Thank you, Delilah for having me guest post for you! I love Delilah’s blog as it always has such a range of interesting people talking about reading and writing.

Today I’m blogging about how to choose a plot and theme for your erotic romance.  Do you get overwhelmed at times trying to make a choice about what to write about?

Firstly, obviously, you want a plot where sex plays an active role.. But you also know that you want your book to be about much more than sex.

You want a full romance arc and a meaty plot. You want story! You want a book with conflict and drama permeated all the way through with heat. You want to write a great book that gets readers talking! But how do you choose what to write about?

First grab yourself a note pad and start to brainstorm things you really love, consider what stirs your emotions, your passions and things you feel strongly about.

Consider what you love to read in other genres, outside erotic romance, erotica, and romance so that you can put your own unique spin on the tried and true. Do you love thrillers? Can you write a super sexy romantic suspense? Can you use your fascination with technology to write a futuristic or science fiction erotic romance?

I’ve always been a big fan of fairy tales and the fae, of Christmas, and of underdog stories so I combined all of these things in my novel Wicked Wonderland from Samhain Publishing.

What about other random interests you have? In my current WIP I focused on my interest in and love for lions and so decided to write a novel that includes a lion shifter. And in my 15K short story Waking the Witch was inspired by reading Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and seeing the movie.

The next step after brainstorming is to write a check list. Decide on the story’s primary “what if” question and solidify your protagonists’ central conflict.  Condensing each idea into a premise sentence can give you an idea of the viability of each potential project.

Research the market, but don’t be enslaved by it, there is always room to put your own spin on trends.

Think about what stirs you emotions. While readers don’t want to be preached to, they will be drawn in by writing that has emotional resonance and sometimes in order to find that emotional resonance you must draw deeply from within yourself.

Personally, I never start any story without identifying sources of conflict and thinking up a final resolution to the conflict.

Here is an excerpt from an early scene in Wicked Wonderland (highly commended in the Passionate Plume for Best Paranormal Romance.) where the heroine Lilly is in conflict with others. .

Sonya stopped by the trash cans, holding Lilly tightly around the waist from behind. Kandy grabbed hold of the chiffon on the front of her angel costume. Lilly shook and twisted violently to try to break their grasp, and part of her angel costume tore. “Let go of me, you assholes!”

She jabbed backward with her elbow, connecting with Sonya’s stomach, and heard the taller stripper gasp with momentary pain, but unfortunately, Sonya didn’t loosen her hold. “Oooooh! Rudolph’ll pay double for that!” Kandy exclaimed.

Lilly didn’t know why she did it. Maybe it was a way of dissociating from a horrible situation, maybe it was because her heart always ached to make music when she was in pain, but she began to hum, the sound starting low in her throat. She closed her eyes and played a flute in her head, filling her mind with a rich and clear melody, which, for a moment, took her right out of her nasty situation. Then a vicious pinch froze the sound in her lungs. Lilly twisted around enough to look up at Sonya. Something frightening had happened to Sonya’s face. It became very still, and the stripper’s eyes narrowed into slits that showed too much amber and almost no pupil, like the eyes of a snake or some other reptile. A sharp chill ran up Lilly’s spine.

“Don’t fucking hum.” Sonya spat out the words.

“Who cares if she hums? She’s just a weirdo,” Bambi interrupted. “I don’t care what she does as long as she doesn’t take our money again.” The words of the other stripper somehow returned everything to relative normality.

I must have been imaging the whole thing. Must have been the cold messing with my brain.

“You steal our tips, Rudolph, and I’ll give you a red nose, all right.” Sonya’s voice seemed inhuman in its rage. Fear swelled around Lilly like a choking fog. The tall stripper swung Lilly around like a toy, then pulled her fist back. Before Lilly could react, the fist connected with her nose. Shooting pain accompanied a sickening crack. Blood ran down her throat, tasting like metal, and all she could see was an ocean of red.

“Enjoy, Dumpster Girl!” Sonya tipped her upside down and slammed her headfirst into an empty trash can.

“Remember, Rudolph, you’ll never fit in anywhere. You’ll always be an outcast left out of all the reindeer games.” The other strippers convulsed with laughter.

Samhain link  for Wicked Wonderland
Amazon link
Lisa’s Amazon page
http://lisawhitefern.wordpress.com/

Comment to be in to win a copy of 15K short story Waking the Witch by Lisa Whitefern published by Freya’s Bower.

Since she came of age Lisa Whitefern has embarrassed people by talking about sex. Now she writes the hottest of erotic romance and erotica.

Lisa has a life-long passion for fairy tales and fantasy. Ever since her teacher read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to her class when she was six, Lisa’s been looking for ways to visit Narnia.

Lisa thinks it immensely unfair she can’t wiggle her nose to clean her house like Samantha in the TV show Bewitched.

She has a master’s degree with honors in English Literature, reads tarot cards and tutors children of all ages in English after school.

Although born in New York City to American parents Lisa has lived most of her life in New Zealand. She now lives in the foothills of the beautiful Waitakere Ranges of Auckland with her husband and her two gorgeous sons.

Lisa will be speaking on erotic romance at the Romance Writers’ of New Zealand Conference.

Don’t forget to follow Lisa on Twitter and like her on Facebook!

The joy of being a writer is having the flexibility to write those things that you enjoy writing. I love to write cowboys, cops, military heroes, comedies, suspense and paranormal romances. As a reader, I love to read all of these genres and hope that other readers will follow me no matter what genre I write. It’s exciting to wake up into a new world every day. And isn’t that why we read? To escape into another world, to be someone else and to overcome someone else’s obstacles and find love if even for a moment?

I love writing paranormals because I can make up the rules of my world and the magic that happens within it. I especially love a magical family whose members come together to help each other out. Each of the sisters have their own power relative to their position on the pentagram. Deme’s is the power of earth. She can shake it, grow it and manipulate plants. Her lover Cal is mortal, but an alpha hero willing to go up against any paranormal entity to protect the one he loves.

I started my witch series bringing all five of the sisters together in Chicago in THE WITCH’S INITIATION. They came to find one of their sisters who had disappeared. The first book was Deme Chattox’s story. The subsequent Nocturne Cravings have been Deme and Cal’s continued forays into policing the paranormals in Chicago. THE WITCH’S DESIRE takes them from Chicago to New York City. I chose to take them to NYC because I built that city as a den of paranormal activity and creatures in my demon series out with Nocturne Cravings. They even bump into some of the characters from that series.

As an author and a reader, I like to revisit characters from previous books. It makes them more of a community and, after all, we grow to love these characters as we read them and become part of their lives.

Do you like to revisit characters from previous books? Are you okay with two series colliding?

Leave a comment for a chance to win a download of TARZAN & JANINE,
a book coauthored by Elle James and Delilah Devlin!

THE WITCH’S DESIRE
Harlequin Nocturne Cravings
The third book in Elle James’s Witch series
by Elle James aka Myla Jackson
Amazon | Nook | Kobo

Demons, darkness and desire…

The only time Demi Chattox, a witch, gets to see her lover, special agent Cal Black, is when they’re chasing down demons. When they’re tasked with escorting a VIP—a Very Important Paranormal—to a summit meeting in New York, it seems like the perfect assignment. A few days away from the job…in a Manhattan hotel…just the two of them…

But there’s a storm ravaging New York, and a vampire who doesn’t want this particular VIP to make it to the summit. As Demi and Cal race to complete their assignment, they’re driven by their sense of duty—and by their desperate need to find some time alone.

Elle James’s Bio: Elle James 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 39 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.

Social Media:

ELLE JAMES Website| Blog| Facebook| Twitter | GoodReads

When a romance author says the word ‘obsessions,’ there’s really no telling what they’re talking about. But today’s blog isn’t about the usual obsessions: hot men, sexy images, passionate kisses, hot men locked in passionate kisses in sexy images… Well, you get the idea.

Nope. Today I’m talking about completely unrelated obsessions. I’m a bit (okay, maybe more than a bit) of a research junkie. I regularly share news stories on archaeological finds throughout the world, goofy dog pics and vids, and stories about my other favorite animal: the shark.

I’m not entirely sure where, how, or when my love of sharks got started. Maybe it was my first viewing of Jaws years and years ago. Maybe it’s my love of the sea and its depths (even though I won’t swim in it—fear of drowning and all that). Whatever the reason(s), sharks are my second favorite animals on the planet—right behind canines.

I constantly watch (and rewatch) shows, movies, and documentaries about sharks–real and fictional. I’ve seen every shark horror movie made to date (unless I missed a foreign one or two), and all the gigantic shark B-movies. I avidly search for anything relating to my favorite shark of all time: Carcharodon megalodon.

Sharks are beautiful creatures, but Meg holds a special place in my heart. Just the sheer size and strength behind a fish that was about as big as a Greyhound bus is staggering. The teeth alone are colossal. The largest Meg tooth (untouched) is about seven inches. I have a small one that’s about three inches. (More pics are in a photo album on my Facebook page.)

Maybe one of these days I’ll try my hand at writing a story like those delightfully cheesy B-rated creature features. Until then, I’ll just devour everything I can find online.

If you want to know more about Meg, you can find some good info here: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/fossils/megalodon.html

A Google image search brings up shots from documentaries and various artist renditions, as well.

If you’re interested in conservation, there’s also the Shark Trust, based in the UK: http://www.sharktrust.org/

-Mychael

***

Bio:

Call me Katherine or Mychael–I’ll answer to both. I’m a mother, student, author by trade, and editor by compulsion. I’ve been in the publishing business for several years, namely as a writer but also as an editor on occasion. It never fails, though. I always end up editing eventually.

I’m a proud bibliophile, to which my poor sagging bookcases can attest. I read all the time, namely fantasy and romance.

When not writing or reading or editing, I…eat. Maybe sleep. Or watch Spongebob. Yes. I am a self-proclaimed, thirty-something year old Spongebob Squarepants addict. Much to my roommate’s dismay. It’s fun.

If you’re curious about what I write (and who wouldn’t be?!), then you can find me below:

http://www.mychaelblackbooks.com/
http://www.mychaelblackbooks.com/category/blog/
http://www.facebook.com/mychael.black
https://twitter.com/mychael_black

Bromances, Frenemies, Romances and Just Good Friends: The Lure of Non-Romantic Partners and Storylines in Fiction

When people interview me, a standard question is “What do you do when you’re not writing?” Sometimes they even say “besides reading” so I can’t answer with that. My answer is always, even if they don’t nix the reading option, is “I watch TV.”

I watch a lot of TV—some is with my husband and daughter, but I watch a tonnage on my own. When I get stuck writing or have simply been at the computer too long, I whip out my phone or laptop, queue up a streaming service and  gorge. I watch just about any genre, though I really love shows far-removed from my novels: ones with police procedure, policial intrigue, legal issues or spies. Right now I’m binging on Covert Affairs, though I have Castle on backup from a Marie Sexton recommendation. I inhaled the entire series of Medium one winter in the span of a month—a real feat, as that show has nine seasons.

Two of my favorite shows though are Suits and White Collar, and I’m totally there because of the chemistry between the male leads. I write gay romance, and it’s not a big reach to imagine I’m slashing Peter and Neal or Mike and Harvey. The truth is, though, I’m not, and it’s for the same reason I’m a little nervous about the romance blooming in season 4 of Covert Affairs and why every time they give Abbie and Ichabod an intimate moment on Sleepy Hollow I dig my fingernails into my armchair to still my nerves. It’s not that I wouldn’t love a gay twist in Suits or don’t want Abbie to have a romance, but more that I love the shows’ tension, and if the main characters get together, that tension changes.

It’s one of the hardest things to wrangle as a romance author: giving the reader lots of euphoric moments, kisses and tangles of limbs but also the tension of will it really work out? Once the romantic leads are hooked up, there can still be tension, but it gets harder to spin.

As a viewer, I love seeing characters get together, but we all know once they hook up they’re liable either to turn boring or broken apart. In the past romances have tanked shows—hello, Moonlighting—and I know from whispers that when I start Castle, the romance’s eventual resolution makes the show shaky for some. I wish there could be a continuing romance in a show without it being boring—though I’d rather have a romance turn boring than the writers to turn the characters sour. I had to bail on Scandal because I had no one to root for, and the bad guys won too often. I really need that HEA, that sense that at least in fiction, everything will be okay.

Sometimes I wonder though if romance in story is changing all around, though. Maybe that romance in Covert Affairs will bloom and fade and the relationships will survive—after all, it’s never been the focus of the show, only a sidebar. Maybe they’ll find a way to make them stable together romantically and keep the interest going.

Romance novels have already done this: I couldn’t possibly list all the series with romantic through-lines where the resolution takes upwards of seven books to complete and the story remains engaging and satisfying, the characters still good at heart.

Maybe the answer is that the way we tell romantic stories are evolving. I’m living proof of that: ten years ago the few LGBT romances that existed were largely off in a separate pool, and today we’ve settled in all over, even at New York romance imprints. Someday not too far away there will be a gay romance storyline in a legal TV drama. So why wouldn’t romance and relationships and the way we tell those stories evolve in other ways too?

Because what’s a romance but a beautiful exploration of two people coming together? Whether they barely kiss on the page or engage in intense BDSM on-screen, at its backbone romance is about connection and partnering. It’s the part I love to write, why my series, which all contain new guys getting together at the core, bring back old heroes as integral supporting characters. I love writing romantic tension and romantic resolution, but I love just as much those shopping scenes and kitchen adventures and arguments in the hotel lobby.

So here’s to relationships and the continuing evolution of how they present: man and woman, two men, two women, sweet or sexy, fiery or friendly, romantic or platonic. I’ll keep reading, watching, and writing them. And I’d put a lot of money down that no matter how the presentation changes, none of us will ever get tired of them.

****

Heidi Cullinan has always loved a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. She enjoys writing across many genres but loves above all to write happy, romantic endings for LGBT characters because there just aren’t enough of those stories out there. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, knitting, listening to music, and watching television with her husband and ten-year-old daughter. Heidi is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights and is proud to be from the first Midwestern state with full marriage equality. Find out more about Heidi, including her social networks, and most recent/upcoming releases, at www.heidicullinan.com.

Thank you Delilah for having me guest post for you again! I absolutely love Delilah’s blog, reading all the unique posts, and meeting new readers!

On Tuesday, I had the honor of hosting my first Facebook launch party in honor of my debut novel titled Spirit Released, book 1 in the Whisper Cove Series (blurb below). Faith and Jake live in Whisper Cove, a small coastal town, and must overcome many challenges to be together. Their story is one of hope and the power to change.

Helping me to celebrate were nine other authors and hundreds of readers! As a writer, I’m sometimes introverted and reclusive when I’m deep in a story. But meeting and interacting with readers is invigorating. This morning, I’m still excited about the interaction and response to questions asked during the party. You can get a glimpse of party happenings here: Facebook Party

As an author, the benefits of Facebook, sharing a story and characters that I’ve spent half a year with, is amazing. Yes, these parties often lure with swag, but it’s the connections made prior and during that resonate true. Learning about a writer can often be discovered by reading their work.

As a reader, what benefit do you see in attending Facebook or blog parties? Have you ever begun a reader/author relationship through social media? How has the relationship changed your life? Please share.

A copy of Spirit Released will be given to one lucky commenter.

Wishing you peace and love, Cyndi Faria

Spirit Released is available now at:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1i9KOvu
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1nlK3l0
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/RLkugD
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1gQX7Y7
iTunes: Coming Soon!
Book Format: Coming Soon!

<<Back Cover Blurb>>

In the seaside town of Whisper Cove, a centuries’ old curse tests true love…

On her wedding day, Faith Cabrillo prepares to confess a desperate secret to her fiancé, Jake Mitchell—she’s cursed with both the ability of speaking to the dead…and never fulfilling the promise of true love. Before the truth is revealed, Jake’s life is endangered and Faith sacrifices herself to save him.

Grief-stricken, Jake refuses to accept Faith’s comatose state. His innovative research keeps Faith alive, yet he’s faced with his biggest challenge when Faith’s spirit appears with a warning that his life is still in danger. Because Jake’s a man of medicine, he denies his Faith truly exists on two planes. Until he talks to her. And holds her. And begins to hope that he’s wrong.

Will Jake’s devotion and Faith’s body and soul be forged by love’s healing power in time to stop a killer before the curse again claims Faith …this time forever?

Stay connected:
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/CyndiFariaAuthor
Website: http://cyndifaria.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cyndifaria
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Cyndi-Faria/e/B00BEV8JYS/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

About the Author:
If you love a tale with courageous heroes and heroines, where their unconditional love for each other gives them strength to defeat their inner demons, award winning author Cyndi Faria invites you to enter the pages of her romances and find happily ever after.

Cyndi Faria is an engineer turned romance writer whose craving for structure is satisfied by plotting heartwarming romances with a dash of American folklore.

On and off her sexy romance pages, this California country girl isn’t afraid to dirty her hands fighting for the underdog and caretaking rescued pets. Find her helping fellow writers and leading readers to happily ever after at www.cyndifaria.com

For the last three weeks, I’ve had to do something I haven’t done in years.  Five days a week, I sit on a commuter train for two hours in each direction, heading down from Rural Paradise to Big Dirty City. Two hours each way. Plus driving to the station time, parking the car time, running under the underpass time, running back under the underpass because I realize I left the lights on time. Friends are rather horrified at how long my day has become.  Certainly there are downsides.  The local pizza shop has done rather too well out of us.  I’ve forgotten what the house looks like in daylight.  It’s costing a stonking lot of money in train fares.

But, there are upsides, the biggest of which is writing time.

My favorite place to write has always been when I’m moving.  Planes are the best.  Nifty little fold down desk in front of you, inspirational view, and someone coming by every hour offering free drinks.

Trains come a close second though.  No desk, unfortunately no drinks unless I sneak a cup of coffee on with me, and the free wifi only lasts long enough to scroll through my emails and see that access to my website is still banned under Queensland Rail’s T&C “no adult websites”.

I’m rather amazed at how productive I can be.  On my 2 hour journey, I generally get a solid 1.5 hours of writing time each way before the train gets too crowded, and I can’t type comfortably.  That’s 3 hours uninterrupted writing time a day.  Or about 5000 words on a good day, when I’ve planned out my work.

I don’t know about you, but that’s a lot more than I used to get written a day.

Right now, I’m working on a story for my own current call for submissions: a lesbian erotica collection with the theme of “Forbidden Fruit”.  You can see the CFS at http://www.cheyenneblue.com/#/archives/556 (Writers! Wander over, take a look! I’d love for you to submit!).  I’ve finished and submitted another couple of stories, written blog posts (including this one), I’m working on a novella, which for me is a shift, as for the last 14 years I’ve written short stories.

You can see some of my recent work in these anthologies:

“Perk of the Job” in XOXO Sweet and Sexy Romance edited by Kristina Wright (Cleis Press). A hotly romantic story of a veterinary nurse and her Staffy dog, both of whom have a crush on Mel’s boss. Written on a plane between Denver and Montreal.

“Cowboy Downtime” in “Cowboy Heat” edited by Delilah Devlin (Cleis Press) – Cowboys relax at a polocrosse game in the Australian outback.  He plays defence; she plays attack.  Who will come out the winner?  Written in the car on the Bruce Highway, Queensland.

“My Name is Bond” My upcoming story in “Bossy” edited by Harper Bliss:  A radiologist plays doctor to the real doctor at a radiology clinic.  This hot and loving story was written on Queensland Rail.

And of course, there’s this endless source of entertainment when writing on the train:

Laptop: $450

Commuter pass: $120

The look on the face of the woman next to me as I write “He buried his face in her wet $&*#*!!!*”

Thank you, Delilah, for kindly hosting me on your blog.

Cheyenne Blue has been peddling her erotic short stories for the last 14 years and has over 90 short stories in various anthologies.  See her work in “Best Women’s Erotica”, “Best Lesbian Erotica”, “Cowboy Heat”, “Cowboy Lust” and many many more.  She lives by the beach in Queensland Australia, and writes on planes, trains and automobiles.

Cheyenne Blue

________________________

Erotica by Cheyenne Blue
http://www.cheyenneblue.com
Twitter: @iamcheyenneblue
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3338016.Cheyenne_Blue

UPDATE: The winner (chosen by a random number generator) is…Carle Lee Detweiler!

* * * * *

Yes, there’s a contest, but you keep reading!

Just to get this out of the way up front, Her Only Desire releases in 10 days. It’s a full-length novel. Not something you see from me all that often. And it’s the first in a series. Genre? Erotic romance, suspense, mystery? There’s action and then there’s more action, baby. 🙂 And it’s releasing in both ebook and print.

Here are the buy links: Amazon | B&N | BAM

This is what my publisher says about the book: “For fans of Sylvia Day and E. L. James, comes awarding-winning author Delilah Devilin’s first book in her sensual eroitic romance Sultry Summer Nights series.”

What do I think? My book’s very, very sexy. Yes, you have a young, not very experienced woman who enters the world of a very wealthy man, but that’s where the comparison with any other book ends. My guy’s disgraced, suspected of murder, an ex-SEAL who built a Black Ops company. My girl holds the key to freeing him from the past. Blah, blah, blah. It’s all in the execution, and you know me by now, there’s sex, more sex, kinkier sex, plenty of humor, and some kick ass action. It’s also set deep in the Louisiana bayou with a brief jaunt to Mexico for the hero to conduct some biz-ness.

The cover’s pretty, yes?

Does the blurb write-up intrigue you?

The moment Tilly Floret sees the sleek Bentley driving down Main Street, she knows trouble has arrived in her sleepy little town. A mysterious job posting keeps appearing at the diner where she works, and she can’t resist applying. No matter that the entire town of Bayou Vert is whispering about the wealthy, powerful man behind it all and his scandalous return home. The moment his ice-blue eyes meet hers, he ignites an all-consuming desire she never imagined possible, one she can’t deny. Ex-navy SEAL Boone Benoit never thought he’d set foot in Louisiana again. As soon as Tilly starts her new job in his pleasure club, he senses a kindred soul. One who has carefully guarded secrets of her own-and a simmering hunger for the taboo rites of mastery and submission. The only difference is she doesn’t yet know it. Now as Boone tutors Tilly in the tantalizing world of leather and lace, she will shed her every inhibition and surrender to him, body and soul.

Tell you what. Read the excerpt below, post a comment, and you’ll be entered to win a signed copy of my latest collection, Cowboy Heat.

Excerpt from Her Only Desire…

“Tell me, Tilly. What do you think BDSM is all about?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” she said faintly. No way would she describe the images in her mind.

“Blunt talk. You were ready for that from me. Give me the same courtesy.”

Her fingers were clasped tightly in her lap. She drew a breath and let her gaze fall away. “I think it’s for people who haven’t learned to connect with others in a healthy way. Or who have something missing inside themselves.”

He stayed silent for a moment, his expression shuttered. “Are you open to the possibility that entering that world can help a person find what’s missing in their lives?”

She raised her gaze and gave him a frown. “Maybe that’s what you choose to believe about me, but twisting my words doesn’t make it true.”

“What do you think might be missing inside me?”

Read the rest of this entry »