Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday time! This week's is from EDGE OF THE PAST, Book #2 in the EDGE series, available at all online outlets.

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Sergei pulled his head back but kept his arms tight around my waist. "I can't say 'thank you' enough for everything you're doing."

I arched my neck to look straight into his eyes. "Then why don't you show me how thankful you are?"

He bent his head, and our lips met, sweet and light at first, then fuller and hungrier. Sergei's hands slid down into the back pockets of my jeans, pressing me against his body. I clung to his shoulders and stood on the toes of my flats, giving me deeper reach into his mouth. The electric heat from his lips, his breath, his touch lit me up all over.

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Stars on Ice

The Stars on Ice tour didn't come anywhere close to my city, so I took the easy two-hour flight to Chicago to see the show on May 3. It was so worth the trip! My friends and I got passes to the pre-show (thank you again, Hailey at IMG!!), so we arrived at the Allstate Arena around 4:00. A small line had already formed, and some of the little skater girls were freaking because they'd seen Charlie White in the parking lot.

About thirty minutes later, they let us into the arena, where some of the show's stars were on the ice warming up - Ryan Bradley, Josh Farris, Gracie Gold, Mirai Nagasu, Ashley Wagner, and Alissa Czisny. General pop music played except for a couple of skaters' program music. Not everyone practiced with their music. They all lightly warmed up and did a few jumps. Josh was trying the quad toe, but he didn't land any cleanly when I was watching. I spotted Gracie's twin sister in the audience.

During the ice resurface, Tanith and her and Charlie's dog DJ came out from backstage to watch the next group warm up. The next group included Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Kim Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Jason Brown (who received lots of screams from the local skater girls), Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, and Jeremy Abbott. Meryl and Charlie spent more time chatting with friends and family (and playing with DJ) than they did on the ice. Kim and Brent warmed up a bunch of their lifts and their headbanger. Marissa was practicing her double Axel and Salchow quite a bit. Jason's coach Kori Ade was there with her cutie pie baby daughter, and some of the skaters were playing with her rinkside.

Mirai came back onto the ice and was attempting throw Salchows with Simon. They got up to a double and looked great! We were hoping Jason would show us his throw triple Salchow with Simon, but it didn't happen.

We had an hour break before the show to grab food, and then the lights dimmed for showtime! The opening was beautiful and dramatic with Meryl and Charlie under a spotlight of snow. The cast regulars all participated in the opening to Hans Zimmer's "When You Are Not Saving the World," carrying large white flags. Meryl and Charlie spoke to the crowd for a few minutes to welcome us, and Meryl said we definitely sounded ready for the show!

First onto the ice was Jason Brown, and he thrilled his hometown with a modified version of his Riverdance long program. He nailed all his jumps and reminded me again how much I loved that program. After Jason, Ryan Bradley kept the energy up with his rock medley. I've been watching Ryan skate since he was a teenager at nationals, so it was neat to see him as a pro in Stars on Ice.

Alissa Czisny's Liszt program was gorgeous and exhibited all the most wonderful aspects of her skating. She did a double Axel, I think, but she's a skater that doesn't need to jump at all. Kim Navarro and Brent Bommentre followed with a high-energy program to "How Do You Like Me Now." They looked so free and easy in their skating, and I could tell they've been performing a lot the past few years. They've become seasoned pros.

Gracie was effervescent in her "All That Jazz" number (with a cameo by Ryan Bradley). She was followed by Jeremy Abbott, who skated to "The Fear." He popped one of his jumps, but he's another skater who doesn't need to jump because his skating is about so much more than that.

Mirai Nagasu's "On Golden Pond" program was just as lovely as it was at nationals but without the tears that had made it heart-wrenching to watch. She had one little slip where she went down onto the ice and looked like she was going to do a push-up.

Meryl and Charlie's Rachmaninoff program lived up to all my expectations of seeing it live. I'd wanted them to skate to this music for years, so it was a dream to see the program. They looked so at peace and so in touch with the music and each other. Charlie was especially glowing with happiness.

Ashley Wagner brought the sass in her "Sweet Dreams" program. Girl knows how to project to the top of the arena and then some. Closing out the first act were all the guys in their group number to "The Walker." This was one of the highlights of the show for me. Josh Farris was too cute as the excitable guy who just wanted to keep dancing after the program was over. My attention went to him and Charlie for most of the number.

Act II began with the girls' group number to "Creep." I loved it just as much as the guys' number. It had a very So You Think You Can Dance contemporary feel, and my eyes went to Meryl in this one. She looked so fierce and exquisite, and I loved the part where she was hanging onto the underside of the barre.

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir did their awesome "Royals" program that I'd seen at nationals. They rocked it out again and had the crowd gasping with their headbanger.

Kim and Brent's second number to "Another Story" was more romantic, and I was very impressed with their lifts, especially the one where Kim was in a Charlotte position while Brent supported her. Alissa followed with a sultry program to "My Kind of Love," showing her range of performance. 

Ryan's second program to "Wake Me Up" was just as fun as his first. He splatted on a jump but made a great comeback with a triple toe after that. His signature back flip was so close to the edge of the ice that we thought he was going to flip into the audience.

Alissa and Jeremy's duet to "Piano Guys" was super cute and whimsical. They looked very comfortable playing off each other. Next was Mirai, and her "Demons" program was so heartfelt. I'd love to see her put that same kind of emotional intensity into her competitive programs. 

I'd been looking forward to seeing Josh's solo to "To Build a Home" since no one had posted any videos online, and it didn't disappoint. He takes so much care with each step. Not a finger is out of place. My favorite moment was his Ina Bauer that stretched across the rink. Absolutely gorgeous.

Josh and Jason slapped hands as Jason took the ice next. He got the crowd revved up with his "U Can't Touch This" program, which is always a winner. It's impossible not to smile when he's out there on the ice!

Ashley skated her "Young and Beautiful" program with a ton of power and beauty. Jeremy's second program to "Latch" was one of my favorites. It was like watching a modern dance show on ice. His ease of movement and body control are so special.

Gracie skated to "Let It Go" from Frozen before Meryl and Charlie came out for their second number, the revamped Scheherazade. It was wonderful to see their Samson and Delilah swoopy lift again and the dizzying Schez ending that has "Olympic gold" written all over it.

The finale to "Don't Stop Believin'" was a lot of fun. After all the skaters finished in a perfect line, "Happy" came on and they danced and did a couple of goodbye laps for the crowd. Meryl and Jeremy were so cute dancing together at center ice.

After the show my friends and I went to the Meet and Greet, and it was such a great event. The crowd was relaxed, and the skaters chatted with us at length. We went to Meryl and Charlie first since we knew they'd have a long line, and I gave them big hugs to congratulate them on their Olympic win. I've been so lucky to have visited with them at so many events the past seven years, and this was the longest I'd been able to talk to them. They are true superstars inside and out :)

We headed for Josh's line next, and I chatted with him about some songs he'd love to use for his short program if he ends up using music with lyrics. He's pretty much the definition of adorable.

Marissa and Simon were next on our list, and it's always great to talk to them. They've had such a crazy schedule but are finally winding down with their last show tonight. They said it was great to see some familiar faces :)

Jeremy and Ryan were hanging out together, so we talked to them next. They both wore some darn good-smelling cologne, so we went back later and asked Jeremy the name of his. He was very flattered and said it's Wonderwood by Commes des Garcons. So there's your tidbit of the event ;)

Ryan was as nice as I always remembered him being at nationals and Skate Americas past. He used to have us cracking up at practices back in the day.

Next we visited Jason, and he was hugging every single person who came up to him. He is truly the happiest person on the planet! I told him I hoped we'd see him at Skate America in Chicago later this year, and he crossed his fingers that he'd be there.

We talked to Mirai about the group numbers, and she confirmed Jeff Buttle had choreographed them. I told her I loved both! Alissa, Ashley, and Gracie looked a little tired (which was totally understandable!), but they were super gracious to everyone. It was great to see Kim and Brent again because I used to talk to them back when they were competing, and I always run into them at nationals now that they attend as commentators and spectators.

We were some of the last people to leave, and we told the Stars on Ice rep how amazing the experience was. From start to finish the entire event was awesome!

Here are the rest of my photos and videos from the show:  Stars on Ice Photos and Videos

My next skating show will be An Evening on Ice in Los Angeles on July 19. It will be my fourth year attending the show, and as always I'll have some photos and videos to share. The show has an awesome cast this year including Carolina Kostner, Adam Rippon, Ashley Wagner, Madison Chock/Evan Bates, Jonathan Cassar, and more!

Teaser Tuesday

Trying out my first Teaser Tuesday with a little snippet from LIFE ON THE EDGE. The first book in the EDGE series is available at all online outlets and only 99 cents on Amazon!

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With my ears buzzing from the cheers, I swiveled to face the kiss and cry. Sergei's smile gleamed brighter than my costume. As Chris and I approached him, he banged our skate guards together in celebration. I hopped off the ice and threw my arms around his neck.

"Absolutely beautiful," he said.

Sergei went to kiss my cheek as I turned to speak, and his lips grazed the corner of my mouth. My already pounding heart staggered against my chest. The moment had been like tasting one crumb of the most delicious dessert imaginable and then having it taken away.

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Young and the Restless Set Visit

Last fall I won a charity auction for a Young and the Restless set visit and lunch with cast member Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin), and I pretty much freaked out for days! I've watched The Young and the Restless since I came out of the womb. My mom's watched it since the day it premiered, so I knew immediately that she had to accompany me on this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Last month we traveled to Los Angeles, and from start to finish the experience was INCREDIBLE. I had to wait to blog about it because the episode we saw taped was just aired this week, but I wanted to share the details of our amazing day!

We arrived at CBS Studios a little before 9am and Ray, the lighting director whose wife had set up the charity auction, took us onto the sound stage. All the sets are lined up on two sides with space in the middle for the cameras and such. Stitch (Sean Carrigan) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle) were filming their hospital date scene, so Ray got us chairs to sit and watch. We were sitting in the set for Billy and Victoria's living room! The actors rehearse the scene while still looking at the scripts. The crew gets all the blocking figured out, and then they shoot it. For the date scene, they had salad in the containers and Amelia was eating some of the veggies between takes. There were a couple of lines and movements the powers that be (TPTB) wanted them to redo (for example, Victoria opened Stitch's container at first and TPTB told her not to. She said it was the mother in her coming out lol). The whole process of rehearsing a scene and shooting/re-shooting doesn't take long. We saw about twenty scenes filmed in three hours!

The actors speak so quietly while they're filming the scenes that it's hard to hear them. We had to listen very closely. It's also dark in the studio except for the bright lights shining on the set currently being filmed. Victoria and Stitch's next scene was the conclusion of their date, and they had a steamy kiss at the end. It was kind of awkward watching that being filmed lol. It's a lot different when there's no "soapy" music playing in the background. It's so quiet and just them kissing. On the episode they cut some of the kiss because it lasted a lot longer when we saw it filmed.

When Victoria and Stitch were finished, all the cameras rolled down the line to the motel room set where Joshua Morrow (Nick) and Camryn Grimes ("Cassie") filmed their scenes. As my mom and I sat on the edge of Sharon's living room (which looks so tiny compared to TV), Sean Carrigan walked in front of us and told us "Hey" :) Robert the makeup guy (who was in charge of touching up the makeup while the actors were filming the scenes) was awesome and said he'd get us copies of the script so we could get autographs!

Joshua Morrow was hilarious during the rehearsals, always making jokes. He must be a blast to work with. When he had to open the envelope with the photos of Cassie, the clasp was closed and he couldn't get it open, so he was giving TPTB a hard time about it. Camryn also had some trouble with the props - she couldn't get the clothes into her bag quickly enough. There were more clothes on hangers and the hangers were difficult to pack, so the crew took most of the clothes off the hangers. Part of the scene was a phone call between Nick and Sharon, and Sharon Case came out in a bathrobe and Uggz to do her half behind the cameras. After they finished the motel scenes, Joshua came over because he saw us watching, and he introduced himself. He was so friendly and funny!  

Next we moved across the lane so they could film the scenes in Sharon's living room with Sharon Case (Sharon), Robert Adamson (Noah,) and Kelli Goss (Courtney). Robert the makeup guy got them to come over and meet us after they finished, and Kelli was soooo sweet. They all look just like they do on TV.

We had to move to another sound stage for the next segment of scenes, so all the cameras and wires had to roll through the hallway. It was quite the production! There was a Mercedes parked in what looked like a driveway. This was where Nick and Cassie did the Newman driveway scene. Josh was hilarious during this filming because he didn't believe that he wouldn't be able to catch up to Camryn when she ran away from him. He said he was going to claim he pulled a hamstring lol.

After this the lights focused on the Newman ranch living room, and we sat next to the Crimson Lights set and watched Eric Braeden (Victor), Melissa Ordway (Abby), Sharon, Robert, and Kelli film. Eric was eating some of the peanuts on the bar between takes. It was so fun to see how intricate all the directions were. Sometimes TPTB would stop a scene to tell Sharon to move her hair a certain way. After those scenes, Robert made sure we got a photo with Eric (he called him "the god" lol) He was very nice and chatted with us!

Melissa asked where we were from, and she freaked when we said New Orleans because her husband is from Louisiana and he has family in New Orleans. She and Kelli said we had to take a photo with them in the ranch living room, so they called Robert (Noah) over and we all posed on the sofa together :)

After that we moved down the line to the Athletic Club and watched Peter Bergman (Jack), Hunter King (Summer), Robert, Linsey Godfrey (Caroline from Bold & Beautiful), and Cady McClain (Kelly). We were sitting in Chelsea and Adam's penthouse while watching. 

I watch B&B, so I got Linsey's autograph and congratulated her on her pregnancy (she and Robert Adamson are a couple in real life). She was very sweet! Then Hunter came over and was so nice and kept thanking us for watching the show. Peter came over after that and was super friendly and thankful, too. He has the bluest eyes I've ever seen! Peter and Cady were sitting on Chelsea's couch talking while the crew worked on the set. I didn't realize at the time that it was Cady's first-ever scene on Y&R (the scenes they taped in the GCAC that day were on last week's Wednesday episode). Hunter, Kelli, and Melissa were all hanging out off stage chatting. They seemed to be good friends.

We left at noon for lunch and went next door to Maggiano's. Ray, the lighting director, was with us and Christian (Michael) was going to meet us. We walked in and I saw Sean and Amelia in a booth together! We went to the back part of the restaurant and waited for Christian. When he arrived he said Sean had yelled his name and Christian told him and Amelia to come by later. Christian was so friendly and hilarious, just a regular New Orleanian :) We chatted all about home and got to learn more about Christian's life before he was an actor. Ray had to leave early to go set up the tack room for shooting the next week, and Christian said he'd walk us back to the studio after lunch. There were only a couple more scenes being filmed that day because all Eileen Davidson's scenes had to be postponed. Her sister was ill and she had to be with her.

We finished eating, and I figured Sean and Amelia had left, but here the came! They slid into our booth and made themselves comfortable and just started chatting away. Amelia had some wine with lunch, and I think she was a little tipsy lol. We were all there talking for more than half an hour. It was insane! Sean and Amelia ordered more wine, and Sean was going to tell us who Stitch killed in his past, but I didn't want to be spoiled. He and Amelia kept asking Christian where he was taking us when we were leaving because they wanted to follow us. They were cracking us up. Sean went to the restroom and when he was walking back he did a fake fall onto the floor. It was definitely the stand-up comic in him coming out lol. When we left Sean stuck his hand out and then he hugged me instead, and I was seriously swooning! I figured I'd go ahead and hug Amelia and she gave me and my mom both very warm ones :)  Christian walked us back to the studio where we saw them setting up the tack house, and we said goodbye and thank you to Ray for an amazing day.

Thank you again to Y&R and all the wonderfully friendly, sweet, and generous actors and crew!!!!!

CROSSING THE ICE Teaser

Now that the official blurb for CROSSING THE ICE has been released, I think I should share another peek at the story! Here's a little Courtney and Josh moment :)

CROSSING THE ICE Official Blurb

So I haven't posted any CROSSING THE ICE news in a while because I've been busy, busy, busy writing! But since the cover is now in progress (YAY!), I thought it was time I put out the official blurb. I'm soooo excited about this story, and I hope you'll fall in love with Courtney and Josh just as much as I have! It's been so much fun getting to know these characters. So without further ado, here's the blurb!

Monday Moves

Welcome to another Monday Moves! Today I'm featuring a move by one of my favorite young pairs, a team I think will definitely be making waves this next Olympic cycle - Tarah Kayne and Daniel O'Shea. They have the technical ability and the intangible fire to be a force on the world scene, and I'm so excited to see what the future holds for them! Their programs are loaded with interesting transitions, and one of the moves I loved in their Dox Quixote program this year was when they did spirals as a transition into the throw triple loop. Gorgeous!