Visuals from 'The Countdown'

Alice and Rose had a nice, post-Christmas lunch in the pool room at the Four Seasons Restaurant in NYC. I saw this place on The Real Housewives of New York City and fell in love instantly, deciding then and there that the next time I'm in the Big Apple, this is where I'm going for lunch. It was the first place that came to mind for what Alice hoped to be a classy and special meal. Never seen the pool room? Here ya go:

Source

Alice gave Bella and Rose some beautiful charm bracelets for Christmas. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that I always put a small piece of myself into my stories, but my bff and I will have matching charm bracelets come Christmas this year. I adore Kay Jewelers, and these are the three charms that Alice gave Rose (one of them may or may not be going on my own charm bracelet ... see if you can figure out which one!):

Source for above 3

Edward went to the New Years Eve party dressed as a hot 20s gangster. I was originally going to have him all spiffed up, prim, and proper like Jasper and Emmett, but then I came across the ad below, which served as bad-boy E's costume idea:

Source

Music from 'The Countdown'

Auld Lang Syne has been the traditional New Years song for .... I don't even know how long! Way before my time I'm guessing? *shrugs*

In any case, this version is beautiful, and while it might not be the exact one a person would hear blaring form the speakers at a party, it's exactly what I imagined when I was writing Edward & Bella's NYE moment:



And then of course we have the chapter song. I don't even need to explain - the words say it all. :)

F4SO Compilation Submission Info

Happy Thursday! :)

Just a little note regarding my submission for the Fandoms 4 Special Olympics compilation:

Chapter 21 of Hot Commodity will be in the compilation in it's entirety.

There are currently 16 chapters of the story published. The next four chapters will be written and pub'd on my regular schedule, which is an update every 2-3 weeks depending on what RL decides to throw at me. As some of you may know, none of my fics are pre-written, everything is done as I go.

I will publish Chapter 21 on FFn, TWCS, etc. etc. within a week after I post Chapter 20.

There won't be any time lapse, I won't hold the chapter from anyone, etc. etc. Compilation submissions can go public on July 22, and I'm almost positive I'd never get four chapters churned out before then.

This concludes my PSA for the day.

Over and out.

xoxo
- N.

Hot Commodity Chapter 16 Teaser

As soon as we were inside, Bella slipped her shoes and coat off and dropped her purse on the floor. She stretched her arms over her head and walked across the room, pushing the curtains back and leaning against the window. The lights of the city created the perfect backdrop for her small silhouette. I reached up and undid the first few buttons on my shirt, then kicked off my own shoes. I took a deep breath and sauntered across the room, stopping when I was just inches behind her.

I reached my hand out and pushed her hair away before brushing my lips softly against her neck. Bella sighed and placed her hands on the window, tilting her head to the side. I ran my tongue along the shell of her ear and nibbled her earlobe gently. Her skin peppered with small goosebumps and she let out a barely audible moan.

“May I?” I whispered, tugging lightly on the zipper of her dress. She nodded silently and I pulled it down...