On my old website I had a feature called “Behind the Book”, which told readers what the heck I was thinking when I wrote the story. Here’s the story behind Garden of Desire. Tomorrow, you’ll get a chance to win it.

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In the first book in this series (the Desire series), I introduced First Mate Cantor Marlowe. I knew in that first scene that I would be coming back to visit him. He was too sexy, too sure of himself. He was a smart-ass and looking forward to the new adventure the pirates were embarking on—colonizing a new world.

When I finally sat down to write Garden, I wondered what would happen to a pirate who gets everything he ever wanted? The answer came immediately—he’d be bored stiff.

Poor Cantor! Just a few months on the new world and he’s ready to chuck the responsibility of governing a bunch of land-locked pirates and marriage-minded ex-cons. He misses the adrenaline rush of his old profession. I’ve known guys like Cantor—hell, I’ve dated them. Once the first blush of conquest is past, they’re looking for the next one—be it the next woman that catches their eye or the next, greatest adventure.

Once Cantor figures out he’s not made to be domestic, he rejects anything that smells conjugal—new curtains for his cabin, a certain blonde who’s made no bones about the fact she intends to “land” him.

Of course, the story wouldn’t be a romance if I gave him what he thought he wanted—freedom from emotional entanglement. But the right woman had to catch him unawares. Actually, Cantor being Cantor, he needed a lot of encouragement—one woman wouldn’t succeed. Give him two who conspire together—and he’s a goner.

So, first I give him every man’s favorite fantasy—a harem-raised virgin. But while Fahgwat was innocent, she wasn’t stupid. Nor could she be shy. Cantor is attracted from the first moment he sees her, but instantly recognizes that this little bit of eye candy is extremely dangerous to his freedom. He’s never had a virgin, but knows instinctively that once he takes her, he’s going to feel obligated. He resists temptation.

But Martha recognizes a chance to trap Cantor by using his powerful attraction to the girl and offers him teasing glimpses of what life with Fahgwat would be like. A thief by profession, she connives to help Fahgwat, by offering herself as a “safe” substitute to rid himself of his excess ardor. Martha’s relentless and works herself under his skin like a chigger.

When I envisioned the pirate’s new world, I offered a view of my ideal world. I’ve traveled a lot, but have never found anything lovelier than the forests of the Pacific Northwest or Scandinavia. So I blended the two to build my world. Log long-houses like those used in Scandinavia during the times of the Vikings became the temporary homes for my colonists.

But there always has to be a “snake” in paradise. Only the “snake” in my mind isn’t necessarily evil—facing it leads to enlightenment.

I hope the adventure doesn’t end with this book. I don’t have specific plans for my colonists, but maybe I’ll come back in the future to see how they’re doing.

Yesterday’s winner has been selected, but I’m gonna make you read to the bottom because I’m not done talking yet!

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Another friend of mine, Lorie O’Clare, has a brand new book out now! She never disappoints and this one looks hawt!

Detective Rain Huxtable works alone, and she likes it that way. But when a fourth spouse turns up dead in Lincoln, Nebraska, Rain’s superiors call in help from the FBI. They’ve either got a serial killer or a hired murderer on their hands, and their solution is to team Rain up with Special Agent Noah Kayne – and send them undercover as a married couple.

Noah is infuriating…and infuriatingly attractive. Rain wants no part of this charade, but with four people dead under suspiciously similar circumstances in a matter of months, she has no choice but to play the part of a doting wife and investigate a close-knit group of suburban couples. It’s hard enough to keep up a professional facade when the heat between her and Noah burns so dangerously. But it may be even more dangerous for Rain to let her guard down once she realizes that the couples involved are playing a very sordid – and deadly – game…

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October’s moon is the Blood Moon. Sounds spooky, huh? According to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft, it’s also known as the Hunter’s Moon, and is a time to set new goals, seek protection, and spirituality. Makes sense, right? You’ve harvested the crops and have winter to get ready for.

What does that mean in a metaphysical sense? A season of action and growth has ended. Now’s the time to tidy up, get out the sage for some smudgin’. Before too long we’ll be wearing sweaters and staying inside more. So take a little time to get prepared, emotionally and physically—don’t you need to pull out the winter coats and clothing? Maybe prepare some clove oranges to keep the smell of sunshine inside and your spirits high.

Okay, have I kept you in suspense long enough? Yesterday’s winner (by random number generator), of her choice of SUNSTROKED or THE HOTLINE by Cathryn Fox is…Maribel!

My good friend and fabulous author, Cathryn Fox, has a new book coming Octover 6th! Take a peek! And if you want a chance to win an autographed copy of HOTLINE or SUNSTROKED, be sure to post a comment!

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Instinctive: An Eternal Pleasure Novel
NAL Trade (October 6, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0451227948
ISBN-13: 978-0451227942

In Fox’s titillating new series we enter Serene, a supernatural playground where sexy shape shifters live behind the white picket fences…

Free spirited Jaclyn Vasenty is about to inherit a cosmetics empire, yet her scandalous personal history may ruin her chance for a corporate take-over. Saying goodbye to her naughty ways, she moves into a quaint gated community in Serene, New Hampshire. But these gates are locked at sunset…

The town’s dark sensuality rocks Jaclyn’s insatiable appetite to the core—and stirs desires that are… inhuman. That’s because Serene is home to demons, witches, vampires, lycans, and panthers, for whom primal exploration comes naturally. Especially for shape shifter Slyck, the cunning panther who’s pushing Jaclyn to the brink of erotic possibilities and making her feel wildly…feral. As tension between species rises, Jaclyn learns she must draw on all her feminine wiles and join forces with Slyck if she wants to make it out alive.

Romantic Times Magazine Review: Fox’s tale of paranormal beings and primal exploration lurking under the surface of a quaint New England town is a winner! The strong heroine and hot panther hero are a combustible combination. This book is hot enough to steam up the windows and exciting enough that you’ll ruin your manicure.

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In a move that took her off guard, he caught hold of her hand and hauled her into the dark alley way between buildings. Breathing ragged, and body tense, he pinned his arms on either side of her head, caging her between him and the wall. The clean scent of his freshly showered skin reached her nostrils and she pulled it into her lungs. His seductive aroma curled through her blood, reminding her she was a libidinous woman – a libidinous woman with so very many unsated needs. Slyck touched a damp lock of her hair and searched her face.

His gaze was so dark and intense it took two locked knees to keep herself upright. The air grew ripe with the scent of her arousal. She watched the way Slyck’s nostrils flared when he caught her excited tang as it saturated the narrow alley way. His eyes closed for the briefest of seconds.

She touched his face. “What—”

He cut her off and brought his mouth closer and she could have sworn she heard him purring. “You need to get out of here.”

“Why?”

He pulled her against him. Turmoil flashed in his green eyes. “Because if you don’t, I’m going to ravish you. And I don’t think it’s in your best interest,” he said with quiet certainty.
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Have Sex Will Travel is the title of the story I wrote for Black Lace’s Sexy Little Numbers anthology. It’s been available since last month in the UK, but today’s the official release date in the U.S. So, if you haven’t already ordered your copy, here’s your chance!

“Sexy Little Numbers” is a choice cut of all new and original erotic stories and the latest addition to Black Lace’s immensely popular series of erotica collections. This longer collection will contain even more variety and a greater range of female sexual desire than ever before. It will be the first of an annual collection of the best general erotica stories written by women. Fun, irreverent and deliciously decadent, “Sexy Little Numbers” will combine humour and attitude with wildly imaginative writing from all over the world. This will be the most entertaining erotic fiction for women to be found anywhere in the world.

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The Russian’s fingers did it for her.

As annoyed as she’d been with his arrogant set down on the train platform before they’d boarded, one look at his hands as he clutched his newspaper in front of his face and she was mesmerized, unable to drag away her gaze.

He had large hands, shaped like shovels, dark, sparse hairs sprouting below the second set of knuckles. His fingers were long—the tips blunt and thick. His nails were clean, trimmed, but not filed or buffed. He had a man’s large and capable, but unfussy hands.
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Be sure to post a comment today to be in the running for a free signed copy of this book! And before I forget, let me name the winner of Wednesday’s free download of Uncovering Navarro. The winner is…Deidre!

Released in February 2007, Alluring Tales: Awaken the Fantasy was a collection of short novellas from seven ladies who have become very close friends over the years: Sylvia Day, Lisa Renee Jones, Cathryn Fox, Myla Jackson, Vivi Anna, Sasha White and myself.

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What is your most wicked fantasy?
A television executive lets loose when her favorite heartthrob strides into her office — and gives her the ride of her life.

This one night stand may be too hot to handle for a newly single woman, but that won’t stop her from enjoying every delicious second.

When a mysterious package opens to reveal an oh-so-sexy, nearly naked man, these two have no choice but to hide out…for a good, long time.

A minister’s son harbors impure thoughts about a voluptuous stripper–and sets out to make his erotic dreams come true…

A big city cop discovers that once bitten is not twice shy after spending a tantalizing night with a beautiful vampire…

A sheltered young woman opens a mysterious locket–and is plunged into a legendary battle of good versus evil to set her imprisoned lover free…

A seductive warlock will not rest until the powerful temptress he lusts for is begging to be dominated…

Pleasure beckons and satisfaction is guaranteed in seven titillating stories of love that knows no boundaries. Surrender to the passion and follow your desires into unexplored realms of sensuous delights. Awaken the fantasy!

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Kili sucked in a deep breath and blinked as her eyes adjusted to white, searing sunlight. Her first glance at her vacation setting sent her stomach plummeting. Where was the desert island with the horseshoe strip of pale sand and navy sea? Sure, heat radiated off the ground in suffocating waves, but where was the cabana boy in the Speedo?

Instead, an endless savannah stretched in front of her with tall, golden grass waving in the hot breeze and gnarled, stunted trees dotting the horizon. “What the hell?”

Stones skittered behind her and she spun to find a large, male figure standing on a rocky knoll. At least the program had gotten that much right. The Ice Man’s incredible, burly physique was nude except for a furry loincloth that draped from a slender cord at his waist, leaving the sides of his tanned hips and his massive, sleek thighs bare.

The breeze ruffled his pale hair as he strode toward her, his sharp gaze sweeping down her body, a predatory gleam in his eyes.

Kili’s heart thudded and her nipples tightened, the sensitive tips pressing into supple fabric. She glanced down and noted she too wore an animal’s skin, tanned and buttery-soft. The miniscule top barely covered her breasts and was knotted between them. Another soft garment draped around her hips, and the breeze licking up her thighs revealed she was totally nude underneath the crude clothing. “Now, that’s attention to detail,” she murmured. But if this was her fantasy, why weren’t her hips slimmer?
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Be sure to post a comment today to be in the running for a download of this book!

Originally released in April 2005, Uncovering Navarro was the fifth in the My Immortal Knight series. Enjoy!

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5 Drops of Blood from Vampire-Erotica.net: “UNCOVERING NAVARRO is an action packed, fast paced, scorching, erotic thriller. With delicious love scenes, wry humor and non-stop thrills, UNCOVERING NAVARRO is a guaranteed page turner that’ll delight the reader.”

5 Cups from Coffee Time Romance: ”I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories of vampires and things that go bump in the night. UNCOVERING NAVARRO is an extraordinary read by an extraordinary author.”

Sidney Coffey, Seattle’s “News at Nine” girl, uncovers the scoop of a lifetime and her ticket into serious journalism. The only problem is—without proof, no one’s going to believe the victims of recent gang killings are in fact undead and vampires! With her gut telling her there’s an even bigger story lurking beneath the surface, she decides to beard a reclusive vampire master in his den for an interview. But meeting the master only complicates things. For a woman with a voracious sexual appetite, the tall, dark and gloomy vamp proves an irresistible challenge.

When a reporter trespasses on his estate, Navarro is at first amused, then annoyed that the little baggage is close to putting together the pieces of a dangerous plot involving an old enemy and a group of murdered geneticists. To keep her safe, Navarro issues an erotic invitation he won’t let her refuse.

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“Who the fuck does he think he is? Keep me prisoner, will he?”

Navarro raised a brow at the loud mutterings of his houseguest as she paced the length of her room. Inigo had given her the guest bedroom with the hidden cameras and listening devices.

Although the sun would soon rise, Navarro felt no fatigue. The woman had invigorated his blood as no one else had in quite a long while—perhaps in the last century.

“I don’t take another man’s leavings,” she mimicked, her mouth curling in disgust. “Well, I don’t take cold leftovers—that’s what you are, Navarro!” she shouted through the locked door of her bedroom.

Still naked, she flounced onto the bed, beating her heels and hands against the mattress.

Navarro studied her attributes. Alone, each was unremarkable. Her bottom was rounded, firm. Her breasts a scant mouthful, tipped with small cherry nipples. Her body was trim, athletic, but not overly so.

No, her curves and pretty face weren’t what held his interest. It was her courage, the surprising twists her mind took, and the sensuality that plumped her lips and kept her nipples tight and hard, even now when only anger fired her passion.

No one had stirred his cock into any semblance of an erection in too many years to count. But here he was, his flesh pressing against the placket of his trousers while she threw endless insults at his head. Delightful!
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My old website had a special feature for every story—a look behind the book at what I was thinking when I wrote it. Uncovering Navarro is old enough that it appeared on that old website. This is the book I’ll feature on tomorrow’s “Flashback”. You’ll get a chance to win a free download of this story. In the meantime, here’s what went through my mind when Navarro was conceived.

I’ve wanted to write Navarro’s story for a long time—well, since he first appeared in All Hallows Heartbreaker. I had a sense he was very reserved, but craved…connection. He was also very jaded.

The problem was finding just the right heroine. If I could have planned the story, I would have thought his would be very dark with Navarro facing an old adversary—perhaps the woman who turned him hundreds of years ago. But that decision wasn’t mine to make. Okay, now you get yet another hint I’m not wrapped too tight!

I don’t just decide to write a book about…something. I wait for the first scene to come to me. After several months without working on a MIK, I really wondered whether the adventure was over. But then there was this pesky reporter—not the brightest watt—but so stubborn she’d make Simon Cowell look indecisive. And she was trying to break into a vampire’s den. The first scene with her falling from the brick wall all the way to her “wardrobe malfunction” rolled through my head like an old movie reel in a theater.

It shot the hell out of my dark prince story.

Once the scene presented itself, I was faced with a dilemma. I’m writing erotic romance, but Navarro isn’t a man who’s led by his manparts. So how could I add the sensual intensity (or rather quantity) that my genre requires?

If Navarro was reserved, my heroine had to be a very busy girl. She also wouldn’t be the kind of girl waiting to find her prince. She’d be out there doing lots of test runs! So number one, I needed to show how fast and loose she played it. I also felt like this story would be more closely tied to the first book in the series than any other, so I placed my heroine, Sidney Coffey, at the first scene of my first book—but in Uncovering Navarro you are seeing that first scene from a whole new perspective. I really liked how that all worked out, and I can’t claim responsibility for any cleverness—Moses Brown came knocking at my door.

Who the hell is Moses might you ask? Well his name came from a boyfriend in college who had a penchant for making love on the edge of cliffs. I’m not at all sure that was his real name—it probably had to do with his long, curly blonde hair and beard and the peasant shirts and sandals he always wore. He looked very “biblical”.

But while I liked the name, another face wore it. Between the buff, bald model Rodney (who is on the cover of the Tales from the Temple III anthology) and Ving Rhames, well there you have Moses. A big, tough, sexy guy who has an innate tenderness he rarely lets anyone see. Moses is already calling me to write his story.