I forgot to post this morning. That almost never happens.

But it’s been busy here. Crazy busy. And I’m doing my best to keep up.

The books. Maybe if you saw what my writing schedule’s been like you’d understand.

What’s grayed out is what I’ve finished. And you can see what I have left to address by the end of the month. Ha! I’m doing my best to finish the BDSM novel by next week. The editor was kind enough to extend my deadline.

And then there’s the behind-the-scenes work my dd and I are doing to get The Emerald Casket up and running. We’ve been busy making inventory—mostly pendants and bracelets for now. The site is built, just needs a shopping basket. Soon, though. I’ve been Facebooking pieces I particularly love and the response has been wonderful.

And in the midst of all this, I have to leave Thursday morning to head to my sister’s in North Arkansas (4-hour drive), so that Friday morning we can drive to Omaha (7-hour drive) to give a plotting bootcamp to the RWA chapter there. I won’t be back at my desk until Tuesday, and then I have to hit it hard to finish up the BDSM project by end of week.

Did I mention that sis and I are conducting an online plotting bootcamp for the month of January too?

See why I might be a little forgetful? All this multi-tasking is making my head spin!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know what’s goin’ on and to tell you I have some wonderful guests lined up to keep you entertained while I’m gone. Send me good thoughts—and any energy you have lying around that you don’t need! 🙂  ~DD

Will Tying Them Up Tie Me Down?

Thanks, Delilah for hosting me! Not every day I get to hang out with a Penthouse Pet, lol.

I’ve noticed a very interesting bent in my romance heroes lately. The sci fi pirates and the contemporary alpha males in the 2 new series I’m writing. They, um, wanna tie women up.

Where the heck did that come from? I mean, I’ve been accused of writing BDsm in my Orion Series. Don’t really think that’s on the mark.

Okay, so Captain Steve Craig of Her Commander does use soft restraints on his spunky half-Serpentian guard Tessa. And maybe he captures her in the dark … once. But it’s all in good, sexy fun.

Oh, and maybe Commander Daron Navos in Deep Indigo does use mind-control on his intern, Nelah Cobalt, but she gets it. Kinda takes come hither to a whole new level.

Well, and so what if Tryon Jag in Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bryght demands that Calla be his submissive for the duration of his mating shift?

Oh, wait. I see where this is going now. Huh. I’ve been writing mild BDsm and didn’t realize it. (Note: Yes, I use caps on the BD and lower case on the sm ‘cause I consider the first part sexy and the second part not for me)

Of course my Hawaiian Heroes contemporary paranormal romance series is hot vanilla. And I’m sure I’ll do more romance without kink. After all, I don’t want to tie myself to just one sub-genre of romance.

But, in 2013, readers, hang on to your panties.

In The LodeStar Series, we’re taking a fast space ship to the newly settled planet of Frontiera, with space magnate Logan Stark and his two brothers. The three grew up rough, and now these alphas have one approach to life and sex—they’re in charge. Hmm, their feisty females may have something to say about that. Hope it’s ‘Yes!’

In Club 3, three alpha weightlifters from Portland Oregon who own a gym and fitness center decide that maybe, given their sexual need to dominate, they should open another kind of club. The kind that’s private and opens up when the sun goes down. Mm-hmm, that kind.

I’ll be self-pubbing LodeStar starting in winter 2013. Club 3 will debut with a digital first publisher. If you’d like to know when they come out, sign up for my Newsletter.  It’s easy, and will show up in your email box ONLY when I have a new book out.

Best,

Cathryn Cade

… red hot romance!

Goodreads, My Website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Samhain Author Page,

And sign up for My Newsletter for a chance to win goodies!

Well, not in the way you usually expect when you imagine hearing those words! A story I wrote for Kristina Wright’s Duty and Desire collection for Cleis Press was picked up by Penthouse Magazine as a “Bedtime Story!”

I sent my daughter on a mission yesterday while I worked. You can’t find that magazine in any store in our nearby small town, so she went to Little Rock. Now, I don’t know if I mentioned my daughter is pregnant…? Well, anyway, she spotted a copy in Barnes and Noble in Little Rock in the “Men’s Interests” section of the magazine rack. She ended up having to climb two shelves and reach far into the back. If I’d been there, it would have been a YouTube moment.

The fun didn’t end there. I get the magazine and my mom sticks her head out of her office, “Where is it?”

I handed her the magazine and she’s pawing through the pages making faces until she gets to my story. I wonder how many authors have moms like that, huh?

Anyway, I’m sooooooo excited. It’s a 6-page spread with three very cool illustrations! Take a look!

So, the question I have is…

I know most fathers and mothers would groan if their daughters rushed through the door saying that. Looking back, can you imagine yourself ever doing that? Was there a boyfriend who might have made you a little wild and daring? Were you ever in that frame of mind where posing nude for publication would have been okay? Would you do it now?

I’m taking over Delilah Devlin’s Blog today (bwahahaha)!

First the introductions:

I’m A. M. Griffin, a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies. She has multi-publications in other genres under a different pen name.

When I was trying to come up with topics for today’s blog, the first thing that popped into my head was girl-on-girl sex.

Why? *shrugs* Cause it just did.

I never set out to have girl-on-girl action included in my new EC debut release Dangerously Mine, but for some strange reason it just happened.

You’ve probably heard a lot of authors talk about their characters as if they were alive and somehow had a mind of their own. I can honestly say that it’s true.

My character Princess Sa’Mya was supposed to be my heroine’s nemesis. I needed someone privileged, bitchy and irritating. Princess Sa’Mya is all that and more.

During one of my favorite scenes, Princess Sa’Mya was making Eva wash her hair. Yea, the privileged bitch characteristic was in full effect. Anyway, Princess Sa’Mya wanted to know why her betrothed, King Taio was more interested in the human Eva, rather than herself.

I had intended for Sa’Mya to be curious about a species that she had never encountered before. They were going to go back and forth with bitchy banter. You know the normal girl catfight stuff.

It was going perfectly as I intended it to until Sa’Mya reached out and touched Eva’s clit. Once that happened, it was like I couldn’t stop my fingers from flying with lightning speed across the computer keyboard.

I kept saying things like “This girl is such a freak!” and “Why is she doing that?” and of course, “Is she about to do what I think she’s about to do?”

My poor husband who was sitting next to me had this look on his face. Much like the same look you would give someone before having them committed to the Looney Bin.

The end result is hot as hell. So much so that in the follow-up book (which is Princess Sa’Mya’s story) there’s another girl-on-girl scene.

Mind you, my stories are all M/F sci-fi romance, but for some reason there’s just a freaky twist. Maybe that’s why I ended up with Ellora’s Cave, where my freakiness can be supported.

Here’s an excerpt:

“I wonder what he sees in you,” Sa’Mya said.

She leisurely skimmed the water’s surface with her fingertips. Recognizing a rhetorical question when she heard one, Eva didn’t respond. “I am offering him all of this.” Sa’Mya ran her wet hands down her voluptuous body.

Her double-D breasts hung ripe and full. Her neatly tapered waist led to full-sized hips, a round ass and, of course, long, shapely legs.

“You have the body of a child.” Sa’Mya sneered.

I could apply a small amount of pressure to her windpipe.

Clearly the princess didn’t know anything about fighting. Talking smack while your back is to an opponent was a no-no. Read the rest of this entry »

Cinderella Complex Anyone?

How Many of us dreamed of one day marrying a prince, of being lifted out of our poor beginnings and transformed into a beautiful princess? As we matured into young women we gobbled up romances about women who fell in love with a Greek Tycoon or an Italian shipping magnate. We have a fascination with the rich, but being wealthy doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness.

I worked that angle in the new series I started called the BILLIONAIRE ONLINE DATING SERVICE.  My heroes have all made their fortunes and now find that they want love and marriage to a special someone, but the special someone is illusive when you have the fame of fortune. Most women are after them for their bank accounts, not their hearts. My heroes are stuck and can’t find dates with real women who aren’t looking to land a billionaire with a fat bankroll. BILLIONAIRE HUSBAND TEST is the 1st book in the series and tells the story of one billionaire who hasn’t forgotten his poor roots and wants a woman who isn’t after his money.

Ever wished you’d married a billionaire? How would your billionaire have made his billions? Comment for a chance to win a download of TARZAN & JANINE the first book in the TEXAS BILLIONAIRES CLUB Series by ELLE JAMES and DELILAH DEVLIN.

Billionaire Husband Test
Billionaire Online Dating Service Series
Dec 2012

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance Ebooks

About the Author:

Elle James aka Myla Jackson spent twenty years livin’ and lovin’ in South Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, Elle is proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats. She has 31 works with Harlequin, self published works under pen name Elle James, over 40 works with other publishers including Samhain, Elloras’ Cave, Kensington and Avon and 18 works self-published under pen name Myla Jackson. Now living in northwest Arkansas, she isn’t wrangling cattle, she’s wrangling her muses, a malti-poo and yorkie. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, out snow-skiing, boating, or riding her ATV, dreaming up new stories.

Just a quick note from me to you. I’m raising a glass.

Thanks to my online friends who join me here to play—you keep me jazzed to seek my keyboard every morning. Wait…drinking…

Thanks to all who bought my books—you provide me the means to stay at home and live my dream of being a full-time writer. Glug…glug…

Here’s hoping you all find happiness, good health, and a little more gold in your pockets this year. Where’s my bloody keyboard!

Sláinte! Cheers! ~DD

NEW BEGINNINGS AND SECOND CHANCES

As I sit here staring at a blank screen, I’m thinking about what I’ve done over the past year and all the things left unfinished.  A brand new year is upon us, and I don’t want to fall into the same quagmire of partially-finished things of years past.

I always start the year with great intentions; plans to do more, do better and finish everything I start.  That never-ending diet that goes off the rails faster than you can say “chocolate.”  The gym membership to go along with said diet.  The manuscript I promise myself will get finished, as soon as I’ve turned in my current WIP.  Trust me, it never happens.  I have so many books in various states of writing, I’m never sure which one to work on next—so I end up starting something new.

My paranormal novella, Second Chances, happened that way.  I was writing a romantic suspense single title.  Things were flowing, the plot and mystery worked.  It’s not like I had writer’s block of anything.  I just had a dream.  A vivid, full color, complete to the last detail dream.  A sensual love scene between two people who’d been together for a long time and loved each other to the depths of their souls.  An explosive, sexual and out-and-out, over-the-top HOT dream!  At the end of the dream there was a twist I wasn’t expecting (but isn’t that the way with dreams—they take on a life of their own).

I thought about that scene/dream all of the next day, playing it over and over in my head.  After working the day job, when I finished, I sat down and started writing.  Within a couple of hours, I had written the entire scene from my dream.  It felt good.  But it was really short, definitely not long enough to do anything with.  So I sent it to my critique partner, just to see what she thought.

She loved it!  She’s rarely surprised but said that the ending did just that—but in a good way.  Then she asked, how did they get to this point?  What brought these two people to this place?

We all know how a writer’s mind works; I had to figure out the “why.”  Why these two?  Why Destiny’s Desire Lodge?  What did Ryan’s recurring dreams mean?

Before long, Second Chances was born, a paranormal romance novella,  revolving around fulfilling second chances and dreams that are bigger that we can imagine.

My hope for you in the coming New Year is love, joy, laughter, and fulfilling all the Second Chances that come your way.

A firefighter in Denver, Ryan Jackson still grieves the loss of his brother who died almost two years earlier on Christmas Eve. He thought he’d gotten past the loss until he began having dreams about his dead brother. In the dreams his brother asks him for something–impossible.

Ryan’s wife, Rose, knows something’s wrong. For the last several months Ryan’s grown more withdrawn and distant. She loves him and knows he loves her, but doubts begin to creep in. She’s determined to find out why her husband is withdrawing from her and win him back–no matter the cost.

An early Christmas gift, an unexpected trip, and haunting dreams. Can the love shared between Ryan and Rose overcome grief and guilt and lend a little magic for a second chance at happiness?

EXCERPT FROM SECOND CHANCES:

Rose walked around the dining room, putting the final touches on the table.  Flowers and candles, even a bottle of white wine.  Long stem crystal glasses next to the good china.  Dinner was ready.  She’d stopped at Ryan’s favorite Italian place on the way home, picked up all the foods he loved.   Though she was no slouch in the kitchen, the horrendous hours she had put in all week left little time or energy for cooking. And besides, she wanted everything to be extra special tonight.

Soft music played in the background, the strains of the classical piano concerto wafted from the speakers.  Soothing and romantic music setting the stage for the evening to come.  The lights were dimmed and tall taper candles cast a warm glow across the dining room.  Perfect.  She’d done her best to set up a long-needed romantic evening with her husband.

Something was bothering him, kept him on edge for the past few months.  She hadn’t pressed.  He’d tell her whatever it was when the time was right.  Still she worried.

Is he unhappy?  Am I not enough anymore?  The insidious doubts niggled at the back of her mind, managed despite her best efforts to creep into her head each day.   She tried to ignore them, push them away, but the fear still managed to insinuate itself into her thoughts.

I can’t lose him.  He’s my life.  I’ll do whatever it takes, fight whoever I have to fight.  I’m not giving up on Ryan.  On us. Read the rest of this entry »