Baking King, Kim Tak Goo - A Review

Baker King (King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo) – Review
Baker King (King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo) is a 30 episode Korean drama about the eldest son of Goo In Jong, a legendary baking president of Samhwa Enterprises. Kim Tak Goo, portrayed by Oh Jae Moon (as a child) and Yoon Shi Yoon (as an adult) is a loving and caring person who at the age of twelve discovers that he is the eldest son of Goo In Jong, a skilled baker and also the president of Samhwa Enterprises.
For the past twelve years he and his mother Kim Mi Sun (Jun Mi Sun) has lived in poverty and have moved around a lot because of threats made by Han Seung Jae (Jun Sung Mo), the best friend and secretary of Samhwa Enterprises under the order of Goo In Jong’s wife, Seo In Sook (Jun In Hwa) who finds out about the child’s existence. Goo In Jong and Kim Mi Sun had a brief affair a little over twelve years ago after Seo in Sook gave birth to her second daughter, and under the guidance of Goo in Jong’s mother who desperately wanted a grandson to carry on the family’s name and business. Instead of killing Kim Mi Sun, Secretary Han allows her and the baby to live with the promise that he would kill both of them if he ever saw them again.
Kim Tak Goo gets to meet Goo In Jong, whom he calls Chairman when Kim Tak Goo and another friend tries to steal bread from a baking plant. Kim Tak Goo later takes responsibility and pays off the debt by selling junk he has collected. Goo In Jong is so impressed when the young man lives up to his responsibility that he asks him his name and he tells him Kim Tak Goo. Goo In Jong is shocked because that was the name he asked Kim Mi Sun to name their son before she gave birth to him but chocked it off an a coincidence since Kim Mi Sun disappeared and he hadn’t heard from her in twelve years. Kim Mi Sun gets upset when she learns about the meeting and learns that Kim Tak Goo wants to grow up to be someone successful just like Goo In Jong. But just as soon as she is about to forget the incident Secretary Han hears the child’s name and hunts them down. He threatens to kill them but Kim Mi Sun tells him that she will take her child and leave again. Kim Tak Goo does not want to leave because he is tired of moving and he has made friends. One friend in particular is Shin Yoo Kyung (Eugene) who is being physically and mentally abused by her alcoholic father.
Kim Mi Sun decides to take Kim Tak Goo to his father for him to raise since she is unable to give him the kind of life he needs to be a success. This causes a major problem because Goon In Jong is not only still married to Seo In Sook and they have three children, two older daughters and a younger son named Goo Ma Joon (Shin Dong Wood (child)/Joon Won (adult) whom Seo In Sook has been grooming to take over Samhwa Enterprises. Seo in Sook makes it very clear that she is not going to raise a child by her husband’s mistress. Goon In Jong’s mother instantly sees the resemblance between Goo In Jong and Kim Tak Goo and agrees to raise the child in the home despite the way Seo In Sook feels. Kim Mi Sun leaves and Kim Tak Goo tearfully cries because he doesn’t want to be separated from her. His grandmother tells him to man up and ignore the ugly stares he’s receiving from Seo In Sook and the other kids in the house.
Kim Tak Goo decides to give it his best shot but Seo In Sook treats him so badly, including physically striking him in the face because she hates him and what he stands for. Then one day Kim Tak Goo gets a wired message from Shin Yoo Kyung that his mother is in danger. Kim Tak Goo leaves the home to rescue his mother and Goo Ma Joon follows him. But when he gets there he discovers that his mother has been kidnapped.
Kim Tak Goo and Goo Ma Joon return to the mansion and Kim Tak Goo asks his father to help search for his mother, but his father is too busy and tell him that he will take care of it later. Seo in Sook plots with Secretary Han to get rid of the child and Secretary Han takes him off and tries to sell him to some men on a ship. Kim Tak Goo gets away from the men after he discovers what Secretary Han has done. While in hiding he meets an old man Pal Bong, who gives him some bread to eat, keeps him safe and then talks to him until Kim Tak Goo leaves the next morning. For the next twelve years Kim Tak Goo searches for a man with a windmill tattoo on his arm…the only clue he has in his mother’s disappearance. Twelve years later he shows up at a bakery and all their lives collide again.
Review – This is another one of those instances where you can’t judge a series by a couple of episodes. I originally watched the first couple of episodes and stop because the story dragged. So I put it aside for a while and then went back to it and got interested in the story. Just because you have money doesn’t mean that you are better than people who don’t. In this case money has turned these people into a very dysfunctional family. It is a tale filled with lies, deceit and secrets that span twenty-six years and just when you think nothing else can happen to the happy-go-lucky Kim Tak Goo one of his extended family members pulls a rabbit out of a hat to keep him in his place. This is a tale where men run the business and women run the household. They are pampered and spoiled and have never gone without a meal. Seo in Sook will stop at nothing to make her son the next president of Samhwa. Once she asks Secretary Han to help her he agrees since the two of them used to date and he is still in love with her. Secretary Han is an evil man who doesn’t have a problem committing kidnapping, murder and putting his own life on the line while pretending to be the president’s best friend and confidant.
This story is a tear-jerker, where most of the time Kim Tak Goo is the one in tears. Seeing him cry gets a little boring at times but your heart will go out when you see how determine he is to find his mother. I give this drama four fleur de les.

Eye Strain

Eye Strain
Why is everything good so bad for you? After a month of headaches, neck aches and blood shot eyes I found out I was suffering from eye strain. The doctor asked me how many hours I spent on the computer a day, and I jokingly told him the question should be how many hours I’m not on the computer a day? Doctors, I’ve discovered don’t have a sense of humor no matter how much you pay them. The nurse didn’t either as she stabbed me in the arm to give me my flu shot.
What is eye strain: Eye strain occurs when your eyes get tired from intense use, such as driving a car for extended periods of time, reading or working on a computer. It’s not usually serious and goes away when you rest your eyes.
Symptoms of eye strain: tired eyes, blurring of vision, headaches, doubling of vision and neck ache.
So how much time do I normally spend on the computer each day? Well, I turn it on at six in the morning and watch music videos while I get dressed for work and turn it off about 7:15. The computer on my desk at work is on by 8:00 and shuts down around 4:30. Between those times I have a half hour lunch break and two fifteen minute rest periods that I spend outside writing by sunlight. By 6:00 pm I’m back home and the computer is back on. I have to read my email, converse with friends on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, type up my notes, work on my blogs and chat with my writer groups on Yahoo, all the while cooking, cleaning the house and dealing with my mother, my kids, their kids, and their friends.
Last week I watched the entire set of “The First Shop of the Coffee Prince,” in six nights between the hours of 8:00 pm and midnight and I missed a lot of sleep. On Friday night I watched episodes 10, 11 and 12 of “The Perfect Kiss.” I think I turned the computer off around 1:30 am Saturday morning after taking two Tylenol for my headache and putting eye drops in my eyes (no small fete since I hate to put eye drops in my eyes. If any of the medicine makes it in it’s a miracle.). By watching I also mean reading subs since my Korean and Japanese is limited.
When I woke on Saturday morning it felt like someone had put an entire beach of sand in my eyes. So what did I do? I turned on the computer, checked my email, visited my Cassie friends on Facebook around the world, posted a review for “The First Shop of the Coffee Prince,” on my blogs and then begin this blog.
I was fairly good yesterday. I turned off the computer and the television and just lay in bed. Well, it wasn’t as wonderful as it sounded because one of my neighbors little granddaughters kept ringing my doorbell and running, even after I told her that the kids were at the park across the street. So I decided to get up and fix hotdogs and hamburgers for the kids when they returned. The next thing I knew I was working on my current WIP. Somewhere around nine I decided to watch some anime. That didn’t last too long because I wasn’t paying attention to it. I’ve noticed lately that I don’t watch as much television as I once did and that’s only because I’ve discovered other interesting things on the Internet. So then I was off to watch episodes nine and ten of Sungkyunkwan Scandal because I had to get my weekly dose of Micky Yoochun in. This is a very good drama, and I’m not saying this just because I’m drooling over him and waiting for him to smile at me through the camera lenses. It’s well written and it teaches a lot about Korean history. After I finished with it I popped in Goong, another drama but realized that I had already watched the first three episodes and didn’t feel like calling up the fourth because I was sleepy. So last night I was actually asleep by midnight.
Well, to answer the doctor’s question. I spend a hell of a whole lot of time on my computer. I’m a writer and there’s not too much I can do except use a bit of common sense and occasionally take off my reading glasses and rest my eyes. Great novels do not write themselves.

Review: The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince

The First Shop of the Coffee Prince

A Review

Twenty-four year old Go Eun Chan, played by Yoon Eun Hye has had a rough life. Her father died when she was young and Eun Chan takes on several jobs to help support the family to include delivering food, teaching Taekwondo, peeling chestnuts, sewing eyes on stuffed dolls and delivering milk. While delivering food Eun Chan meets rich boy slacker Choi Han Kyul, played by Gong Yoo who has just returned to Korea from the United States where he has been living. She finds Han Kyul sitting on the couch talking on his cell phone with just a towel wrapped around his waist. Eun Chan is so embarrassed she runs off forgetting the money. Han Kyul mistakenly takes Eun Chan for a boy and wonders why he was embarrassed to see a half-nude man since he was also a male and wonders if the young man can possibly be gay.
Their paths cross again when Han Kyul is on an outing with a female artist named Han Yoo Joo, who too has just returned from the United States after two years. Two years ago Yoo Joo used to date Han Kyul cousin Choi Han Seong, played by Lee Sun Gyun but left him for another man. In the mean time Han Kyul has been secretly carrying a torch for his cousin’s girlfriend for nine years.
Yoo Joo’s purse is snatched at the same time Eun Chan is making a delivery. Eun Chan witnesses the crimes and goes behind the culprit, captures him and retrieves the purse. She instantly recognizes him as a young man who is interested in dating her younger sister. Eun Chan doesn’t want him to get arrested since basically he’s a nice young man so she makes up a quick plan for him to get away. Eun Chan returns the purse to Yoo Joo but the plan backfires and Han Kyul accuses Eun Chan of conspiring together to rob Yoo Joo. Eun Chan argues her innocence but he is not fully convinced. Eun Chan insists that Han Kyul pay for the repair of her scooter that was damaged in the scuffle.
Eun Chan’s learns that the landlord is about to raise the rent and she knows she has to take on yet another job to help out the family. So she takes on a temporary position as a waitress in a wine bar. It is there that she meets Han Kyul’s cousin Choi Han Seong, a music arranger, who takes an instant liking to Eun Chan because she is a cute young woman. Yoo Joo goes to see Han Seong. He is very angry at the way she walked out on him but realizes that he is still in love with her.
Han Kyul grandmothers decide that is time for Han Kyul to get married so she and his mother begin to arrange dates with attractive young woman. Han Kyul isn’t ready to get married or give up his slacker ways. He has plans to return to the United States where he has been offered a position in with a toy manufacturer, so he comes up with a plan to convince his grandmother that he is gay and enlists the pretty male Eun Chan to help him for money. Eun Chan agrees to help him because her family needs the money.

Eun Chan and Han Kyul develop sort of a friendship and Han Kyul begins to trust him. Meanwhile his grandmother is tired of her grandson’s laziness and puts him in charge of run down coffee house and gives him a short time to make it a success and to make a 300% profit. Han Kyul doesn’t want to do it but is talked into it by Eun Chan with the guarantee that he also hires her. The grandmother has put Han Kyul under the guidance of a master coffee barista who is a bit of a slob. But with the help of Eun Chan and three other males he hires, including the one that snatched Yoo Joo’s purse they turn it into a pretty nice establishment, called the Coffee Prince. Han Kyul decides to only hire handsome young men to work in the shop to draw in the young female clientele.
Han Seong discovers that Eun Chan is the person responsible for delivering milk to his home every day and that Eun Chan has made friends with his dog. The two of them become friends and he takes her out to dinner a couple of times and they talk and play sports together. He cannot believe that his cousin can’t see that Eun Chan is a girl. Han Seong falls in love with Eun Chan and tries to hide it from Yoo Joo, and at the same time Han Kyul also falls for Eun Chan and is confused for having those types of feelings for a male and it makes him question his sexuality.
Review: Funny, funny, funny from the very beginning. Thankfully the director had sense enough to cast an actress that can actually pull off the part of looking and acting like a guy. Yoon Eun Hye is an excellent actress with big pretty expressive eyes and a spirited independence that makes you root for her from the very beginning.
As the handsome male lead, Gong Yoo gives an absolutely superb performance as a young man who wants to enjoy his life and not be tied to his family’s business. It is easy to see how he mistakenly thought Eun Chan for a boy and I give him props for coming to the decision that you can’t really pick who you fall in love with.
I really liked Lee Sun Gyun cast in this part as Han Gyul’s cousin. He’s funny and surprisingly enough I thought his character was quite handsome when he wore his glasses instead of the other way around. What I did not understand was his relationship with Han Yoo Joo. He loves her, she left him, she returned, he took her back even though he knew she would leave him again. And then there was this thing about him knowing that Han Gyul has been in love with her for nine years and he wasn’t worried about it. Hmm, not in the real world.
Chae Jung Ahn really pulled off the part of the selfish artist Han Yoo Joo who wanted what she wanted when she wanted it and she didn’t care who she hurt to get it. Although I like the fact that she was independent and could take care of herself, but I did not like the way she didn’t care for anyone else’s feelings.
I truly like the three other young men who Han Gyul hired at the Coffee Prince. It’s nice that each character came with personal issues that blended in perfectly with the story and didn’t weigh it down. Add Eun-Chan’s shoe-shopping mother, her spoiled brat younger sister and the quirky male butcher who is in love with the mother, and Coffee Prince’s coffee barista and you have the perfect cast of characters to pull off a very successful drama. I give this drama 5 Fleur De Les for excellence and highly recommend it.

Happy Mirotic Day

HAPPY MIROTIC DAY

Imari’s going to deviate from the norm today and blog about her obsession. About six months ago I was on YouTube doing research for my novel “Cherish,” when I heard this song featured on a music video entitled “Oasis,” by a young Korean b-band named B2ST. They were cute, the song was nice and it got me thinking that maybe I found something new to write about. So I continued watching videos and movies featuring Korean performers and then I ran across one entitled Mirotic. So I clicked and my life changed. No crap, it hit me like an epiphany.
I grew up loving the Jackson Five and so naturally I knew I had a thing for boy bands. Imari’s life was getting a little stale…go to work, come home, go to bed, and then go back to work. Music has always been an important factor in my life, I wanted to be a dancer when I was young and my mother always had a great selection of music to entertain us. Six years of practicing, but even though I’m a writer, I have not lost my love for dancing and singing. Then along came DISCO (Crappy) and then Rap and all the good boy bands were gone. My faith in music returned with the discovery of Dong Bong Shin Ki (DBSK) and Miortic.
So what is MIROTIC? Mirotic is a song and video introduced on September 26, 2008 by an up and coming Korean Pop (KPOP) band DBSK. Miortic quickly took Asia by storm with its upbeat sound and dance club salability. DBSK transformed from teen-agers into young men, baring their chests, shaking their hips and showing the world that they were a musical forced to be reckoned with.
Critics and censors actually tried to ban the video for its strong erotic and suggestive syntax but viewers could not be denied the sensuality of U-know, Hero, Max, Micky and Xiah. They were here and in our faces letting us know that there is nothing wrong with the human body and the censors be damned as they crooned the sentence, “I got you under my skin.” Through this song young girls blossomed into young womanhood.
So what were my thoughts on the subject the first time I saw the video? Truthfully I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Hero’s six pack abs. The dancer in me stared captivated at the amazing choreography, and how the young men moved around the floor from one spot to another to get to the middle/front just in time to sing their lead part without missing a step.
Most of the song is in Japanese (or Korean, depending on what video you watch) with a few choice English words thrown in. It’s a story about the members being caught and imprisoned by a witch. I thought the premise was a bit juvenile at first, but then after a few viewings I realized, ooh baby, this is so hot. She chains Hero to a wall, pushes Max into a watery grave, traps Micky in a glass box, hooks U-Know with colorful ties and put Xiah in some type of electronic barrier. Your body will definitely react when you see Hero’s taunt young muscular bulge against the ropes as he struggles to free himself, and Max’s exit from the watery grave will steal your breath away.
Okay, it took me a little while to realize it wasn’t all about the words or the abs or the bondage thing. I thought; let me check it out from a dancer’s prospective. Usually there’s one or two real singers in a boy band and the rest are just pretty eye-candy that can dance fairly well. That is not the case with this group, they are all performers whether it is dancing or singing.
U-Know, the leader of the group, not only have a sweet voice, but the young man has some mad dance skills. I especially like the part when he exposes his chest and dances backwards on his toes without bumping into the other dancers.
Hero, the eldest member of the group and lead singer wows with his porcelain skin, exotic voice, exposed chest and abs and tiny little waist (okay, I got to take a break, I’m drooling). His eyes demand that you watch him as he seduces the camera.
Max, the baby of the group and the tallest of the six feet crooners, hit those glass shattering high notes, and bears a charismatic, cocky, snarly grin as he commands center stage to shake his booty football style.
Xiah – What can I say? The voice and face of an angel, and hips relegated straight out of hell. My word, those hips are lethal as he bumps and grinds and sends my blood pressure up a degree or two. His unique voice is recognized all around the world but it’s those hips and flawless dancing skills that captured my attention.
Last, but certainly not least, Micky, bound by the evil witch in a glass box until he forcefully breaks out sending glass shred everywhere and piecing my heart. This deep voice charmer only flashes a bit of skin in the video but ladies check out the hair (Imari did – Be still my heart). It bounces sexily over his forehead and covers one eye, moving like a wave of black silk. (Yeah, I’m hooked on this one). I never knew hair could be an aphrodisiac and he can dance and sing too.
Okay, back to the song. I think I’ve done enough drooling for the moment. If you think I’ve exaggerated just check out the video at YouTube.

Happy Mirotic Day Fellow Cassies

Happy Birthday to Me

I woke up at 7:25 am. What’s so spectacular about that? It’s my birthday and I can’t remember the last time I slept past 6:00am. So I am thankful for the little extra time. So how did I start my day? I got dressed, pulled out my laptop and watched the video “Begin” by DBSK as I do every morning. It makes me happy and gets me in the mood for writing, especially when I see my gorgeous Hero singing his heart out and my talented Micky playing the piano.
I followed it up by taking my high blood pressure medicine, by doing so I hope to see my next birthday.
Now it’s on to Yahoo to check my email. Wait, first phone call of the day. It’s my mother. She called to wish me a Happy Birthday and to remind me that I was born at 8:30 am. It’s funny the things she remembers. She didn’t sing Happy Birthday to me like she does everyone in the family because she has a toothache.
Wow, look at all the email. It’s from my Facebook and MySpace friends and they are all wishing me a Happy Birthday. I know how I’m going to spend the rest of the morning. My sister called around 9:00 am while I was fixing breakfast. She asked me how I felt to be another year older. Surprisingly enough I don’t feel much different. In fact I think I feel better this year than I did last year, or the previous four years when I was sick with Bronchitis. I don’t know. There must be something in the air during this time of the year. I do have an annoying little post nasal drip hack but other than that I feel great.
As I look into the mirror this morning I really don’t see any significant changes except for my hair. It isn’t shiny as it used to be and I have a couple more gray hairs. Thankfully I haven’t started to wrinkle or sag, and I’m still petite….probably a product of good genes, and not from any special diet. Case in point, breakfast this morning was coffee, grits, scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage and biscuits. Note, earlier where I said I had to take my high blood pressure medicine. Sometimes you just have to live a little.
Will I be celebrating my birthday with a drink? No, alcohol I do not do. Never acquired a taste for it. Not even beer.
Just paid my cell phone bill. I don’t know why I have one. I don’t remember the phone number when I need to. I know how to answer it and turn it off. I can even access my Yahoo email, but everything else is just Greek.
I’m so excited. I thought I lost my databases. They mysteriously appeared this morning. Thank the Lord I don’t have to recreate them. I’m going to back them up on the external drive shortly.
It’s a perfect time to catch up on all the stuff I have been saving on my DVR. I’ve made it through two more episodes of “True Blood” and “Entourage.”
It’s now five in the afternoon so far so good. I’ve heard from my brother and sister-in-law and so far I’ve only seen one of my three sons and not out of peep out of the one I did see.
One of my friends on Facebook bid me a Happy Birthday and told me he hoped my dreams come true. I thought that was so sweet.
Hey my best friend just called. She was on her way from work. My youngest son just came into the house with a present and a kiss. He got me an 11 piece travel kit. Perfect. It will come in handy for a trip I have planned for next year. The card is beautiful and heartfelt and he also gave me a big bag of Hershey’s Kisses, which are my favorite. That was followed up with a call from son number three, his wife and two of my grandchildren. Another grandchild ran in and wished me Happy Birthday, gave me a kiss and then went home. Finally, second daughter-in-law and two more grandchildren. I think that’s just about everyone.
Am I the same person I was last year? God I hope not. Last year I was a stressed out mess dealing with family and health problems. I spent a fortune on anime which I used to de-stress, yet I did manage write seven novels.
This year I tried not to let too much worry me. I still spend a lot of time in my room, but instead of watching anime I am writing. Even my style has change. I dabbled in M/M, interracial, historical and yaoi this year. Got a new pen name and made more money with my writing. And I’m working on a new series that I hope will be received well by my fans.
I’m now hooked on everything Asian. Fell in love with a Korean J/K Pop group, and have a big old cougar crush on a 24 year old whom I hope to get to know better in the coming months. At first my kids thought I lost my mind, but they have gotten used to the posters and pictures on my bedroom wall. Let’s face it, you’re as old as you feel and right now I’m feeling like a kid again.

Promo Monday - On the Warpath

Available now at Sugar and Spice Press
http://www.sugarnspicepress.com/
New Release: September 18, 2010

On the Warpath by Imari Jade
$3.99
http://www.sugarnspicepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=93&zenid=4o4cfc6fpro87cu01egfmmgka6

After the death of his best friend, Secret Service Agent, Hayden Mercier swore that he would never have a partner again, but before he could voice his opinion, his boss went behind his back and assigned him one. Not only was Agent Harris, bossy, arrogant, and a rookie, but he turned out to be a she with long willowy shapely legs, a body that filled out her uniform well, and a face so beautiful it made him feel things he hadn’t felt in a long time. How could he protect the President of the United States when he’d have to worry about keeping every male in the agency away from his partner?

All Nevaeh Harris wanted to do was serve the country that she loved the best way she knew how. She felt honored to be assigned to a position to guard the President so early in her career. That was until she learned that her partner was Hayden Mercier, a renegade agent who had lost his partner in the line of duty. Well she was taught early in life that she couldn’t let anything stand in her way when it came to getting things done, and that included egotistical, chauvinistic handsome males who thought a woman’s place was in the kitchen. She’d do her job and do it well, even if it meant dragging him along with her.

Excerpt
Chapter One
“I don’t really think I need a new partner, Chief. I’ve been doing pretty well without one,” Hayden Mercier said to his boss, Dan Parker, late one afternoon in the parking lot outside the Secret Service building in Washington. Having a partner often caused too many problems, and when one died it fucked with his emotions.
Dan watched him with keen brown eyes that had seen a lot over thirty years. “It’s been two years, Hayden. Time to get over the guilt.”
“Aaron was my partner. I should have been there for him.”
“As great as you are, even you can’t be in two places at one time. Your job is to protect the President first, and all others next.”
Of course Hayden understood his job perfectly well, since he’d been doing it for the last ten years. That did not mean he liked choosing between the leader of the country and his best friend. Not having a partner meant never making that decision again.
“You’ll like Harris,” Dan said after giving him time to accept that the choice wasn’t his. “The two of you have a lot in common.”
Hayden doubted that. “Harris who? I don’t recall anyone in the agency by that name.”
Dan shifted his hands into the pocket of his navy blue pants. “Well, Harris is new to the Secret Service.”
Hayden raised a concerned eyebrow. “A rookie?”
Dan nodded. “Technically yes, but she’s…”
Hayden interrupted him. “She? A female rookie?” He started to pace. “This shit just keeps getting better. Not only are you trying to saddle me with a partner I know nothing about and don’t want, but you’re telling me that she’s a female rookie. Listen, I don’t have time to baby-sit, and skirts are nothing but trouble.”
Dan pulled his hands out of his pocket. “I never pictured you as a chauvinist, Hayden, and please don’t refer to the female agents as ‘skirts.’ They have just as much right to serve in the Service as any male. If they’re good enough to give birth to a president, they're good enough to guard and protect him.”
Hayden folded his arm and raised his chin defiantly. “Then you take her on as a partner.”
Dan shook his head. “Can’t. Starting next month I’m giving up the field for a desk job.”
“Huh?” Hayden relaxed his stance. “Are you sick? Are they forcing you to?”
“No, I’m not sick, but I am nearly sixty-two years old. It’s my decision. I’m getting too old to be running around, and I sure as hell don’t want to cause a death because my reflexes are slowing down. This kind of work is a young man’s or young woman’s game, and retirement is just around the corner for me.”
At thirty Hayden couldn’t fathom such a thing as retirement…maybe when he was the ripe old age of seventy…maybe.
A black Chevy SUV pulled into the parking lot and a female exited, dressed in a navy blue suit and a white blouse. Hayden looked her over from head to toe and back down to her legs, which were muscular and curvy wrapped in coffee-colored hose.
“Here’s Harris now,” Dan replied.
Hayden watched her approach, checking out every detail from her jet-black hair color to the way she walked in high-heeled black pumps. Everything about her spoke class and perfection. Not one long dark hair stood out of place. Finally he’d met someone as particular as he was about their appearance.
The young woman walked over to Dan and shook his hand. “Thank you for considering me for the job. I’ll try not to let you down.”
She had a deep and throaty voice. Man oh man, I’m dead. Hey, what job? Had everything been arranged before his boss had confronted him?
“Harris, I’d like to introduce you to your new partner, Hayden Mercier. Hayden, this is Agent Nevaeh Harris.”
Nevaeh? Native-American Indian and African-American mixture. Damn, she’s stunning.
Nevaeh extended her hand to him. “Nice to meet you, Agent Mercier. Agent Parker has told me so much about you.”
A Cajun accent like his too. Hayden shook her hand out of politeness. “He hasn’t told me anything about you. I only learned of your existence right before you drove up.”
Nevaeh smiled, revealing beautiful teeth and dimples. “Must have been a shock learning that your new partner is not only a rookie but a female too.”
“Add the fact that you’re also beautiful and Cajun, and you can see my dilemma. I’ll be keeping male agents off of you and forgetting to protect the President.” Damn, she has some seriously long lashes too.
Nevaeh didn’t blush. She just stood there staring blankly at him with those almond-shaped dark brown eyes.
“Let me guess. You don’t want a partner.”
“No, I don’t, but Dan knew it and still brought you here.”
“Tough,” Nevaeh replied. “Now you’re trapped between a rock and a hard place.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, at least you’re honest about it and not trying to be nice to spare my feelings.”
Hayden liked her bluntness. “I’m not that nice.”
“I thought Agent Parker was nuts when he suggested that I pair up with you too. You’re not exactly known for your friendless.”
Hayden balled his hands into fists. “You don’t know a thing about me, lady.”
Nevaeh nodded. “I’ve done my research on you, and please refrain from calling me ‘lady.’ The name is Agent Harris or Nevaeh, if and when we become friends.”
Dan stifled a laugh. “Told you the two of you have a lot in common. Must be something in the water in Louisiana.”
Hayden frowned. “Oil jokes not appreciated.” In April a major oil company’s ship exploded near his hometown and contaminated the water. Several lives were lost, and for months fishermen and shrimpers worried about their futures. “You from Louisiana too?”
“Lafayette,” she replied. “And you?”
“Plaquemine Parish.”
“See, the two of you are practically neighbors.”
Nevaeh shook her head. “That does not change the fact that he does not want a female as a partner.”
“I never said that. Your sex has nothing to do with it. I just prefer to work alone.”
“Most renegades do.”
The more she spoke the more he felt like taking her over his knees and paddling the hell out of her. This generation of young people was a bunch of smartasses. “I’m no renegade.”
“But you don’t do things exactly by the book.”
Hayden hovered over her. “Sometimes you need to deviate from the norm to get the job done.”
“I’ll remember that at your trial.” She turned her attention back to Dan. “I’ll take the job.”
“Over my dead body,” Hayden muttered. “I did not agree to take you on as a partner.”
“Since you don’t own or run Homeland Security, you don’t get a say so,” Nevaeh reminded him. “You’ll accept me as your partner and like it.”
The smug look on Dan’s face angered him. “Why don’t you say something?”
“What do you want me to say? It’s a free world, and she has opinions.”
“Damn skirt,” Hayden mumbled as he walked away from them. He’d be damned if he’d be bossed around by this arrogant woman. Under no circumstances would she be his partner. He didn’t care how beautiful she was, or how fine she was, or how horny she made him just standing there looking at her. Nevaeh Harris was not going to be his partner. He sighed. If he stayed around her all the time he’d keep a permanent erection, and the next thing he’d knew he’d do something stupid like try to fuck her.
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My Muse Has Returned

My muse came to visit me tonight while I was in Harrah’s Casino, which I thought was a stupid ass place for her to do so. I was suddenly hit with a revelation after sitting for hours watching my friend gamble her hard earned money away.
“Re-write the story”, my muse whispered into my ear.
Where the hell has she been and why did she come while I was in that god-forsaken place without a pen and pad? It’s Southern Decadence weekend in New Orleans. If you’re gay, a lesbian or bi this is the place to be this weekend. So there is no reason why my hot-blooded heterosexual ass needed to be involved in their fun. The only thing I could hope to achieve was to spot a couple that I could possibly use in my next M/M romance, but no such luck. The casino was overrun by geriatrics wasting their Social Security checks, drunks looking for the free drinks, and old men who for some reason seem to gravitate toward me when I’m there. Luckily they all kept their safe distance and left me alone.
I don’t like casinos but every once and a while I get suckered into stopping in there on the way home. The story is so long and complicated that I would not bore my fans with how I get trapped there. There is nothing for me to do but sit and watch a wheel go round and round while my friend ignores my pleas to take me home. I don’t think she’d respond if I keeled over and died. When you’re addicted, you’re addicted.
Anyway. I’ve been working on my latest WIP for nearly a month now and believe it or not I have written 309 handwritten pages. I think my muse was around when I created the premise but I think she snuck off on a vacation and put a fake muse in her place, thinking I wouldn’t know the difference. I’ve been suspecting that something was wrong with the story for a while. In fact, I spent about an hour talking to my son about it yesterday, boring the young man to death as writers often do non-writers or people who refuse to pick up a book. He’s a rapper and it surprised the heck out of me that I kept his attention that long. “My characters aren’t talking to me,” I told him. “They’re there moving around the pages but they aren’t saying anything.” I really began to notice that something was up when no one ended up in bed. Hmm, sixteen chapters and still no sex. This type of thing does not happen in erotic romance. Well, at least not in anything I have written.
“Okay tell me how to fix it”, I whispered back. I don’t think anyone was paying attention to me in the casino since most of them were half drunk.
“Take out some of those characters.”
I have to admit; I do have a lot of characters and had just introduced another in the last chapter. The story is set in Tokyo, Japan where there are millions of people. The problem is I think I included all of them in the first fifteen chapters. In the beginning I thought all of them were necessary but now I don’t think they are since some of them haven’t been heard from in ages while one of two the main characters have issues I’ve yet to address.
“The heroine is boring.”
I didn’t like that too much since I think she’s supposed to be me. The premise is to take a middle-aged woman and make her attracted to a man half her age. I had the obstacles written down but I think only one has appeared so far. The heroine starts off a goody-goody in the beginning but now she’s doing things way out the box. Okay, if she’s supposed to be me then she’s far from goody-goody. She would be more a border-line bad girl who has no problem expressing herself to the opposite sex. If two exceedingly handsome young men were vying for my attention the real me would not be hesitating the way this character has been doing.
“The other man in the story is better than the hero.”
I know this is true. I started falling for the other man the moment he opened his mouth, while the hero has trouble expressing his feelings and is afraid to make waves. Hmm, what to do? I know I could not have her going to bed with both of them. Or could I? Hell it’s my story. I can tell it any way I want to. No, it’s not a ménage, or is it? I think I should have worked out these questions long before chapter sixteen.
I’m pretty angry with my muse right about now because she left me hanging. I wonder if she went on a cruise or something, knowing that I’m afraid of the water and she wouldn’t be able to go if she’d told me about it.
“So what else is wrong with the story?”
“You have it set in Japan. Where the heck is the descriptive scenery? Your characters are inside of buildings. Get them outside.”
This is also true. Most of the scenes are written in a hotel or at a restaurant. Tokyo has wonderful historic places to see and visit. I guess I’ll be doing more research tomorrow.
“Your Japanese characters’ language sounds too American.”
“Yeah, I know. They’re so cool but the language is so wrong.” I don’t really think one of them would say, “I’ll kick your ass” or “Her body is banging.”
“So the only thing I had right is the title?”
“It will do,” my muse said sarcastically.
As you can tell that my muse has even bigger mental issues that I have.
“So the plan for tomorrow is to re-think this story and re-write it.”
“Exactly,” my muse said as she peeped over at the television to watch Family Guy.
“I need a perm and a haircut. You think I can get that done tomorrow.”
“Only after you began re-writing.”
I think my muse should have stayed missing for a while. The next thing I know she’ll have me multi-tasking novels again.