There are all kinds of ways for a man to be a hero. He can save a child’s beloved cat, save a person, save a town, save the nation.
Or … he can save a woman from self-doubt, uncertainty about her attractiveness, her sexuality. He can show her that she’s worth his time, his closest attention. That she’s worth breaking down barriers between them to worship her body and her soul the way she deserves.
Great sex is about risk. Daring to trust another person, or persons, with our deepest desires. Trusting that they not only won’t ridicule us, but that they will concentrate on fulfilling our dreams. Showing us that it’s perfectly okay to cherish that secret wish … even if it is a little kinky.
I wrote the Club 3 BDSM series to portray strong men who dare to give their all to special women struggling to break free of their pasts, and bloom into their most passionate selves. Not that these men don’t issues of their own to break free of–that’s part of being human, right? Nobody said a Dom has to be perfect. But he does have to be a hero, a sexy one.
And if he’s a cop who’s made a career out of keeping his town safe, that can’t hurt, right? Unless he must do anything to keep his public and private lives separate. Then being a Dom and being a hero may be polar opposites.
Here’s Club 3, Bk. 4, She’s Worth It All…
He’s a hometown hero with a secret. She has a broken heart only a strong man can heal. Will he risk everything to show her she’s worth it all?
Mase Barnett is a cop, a hero who nearly died to keep his small town safe. The eyes of his hometown are always on him. But he’s also a man with a dark secret—one he takes across the river to the big city. Inside the private walls of Club 3, he’s free to be what he is … a Dom. And a man who likes it hot and public.
After the highly public breakup of her marriage, Natalie Cusco is back in town, but not everyone is happy to see her. She just wants to keep her head down while she makes a new life for herself, running the bar that’s her dream. Now if her tormentors will just leave her alone …
She yearns to give this hero what he wants—her body and her submission. But will the brash, cocky cop help mend her damaged heart or break it again, this time forever?
Here’s an excerpt …
‘So here she was in the inky shadows of the back porch, with one last drink and some country singer urging her to put her party light on. Natalie grinned wryly to herself. She was lit, floating on a warm buzz. Not drunk by any means, but not completely sober.
Still leaning on the railing, Nat moved her hips to the music. She’d just give herself a minute before she rejoined the party. She’d chat and laugh like she was having the time of her life. Maybe that would make it come true. Self-fulfilling prophecy, like the pop psychology articles that her mother swore by.
And she would not think about Mase. Jeez, she really would swear she could smell his woodsy scent back here.
“Now that’s a fine sight,” drawled his raspy voice behind her.
Nat continued to move, putting a little extra shake and shimmy into it. Because he could look, but after ignoring her all evening, he sure as heck wasn’t touching.
“Nothin’ to say, Natalie?” he asked, his voice closer, and warm with amusement.
“Yeah. Bite me.” She ignored her shiver of awareness at his nearness and took another drink.
He laughed, a low, infectious sound. “Baby, I thought you’d never ask.”
His bare arms brushed hers, his skin warm and smooth as he planted his hands on either side of her on the railing and leaned over her. “Don’t stop dancin’ on my account.”
“Wasn’t going to,” she retorted, still moving as if her ass wasn’t rubbing against his jean-clad groin and thighs, hard and warm. But it was, and oh dear God, was that—?
Yup, it was. Mase was hard as a pole. The stiff shape in his pants generated heat she could feel through layers of clothing. He had a woody—for her.
Guess she’d get to tease him a little. Payback was suh-weet.
“Keep on moving. That’s good.” His voice echoed her thoughts as he leaned even closer. A thrill of sheer lust shot through her as his warm lips and sexy ‘stache brushed the shell of her ear. Thank God she’d tucked her hair back. Wait, no. That was bad. She was teasing him, not the other way around. Only he didn’t seem to get that.
“I loved watchin’ your sweet ass in motion,” he went on, in that lazy drawl. “It feels even better than it looks.”
It took her a moment to answer coherently. Mostly because he was now tracing the shape of her ear with his lips. The soft, moist caress turned her spine and her resolve into hot liquid, like warm jello pouring into shot glasses.
“You c-can’t see anything out here,” she managed. “Certainly not my ass.”
Not when he was so close behind her, and she was arching into him, pressing her jello in his mold. Every time she moved, that long hard shape pressed into the crevice of her ass. So close, so very close to where she wanted it—inside her.
“Wrong. I’ve been watching you move all night.” He nipped her ear lobe, just behind her dangle earring. “If you fuck anything like you dance, a man could die happy.”
She should be indignant that he was speaking to her this way, not smiling to herself. But somehow his words, delivered with rough honesty, were even headier than the alcohol swimming in her system. He found her attractive—very attractive.
“You have a dirty mouth,” she accused.
He flexed his hips, pressing his erection more firmly into the furrow of her ass. Natalie slipped one hand down between her legs to placate the growing ache there. A tiny, sober part of her stood off to one side, eyes wide, shaking her head. Nat ignored the prude. Lot of good behaving had done her. Two years without real sex, that was all.
Mm-mm, oh, right there. Her finger found her clit, already swollen as if it had just been waiting for Mase to show up.
“I do, baby,” he agreed, his mouth moving down to nibble on the hinge of her jaw and the side of her throat. “I have a filthy mouth. And it wants to be right … here.”
He cupped his hand over hers.’
What constitutes a hero in your booki? Leave a comment, and I’ll enter you to win a FREE copy of Club 3, Bk 1, She’s All In.
Conquests is a collection of short stories from some very talented and celebrated ladies. If you loved my collections such as Cowboy Heat, Smokin’ Hot Firemen, and Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors, you are going to love this book! Choosing the stories wasn’t a democracy—it was just me. But choosing a cover…? Let’s just say that getting agreement from 13 authors for a cover for our book is a lot like herding cats. We’ve been all over the place, but I think now we’re very, very close.
We’d love your help. Please cast a vote! (And comments would be appreciated!)
Which do you prefer for Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance?
Some of the sexiest men I know live between the covers of a romance novel, contemporary or historical. These heroes don’t come any sexier than the men who ride rough and herd cattle and work the land.
Sometimes, these cowboys are also the hardest to get close to, because beneath their strong outer armor, they can be surprisingly vulnerable. In my romance novels, the heroine finds what that hero needs fixin’ and offers him understanding, healing, love—all things he’ll never ask for. All things he will never admit he needs.
What does the hero offer the heroine and us, as readers?
A man who keeps his promises, stands up for what’s right, and takes pride in what he does. A man who is tolerant and understanding of others and is kind to his elders, children, and animals—unless of course, the animal is a bull looking to buck him.
The cowboy hero offers us a man who is tough but fair and who lives by the Golden Rule.
And of course, a cowboy—at least in my books—always offers us some great-looking eye candy, as follows (from my latest release, The Cowboy’s Little Surprise):
In one startled, reflexive sweep, she took in almost everything about Cole Slater. The light brown hair showing beneath the brim of his battered hat. The firm mouth and jaw. Broad shoulders. Narrow hips. The well-worn jeans, silver belt buckle, and scuffed boots. In the next reluctant second, she turned her gaze to the one feature she had deliberately skipped over the first time.
A pair of blue eyes that made her think instantly of her son…
Yes, this is a secret baby story, one of my favorites.
But it’s also a lot of my favorite eye candy, all wrapped up in one package. 😉
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Readers, I’m happy to chat!
And I’m giving away a book. To be entered to win a copy of one of my available backlist titles, tell me: what’s your favorite type of hero and why?
Note: the winner will receive an autographed print copy of the book. Due to postal regulations and international restrictions, the giveaway is open to entrants with US mailing addresses only. The winner’s name will be drawn from comments left here through March 29 and will be posted in a comment here on April 1—no foolin’! : )
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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 thrilled to share news about the debut of a brand-new series, The Hitching Post Hotel, about a matchmaking grandpa determined to see his three granddaughters wed. The series begins in April 2015 with The Cowboy’s Little Surprise, followed by A Rancher of Her Own in July and a third as-yet-untitled book in December.
The Cowboy’s Little Surprise – Barbara White Daille – April 2015
THE LONG WAY HOME
A guy like Cole Slater is hard to forget. Tina Sanchez should know—for years since high school she’s tried to bury the pain of Cole’s cruel betrayal. But it’s impossible to ignore the man she sees reflected in her young son’s eyes now that Cole is back in her life—and about to meet the child he never knew he had.
Returning home to New Mexico, Cole is determined to put his playboy reputation to rest. Especially now that he knows there’s a little boy looking up to him. And seeing Tina again reignites all the feelings Cole ran from as a teen. Despite his fear that he can’t be the man Tina deserves, he’s determined to try. For his son’s sake—and his own.
Excerpt:
She should have known better than to fall for Cole Slater. At the tender age of seven, she had already heard about his reputation as a sweet-talker. By junior high, he had progressed to a real player. And by senior high, he had turned love-‘em-and-leave-‘em into an art form, changing girlfriends as often as she replaced guest towels here at the Hitching Post.
Too bad she hadn’t remembered all that when he had finally turned his attention her way.
He shoved his hands into his back pockets, which pulled his shirt taut against his chest. Now, she felt herself flushing as she recalled the one and only time—
There are many creative things I do to feed my creative soul. One of them I haven’t done in a while. The spark that lead to my pursuing this creative outlet once again came from my seeing someone with a sketch book and it made me miss drawing. It’s been a long while since my last sketch book was filled and I haven’t gotten a new one. I do create art in other ways using the computer but there is nothing like the feeling of the pencil in your hand and a blank page in a sketch book waiting to be filled. This made me promise to make a make a trip to buy some new art supplies and a new sketch book or a few of them. 🙂 I still haven’t gone yet but plan to soon. I’ll make sure to take pictures and post to my blog and Facebook when I do. 🙂
This got me to thinking of my many other creative outlets. There are many. I love to crochet, cross stitch and many other crafts. Love to cook and bake (I experiment to come up with my own spin). I also sew—I can draw to design my clothing including accessories and then make them. Then there is my passion— writing. This feeds my soul. No matter which I’m doing from the list of creative outlets I have it all fulfills me in various ways. I love having many creative pursuits—it feeds my creative soul.
Taige Crenshaw is a multi-published author with books available at Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id, and Totally Bound. Taige has been enthralled with the written word from time she picked up her first book. It wasn’t long before she started to make up her own tales of romance. With novels set in today, in alternate dimensions, or in the future she writes with adventure, fun sassy heroine’s, and sexy hero’s. Always hard at work creating new and exciting places Taige can be found curled up with a hot novel with exciting characters when she is not creating her own. Join her in the fun, frolic, interesting people and far reaches of the world in her novels. You can find out more about Taige at her website: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com or blog: http://www.taigecrenshaw.com/blog or on twitter: https://twitter.com/TaigeCrenshaw.
Firestorm Encounters
What do you do when you find a man who sets your senses aflame but being with him could cause repercussions?
UPDATE: The winner of the free download is…Shirley Long!
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I wondered whether it was crazy to publish short stories, really short stories. This was an experiment to see whether readers would embrace them. I began at the end of January, and I’ve published a new short every week since. I had planned to quit April 3rd—no real reason, just because. However, for me, it’s been very interesting indeed.
People are buying them. And I’m getting more emails from readers than ever before. Most simply want more stories. Some want to see the story they just read novelized. Many had never read me before, but they’ve been gobbling up the shorts, and then moving onto my longer stories. I had hoped that would happen, but I also thought there would be a point where readers thought it was enough. So far, you’ve told me to keep them coming. So, I’m adding another month’s worth of releases, one per week, through the first Friday of May. So be watching for more!
For those of you who didn’t know, Amazon has a new program called Kindle Unlimited. It’s like Netflix for books. You pay one price, $9.99 for a subscription, and then you can download as many books as you can read that month. So for KU subscribers, my short stories are free. They are $0.99 for everyone else.
Here’s information about this week’s new release, Pitch Black. Why corrections officers you might ask? Well, my daughter was one for a while, and the stories she told me tempted me to write
And keep reading below, because I have a question for you, and you might just win a prize!
Passion lights the way for an ex-marine corrections officer rescuing a female CO trapped in a prison block during a blackout…
Note: This 5000-word short story was previously published as part of the HIGH OCTANE HEROES anthology. It may be short in length, but it’s not short in passion!
Excerpt:
Her bathroom door slammed open.
Still dressed in his uniform, his shoulders spanned the door frame. His short black hair skimmed the upper edge. His dark blue shirt, spattered with raindrops, reflected the stormy color of his eyes as he raked her with a glance. Anger simmered in the glance he gave her.
Her chin shot up. “No, hello darlin’?”
His hand shot out, grabbed her arm and yanked her against his chest. “Fight me.”
Her eyes widened. “What’s this about?”
He gave a sharp shake of his head. “Shut up. Fight me.”
She inserted her free hand between them and shoved at his chest. “Danny?”
“Think you could have fought Draper off if he’d been after you?” he said, his voice a deep, graveled growl.
She swallowed hard against a burning lump at the back of her throat. So that was what this was going to be. A lesson. Proof she wasn’t strong enough, mean enough to be on that barracks floor. “Stop this, right now.”
She pushed again, but he ducked down, shoved his shoulder against her abdomen, forcing her to crumple over him. Then he was backing out the door, striding toward her bed. He shrugged his shoulder, and she tumbled to the mattress, her towel flying open.
Before she could roll over the side to escape, he was on her, his superior weight sinking her deep into the mattress. Covered shoulder to toe by his large body, she could barely breathe. “Danny.”
He shook his head again, a grim set to his tight square jaw. “This ends, Jenn. Tomorrow, you’re gonna accept that transfer. Work in the warden’s office, guard the nurse, whatever, but you won’t be on that goddamn floor.”
“You have no right to dictate to me.”
“Don’t I? Wasn’t my ass on the line tonight?”
“I didn’t ask–”
“You didn’t have to! Dammit, I love you!”
His shout reverberated in the room and had her jaw clamping shut. Bitter tears filled her eyes.
His eyes squeezed shut. Then before she could draw the next shattered breath, he rolled off her to sit at the edge of the bed, his back to her. His shoulders were slumped. “I can’t do this again.”
Contest
I’ve published a variety of genres for these short stories. The two that have sold the most were the first, a cowboy story, One Track Cowboy, and The Pleasure in Surrender, which was a medieval knight story. If you’ve had a chance to read some of the shorties (you can peruse the carousel to sample the covers), I’d love to know what you’d like to see more of. Which story appealed the most to you? Comment for a chance to win your choice of any of my self-pubbed shorts or Wet Down.
As a reader of romance you may not realize what an author has gone through before their book is published. Particularly if it’s their first book—ever. You may also not realize that most every writer’s journey to publishing, whether it’s to self-publish or go with a traditional publisher, is vastly different and can be loaded with rejection. As much as we would love it to be true, and often dream of, a ready-to-be-published book just doesn’t happen.
Authors go through rejections from agents, editors, beta readers, neighbors, the kind lady at the library who offered to read your book but then refused to look you in the eye the next time you came in to check out the latest Delilah Devlin blockbuster. We fret over the horror stories bandied about such as, “It took me eleven years before I received my first book contract.” Or my personal favorite, “I had a hundred and fifty rejections before I received my first yes.” Oh. My.
Others have experienced rejections from other writers (those meanies) and contest judges. As aspiring writers we often use contests to help us test the waters so to speak. Sometimes we receive encouragement and constructive criticism, but often we find rejection there as well. Because there’s nothing better an author loves more than entering a contest only to receive this little gem in the notes, “Am I supposed to hate your heroine?” Yes, folks that was written about my first paranormal heroine. That puppy is now hidden underneath my bed hanging out with the dust bunnies and forgotten Christmas presents.
How do we deal with the rejections? Chocolate. Cookies. Sometimes a nip of wine, or two or hell, just pass the bottle. Why not just give up you ask? Because we HAVE to write. The voices in our head won’t let us stop and if they catch wind of our self-doubt, they follow us everywhere and nag us until we get back to the computer, notebook, or a napkin, whatever is handy when inspiration strikes. Rest assured that your favorite author at some point in their career has sweated over every single word, each comma placement to get it just right. For you. Our awesome readers.
Every writer you meet will have a war story or two. And for those that keep going, and listen to the voices in their head by not giving up, success does happen. It doesn’t mean New York Times Bestseller success right out of the gate (although that would be AWEsome), it means finishing the book, getting it published and receiving positive feedback from readers…OMG! Someone reeeally likes my book!
As much as we all dream of scoring that big contract our first time out, it rarely happens. But what makes the journey bearable is by surrounding ourselves with other writers. A group of creative souls who relish storytelling and the impact it has on our readers. When we find a writing group, critique partner or even a beta reader who is in our corner, cheering us on and challenging us to write to the height of our writing ability, that’s gold baby.
I’m still in the trenches, receiving rejections, but not giving up. Who knows? This time next year, you could be reading my sexy contemporary SAVING MAVERICK. Or my romantic suspense about this undercover female FBI agent who can’t stand her new pretend husband or maybe I’ll brush off the dust bunnies from my paranormal. Whichever one it happens to be, one thing is for sure, all it takes is one yes and I’ll have my own happily ever after.
Some writers who inspire me are Jill Shalvis, Rebecca Zanetti, Lara Adrian and Gena Showalter to name but a few of the outstanding authors in our industry today. Who is one of your favorite authors? If you’re also a writer, which author made you say “I want to write stories like that?”
Authors are strange people. We look at a harmless, everyday item and wonder how to kill a character with it, like Jason Bourne wasting a bad guy with a washcloth. We eavesdrop on conversations at Starbucks and ponder how we can use them in our novels. (So be careful what you say while in line for your latte!) I suffer from insomnia because my characters think bedtime is an ideal opportunity to get chatty about all the things they want to do in their stories. On one hand, I get some fabulous lines when I can’t sleep, on the other hand, I can’t sleep.
When I started writing Bite Me, it became clear that my heroine had a similar problem. But instead of her muse keeping her up all night, Lizzy hears her inner demon. Every vampire has a bit of demon inside them, and Lizzy’s is a succubus—a lust demon. Lizzy constantly battles her demon’s constant lustful urges and ongoing inappropriate commentary, and that struggle is only made worse when the zombie apocalypse happens.
I had a ton of fun writing Lizzy’s conversations with her demon, giving voice to her snarky inner monologue and generally driving Lizzy crazy. It’s like a little revenge for all the sleepless nights my characters have gifted me with. 😉 I hope readers enjoy reading Bite Me as much as I did writing it.
Consumed by the need to feed…
After an out-of-control spell triggers the zombie apocalypse, Lizzy Addams is left in the ruins of Chicago with only the slightly unhinged commentary—and endless erotic appetites—of her inner demon for company. Her blood supply dwindling, she is forced to find survivors to feed from, or die trying.
Officer Angela Kinney was on duty when hungry corpses overwhelmed the city. The survivors look to her for leadership, but nothing prepared her for a beautiful monster who offers safety in exchange for blood.
Sean MacMillan never expected to see Lizzy again after she rejected his attempts to lure her back to the vampire fold. But with his flock threatened by the horde and his murderous vampire brother, Lizzy is the only one he can trust to keep them safe.
The veil of secrecy shrouding the supernatural world torn apart, humanity’s only hope is to forge an alliance with vampires, werewolves, and things that go bump in the night. Though accepting their aid could be a devil’s bargain that puts humans at the bottom of the food chain.
Warning: Contains vampire orgies, angsty demon sex, a frisky lesbian werewolf, light kink, and enough sex toys to start a store.
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A man who keeps his promises, stands up for what’s right, and takes pride in what he does. A man who is tolerant and understanding of others and is kind to his elders, children, and animals—unless of course, the animal is a bull looking to buck him.
Taige Crenshaw is a multi-published author with books available at Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id, and Totally Bound. Taige has been enthralled with the written word from time she picked up her first book. It wasn’t long before she started to make up her own tales of romance. With novels set in today, in alternate dimensions, or in the future she writes with adventure, fun sassy heroine’s, and sexy hero’s. Always hard at work creating new and exciting places Taige can be found curled up with a hot novel with exciting characters when she is not creating her own. Join her in the fun, frolic, interesting people and far reaches of the world in her novels. You can find out more about Taige at her website: 
What do you do when you find a man who sets your senses aflame but being with him could cause repercussions?
