I am addicted to FarmVille.

I was on FaceBook for a good long time, a year I think, without falling prey to any of the cool games it advertises.

Tuesday asked me to join FarmVille around the first of December so I could send gifts to fill her tree. I thought–okay. I’ll play through the end of the month and be tired of it. Then I’ll close out the app and forget about it.

Christmas came and went. I was still playing.

I told myself once I had enough money to buy the simplest house (because I didn’t want my FarmVillian to be homeless) I would stop.

The cottage came and went. And I was still playing.

A white mansion rose from my fields. Then a ski lodge, then a zoo, a horse farm, and a tropical islandish getaway spot.

One night, I don’t even remember what happened, but I was upset. My hubby knew I’d fallen in love with FarmVille and bought me FV cash.

That night a world of possibilities opened up and a monster was born…

Three months later, my farm looks less like a farm and more like a tiny town. I love to create and build. I love my farm. It makes me happy tending my animals and planting my crops.

It is the perfect way to de-stress.

This is my farm in all its glory. (Click to expand the photo.)

*happy sigh*

Now that you’ve seen how deep my FarmVille addiction runs, won’t you join me?

Friend me on FaceBook and let the farming begin!

I had one of those “awww” moments a couple of nights ago. My hubby is a deep sleeper, very deep. He just swapped shifts at work and is getting used to being at home and in bed at night.

(I have slept alone five nights a week for the past three years. It’s just odd rolling over and finding him there.)

Anyway—this is the thing. I rolled over and it jostles him enough that he sort of, in a way, maybe, wakes up a bit. He’s just laying there on his pillow, looking up at me. And then he smiles.

I got this sudden punch of happiness so intense it made my stomach hurt. I mean, I cut my hair off short. I know it’s sticking up like porcupine quills. I wouldn’t have dared to open my mouth after being asleep that many hours.

(Despite what they (I) lead you to believe in romance novels, morning breath is alive and well.)

It just kind of struck me as one of those moments I would frame and hold up to the world and say, “See this? This is how it should be. This is how it will always be because I’ve known the greatest love I think is possible between two people and I will never settle for less. Not from him or me.”

So, there you go. I’m one of the odd ducks who writes and reads romance because I believe it does exist. I wouldn’t sell a product I didn’t believe in. I’m not wired that way.

I have discovered something new. I might be a tad addicted to Twitter. Er, no, that isn’t the something new. Most of you knew that already.

A few days ago, I discovered a new hash tag that has been great fun.

For those of you unused to the hashes, whatever you type with that tag will go to the same place, even if you @(reply to) a particular person.

It allows a group of people to have an interactive conversation. Sometimes it’s sports or movies but, in our case, it’s one line critiques. Maybe two lines if they are short and relevant to understanding the context.

For example, here is the sentence(s) I wanted critiqued:

A succulent twist freed the metal. I tossed it aside as so much other wreckage from the vehicles remaining in this winter wasteland of snow and ice, fiberglass and steel.

Since it’s a rather long sentence, it ended up looking more like this:

A succulent twist freed the metal. I tossed it aside as so much other wreckage from the vehicles… (cont) #wipfire #amwritingparty

(cont)… remaining in this winter wasteland of snow and ice, fiberglass and steel. #amwritingparty #wipfire

The replies I got were as follows.

@HaileyEdwards Wow! color me intrigued. The only word I question is succulent. (All else, magnificent!) #amwritingparty #wipfire

@HaileyEdwards I love this so much!! just 2 small suggestions- not sure about succulent & stronger verb usage is “that remained” #amwriting

It was 2:30 a.m., so only two comments. Usually there are a half dozen or more participants. Although “that remained” wasn’t part of my sentence, #wipfire gets intense with so many excerpts and comments, so I overlooked that part.

Both commenters tagged my misuse of the word “succulent.” I love that word. It calls to mind all sorts of things involving body parts and… well… anyway…

It clued me in that the sentence needed to be changed. Edging towards 3:00 a.m., I wasn’t too concerned with it. lol But, in the light of today, I will repair it.

The #amwritingparty and #wipfire hash tags are great for those single lines we come across that are good, but just not quite right and we can’t see why not for ourselves. It’s a learning tool and a fun one to boot.

The party starts at the top of every hour. Then comments are allowed until the next hour rolls over. Stop by sometime, I’m sure I’ll see you there.

I won something. Wow. Yes, you can be amazed as well. I’m not known for having good luck. Actually, I’m known for bad luck occurring in intimate and embarrassing places. *coughs*

Anyway…

I won a copy of Alisha Rai’s novel, Glutton for Pleasure. Not only is it her first book to go to print, but I won her first signed copy. How cool is that? Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

As a bonus, to help you share in my joy, I’ll link you to a blog post where she is making out with a copy. I was assured it is not the same copy she is sending me. (If it arrives smelling of imaginary coconut M&M’s… then I might wonder…)

If you like hot food and even hotter men, then join me in giving this new-to-me author a try.

They’re craving something sweet. She likes it spicy.

Devi Malik knows how to heat things up. She does it every night as head chef in her family’s Indian restaurant. Her love life, though, is stuck in the subzero freezer. Now, with a chance to fulfill a secret fantasy with her long-time crush and his brother, it’s time to put her desire on the front two burners.

For Marcus Callahan, a love-’em-and-leave-’em attitude isn’t only a necessary evil of their kink. It’s a protective device. Lately, though, his brother Jace has been making noises about craving something more.

Jace’s dissatisfaction with their lifestyle grows with every glimpse of sweet little Devi. Yet Marcus is too haunted by the pain of their shared past to give love a chance.

Despite their reputation for vanishing with the dawn, they discover one night with Devi isn’t nearly enough. And Devi finds herself falling in love with two very different men.

It’ll take more than explosive sex to light up the shadows surrounding the Callahan brothers’ secrets. But Devi’s never been afraid of the dark…

Warning: This title contains two sizzling men for the price of one, ménage a trois, oral sex, anal sex, fun toys, great food, and creative uses for syrup and dressing rooms.

You can pick up an eBook copy here or purchase your very own print edition here.

To learn more about the author, visit her website here or blog here.

You should also check out her blog on Monday for a chance to win an eBook copy of her Tuesday release, Veiled Desire. You can read an excerpt here.