When I first started “coming out” as a romance writer to my family and friends, I often got some wry looks, and comments like “that must be the sexiest job ever.” I love what I do, but let me tell you: writing smut is not always as glamorous as it sounds. Reality, as we all know, has a tendency to be a lot more clumsy, messy, funny and sometimes not-at-all-sexy as romance books are. Case in point: several months ago, I asked hubs to help me block out a scene for my upcoming release, The Hierarchy of Needs, which comes out tomorrow! It went something like this:

Me: Honey, are you busy?

Hubs: Why?

Me: I need you to tie me to the bed.

Hubs: *drops everything* Not busy!

(At this point, hubs followed me into the bedroom, where I told him I needed to see how easy it would be to use a belt to tie someone to a headboard. Hubs then proceeded to dig into the dirty laundry basket to find his belt, which was still attached to his jeans. He, of course, was wearing a hoodie and flannel pjs bottoms. Sexy, right?!)

Me: *settles onto my back on the bed* *grins salaciously* Tie me up, baby.

Hubs: *climbs on top of me* *stares at headboard* *tries to figure out the logistics* Okay, hold on.

Me: *winces as hubs’ sweatshirt ties start batting me in the face* You need some help there, honey?

Hubs: *huffs* No, I’ve got it. There! *belt slips free* Okay, wait, let me try it again.

Me: *ducks head down as sweatshirt ties go in my mouth* Babe, you’re kinda choking me here.

Cat: *jumps on bed* Meow. *bats at sweatshirt ties* Meow?

Hubs: I think I’ve got it. *belt loosens again and falls down behind the bed* Please don’t put this in one of your books.

See? Not as sexy as it sounds! (But a good story, though!)

Here’s a little snippet from the scene in The Hierarchy of Needs that I ended up writing. Thankfully, Jamie and Dean’s experience with a headboard and a belt was a lot sexier than reality!

***

Stripping away the last of her clothes, Dean walked her to the bed. He kissed her again and pressed her down onto it, fingers weaving through hers, clasping their hands together and drawing them once more over her head.

“Hands on the headboard,” he ordered softly. “Around the slats.”

She did as she was told, hooking them onto the wooden poles. Dean stepped away,

returning a moment later with a condom, and his belt. Her eyes widened.

“To keep you still and help you let go.” Dean knelt beside her and waited for her answer. “Yes?”

She paused, glancing at the belt, then back at him. She’d felt so liberated when it was Dean’s hands holding her down. Nothing would help her let go as much as being fully restrained.

She wanted this. Fuck yes, she wanted this.

Jamie offered him her hands. “Yes.”

He placed the condom on the nightstand, then carefully wrapped the belt around her wrists and slid the leather through the buckle. She closed her eyes when he brought her bound hands back above her head, feeling the pull as he looped the belt through the rungs, tugging once to remove any slack.

The backs of his knuckles stroked over her cheek. Jamie opened her eyes.

“You can pull free pretty easy if you get scared,” he said.

It felt snug enough. It was all the illusion she needed. “I trust you.”

***

Giveaway: For a chance to win a free e-copy of The Hierarchy of Needs from the retailer of your choice, tell me: what’s your sexiest moment that became unfortunately un-sexy? You have until Friday, July 10^th to tell me your tale!

The Hierarchy of Needs

The Portland Rebels, Book # 2
Samhain Publishing, 7/7/15

Once you figure out what you want, it’s impossible to ignore what you need.

Jamie Matthews is stuck in a rut. After hitting a wall with her dream career, she’s back in her hometown, living a life as monotonous as swimming laps in the neighborhood pool.

Being surrounded by her perfect brothers is a painful reminder of her failure to launch. The last bonfire of the summer is an ideal way to let off steam, especially when she runs into Dean Trescott, the playboy friend she had one hot-as-hell night with back in high school.

Since the day Dean met Jamie, he’s loved her beauty, talent, and smile that lit up the whole damn block. But dating isn’t an option. She has a bright future ahead of her, and he refuses to chain her to his—helping run the family business that’s barely staying afloat.

A “what-happens-in-Vegas” weekend was supposed to get their craving for each other out of their systems. But neither counted on the past repeating itself, drawing them together in even hotter and dirtier ways and dangling the possibility they might both be able to get exactly what they need…

Warning: A friends-to-lovers twice over story that contains some hot ’n’ heavy kissing in the waves, hair pulling, and a man who knows how to use his hands. It may also feature a few practical jokes—only the fun kind, of course. 

Buylinks:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
iBooks
Google Play
Samhain Publishing

Rebecca Grace Allen writes kinky new adult and contemporary BDSM romance. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a double concentration in Creative Writing and Literary Comparison, as well as a Master of Science in Elementary Education, both of which seemed like good ideas at the time. After stumbling through careers in entertainment, publishing, law and teaching, she’s returned to her first love: writing. A self-admitted caffeine addict and gym rat, she currently lives in upstate New York with her husband, two parakeets, and a cat with a very unusual foot fetish.

You can find Rebecca at:

Website: www.RebeccaGraceAllen.com
Twitter: @RGraceAllen
Facebook: RebeccaGrace.Allen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomRebeccaGraceAllen

I admit it. I’m a complete sucker for an antihero.

What is an antihero, you ask? Well, the online Urban Dictionary defines an antihero as: a flawed hero, and therefore much more interesting than the more traditional hero. They can be working on the side of good, but with a tragic flaw, or a horrible past, or for reasons that are selfish and not entirely “pure”.

Sounds like my kind of guy.

In Undying Hunger, Markus Santini is the Enclave’s antihero. He possesses a horrible past, and as the above definition states, for reasons that are selfish, and or not entirely “pure”, he makes certain decisions throughout the span of the series that aren’t popular with the rest of the Enclave’s warriors.

But my love of the antihero didn’t begin with Markus. In fact, there are a few others that, along with Markus, make up my top five.

1. Vin Diesel as Riddick. (Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, and Riddick) I do believe he kindled my fire for the antihero with those shimmering eyes and deliciously deep voice of his.
2. Zarek (Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon) How could one not fall for such a scarred and tragic hero. A fan favorite of the Dark Hunter Novels that I’ve never forgotten.
3. Alexander Skargard as Eric Northman (TrueBlood) A bad boy in every sense of the word. A centuries old Viking turned vampire, yet he’s hot as blazes. Yes, I cheered for him and Sookie to be together. He was so ruthless, but with her and for her…he was tender and compassionate. Sigh. Precisely what I love about an antihero.
4. Simon Cross (Death Angel by Linda Howard) Assassin turned hero. A pure antihero who has no regrets for who he is or what he’s done in his past. Cold and calculating with everyone and everything in his world. But when his heroine steps into his life, she awakens his heart and makes him feel. And he’ll do anything to protect her. Yes! I love it when that happens.

Do you have any favorite antiheroes from book or film? Please share! I’d love to add them to my TBR shelf or To Be Viewed list. Leave a comment, and I’ll choose one lucky winner to receive a $5 Amazon Gift Card, plus their choice of a PDF copy of either book one, two, or three from the Enclave series.

Undying Hunger

All she can remember is hunger…for him.

Enclave #4

“A delicious vampire world, filled with danger, passion, and immortal warriors. You’re going to love the Enclave!” – Lisa Kessler author of the award-winning Moon Series

 

A year ago, Alexandria Stevens strode through the doors of Wicked Ways and into the arms of a man—a monster, really—who stole everything from her. Her memory. Her life. Now she’s a creature of darkness with only hazy images in her mind of that night and a confusing jumble of emotions. A fierce hate…and an even fiercer desire for Markus Santini.

Markus has walked through this world for more than a hundred years, knowing exactly who and what he was, until Alexandria undid it all. Undid him. When a former vampire colleague threatens one of the Enclave’s own, Markus is needed—but only as the dark, powerful creature he once was. And in order to become that, he must find redemption…in the arms of a woman.

Undying Hunger Buy Links:
Amazon– http://amzn.to/1SS5jgu
Amazon UK– http://amzn.to/1AKet8P
Amazon CA– http://amzn.to/1Il1sm7
Barnes and Noble– http://bit.ly/1FnpKrl
iTunes– http://apple.co/1FZBN2L
Kobo– http://bit.ly/1FnqeOh
ARe– http://bit.ly/1JowGu8

Add to Your Goodreads List– http://bit.ly/1GZxpl2

*~*~*~*

Jessica Lee is an EPIC eBook Award winner and international bestselling author of paranormal romance. She lives in the southeastern United States with her husband and son. In her former life, Jessica was a science geek and spent over twenty-five years as a nurse. But after the birth of her son, she left her medical career behind. During that transition, she discovered her passion for writing romance and has never looked back. Jessica Lee is currently published with Entangled Publishing and Resplendence Publishing. Plus she has several self-published titles available.

Social Media:
-Website:  http://www.jessicaleenovels.com/
-Newsletter:  http://jessicaleenovels.com/contact.html#newsletter
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-Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Lee/e/B002ZTXRCC/
-Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3013591.Jessica_Lee

First of all, a huge thank you to the lovely Delilah Devlin for hosting me here today. It is a privilege to guest blog on a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author’s site!! The opportunity is very much appreciated.

So my topic today is…If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

In his song, Rocky Mountain High, John Denver sings about coming home to a place he’d never been before.  I recently felt that way while doing research for my Red Masks series now available through Ellora’s Cave.  The series is set in Charleston South Carolina, and after doing a ton research into the city I became fascinated with the place.

Row upon row of historic houses line The Battery, a beautiful promenade that was originally built as a defensive seawall and named after an artillery battery that was set up there during the Civil War. This part of town also holds the White Point Garden that was so named because of the sun-bleached oyster shells once found along the shore.

Charleston also has its own French Quarter, which is still located within the original walled city and boasts cobblestoned streets and gas lit alleyways. This is where the inspiration came for making Manette and Thibaut Brisson the owners of the notorious Gaston Plantation and its private Red Masks Club, and giving them their French-American heritage.

There are several plantations near the city with immaculately kept gardens and moss covered trees. And I have heard there may be ghosts haunting several of the sites—war-torn lovers who wait eternally to be reunited and the spirits of slaves who haunt the grounds of their former owners in search of freedom…or revenge.

Charleston is an international travel destination that has been named one of the top cities to visit in the United States, so where better to set a series of books whose characters come from all different parts of the world? Zayne Saladar in Master of Silk hails from the Middle-East, and his belly-dancing wife—Isabella Seda—has Spanish ancestry, while both Sakura and Ian Hideo Shoji of Binding Cherry Blossoms are of Japanese descent.

After looking at picture after picture of the beautiful city and reading the descriptions of its historic districts and sultry sea breezes, I am completely enamored of the place, although I have never once set foot in the town. To remedy that, hubby and are planning a trip to Charleston in September so I can stroll down the streets I have written about and hear the water crash along the shore.

What about you? Anywhere in the world you have read, seen or heard about that makes you ready to plan your next vacation? Are you addicted to a certain place on the Travel Channel, or catch every episode of House Hunting where that particular city is featured? Stop by and let me know. I will be giving away a couple of copies of Roar of Thunder, the most recent release of my Red Masks series, along with some lovely red costume masks and pretty red mask bracelets.

Roar of Thunder

Book 5 in the Red Masks series

After a disastrous tour of duty in Afghanistan, wounded veteran Thibaut Brisson returns home as half-owner of the Red Mask BDSM club. But a severe case of PTSD leaves the Dominant surly, sleepless and sexually impotent.

After long months of nightmares, Ty finally allows himself to submit to the beautiful Domina Grace Heathcastle, hoping a session beneath her whip will allow him to release his pent-up fury. But he makes it clear he will not submit to her forever.

Once a submissive herself, Grace switched sides after a bad relationship left her injured. She knows Ty needs someone strong enough to break through his resistance, but she finds herself doubting her dominance—especially after a night of submissive pleasure in his arms.

Who will eventually win the war when Dominant and Domina battle for position?

Reader Advisory: This story has graphic sexual language and scenes—no closed bedroom doors (or other rooms) here!

A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

For buy links, excerpts, and my other books:  www.GiaDawn.com

Thanks so very much!!  Gia Dawn

Hi, Readers!  We’ll be chatting today about one of my favorite subjects:  romance.  I’m betting at least a few of you will be able to relate.

Sometimes I think we read romance to fall in love with *love*.  Know what I mean?

When we’ve had a hard day, a spat with our partner, a tough time with the kids, or added stress at the day job, escaping into a story can be just the thing we need.  Watching the hero and heroine deal with life’s troubles, large or small, gives us hope we can overcome our problems, too.  And seeing them work their way to a happy ever after reinforces the power of love.

Sometimes, I think we also read romance to fall in love with the *hero*.  At least, I know I do!

For me, that usually means a cowboy because, hey, what’s not to like about a down-to-earth, rugged rancher in form-fitting jeans?  LOL  But if you’re not that into cowboys, feel free to substitute the hunk hero of your choice.

Whether the guy’s a cowboy or cop, doctor, baseball player, or rich playboy, he’ll be easy to love if he’s an all-star kisser who turns us inside-out with one long, soulful glance from his smoldering eyes.

Easy for *us* to love, that is.  The heroine…not so much.

The heroine can’t just give in and fall for our hero.  She’s got to face the fire because *we* need to be kept guessing.  And, like us, she’s got to solve those large and small life problems before she arrives at her happy ending…before she seals the deal with a kiss from her [insert hero of your choice].  : )

~~

Here’s a quick peek at the hero and heroine from A Rancher of Her Own, which releases next week. Pete and Jane haven’t spoken to each other in years, but their mutual antagonism flares to life the first time they meet again:

“That was my first full-time job,” he told her. “I was trying to make an impression.”

“Oh, you did that, all right. I’m glad you didn’t say ‘a good impression,’ because you didn’t come close to one. I don’t like men—people—who think they can order others around. And you definitely had a case of that back then.”

“I was in charge of the horses—”

“Under my grandpa’s direction.”

“—and watching out for them was part of my job.”

“He’s given you another job now, too, so he tells me.”

“Yeah. Playing nursemaid.”

“Thanks, old man,” she shot back, “but I don’t need that kind of help. An assistant is more like it. What’s the matter? Is the job beneath you?” She shrugged. “If you don’t like the idea, I won’t have a problem getting someone else.”

He’d bet she wouldn’t. As long as she managed to keep that smart yet sexy mouth of hers shut, any of his boys would be happy to assist her. He wouldn’t.

But turning down his boss’s order wasn’t an option.

~~
I’m happy to chat.

Also, I’m giving away an autographed print copy of one of my available backlist titles (US mailing addresses only, please).  To get your name in the hat, tell us:  when you read romance, what type of conflict do you like best and why? 

You have till Friday!  Winner’s name will be posted this weekend.

~~

Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom.

Barbara’s new series, The Hitching Post Hotel, features a matchmaking grandpa determined to see his three granddaughters wed. The series began in April 2015 with The Cowboy’s Little Surprise and continues with A Rancher of Her Own in July and The Lawman’s Christmas Proposal in December.

Find Barbara at the following locations:

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Newsletter ~ Blog ~ Amazon ~ Harlequin ~ Goodreads

A Rancher of Her Own

A REASON TO STAY

Ranch manager Pete Brannigan has no interest in playing tour guide to a city slicker like Jane Garland. But spending a few days with the headstrong photographer is a small price to pay for everything her grandfather has given the single dad. Though Pete’s drawn to Jane’s sharp wit and striking beauty, he won’t hurt his young children by falling for another woman who puts her career before family.

Jane’s seen the world through her camera…and used it to shield her emotions. With Pete, she can finally let her guard down. If only he could do the same. Despite their powerful bond, Pete still can’t trust Jane with his kids or his heart. But if he keeps pushing her away, he may ruin any chance their relationship has to develop.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million ~ Harlequin ~ IndieBound ~ Kobo

I’ve fallen behind on updating my website. I can’t keep up with all the new words I have to write and the new books I have to let you know about. But I wanted to take time today to tell you about the Night Fall series and what I plan for the future. But first, aren’t the covers purty? Thank you, sis! If you don’t already have these stories, be sure to click on the covers and go check them out!

If you didn’t know, the Night Fall stories were previously published by Ellora’s Cave, but I now have the rights back to the majority of them. And since I wrote them a crap-ton of years ago, they needed some sprucing up, so I’ve been working on getting them thoroughly revised, and where needed, expanded. My plan is to release one story a month until I have all the old stories out there for you to enjoy. These are my tentative titles following my latest release, Truly, Madly…Deadly.

Knight in Transition (Joe’s story, and we meet our first wolves)
Wolf in Plain Sight (Another SU team member’s story–not sayin’ in case you don’t already know!)
The Knight Edition (Navarro’s story)
Night Fall on Dark Mountain (Meet a whole community of wolves!)

And that’s the end of the refurbed titles. Then I’ll start releasing new stories, not monthly because I do have other stories and series I want to write, but at a minimum, quarterly.

And I have so many places to go! I need to write Viper’s story. I could branch off and write about my my wolves. Then there are the older vampires—Magnus being the first I wrote about in Silent is the Knight.  Do I write about them in the present, or should I do a whole little First Knight series and set it in the distant past?

Today, if you’ll chime in and let me know what you’d love to see, you’ll be entered to win your choice of Sm{B}itten or Silent is the Knight! And I’ll choose 3 winners!

Dying is easy. Comedy is difficult.

Does this saying have the ring of truth? Hell yeah! But I haven’t died (yet), so it’s subjective.

I dabble in humor writing the way a minimalist dips their brush into paint. As a rule, less is more. A smattering works, but a heavy hand can overwhelm the artistic aesthetic.

My humor articles appear on my blog, The Snarkology, at infrequent intervals. Imagine Erma Bombeck Uncensored. (Yes, I talk about SEX.)

I try to bring The Funny to all of my books, but the potential for humor being lost in translation is vast. For instance, my current Work in Progress is an erotic space opera called Viking Love Slave.

The logline sums it up:  Viking gods getting it on with nubile love slaves… In Space.

The story contains a lot of lighthearted elements, but I’m discovering those must be presented thoughtfully or I risk my true intention (getting laughs) of being lost in translation. This has been especially evident as the book entered its first developmental editing round. I’m working with a new editor who has identified a purposefully humorous scene as being too melodramatic.

One of the hardest things an author does in the pursuit of good storytelling is balancing their editor’s advice against gut instinct.  Writers have big egos so accepting guidance can be difficult.  This creates conflict, which is great between protagonists and their counterparts. Maybe not so much in a professional relationship that depends upon cooperation for productivity.

Allow me to divert into a cautionary tale to illustrate…

I have an editor-friend who is a reformed Langolier. (She has pointy teeth but only eats kittens on Thursdays.) When we talk, she sometimes brings up a problematic author at her job that consistently reduces the editorial staff to ripping their hair out at the roots. We shall call this special needs author “Debby Diva” for the sake of discretion.

Debby Diva has “a voice” which is utterly unique to her. She is a special snowflake in the literary blizzard. It doesn’t matter whether her editor says her prose sucks or can’t be understood. Obviously, it’s on the reader to invest the time and effort to decipher Debby’s intent. If they fail, they aren’t trying hard enough.

I don’t want to be Debby Diva, and neither do you.

So what am I to say to my VLS editor when I don’t agree with her assessment? Yes, the prose is purple but it’s deliberately purple. And no, the entire story isn’t written in that style, because that would be too much. The joke is only funny to a point, and then you’ve taken it too far.

My best defense, perhaps, is the Are Readers Laughing? Test. The assessment pivots upon whether I can show the scene to a reader and get a good laugh. A giggle allows me to justify the style to my editor as genuinely humorous. A groan sends me back to the drawing board.

So you tell me. Does the scene below make you giggle or groan?

I’ll provide a free ebook copy of any title from my backlist to a randomly chosen commenter. (Excluding the Alphas Gone Wild box set.)

Viking Love Slave

The day she planned to kill a man, she wore an underbust corset that lifted her full breasts so high her nipples threatened to burst from the neckline of her servant’s frock. Prior to assuming her assassin’s duties, she spent hours bathing, polishing, and preparing every square inch of her body in anticipation of her first murder, as nervous as a bride on her wedding night. Even having been warned not to do anything to attract undo attention, Tierwyn couldn’t stand the thought that she wouldn’t look spectacular.

Better to risk arrest and execution.

Hefting a platinum tray of raw oysters, Tierwyn edged closer to the table. King Methedon of Alfheim dined with his guests at a long, rectangular table that ran through the center of the grand room. Prime Minister Seniormost Fussi Pantaloons sat to the king’s left. Crown Prince Thor of the Asgard Star Empire occupied the place of honor to the king’s right, and to Thor’s right was his advisor, Loki.

Word of the Asgard space fleet’s arrival had spread like quicksilver through the capitol. Nobles bedecked in jewels and finery filled the great hall to capacity. They represented the wealthiest and most prestigious members of the peerage.

Nervous tremors ran through her slender frame as she lowered the platter, aiming for an empty area between the visiting dignitaries. As she extended her arms, black-haired Loki tilted his head toward her. He bestowed a flirtatious wink and a smile upon the elf maiden, followed by a sharp pinch upon her posterior.

“Oh!” An indignant cry escaped her startled lips. Tierwyn fumbled and the tray of shellfish tilted perilously toward the royal lap.

“I’ll take those before you wind up wearing them.” Loki smoothly reached across Thor and removed the tray before the oysters completed their journey. In the process of helping, Loki’s elbow just happened to collide with Tierwyn’s hip, destroying what remained of her balance.

“Oh no!” Flapping her arms, Tierwyn tilted off-balance so her face descended toward the Crown Prince’s crotch. Gasping in shock, her eyes widened and her breath exploded from her lungs in a gust as she caught her first glimpse of the epic protuberance. His skin-taut stretchy pants appeared prepared to burst.

Great Gonads! The crown jewels must be enormous! Could the Asgard prince be wearing an insert? Sweet Goddess, she quivered with ecstatic giddiness, torn between curiosity and terror of the truth.

Swooning eagerly toward her dire fate, Tierwyn uttered a groan of disappointment when strong hands caught her at the last moment. Her thighs quivered in primal reaction to the powerful fingers encircling her upper limbs. Sighing, she gazed with longing and disappointment after the destiny denied her. To her great sorrow, his bulge receded from proximity with her face as he lifted her.

*~*~*~*

Viking Love Slave will be released in Spring 2016. To receive notification of Melissa Snark’s new releases, subscribe to her newsletter at: http://www.melissasnark.com/mailing-list/  You’ll receive a free ebook just for joining.

Author Bio:

Author Melissa Snark lives in the San Francisco bay area with her husband, three children, and a glaring of litigious felines. She reads and writes fantasy and romance, and is published with The Wild Rose Press & Nordic Lights Press. She is a coffeeoholic, chocoholic, and a serious geek girl. Her Loki’s Wolves series stems from her fascination with wolves and mythology.

• She blogs about books and writing on http://www.thesnarkology.com/.
  Visit her website at http://www.melissasnark.com/.
• Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelissaSnark
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• Email: MelissaSnark at gmail.com

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