I guess it’s the same for books, but…actually, I do love some of them more than others.

If you ask me what my favorite book is I might toss off “The Stand, by Stephen King” though honestly that WAS my favorite book for so long it felt like forever, but I might have a different favorite now. Kushiel’s Dart. Swan Song. Imajica. Raptor…I have a lot of favorites.

But if you ask me what my favorite is of all the books *I’ve* written, my answer is probably going to be TEMPTED.

And this is funny, sort of, because out of all the books I’ve published so far, I think TEMPTED is the one that lots and lots of readers really…didn’t like. Oh, sure, some of you loved it. Some of you loved it despite not liking things about it — the heroine, Anne. The ending. (Though…most of you seem to love Alex Kennedy, and I can’t say I blame you. He’s quite possibly my favorite hero. Anti-hero. Whatever you might want to call him.)

Before I stopped reading reviews, I saw a lot of negative comments about TEMPTED, including a lot of disdain for Anne. And I don’t understand it…because the fact is…well…I made her that way on purpose. What some readers see as weakness, I saw as a woman who grew up in a certain set of situations that made her a pleaser or a fixer, someone who didn’t necessarily rock the boat. Someone who wanted to get along. Someone who was willing to accept the surface of things because delving too deep never leads to any good.

Along comes Alex and sets her on her ass, opening her up to a whole range of emotions and experiences that she wasn’t expecting. It takes her perfect world and sets it on fire — And in a bit of trivia, TEMPTED’s working title was originally PERFECT (if you read the book and liked it, go back and re-read it if you want, this time imagining it’s called Perfect. See why.) And in the end, he leaves her changed (because Everything Changes, which is the theme song for the book and the short story that came after, called umm…Everything Changes.)

I guess I don’t understand the idea that someone is weak for wanting a happy or perfect life, or being willing to do a lot to keep it that way. People do a lot of things out of love, and Anne loves her husband. Nothing that happens with his best friend changes her love for Jamie, and love isn’t something you turn on and off like a light switch. And…just because you fall in love with someone, that doesn’t mean they’re really good for you. It can go both ways.

I think the relationships that teach us the most are the ones that end.

Do I agree with every decision Anne made? If she was a real person, would I understand why she did some things she did? I might not agree with her choices, but I do understand them.

What’s important to me in a story is not that my characters make all the right choices, do the right things every time. They’re not meant to be perfect. They’re meant to be…well…human. Realistic. And ultimately what’s important to me is, at the end of the story, has something changed? Have they somehow changed from who they were at the beginning?

THAT is my goal. To take characters through a progression. If they start off perfect, where’s the story?

Tempted is also my favorite because out of all my books, it has some of the most personal pieces to it. They’re not fun bits, but they are important bits. I think I identify with Anne more than any other heroine. And…I think she makes the right choice, in the end.

The beauty of this great big world is that we’re all free to love what we love, and not love what we don’t. I’m glad people have taken the time to read my books, and I’m glad when they like them. But when they don’t…well, you know, there are lots of books to read, there’s never any reason why any of us should do what we don’t like to do!

have a great day, everyone!

M

I am bronzed an blonde (or at least freckled and faded) so c’mon over and meet me.

M

Ps that would be July 17th, Saturday. Helps to put the date!

Haha, that makes me laugh. Hart-M

In case you’re wondering, it’s TEMPTED in FRENCH!

And…I have to clean out a closet. Yeah. Exciting. I also have to think about what to cook for dinner tonight. I’m SO not into the cooking idea. Hmm. Something easy. Chicken? Leftovers? I have a lot of leftovers!

I have actually been thinking about writing quite a bit, probably because I know I *won’t* be writing — Superman was going to take the spawn skiing yesterday but weather and pukies put that out the window. And the weekend is coming, and it’s full, yes, full. Next week the kiddies are still home from school but with the new Wii games and whatnot I think they might be able to occupy themselves.

But I wanna Wii tooooooooooo!

Anyway, been thinking about the story, and I’m really excited to dig into it.

Also: STRANGER got picked up the by Rhapsody bookclub! That link might not work.

Also: TEMPTED is coming out in German — it’s being called HOT SUMMER and has the same cover. I guess they liked it enough to keep it! Which is fine with me, even though it’s always fun to see the other covers. I love the cover for Tempted.

And now, I go to clean out the closet. In my PJ’s. And…oh yeah, I have to remember to cook dinner.

M

UNEDITED EXCERPT:

He fell into her slowly, and deep. There’d be an end to it, of course. Things like this only ever worked because they weren’t meant to last. Alex thought Anne knew it as well as he did, even if Jamie didn’t seem to.
In the beginning, Alex had tried staying away but now it was Jamie who left the house early and didn’t come back until much later. He said it was work, and Alex didn’t believe his buddy was lying. He also didn’t think Jamie had any sort of fucking clue exactly what he was doing by leaving Anne and Alex alone together so often. Putting a cock inside a cunt was the smallest of small things when set beside the very long list of what else was going on while Jamie was at work.
“Do you love him?” Anne asked in the bed the three of them shared more often than not.
“Everyone loves Jamie,” Alex said, which was not a lie.
“Then why are we doing this?”
He couldn’t stand the hint of agony in her voice, barely covered by desire. A hundred lies tripped to his tongue, and what would one more be on top of all the others? But it was getting harder to lie to Anne about everything. Harder to lie to himself.
“Because we can’t stop ourselves.”
They fucked in every way but that small one, and in the end, it wasn’t cock in cunt that mattered. It was mouth on mouth, skin on skin. Breath on breath. It was the way she curled her fingers in his hair and pulled, just right, and how she cried out his name when he put his mouth on her flesh. It was how she clung to him when she cried about the mess her family had made of their lives. It was how she looked inside him, all the way down, and he wanted her to see what was there.
“This is more than it was supposed to be,” Anne said when the love had been made, all day long, and both of them were boneless and sated from it.
Alex couldn’t answer her. Words fought to come out, and he bit them back. Lies or truth, in the end it didn’t matter what he said. He could hardly tell the difference, any more.

And while you’re there, take a gander around the site. If you like erotic fiction, there’s plenty to see!

M

I met Chris last year at the Romantic Times Convention, where he introduced himself to me with a full-on, full-frontal, full-body hug. Ok, so anyone who knows me understands that I’m more of a one-armed, sideways, semi-contact hugging person (or a no hug at all person) but hey. When at RT, and a Mr. Romance contestant wants to hug you, what do you do but go with it.

Chris is participating this year in the Mr. Romance Competition again, but it wasn’t until I saw his face all over the Dollar Tree that I thought about asking him to become one of my minions. After all, we’d already shared a hug. It seemed perfectly natural to take the next step by inducting him into the wonders of becoming part of my army. (What? Kiss has an army. I have minions. Want to join? email me, we’ll work it out. No hugs required.)

So, without further ado, I bring you…Chris Winters.

M: First, thank you for agreeing to become one of Megan’s Minions. I realize you didn’t know what you were agreeing to when you said you’d do an interview for my blog, but I only just thought of this last night. Besides, being my minion is easy (just do my bidding!) and though the pay is shite, the benefits are FAAABULOUS.

Chris: HA! I don’t mind. There are times where doing things for free are fine. I mean, it’s more value to see you smile.

(author’s note: He’s a natural at this.)

M: Let’s get started.

Chris: Sure!

M: Please tell us a little bit about yourself, Chris Winters. Man, model, computer geek. (Oh, and minion.)

Chris: Thank you! Well, my name is Chris Winters for all you that joined us or those who do not know me. I am an up and coming actor and model. Ive already appeared in two Discovery Channel programs, did nationwide campaign print work, an international commercial for Suburu, and various work in film like Evan Almighty and various independent film. So, I’ve done some stuff. I will be relocating to do some film shortly. Probably within a year.

I’m an easy going guy who loves to laugh, can be a dork at times, loves to work out and run. I am your typical decent looking guy who is funny and who has a heart! I will also try my best to be the NEW face of romance novels! HA HA!

Computers. Hmmm, well, I worked as a developer for some companies. A few to mention are: G.E. Financial Assurance, Symantec Corporation, and Dominion Enterprises. I mainly program in C++, which is a pretty cool language and PHP. PHP is a webbased language that is like C/C++. I am also certified in a few areas, in the computer world.

M: And okay, I have to say it. You’re so gosh-darned pretty, how do you stand it? If I were you I’d just stand in front of the mirror naked all day and touch myself. How do you manage to get anything done?

Chris: There are things called ‘schedules’ and auditions I go to! *laughs* Seriously, I consider myself decent looking and I don’t let it get to my head. Once you do that, then you become something you are not. Not only that, there are TONS of beautiful people out there, guys and girls. One minute you could be the ‘in’ thing, and next you are not. So, I consider myself gifted from God, who made a deal with me to keep myself healthy. However, on a lighter note, it DOES take time for me to get ready. It’s pretty entertaining too!

(author’s note:…Heh. I bet!)

M: My karaoke anthem is Hanky Panky by Madonna. I’ll sing a lot of songs, but Hanky Panky is the one I will *always* sing. What’s your karoake anthem and why?

Chris: Probably will be Depeche Mode’s “Dressed in Black” because I sing that in the shower a lot. No apparent reason why, but I do. Not to mention I cannot sing, and I try, but that would be the song to do it because it’s ‘dark’ and a bit off key anyway. *laughs*

(author’s note: Be still my heart! Depeche Mode in the shower!)

M: You’re competing again in the Romantic Times’ Convention’s Mr. Romance Contest. Do you have a strategy, this year, for winning the coveted Reader’s Choice popularity award? How much woo do you plan to pitch? What do you feel your strengths are in the competition this year, and how have you been preparing for it?

Chris: This year I plan to be more flirtatious and again; myself! Last year I won a lot of hearts because I was just myself and showed women that you can be a man if you are funny, sexy, and charming -all- at the same time! I shocked many because when I appeared in the contest, a lot of people did not know I was in it! A lot of people said “Oh MY! I never knew that spikey haired guy was in the contest! He sat -right- here next to me during dinner and never mentioned it!”

I think the reason why is because that year, last year, I was there to have fun and test the waters. I never knew how big it was until I went to this. SO, this year I want to be a bit more serious. I’m not sure if I will win or not, but this year I will defintely shine again! I think my strengths are my charm and personality. Looks can always be replaced, overlooked, or even not remembered, but a personality can! This year I will try my best to be around a lot more people so people can remember me more!

(author’s note: Chris *is* funny and nice in addition to being cute, so anyone lucky enough to be attending RT this year, make sure you get the chance to meet him!)

M: Curse you and your balloon seductions! I dropped fifty smackers at the Dollar Tree, lured in as I was by the sight of your face on that poster. What’s your favorite thing to buy from the Dollar Tree, and why?

Chris: Actually, after doing that gig, I enjoy the store! Whenever I get big and famous, I plan to endorse that store! *laughs* Seriously, I enjoy the sugar wafers they sell. You cannot find pure sinful pleasure anywhere else. They have really nice snacks there too. Also their tuna is cheap and they sell it with lemon juice! Yum+eee!

(author’s note: Yum + eee = adorkable)

M: Valentine’s Day is coming. What is your opinion on this lovers’ holiday?

Chris: Seriously? Valentine’s Day? ONE day for a woman?! Valentine’s Day should be every day for a woman. With all the stuff a lady has to do: Wake up next to us men, work, clean, have a child, and then the txing emotions, I think a woman’s day should be everyday. Loving someone should not stop on V day.

(author’s note: Good answer! *claps)

M: Let’s dish about Keanu for a minute. Your Myspace says he’s a person you’d like to meet. Anyone who’s ever spent more than an hour or two with me knows I LOVE KEANU! He is the only other man I would ever marry. So, Keanu. I love him. You’re into him. What is it about Keanu you like so much?

Chris: I like Keanu because he too struggled to get into the industry. Not only that he stays out of the limelight and drama Hollywood tends to carry. He also lives modest, until his sister’s cancer, and him wanting to take care of his family. I studied on Keanu for a while because I consider him a great actor. Many people think he is not, but how many people can pull off learning 200 martial arts moves within a year (Matrix)? How many people can do stunts as he did in the Matrix movie, and perform his lines? He did a great job in other movies like ‘As Good As It Gets’ and even older movies like ‘Permanent Record’, where he plays an intense character? Keanu and I share some qualities as well. We’re both Left handed. He’s also had a difficult times in is life.

(author’s note: I LOVE KEANU!)

M: And finally, just because I have to ask, since you’re Mr. Dollar Tree and all — what would you do for a dollar? (I’ll be bringing one to RT this year, so you’d better make it good.)

Chris: We’ll just keep this one secret until that time, shall we? *laughs*

(author’s note: BWAHAHA! *plots*)

M: Thanks for taking the time to become one of my Minions!

Chris: Anytime!

So, there you have it. A slightly in-depth look at Chris Winters! Find him at his official website, chriswinters.com or his Myspace where you can check out some verrrrry pretty pictures of him as well as catch a peek at some of his film work.

And, just because it IS verrrrrry pretty, and he said I could do it, here are some pictures of him:

From the Dollar Tree poster (I took it with my cell phone)

And from his website. Now, I’ll admit it. I looked at most of his pictures. There are pics of Chris in underwear. And low-slung jeans, covered in dirt and sweat. And in formal wear. And underwear, did I mention that? But when it came right down to it, I thought this picture was really one of the nicest. (Don’t get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against picture of beautiful men in their underwear, or in objectifying said men. I just liked this one better. But go to his website and check out his pictures, he’s there in all his glory.)

EDITED! Since Photobucket was acting up, Chris linked me to HIS favorite picture of himself. It’s lovely, innit?

photo credit: snagged from Chris’s website, photographer listed as fotografikos.

And, what the hell, just because I know you all out there really want to see one:

Special thanks to Chris for agreeing with good humor to be my minion!

M

PS — Now taking applications for minions. Email me at readinbed AT gmail DOT com. You don’t have to be a beautiful boy to become my minion. You merely have to agree to be interviewed and do my bidding, and if you have something interesting to give away, that always works, too.

Since I forgot to ask Chris if he had anything to give away, I’m going to give away a signed AND CARESSED copy of Tempted to one lucky winner. Just comment here and I’ll draw one name from all the comments (this article will be cross-posted to a couple places) and send you the book. If you already have Tempted I can send you something else from my prize cabinet…or possibly a copy of Dirty /or/ Broken or an older title *if* I have any left…