Coffee Fueled Erotica

Review Time!

2012-01-16T05:06:00.005-06:00

Bottoms In Love by Gregory Allen

This slick story by Gregory Allen intrigued me as soon as I heard about it. Thankfully, the author delivers a package which lives up to the promise of the premise. It comes down to a question that's simple to ask, but that has many layers: what is a couple to do when they're both submissive?

For Carter and Lindsey, the answer is to take turns as dominant. Their roles on any given night are determined by the flip of a coin. The obviating nature of the selection process brought to mind Luke Rhinehart's classic "The Dice Man".

Lindsey and Carter seem to have a brilliantly symbiotic relationship. Even when dominating, they're arguably submitting. Indeed, the author tackles the issue of what domination truly is by giving us characters so averse to dominating. By accepting the role as dominant, as predicated by fate and the expectations of their partner, is that person actually being submissive?

As a male myself, I found that Carter's more pronounced reticence rang true. As it should be, the physical side is only a part of the dominance factor in the relationship. Consent is clearly given here, and the rough physicality is, in fact, beautifully layered. But it cannot be escaped that, for good reasons, society takes a very dim view of a man raising his hand to a woman. Carter's desire to be a good husband complements his natural submissive tendencies, all of which creates a poignant internal battle when it's his turn to dominate.

Though Lindsey is also a reluctant dom, it's interesting that she appears to have a greater ability to dissociate. I found this element actually served to normalize the relationship. It implied a slight power imbalance in the couple's relationship. This imbalance also shows up in glimpses when Lindsey acts as submissive; occasional small flashes of insolence or giddiness which Carter chooses not to punish.

But for me, there is a small passage which sums up the nature of this story perfectly. Carter, having given Lindsey her pleasure, expresses doubt over his effectiveness as a dom. He confesses that he only does to Lindsey what he would wish her to do to him.

Her reply, in context, expresses the heart of the story: "That's exactly how I do it."

The Medicine Show

2011-09-22T07:51:00.003-05:00

For all who weren't aware (and that comprises basically EVERYONE), apart from being a writer and cover artist, I'm also the bass player in a swampy blues band called The Medicine Show.

Well, slightly large things are afoot for my little band. We recently signed a contract with a label (Valleyarm), and also signed up with some management (MMAPP).

Our first single was recently released through iTunes, and a second song appears on a sampler album. So I'm basically telling everyone.

If you're interested to hear a sample of what we do, you can follow this nifty little link.

Incidentally, the artwork for the Black Betty single...that's my handiwork, too!

"Fragile" - Review

2011-09-18T06:53:00.002-05:00

Available from Dreamspinner Press.

This delightful tale of man-love was quite a revelation. It’s the first I’ve read of Monika Krasnorada. Indeed, I believe it may be her first published work, but in “Fragile” we find an author with a remarkably astute eye and ear.

The story deals with the dilemma of Andy, the doctor for an American football team. He’s comfortable with his sexuality, but fear of consequences has kept him from coming out to his team. Surrounded by strapping young men as a matter of course, he also seems to have developed a level of detachment, which is why his intense attraction to Coach Sheridan seems to blindside him so hard.

The coach, for his part, finds himself in an even more difficult situation. He’s carved out a good career and life around the very masculine field of men’s team sports. There’s arguably no institution that presents itself as more potently anti-gay. As such, it’s a darn awkward place for Coach Sheridan to realise that for the first time in his life, he’s attracted to another man.

Ms. Krasnorada gives the situation delicious urgency by making this Andy’s last day with the team. Given that impetus, the story moves along at a spirited pace, and allows a healthy lowering of inhibitions. The kind that only comes with the belief that you have only one chance to act.

Both characters are well-formed and believable. The author has created a touching inversion in the dynamic between the two men. Andy is sure of, and comfortable with, his sexuality but is afraid to express it to the man he loves. Coach Sheridan exudes traditional masculinity in his appearance and behaviour, but his confidence is whittled away by his feelings for the young doctor.

This story doesn’t sidestep the potential issues a pairing like this would face, either. Instead, the author skilfully uses the coach’s background and the ghosts of his former prejudices to raise the pace further.

The physical relationship, when it arrives, is charming and sweet, but turns spicy very quickly. The men are very good for each other, and with each other. The scene moves fluidly and it was a joy to ride along with the guys.

"Beneath Sea and Sky" - Review

2011-09-17T08:14:00.014-05:00

Available from Smashwords (among others).

This is an excellent anthology of erotic fantasy. I had high expectations going in, having taken a couple of nibbles at Shanna Germain’s writing in the past. I’m pleased to say that my expectations were exceeded.

Throughout the six stories, Ms. Germain maintains an impelling pace, teamed with a verbal agility that is a delight to read. There’s a beautiful current to this book, a sensory flow of gentle humour amongst the sometimes brutal delights. For what is a fairy tale without brutality? I could imagine a sardonically-kinked eyebrow and a slightly skewed leer on the author’s face as she harnessed, and sometimes harrassed, her characters.

Ms. Germain has infused several of her players with a piquant duality that never fails to enhance their value to the story and the reader. This is never more apparent than the tales which bookend this anthology. Beauty in “Skin Deep” and Lily in “The Princess of Silk and Pain” both rail against their popular image. Each of them is intimately acquainted with their desire for an existence rich in sensation. An existence which their nearest and dearest would deny them. For their own good, of course.

There is a darker undercurrent throughout the anthology, too. From fairy tales to Hollywood, from the school yard to the corporate world, we learn early on to accept that beauty equals goodness. With only a few deft perceptional tweaks, Ms. Germain slices away the shell of that concept. It’s the black wells of blind need inside those beautiful characters that makes them so desirable.

My personal favourites within this collection were the title tale, “Beneath Sea and Sky” and the brilliant “Heatsong”.

“Beneath Sea and Sky” captured me instantly. The dynamic between the two men is at times irascible, and it’s compelling reading. The character of Skye was crafted superbly. With few words, all of them incisive, we get deep flashes of the young man’s history, which pinpoint the flaws that make him the man he is. And allow us to see the man he thinks he should aspire to be.

There is a strong consistency to Shanna Germain’s voice throughout this anthology. All except one story, my favourite. It’s a spicy departure that bolsters the entire collection.

“Heatsong” is a hickory-smoked sonnet, a sour mash ballad. It’s dirty and sticky and sweet in all the right places. If Blind Lemon Jefferson had written Romeo and Juliet, I feel it would have come out in a voice something like this. There’s such a potent lyricism to the telling of this story that I felt it should be sung rather than read. And again, a strong duality, though this time it’s situational. The warring desires of the two main characters, this time both women. For if one gets all she’s ever desired, she will relinquish all that makes her desirable.

I simply loved this book and all who sailed in her.

Immortalis!

2011-07-18T02:13:00.004-05:00

So I've been tooling around in the lab again. And here are the results...a new trailer for the lovely Katie Salidas (maybe you know her!)

This time it's for her entire "Immortalis" series (3 books and counting!).

Heavy Ideas for a Young Mind...

2011-07-06T06:58:00.003-05:00

It's school holidays here in Australia, like it may well be all across the world. Ours are only for two weeks, and are more than half over, so that's cool! Since I now work from home, it's kinda weird to have a child-care centre on my desk!

But as it still IS holidays, I took my sons down to the park today to kick a football and throw a weird three-legged boomerang doohickey. As we were leaving our front yard, a couple of teenage girls were walking past the house.

As soon as we were out of earshot, my 7-year-old son turned to me and asked "Dad, did you think those girls were pretty?"

Now, I'm 41. I only caught the slightest glimpse of those two girls. ON PURPOSE. The moment my brain took in the visual cues that they were high school girls on holidays (basically it was their clothing), I made sure not to look, in case people thought I was...looking.

But I was suddenly confronted with a dilemma. How do I tell my 7-year-old son exactly what was wrong with that picture? So I settled for telling him I didn't really see them.

"I thought they were pretty, Dad."

"Well, I wasn't looking, mate."

"Why?"

Dang it. The question that catches every generation of parents.

"Well, son, if I was to look at them too hard, they wouldn't like it."

"Why?"

Oh, poo. Dang this boy and his curiosity.

"Well, because then they, and really anyone else, might think that I wanted to...uh...kiss them."

It went on a little more, but was remarkable mainly for my ability to trip myself up. I tried to explain that, you know, men like to kiss ladies. And mostly they go out on dates (had to remind him what a date was), and perhaps they kiss afterwards, and...and...uh...look mate, we're nearly at the park.

And so I ended with the fail-safe parents' delaying tactic: "You'll understand in a few years, mate."

Whew!

Boy howdy, it's happened again!

2011-05-26T21:24:00.002-05:00

The gorgeous and incisive Cassie Exline has grilled me for a second time. And it was just as much fun as the first!

This time the interview was about music and book trailers.

You can check it out somewhere around about here.

Hard...Rough...Dirty...

2011-05-23T00:05:00.007-05:00

Cross-posted with Willsin's World.

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There seems to be a whole lotta Romantica around. That's pretty cool.

But what about when you're after something else?

Who looks after those urges you can't tell your man about? Who scratches that itch that your girl can't reach?

Who fills the holes you can barely admit you have?

We do. That's who.

Gritty. Rough Erotic Fiction.

A brand new release from December Ink, and filled to the hilt with stories of dark desires, of blurred boundaries...urges, itches and holes. Oh my.

Coming Soon...

2011-05-20T18:07:00.003-05:00

...a new project from December Ink, the publishing house of the wicked, talented and sassy Sommer Marsden.

Just a quickie!

2011-05-17T07:55:00.003-05:00

To say that I've been interviewed by Cassie Exline on her blog.

The link is right...about...HERE!

Alice in Shtuppingland - The Trailer this time...

2011-05-16T06:38:00.004-05:00

Cross-posted with Willsin's World.

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Well, a few weeks back I posted my review of the wonderful Alice in Shtuppingland by Barrie Abalard.

I was very pleased when Barrie then asked me to create a book trailer for it. In the book, Barrie captures a side of the 70s that is lesser known than the glam fashions and the disco music. That was the mindset we took into creating this trailer as well.

I hope you enjoy it.

Perspective

2011-05-12T06:04:00.000-05:00

This is just a short blog, inspired by something I saw on Facebook.

I have a Facebook friend. It's someone I used to work with, but that person left the organisation, in part, because of health issues. Within the past week, they finally received what they'd been after: a kidney transplant. This person is just out of hospital and now at home, and everything is apparently doing well.

And one of the comments that was dropped on their status update:"I will come and visit you tomorrow night or sat. Got to get my hair done after work tomorrow cause it's tragic."

Your friend has stared a slow death in the face for several years, has finally had the chance for a reprieve (of sorts), is facing a lifetime of transplant-related circumstances...and your HAIR is tragic?

A little perspective, please...

Okay. We return you to your normal programming.

On real life Alphas...

2011-05-03T04:06:00.000-05:00

The last couple weeks I had the chance to work with police and military officers. I was the only woman on the team and found myself picked on from pretty much the get-go. One man especially kept making fun of my use of "I think." You see, he wanted an absolute response to his questions - something I actually couldn't give. Believe me when I say he really irked me that first day!

Later on that week, we had meetings with some colleagues of mine, including some female members of staff. When I asked them what they'd thought of the police officers, they all said the same thing: those guys were humorless! They only thought of work and nothing else.
Turns out I couldn't disagree more.

You see, something happened along the way. I started playing along, answering back, making fun of their mannerisms or their lack of communication skills...and our relationship shifted. Maybe I ended up being just one of the guys, or maybe they'd been thinking I was different than how I really am (I appear nice but I'm not a push-over, especially at work). I'm not sure what really happened but it did, and boy did I start having fun after that!

When that one man, who at first I hadn't liked at all, started laughing with me, "the week from hell" suddenly became a lot more fun. It became a game actually in which I tried to make him forget his badass image (imagine a guy wearing a dark suit and an earpiece, standing at attention, a frown on his face and a stare that could kill -- seriously, I have pics!). If I hadn't tried to push past that image, I'd have missed out big time.

I guess it's the same for everybody. If you don't take the time to get to know someone, if you only stick to their appearance or the way they portray themselves to the world, then what's the point? After all, even real life Alphas can be misunderstood. Who'd have thought?

Most of my heroes are Alphas, and yet I hadn't truly met one before (hey, I'm a writer -- I have a great imagination). It was quite a revelation, and let me tell you, these men are so going to end up in a book! Possibly a whole series, as a matter of fact.

I'll work extra hard at describing that smirk that is unlike any I'd ever seen before (as if he knew everything about everything and wouldn't you like to know too?) or how when an Alpha to the core lets loose, you better beware. I'm happy to say that by the end of their visit, I quite happily hit them whenever they bugged me too much. After all, what's the point of being the only woman if you can't make up the rules?

X-posted with Too many ideas, not enough time

Where've I Been?

2011-05-01T22:45:00.005-05:00

Cross-posted with Willsin's World.

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I know, you're all suffering a Willsin withdrawal (hmm...sounds a little dirty...).

Well, part of the reason for my absence is presented right here for your delectation. My good friend in Massachusetts, J.E. Taylor, has an exciting new book and she asked me to create a trailer for it. So I have, and this is it.

This is the second book in the Steve Williams series, and promises the reader action, thrills and tension.

It's available here and now!

Review - "Alice In Shtuppingland"

2011-04-06T00:36:00.005-05:00

The bulk of “Alice in Shtuppingland” is set in the year of 1977, in a world that is as socially and economically turbulent as at any other time. For Alice Wonderland, certainly, the year-and-a-bit that passes in the duration of this story holds more than its fair share of obstacles.

The character of Alice is already in her mid-20’s as the story opens, but it’s still appropriate to call this a coming-of-age tale. She is alone in a city that’s quite removed both physically and environmentally from all she’s known. She had her reasons for choosing Boston, but the subtext of the opening few pages is that this young woman was more focussed on what she was leaving than where she was going.

This subtext can be found weaving its way throughout a great deal of this fascinating tale. Alice is at times infuriating and frustrating, for the reader as much as for the characters with whom she shares her time. Her confrontational nature seems to attract her to those who enjoy confrontation. I found myself alternately wanting to take her by the hand and squeeze it, and then take her by the shoulders and shake her. And because of the stubbornness and independence she gained from a dysfunctional upbringing, neither action would have had the effect intended.

For all that Alice already has some life experience under her belt (and, of course, below it!), Boston imparts on her a very steep learning curve. She’s a smart cookie, but throughout the course of the story, in many different ways, she begins to understand the marked difference between knowledge and experience, and the yawning divide between facts and feelings.

At times there is a stream-of-consciousness feel to the writing. It’s as if we’re sneakily reading this woman’s diary. Certainly, fictional or not, most events have a truly confessional quality to them. Ms. Abalard’s style is very readable, alternating in tone between conversational and instructional. Moments of danger and tragedy are deftly condensed and compressed, adding gravity and intensity. They may take up only a handful of lines in the story space, but they’re conveyed with a weight which belies their size.

This deftness in writing extends to the characters as well. All bit players are given breath, flesh and life. That includes the characters we never meet, some of whom have left their footprints (and handprints) all over Alice.

There is meticulous attention paid to detailing geography and the paraphernalia of everyday life. At first I was tempted to praise Ms. Abalard’s research. But as I read on, I gained the impression that it wasn’t so much research as memory and experience. A touch of nostalgia here and there, as well.

And lastly, there’s the sweet novelty factor in reading about single-digit cab fares, and the need for pay-phones, about fancy new gadgets like telephone answering machines, and the crazy idea that one day people might have computers inside their own homes!

"The Baumgartners" Trailer

2011-03-27T19:16:00.004-05:00

Cross-posted with Willsin's World...

I've been fiddling with all sorts of bits down in the lab again. This time, my customer was the prolific, brilliant and sassy Ms. Selena Kitt. In addition to being a wonderful writer, Ms. Kitt is also the brains behind the eXcessica publishing house, where yours truly has a couple of titles published. So I put the pressure on myself to come up with something unlike all the other trailers out there.

The result is what you see below here. It's been getting a lot of favourable response, not least from Ms. Kitt herself, so I'm well pleased with it.

Between the Sheets with Erotica Author, Keta Diablo

2011-03-26T04:00:00.040-05:00

We're big on caffeine here at CFE, so what's your favorite drink with a kick? What's your guilty pleasure?

Keta Diablo: I’m a huge coffee drinker, but I don’t much of a kick unless you consider cream a “kick”. My son read an article to me last night about how good coffee is for you medically. “I just knew it,” I said. According to the article, it’s good for your liver, your intestines and fights diabetes. Who woulda thought? I love Starbucks, hang out there all the time while I write.

What drew you to this genre?

Keta Diablo: Actually I write in several genres, erotic romance, gay fiction and once in a great while fantasy. I love all three genres, with a particular soft spot toward erotic historical. I’m drawn to that genre because I lurve real-life stories and many of my historicals are based around true historical events.

What's your favorite subgenre in Erotica? (eg. BDSM, LGBT, Paranormal, etc.)

Keta Diablo: Oh, yes, I also write erotic romance/paranormal, and that would be my second favorite. Very often, I combine historical with the paranormal and I’m double-thrilled! My most recent release, Where The Rain Is Made, is a historical paranormal and is themed around real events of the Cheyenne Dog Soldier. WTRIM has won many awards, Top Reviewer Picks, Recommended Reads and Best Book of the Month at top review sites. In addition, WTRIM was recently nominated for a Bookie Award by Authors After Dark in the BEST ebook category.
More about Where The Rain Is Made here: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Rain-Made-ebook/dp/B0041847FG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299644710&sr=8-1

How long have you been writing?

Keta Diablo: I’ve written all my life in one form or other, but didn’t start getting serious about it until six years ago. What I mean is I’ve always written historical type family stories, and then decided to write a fictional historical about six years ago.

Please describe your writing environment.

Keta Diablo: In the summer, my writing environment is wonderful. I’ve enclosed a picture that looks very similar to the cottage I live in on a lake. We have six acres of woods surrounding us with a small environmental lake on the property. There’s a lot to look at, owls, eagles, loons (the winged version) and it’s very peaceful. In the winter, I write inside because we live in the snowy Midwest.

What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

Keta Diablo: I think about a story in my mind for weeks, allow it to germinate. When I’ve gone through all the scenes, conversations and even what they wear, I sit down to write. I never make outlines, but I might use note cards to remind me of certain items or scenes I want in the book. I guess you would call me a seat-of-the-pants- writer then.”

Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing? Example….get coffee, blanket, paper, pen and a comfy place?

Keta Diablo: I do all my writing on my laptop and use my PC for other things, storing files, backup that sort of thing. I rarely use pen and paper, although those are on my list of favorite things—stationary and pens.

Stilettos: Sexy or not?

Keta Diablo: Not for me. I’m a jeans and t-shirt girl, with sneakers. If I must get dressed up (sigh) I would never choose stilettos. I’d probably kill myself in them.

Do you have anything special you do to get into the writing mood?

Keta Diablo: I spend so much time on the lap top. I’m accustomed to writing or promoting about 12 hours a day, every day. I make sure I have fresh coffee, sometimes chocolate and a clear mind (hahaha on the last one). I do break for lunch and take a half an hour to exercise. Well, not what you probably call exercise, but I either walk outside or devote the time to my Chi machine (you can Google that, then you’ll know).

Does this make my butt look big?

Keta Diablo: Nope. Okay, here’s my funny butt picture.

What’s been the most challenging part of writing erotica, for you?

Keta Diablo: To get all the stories done I have in my head. I need a clone – desperately need a clone, preferably one who comes pre-programmed with excellent writing skills so he/she can help me.

Where won't you go with erotica? What are your taboo’s?

Keta Diablo: Hmm. I don’t object to other people writing certain words, but I have a few I won’t use. To me the words represent a derogatory way to speak to women when men are mad or upset. You know what word/words I’m talking about. And no, I can’t recall anyone calling me those names, but I loath them. I’d like to think of a name women could use for a great comeback, but saying, “Well, you know what you are? You’re a penis,” just doesn’t have the same impact.

Erotica has the ability to be as sweet or as raunchy as one wants. Where do you feel your work fits in the spectrum?

Keta Diablo: In the middle. There are many ways to present erotica or erotic romance. Sometimes it’s just as much of a turn on to use sexual tension. I think readers are very astute, and they have vivid imaginations. We need to give them credit for that. I also think some readers get real tired of reading page after page of sex. So you won’t find that in my books. For me, the plot or story comes first, the sex second.

What is the hardest part of writing a sex scene?

Keta Diablo: Not to be repetitive, but I guess that goes for the entire book. I might think of a phrase or something I want to write that fits the scene and I have to stop and think, “Hey, did I use that in Decadent Deceptions or Land of Falling Stars?” I have 20 books out now, and it gets harder to keep all the characters and the plots straight. Authors should be very conscious of writing new, fresh material and not the same old, same old.

Do you ever have issues with the language, specifically when referring to anatomical parts? I mean how many ways can one really say dick or pussy without it getting a little old? Are there any terms you refuse to use or, on the flip side, are their words that are your go-to words simply for the shock value?

Keta Diablo: Right, see above. I don’t want to use euphemisms but there are only so many names for a man’s dick, right? The same with a woman’s sex. I don’t get turned on by a man blowing dirty words in my ear, but if he comes into the bedroom half-naked with a rose between his teeth . . . I’m his.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Keta Diablo: Thank you so much for asking. I’m about to release Sojourn With A Stranger, an erotic historical set five years after the Civil War. This too is a paranormal with the theme of ghosts. The erotic part comes in when a servant agrees to bear the lord of the manor’s child in exchange for money. I’ve attached the video and that captures the essence quite well.

Watch for the release between March 26th and March 30th.
I just finished an anthology with three wonderful authors, Stacey Kennedy, Amber Scott and Elise Hepner called Kissed From Beyond. This is four paranormal stories involving ghosts, time travel, genies and cougars. We’ll release this book in March too.

And I’m almost finished with a story for the Seven Deadly Sins anthology with 6 authors. I think this will release around the first week of April and its’ been a lot of fun writing with the other authors. You can keep on eye on this blog for more information: http://7deadlies.blogspot.com/p/7-sins-series.html

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Keta Diablo: Yes: “Are you sure you want to write a novel? I mean, are you really, really sure? Because it’s very hard work and little sleep if you plan to make money at this.” If they answer yes, I would tell them to stop putting it off, put your butt in the chair and write. It’s not easy. I know many reviewers or readers think it is, but it’s not. See two sentences up: It’s very hard work, and so many things have to come together to write a good book. At least for me. I have to be in good physical health, and hopefully in the right place with my mind. And then pray the words will come. If I’m sick or thinking about going to the lake, my writing shows I’m distracted. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I hit the delete button and then bang my head on the desk. During those times, I think a 4th grader can write better than me. There’s a lot of second-guessing, self-doubt and that’s because the book you think they will love, they don’t. The book you’re feeling queasy about, they love.

Thank you so much for inviting me to Coffee Fueled Erotica. Lovely blog, and I enjoyed the questions.
You can find me on the net at the following places:
Author home: http://www.ketadiablo.com
Erotic Romance Blog: http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ketadiablo
My Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keta-Diablo/88641942024?v=wall

Trailer Awards

2011-03-16T21:55:00.004-05:00

Cross-posted with Willsin's World and Dirtyville Collection.
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I just wanted to post a message about The New Covey Trailer Awards.

There are thirty book trailers for your viewing pleasure and voting runs until March 30th, 2011. Three of my trailers (including "House of Immortal Pleasures") are in contention this month, but it's an honour just to be nominated blah blah blah...

Seriously, though, there are some mighty professional pieces in amongst it all. There are far worse ways to spend a half-hour than by watching these little beauties.

And while you're there, please take the time to check out the excellent work of David Boultbee, who is the philanthropic-type behind these awards. Without sites like The Coveys, it would be a lot harder for writers to get their promo out there.

And if any of the trailers catch your eye, why not leave a little comment? Feedback rocks.

ANOTHER New Trailer...

2011-03-14T06:37:00.003-05:00

Cross-posted with Willsin's World.

Once again I have fresh book trailer juice all over my fingers. And once again, it was a client who was referred to me by Katie Salidas (who shall from this point on ONLY be known as The Lovely Katie™).

I had a lot of fun with this one, creating ambiguous demons and also destroying small parts of the United States. All in the name of entertainment, of course.

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to make this trailer. It's my first non-erotic trailer. In this case it's a YA Fiction story, entitled "Released" by Megan Duncan. This book will be released pretty darn soon. Check Megan's blog and her Facebook page for updates!

Call For Submission

2011-03-12T16:44:00.003-06:00

Calling anyone out who writes dark, edgy and desperate erotica. The wonderful Sommer Marsden is putting together an anthology of hard stuff, and there is one - count it - ONE spot still available.

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I'm putting together a small December Ink anthology. The only parameters for theme I will give you is "edgy" erotic fiction. W/c is openish. Just don't send me flash and/or a novella. 2,500-5K would be a good range.

I know it's short notice. If you have something you think may be appropropriate send to hot4sommer@yahoo.com

The pay is a cut of the antho (1/10) for as long as it's in publication and a free print copy on me if I can figure out how to work Createspace without breaking it.

Any questions hit me at hot4sommer @ yahoo dot com

Please mark any submissions as "SUBMISSION: EDGY FICTION"

xo
S

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So there it is! If you have something in your drawers that might scare people, pull it out and show it to Sommer!

Wait...that didn't come out right...

The Three-Day Hump

2011-03-09T18:46:00.002-06:00

Cross-posted with Willsin's World...

I thought it was high time I put my trailer-making skills into some promo for one of my own stories. The very first trailer I ever made was for this title, but as I was a newbie and the software I had was quite primitive, that trailer was kinda sucky.

This time around, I've created something far more satisfactory.

I hope you enjoy it.

Doin' the Business

2011-03-08T07:51:00.003-06:00

There are many aspects of the modern world which I simply adore. Medicine, education, travel, entertainment.

On the other hand, the reverse is also true. Some aspects of modern life leave me somewhat perplexed.

For instance, I noticed today an advertisement on the back of a bus. It was for a food product. Some type of milk-based "meal in a box" drink that purported to serve as a meal replacement. The headline for the advertisement was "Can't Stop To Eat?"

Can't stop to eat? What? Who on Earth cannot stop what they're doing long enough to actually take in enough nutrients to sustain their life? What happens if they DO stop to eat? Someone else takes their place in the middle of the bus queue? They get deposed as CEO of a multinational mining conglomerate? What?

But the ad got me thinking. The inference I took from it was that if you were so damn stupid as to halt your forward progress long enough to buy a sandwich, AND THEN take 2-4 minutes to actually stop and eat it...some OTHER fucker was gonna get that client you've been wooing for months.

But why should we stop with just eating? Since we're obviating bodily processes, I'm working with my team of designers to come up with a practical solution for all the time wasted at the other end of the digestive system. The working title for the product is "Business Shorts". They're just like a diaper, only they'll have a thin outer coating of kevlar for odour containment.

Never have to leave a meeting again! Just take a dump while you're taking a call!

No more bathroom breaks! Save a valuable 24.7 minutes every day with "Business Shorts".

Order now and we'll send you this extra-large bottle of talcum powder absolutely free. We have a feeling you'll need it.

Free Ebooks!!!

2011-03-06T02:17:00.000-06:00

I hope that got your attention!!!

Smashwords.com is hosting it's annual Read an Ebook Week.
March 6-12

I've enrolled some of my books as part of the event! If you'd like to read them for FREE please click the links below the covers. Act now before this event ends. Coupons will only be good from March 6th to March 12.

Use coupon code: RE100

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10237

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/16324

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/24874

Between the Sheets Interview with Author Sommer Marsden

2011-03-04T05:00:00.004-06:00

We're big on caffeine here at CFE, so what's your favorite drink with a kick? What's your guilty pleasure?

Sommer: Coffee. Straight up. No froof and no fancy names. I like very strong coffee with a bark and a bite and I like it with raw sugar and real half and half or cream. No milk!

What drew you to this genre?

Sommer: My libido. Am I allowed to say that? LOL. Basically, I fell ass backwards into erotica and erotic romance. I was trying to be a mystery writer. I failed.

What's your favorite subgenre in Erotica? (eg. BDSM, LGBT, Paranormal, etc.)

Sommer: I used to say I’d write about any subgenre but paranormal. Because it scared me. Now about 70% of my work is paranormal. Go figure.

How long have you been writing?

Sommer: Full-time since 2005. But I’ve been writing all my life. Seriously since college. Publishable since my mid-twenties. Obsessively for six years now.

Please describe your writing environment.
Heh. Small, cluttered, full of stuff I love. Things that inspire me. But I’m on a laptop so it can change on a whim and often does.

WOW look how neat and pretty your writing area is!! You don’t want to see the garbage heap that is my desk. =p. Ok moving on though (don’t want to get too far off topic.) What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

Sommer: The seat of my pants has holes I fly by it so often. Outlines are very very VERY minimal like:
He goes to store
Sex
He goes home
Sex
Fire!
Save her!
That is an outline for me. Seriously.

Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing? Example….get coffee, blanket, paper, pen and a comfy place?

Sommer: Get coffee, make children breakfast, think of story, check email while children eat, open document, check email check email check email, check twitter, facebook, review sites, goodreads, order children to make lunches. Walk around. Check email, write a page, talk to the dog, kiss kids goodbye…

This is very boring isn’t it?

Basically, my ritual is write a page and do something else. Write a page and do something else. That goes on until either until I hit 2K minimum for the day or my brain gets tired. It could be 2K, it could be 12. I just have to give my short attention span time to roam. It’s the roaming that allows my mind to fill in the gaps to the story so I can plunk down and write another page.

Stilettos: Sexy or not?

Sommer: If you are on your back (or knees), sexy. If you are walking around, not so much. At least not on me. I tend to fall down a lot.

Do you have anything special you do to get into the writing mood?

Sommer: I wake up.

Fair enough. Ok, on to some harder questions… Does this make my butt look big? I mean really? Be honest!

Sommer: Yeeeeeeeeees!

What’s been the most challenging part of writing erotica, for you?

Sommer: Keeping my characters from just banging their way through the whole book. I tend to like the sex scenes. A lot.

Where won't you go with erotica? What are your taboo’s?

Sommer: Hmm. I think the standard industry taboos are echoed in my personal ones. No kids, no animals (barring shifters, duh), no abuse, no pain against someone’s will. I’m sex positive, but at the end of the day, everyone should be happy. The dom, the sub, top, bottom, whatever. The point is, no one should be hurt.

Erotica has the ability to be as sweet or as raunchy as you like it. Where do you feel your work fits in the spectrum?

Sommer: All over the spectrum. I have been so intense that big time agents have cut me from the book proposal. I have been touted for being super funny. I think you could find a variation on tone, humor, intensity and style if you picked up random stories/books of mine. I make it a point to not write the same thing over and over and over again. One book might be darker where another one will make even me laugh out loud when I’m trying to edit. I have no fixed place. And I’m happy about it!

What is the hardest part of writing a sex scene?

Sommer: To me, there’s nothing really hard about the sex scenes. I find them the easiest part of the book.

Do you ever have issues with the language, specifically when referring to anatomical parts? I mean how many ways can one really say dick or pussy without it getting a little old? Are there any terms you refuse to use or, on the flip side, are their words that are your go-to words simply for the shock value?

Sommer: I use them all. I much prefer the straight forward words to sheath and shaft and all that jazz. Those evasive words pull me out of the flow of the story. The word pussy or cock do not. A lot of places don’t like dick (heh) so when I write those stories , I do feel a wee bit repetitive. Like cock…cock…cock… I feel like I should add a-doodle-doo! But in general, I prefer the blatant words, if you will.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Sommer: Current work is a mainstream as the original me—dark , gritty crime fiction (that may end up sucking). I just wrapped up a paranormal, though. A vampire, werewolf, human love triangle I said I’d never do. Until the damn characters started talking to me. I also just turned in a zombie book. So hey! All over the spectrum, see 

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Sommer: Write. Every day. Write.

Well, there you have it folks. A peek into the mind of author Sommer Marsden. And what a prolific writer she is too! Why not check out some of her current titles?

Learning To Drown
http://excessica.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=526&osCsid=96a754eaafa5efbe362c57add5bb2ec4

Eat Me
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-eatmesucculentstoriesofedibleerotica-492752-144.html

Dirty or Die
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9042-dirty-or-die.aspx

Hard Lessons
http://www.erotica-romance-ebooks.com/hard-lessons.html

Buy this book at Ellora's Cave!
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9099-base-nature.aspx

For The Sake Of The Story?

2011-03-01T07:45:00.005-06:00

Is it just me, or does anyone else out there have a problem with that ol' 80s anthem, "The Final Countdown"? Not the hooky little keyboard riff, not the overblown vocals and production, not even the disturbing prettiness of the band members. Just compare lead singer Joey Tempest (left) with former porn star Racquel Darrian (right).

Despite all those elements, what I truly dislike about this song are the lyrics.

Not all the lyrics. For my money they're pretty ordinary, but the band is Swedish, and I doubt that English was the first language for any of them (but I don't know this to be true).

It's that one little verse where they change the laws of physics and space/time and even the accepted knowledge about the viability of life, all so they can rhyme some words. And maybe sound smart.

The lyrics in question:
We're heading for Venus, and still we stand tall,
'Cause maybe they've seen us, and welcome us all, yeah
With so many light years to go, and things to be found...

So where do I start? Okay...they're heading for Venus? Arguably the planet in our Solar System which is least suited to hosting any kind of life as we would recognise it. An atmosphere consisting almost entirely of carbon dioxide, a layer of dense sulfuric acid clouds, no detectable water, and massive planet-wide volcanic activity...where do I sign?

Which leads me to the next question: who are the "they" who will potentially be leaving the porch light on and a key under the mat? And why would they do that if we'd just shown judgment so poor as to destroy our own planet?

But then, my favourite part..."with so many light-years to go". Woah! Slow down, Joey...settle...don't you worry your pretty little head about it! Light years? Earth is only 8 light minutes from the Sun. Even if we were to postulate that Venus was all the way over on the other side of the Sun at the very moment the spacecraft took off, surely they couldn't be more than about 15 light minutes away from their destination.

Now, all of the above is done in jest, of course. What do the facts matter to a glam metal band? I'm serious on that, too. Sometimes the facts can get in the way of a good story. I mean, they could just have easily said they'd head for Mars, but the rhythm is wrong. One syllable, not two. So Venus works better. At least they didn't threaten to aim for Uranus.

But how far is too far? In a pop song, really, who cares (besides pedants like myself)? But in a movie, or a book, how far can a writer stretch the truth before it no longer works? I'm obviously not talking about fantasy, or created worlds. I'm talking about fictional stories set in this world as we know it.

What do you think is acceptable?

Another New Trailer

2011-02-25T21:33:00.003-06:00

My lab is a busy place, now. Hot on the heels of Dakota Trace's "Taming Kalinda" trailer, I've wrapped up the production on a new one.

This one is for the amazing Keta Diablo, and is for her soon-to-be-released book (mega-book, really!) "Sojourn With A Stranger".

Enjoy!

Let's hear it for the boys!

2011-02-21T15:31:00.003-06:00

Photo Credit

Today, we're appreciating the men in our lives

I think I'm a pretty lucky girl, to have landed the wonderful husband I have.

He's not Mr. Romance
He often forgets special occasions
And, no matter how many times I ask, he still won't put a new bag back in the trash after he dumps it. (At least he dumps it right?)

And that's OK. The things he does far outweigh the little petty annoyances in our daily life.

My husband is my rock.

When I'm down and depressed, he does everything he can to make me laugh. I've always said, I love a man who can make me laugh.

When I'm feeling overwhelmed by life, he tries to help me lessen the load. Without me having to say anything, he'll take Munchkin out for ice cream, when he see's I'm stressed and need a few minutes of peace.

When I'm stuck for ideas, and writer's block rears its ugly head, he acts as my sounding board and helps me work through plot problems.

When I began writing, he pushed me to keep going, even during the many times of self doubt I had. He believes in me and wants me to succeed.

When a bad review comes in (can't please them all, right?), he gets up in arms, and defends my writing. Just hearing him praise my work, even if no one else hears it, fills me with pride.

When I put on the 20lb wedding ring (girls, you know what I'm talking about), he never once suggested I looked any less attractive. In fact, there are many times where he makes a point to tell me he loves my big butt. LoL.

And finally, He can love me when I'm at my worst: angry, agitated, and looking for a fight (basically, when I'm a complete beast to deal with. Hey, no relationship is perfect and there are occasionally some very bad days.) He's helped me quit smoking a few times, and let me tell you, isn't pretty. He knows my temperament well and doesn't fault me for it. He rides out the storm and when it's done, he still tells me, I'm the love of his life.

That's why I'm so lucky to have my hubby. He's my rock, my love, and my Knight in tarnished armor. Is he a perfect man? As far as I'm concerned... Yep!

So now I want to hear from you. Share your appreciation for the man in your life. Tell us why he's your perfect match.

Let's here it for the boys!

What do you want to see here at Coffee Fueled Erotica?

2011-02-21T02:50:00.002-06:00

With the varied personalities of our posters here at Coffee Fueled Erotica, you get a fun mix of sexy, helpful, informative, debate-worthy, etc... but we've never stopped to ask what you, the reader, really wants to see.

So, with that in mind (We'll still post our own fun topics), what else do you want to see here?

More interviews?
More tips and tricks?
More sexy excerpts?
Book Reviews?
Or, something else...

You tell us, we're open to suggestions.

More Censorship Trouble

2011-02-15T05:31:00.005-06:00

I learned today of another casualty in the current trendy war on taboo. "Uncle Ed's Lap" by Parker Ford has been pulled from the Kindle shelves at Amazon because the material was deemed to be "questionable". Now this is a book I've read, and reviewed here on this very site. It was possibly the finest piece of erotica I read in 2010.

In this story, there are several boundary-pushing elements. There's erotic asphyxiation. There's the hint of non-consent. But based on the current trend, it seems there's a whole other element which resulted in this book being suppressed. That element is, for want of a better term, "mock-incest".

"Uncle Ed's Lap" is the story of a young woman's affair with her uncle by marriage. That is, she was blood related to her aunt, and this man was married to that aunt. There are no biological shenanigans going on.

Lately, Amazon (and probably others) have been clearing their Kindle shelves of any erotic material that contains even a hint of squick. And this story could easily fall under that loose category.

I don't pretend that it's a story everyone would want to read. But the thing is, if we're capable of reading the book, we're capable of reading the blurb, too. It's stated quite clearly in the warnings section just what goes on between the pages. If it doesn't push your buttons, leave it on the shelf.

Last year I also read "Gerald's Game" by Stephen King. I didn't greatly enjoy the book, but that's not relevant here. What stuck with me were the graphic descriptions of several squick-related activities. Mostly the non-consensual sexual touching of an underage girl...by her father. Her actual, blood-related, biological father. There's even a cumshot.

Now I just checked, and "Gerald's Game" is still available on Kindle. In light of the recent squick-hunt, there are only two reasons I can fathom for this being so. The first reason: it's not erotica, and these events are not glorified, celebrated or eroticized. The second reason: it's Stephen King. No retailer would willingly pull mega-selling authors from their shelves.

But when you're Parker Ford, a fine writer who's with a couple of small publishers...well, I say "good luck". Ma'am, your story deserves better treatment, and I believe you, too, deserve the same.

And just to finish with, I found it interesting to note that, while the Kindle edition has evaporated, the paperback version of "Uncle Ed's Lap" is still available. Make of that what you will.

New Release - Karma & Melodies

2011-02-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

Just in time for Valentines Day, a Paranormal Romance to get the blood pumping.

Karma & Melodies is finally available! Get your copy today.

Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/Karma-Melodies-ebook/dp/B004MPRVBA/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1297221634&sr=8-11
...
Nook - http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=katie+salidas&page=index&prod=univ&choice=allproducts&query=katie+salidas&flag=False&ugrp=2

Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/41390

Synopsis:

Kendra used to spend her days organizing events for Café Enigma while daydreaming about Marcus, the sexy lead singer of Normal Paradox. But all those dreams of becoming Mrs. Rock Star died, along with her mortality, the moment Hector entered her life and turned her into a vampire.

Ten torturous years later, Kendra finally escapes Hector and runs straight into Marcus. (Well, actually, he hit her with his car, but that's beside the point.) The accident leaves Marcus concussed and a few pints too low, forcing Kendra to share her blood to save him.

Sharing her blood doesn’t just heal Marcus’s wounds; it bonds him to Kendra in a magical “can’t live without you” sort of way. Now he’s professing his undying love to her, and Kendra’s not sure if he’s for real or just experiencing the side effects of their new blood bond. Either way, the two of them can’t be separated without suffering suicidal levels of depression, and the band needs to hit the road for the rest of their cross-country tour.

Kendra’s content to travel with the band and explore her new-found relationship, until whispered threats from her master, Hector, start invading her dreams. He’s tracking her down, and she can feel it. She knows the horrors he’s capable of, and if he finds out about Marcus, Hector will do everything in his power to destroy him.

If she stays, Marcus is doomed to Hector’s wrath. If she goes, the repercussions of their bond might kill Marcus. Both options will break Kendra’s heart. If they’re truly meant for each other, they’ll have to find another way....

Do you write Erotica? Check out Naughty Nights Press

2011-02-10T01:23:00.000-06:00

Naughty Nights Press

WE ARE THE NEXT GENERATION OF EROTIC AUTHORS!

Would you like to be part of the Next Generation of Undeniably Passionate, Sexually Explicit and Downright Daring Erotic Romance Authors on Naughty Nights Press?

Where our writers are encouraged to use their insatiable drive for creativity to push the boundaries to the edge of that intense craving for spicy erotic romance so tempting our readers simply can’t resist…

If you are a writer of Contemporary Erotic Romance looking for a great house to e-publish your next book then look no further! Naughty nights Press is the newest publisher for steamy erotic romance.

We specialize in Erotic and Erotic Paranormal Romance however we publish a range of different sub-genres in erotic romance from Fantasy to Science fiction to the wildest of Kink; we do so much more then you may expect.

Try a brand new e-publisher on for size and realize the benefit of having it all arranged for you. We have in-house editors who will work with you to make your books the best they can be, graphics artists who will design a cover that almost tells the tale of the pages within and the best part…we are a royalty-paying publisher who welcomes both aspiring and established authors.

We may be small but we can do big things!

Do yourself a favour and submit your books to Naughty Nights Press rather than letting your books sit on a shelf.

We offer downloads to our clients in multiple formats right on

the website so you do not have to worry about extra fees or hosts that go out of business. We take care of our authors and help them to share their work with the world! Why wait, submit today at nnp@mistressjournals.com

We are currently accepting e-book novellas between 8000 and 13000 words. If you would prefer to write something bigger than please look at what we accept on our submissions pages or contact our office.

Please have your submissions in to nnp@mistressjournals.com no later than July 31st, 2011.

For submission and formatting requirements, please go to the Naughty Nights Press “How To Submit to NNP” http://mistressjournals.co.cc/nnp/formatting.php

Naughty Nights Press reserves the right to modify due dates for submissions at our discretion.

~ Lady Gina Kincade,

The Mistress Author of Erotic and Erotic Paranormal Romance

Mistress Journals Erotic Stories Forum Founder and Administrator ~ http://mistressjournals.com/

The Mistress Journals of Gina Kincade Blog ~ http://themistressjournals.blogspot.com/

Naughty Nights Press (NNP) Blog ~ http://naughtynightspress.blogspot.com/

Owner of Naughty Nights Press (July 2011) ~

http://mistressjournals.co.cc/nnp/mjsindex.php

Copyright ©2009-2011 Mistress Journals

Naughty Nights Press (NNP)

Willsin's World

2011-02-08T03:25:00.003-06:00

Last week our very lovely Katie Salidas (who you may also know as Rozlyn Sparks), had a cool web radio interview. During the course of that interview, she very kindly gave me a little plug for the work I do in the fields of cover art and trailer making.

Whereupon the interviewer, B.K. Walker, suggested that people might like to check out my website, and what is that web address, please, Katie? At which point, The Lovely Katie™ had to pass on the information that "uh...he doesn't HAVE one."

So I said to myself...d'OH!

And set about rectifying that situation. Indeed, The Lovely Katie™ was instrumental in getting me set up at my brand new digs, Willsin's World!

It's a blog site which is dedicated to showing off the various covers I've done over the past 18 months or so, and also the trailers I've constructed over about the same period of time.

You're all most welcome to head over and check it out. It's still a work in progress, but thanks to The Lovely Katie™ it's really quite purty.

Cheers all!
Willsin

Hunger by Willsin Rowe - Review

2011-02-03T00:01:00.001-06:00

I finally got the Kindle I’ve been dreaming of and my first purchase was Hunger, by the very talented Willsin Rowe.

Publisher: eXcessica

Contemporary Erotica Rubenesque

Blurb:
Christmas time in Brisbane is always so hot and muggy you could drink it from a bowl.

Brett Freeman feels the heat like anyone, but for more than 15 years it’s been nothing to do with the climate and everything to do with Corinne. Only one thing stands between Brett and his perfect woman: her husband, Darren.

My thoughts:

Brett is in a bit of a pickle. He’s known Corinne for the last 15 years but never made a move. Sure he’s been the shoulder to cry on, he’s cleaned her up after drunken escapades, and daydreamed about all the things he’d love to do to/with her, but he never had the courage to make a move. You snooze, you lose...

Now she’s happily married and he lives in daily turmoil seeing her loving another man, his best friend. Though he should, he can't seem to move on.

He should have taken his chance when he had it. Poor Bret. He hungers for her but she will never be his.

Or will she?

There is a lot to be said for the power of friendship.

I loved this story. It’s the perfect length for a quickie bedtime read.

You can really feel the desperation of Brett in every stolen glance. Willsin’s appreciative description of Corinne’s female form is erotic poetry. And when he finally gets his chance, though you worry for the consequences, you cheer him on.

He brings to life each sensual detail of their union and leaves you satisfied, not just with the sex, but the nice little twist at the end.

Kudos Willsin. I can’t wait to read more of your work.

In Praise of Walter Mosley

2011-02-01T04:35:00.004-06:00

I answered the phone the other day.

"Hello?"

"Walter Mosley!"

Now, unfortunately, it was not the man himself on the other end of the line introducing himself. It was, in fact, Harry, the lead singer of my band. Harry's a voracious reader and his tastes and mine overlap in several areas. One of those areas is, indeed, the great Walter Mosley.

We ended up having a long conversation about writers, genres, styles and tastes, what we considered good, bad and ugly.

Inspired by the conversation, I borrowed another Mosley book from my local library. I'm about halfway through it, and I must say that I am once again amazed. For me, I think Mosley is only shaded by Elmore Leonard as a conversational writer. By that, I mean a writer who makes you feel like they're just speaking the words straight to you, unweighted and pure. The emotion is slickly inferred by the reader, rather than having to be implied by the writer.

There was a passage, probably about a page long, in the book I'm reading ("Diablerie"). It felt, at the moment of reading, as if it might be the finest page of writing I'd ever read. But as I read it, I realised it was fairly simple in its nature. What made it so powerful, so intense, was everything that had led the characters to that point. It was the detached nature of the main character, the short history of events chronicled in the story, and the overlap of those two facets to fill in the backstory.

In short, it was the foundation. The pedestal that raised the amazing artwork high enough that it could be seen.

In many cultures, people pay appropriate honour to the life of the fish they catch, or the beast they kill. They give praise to their deities for the providence, and they waste nothing.

Walter Mosley seems to capture the same spirit in his writing. He honours the life of his words and his story.

He wastes nothing.

Brand New Trailer

2011-01-28T06:39:00.005-06:00

Howdy y'all.

Sorry for my absence over the past couple of weeks. I know it's not my day today, but here's a little catchup blog which helps to explain my absence.

The wicked Dakota Trace, one of our eXcessica buddies, has a new book coming out on February 18th. I was very priveleged to be allowed to create a trailer for her.

And here it is. Once again, I've tried to mix things up a little, including the use of a voice-over instead of visual text. I hope you all enjoy it.

Cheers,
Willsin

Birthday 3.0 - "I don't want to grow up!"

2011-01-25T02:01:00.000-06:00

I guess It's time I left the Youth of my Adulthood and became a "grown up."

Today I turn 30.

I don't know about the rest of you out there in blogger land but 30 has always been a big "SCARY" milestone age for me.

When you're 18, you are "officially" considered an adult, but you're still very much a child. Think of it as adult with training wheels. You still have limitations on what you can do but you're now 100% responsible for your actions. It's a time of learning how to live on your own and decide what you want to be when you're done "growing up."

When you're 21 the training wheels come off. You've graduated to being a full fledged adult, and as a bonus, you're now trusted with alcohol. LoL. Though you're considered an adult with all rights and privileges, you still have a lot to learn. You're still very much a kid.You're still figuring things out and making lots of mistakes on the way. And that's OK... you're supposed to at this age. It's called life experience.

When you're 25 "they" decide you've learned enough to get some adult type bonuses... Lower car insurance!!! Now people start to look at you a little more seriously. You're supposed to know more and have a little more direction in your life, but hey, you're still 20-something so you get a little bit of slack.

30, on the other hand, at least in my view, is where you're looked at as, "real adult." You've had time to gain some real life experience and direction. The college years are usually behind you, you've made plenty of mistakes and hopefully learned from them. You're not a kid anymore. Welcome to real adulthood. (dun dun dunnnnnn)

So yeah, this year is a big one for me. But even though I'm an adult adult now, I still feel like a little kid. I don't wanna grow up!

Can I still be a kid? Can I... Pretty Please with a cherry on top?

New Release - Torn Asunder - Excerpt

2011-01-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

Torn Asunder
Aubrey Griffen is a witch whose true reasons for coming to London soon fall to the wayside when she catches the eye of Edmund Bryant, the Marquess of Dalysbury. He seduces her into a whirlwind romance until the lies and threats of his mother force her to flee to Triaill Brimuir, a secret island of her ancestors off the coast of Ireland. Edmund goes after her only to be hit by Aubrey’s confusion and anger when she magically transforms him into an elemental beast of her own creation.

However, it is when Edmund’s lust mysteriously turns him back into a man that the couple are forced to deal with a family secret and untold of powers. Now, Edmund must learn to shift himself into the beast in order to save her in a battle of black verses white magic.

Fraught with scenes of explicit intimacy, romantic spells and mystical shapeshifting, Torn Asunder is a unique blending of the age of manners with sexual magic.

EXCERPT:(Provided by Kiki Howell)

The roses, elegant in their refinement, fell from one another with little grace as she undid the paper around them. Staggering back a few steps until her back met with the wall, she slid down to the floor letting the wrapping and flowers fall where they may. Aubrey wrapped her arms tightly around her midsection. Her chest ached more with each beat of her heart as she swallowed hard, blinked away the mistiness over her eyes, and remembered.

It had been the beginning of the season, a bit over a fortnight ago, when she first encountered Edmund Bryant, the Marquess of Dalysbury. Although she rolled her eyes still at the title, she felt impelled to live through it all again--through the days of fantasy in which she had allowed herself to participate. Love at first sight didn't always give way to rational thinking. It did, however, make possible even the wavering delusions of believing impossible dreams could come true. She had just come to London to live with Lord and Lady Sanderly, her cousins who had paid for her travels under the guise of giving a poor relation of marriageable age a chance to find a good husband.

Whereas, the truth of the matter was, she was a relation who had shown a great aptitude for learning of the magical powers she had inherited. The good Lord and Lady, while holding the public title of Earl and Countess, were actually descendants of one of the notorious Pendle witches. They were to teach her to harness and utilize her innate talents in secret while flaunting her about from various parties and balls in the public eye.

She recalled with a weak smile the first ball Lord and Lady Sanderly had thrown to immerse her into proper society. At the time, she had consciously gripped her hands before her waist to resist fidgeting while trying hard to fix to memory all of the titles of those to whom she was being introduced. Her level of discomfort had increased, however, as an unsettled awareness of someone in the room, a haunting premonition of sorts, had made her heart race and her mouth dry. She had paid mind to ignore the successive shivers which rushed the length of her spine until they pooled as heat in her tightening stomach.

Reminded she was holding her breath only when forced to speak, her ribs had begun to ache. When a chill more pervasive that any she had ever known even in the drafty county cottage she had been raised in permeated her shoulders, she had turned in the direction of the source, and her eyes had met with a man standing just across the room looking back at her. She had immediately felt challenged to not look away from the gaze of his dark eyes. They radiated a raw energy unlike anything she had ever encountered before even among those with her own esoteric abilities.

A connection was made. Her heart beat at a frantic, uneven pace like a horse racing over shoddy roads. At the same time, a vague forewarning had made her break out in a glistening of sweat while she fought the urge to escape as well the need to move toward the man. She had given merit to her reactions based only on the fact she had captured the glance of an aristocratic gentleman with a lady in a lavish satin gown on his arm of obviously higher circumstances.

Engrossed in his fine manners, she watched as his hand removed the one holding onto him from his arm with a slight nod of his head. The lady in return had given him a slight curtsy but glorious smile before turning back to her other acquaintances which Aubrey recognized to be a duke and duchess she had recently met. His tempestuous form fit in posh attire spun on the heel of his expensive footwear to find her again with his haunted and hungry eyes. He seemed an odd mix of rugged and refined. She had felt the thrill and danger of being pursued by a beast which lurked inside of the man.

Genres: Historical (Regency), Paranormal (Witches & Shifters), Erotic, Romantic Suspense

Adult Content Warnings: Explicit Graphic Language, Violence

Novel Coming January 14th, 2011 in eBook and Trade Paperback online at all major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks, etc. or purchase at Excessica Publishing.

Author Website http://www.kikihowell.com

Advanced Praise for Torn Asunder:

Kiki Howell I feel has a major hit on her hands with Torn Asunder. I was so glued to this book that I was up til 4AM reading it, and mind you, I had to be up at 7AM to see my kiddies off to school....lol. I was just so captivated by the story of Aubrey and her love Edmund. They are drawn together by an unseen force that unites this couple body and soul. You would think that would be a good book to read but lets add witches, shapeshifting, white and black magic, a despicable mother, and a malevolent father to the mix. That is the story I had the very great pleasure of reading. It seemed at every turn our fated couple had more than there fair share of obstacles to over come…In between all the chaos our couple must endure is the most breath taking love story. Think Romeo and Juliet without them both dying at the end....lol. Their hearts and minds are linked for all time by an unforeseen connection that real couples only dream of. After reading this story you truly believe in soul mates and that love conquers all. On a scale of 1-10 I give this book a 10 and encourage everyone 18 and over to get a copy of this book and fall under Aubrey and Emund's spell. It is so worth the ride. ~5 out of 5 Stars, Review by Raquel Vega-Grieder for Sinfully Tasty Reads

“Torn Asunder is what a Regency novel should be. Prior to this book, I have never had a historical romance keep my interest for more than a chapter or two. Kiki Howell has written a historical novel that sings.
In Torn Asunder, Ms. Howell carefully spices her text with appropriate language, but does not go overboard. She lets the language flavor the story, instead of overpowering it. Her love for the time period is reflected in every part of the story, from the vivid characters to the clear imagery of her settings.
I give Torn Asunder five of five hearts.” ~D. Alexx Miller, Book Reviewer for Romance in the Backseat

"Kiki Howell spins a wonderful tale of passion, magic, betrayal, and a love that conquers all. Enjoy." ~NY Times Bestselling Author, Hannah Howell

Author Spotlight - Kiki Howell - Torn Asunder

2011-01-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

Welcome Kiki!!! We're big on caffeine here at CFE, so what's your favorite drink with a kick? What's your guilty pleasure?

Oh, the Turtle Mocha at Caribou Coffee. If I am at home though, I like my coffee black with homemade mulled Brandy. It’s a good thing I don’t indulge too often, right?

What drew you to this genre?

Drew? I kind of tripped and fell in! LOL! I was trying to get back into writing after taking a decade off raising my boys, so my husband, always very supportive, bought me a book of writing exercises. One said to break writer’s block by writing a short story in a genre you were not comfortable with. I took comfortable to mean not familiar. Anyway, I had, yes, just read my first erotic romance having stumbled upon Ellora’s Cave searching for publishers in my area out of curiosity. So, my not-familiar genre chosen was erotic romance. My husband encouraged me to submit the story to see what kind of response I got. The response was a contract from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid. So, I kept writing in it!

What's your favorite subgenre in Erotica? (eg. BDSM, LGBT, Paranormal, etc.)

Paranormal. I like to take things to an otherworldly level. It makes the sex, well, out-of-this-world! Okay, bad pun, but it gets the point across *grins*
How long have you been writing?

Well, I wrote when I was in college, thinking of going the English teacher who writes the next great American novel path. Then I met another future English teacher, and I married him. After two high-risk pregnancies which included bed-rest and leaving my teaching position, I took that decade or so off I mentioned above. I started writing again in late 2007.

Please describe your writing environment.

A section of the dining room, the part with the fireplace, I have sectioned off as my own. I collect snowmen and leave them up all year in my little place. However, since I write so many witch stories, the witchy gifts keep coming in leaving me with an eclectic, yet perfectly Feng-Shui’ed room. I am also a Feng Shui practioner. The picture here was taken of my fireplace mantle for a Feng Shui post I once wrote showing a very personalized career cure.

What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both?

Mostly, I am an outliner. Sometimes, I outline very heavily. For my newest release, Torn Asunder, I am thankful I did. The story was written three different times: once as a 25 K short story, then to a 50K short novel, and finally to a 78K full novel. Outlining helped me in the final stage to make my ending a new conflict, then continue on with more chapters to find a new resolution.

Do you have a ritual when it comes to writing? Example….get coffee, blanket, paper, pen and a comfy place?

Not really. I write once my kids are in school. I always brew a cup of tea first or make some coffee.

Stilettos: Sexy or not?

As uncomfortable as the confounded things are, I have to admit they are sexy. What they do for a leg! LOL

Does this make my butt look big?

I don’t know! Does this shirt make my boobs look big?

What’s been the most challenging part of writing erotica, for you?

Making the sex scenes varied and realistic even when you have magic as a sex toy. Sometimes you feel like A into B causes C, needs an X + Y =Z, until rereading it, you realize that all the limbs are not in the correct place. LMAO!

Where won't you go with erotica? What are your taboo’s?

Hmmm, if I had any, I recently broke them writing a story with Emma :) No, seriously, the story comes out in September and it is hot. Okay, to answer the question, I am not sure it is a taboo, as much as a comfort level writing it, but I shy away from anything more than light bondage in that area. In stories not yet released, I have done all of the pairings I think. *blushes*

Erotica has the ability to be as sweet or as raunchy as you like it. Where do you feel your work fits in the spectrum?

My current release, Torn Asunder, I would say if mostly sweet. I guess most of them are in a way. I tend to get the words “steamy” and “scorching” most often from reviewers. I do however like to include a little sex magic in most of them. In A Modern Day Witch Hunt one reviewer said of my sex magic scene, ”I have to say that what was certainly hot sex in the story was perpetrated for the most unique reason ever given.” I like to mix things up a bit, and sex magic is a great way to raise power to enhance a spell.

Do you ever have issues with the language, specifically when referring to anatomical parts? I mean how many ways can one really say dick or pussy without it getting a little old? Are there any terms you refuse to use or, on the flip side, are their words that are your go-to words simply for the shock value?

No, not really. As a former English Teacher, I am open to all words :) I really feel that words only have the power one gives them and I have found I can no longer write worrying about offending someone – I am going to do that anyway. As far as shock value goes, it is usually any word I can put the f-word before. LOL – didn’t want to shock anyone!

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Torn Asunder

"Kiki Howell spins a wonderful tale of passion, magic, betrayal, and a love that conquers all. Enjoy." ~NY Times Bestselling Author, Hannah Howell

Blurb: Aubrey Griffen is a witch whose true reasons for coming to London soon fall to the wayside when she catches the eye of Edmund Bryant, the Marquess of Dalysbury. He seduces her into a whirlwind romance until the lies and threats of his mother force her to flee to Triaill Brimuir, a secret island of her ancestors off the coast of Ireland. Edmund goes after her only to be hit by Aubrey’s confusion and anger when she magically transforms him into an elemental beast of her own creation.

However, it is when Edmund’s lust mysteriously turns him back into a man that the couple are forced to deal with a family secret and untold of powers. Now, Edmund must learn to shift himself into the beast in order to save her in a battle of black verses white magic.

Fraught with scenes of explicit intimacy, romantic spells and mystical shapeshifting, Torn Asunder is a unique blending of the age of manners with sexual magic.

Genres: Historical (Regency), Paranormal (Witches & Shifters), Erotic, Romantic Suspense

Adult Content Warnings: Explicit Graphic Language, Violence

Novel Coming January 14th, 2011 in eBook and Trade Paperback online at all major retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks, etc. or purchase at Excessica Publishing.

Author Website http://www.kikihowell.com

More Advanced Praise for Torn Asunder:

Kiki Howell I feel has a major hit on her hands with Torn Asunder. I was so glued to this book that I was up til 4AM reading it, and mind you, I had to be up at 7AM to see my kiddies off to school....lol. I was just so captivated by the story of Aubrey and her love Edmund. They are drawn together by an unseen force that unites this couple body and soul. You would think that would be a good book to read but lets add witches, shapeshifting, white and black magic, a despicable mother, and a malevolent father to the mix. That is the story I had the very great pleasure of reading. It seemed at every turn our fated couple had more than there fair share of obstacles to over come…In between all the chaos our couple must endure is the most breath taking love story. Think Romeo and Juliet without them both dying at the end....lol. Their hearts and minds are linked for all time by an unforeseen connection that real couples only dream of. After reading this story you truly believe in soul mates and that love conquers all. On a scale of 1-10 I give this book a 10 and encourage everyone 18 and over to get a copy of this book and fall under Aubrey and Emund's spell. It is so worth the ride. ~5 out of 5 Stars, Review by Raquel Vega-Grieder for Sinfully Tasty Reads

“Torn Asunder is what a Regency novel should be. Prior to this book, I have never had a historical romance keep my interest for more than a chapter or two. Kiki Howell has written a historical novel that sings.
In Torn Asunder, Ms. Howell carefully spices her text with appropriate language, but does not go overboard. She lets the language flavor the story, instead of overpowering it. Her love for the time period is reflected in every part of the story, from the vivid characters to the clear imagery of her settings.
I give Torn Asunder five of five hearts.” ~D. Alexx Miller, Book Reviewer for Romance in the Backseat

Just a quick one...

2011-01-12T00:53:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone. Sorry I'm a little late in posting this.

For those who don't know, I live in a city named Brisbane, which is the capital city of Queensland, the second largest state in Australia. If you've seen the international news lately, you may know what's going on. There is severe flooding in many parts of Queensland, and Brisbane is the latest casualty.

My family, my house and my possessions are all completely safet. We live in a higher area. Many others are far less fortunate.

What has been so touching for me has been the weight of concern I've received from people in other Australian states, and even more notably, from many people across the world.

It's been said more than once that friends are the family you'd have if you could choose. It's never been more evident to me than right now.

Thank you to everyone who's taken an interest. As I say, I'm in no danger, and it would take a double-biblical deluge to put my place in danger. As such, I don't feel any compunction in posting this link, in case anyone has the means to donate a little to help the victims who nature has beaten but not conquered.

This tragedy has covered a great deal of our state. To put that into a geographical perspective, Queensland is approximately 2.5 times the size of Texas.

Cheers,
Willsin

Immortalis Carpe Noctem - Free! (Coupon inside)

2011-01-06T22:20:00.002-06:00

For a limited time, you can.

In honor of the release of the sequel Hunters & Prey, I'm offering to readers of Coffee Fueled Erotica, a coupon code good for a FREE DOWNLOAD of Immortalis Carpe Noctem.

Read the first, love it, then go get your self a copy of the new novel, Hunters & Prey (Available Now in ALL ebook formats. In print as well via Amazon and Barnes & Noble.)

Immortalis Carpe Noctem
Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition... that's the hard part.

Bleeding to death after brutal mugging on the campus of UNLV, Twenty-five year old Alyssa, is rescued by the cold and aloof, vampire, Lysander. Taking pity on her, he shares the gift-and curse-of immortality. She awakens as a vampire and is soon devastated by harsh realities of her new way of life: the loss of her friends, her independence, and her humanity.

As if having her humanity stripped away was not enough to make life interesting, Alyssa finds out her "turning", did not go unnoticed by the rest of undead society. Old enemies; an ancient sect of vampire hunters, known as the Acta Sanctorum, as well as a powerful Vampire mistress, each set plans in motion to destroy both Alyssa and Lysander.

Only by accepting her new-found immortality, seizing the night, will Alyssa hope to survive.

"... Gripping and fast-paced, Immortalis Carpe Noctem is a riveting read. In it, author Katie Salidas presents an action-packed tale of a mythical dark underworld that stands out from the garden variety vampire lore currently dominating the rank and file of pop culture. Through the tortuous exploits of her protagonist, Salidas takes the reader on a vicarious journey deep into the heart of a hidden society rife with intriguing characters and intricate plotlines, all of which merge into a seamless mix of mystery, drama, and suspense. Furthermore, with a genuine nod to the supernatural, Immortalis maintains an edge of authenticity that tends to escape other vampire tales crafted solely for superficial shock value.

The first installment in what promises to be a superb new series, Immortalis Carpe Noctem is the promising debut from a burgeoning literary talent on the rise. A strongly recommended read.

Renee Washburn
Apex Reviews "

To receive your free download just visit this Smashwords link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10237

Use coupon Code: MR87F

Enjoy! The coupon is good through January 31, 2011.

Show, Don't Tell...

2011-01-04T08:09:00.002-06:00

It's a well-worn maxim in writing: "show, don't tell". I've come to realise over the years that it's an immensely important part of real life, too.

There are glib examples that come to mind, drawn from popular culture. For instance, the words to the song "Always On My Mind". For anyone unfamiliar with it, it's a song of regret. It tells the tale of a man who has taken his woman for granted. He lists the litany of ways he's stayed aloof, then attempts to remedy the situation by saying "but I was always thinking of you". To which I'm tempted to reply "show, don't tell."

Recently I saw a discussion on a website about the falling standards of parenting. The discussion was full of wonderful advice about how smacking was not just effective, but basically necessary these days. A lot of the old "my parents smacked me, and I'm fah-fah-fah-f-f-fine!" kind of talk. All being done by non-parents. One of them had the decency to say something like "imagine if we had kids!" To which another person asserted that if they DID have kids, those kids would be angels on earth. Perhaps that's a little bit of hyperbole on my part, but that was it in a nutshell.

I'm not sure exactly why this discussion stuck in my craw so much. But it did. It's a very touchy subject, and no parent wants to be seen or known to be a "bad" parent.

As many of you out there would know, being an aunt or an uncle is a nice warm-up for parenting...but it still doesn't prepare you.

And it all comes down to those three words: "show, don't tell". Don't insist that IF you ever became a parent, YOUR kids would be smart, polite and respectful. SHOW me how you will achieve that. SHOW me how you'll stay balanced and alert when you've had only 2 hours sleep. SHOW me how you will subjugate your child's ego until they learn to do every single thing the way you want it to be done. Because no kid is easier to raise than a hypothetical one.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2011-01-02T01:46:00.002-06:00

Whoops, forgot to wish you all a happy new year. I blame it on lack of sleep. =p

Better lat than never, right?

I hope everyone had a fun and safe celebration!

My family and I usually watch the fireworks on TV because braving the Strip on New Years is just asking for trouble. This year however, I found us the perfect place to view the fireworks without the crowd. My camera isn't the best but I manged to get a decent view of the fireworks show with music provided by my car radio.

Enjoy

Review

2010-12-28T04:49:00.001-06:00

I was pleasantly surprised this week to find a review of my story, “Hunger”. I say ‘surprised’ because as far as I’m aware it was an unsolicited review.

It was mostly positive, though It also pointed out that perhaps the writing left too little to the imagination. Also, the word ‘trashy’ was mentioned, though not strictly in a bad way.

Now, when I wrote the story, I felt it was quite a romantic tale (though not Romantica), the realisation of a dream, etc. Having not read it since it was published, I still believed that.

Spurred by the review, I took another look through “Hunger”, and was surprised by what I noticed. I mean, the story is from a male POV, and is written by a male...and it reads like it.

What I came to realise was that a published story is much like a photograph. The story captures your writing as it is at that moment. Warts and all. Just like those family photos that make you shake your head and wonder what the hell you were thinking wearing those jeans.

“Hunger” was first published in 2007, and again by eXcessica a year ago today (with modifications). It was written before I found my ‘voice’. Before I’d uncovered the way I wanted to write stories, and write sex. If I were to write it again tomorrow, there would be some modifications.

The same theory applies to the cover, which is also my work. The reviewer (I couldn’t find any reference to a name, otherwise I’d use it) didn’t feel the cover art accurately reflected the story. Again, that was only my second cover. At that time I wasn’t even a cover artist. Just a guy who’d been using Photoshop for over 15 years.

But in both cases, it was my best work at that time. If I looked back at something I’d done a year ago and didn't think I could improve on it...I believe I’d either have lost my perspective, or lost my mind.

The review can be found here.

FREE EBOOK!! (Coupon code inside)

2010-12-27T17:45:00.003-06:00

Erotic Short Story Giveaway

Author, J. Alexander is offering a free download of her erotic short story, Becoming Dinner.

Becoming Dinner by J. Alexander. Action/Adventure, M/F Erotica, Short Story.

A four star review from Melissa at Dark Diva Reviews:

“… I was drawn right into Becoming Dinner on the first page. My attention was held captive by the action and suspense in which I was thrown. I felt as if I was teetering on a high ledge, and was not let down for the duration of the book. Ms. Alexander did such a wonderful job on such a short story; I would love to read a longer book by her. I would imagine it would be one of those books that I can’t stop reading until the story is finished.”

To receive your free download just visit this Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/28695 and at checkout enter coupon code MX49E.

Becoming Dinner is also available for purchase via Amazon US ($0.99 for Kindle or Kindle app): http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Dinner-ebook/dp/B004A8ZVAM/ and at Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/Becoming-Dinner/dp/B004A8ZVAM/ (£0.72)

Enjoy! The coupon is good through January 27, 2011.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T03:40:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to you!

Happy release day to me!

In two hours I'll be leaving work and hopefully getting on a train to my in-laws. Hubby and kiddo are already on their way with the puppy (and she hates being in the car so I'm kinda happy I'm working this morning and won't have to clean up afterwards :).

Have a wonderful holiday break with your family and friends. And, may all your wishes come true in 2011...

Emma

Santa baby, slip an ereader under the tree

2010-12-22T00:00:00.000-06:00

Santa baby, slip an ereader under the tree, for me

I've been an awful good girl

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, a leather, protective cover too, light blue

I'll wait up for you dear

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Think of all the novels I've missed

Think of all the Romance books I've got on my list

Next year I could read oh so much

If you'd check off my Christmas list

Boo doo bee doo

Santa honey, I need a car charger brought and really that's

Not a lot

Just get the accessory kit

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie, there's one thing I really do need, to read

Pick up a mystery too.

Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, I'm filling my stocking with a request for checks

Just send a giftcard online

Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree

With some ebooks published by new Indie's

I really do believe in you

Let's see if you believe in me

Boo doo bee doo

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, no bling

I don't need my ereader to shine.

Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Hurry down the chimney tonight

Hurry down the chimney tonight

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Willsin the Pedant

2010-12-21T04:45:00.001-06:00

It seems that with the advent of the internet, the general standards of written communication have fallen markedly. Personally, I have immense trouble wading through, say, comments on websites where the writers seem blissfully unaware not only of all those funny squiggles around the letter keys (it’s called “punctuation”, folks!), but also quite blithe as regards the existence of the SHIFT key.

It’s not simply the province of those commenting, either. There’s a ravenous beast out there called humankind, and it needs its news feed. Even if that news is simply that Jennifer Aniston’s dog is currently in a state of depression. So to feed that gaping maw, processes are streamlined and errors are made. By those writing and by those charged with fact checking and editing.

Honestly, we’re in a society which canonises sportsmen (and grudgingly admits that sportswomen are okay…at least when they have nice tits). We laud men and women (but mostly men) who spend years honing their skills in order to knock balls around with different pieces of sporting equipment. Golf is a great example. The difference between a good shot and a bad shot may be as infinitesimal as a single degree of angle, or a couple of miles per hour on the swing. Tiny differences. Until recently, Tiger Woods was second only to God in awesomeness. Because on the golf course, for 15 years, he made fewer mistakes than anyone else.

Why do we not have the same kind of global admiration for people with great command of their language? We watch avidly and listen intently when hot young actors tell us how to live our lives. “Y’know, y’ just gotta be true to yourself. Follow your dreams. Anything’s possible.” Ground-breaking stuff. But let Willsin the Pedant point out that it’s “their fault you’re here” and not “there fault your hear” and eyes are rolled and fingers pointed. Usually middle ones.

“Yeah, but you know what I meant.” This is the hollow argument that is often presented as defence. And it’s one I don’t particularly support. Let’s look at it in terms that this modern world might understand: if Roger Federer serves up a double fault, he doesn’t turn to the umpire and say “Yeah, but you know what I meant.”

For me, it’s a simple equation. If it’s not right…it’s wrong. We all make mistakes. That’s not the issue. What disturbs me most is the staggering growth of an utterly uncaring attitude.

Sure, the English language is confusing and apparently illogical. But so is the off-side rule in soccer, the LBW rule in cricket, the drive-through penalty in motor racing, the fact that Anna Kournikova was taken seriously as a tennis player and the thought that a dog can actually get depressed. If we can accept, embrace, mayhaps even understand those complexities, surely we can remember where to put our apostrophes...right?

I have a book out next week! (Yup, I'm a tad excited)

2010-12-17T04:26:00.000-06:00

One Final Attempt is the 3rd story in the Curve Happy series. It'll be released @ eXcessica next Friday 24 December, but it's already available for pre-order here.

I love this story. Sure, I'm the author, but it's really personal and I can't wait for people to read it. Sooo... Whoever comments first gets a free copy (eBook). Go!

* * * *

Blurb

Simon said some really hurtful things to his wife, and now she won’t forgive him. She’s even asking for a divorce. A divorce! She won’t talk to him, so he can’t even apologize properly. So, what’s a husband to do?

Reese wakes up the next day to find herself handcuffed to the bed. She has no choice but to listen to him.

Intent on proving to her that he really does love her and her curves, Simon pulls out all the stops. But will it be enough to capture his wife’s heart yet again?

* * * *

Here's a little excerpt for you..

Her eyes fluttered open, catching a glimpse of the room she still wasn’t accustomed to. She missed her bed and her old room, she thought as she turned to her side only to be stopped short. “What?” She leaned her head back and gasped when she saw her hands tied to the headboard. Fear spiked inside her, her heartbeat accelerating as she realized she was cuffed to the bed.

“Shhh.” A male voice rang, making her fingers clench around one other. “It’s just me.”

Her head whipped around. “Si?”

“Hey, baby.”

Her eyes flashed when she saw him sitting down in the armchair across the room. “What have you done? Why am I tied up?”

“We need to talk, and you keep ignoring me.”

“So, you thought handcuffing me to the bed was the way to go?” Her voice rose.

He shrugged. “Yup. That way, you can’t run away.”

Un-freaking-believable. “This isn’t funny, Simon. Untie me!”

“No.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the soft leather, his gaze moving over her partially covered form. “I like you like that.”

“Oh, so now you like me?”

His eyes closed as if he was in pain. When he opened them again, regret filled his face. “Reese, I never… I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe me. I l-”

She cut him off, “I don’t care! You’re an adult, Simon. You could have stopped yourself, but you didn’t. You obviously meant what you said. End of the discussion. Now, get those cuffs off!”

“No.” He was already shaking his head. “That’d be too easy. I know you think I’ve been lying to you all these years, but baby I haven’t. I love you, don’t you see?” She snorted but he ignored it. “I do. I guess now’s the time to remind you.”

Sexy Christmas

2010-12-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas can be a pretty sexy time of year so I thought I'd highlight some of the songs that emphasize that theme.

Santa & Mom? Who would have ever suspected???

All I want for Christmas is you... wrapped in a pretty red bow!

To quote my husband - "This is what porn looks like in hell"
Seriously though, it's too cold to go outside, lets snuggle up and get warm here. You know body heat is best shared when naked, right?

And finally... Ah... just watch.

So what songs say "Sexy Christmas" to you?

"O" is for...

2010-12-14T05:13:00.003-06:00

So Oprah’s in town. Have you heard?

This past week, it’s been the biggest (almost the only) news on Australian TV and radio. Oprah is finally here.

Now, I’m not what you could class as a fan of Oprah. I don’t watch her show, even when I’m home and it’s on. It doesn’t appeal to me greatly (from the highlight reels there appears to be far to much “woo”-ing for my Anglo Australian male ears). Likewise, while I’m aware she’s done some wonderful stuff throughout her career, and probably her life, I can’t claim to know much about that either.

The fact is, though, Oprah’s visit down under is a story I haven’t been able to avoid. It really is huge. And throughout every moment of footage that I’ve seen, one thing has become apparent.

The woman is class personified. She is a consummate professional. Every single moment that she has been in the public eye she has been gracious and graceful, respectable and respectful, engaging and engaged. Even going so far as to wave to the helicopter filming her having lunch.

This is a woman who knows her brand, and remembers when she still needed a surname to be recognised. Heck, she remembers a time before that, and knows how precarious a position like hers can be. Compare and contrast to, say, Mike Tyson. What the comparison might tell us is that a sublime skill-set may well get you to the top of your field. But a shrewd intellect and a sense of perspective gives you a far greater chance to remain there.

(I couldn’t help feeling a small sense of irony when Oprah took a Sydney Harbour cruise with legendary grumpy-drawers, Russell Crowe.)

Oprah seems to be a prime role model for anyone who wishes to put themselves and/or their work out in the public sphere. Should I ever achieve even one fuckteenth of the fame that Ms. Winfrey has, I believe I will struggle to cope and achieve balance. There is a long and sad list of people who cannot adjust to their fame. Sportspeople, actors, musicians, authors…the end is listless.

But I have seen the way.

PS: congratulations to CFE's own Emma Hillman, who is not only still competing in Alison Tyler's Smut Marathon, but won the most recent round hands down. Well done, lady.

Christmas giveaway: Chocs, books and more!

2010-12-10T05:45:00.001-06:00

It's the season to be jolly, so I've decided to hold a giveaway just before Christmas. Actually, make that several giveaways...

All you have to do is leave a comment below and tell me what you want for Christmas. It can be world peace, a puppy or a new necklace. I don't care as long as you explain why you really, really want it :)

My daughter will pick numbers at random and winners will be announced on Wednesday 22nd December.

Prizes will include:

- French chocolates (bought by yours truly at my local chocolate factory - they're to die for!) sent to your home;

- Paperback copy of Yes, No, Maybe;

- Paperback copy of Marked (out in March!);

- eBook of your choice from my back catalog (or a new one if it's going to be released soon).

Now, all you have to do is...start commenting!

PS: This giveaway will run both here and on my personal blog, so feel free to comment on either (just not on both as that wouldn't be fair!).

Getting in the mood....

2010-12-08T10:49:00.013-06:00

The holiday mood that is.

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For some it's easy. The weather is crisp, there is snow on the ground. Kids are bundled up like little Eskimos to go to school. Everything looks like a scene from a post card. Christmas is in the air.

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For others... it's a little harder and the holiday season looks a little something like this.

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There is something about a white Christmas that really puts you in the mood. Maybe it's because of that cold that we feel the need to be closer to one another.

I know It's hard to put yourself into the mood without a little help. So for those of you, like me, who won't have that White Christmas this year, or a nice hot fire to cozy up to, sit back and enjoy. I hope this gets you in the mood.

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Buy the Book

Happy Holidays!!

Spare me the details...

2010-12-06T21:24:00.002-06:00

With Christmas once again approaching, I thought I’d share with you all my favourite Christmas song. It’s called “How To Make Gravy”, and it’s by an Australian singer/songwriter called Paul Kelly. He’s not the greatest singer around, but he sure can deliver a song. I don’t think he’s had a great deal of success in other parts of the world but he’s considered a legend down here. Apologies for the lack of visuals, but in the end it lets you concentrate on the words.

For me, this song works so well because it’s such a personal tale. It’s a song with a decent amount of lyrics, but still it feels perfectly sparse on detail. Kelly drops little gems with hooks, he feeds you tiny moments which are worded perfectly, allowing you to paint your own idea of the family. It’s also a very poignant insight into the dichotomy of an Australian Christmas, with our European heritage fighting against our scorching summer.

More than just being a wonderful song, though, it’s that lyrical sparseness that appeals to me so much. Certainly the twenty years I spent writing songs has infiltrated my fiction writing, to the point that I strive to cover vast subjects in as few words as possible. I think that’s why I’ve been far more successful with my short and flash fiction than with anything else so far. I think I write stories in a style that’s reminiscent of songwriting.

And while I’m at it, I’ll share with you this song. It’s by another Australian band, Cold Chisel. Again I don’t think they had any notable success in the northern hemisphere, though I believe their lead singer, Jimmy Barnes, might have pricked America’s ears up in the mid-80s.

Nearly twenty years before Ben Folds Five released “Brick”, this song told a tale about the same issue. I believe “Choir Girl” is at least as powerful, because it similarly makes it a story about people. The Cold Chisel song has no ‘stance’ to maintain, it doesn’t advocate or condemn. It simply tells a story about what must be one of the most painful decisions anyone ever has to make. And it’s darkly romantic, too. This guy is there for her, helping her through it, he’ll be there when it’s done…and he’s not even her man. “She loves me like a sister.” Again, there are details for us to glean from what’s not being said.

For me, that’s the pinnacle of wonderful writing. Let me know what’s happening…just don’t tell me.

Reviewing as an Author: to shut up or not to shut up

2010-12-03T06:00:00.053-06:00

I apologize for the lack of posts over the past few weeks. I promise I'll do better in the new year, mostly because I should be less busy at work (I hope anyway!). I was trying to finish a book so it made eXcessica's 2011 catalogue. It did (pub date: November 18 2011...so far away!). So now, hopefully I can relax a little. And read, a lot. And write some more. Isn't that what a writer does though?

You see, I've been following the discussion at Dear Author about reviewing. The gist of it is that you shouldn't (badly) review a book in your genre because of the possibility of being maligned forever (the term 'professional suicide' was banded about, but I'd rather ignore that one). I don't understand this point of view at all. To be fair, I'd never even thought of it. If you don't read your own genre, you'll never progress as a writer... Or is it just me thinking that?

I also don't get why you shouldn't write a bad review if you didn't like a book. Sure, you're not going to trash it (otherwise, well, I won't be your friend anymore!), but you can still say why you didn't like it and why it didn't work for you. No?

OKay, so it might be different if you're a professional reviewer. I only write reviews on Goodreads, and short ones at that. But, if I want to write a review and explain why I really didn't get a ménage novella by Maya Banks that countless others have adored, will that be taken as jealousy by others? Will it screw up her sales? Of course not, it's Maya Banks! I might have liked some other books of hers but not that one, and it's my right to say that.

Apparently not.

I must admit I'm a bit shocked by this whole debate. I hadn't realized I should keep my mouth shut so I didn't rock the boat. Aren't we all supposed to be in this together? Are authors really that jealous of each other? What do you think? Would you rather not say what you thought of somebody's work, just in case it bit you in the butt later on? Or, would you be willing to explain why it didn't work for you?

Constructive criticism is something you learn to deal with when you're a published author and you start receiving reviews, good or bad. People might love your work, people might hate it, but it's always better to know... Isn't it?

Stage Fright

2010-12-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

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Or in this case Book Fright. Maybe Publishing Fright. How about Reading Fright. Hmmm Review Fright... Is that even a thing?

Ah well, you get the idea.

I wonder how many other of my author friends are going through this right now: That small (but seemingly eternal) limbo between the release of your latest book and the first couple of reviews.

From an indie author's perspective, it's a frightening time, that's for sure.

As an author, you work months at a time (sometimes years) perfecting your masterpiece. You slave over your characters and words, making sure each one is perfect, before you release your novel to the marketplace.

It's a lot like sending your kid off to school on the very first day. You hope and pray that you have given them everything they need, that they have a good time, are well received by friends, and don't run into any bullies. If they do, you hope they're strong enough to hold their own, since you aren't there to protect them. (I'm not saying readers are bullies, but some do go for the throat in reviews.)

In short, you want the best for them. The same applies to your newly-printed book (or ebook). You want the best possible response to it's release.

There's a bit of narcissism in it too, I won't deny it. An artist's self-worth is often tied to their work. That applies to writers too.

Once you've put in that kind of work, you want to hear gushing reviews. It validates you in a way. It makes you feel like the months (or years) weren't wasted. Negative reviews will happen but you hope they are few and far between. You want to walk away at the end of the day feeling great about your latest project.

So to my other author friends out there,commiserate with me. Tell me how you are dealing with limbo. And readers (I'd never forget about you) tell me about your experiences with reading new authors.

The Grass Is Always Greener...

2010-11-30T05:55:00.004-06:00

It’s such an old saying now, but it’s never going to stop being true. At least in my case.

Throughout most of my days, whatever I’m doing, I find myself thinking about writing. I may be at my day job. Riding my motorbike. Mowing the lawn. Whatever it is, I’m usually thinking about a story or simply looking forward to the moment when I can sit and write.

Until that moment arrives, when a bone-deep lethargy often hits me. Because it’s usually the end of the day and I’m shagged.
Then there’s the other really stupid problem. Like almost every writer, I have a whole bunch of stories rolling around in my noggin. One of my major obstacles is not just sorting out which one to write, but making sure that none of the other stories pop up like a scantily-clad temptress and woo me away.

When I’m not writing, writing is almost all I can think about. Then, when I am writing, other writing is almost all I can think about. I have a really juicy vampire story which I’m aching to create, and I have a whole lot of stuff worked out for. But I keep putting obstacles in the way. At the time of writing this blog, I’m still in the Smut Marathon (but that may change fairly soon!) There’s an anthology which I’ve been asked to contribute to. There is a stuttering stream of cover art to create. Trailers. Band practice. Gigs. Life.

But more than anything else, it’s other writing that blocks me from writing. I don't mean any of this in a whiney, "poor me", "it's a long way to the top if you wanna rock 'n' roll" kinda way. I guess I'm just sounding off about why I have such a low output.

So I'm announcing here and now: 2011 will see a novel-length story by Willsin Rowe. And a novella-length. And, for shits and giggles, a minimum of 3 stories in anthologies. There. Sorted.

Now...just gotta write the buggers...

Facebook Games!

2010-11-23T04:53:00.003-06:00

As if writing Smut Marathon stories, creating cover art, reviewing books and making book trailers wasn’t enough, I’ve also been spending time lately setting puzzles. I have two Facebook profiles, one under Willsin Rowe, and the other one is for my musical side. On that musical profile, I’ve been using my status updates as a way of setting puzzles for my friends.

The rules are pretty simple. I take a slab of popular song lyrics, almost exclusively the lead-in to the chorus. I then reword those lyrics in the most confusing and long-winded way that I can without exceeding the 420 character limit of the status update. Then it’s up to my friends to work out what the heck the song is. But they’re not simply allowed to name the song. They have to post, as a comment, the next line of the lyrics.

Unfortunately, I have a couple of friends who are too damn good at it and often solve them within a couple of minutes. It often takes me longer to create the thing than it does for them to solve it. Bastards.

As an example of what I mean, see the below excerpt from “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

One located an erect male in close proximity to an automated music player
(I saw him standing there by the record machine)

Though said male had not yet reached his majority, clearly there were fewer than 12 months to pass before that event
(I knew he must’ve been about 17)

 Rhythmically, the music being played would have been difficult to suppress, though one would not wish to, due to its considerable appeal to one
(The beat was goin' strong, playin’ my favourite song)

 Clearly, little time would pass before that male and one were adjacent Vocalising
(And I knew it wouldn’t be long ‘til he was with me, yeah me, singin’)

So the comment should, of course, be “I love rock ‘n’ roll”.

For those of you playing at home, here are a few more. Answers will be provided in the comments section.

Puzzle 1:
Being in possession of an acutely attractive physiognomy provides no guarantee regarding internal aesthetics 
The above is a lesson which became evident, my colleague, at inception 
Whilst the 2nd person perceives one as being attractive yet slightly reticent 
Maternal figure, one refutes such perceptions unreservedly

Puzzle 2:
One wonders whether the 2nd person’s visual abilities allow them to perceive one in a stationary erect position in this location 
Pressing one’s aft regions to the automated coin-operated music playing device 
The visual appeal one has to the 2nd person is of adequate quality in comparison to others 
One wonders whether the 2nd person’s visual abilities, in a metaphorical sense, allow them to perceive one’s insinuations

Puzzle 3:
One releases a piercing vocal sound (which, whilst strenuous, is non-verbal); an act which is mimicked by the second person
 In turn, every person in existence creates a sound of the same nature; all of the above clamour being resultant from a desire for that female 
All are well advised to make no attempt at the pretence of that female’s non-existence, as it is patently impossible

Puzzle 4:
One remains in this location, perpendicular to the Earth’s surface and supported by one’s pedal extremities whilst conducting surveillance of the second person 
One questions one’s perception, feeling that the observed is, in actuality, transparent 
Extreme dejection results from the ensuing situation wherein persons truly juvenile 
Apparently require an external clarification as regards their own frivolity

Puzzle 5:
On effectively innumerable occasions, occurrences of the following are scarcely noticeable due to rapidity: 
Occasions upon which fervency becomes eroded in exchange for public kudos 
The second person is compelled to maintain their grasp of all previous sleeping fantasies 
To prevent their demise, pugilism may become a requisite

Best of luck!

Make-up Sex

2010-11-21T12:02:00.008-06:00

Rozlyn here! I've been away for a while. Anyone miss me?

I've been hard at work preparing my next novel for print. I know that's no excuse to shirk my responsibilities here, I apologize to my co-bloggers and the readers. I'm hoping this little steamy scene might smooth things over. It's an excerpt from my upcoming novel, Hunters & Prey.

Enjoy

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We stood under the soft cascade of warm water without speaking for a few moments. Through the glass shower door, the room became hazy as the bathroom filled with a thick cloud of steam.
Lysander finally broke the silence. “Do we forgive each other then? Can we try to be happy, my love?”
His hands caressed my back; feather-soft touches of his fingertips traced swirls and shapes on my skin.
“Mmm-hmm,” I mumbled. It was so hard to remain mad at Lysander when he was so adept at smoothing things over. I couldn’t resist the soothing feel of his hands. My muscles, still tense from stress, melted under his gentle strokes.
His hands sank lower down my back, applying more pressure, still tracing the random patterns into my skin.
“I can’t stay mad at you forever,” I said.
Warmth radiated between my thighs as his fingers traced around my hips. I reached out, taking one of Lysander’s hands, and guided it between my legs.
“Someone is impatient tonight.” He laughed.
I smiled seductively and batted my eyelashes at him.
A growl tore its way up his chest, rumbling out of him like the call of a hungry beast. His mouth again found mine. Lysander pushed me roughly up against the wall. His hands ran down my back and cupped my ass, kneading my skin. He ground his body into mine, pressing his already thickening member against me.
The warm pulsing between my legs intensified. Reach-ing down, I took his hard length into my hands. I broke from our kiss, looking up into his large dusky-grey eyes and gave him a mischievous smile.
I focused on Lysander’s eyes, willing him to see the erotic images playing in my head.
I squeezed a little, enjoying his weight and girth, teasing him with slow strokes, and was rewarded with a loud moan of approval.
His hands left my ass, tracing the curves of my hips, inching his magic fingers around slowly to the pulsing warmth between my legs. As his fingers neared their target, they changed direction, moving back to the outside of my thigh.
I groaned in frustration.
He leaned in and whispered into my ear. “I should punish you for leaving the way you did.” The heat from his breath sent a shiver down my spine.
“Not fair.”
He bit at my earlobe, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to send another streak of pleasure straight to my sex.
He nipped at my skin, creating a trail down my neck, all the while heating my blood with need. His fangs scraped over the thundering pulse in my neck. His fingers again traced my legs, moving closer to the hot, needy flesh between them. My breath hitched in my chest, anticipation threatening to drive me to insanity. If he wouldn’t give me what I wanted soon, I’d have to force his hand.
Finally his finger found the spot, and at the same time, his fangs penetrated my skin. I gasped as his finger delved deep into me, sending pleasurable waves through my body.
The sensual pull of his mouth as he fed from my neck was like a euphoric drug coupled with his capable hands exploring my folds. I was paralyzed with ecstasy, enjoying every sensation, every pleasure he lavished on me.
My hand still firmly grasped his cock. In my euphoria, I had momentarily forgotten what I was doing. I caressed his thick length, wringing a loud moan from him. He released my neck, throwing his head backward. I stroked him hard, enjoying the look of bliss on his face.
“Who is teasing who here?” he said between moans of pleasure.
His free hand reached and covered mine as I stroked him. He rested there, holding my hand, guiding my strokes as his eyes rolled into his head. The right corner of is mouth rose in a crooked smile and he moaned again.
Suddenly, his hand gripped mine, stopping me. He pulled my hand away. “Not yet.” He sighed. “I’ve not properly taken care of you.”
He leaned in for a gentle kiss. His lips touched mine, light as a feather, but he didn’t linger long. Slowly, he kissed a path from my mouth to my neck. From my neck, he blazed a trail of light kisses to my breast, stopping to nip playfully at each one. From my breast he moved down, stopping briefly at my navel, before traveling lower.
I leaned my head back against the wall as his tongue worked its magic, writing invisible words of ecstasy onto my clit.
I mumbled unintelligible words of pleasure, calling his name between moans and gasps. He was an expert at the art of love, and used his skills to command my body.
I cried out as the cresting wave of pleasure washed over me. The pulses of ecstasy making my knees weak. I buckled against the wall, almost falling on top of Lysander.
He stood up, smiling wide, clearly proud of the pleasure he had given me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and stood on tip toes to kiss him.
His arms encircled me, lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around him and felt the tip of his thick head graze my folds. He leaned me against the wall again and with a powerful thrust, impaled me onto his hard length.
“Oh God,” I moaned, as full length of his shaft filled me. He waited a second, allowing my body adjust to his thickness.
Through our connection, I felt the torture of that momentary pause. Lysander struggled to hold back; he wanted to charge into my ready and willing body, though that conflicted with his desire to draw out the pleasure.
He started slowly, gently thrusting, pressing my back into the wall as he drove into me.
I gripped his shoulders and thrust my hips in return to meet his charge, ensuring every inch of his thickness would fill me.
The slow rhythm soon became a fevered rush as together, through our bond, we shared every blissful, toe-curling sensation.
I held on tightly as he plunged harder and deeper into me, finding that secret spot inside that caused stars to dance in my vision. I dug my nails into his skin, and my breath came in short staccato bursts as I rode high onto the cresting wave of ecstasy. Closing my eyes, I threw my head back, screaming out Lysander’s name. He too let out his own primal growl as we came together.
Out of breath and completely spent, we remained motionless for a few moments, enjoying the aftershocks of our pleasure.

Beavering Away...

2010-11-16T03:55:00.005-06:00

I've been beavering away in the attic again, and my latest creation is all sewn together. Another promotional trailer, but this time for an entire person!

Dahlia Rose is a bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, all with a hint of Caribbean spice. She has a love of erotica, dark fantasy, Sci-Fi and the things that go bang in the night. She worships the moon and tattoos her dreams in books.

And there's another one in the works for another author. All hush-hush at the moment. To continue the theme of large rodentia, it's "secret squirrel stuff"!

Review - "Old Wives' Tale"

2010-11-11T08:28:00.002-06:00

Old Wives' Tale by Sommer Marsden

I don’t think I’ll surprise anyone when I say I loved this little tale. I’m partial to a bit of werewolf action, more than any other paranorm, and the only possible disappointment here is the length (that’s what she said). At under 4,000 words, I found I flew through this story, thanks in no small part to Ms. Marsden’s crackling prose (which I’m also unashamedly partial to).

Gloria, our “stubborn, mouthy” heroine, is almost ADHD in her behaviour. She needles our Lycan hero, Gavin, for almost the entire story, first angrily, then far more saucily. Throughout the encounter Gavin seems to struggle with the twin desires to mate and maul. He finds a middle ground which works very well for both characters.

In my usual overthinking way, I found “Old Wives’ Tale” to be an allegory for the ongoing parry-and-thrust of the heterosexual relationship. Gloria’s all words and tease, and she perplexes the Lycan man at every turn. Gavin is all intensity and strength, and when his patience evaporates, he’s all action.

As I’ve found in all Ms. Marsden’s work, there are unusual word choices which control the imagery and flow of the story far more than a common word would: the way Gloria “slung” her torso, the “surprises” that course through her body, even down to her wicked descriptions of the wedgie she’s given herself.

As I said earlier, my only disappointment is that I finished so quickly (again, that’s what she said). On the other hand, what else would a werewolf story be, but…snappy!

The Gay Friend Who's Straight...

2010-11-09T04:22:00.004-06:00

Last week I mentioned the situation I’ve often found myself in over the years, where I effectively become a single woman’s “spare”. I’m the safe, interesting, intensely married man who can shed light on the workings of the male mind. I can impart wisdom, explain why a guy may have acted in a certain manner, and can take a pretty knowledgable stab at why something she did pissed him off.

And then when my shared wisdom has worked and she’s landed her next Mr. Right, the connection shrivels and dies.

Through the week I received some confirmations from various persons of a female persuasion assuring me that they do, indeed, enjoy that kind of situation. Having a “captive” male. As I called myself last week, the gay friend who’s straight.

Now, this will seem like a complete deviation from the point, but please stick with me here...

Have you ever done dog training? Puppy pre-school? One of the first pieces of information which any dog trainer will impart is some variation on this: “Look at that little ball of fluff sitting half asleep all over your feet. That, my friend, is a wild animal.”

Okay, so little Fido is a young Labrador that can’t even turn on the spot without sliding onto his butt. The point is that, given the right provocation, any dog can bite. Any dog can attack. Even the ones that have been tamed and loved.

Do you see where I’m heading?

Girls, please remember that your gay friends who are straight...actually are straight. They’re probably not blind. And they’re certainly not immune to the charms of a lovely single woman. Just because they can’t drink from the essence of your beauty doesn’t mean they don’t like being around it. If he is indeed your straight gay friend then he’s attracted to your heart. So please be gentle with his. At least thank him when you dump him.

Look at that big ball of fluff sitting across the table from you. That, my friend, is a wild animal.

Review - "Coercion" by Lux Zakari

2010-11-07T22:12:00.001-06:00

Prior to “Coercion”, the only work of Lux Zakari’s that I’d read was a short story. Appearing in Sommer Marsden’s Kinkyville anthology, “Desert” is a gritty slice of desolate realism that nonetheless has a core of pragmatic faith. It also displays a descriptive style of writing which has a graceful momentum about it, all of which made me keen to sample a great deal more of Ms. Zakari’s talents.

Indeed, “Coercion” is resplendent with many of the same qualities as “Desert”. The prose has cool impetus, moving the reader along, without dragging or urging, as if they’re part of the story, floating in a river of words.

Ms. Zakari is blessed with the ability to weave description effortlessly into her prose, keeping the flow of the writing smooth and tight. Even everyday moments are given weight by the addition of a tiny detail. The colour of the tiles, the consistency of the gravy. Without them the story would survive as a sketch. With them it blooms into a portrait.

And it’s not always the literal descriptions which boost the story. There is a wonderfully restrained quality to the instances of metaphor as well.

“She quickly averted her eyes to her book, but she continued to feel the weight of his gaze, her body warming in every place she imagined he was looking.”

The story itself is primarily a coming-of-age one, though this simple phrase means vastly different things for each character. Outwardly, it’s Valerie Mercer who makes the greatest transition, from a gloriously unspoiled girl to a deliciously seasoned young woman. Her journey is like the pulsing of a heart, or the pounding of an orgasm. Moments of overwhelming intensity. Weeks of emotional wasteland. Vast peaks and abyssal troughs, and all centred on Michael Vartanian.

Michael’s story makes a sharp counterpoint to Valerie’s. All that she lacks, he has; most notably confidence and experience. In Michael, Valerie sees strength. It takes her some time to realize that the strength she sees is little more than the reflection of her own weakness. In Valerie, Michael sees an outlet for his self-loathing. There is, indeed, a cyclical quality to their interactions. All that she has, he lacks.

Despite his poor treatment of women in general, and Valerie in particular, Michael comes across as a sympathetic character. There are viable reasons he won’t allow women to love him, but importantly, his reasons are never portrayed by Ms. Zakari as excuses. He’s behaving badly, and there’s no attempt at justification.

As the story progresses he pushes Valerie further and harder, always driving proceedings and exacting confirmation. “Do you like it?” or “Do you want me?” Ostensibly he’s just teasing, trying to draw slutty talk from an innocent mouth, but I always felt there was a sharp edge to it. I felt he was creating something purely so he could withhold or even destroy it in a fit of capriciousness.

Michael’s main problem, as a man, was that he needed to fight but had no concept of who his enemy was. He wasn’t even shadow-boxing. He was fighting the idea of a nemesis. He was lashing out at ghosts. He welcomes disdain and even provokes physical retribution, all without showing signs of growing. It’s only when Valerie shows him a form of love he’s never acknowledged – forgiveness – that he truly begins to make steps into adulthood.

On a side note, I strongly admired the handling of the scenes between Michael and his father. So little is expressed, yet complications and ramifications simply bristle off the page. I avidly re-read those sections purely because they worked so well.

I found “Coercion” to be a very well-written novel, even more remarkably so because it’s Ms. Zakari’s first. The only minor quibble I might have had was that the sense of smell made very little appearance throughout the first half of the story. However, this situation was rectified by the end, and in fact the introduction of scents allowed the story to broaden its scope as it developed.

This one’s a keeper. The same goes for Ms. Zakari. Watch out for more of her work. I know I will be.

For The Brotherhood

2010-11-02T06:18:00.002-05:00

I’m by no means an alpha male. I cook, I bake, I iron, I do home stuff. I even buy my wife’s clothes, because she hates doing it and I enjoy it. But I do it in a masculine way. I know her sizes, I go in, find clothes that I think will look good, and I buy them. 15 minutes, tops. So I guess I’m somewhere between beta and gamma male.

I can also string words together in a pleasing manner, often evoking a positive emotional reaction in women.

In so many instances, especially since I became a father, I’ve become what I think of as a “spare”. Single women, usually ones I’ve worked closely with, will get close but not too close. Because they know I’m not just happily married, but I’m just so into my wife and boys. So I’m safe, good company, and an insightful source of advice about guys. I’m basically their gay friend who’s straight. And the contact always - ALWAYS - dries up as soon as they land a dude.

For all of the above reasons, I’ve received positive responses from women over the years. You know the kind...my wife says “Yes, my husband bought this dress for me,” and the other woman looks at me in surprise and then casts a loaded glance at her own man.

What I think many women fail to understand at that point is that all I’m doing is all that any man can do: I’m using the tools I have. I don’t earn much. I only work 3 days a week at my day job, and it’s closer to grunt work than Managing Director. I can’t buy my girl expensive jewellery, I can’t take her overseas, I can’t afford a maid. I have sensitivity, vocabulary and time. So I use the tools I have.

So maybe Mr. Bloggs doesn’t buy Mrs. Bloggs any clothes. Maybe he just tosses her his platinum credit card and says “go wild...in Milan”. Those are his tools: money and style.

We all know that women and men express love, devotion and loyalty in different ways. This blog is just a way of giving a thumbs-up to my brothers. Because not all men express themselves the same way. Girls, think about what your man does for you and, if you have them, your kids. Maybe he can’t compose you a sonnet. Because he’s putting the finishing touches on my writing desk.

Please tell him “thanks” for me. And give him a kiss. That’s from you.

You are never too old to enjoy Halloween!

2010-10-28T00:02:00.000-05:00

Halloween is probably one of the most fun holidays of the year. It’s my favorite holiday of the year. I get a kick out of playing around in the costume shops picking out things, not just for my daughter, but for me as well!

As a kid, it was the one night a year that your parents let you eat candy until you felt you would be sick. To get the candy, you got to dress up as whatever crazy character you wanted. Double the fun right?

Beyond the candy and the crazy costumes, the weeks surrounding Halloween were always full of fun things to do. There were pumpkin patches, Haunted houses (I used to perform in them), and various parties. There was always a great vibe surrounding this holiday.

As I got older, the holiday didn’t lose its charm. Growing up, we lose that playful spirit and it is no longer the norm to play dress-up and use our imaginations. That’s part of what makes Halloween night all that much more special.

No other holiday lets you step out of your own life like Halloween does. It’s the one night of the year where it is ok… and even expected of you, to be something you aren’t. There is a certain magic in Halloween. It allows you to be silly, serious, or even scary. The point is, it makes you shed your boring skin and be something fun.

Our costumes may have changed. We might don a full-sized chicken suit or something skimpy like that sexy princess Leia outfit(mental note...next year!), but the bottom line is still the same. Halloween lets us reconnect with our youth.

So, what are you going to be this year?

Here is my costume.

Review - "Transported: Erotic Travel Tales"

2010-10-25T22:08:00.003-05:00

Transported: Erotic Travel Tales
By Sharazade

For me, this book already had two big plus marks beside it, before I even opened it. As a smut writer and a lifelong, but lapsed, traveller, I was enticed by the concept of combining sex with travel. I’m also a big fan of Sharazade’s blog page, and her insightful attitudes. I will try not to let that interfere, your honour.

Even had I not known of Sharazade’s background, it would have been apparent to me that this woman knows her way around the maze of the English language. I fear I’m about to admit to being a nerd, or geek, or whatever term is currently fashionable for the unfashionable. To me, sublime navigation and fluent control of language is so, soooooo sexy. And Sharazade has it in spades.

Within the first pages of this anthology it also becomes clear that Sharazade has travelled. Really travelled. Cold airports take on the qualities of landscapes. Details, some large, some almost infinitesimal, permeate every page of every story, giving this entire collection a sharp and sculpted feel.

Shar’s word choices are consistently pleasing, too, as much for their appropriateness as for their novelty. In context it could seem as if those two terms are contradictory, but I feel they fit the writing perfectly. While avoiding clichés, the occasional atypical word choices employed sit so comfortably in their places that they enliven the entire anthology. From the first story in the collection, ‘Schiphol’:

“And finally, finally you enter me. Slowly, so I can feel every blessed inch fill me.”

The use of “blessed” is a perfect example. A dual meaning, because of the context of the story. This couple regularly endures long periods of separation. Their togetherness is by necessity cramped, by both time and space. And at that moment, all the control is with him. “Blessed” allows her to expel some of her frustration, whilst celebrating the reverential bliss of physical intimacy.

In my opening paragraph I alluded to this book being all about sex and travel. That’s actually misleading. In truth, the sex and the travel frame these stories and this collection. What it’s truly about is characters. Relationships. And Sharazade paints these with enviable dexterity.

She allows us to see characters through many-layered filters. Sometimes it’s as they see themselves. Often it’s a far more weighted assessment. It’s as they see themselves reflected through others’ actions or inactions, or through their own interpretation of others’ words.

In “Flaws” (my favourite story in the anthology), we find a character who plays emotional chess with her self-image. She uses her personal history to plan six moves ahead. It’s almost like a hall-of-mirrors, with characteristics both reflected and absorbed, through her own eyes and her intuition about the eyes of others. And she’s compelling. And she's witty. And so damn sexy.

Throughout the anthology, the characters and situations come across not just as real, but also as realistic. It’s to be expected that bodies would grind against each other, and they do so with heart, passion and often a degree of restriction. What elevates this book even more are the moments when the characters grate against each other. Travel is a stressful undertaking. The world is variegated and confusing. Anger is a passion.

I found every story to be a wonderful example of fine writing. Not just fine as in “of high quality”, but the type of “fine” with which you would preface “wine”, “detail” or “hair”. It’s all about context.

I highly recommend this book.

Available from Amazon and Smashwords (and a bunch of other naughty websites).

Ask and you shall receive

2010-10-22T05:32:00.000-05:00

I started writing because I couldn't find the stories I wanted to read. I had plots in my head but I looked everywhere and I couldn't find them. I know, crazy huh? I therefore decided I should just write them myself. All right so maybe that was a bit drastic, but it worked.

Even to this day, I only write what I want to read. I just find it easier that way. I also often reread my own books, because hey, I love those characters!

Have you ever thought of asking an author to write what you wanted to read? For example, if you're reading a series and you want the heroine to end up with one character over another, would you email that person and tell her your preferences?

I've always thought it would be cool if you could ask a favorite author to write on a specific topic or come up with your own plot they could then play with. So, questions:

- Fellow authors, if you received an email asking you to please write about such and such, or telling you that this character should fall in love with X or Y in the next book, would you be willing to do it?

- Fellow readers, have you ever considered doing such a thing?

My answer:

- I've received fan mail before telling me which guy one of my heroines should fall in love with. I always take them into account, although not always in the way they'd intended. Sometimes, I like pleasing people and that's what I end up writing. Sometimes, I like surprising readers so I'll try to find a plot twist that will be entirely different to what they're expecting to happen in the book.

Write what you know

2010-10-21T00:16:00.002-05:00

I think everyone has heard the quote “write what you know.” It’s probably one of the first things we as writers are taught. It makes sense too. You should be knowledgeable in the things that you are writing but that doesn’t mean you can’t write what you’re not completely familiar with.

I write about vampires. I’ve never been one so I cannot write them from experience. What I can do, though, is take things and experiences I do know and translate them to the characters I create.

For instance, when writing my vampire stories, I needed to describe bloodlust. Vampires whether they are good or bad all have to deal with bloodlust, especially Alyssa from my Immortalis series.

What is bloodlust? Again, not being a vampire I have no real basis of comparison, but I do know a few other things that might come close.

I’ve struggled with quitting smoking for years (Finally quit 3 months ago…yay me!). Ok it’s not a hard-core addiction, but you have to work with what you’ve got right? Addiction is very easily comparable to bloodlust. A vampire needs blood to survive and I’m willing to bet, if they were real, missing a meal would be none too pleasant. For a smoker, that morning cigarette or that after dinner cigarette is something of a need too.

When quitting smoking and withdrawal sets in, you feel all sorts of terrible things. You become cranky, irritable, depressed, and short-tempered. You’re ready to snap on anyone who comes within ten feet of you. Then this little voice whispers in your head that having one little smoke will make it all better. Once you start thinking about having that cigarette, you can’t get it out of your head. You start searching for a long lost pachttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifk or start talking yourself into going out and buying “just one last pack.” It’s a vicious cycle that often leads to the addict returning to their addiction. Like I said, I’m no hard-core addict but you got to work with what you have. In my defense I should mention that quitting smoking has been compared to quitting heroin.

So, in taking the “write what you know” quote into consideration I likened bloodlust to that of a person who is addicted to the substance. I make the need for blood like an addiction and the lack of it something like the effects of withdrawal.

So, as you see, writing what you know doesn’t always have to mean literally, it just means take what you do know and make it work somewhere in your writing.

Food Porn - All in good taste, of course

2010-10-19T05:50:00.007-05:00

The weekend just past was a real bumper one for our veggie garden. Potatoes galore, plus a little bit of this ‘n’ that. As you can see from this picture of my son Matthew, we got a wide range of sizes. Incidentally, the picture was my idea, the face was his.

The beauty of these potatoes is that they were grown accidentally. We bought seed potatoes, planted them, and they did nuthin’. These were just from potatoes that got too old to eat, so we chucked them in the garden.

It was pure magic as we dug them up. Every time I turned the garden fork, a few more almost-golden nuggets would appear and Mattie got so excited.
In this pic you can see just what kind of a harvest we reaped.

So we needed to come up with some uses.

Use 1: home-made chips. Total. Yum. So good that I literally ate one from the floor. No way I was wasting it.

Use 2: Irish Farmhouse Bake.
Potatoes. Bacon. Far too much cheese. There’s also butter, cream, onion and pepper. And it turns out a little something like this.

Now, this is a blog for smut writers, is it not? How does all this domestic self-sufficiency stuff relate?

Back-story. That’s how.

Those chips were brilliant. The farmhouse bake was divine. Did those potatoes taste any different to ones we buy in the shop? I strongly doubt it. But those meals sang in our mouths because of the joy Mattie had as we dug up the potatoes, and the chatter between him and I as we washed them. The fact that those potatoes would not have existed had we not planted them added weight to it.

The back-story of those potatoes was what gave them such importance to our mouths.

In smut-writing it can be easy to focus on the actions of the moment to the detriment of the story. Sometimes it’s necessary because of a limited word count. The challenge is to make the action reveal the back-story.

This is a battle that Emma Hillman and I are facing every round of the Smut Marathon. The word counts are getting higher, but still they’re quite low. This upcoming round had a 900-word limit and “toys” as its single word prompt. As the marathon is still being voted on anonymously, I won’t reveal which of the stories is mine. But in this round, I feel I had more back-story to the characters than in any other round.

Why? Because a few years ago I had an anthology of stories published with a now-defunct publishing house. And it featured a little story I was quite fond of, with two characters I really enjoyed. And for this round of the Smut Marathon, I was able to continue their story for a period of about 900 words.

Quickie

2010-10-16T07:36:00.003-05:00

I've just heard that my short story, "Grace", has been chosen as Story of the Month at the Between The Sheets site!

Woo! And while we're at it...HOO!

A day in the life of...

2010-10-15T05:45:00.000-05:00

Or, what happens when you're a part-time writer...

6.30: Alarm-clock rings. Rise and shine. Clean downstairs (we have a new puppy and she's not potty-trained yet!). Quick breakfast while checking emails/Twitter. Wake up kiddo and husband. Wash, dress, remember to spritz perfume. No time for make-up or moisturiser. Will try better tomorrow. Wake up kiddo and husband, Part 2. Dress kiddo, wait for husband to wash and dress. With some luck, manage to brush kiddo's hair and braid it. Do not have to brush hubby's hair, thank God for that.

7.00: Pack bags, try not to forget anything, pat pets goodbye, open the backdoor/turn off heating.

7.15: In the car. Hubby drops me off at station. Kiss/wave goodbye to kiddo. He drops her off at her grandparents' where they will feed her and wash her before taking her to school for the day.

7.26: Train arrives. Hubby arrives barely in time, puffing and out of breath, but he's made it! Commute is long and boring, but at least I'm able to read (hence my Amazon addiction).

8.30: Get to work. Read emails. Check websites.

9.00: Start to do some actual work.

11.00: Coffee break.

12.25: Sneakily open Word document and reread what I wrote the day before. Edits. If lucky, type a few pages while answering phone calls.

1.00: Lunch break.

2.00: Start work again. Exciting stuff I won't get into (and can't!).

4.00: Coffee break.

4.15: If lucky, open Word document again and write as many pages possible in an hour, trying to avoid interruptions.

5.15: Get ready to go home. Email myself latest version of manuscript.

5.25: Leave work.

5.40: Start commute with 1st train.

5.53: Wait for 2nd train with book in hand and iPod on loud.

6.40: Arrive at grandparents' house. Cuddle with kiddo, wait for hubby.

7.15: Everyone in the car, 5mn later arrive at house and check for puppy-related mess. Hug dogs, feed cat, open fridge to check what to cook for dinner.

7.30: Cook dinner while kiddo is watching TV.

8.00: Eat dinner all together. Everyone talks about what they did that day.

8.30: Story time for kiddo. PJs on, hugs and I love yous.

8.45: Turn home computer on. Check emails. Open Word document and reread what I wrote that afternoon. Edits. If not too tired, write as much as possible.

10.00: Shut computer off. Bedtime for Em.

Repeat from Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday: write whenever hubby is nice enough to play with kiddo or take her out somewhere. It's Mummy time then, or as I say, "Mummy's going to work." Upstairs. On her own. Thank you very much.

It's a wonder I ever get a book done, isn't it? :)

Hello Twitter

2010-10-14T12:08:00.000-05:00

Just a test to see if the twitter link works.

You can now find us on Twitter! @cfeblogger

Everyone is entitled to their opinion…

2010-10-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

And you are going to have to deal with it.

If you’re writing anything that is going to be published, be it traditional or self, you’re going to have to deal with people and their opinions.

First things first. Not everyone will like your story.

Deal with that now so it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass later. You’re going to get some nasty reviews at times. And that’s okay. Some people are just going to be “Haters.” Let those roll off of your back. Don’t respond to them and don’t ever try to retaliate.

I guarantee you that for every “Hater” you get, there will be someone else raving about how good you are. Don’t dwell on it. Just move on.

Beyond the people who either love or hate your story, you will find those in the middle. The ones who like your story but feel they need to add their two cents in. Their comments usually follow along this line.

I liked it but….
“You could have done ____”
“I wanted to know more about ____”
“Next time you should ____”

Those reviews can often bother you more than the reviews from people who hated your book. Why? Because with “hater” reviews you can say to yourself, “Well they are entitled to hate it. It’s a free country.” Or something along those lines.

With the “I liked it but...” reviews, you’re left feeling you somehow failed. If you had given it just a little more, it might have been perfect.

The reader is publicly telling you why your book isn’t perfect. These readers, in a sense, make you feel that you should have come to them for advice first before your manuscript went to print (virtual or paper).

Your first thoughts are… “They don’t know how long I spent writing the story. They have no clue how many times my work went through the revision process. They don’t know about my critiquing groups. They don’t know that my editor made cuts and suggestions.”

These are the reviews that sting a bit. And it is very tempting to fall into the mindset of…

“Opinions are like assholes. Everyone’s got one and they all stink.”

But don’t look at them as a bad thing. Sure these people are probably not writers, but they are readers and usually your target audience. Remember that!

Try to overlook the hurt you feel and focus on the good advice offered.

If they say the action was a little slow, look for ways to speed things up on the next go around.

If they say the love scenes were a little flat, pick up a few romance books for “research” and see what makes their scenes so good. Try and incorporate what you have learned in the next story you write.

Bottom line… don’t let reviews get you down.

You’re a writer, so write and always work to be better!

Wet...

2010-10-11T02:04:00.003-05:00

We’ve had a recockulous amount of rain in Brisbane over the past few weeks. Sunday night really took the biscuit, though. Monday morning arrived and the roads were utter chaos. My younger son’s school was even closed because of the creek near it going into flood. It amazes me that in a city of more than 1 million people, the entire commuter run can be brought to a grinding halt by something as natural as water. Then again, it was more like a plague of water…

Now, in Australia we do have some extreme weather. We usually get a tropical cyclone or two every year, but mostly in sparsely inhabited areas. We have great thunderstorms, especially during summer. Dust storms are fairly common in the outback, and some areas even get snow.

The chaos that a torrential downpour can cause made me think about the other areas of the world. All the other Coffee-Fueled lasses are from parts foreign to me. The desert of Las Vegas, the streets of Paris, the rolling hills of Minnesota. Each has its own weather trials.

What do you guys out there find the hardest to deal with? Is it when the wind stays strong for days and your kids go loopy? Is it the constricted feeling you get when it rains for a solid week? Is it the obstructionist nature of heavy snow? Or something else?

And as a side question…how would you use weather in a story? For example, in the movie “Insomnia”, I thought the use of Alaska as a setting was brilliant. The absence of night, plus the inclusion of fog at certain points really gave the script an edge. How would you use weather to further a story?

Karma & Melodies

2010-10-07T01:00:00.000-05:00

I've been toying with a story idea that's been on the back burner for well over a year now. Not sure when it will be finished but here is the opening scene. Hope you enjoy.

Marcus’s numinous tone enthralled the crowd, while the band behind him created a mysterious, primal beat with their instruments. The audience, a sea of bodies, lifted their hands in praise. Swaying with the melody, they danced and bobbed their heads.

The effect was no different to Kendra, though the music wasn’t the only thing enticing her. A cool evening breeze blew through the festival grounds, mixing the air, creating a tantalizing stew of fragrances. Kendra sucked in a deep breath, opening her mouth wide, partially exposing her fangs. This was a bad idea and she knew it. Being surrounded by so many mortals—in such a public place—went against everything her master had taught her. Vampires were not meant to mix with humans unless feeding.

She tried to push away the tempting thoughts of blood; she only came here to enjoy the music and maybe steal a glimpse of her past. Absently licking her fangs, Kendra made her way through the sea of tightly packed bodies, all writhing to the beat of the song; swaying and rocking as if under the music’s spell.

She had to get closer to the stage. She wanted to be close enough to feel Marcus’ heartbeat. She’d loved him and his music since they were nothing but a local coffee shop act.

That seemed like forever ago. A simpler time, before she’d been stolen from the mortal world.

Spotlights shone brightly in the blue-gray haze of twilight, casting the stage in an ethereal glow. Kendra stared enchanted as Marcus threw his head back, hitting a long, high-pitched note that sent the audience into a frenzy.

Needing to be closer, she pushing her way through the crowd, edging closer to the stage. Screams, cheers, and applause thundered all around her as Marcus’ song ended.
She paused for a moment when the lights darkened and smoke began to crawl from the edge of the stage. Slowly it moved, twisting and curling as it crept towards the ground like some ghostly apparition.

A deafening silence enveloped the crowd. Anticipation ran thick in the air.

In perfect sync with the strum of an electric guitar, the lights flashed back on, bathing Marcus in light.

Kendra sighed, enjoying the sound of his otherworldly voice. He spanned the range of sexy, bass filled notes to high pitched trilling and back again.

She was lost in a state of awe. She’d been a fan since the beginning, before being turned, but her master wouldn’t let her out of his sight. She hadn’t been able to lay eyes on him in ten years. Age had been good to him, gone was the emaciated, starving artist. He now stood proudly on stage a miraculous transformed god of a man.

She longed for a second chance to know Marcus, to see him, to hear the clarity in his voice, and feel the emotion of his lyrics. His music was like magic; it told stories of forgotten love and spoke directly to her soul.

Kendra continued her push through the crowd, hoping for just one moment to be near him. Inching closer and closer, her heart fluttered with anticipation as she reached the barricade that separated the fans from the stage.

The next song started with a tribal beat. Kendra was close enough now to feel the thumping of bass and the bang of the drums reverberating in her chest like a speeding heartbeat. She found herself moving like a puppet pulled by invisible strings. The rhythm of the song commanded her body and she was willing to submit.

Marcus’s piercing voice rang out loud and clear though the large speakers. He sang of love lost but there was still as spark of unending hope.

Pangs of grief pulled at Kendra’s lonely heart. She wished she could reach out and touch him. She was so close she could smell his scent wafting towards her; earthy and musky with a hint of spice. In that moment he seemed like a Greek god, standing bare chested before her. Rippling muscles covered his well-formed body. Each small contour glistened with a fine sheen of sweat, emphasizing his masculine physique.
Immortal or not, at that moment, Kendra was no different than any other fan in the crowd. Flames of desire ignited within her. She wanted to reach out and touch him. To feel his hard body pressed against her own. She eyed him like a predator as he danced around on the stage, praying for just one moment to be close to him.

As if she had willed it to happen, Marcus hopped off of the stage, microphone in hand, and meandered towards the barricade. Taken by the moment, she squealed in excitement with the rest of the fans.

Marcus reached into the mass, shaking hands and kissing cheeks as he continued to woo the throng with his voice.

Kendra gasped when he reached out in front of her. Marcus took her hand and gave a small squeeze before moving on to the next screaming fan-girl. Her heart skipped a beat and she flushed with gooseflesh. His touch was like fire to her icy skin sending a rush of excitement through her body.

Marcus jumped back on the stage and wiped the sweat from his face with a dark shirt. He tossed the shirt into the audience. People swarmed in masses piling on top of each other to reach for a scrap of cloth. Kendra however, didn’t move, she stood motionless, transfixed, unable to peel her eyes from his fit, muscular form as he took his final bow and waved goodnight to the crowd.

Her hand tingled with the after warmth of his touch. Bringing it to her face she smelled the leftover remnants of his masculine scent sticking to her immortal skin. Oh God he smelled good. He was intoxicating, calling to her baser instincts. Need and desire mingled with fantasies playing like a movie in her mind.

For a moment, she allowed herself to dream of the feel of his hands caressing her skin. She imagined his hard body pressed against hers and the sweet taste of his lips. She wondered what it would be like to take his neck and drink in his essence as she made love to him. She imagined sharing her blood; bonding him, turning him, making him hers forever. Secretly, Kendra prayed for the opportunity.

She knew it was a bad idea. Angry at herself for even thinking it, she tried to dismiss the thought from her mind. Kendra had never wanted to be this thing, this monster. How could she entertain the thought of cursing another living creature with this punishment? Even if it was for her own secret pleasure.

She hated life as a vampire; the never ending night, the blood lust, and the cruel master who had taken away everything she had known.

She shook her head. No. No one deserves this curse. Goodbye again, Marcus.

Trailer time...

2010-10-05T20:25:00.004-05:00

And here it is!

Part of why I've been busy lately is that I've put together this new trailer for Katie Salidas. If you've been following the blog here you'll have seen the hot little excerpt she posted. Here now is the book trailer.

Enjoy!

MIA

2010-10-05T08:38:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone.

First up, please let me extend my apologies for my month-long absence. I had a whole bunch of stuff going on and something had to give.

There seems to be something going around at the moment. A whole lot of my writer friends and acquaintances are having the same kind of trouble as I am. I'm hearing it everywhere in one form or another. The inability to write.

Maybe it's writer's block. Maybe it's the day job. Maybe it's family. For me, it was all those things and more. I was at a crossroads where I genuinely wondered whether writing was still something I wanted to do. And if not, what then? It's how I've seen myself for many years: a writer. Whether I was writing or not, whether I was published or not. I was a writer.

Thankfully, I've cleared that hurdle again. It's not the first time I've felt that way, and it's not the last time I will.

That's about all for now. Short and sweet. I'll catch you all again next week.

On repeat...

2010-10-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today, I'd like to share the songs I've been listening to for the past week. They've helped me write that much faster on Behind Locked Doors - Book Three, so a big yeah for musical inspirations!

- Usher, DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again

Every time he sings "From side to side", I go left and right in my seat. Even on the train. Yep, I probably look weird. Ah well!.

- TI feat. Keri Hilson, Got Your Back

I dare you to try not singing along to this song.

- Backstreet Boys, Rebel

It's a B-side so there's no video, but I love hearing new music from my Boys.

- The Saturdays, Higher

I love me some good pop, and The Sats do deliver each time so kudos to them. Cute video too!

- Warren G feat. Nate Dogg, Regulate

Old Skool Rap. I was in love with this song in high school. I just put it back on my iPod and it's still so good. Happy memories!

... So, what have you been listening to this week?

X-posted with Too many ideas, not enough time

Halloween Fantasies

2010-09-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

Cover design by our very own Willsin Rowe!
Get your copy from Amazon.com.

*Excerpt*
A feeling of accomplishment washed through Dante. Success. He savored the moment, allowing himself to fall deeply into her pale blue eyes. She was his for the taking, and he would enjoy taking his time ravaging her.
His cock throbbed with need at the thought of it. The sensual caress of her body against his while they danced had been such a delightful torture. Her intense pheromones had been teasing his baser instincts, drawing out his need not only for sex, but also for the taste of her essence. Now he would soon be able to slake his burning desires.
Careful not to seem too eager and risk putting her off, he smiled and asked calmly, “Are you sure this is what you want?”
Her teeth still bit into her lip as she looked up into his eyes. He could sense she was battling with herself, but the scent of her pheromones assured him of her desire. Sasha’s scent was like sweet honeysuckle, a smell so pure and alluring he was tempted to take her right there on the dance floor. He couldn’t wait to sample just a taste of her essence. He absently licked his lips, awaiting her answer.
A moment passed in silence before she smiled and nodded at him. “You’re right. This is a night for fantasies. Let’s go.”
He bent his head to capture her mouth once more before allowing her to lead him off the dance floor.
They passed by the bar on their way out, and Sasha grabbed a shot and knocked it back quickly. She scrunched up her face as she swallowed. “A little more liquid courage,” she said and then pulled him out of the ballroom.
Excitement —and maybe a little of that liquid courage she’d just downed— seemed to have washed away all worry. Like a switch had been flicked on, she changed from timid to wild. She was on fire as they stepped into the empty elevator. Her hands roamed all over his body, as if she needed to feel every indentation of his rippling muscles and commit them to memory.
He slowly backed her into the corner, thrusting his abdomen into hers, both relieving and intensifying the burning need in his cock as their bodies rubbed together.
She devoured his mouth with hungry kisses, sucking his tongue into her mouth in imitation, suggesting what she would do with his cock later. Her hands cupped his ass, roughly kneading his soft cheeks.
His cock throbbed, aching to be touched. The gentle press against her body was an unbearable tease, and he wanted—needed—to be inside of her. “I’m not sure I can wait to get you into the room.”
She moaned as he uttered the words. Her hands left his ass, finding their way under his tight shirt.
Her touch was like fire to his cool skin. Every gentle caress was filled with delectable heat, sending pulses of animalistic need shooting straight down to his engorged cock. Dante groaned in both pleasure and frustration. If it weren’t for the ding that signaled they had reached their floor, he might have pushed her to the ground and taken her right there.
She snaked out from his caging arms like a wildcat escaping a snare as the elevator doors opened. “C’mon. This way, big boy.” Sasha giggled and gave a little seductive wink before sashaying out into the hallway.
He couldn’t have picked a more alluring woman to share the evening with. She was pure feminine beauty. The tight leather pants hugged every curve, leaving nothing to the imagination. Thoughts of bending her over the bed resurfaced again. He saw himself pinning her against the mattress, plunging deeply into her body as he took his fill of her blood. His self-control was at the edge of its limits. He imagined the sweet essence of her blood filling him as her body tightened and clenched, milking him with her climax.
Dante’s eyes swayed with the motion of her luscious, curvy hips, and he fell into an almost hypnotic trance, lumbering behind her as if an invisible leash was pulling him. His pants rubbed roughly against his throbbing erection, making every step a luscious mixture of pleasure and pain.
He knew he shouldn’t have allowed her to tease him so much. He was so close to losing control. She had already proven to be an interesting and difficult conquest, considering he wasn’t allowed his normal supernatural methods, but he did enjoy this challenge: playing the game, using his charms, making her request his presence. Still, the price was high. He’d allowed his inner monster lie in wait for far too long. He wanted her blood… now.
He fought with the need, the persistent nagging in the back of his mind, and the empty feeling in his stomach. He was not uncivilized; she deserved pleasure for the sacrifice she would make to him by giving some of her blood. He needed to hold back, if only just a little longer.
Sasha fumbled with the key card at the hotel room door. Her long black ponytail swayed behind her as she moved, drawing focus to her long, sumptuous neck.
Dante bent his head and kissed the tender flesh. He felt the gentle thrum of her excited pulse. He allowed his teeth to scrape gently over her skin.
She sighed and leaned her head back into his body, arching her neck to give him better access. “Do it,” she whispered.
How can I refuse? “Maybe just a taste.” He lapped at her neck with his tongue before sinking his teeth in to the soft, warm flesh.
Sasha whimpered softly, and her body stiffened for a brief moment before she melted against him.
Her blood flowed hot and sweet into his mouth, tasting far better than he imagined.
He savored each sweet note of its flavor: vanilla, sugar, and honey with a hint of spice. His arm snaked around her perfect torso. He cupped one of her ample breasts in his hands. His other hand caressed down her leg, gently squeezing her inner thigh.
She cooed softly, and her hand fell limp from the door.
Dante gently caressed the bite with his tongue, stemming the flow of her blood while closing the wound. All that would remain were small dots, tiny bruises.
She hummed serenely, still leaning against his body.
Dante kissed at the tender skin, still caressing her breast with his large hands. “You taste so sweet,” he whispered in her ear before pulling away. His bloodlust slaked for the moment, he could now concentrate on the other needs demanding attention.
Sasha shook herself, appearing to regain her strength. She unlocked and opened the door then turned, grabbing his hand to pull him inside. “There is more where that came from.”

Fan mail

2010-09-24T03:00:00.016-05:00

I received a couple emails from self-proclaimed fans this past month, weirdly enough both enquiring about the Behind Locked Doors Series. I say weirdly enough because I thought those were my least-liked books. Apparently, what do I know?!

I loved receiving those emails, and it's made me think of the times I emailed my favorite authors and went crazy when they responded. To me. Personally. It felt as if, for a single moment, we'd connected. That was a rush, believe you me.

I've been known to do this with authors whose books I really admired. From Jenna Black for The Devil Inside (I had to tell her I needed more Adam in my life) to my favorite author, Kristan Higgins (nearly for every book, just because she rocks my world).

I also contacted another erotica author just to tell her thank you for writing Rubenesque books. I don't see her as a competitor, I see her as someone who's writing the books I want to read. And we need more of these books, damn it!

All this to say, if you loved a book, be it an ebook from a less-known author or a NY Times Bestseller, take the time to write them a short email. These days, you can usually find their email addresses on their personal website or blog. Or try Twitter. Or Facebook. It'll make them very happy, and you too when you receive an email from them.

Spread the love around, I say...

X-posted with Too many ideas, not enough time

A Thin Line -Review

2010-09-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about being apart of this blog is working virtually, elbow to elbow with some awesome erotica authors. Emma Hillman being one I want to spotlight today.

I read her sexy novella, A Thin Line and just fell in love with Kate and Jace's story. Thought I might share with you, my thoughts.

Product Description (from Amazon)
Publisher: Excessica Publishing

Kate finds herself locked up in her apartment building’s laundry room. It’s the middle of the night and there’s a man with her. Which would be the great start of a horror movie, except this is real and thankfully the man isn’t that bad. Actually, he’s quite nice. Oh, and hot. He’s a neighbor she’s seen a few times, the playboy with the golden looks. And as they find themselves sitting increasingly closer in an effort not to freeze to death, hands bump into parts of her body that haven’t been touched in years.

It could have stopped at that: one night of pleasure, albeit in a weird location. Except it doesn’t. Even though she knows Jace has another girlfriend, she still opens her door to him every night. He is addictive. And sometimes, he’s even nice. But what happens when the drama finally takes its toll and she bars her door to him?

I just loved this story! It's a naughty little liaison turns into so much more.

The way it starts out, you think it's just going to be a non-stop sexathon. Not that it isn't, but there is a lot more to the story than just good sex. Kate was such a great character. She was "real." I liked that the author didn't make her some skinny supermodel. She had real, deep emotion that made her a person that we all can relate to. She wanted to be loved. Really loved, not just used.

Jace was hot both in and out of the bedroom, but he wasn't exactly available, though he certainly made him self seem that way every night for Kate. I'll admit, I hated Jace for the first half of the story. I was right there with Kate, on the other side of the door, practically screaming "Don't let Jace in," at the middle of the story. I felt so bad for her. Kate was a good girl. She wanted love not use.

Once I learned that Jace had his reasons, I started to like him a bit more but was wary of if he would really do the right thing. The end was perfect. The phone call break up in the elevator just solidified my feelings for him and when he told he dad to tell Liz sorry I was cheering!

This was a wonderful story and I am looking forward to more reads from Mrs. Hillman.

Someone Like You

2010-09-17T04:42:00.000-05:00

Someone Like You (aka Nick's story or the 3rd book in the Ex-Footballers Series) will be released later on today; and because I'm very excited, I thought I'd give you an excluse preview. Here's the prologue... I really hope you enjoy it!

***

Prologue

“Mia?”

She blinked down at him, her pen poised over her notepad. “No, actually it’s Leah.” She tapped a finger over the nametag carelessly pinned over her chest, and asked for the second time, “What can I get you?”

Nick ‘Apollo’ Hamilton groaned when he realized his mistake. “Sorry, I thought you were somebody else. Uh, coffee, black, no sugar.”

“Sure. Anything else?”

He shook his head and watched her leave, noting the way her ass curved underneath her uniform. For one second there, he’d really thought it was Mia come to visit him. No, even better, to tell him she’d left Kevin, that she loved him and no one else. That she wanted to... “Shit.” He nearly slapped himself in an effort to clear his head. He had to stop thinking about her, damn it! She was happy with her husband and they were just friends. And even if they’d had sex together, even if he’d made her come, had felt her contract around his pounding length, nothing else would ever happen.

His cock rose in his shorts at the memories assailing his mind. He contemplated returning home and jerking off while once more reliving that amazing night spent with his best friend and his wife. But fuck, he was tired of his own hand! Except he’d tried screwing some nameless girls, and he hadn’t managed to get it up. It was unbelievable that him, Apollo Hamilton, former playboy, was stuck in this situation.

His gaze focused once again on the waitress: she was leaning over the counter, obviously riffling around trying to find something. Her breasts were pushed together, all the men’s eyes focused on the way they jiggled with each of her movements. And yet, he looked at her face, she appeared oblivious. She finally found what she was looking for–a napkin–and walked back towards him.

He couldn’t help it, he looked her up and down. Her features were eerily similar to Mia’s, too similar. Oh, he could see her hair wasn’t the same color, her eyes were gray instead of green but her body shape was the same. She was curvy everywhere, her hips begging to be palmed. Hell. His eyes widened when he felt his dick twitch. She was turning him on?

“Here you go,” Leah said as she deposited a cup full of steamy coffee in front of him. “Let me know if you’d like a refill.”

He nodded, unable to speak. He watched her ass jiggle away and took a deep breath. Something was wrong with him. There was just no other explanation.

Hunters & Prey

2010-09-16T00:00:00.001-05:00

Thought I might share another excerpt with you all. This is from my upcoming novel Immortalis: Hunters & Prey (the sequel to Carpe Noctem)

Alyssa and Lysander are making up after an ongoing fight they've been having. They are working things out while taking a nice, HOT shower.

***
Lysander finally broke the silence. “Do we forgive each other then? Can we try to be happy, love?”
His hands caressed my back; feather soft touches of his fingertips traced swirls and shapes on my skin.
“Mmm-hmm,” I mumbled. It was so hard to remain mad at Lysander when he was so adept at smoothing things over. I couldn’t resist the soothing feel of his hands. My muscles, still tense from stress, melted under his gentle strokes.
His hands sunk lower down my back, applying more pressure, still tracing the random patterns into my skin.
“I can’t stay mad at you forever,” I said.
Warmth radiated between my thighs as his fingers traced around my hips. I reached out taking one of Lysander’s hands and guided it to between my legs.
“Someone is impatient tonight.” He laughed.
I smiled seductively and batted my eyelashes at him.
A growl tore its way up his chest, rumbling out of him like the call of a hungry beast. His mouth again found mine. Lysander pushed me roughly, up against the wall. His hands ran down my back and cupped my ass, kneading my skin. He ground his body into mine, pressing his already thickening member against me.
The warm pulsing between my legs intensified. Reaching down, I took his hard length into my hands. I broke from our kiss, looking up into his large, twilight eyes and gave him a mischievous smile.
I focused on Lysander’s eyes, willing him to see the erotic images playing in my head.
I squeezed a little enjoying his weight and girth, teasing him with slow strokes, and was rewarded with a loud moan of approval.
His hands left my ass, tracing the curves of my hips, inching his magic fingers around slowly to the pulsing warmth between my legs. As his fingers neared their target, they changed directions moving back to the outside of my thigh.
I groaned in frustration.
“I should punish you for leaving the way you did.” He leaned in and whispered into my ear. The heat from his breath sent a shiver down my spine.
“Oh, that’s just not fair.”
He bit at my earlobe, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to send another streak of pleasure straight to my sex.
He nipped at my skin, creating a trail down my neck, all the while heating my blood with need. His fangs scraped over the thundering pulse in my neck. His fingers again traced my legs, moving closer to the hot and needy flesh between them. My breath hitched in my chest, anticipation threatening to drive me to insanity. If he wouldn’t give me what I wanted soon, I’d have to force his hand.
Finally his finger found the spot, and at the same time, his fangs broke through my skin. I gasped a moan as his finger delved deep into me, sending pleasurable waves through my body.
The gentle pull of his mouth against my neck was like a euphoric drug coupled with his capable hands exploring my folds. I was paralyzed with ecstasy, enjoying every sensation, every pleasure he lavished on me.
My hand still firmly grasped his cock. In my euphoria, I had momentarily forgotten what I was doing. I caressed his thick length, wringing a loud moan from him. He released from my neck, throwing his head backward. I stroked him hard, enjoying the look of bliss on his face.
“Who is teasing who here?” he said between moans of pleasure.
His free hand reached and covered mine as I stroked him. He rested there, holding my hands, guiding my strokes as his eyes rolled into his head. The right corner of is mouth rose in a crooked smile and he moaned again.
Suddenly, his hand gripped mine, stopping me. He pulled my hand away. “Not yet.” He sighed. “I’ve not properly taken care of you.”
He leaned in for a gentle kiss. His lips touched mine, light as a feather, but he did not linger long. Slowly, he kissed a path from my mouth back to my neck. From my neck, he blazed a trail of light kisses down to my breast, stopping to nip playfully at each one. From my breast he moved down, stopping briefly at my navel, and then lowered to my warm, wet, and willing cunt.
I leaned my head back against the wall as his tongue worked its magic, writing invisible words of ecstasy into my clit.
I mumbled unintelligible words of pleasure, calling his name between moans and gasps. He was an expert at the art of love, and used his skills to command my body.
I cried out as the cresting wave of pleasure washed over me. The pulses of ecstasy making my knees week, I buckled against the wall almost falling over on top of Lysander.
He stood up, smiling wide; clearly proud of the pleasure he had given me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and stood on tip toes to kiss him.
His arms encircled me, lifting me up. I wrapped my legs around him and felt the tip of his thick head, graze my folds. He leaned me against the wall and with a powerful thrust, impaled me onto his hard length.
“Oh God,” I moaned, as the head, and full length of his shaft fill me. He waited a second, allowing my body adjust to his thickness.
He started in a slow rhythm, sending waves of pleasure with each thrust.
My hands gripped at his shoulders as he pounded into me. My nails dug into his skin. Lysander let out a primal growl. The wave of pleasure crested again and I yelled out my pleasure with Lysander.
We remained motionless for a few moments, enjoying the aftershocks of our pleasure.

You'll Want to do This....

2010-09-04T07:30:00.006-05:00

Happy Saturday everyone!

Howdy strangers!! I just wanted to pop in and mention a contest being held by eXcessica. People who enter have a chance to win one of two Kindle 3s, sets of books, gift cards, etc.

Entering is super easy and there are so many ways to do it.

Just click here and enter - seriously, you want a Kindle. I have one and love it!

... CLICK ...

The fine print - contest ends Sept 30th.
Contest, Win a Kindle, Kindle Erotica, Free Stuff, Sexy Blogger, Erotic Blog, We Rock, Justin Bieber, Not Really, Just Kidding

"Australian Outback Poems of Seduction"

2010-08-26T21:24:00.003-05:00

I know, it's not my day, but I just found this and an urge to share overcame me!

A few years back I found an online publication called "Eggplant". Part of their site was the library of books which never were. Writers were invited to submit a blurb or an excerpt for a book which had never existed.

This little piece below was accepted by the site...just before it closed forever (foreverforeverforeverfreverfververerrrrr)

Australian Outback Poems of Seduction

Edited by Wayne Bulbous

Back cover blurb:

The Australian outback is as timeless and as harsh as the physical act of love. It's no surprise then that the world's finest poetry of seduction was wrung from the sand, dust and animal waste that makes up "the bush" - where even the town names sing a siren song to a young cattleman's ears. The Great Dividing Range, Mount Isa and Cunnamulla, to name but three, evoke a genuine feeling best encapsulated by the ancient Greek word "horny".

This compilation of verse encompasses almost all of Australia's European-based history. The late 1800's brings us Edward "Mandolin" Percival's evocative "Crikey, Darlin'" and the evocative "Wombat Stew for Two" by Henry Wattledob.

Also included is the trilogy of timeless epics by Emily Bassingthorpe, "Cattle-Duffer of Hearts", "Abattoir Romance (In The Boning Room)" and the evocative "Love's Dust-Storm Settled".

No compilation could be complete, though, without Horace Hooper's evocative ode to love gained, squandered, regained, ignored and finally strangled, "Geez, You Scrub Up Alright".

The great Aussie tradition of the Bachelors' and Spinsters' Ball (B&S) is a rich source of evocative verse. Warren "Cocky" Grenfell brings tears to the eyes with his evocative "Your Ute Or Mine?" and no sooner will you have wiped up from that than you'll find a new wad of moisture forming for the evocative "Hold Me Beer, Mate, I'll Be Back In Ten". Finally you'll be left gagging for air when you finish with Wal Whippet's evocative classic "Is That A Beer Stain, Sheila, Or Are Ya Pleased To See Me?"

Wonder at the secrets of the Australian heart - the vast island continent, and the evocative romantic spirit of the tanned and leathery peoples who inhabit her.

Ensnaring Kiss - Excerpt

2010-08-25T23:32:00.004-05:00

Thought I might test out another excerpt from one of my works that never went very far. This piece was just a bit of fun. I wrote it, as I do many things, by just letting the muse have its way with me.

The concept here was a vampire woman on the prowl, stalking an older man and offering a deadly kiss that would ensnare him for eternity.

Enjoy.

"How about a kiss goodbye?"

Marcus leaned in close. Natasha allowed her fang to pierce her tongue. Blood pooled in her mouth as their lips met. His lips parted and his tongue caressed the crease of her soft lips; an intimate request for entry.

She allowed her lips to part and their tongues met. Natasha’s tongue washed his in blood as they shared this intimate moment. She fed him her essence and he accepted it greedily, sucking her tongue into his mouth as if he needed to taste every bit of her.

The reaction was almost immediate, just as she expected. His body suddenly stiffened. With a gasp, he fell away from her into his seat.

She watched his body trembling, humming with energy as he lay there in his stupor. Muscles all over him tightened. He gripped the arm of the chair, his nails dug into the plastic coated metal.

Natasha smiled wickedly and wiped her lips. She witnessed the outline of his cock appearing in his pants like an inflating balloon. It stretched the material taut across his waist.

Marcus moaned loudly through clenched teeth. His face contorted, eyes squeezing shut, jaw tightening, lips stretching into an almost insane, joker-like smile.
Then, he found release.

Natasha remembered that first time. For her it was like the feeling of the strongest orgasm … amplified by ten. She knew the first taste was something no one ever forgot. She hadn’t in all her long years.

Marcus’s body relaxed as he exhaled a deep breath. He slumped into his seat panting, no doubt feeling the aftershocks of his climax.

Already she could see the effects of her blood in his body. Not yet turned, the effects wouldn’t be permanent, but he already appeared more youthful. Crow’s feet receded from the corners of his eyes. The light dusting of grey in his raven-black hair regained a little color, darkening a shade. Freckles and sunspots on his arms faded too. The clock was reversing … temporarily.

“What the hell was that?” he stammered, still breathless, his face holding a goofy, crooked grin. Marcus’s eyes were glassy, pupils dilated. Natasha knew they would remain that way until the effects of her blood wore off.

He wiped his face, rubbing away a trace bit of her blood left on the corner of his mouth. Looking down at his thumb he appeared to study the red liquid there.
Natasha waited like a hungry lioness, needing to see his reaction. Would he be repulsed at what he was looking at? Would he be stronger than the bloodlust that would forever dominate him if he gave in?

One taste was all it took for her. She had not been strong enough to say, no. She had allowed herself to give into the ecstasy. She begged for more like a child wanting candy.

“Is this blood?” he asked. His eyes had not left his finger, still examining the smudge of crimson there.

“Yes.” She whispered the response.

“Your blood?”

“Yes.”

“Will I get some kind of disease?”

“No, there is no disease that could possibly live in my blood. Go on, enjoy it.”
Seconds ticked by as she waited. Part of her wanted him to turn away. If he took enough of her blood there would be no turning back. He would carry the same sentence as she, for eternity.

The other part of her knew the draw, and the terrible feeling of want that would be running through his mind. Like a horrible street drug, vampire blood was quick. Addiction could take over even after such a small taste. Knowing the feeling of that terrible pain, she wanted him to take that last drop and help slake the mounting desire that would no doubt already be there.

His finger found his mouth sucking greedily at the last little taste of blood. His eyes rolled into his head and he hummed a small moan.

She watched, licking her lips in response. Pleasure radiated in waves from him. She knew the feeling all too well. Just watching him ignited her hunger, a need she had not slaked in a few days. Licking at her fangs she allowed herself to imagine opening up his veins and taking that which would soon be hers.

Seconds went by in silence before he turned to Natasha. His face flushed with guilt. “What have I done? What are you?”

She snapped out of her fantasy. Could he resist? Would he? She smiled wide, revealing her tiny fangs. “I think you know what I am.”

Fear washed his face in a pale white as sweat formed on his brow. “I’m not going to turn into one of you, am I?”

“No, you are not changed… yet. All I have done is given you a taste. It is up to you to decide if you want more.”

Word Games

2010-08-24T07:33:00.003-05:00

The Washington Post often runs word play competitions. One of their more famous ones had the goal of getting people to make new definitions for old words. Usually (but not always) these definitions take into account the true meaning of the word, but also rely heavily on the way the word sounds. For example:

Spatula: n. A fight among vampires.

I love word games, so I was inspired to take a stab at it myself. Some of the results can be seen below...

AMENABLE - harder work for a matador

ACRIMONY - hatred for one's spouse

BLISTER - a small lump which gives great pleasure when rubbed

BROADCAST - the stars of a chick flick

CLIENT - a lie in cnt

CHLOROFORM - paperwork that puts you to sleep

DERELICT - to refuse to please your wife orally

DOOM - a dyslexic explosion

ELECTROCUTE - to vote for someone based solely on their looks

EQUINE - alcohol that tastes like horse piss

EXACERBATE - to pleasure oneself with increasing violence

EXCEED - a plant

FALLACY - a lie about the size of your penis

FEMALE - like a male but with a cost attached

FLAMINGO - an opera singer who holds a note until he turns pink

GRANDIOSE - spectacular stockings

IMAGINATION - a country which doesn't exist

INCREMENT - to poop backwards

INFIRMARY - an impotence clinic

INFATUATE - those who the clinic has cured

LAMÉ - an alpaca drag queen

LINGER - sexy undies that are torn off too soon

LUMBAR - a pirate's wood

METRONOME - a very short Metrosexual

MOOSE - a Scottish computer peripheral

MYRRH - to half kill someone

NARCISSISM - a love of sibilance

NOISE - to be so badly beaten that your eye is in your nose

OMIT - 80% of your chunder

PASS - a run-of-the-mill bottom

PHYSICS - hiccups from a carbonated drink

PLEASURABLE - to collect bovine semen

PURPORT - the opposite durdirection to surstarboard

PYLONS - stockings for very long legs

REBUFF - to reject someone’s attempts to get you naked a second time

SCRUBBER - an abrasive prophylactic

SEMANTIC - an amorous feeling which dissipates after orgasm

SOLECISM - an inebriated astronomer

STAGNANT - the belief that a pregnancy has stalled

SUBURBAN - to order your fifth Kentucky whisky

TARANTULA - a spider which performs in "The Pirates Of Penzance"

TAXIDERMY - telling the IRS to get stuffed

VINDICATE - waiting until the very last second and then activating your indicator

WOK - to strike someone in the head with a kitchen utensil

XENOPHOBIA - fear of warrior princesses

So who else out there likes word games? Do you have any suggestions I've missed?

Halloween Fantasies - Sneak Peek

2010-08-19T01:24:00.002-05:00

Since we have been doing lots of sexy excerpts here lately, I thought I'd share one from my upcoming novella, Halloween Fantasies.

What if some of the costumed characters at a Halloween ball, weren't in costume?

Dante leaned into his brother’s ear. “You see, it’s a perfect package deal. Two beautiful females, just as I had described.”

A ginger haired woman, in a witch costume, waved at them from across the room.

Trevor inclined his head, a smile played across his face. “And which one is mine?”

“You’re into costumes and games, why not take the little witch for a ride on your broom,” Dante snickered. “She seems like she could be fun.”

“And that leaves the dominatrix for you?”

“Vampire huntress,” Dante corrected.

Trevor’s eyes lit up with amusement. “Oh that is perfect.” He burst into laughter. “Mr. No Games, wants to play with the vampire hunter.”

“I thought you would be amused by that.”

“Did she bring a stake?” Trevor clutched his stomach as he roared, unable to hold back the fit of laughter. “Or perhaps some holy water?” Tears welled in the corners of his eyes. He swiped them away with a quick brush of his hand.

“Go on then, get it all out of your system.” Dante didn’t bother hiding the aggravation in his voice. He didn’t care for his brother’s taunting, but he would endure it if it meant getting his way. He needed to separate Sasha from her friend if he wanted to have her for the evening.

Trevor finally stopped laughing and straightened his face. “You know I prefer to pick my own prey but seeing as how you might be getting into the spirit of the evening, I’ll go along with this… on one condition.”

Dante arched an eyebrow at his brother. “What condition?”

“I want you to play a little game with me. Let’s make this a challenge. No mind control. Tonight we work on charm and skill alone.”

Dante groaned. “You are taking this Prince Charming thing too seriously.”

Trevor smiled, flashing his brilliant white teeth. “I’m playing my part. It’s Halloween, a time to be someone or something different.”

“But I do not want to be Prince Charming, I like being a vampire.”

“That’s my point. You aren’t getting into the spirit of the evening. I want you to try and be something different tonight. Don’t just be a vampire. Be charming and have fun wooing a woman the old fashion way.” He folded his arms in front of his chest. “Unless you aren’t up to the challenge.”

His brother’s taunting set his teeth on edge. “You think I’m not capable of taking a woman’s vein and getting her in bed without mind control?” he asked with a snarl.
“I think you’re out of touch, yes.” Trevor matched Dante’s stern look. “Do you accept my challenge?”

Dante turned to look back at the two women sitting at the bar. “I have no doubt I could have her within the hour… on skill alone.” He focused on Sasha, inhaling a deep breath as his eyes traveled the length of her body. He puffed his chest arrogantly. “She will be eating out of the palm of my hand, begging me to take her.”

“Well then Casanova, shall we go meet our ladies?” Trevor held his hand out pointing the women.

Dante nodded and the two brothers slowly made their way through the crowd toward the bar. Dante’s eyes never left Sasha’s form, drinking in her tanned skin and lean body. He admired the way the leather pants clung to her long legs and the sensuous curve of her backside as she sat, perched on the bar stool. He imagined himself bending her over the side of a bed kneading the soft flesh of her ass as he drove into her. His cock jumped to attention at the thought, filling his pants, pulling the jean material taut over his waist.

Excerpt - "Hunger"

2010-08-17T06:36:00.003-05:00

This is a short excerpt from my Christmas story, "Hunger".

Brett, has been in love with Corinne for 15 years, since they were at high school together. Even though she's now a married woman, his love has remained as strong as ever. Darren, Corinne's husband, has no illusions about Brett's feelings, yet regards him as one of his best friends. With the heat of a Brisbane Christmas weighing down on them, an unexpected present is made which will change Brett and Corinne's relationship forever.

Oh, and by the way, this is NOT a men age story...

-----

The zipper ended right between her shoulder blades, but my hand was unwilling to stop there. I lightly traced her superb spine higher and higher until the flat of my hand was resting on the back of her neck. I could feel my self-control evaporating as I trailed my hand out to the point of her delectable shoulder and leaned my head down to her neck. Before I did anything I couldn’t take back, I glanced into the mirror, trying to read Corinne’s expression, give her the chance to stop me.

I kept lowering my face without breaking eye contact, until, like a moonbeam glittering on a placid lake, my lips glanced across her perfect skin.

Finally, her expression changed. Her eyes drifted closed and her mouth curled like cigarette smoke into a smile so sexy you’d need to show ID to look at it.

“Good boy…”

I’d never heard anything so erotic before. She flopped forward, leaning her arms against the mirror and her forehead against her arms.

My hands each found a shoulder to cry on, while my lips paid service to the side of her throat. She mewed against the mirror, then curled one arm around the back of my head. The moment my teeth found her ear she turned her head and sucked her mouth to mine, drank me into herself.

I knew Darren was showering. I knew he wouldn’t be much longer.

I knew I couldn’t stop.

My hands fell from Corinne’s shoulders and swept down her bare arms. She entwined her fingers with mine, squeezing them, pumping their heartless little bodies. She pulled her mouth away with a severity that was slightly mollified by her radiant smile.

Excerpt - Immortal Pleasures

2010-08-12T01:00:00.001-05:00

Oopse, I seem to have missed a post last week. My apologies. In hopes of offering some reparations, here is a steamy excerpt of my recently released House Of Immortal Pleasures.

Daphne hummed under her breath. Her body reacted with urgent demands at the touch of his soft lips. Her pulse quickened and flames of need danced through her veins, igniting her blood.
She should stop him. She needed to stop him, but Daphne enjoyed the soft caressing kisses at her neck too much to protest. She just couldn’t bring herself to say the word. . . stop.
Connor had melted her scarred heart with his sweet words. They reverberated in her head, ‘I want to pretend I am good, and deserving enough, to be here with you.’
Those words worked like black magic, soothing her pain, stirring up wanton feelings she had fought to ignore. He was like Prince Charming in a fairy tale, sweeping her off her feet with promises of a happily ever after.
Ken had never been so kind. He’d never called her a good woman.
Could Connor really mean these things? No one has ever spoken like this to me before. Damn he’s good.
Fire raced through her blood; each kiss from Connor further fanned the flames of desire. The thick rod of his erection pressed into her back as she rested against him. Warmth pulsed between her legs. Moisture slowly soaked through her panties. Daphne’s body cried out for more, making sexual demands in her mind, treacherously overpowering her rational senses. He was seducing her, his touch, his words, and those soft lips.
Oh God! Could it really be as sweet as he had said? Could I really allow another man to be intimate with me again? Is this real or just pure fantasy?
Daphne didn’t know if she cared anymore. There were no answers, only the screaming need of her body. Not even B.O.B., and a full pack of double A’s, could satiate the demands her body was making now. Only the soft caress of lips, skin-to-skin contact, and body heat would satisfy. What she had feared most was beginning to happen. She was giving in.

****

Connor continued to peck gentle kisses on her neck. He enjoyed the jump of her heart and the soft cooing sounds she made in response. He dared to push the limits further by nibbling at her pulse, tempting himself in the process. His body cried out for her and his need for blood whispered, Bite her. His reward was a loud sigh of pleasure. His hand slowly glided up from her lap. Gentle feather-soft touches of his fingertips grazed the soft skin of her neck and partially-exposed chest.
He fidgeted with the buttons on her shirt, undoing them to remove the thin, cloth barrier preventing him from exploring the tender flesh of her soft breasts. Finally unbuttoning her blouse, he snapped open the front clasp of her lacy bra and cupped a swollen breast in his hand.
Need beat at him with unrelenting urgency. He desperately wanted to taste her. He lapped at her neck, his tongue finding the pulsing vein.
Daphne shuddered, letting out a gasp as his teeth sank into her soft flesh. Connor massaged her swollen breasts, working her nipples into hard nubs as he fed slowly from the fountain of her neck.
Her blood was warm and rich; a honey-sweet elixir, tasting every bit as good as he had imagined it would. He savored the flavor as it flooded his mouth. He could have drunk her dry; the thick blood was like liquid ecstasy. He knew better, though. Connor was not a young fledgling anymore. Time had given him better control over his urges. A taste, a sip, was all that he needed to sustain himself. Any more and he might run the risk of making another mistake, like he had with Adrienne.
With a sweep of his tongue, he closed the pinpricks of his fangs, leaving no trace of his indulgence, and kissed the tender flesh of her neck.
Connor released her breasts, sending one hand trailing down to her tight jeans. With a quick jerk, he opened her button-fly and reached down, under her lacy panties, to her warm folds, already wet with desire.
Daphne gasped as his finger found her clit. Her body arched in response, her ass rubbed against his swollen erection, packaged tightly in his jeans. The movement caused a white-hot streak of pleasure to surge through him.
He teased and massaged her breasts with one hand while the other slowly dipped into her wet opening. Pecking kisses just below her ear, he used every available resource to masterfully manipulate her body into a pleasurable frenzy.
She moved and slithered in his lap, responding to his every touch. The friction of her body, writhing against the stiff erection tenting his jeans, was pure erotic sensuality that served to return the pleasure Connor was giving Daphne, right back to him.
“Oh God!” She shuddered and convulsed, letting out a loud moaning cry. Her tight pussy clenched around his finger with her climax.
Hearing the pleasure he gave her filled Connor with a sense of deep satisfaction; but he was not done with her yet. This was just the first act.
Panting and twitching with tiny aftershocks, she slumped backwards on his chest.
Though his body demanded release as well, he would not give in. He had already indulged in her blood; sexual release would wait until he had given her more. Her needs were more important and he wanted to ensure her satisfaction first.
He scooted out from behind her, letting her fall back into the pillows. She looked at peace. With heavy-lidded eyes, she gazed up at him. An endearing, goofy, crooked grin covered her face.
“That was—”
He put a finger to her lips. “There is no need for words. The moans of your pleasure tell me all I need to know.” He bent down, replacing his finger with his lips.

****

The smoldering flames of her recently spent passion instantly reignited at the touch of his soft lips. As he claimed her mouth, Daphne felt the heat rising again. She would never have believed she could withstand such heat but somehow, her body ached for more.
His velvety tongue dipped into her mouth, coaxing hers to dance with his while he teased and explored.
Daphne felt his kiss alone could bring her to another climax; her body was his to command.
He left her mouth, trailing kisses down her neck to her breasts. She flushed with excitement. Daphne couldn’t believe she was allowing this to happen and was amazed that her subconscious wasn’t screaming at her to stop it. She didn’t want to stop it, she wanted more.
He nipped playfully at her hardened nipples, sending tiny shocks of white-hot pleasure shooting through her body.
Moisture pooled between her legs as she cooed and moaned for more.
He explored lower, his tongue swirling slowly on her sensitive skin. Connor traced every inch of her body, caressing, lapping, tickling; causing her blood to boil with desire for more.
So this is a Tongue Lashing.
As if he were reading the thoughts straight from her mind, he sat up. Smiling wickedly, he removed her jeans. The rough denim material felt like sandpaper on her sensitized skin. He soothed the irritation with a gentle kiss as his hands reached to remove her panties now soaked with her pleasure. Connor quickly tossed them aside and bent his head to lap at the heat between her legs.
The moment his tongue caressed her overly sensitive clit, she bucked, letting out a loud cry. He swirled and caressed her pearl, writing invisible words of pleasure, composing symphonies of ecstasy, making her sing his praise. His strong hands grabbed hold of her hips as he plunged his tongue deep into her folds. Overcome with sensation, she reached out to find some anchor to cling to. Balling the sheets tight in her hands, Daphne rode the wave of pleasure he sent surging through her body.
What was his name? That asshole, who cheated on her? Daphne couldn’t remember any longer. He had never been so concerned with her pleasure. He had never done the things that Connor was doing to her. The memory of him faded, slowly replaced by this god of a man, commanding her body to feel each and every delight she had been denied.
Connor lapped and flicked, teasing her clit, causing her hot juices to flow freely from her heated core. One hand left her hips. Connor looked up catching Daphne’s eyes as he traced a finger down her belly, to her wet folds. Slowly, he dipped it into her wetness. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she let out a long moan of satisfaction. He bent his head again to lap at her clit as he sent his finger deep inside her heat. She relished this new pleasurable sensation filling her, and allowed her hips to rock with his movements.
Writhing in a whirlwind of pure ecstasy, Daphne could barely form a coherent thought. He lapped at her cream as if wanting to savor every drop. One finger soon became two as he urged her body onward, toward climax. Wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her. His tongue and his touch commanded her. She moaned, praising Connor’s name as he brought her to a second and more powerful climax.
Gasping for breath, Daphne lay panting, her heart beating wildly in her chest, her knuckles white from holding the bedsheets so tightly as the climax caused her to explode into a million pieces.

Review - "Uncle Ed's Lap" by Parker Ford

2010-08-10T08:42:00.003-05:00

For a woman with only a few books under her belt, Parker Ford has shown great maturity in her handling of a potentially taboo subject: a deep attraction between a young woman and her late aunt’s widower. Her uncle by marriage, not by blood.

I was instantly drawn into this story. Fiona is a passionate and believable character, notable as much for her empathy, loyalty and sensitivity as for her gorgeous looks. As a reader I was touched by her struggle to reconcile the suddenly transitory nature of her life, and of life in general.

In her uncle Ed, Fiona has a man to suit every part of the woman she is and will be. She’s known him forever, had a crush on him for years. He’s a father, a protector, a provider, and despite the taboo nature of it, he very soon becomes a lover. The scene where Ed first transitions from protector to lover is beautifully created and very deftly crafted. Ms. Ford doesn’t shy away from the difficulties a relationship of this nature presents, which serves only to make the characters, and the situation, more tangible and poignant.

Fiona, for all her goodness, is still a very young woman, and prone to child-like extremes in behaviour. Petty jealousy and sweeping love, one usually feeding from the other. This girl can scratch like a cougar, can spit venom like a cobra. In turn, she often shows a strong need to be steered, to be instructed...even dominated. To be fathered.

But it’s Ed’s tenuous grasp of his self-control which is a revelation. As an older man, someone who has obvious but understated pride in his own strength, his attraction to Fiona is hard for him to accept. When the attraction turns physical, Ed’s guilt, though directed inwards, still manifests in his behaviour. He has flashes of petulance, as if trying to regress to an age where their love would feel appropriate to him.

There are scenes in this story so touching that I found myself on the verge of tears. In public. Some lines are blurred, some lines are crossed. To describe those scenes in isolation would render them powerless, would dilute the story for any potential readers.

It’s a small percentage of women who know how men work. They can drive one around, repair him if he’s broken, and breaking a man isn’t hard to do. Most women have the ability to wield words like they’re hammers. With “Uncle Ed’s Lap”, Parker Ford shows that she understands young women, but more importantly, she shows clearly that she knows older men.

As for the sex? There is plenty. And it’s all damn good. Though erotica is still mostly a female genre, I can assure you that with “Uncle Ed’s Lap”, this man feels that Parker Ford has...set the bar high.

I found Ms. Ford’s writing to have a similar effect on me as Elmore Leonard’s does. Which is not to say the writing is similar in nature. It’s about me as a reader more than it is about either writer. As with most of Leonard’s work, this story seemed to tear itself from the page and leap, legs akimbo, straight into my mind. And it was welcome to do so.

Available now from Amazon.