, and a rope.

Pulled out everything from underneath my kitchen sink, crawled into the space, and taken a picture to prove to one of my editors that yes, a body would fit under there.

Asked my kajukenbo instructor to drag me across the room, his hands underneath my arms, so that together we could figure out how a character could fight and get away.


Spent a day with a criminalist at Forensics Division of the Portland Police.

Faced down armed muggers, home invaders, crazy people, and robbers - all while armed with a modified Glock that uses lasers instead of real bullets. I did this at a firearms training simulator facility (the only one like it in the world that is open to civilians) which, lucky me, is just 20 minutes from my home. You interact with life-sized scenarios filmed in HD. The scenarios change depending on what you say (for example, “Hands in the air!”) and where your shots hit (a shot that disables versus one that injures). Meanwhile, the bad guys are shooting back. If you choose - and I do - you can wear a belt that gives you a 5000-volt shock if you’re shot. The facility even offers a simulation that is nearly 360 degrees, so you feel like you are standing in the middle of, say, the convenience store or the parking lot. This teaches you to look behind you for that second or third bad guy.

Add a Comment

 

AGAINST THE WALL

Andie Devaux

BLURB: When she sees red and blue lights flashing in her rearview mirror, Michelle Thomas fears her day is ruined. Sexy Officer Drake lets her go with a warning, but when she runs into him at a bar later that day, it feels a little like fate.

Michelle isn’t interested in fate. She has two weeks until she starts grad school so she’s looking for one thing: fun. A no-holds-barred good time. What she doesn’t want is a relationship—that’s a distraction she can’t afford.

Officer David Drake has never met a woman as sexually adventurous as he is, and when he senses a kindred spirit in Michelle, he isn’t willing to let her go easily. Especially when she proves to be feisty and smart. But will she decide the officer is worth risking her future plans?

Against the Wall is a new adult erotic romance novelette. It is not intended for young readers due to mature content. Adults only.

8,800 words

Currently available at the following retailers:
Amazon Barnes and Noble All Romance Ebooks iTunes Smashwords

Against the Wall is a prequel novelette for the Officer Mine series. Next book coming soon!

Excerpt: Great. Just flipping wonderful. Could her night get any better?

Michelle Thomas eyed the flashing red and blue lights in her rearview mirror and carefully pulled off to the side of the road. It took all the self-control she could muster and a few deep breaths not to smack the steering wheel to vent some frustration while the motorcycle cop took his sweet time approaching the window of her little Honda. With her luck, she’d hit the horn and he’d take her to jail for being a jerk.

Tonight just sucked. Not only had her ex-boyfriend Gavin shown up at her apartment—something she was on the edge of getting a restraining order to prevent in the future—but Kristy had called and changed their night out from a club near her house to some dive bar across town. At least, she assumed it was a dive bar. What other kind of bar could it be with a name like Tom’s Tavern?

Now, not only had Gavin once again creeped her out, she couldn’t even properly drown her sorrows. She’d have to take an expensive cab home if she did. Although the price of a cab might be worth it after her week from hell.

The cop tapping on her window wasn’t likely to give a crap about any of that. And she wouldn’t to grovel to avoid a ticket—that would just add insult to injury at this point. Begging out of a ticket had never worked for her anyway.

“Can I help you?” she said in a sickly sweet fake voice.

“License, registration and proof of insurance, please,” he said in a deep baritone, words so practiced he sounded bored. “Do you know why I pulled you over?”

Yeah, right. Like she was going to offer up ideas and get herself who-knew-how-many tickets. “You had nothing better to do?”

“I clocked you at seventeen miles per hour over the speed limit.”

“Of course you did.”

“Excuse me?” He leaned toward her window and pushed down his sunglasses. She caught a glimpse of a strong jaw and blue eyes against a dark head of hair that was mussed from his motorcycle helmet.

“I said, of course you did. Because that’s just how shitty my day is going.” She knew she shouldn’t mouth off, but she just couldn’t seem to stop the flow of words. Something inside of her had hit a boiling point. “Figures I’d get pulled over, too.”

Was it her imagination or did his mouth twitch just a bit at her comment?

“Well, your day is going to get even worse if you don’t find your license, registration and proof of insurance.”

She cursed under her breath and fished through her glove compartment. Three expired proofs of insurance later, she found the correct one. But her registration proved elusive. She handed him what she had and then peeked out the window.

“I have my registration from”—she scanned the date—”two years ago.”

“I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the car while I check these.”

Just her luck. Could the night get any worse?

She exited the vehicle and then watched the police officer walk back to his motorcycle. The flashing lights to warn oncoming traffic of the potential hazard did nothing to distract her from the tight ass of the man walking away from her, nor from the powerful width of his shoulders. He was tall—over six feet. And built. The officer knew his way around a gym.

She resisted the urge to lean back against her car while she waited for him to check her information. Dirt coated its surface from the last rainstorm. Washing it this week just hadn’t seemed important. She’d spent the week avoiding Gavin and doing what she could to enjoy her last summer of freedom.

Two weeks until she started graduate school. Until then, her only responsibilities were entertaining herself and showing up somewhat on time for her part-time barista job that was less than a hop, skip and a jump from her new apartment just off campus. Most of the summer had disappeared far too quickly, sucked away by Gavin and his dramatics.

What remained would be her one taste of real freedom from the constant stress of classes since she’d started college. Whoever thought you could graduate in four years without summer classes hadn’t double majored. But now she was done—free. For the first time in her twenty-three years. No parents to see on a daily basis. No classes to attend. No boyfriend to worry over or spend time with.

“Are you aware that your copy of the registration is expired?” His gravelly tone sounded neither sympathetic nor annoyed. He could have been talking about the weather, for crying out loud. She was sick of this. This was her two weeks. Her time. This guy wasn’t taking any more of it, no matter how well his uniform fit and how freaking stunning his features were behind his dark Aviator sunglasses.

“No shit, Sherlock,” she said. His jaw ticked, and her bravery faltered. “Look at my plates. There’s a sticker there.”

“Those can be stolen.”

“Doesn’t your system tell you that my plates are fine?” she bit out, taking a step toward him. She was so sick of bullies. This man wasn’t bullying her, too. Cop or no.

“Yes.”

Was it just her imagination or did a glimmer of amusement touch his lips?

Author Bio: Andie writes sexy erotic romance and erotica stories that push boundaries. When she’s not writing (or reading!), she can usually be found daydreaming or attempting a new recipe. She thinks that life should require happily ever afters. And since she doesn’t make the rules of life, she instead applies this philosophy to the worlds she can control–the ones in her books.

Newsletter Google + Facebook Twitter

Add a Comment

Title: Too Hot To Handle Author: Aleah Barley Publisher:  Entangled

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

When I read the blurb for Too Hot To Handle, I was intrigued.  The heroine is a car thief.  That was new for me, and I was eager to see how events played out in the story.  Honey’s love interest is a cop, and I didn’t think I could be convinced that they could put her past indiscretions behind her.  I was wrong.  This is a very fun read, perfect for vacation reading or lounging by the pool.  I hate to keep saying that lately, but during the summer, I do adjust my reading habits to include fluffier fare, because I enjoy escapist reading so much.  While I enjoyed Too Hot To Handle quite a bit, I did have to check my skepticism at the door.

Honey Moore is a reformed car thief.  Kind of.  After serving eighteen months in jail for stealing Jack Ogden’s police car, she decided to turn over a new leaf.  Instead of stealing cars, she fixes them now.  Honey loves working on cars, but when the chance comes to score some easy money by recovering a stolen car, she agrees to find and retrieve billionaire Logan Burrow’s auto.  She quickly regrets the decision after her house is burned down to the ground.  Quickly realizing that someone wants her dead, Honey adds another crime to her portfolio – she breaks into Jack Ogden’s apartment.  She has had a crush on Jack since high school, but realizing that her shady family would ruin his political career, she denied her feelings for him.  Except that she couldn’t stop thinking about him, leading to harmless pranks and the not so harmless car theft that left her a convicted felon. 

When Jack finds Honey hiding out in his apartment, he isn’t amused, but he can’t deny the attraction that still simmers between them.  Another attempt on Honey’s life kicks him into protector mode, and soon they are both flirting with danger, as well as with each other.  If Jack doesn’t come clean with his involvement with Honey, he can ruin his career, which is already on shaky ground because of his temper.  Now that Honey is back in his life, he will do anything to keep her there.

I thought this was a humorous and fast-paced read.  I loved the tension between Jack and Honey.  Jack has no reason to trust her, given her long list of crimes, and he is still baffled by her sudden rejection when they were in high school.  I understood his confusion, and I even forgave him for jumping to the wrong conclusions about Honey’s actions.  She has never been straight up with him, and with her history, it’s easy to believe that Jack would have some reservations about trusting her.  Honey is so used to defe

Add a Comment

Taser is starting to sell a half-ounce camera that “clips on to a collar or sunglasses of an officer and can record two hours of video during a shift.”

I think ten years from now, something like this camera might be standard. And it’s a good idea.

After all, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Read more about Taser’s new camera in the New York Times.

Add a Comment

A lot of people come to this blog with the same question.

“Aaron,” they ask, “what should I do if I get attacked by a shark?”

Now I’ve seen most of the TV edit of Deep Blue Sea on TBS, and while I’ve only caught the beginning of Jaws: The Revenge, I’m generally a fan of Mario Van Peebles, so I think I know how that one turns out (Peebles: 1, Shark: 0). In short, I’m just as qualified as anyone in teaching the art of shark survival. Yes, I am aware that National Geographic claims they’ve got a corner on this market, but these are also the bums who haven’t sent you a wicked cool holographic skull cover in more than 20 years. With cinema like Saw 3-D out there, a National Geographic might as well be an issue of Highlights, without all those gnarly hidden picture games. It’s certainly not the periodical to pull out when a hammerhead is getting all gory on your metatarsal. For that, you come to me. But first we have to establish a couple things.

Is the shark biting you right now? If you answered yes, then my suggestion is that you move your smart phone or laptop to your weak hand, freeing the dominant one up for some Three Stooge moves. While doing this, you might be able to distract the shark by asking it if it would like to check its email. Chances are the shark doesn’t have an email account, and even if it does, it’s probably a compuserve one that it hasn’t checked in forever, but you’ll catch the old gill-breather off guard for a second while it considers the fact that banking online really does free up more minutes in your day.

How long have you known the shark? I ask you this because they often pose a similar question on Cops and it’s a good way to determine the nature of domestic relationships. If you answered “my whole life,” then I know there are gonna be a few emotional issues here, especially if things get to the point where I have to suggest that you stab the shark in its reproductive organs. Then again, if you answer “we just met at a coral reef a few minutes ago,” then I’m going be wondering if I’m getting the whole story. I mean, what type of coral reef are we talking about? Are there any jelly fish at this reef I should be aware of? Do I have to tip the guy that drives the boat for the snorkeling trip? What about the kid that hands out the masks? I mean, he’s just a kid and he’s not really doing anything. Questions can be like dominoes.

Now that we’ve assessed the situation, I’m going to run through the steps of surviving a shark attack:

1. Don’t play dead. Besides drowning, you’ll run the risk of having some hillbilly shark putting you on stick and then chasing his friends around and saying stupid things like, “I’ma smear some Roger on ya!” This is especially true for people named Roger.
2. If you usually tell neighborhood bullies that you know martial arts, now would be a good time to admit that you don’t. Bruce Lee yowls and board chopping will only serve to embolden a shark. And sharks have devised an effective strategy to combat roundhouse kicks. It’s called biting your leg off.
3. However, fans of roundhouse kicks shouldn’t be shy about working Road House into the conversation. Sharks loooove Road House and while they’re amusing themselves with lines like
   0 Comments on How to Survive a Shark Attack as of 11/5/2010 12:27:00 AM
   Add a Comment

Imagine you’re a kid forced to wait in the back of a squad car while your parent(s) deal with a crime, fire, or other horrible event. You’ve got nothing to do but wait and watch.

But not anymore, thanks to an innovative program started by an author. “[P]atrol cars now are equipped with a BACK (Be A Cheerful Kid) packet of about a dozen books. The children get to keep the books…” Read more here.

Add a Comment