Sasha White

First off, I had to buy myself a new toy, errrr… computer. Yes, I had too. You see, I’m a professional writer. Uh huh, and I need a computer that works.

Okay, okay, so my iBook still works fine, it’s just getting really loaded down, and slow. I keep installing more memory, but it’s not helping. And it needs a new keyboard cuz some letters are starting to not work all the time. (mostly the vowels E and A) . Both of those are easy to fix, after all, it is a MAC. But when I went in to purchase a portable Hard Drive to use to back up all my file, I got seduced by the new 20 inch 2.4 GHz Beauty. It’s so pretty, and shiny, and BIG. Yep, I like ‘em big.

So, I have a new work computer.

And of course, I had to show it to my parents when they came to get me for my Dad’s 65th Birthday dinner. Now let me tell you, I LOVE my Mom. She rocks. She taught me the most important lesson ever. To love myself, to look after myself, and that I could do anything if I set my mind to it. Okay, so she taught me a few good lessons. Anyway, Mom is not a fan of computers. They scare her. She rocks the computer at the store where she works, but she doesn’t like home computers. I keep telling her she needs to play on a MAC because they’re so easy to use. (C’mon, I can use a MAC, and I’m pretty computer illiterate.) And in showing Mom my nice new big computer, I told her to play. That she couldn’t hurt it. And she found the PhotoBooth. It wokrs just like those ones in the mall. It opens, the built in camera shows you you, on the screen, and when you click the mouse it snaps a shot. So this is my Mom’s picture. (Oh, and Mom hates having her picture taken)

So, three guesses where I get my attitude from.

It’s Week 2 of Slim Camp, how y’all doing?

I’ll tell you, I did better the week before I started SC than I did last week. This past week I’ve done pretty good with my eating -except for a couple of times I gave in and had to have some diet pop - but I only worked out once. My excuse? A deadline on a story.

The thing that frustrates me about it all is that this is the whole reason I need to get my habits under control, so that I don’t gain 10-15 pounds every time I write a book. While this one is just a ashort story, and I won’t gain 10 pounds, but it brings the “habit’ factor really home.

So this week..Determination has set in, and I’m going to fight my unhealthy habits.

Check back on Monday for a healthy recipe! And now, our guest post from Amie …..

IT’S NOT JUST A DIET
by Amie Stuart

It’s a way of life. I guess if any of you read my blog post from last week, you know I’ve lost a grand total of 45 pounds in a year. I wish it was more, but I’m also very proud of myself for a) sticking to it and b) losing the most amount of weight at one time since I was 19 and did Nutri-system. I’ve done a lot of diets since then, and before then—I remember my mother taking me to Weight Watchers. I was ten and all I remember is a dark room, a scale and a bunch of old folks. It scarred me for life.

Anyway about a year ago I got to thinking I had a thyroid problem, or at the very least there was something wrong with me (I was run down, depressed, my skin was gross, I had zits and I was at my heaviest, but I knew it wasn’t JUST depression). I did some research and discovered a local doctor who prescribed naturally derived thyroid meds, and made an appointment. The doctor sent me for a bunch of blood work and started me on some vitamins and stuff. I was skeptical—of the vitamins which were very expensive and seeing a nutritionist. After all, I’m the woman who went on the SBD for six weeks and didn’t lose a pound. Finally I go to see the nutritionist who is nutty but seems to know her stuff. I have candida overgrowth and PMDD, she says.

Changing my diet will stop the PMDD (imagine PMS on CRACK with an Uzi and no chocolate) and get rid of the headaches I’d had for 18 months (Beth remember me complaining way back when about my headaches? Candida). She also gives me more vitamins and supplements to take. Ok, I figure I’ll give it two months and see what happens.

THEN I went back to the doctor for my test results. I did indeed have a thyroid problem, and insulin resistance and a Vitamin D deficiency along with a host of other problems. To be honest, I walked out of there shell-shocked and unable to believe I’d been a functioning human being. But maybe sometimes that’s what you need to make you change your life.

And it truly has been a lifestyle change—not just for myself but for my kids. I talk to them a lot about diet, and exercise, and being active because I don’t ever want them to go through this. There’s no more cookies in the house, I gave up birthday cakes, we drink soy and almond milk, I bought a wok (LOVE MY WOK!), I’m sensitive to wheat so I have to really limit the amount of bread I eat and pasta is a big no-no as is….sugar. That’s right….I gave up sugar (and no splenda or aspartame either—it’s stevia all the way. The nutritionist doesn’t want me using any artificial sweeteners). I won’t say I never cheat though, because I do, and I’m the world’s worst exerciser. Exercise will be my big challenge to conquer in Sasha’s Slim Camp.

I guess if I could leave you with one or two important thoughts, it’d be these:
Change takes time: So go easy on yourself. I did the diet first, and had to adjust to a ton of medicine and vitamins, THEN I gave up caffeine and finally, in June I quit smoking (though I did smoke at Nationals, I haven’t smoked since).
Celebrate your small victories: Don’t focus on the big picture of say 100 pounds. Focus on small goals of 25 and 50 pounds. And don’t forget every pound gone is progress. Every extra step you walk is progress. And every day you’re going to be healthier than you were the day before. I never ever thought I’d see a size 18 again but I have, and all the changes I’ve made were worth the time and effort and expense because I do feel better, I AM healthier and that’s the most important thing.

First things first, the three names drawn for the free copiesof EXCLUSIVE are:

Maureen
Scarlet
Melissa

Ladies, you have a weekn to send me your snail mail addy’s so I can pass them on to the authors, or I’ll pick new names.

I had a wierd weekend, personally. I tried to stay motivated, I’m cutting it very close on two deadlines, and yet, I’m not quite as motivated as I should be. And I sort of sucked onmy Slim Camp goals too. I gave in to my cravings for pop with some Diet Dr.Pepper, adn uhmm that let to microwave popcorn for dinner. *blush*

But, today is another day, and I’m going to do my best to get my ass back on track!
How was your weekend?

Okay, here comes one long post…but it’s full of Excerpts, so be sure to read it all!!!

EXCLUSIVE is an erotic anthology from Berkley heat with three of my favorite authors…and those wonderful ladies have agreed to give away three free copies of the book!! So, read all the way.. and answer the questions at the end to try and win…

Eden Bradley’s Sanctuary…
Innocent Devin Delaney never thought of herself as kinky, until a visit to the dungeons of The Ring. Here, a true submissive like Devin is considered quite a prize among dominants like Shayne. The only question is how far is Devin willing to go to please her man—and herself?

Jaci Burton’s Wild Nights…
Grace Wilde owns a swingers club—but rarely indulges in the fun. It takes a newcomer like Mike to sway her. Pure country. All animal. And up for a good time. But can two people who thrive on independence find a compromise between absolute sexual freedom and total commitment?

Lisa Renee Jones’s Purple Magic…
Ever since her friend vanished into the hedonistic world of Manhattan’s forbidden clubs, Joline Moore’s been searching for her. Now she’s plunged into a depraved darkness she never imagined—and into the arms of Drago, a mysterious stranger who may be her sensual salvation…
Read the rest of this entry »

Are you ready?
Let’s get this started!

Today I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned about what works, and what doesn’t. While I am no Doctor or Nutritionist, I am a certified Coach (International Sports level) and have taken course on group fitness, and nutrition. Plus, I was a competitive athlete myswelf for 10 years, and even then, battled with control of my wieght and my habits. Basically, I know what needs to be done, I just don’t always do it.

In the last 8 years, I’ve not considered myself an athlete, I’ve tried to live ‘normal” and not gain too much, but it slowly keeps creeping back on. I’ve successfully lost 30 pounds three times over, and each time it comes back, plus some. So this time, I’m taking it slow and steady, and I’m going to make it last. No more gaining it back.

First off, I believe that for lasting weight loss, the slow and steady is the key. Each time I’ve lost weight it’s been at a rate of ten or more pouinds a month. Each time, I’ve done it ina healthy manner, and while that’s not too much too soon, it isn’t the lifestyle I want to live anymore. By that I mean, I don’t want to have to go to the gym 5 or 6 days a week forthe rest of my life - and that is what it took to lose that weight in that time, in a helathy way.

Please notice I keep saying in a healthy way. This is because it can be easy to lose weight with fad diets, but it’s not always healthy, and it’s not always practical. My new plan however, is practical - and based on TWO key elements.

1) Goal Setting

2) Consisitency

You will not be able to improve your health, change your lifestyle, lose weight without goal setting and consistency.

1) Goal Setting:
Set realistic goals.
Start small. For me, one of my goals is to quite drinking soda pop. It doesn’t matter if it’s diet of not, pop is not a healthy choice, and honestly, I know it makes me crave junk food. And I also know I can do it. I tend to do good for a while but as soon as I have 1 glass, I want more, and more… yep. I’m that way with junk food too. So my second goal is No Junk Food In the house.

I know one of my big weaknesses is not being able to stop when I should. I’m like that in many things, not just food. Heh. *clears throat* Anyway, I know my weakness, so in order to help myself, I’m setting the goal of no junk food in the house. The final goal is to Be Active. For myself , I enjoy working out. Sometimes I enjoy it too much because my body is nto inthe same shape as mymind, and I do too much too soon, and I suffer injuries becasue of it. So this time around, my goal is to go slow, but remain active. To excercise 5-6 days a week, but starting with light workouts, and easing into things.

My goals will change as my lisfestyl does, as they should. But those are my goals, for now.

2) Consistency
Consistency in eating, consistency in exercising, and consistency in faith in myself.

Exercising consistently Do I need to explain why this is good? I’m not going to because I think we all know why it is. It burns calories, and makes us feel good.

One of the best things you can do for your body is eat consistently. Set up a schedule for yourself, within 12 hours. If you eat breakfast (And don’t skip it!!) at 8 AM, then your last meal or snak should be at 8 PM. And you should eat every 2-3 hours. The key to losing weight with diet is not to not eat. When you stop eating, your body starts to want to hold onto what you do put into it, and your metabolism slows. So if you consistently feed it, healthy food, it burns it up, and then starts in on the stored fats..thereby, burning more in a day, than when you eat less.

I hope I’m explaining the way it works well enough. But the main thing is, Don’t Starve yourself, just make better choices consistently.

Consistency in Faith in yourself. Do not give up on yourself if you fuck up. Just realize what happened, and get back on track. Believe in yourself, know it’s a process, and believe that you deserve to live a long healthy life. And to do that…you need to make better health a priority.

Those are my goals, and my current plan. I’m giving myself two weeks to make them habit, then I’m adding to my goals.

How about you? Think about your goals, and think about a plan - even a simple plan - and commit to it.

And Join my Fit Camp by commenting here, show support to each other, and gain motivation to keep us all on track!

Those of you that want, please feel free to post the FIT CAMP button (isn’t it awesome? My weblady Croco did it for us!) on your website/blog, and help encourage others. The more who join us, the merrier. We all need support and motivation, and I hope this helps. I’ll have new posts specifically for Fit Camp every Thursday, and you can bet I’ll probably comment on my own progress during the week as well.

Good Luck Everyone!!

Next Week: Amie Stuart talks about how she lost 45 lbs!
October 4th: Beth Williamson will be talking about Food Allergies and how she’s learned tolive with them.

“Trouble was a red-hot page-turner for this reviewer. It held my attention from beginning to end. Sasha White did a fascinating job of combining an interesting plot and steamy hot sex scenes. The sex scenes were so hot that this reviewer had to take a cold shower.”

Read the full review at Night Owl Romance

Wanna Sample?
Read on….

The sharp peal of his cell phone pulled him from his thoughts and he snatched it off the desk. Caller ID said Private Number.
“Hello.”
“I’d like to live out another fantasy, please.”
Samair.
He eyed the papers spread across his desk. The numbers weren’t going to change on their own, and he really shouldn’t let himself get distracted.
“Val?”
Maybe a little distraction was just what he needed. Something to rejuvenate his fighting spirit. “You called the right man.”
Thirty minutes later the doorbell rang and Val glanced at his watch in surprise. She was on time. He put the unopened beer in his hand back on the shelf, and closed the fridge.
Sure steps brought him to the front door, and when he opened it his mouth went dry.
Blond hair tousled, blue eyes sparkling, and curves covered up by a shiny black PVC coat had Samair looking like an angel recently kicked out of heaven for misbehaving … and glad of it.
The fair skin at her throat sparkled with some sort of glitter, leading his eyes to the shadowed cleavage showcased by the mini-trench coat. With the jacket cinched tight at her waist it flared out to end at mid-thigh and left lots of leg to drool over.
Like the skirt she’d worn the other night, it brought one thought to his mind, easy access. “Are you wearing panties under that?”
“That’s for me to know,” she said as she stepped past him to enter the house. “And you to find out.”
Her scent filled his head and his body tightened. His dick was waking up fast.
She’d stopped in the middle of the small entrance way and was looking around. The apartment was nothing special, and for the first time since he’d moved in there, he cared what someone thought. When he left Vera, he hadn’t really cared where he lived, as long as it was far from his ex. He spent most of his time at the club anyway.
Just when he’d started to think about finding a new place, he found out about the crap she’d pulled with his bank officer, and he couldn’t afford it. When it came to choosing between a nice condo or his club, the club won hands down. Not that it mattered, Samair wasn’t exactly there to help him decorate.
With that in mind he stepped close, invading her personal space he leaned in, his loose hair falling forward and blending with hers as he whispered in her ear. “I hope to find out more than if you’ve got underwear on.”
He brushed his fingertips against her bare thigh and watched her pupils dilate and the pulse at the base of her throat throb. Good. It was nice to know she was as hot for him as he was for her.
He shifted closer to kiss her, but she braced a hand on the center of his chest and stopped him cold. “Uh uh.”
“No?”
“I’m here to live out a fantasy. A fantasy you promised me.” She tilted her head back and met his gaze head on. “In this fantasy, I’m in charge and you’re mine to do with as I please.”
Christ!
She’d managed to pick the one thing he wasn’t sure he could pull off. Control was something he valued way to much to give up to anyone. Yet, every muscle in his body was suddenly strung tight, eager to be touched and stroked. His cock was hard enough to hammer nails with and his jeans were tighter than the ball of tension growing in the middle of his chest.
Samair licked her lips, watching him closely.
The urge to say ‘No way’ was strong, but he shoved it away and met her gaze. They weren’t strangers anymore, and he wanted to keep it that way. If he said no now, their affair might end right there. And right then, she was the only thing giving him pleasure in life. He wasn’t ready for it to end.
When he didn’t say anything and she dropped her bag on the floor before she started a slow stroll around him. Her hand smoothed up over his chest, she fingered the ends of his hair and he suppressed a shiver as goose bumps rose on his skin. She let go and trailed her hand across his shoulder, and down his back.
He waited for her to pat his ass but it didn’t happen, and he was surprised at the disappointment he felt.
“You’ve been deliciously in charge each time we’ve been together, and it occurred to me that I haven’t been gotten to play much,” she said as she came around in front of him again. “So tonight, I’m the kid, and you’re the candy store.”
Her playfulness helped him relax a little. “Does that mean you’re going to eat me?”
“Among other things.” She winked and stepped back.
She unbelted the jacket, shrugged it off her shoulders and it dropped to the floor leaving her standing there in a shiny PVC halter and a matching pair of short shorts.
“You like?” Samair held up her hands and slowly turned in a circle.
Oh yeah. He liked so much he forgot to breathe when he saw that the shorts barely covered her magnificent ass. She was all woman and the caveman inside him was fighting to get out.
“Yes,” he growled low in his throat and she laughed.
“Take me to your bedroom.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He reached down, grabbed a handful of ass and lifted. Samair wrapped her legs around his waist and they stared at each other as he walked from the room. Every step had her bumping against his hard-on and he thanked God he lived in such a small place. His bedroom was less than a dozen steps from the front entrance.
He stopped in the middle of his room and arched an eyebrow. “What next, ma’am?”
“You may put me down now.” Her full lips twitched. The little minx was trying not to laugh!
He stepped forward and dropped her on the bed, loving the surprised squeak she made when she bounced. She might be playing at being a dominatrix, but they both knew she was doing just that. Playing.
And it was just what he needed. Some good ol’, down and dirty lighthearted fun. Entertainment of the best kind.
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What is it about blindfolds that turns you on to a degree that is sometimes shocking?
I see it in the desire in your eyes before I cover them.
I see it in the minute trembling of your body as you sit patiently, waiting for my next move … my next touch.
I smell it in the air that surounds us, and feel it in the energy that sparks between us.
I don’t know what it is about the blindfold that turns you on so much, but I do know I’m thankful for it. Because there are few things that I love more than to have you so egerly at my mercy.

Last week I talked about getting back in shape, and how I need to do it, and do it right. I know this is a problem so many of us face, on a regular basis, and often what keeps us from being successful is lack of support.

Sure family members offer support, and so do friends. But for me, sometimes their support feels like nagging. Especially if they’re someone who I’m not sure understands how hard it can be. So I’ve decided to create Sasha’s Slim Camp. I wanted to get a graphic made up and everything, but I’m too impatient to tell you all about it to wait for the graphic…so I’m gonna just do this the old fashioned way for now … with text. (If anyone tech-savvy out there wants to make up a graphic for us…that would be fantastic!)

How Sasha’s Slim Camp is going to work is like this; Every Thursday I’m going to post something new here on my blog about diet, excercise or lifestyle changes that I hope will help anyone interested in changing thier own habits.

Why did I choose Thursday? Because after mid-week, or Hump Day, is when my own good habits start to slide. It’s easy to be motivated to start the week off right on Monday, and while weekends can sometimes be hard with outings and such, I still find end of the week - thursday and friday- the hardest days to be strong. So I’m going to take the chance that this is how it happens with others as well.

I’m going to have the post up first thing on Thursday morning, and hope that y’all will stop by and comment. I’d love it even more if you comment on your own struggles and successes so we can build a sort of casual support group on here. Like when Amie posts about losing 45 pounds so far we can all cheer for her, and feel inspired! YAY Amie!!

If anyone has their own story to tell, or recipes to share I’d love to hear from them, just email me via the contact button on the menu bar above, and I’ll share them on one of my Thursday posts - there will be plenty of them as I plan to do this for a year to lose almost 100 pounds - and guest posts will be welcome.

So, for those of you who expressed the need /desire to go down this path…let’s do it!!

Yep, I am so lucky… and loving every minute of it. My bestest buddy Beth Williamson sent me a print copy of her first Devils on Horseback book.

Nate’s story.

I LOVE this new series of hers. I can’t tell you how much. It releases from Samhain on September 25th, and it’s about a ragtag groups of ex-soldiers after the civil war ends, and my heart gets involved with each story from page 1. Lucky me also gets to read them as she writes…but as you readers know, a signed print copy of a book by one of your favorite authors, is a special thing.

And thinking of that..if you’re interested in winning a signed book from me..be sure to drop by Caffey’s ReadsToday and check out what we’re up to over there.

I’m over at Caffey’s Read today. All weekend in fact. Yep, today is just a post and Q & A, but Cathie is doing a scavenger Hunt this weekend, and I’m providing the prizes…so if you want a chance at winning some free books, and maybe a special treat…be sure to drop over and take part this weekend!!

Have a great day!