A big thank you to Delilah Devlin for hosting me on her blog. It’s an exciting day, as my new series, Hawaiian Heroes, debuted yesterday at Samhain Publishing.
This series is a new sub-genre for me. It’s still paranormal, and still red hot romance. But the story takes place in contemporary Hawaii, on the Big Island’s beautiful Kona coast.
Writing the story was noooo hardship. There were many cold, dark, rainy Pac NW days and evenings when I sat down at my computer and booted up Pandora Internet Radio with my personal Hawaiian station, and was instantly transported back to the warm, humid, flower-scented islands.
In fact, music can be an incredible mood enhancer. My personal soundtrack for writing the book includes such Hawaiian music greats as:
Listen to a few of these lovely melodies, and you’ll be so relaxed all you can do is call for another mai-tai. Or book tickets for the Islands!
But, not everyone can travel, I know. It’s a tough economy, and we have families to care for. I waited a long time to get back to these islands myself. And the visit from which we just returned will probably be our last for a while, as life takes me and my husband in new directions.
So, I concentrated on soaking up the soft, warm island ambience and researching locales for the second and third books in the Hawaiian Heroes series. If I use a real place in the books, it’s as true to life as I can make it.
If you’ve been to Kona, look for some familiar places in Book II; Rolling in the Deep and Book III. And if you haven’t, come along with me and the Ho’omalu ohana, family. Let us introduce you to a place you can visit again and again, in the pages of the Hawaiian Heroes stories.
Recipe for terror—take one Hawaiian hunk, light him on fire. Wake up to find all your dreams come true.
But instead, Malu invaded her dreams, as he had since that first night. It was the same dream as the one this afternoon, almost as if it hadn’t been interrupted by waking.
And this time, she went to him, as helpless to resist him as if she were bewitched. He stood framed by the mountain, glowing with that red-gold light. He wore a crown of leaves, but they were red with fire. So was the brief kapa cloth around his hips. Geckoes scampered around him like living sparks on the ground.
As she gazed at him in awe, he turned and held out his hand to her. His dark gaze, the sensuality in the slow smile he gave her were so compelling, her body reacted helplessly.
So aroused that she was breathing in ragged pants, Melia climbed the path to him. The geckoes scampered back, making way. Slowly, she reached out her hand, wanting desperately to lay it in his. But the heat that surrounded him became too much.
She hesitated, yearning to let his heat envelop her but afraid of the results. Would his passion burn her up, leaving her empty?
Melia woke with a gasp. She lay on her back in the bed, her heart pounding, desire twisting inside her. The dream had been so real.
Rain beat on the roof overhead, trickled down the gutters and splattered on the windowsills. But only on one side was she cool. Her other side was hot, uncomfortably so, as if she were too near a fire. And the heat was emanating from the man sleeping at her side.
Melia turned her head and stared. Her breath froze in her throat; her heart skipped a beat and then began to pound even faster. Was she still dreaming?
Malu still lay on his side, facing her. His eyes were closed, his face peaceful in slumber, his big body relaxed. And she could see all this clearly, because he was glowing.
She closed her eyes, squeezing them tightly shut, willing it to be her imagination, a trick of the storm, of the Hawaiian night. But when she opened them again, it was the same. The night was dark, the rain blotting out any moonlight that might have strayed in the windows. The only light was the red-gold glow that shimmered not around, not over, but from Malu.
Slowly, clumsy with fear, Melia pushed back the blanket and began to inch away from him. She made it to the very edge of the bed, had one foot on the floor, when his eyes opened, and he looked at her. It was like gazing into the heart of dark fire.
“Damn,” he rumbled, his deep voice husky with sleep. “Didn’t mean to do that yet.”
You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. Ménages are popular. They’re hot at the moment, right? Everyone says so. I’m talking about them within the context of erotic romance and erotica, of course 🙂 . I hear all the time about how great they sell and they do seem to be a very popular topic of conversation on some of the loops I frequent/lurk. Is it just something that is of interest at the moment or is it a sub-genre that will continue to grow in regards to reader demand? Is it very much a niche market or it is gaining in popularity? Predicting trends like this is pretty much impossible, but I do think about different story lines and scenarios to try as a writer. To date, I’ve written strictly M/F romances. Sure, they’re hot and steamy, but at their core is the development and growth of the emotional relationship with a HEA or at least a HFN guaranteed. I’m not sure I could get my head around the emotional threads needed when three people (or more) are involved for it to be still considered a romance. Plus, those sex scenes? I have enough of a time keeping track of 4 arms, 4 legs and…er…other body parts, without factoring in more LOL! Of course, I could write erotica. I don’t have a problem with it, but it’s not where I want to focus my efforts, it’s not what really “talks” to me. Not at the moment, anyway. I really love to explore the complexities of a couple. I want to be as successful as I can be with my current writing and I intend to continue to write erotic romance. This plays on my mind somewhat, so I thought I’d just throw it out there:
Do you have to write ménages to be really successful as an erotic romance writer? What do YOU think?
About Kaily
Kaily Hart, a seemingly straight-laced mother of four left corporate America and a high-powered, lucrative career to be a stay at home mom. Ha! That lasted about four weeks, during which time she realized she had a deeply repressed dream—to write. And (gasp) romance at that! Who knew? By day, Kaily plays conservative wife and soccer mom, but at night crafts hot and steamy tales of romance and love with gorgeous heroes who wouldn’t dream of leaving the toilet seat up. Ever. She’s smart and sassy, at least in her own mind, and is creating as many happy ever afters as she can, one hot story at a time. Kaily never would have thought she’d be doing this, but now that she is? Well, you couldn’t pay her enough to do anything else.
Kaily’s books, PICTURE THIS, PAY UP, PLAY ME & POINT BLANK (yeah, she has a thing for book titles that start with ‘P’), are all currently available from Ellora’s Cave and all other ebook outlets. Kaily’s first paranormal romance, the first book of a new series, releases from Carina Press in August!
If anyone would want to contact me (which I would love by the way) or just keep up with what I’m doing, you can find me all over:
Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I’m driving to New Orleans with my mother and aunt to meet up with my cousin who’s flying in from Seattle for a little sight-seeing. I’ll be doing some (ahem) setting research, while the ladies and Cousin Dave have fun (wink-wink IRS). Oh, stop it! NOLA is my favorite US city. Any trip there is going to inspire a story. I’m taking my camera and notebook!
While I’m away, I have guests to keep you entertained:
Tuesday — Kaily Hart
Wednesday — Cathryn Cade
Thursday — Denise Golinowski
Friday — Paige Tyler
To help you decide to come back here every day to meet my guests, I’m running a new contest!
Tater Red’s Grab Bag & Elvis Contest
What can you win?
Every time I go to another of my favorite cities, Memphis, I hit this little shop on Beale street called Tater Red’s. I always buy the mystery brown bag filled with kitschy goodies. Here is the contents of one such bag (the stuffed King Daddy Blues Rat doll, a KDBR magnet, a pretty LOVE makeup bag, a strange monkey sitting at a Wall Street desk, a pack of playing cards, and a Tater Red’s address book. I added a magnetic Elvis doll for you to stick on your fridge and dress in new outfits.
Come on, you know you want my junk!
What do you have to do to win?
Post a comment on any blog posting from today until the contest ends. Each entry counts as another chance to win!
This contest ends in two weeks, April 24th!!
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Today, I’m going to do a little shopping, pack, but definitely no writing, or very little. I am going to use this week to clear my head. Lots on my plate. Maybe more coming.
In the meantime, how about answering a question for your first entry in my Tater Red’s Grab Bag & Elvis Contest?
On a scale of one to ten (with one being not at all and ten being very much so), how superstitious are you?
Psst! Yesterday’s winner is named at the top of yesterday’s post! ~DD
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New Release, Contest, and Book Giveaway!
Thank you, Delilah. It’s a pleasure to be a guest on your blog. I’m Randi Alexander and I write cowboy erotic romance. I’m published with The Wild Rose Press’ Cowboy Kink line. My second Cowboy Kink, Her Cowboy Stud, was released March 23.
It feels rather odd to be blogging about erotic romance on Easter Sunday, but I’m up to the challenge! We do celebrate Easter, a holiday to gather with community and family. The kids, though, love searching the house to find where the Easter Bunny left their baskets full of candy.
Since then kids are now ten (Miss Fussy,) eight (Little Man,) and six (Pink,) we enjoy finding creative and hard-to-find places to hide the baskets. Taped underneath the kitchen table, hung amidst the coats in the foyer closet, or inside the air intake grate.
We’ve found a way to get the kids to work together to find them. We mark each basket with either a circle, a triangle, or a square. Once all three baskets have been found, we let them know which one is theirs. That way it becomes a team project.
A few years ago, we had the brilliant idea of giving the kids a rabbit. First off, one tiny bunny rabbit and three kids—the little fluff ball was held so much that first week, I don’t think his tiny paws ever touched solid ground. Because he was tan and white, the kids settled on the name, Butterfinger Blizzard. (Blizzard for short.)
We built a big pen for Blizzard by the garden where the kids could hang out with him and feed him early spring vegetables. The day we thinned out the garden, we set all the culled seedlings in his pen, thinking it would take him a week to get through all of them.
What we didn’t realize is that rabbits will eat everything in front of them, especially if it’s fresh veggies. Two hours later the kids ran in the house, yelling, “Blizzard turned into a basketball.” Sure enough, the poor thing looked like a furry, multi-colored blimp. It took another day for his belly to return to normal size. Lesson learned!
Another year, my brother gave us three chicks. Rhode Island Reds. Tiny little things that the kids named Birdchick, Dog Face Peep, and Colonel (after KFC’s founder.) After a few weeks, we decided to return them to my brother’s farm and keep visitation rights. We don’t know exactly what happened to the three Rhodies, but I imagine the KFC scenario is probably accurate.
I’m laughing right now as I look out the window and watch Little Man using his remote control Jeep to chase Pink around on the trampoline. They’re very good at finding ways to amuse themselves, but I’m thinking their lives would be much enriched if we try the animal surprise again this Easter.
Will I be able to talk hubby into another addition to our family? Every kid needs a puppy, right? Wish me luck!
I’d love to hear your stories of Easter baskets hidden in bizarre places, or gifts of animals that either didn’t work out well or did work out and have made a difference in your life. Leave a comment for your chance to win an e-book!
Trace McGonagall’s quiet life on his Houston stud ranch is shaken up when gorgeous Macy Veralta arrives to claim an inheritance left to her in his uncle’s will. Trace sees her as just another gold digger, but he also can’t resist her curvy body. When she hints at being the perfect submissive to his Dom, he has to have her.
Macy wouldn’t have been three months late to claim her inheritance if she’d known Trace was sin in jeans. The cowboy’s dominant bearing and the smoldering glint in his eyes send shivers to her toes and stirs images of being bound in his bed and disciplined at his hand. But could Trace’s perfect seduction be part of his plan to reclaim her inheritance?
EXCERPT: I chose a romantic excerpt today, but if you’re in the mood for more spicy, the first chapter of the book is on my website.
Pulling Macy on top of him, Trace grinned. “You won the bet. Anything you want is yours. You just need to ask.” His heart gradually slowed to normal while his body tingled with a major afterglow.
She kissed his shoulder. “Anything?” Her voice purred.
He pulled a pillow under his head to look down at her, combed his fingers through her soft hair. He would give her anything. His house, his horse, his heart. “Name it.” Read the rest of this entry »
The winner of the free download of LOVE BITES (chosen by random number generator) is…Christine Houser! Congrats, Christine!
Be sure to email me to arrange delivery of your prize.
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This was only the fourth story I ever published, but it remains one of my favorites. Largely because of Quentin—the bastard! He’s got a razor-sharp wit, falls like a ton of bricks for Darcy, and as you learn in later books, is ready to walk through hell to keep her. Enjoy the snippet!
“…congratulations to Ms. Devlin for creating a masterpiece. This story has all the elements that a Gold Star book has in it. The novel has intense suspense that was thrilling and delightful…” Gold Star Award, Just Erotic Romance Reviews
“… LOVE BITES is a delicious, emotional romp of a story, a tale that builds powerfully on the old, often-used love triangle and succeeds beautifully in creating something new and exciting.” Sensual Romance
On the trail of a serial killer, vampire Quentin Albermarle is mistaken for the killer by a police special task force. Once the smoke clears, Quentin finds himself in a delicious position—atop one of the unit’s crack officers, Darcy Henry.
In need of Quentin’s access to the vampire sub-culture, the task force leadership invites Quentin to join the crime unit as a special advisor, much to the chagrin of the men in the unit, and especially, of Darcy.
A no-nonsense cop with no time for romance, Darcy suddenly finds herself embroiled in a steamy love triangle between her mortal partner, Joe, and the handsome vampire. Going from abstinence to wantonness, she is unable to resist the two men’s relentless seduction or her own sensual curiosity about a vampire’s special “kiss”.
When the real killer threatens the life of someone close to her, Darcy makes a choice that forever binds the three of them together.
The radio crackled in Darcy’s ear. “Nicky and his crew just pulled into the marina,” the Captain said from the command post—the team’s van in the parking area. “Remember, we’ll wait to strike until he brings his men in to move the cargo.”
Thank God! She’d been afraid she would disgrace herself. The wait had been interminable. The storm that threatened to break over their heads had whipped up waves in the inlet, setting all the boats tied to the dock bobbing in the water. Her stomach pitched right along with them.
“I’m gonna barf if this doesn’t go down soon,” Phil moaned.
Soft chuckles sounded from seven mikes. Darcy commiserated with Phil. Glad she hadn’t eaten any dinner, she kept silent beside Quentin, nausea roiling in her belly and clammy perspiration breaking on her forehead. This was one stakeout she’d be happy to see the end of.
“Too many of Bets’ meatballs, Phil?” Emmy broke in, her voice full of sympathy.
“God, don’t mention it,” he groaned.
Above the sound of the gathering wind, footsteps echoed hollowly on the wooden planks of the dock. Quentin crouched so close behind her she felt his body grow rigid. It felt right to have him watching her back even though she still missed Joe. They’d taken up a position on the cabin cruiser tied next to Rupe King’s. Hunkered down behind the gunwale of the boat, they listened tensely for the order to move in for the kill.
Quentin had stuck to her like glue all evening. It was annoying, but sweet, how protective he was of her. And totally unnecessary. When things turned ugly—and they would—she’d be moving fast. She didn’t want to trip over him.
The rumble of voices sounded in the next boat, but they were too low to make out their words. There was a sudden burst of laughter and a door opened, spilling light from the cabin onto the dock.
Darcy rose up to peek over the rail, but Quentin’s heavy hand pushed her down. She turned to glare at him. “What do you think you’re doing?” she whispered angrily.
“Shhh.” He lifted his chin in the direction of the other boat.
Darcy saw one of Nicky’s boys on the bow with a radio next to his ear. “Tell them it’s clear,” the teen said.
Ignoring Darcy’s glower, Quentin whispered into his headset, “Get ready. Nicky’s given the all clear. The others will be closing on the boat.”
“Roger that,” Max replied quietly. “No one moves until I give the signal.”
With the team in position on neighboring boats and inside cars in the marina, the gang would be encircled in moments.
Darcy held her breath. Once the noose tightened, Nicky would react like a trapped animal. She’d seen the mayhem he was capable of when he held all the cards, now she’d get a glimpse of a monster in full rage. Read the rest of this entry »
I wrote my first romance novel about a million years ago. Since then I’ve penned thirty others, and I’ve loved every one of them. But eventually, when my kids ran away from home (a.k.a. grew up) I decided to try writing some other things. A lot of other things. I wrote a story about a talking cat (weird). I did a twisted Cinderella story (sad). I believe there was even an odd little tale about a Martian (super weird). Not to mention a host of other “stellar” ideas.
Meanwhile, I was in the market for a new agent. One of those agents read through my string of masterpieces like a real trooper, gave me a call, and informed me that she could sell the mystery. The mystery! The mystery? I was pretty sure I hadn’t written a mystery. I went through the list in my mind, made sure my talking cat wasn’t a mystery pet and said, “That’s great. That’s fantastic. Ummm, in your opinion, which one do you think might be a mystery?” She replied, “Unzipped.”
Hmmm, Unzipped wasn’t a mystery. It was about Christina McMullen, a sassy psychologist who has an ongoing love/hate relationship with sexy police lieutenant Jack Rivera. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was…maybe a romantic suspense or a chicklit or a…mystery? Okay. Well, thought I cleverly, if she could sell it as a mystery…then a mystery it was.
That was seven years ago. Bantam published Unzipped in 2005. Since then there have been six other Chrissy McMullen novels. Uncorked was just released, and after all this time I’m still not sure it’s a mystery. I mean, we have a feisty female lead looking for love in all the wrong places. We have a cop with a lot of attitude and a great assss…spect on life. We have romance, sexy dialogue, and secondary characters that I adore. Then again we do have a pretty healthy body count by the end of each book. So you tell me, is it a romance or is it a mystery?
I’m giving away an Amazon gift card to one much appreciated commenter.
Here’s a little video to help you decide about the genre.
And a small clue: Francois is actually a battery-run device that has appeared in several books and sometimes gives us quotes. I can’t resist snarky battery-run devices.
I know all jobs are stressful. We share many of the same stresses: family obligations, co-workers who drive us nuts (maybe not so much for me since I’m SELF-employed), the need to produce-produce-produce!
I haven’t been sleeping well. Lots of exciting things are maybe going to happen, and I can’t settle down until all the decisions are made and the contracts signed. And no, I’m not going to talk about what in particular has me so excited, because I don’t want to jinx it!
I have had several little excitements lately. Ones I can talk about.
1) The contract is signed for the Smokin’ Hot Firemen anthology I will edit for Cleis! And I already have 4 submissions!
2) I received acceptances for short stories I submitted to various collections: “The Long Ride Home” for Duty and Desire: Military Erotic Romance (Cleis Press); “Marmalade” for Girls, Girls Girls (Mischief); and “Soldier Girls” for Wild Girls, Wild Nights (Cleis Press).
3) We moved my daughter into the house across the road. Now, it’s just the boxes (which she and hubby can handle).
4) The dog my daughter rescued from the median in the highway gave birth to 9 healthy puppies.
All those things make me happy (maybe not the 9 puppies, so much! Why couldn’t it have been a manageable 4?), but there’s a ton of work I’m trying to get off my plate in case the more exciting things do happen. I finished the rough draft for Two Wild for Teacher yesterday. I’ll run through it a couple of times today, then ship it to my editor. She’ll be relieved. The book’s coming out next month! Then I dive straight into the sequel to Five Ways ‘Til Sunday. I believe it will be released in July, so I don’t dare drag my feet!
So, back to the not sleeping thing…
I have pills I could take, but I don’t like how I feel in the morning. The pool cooled off, so I can’t get my exercise there. I have to figure out a way to turn off my computer earlier in the evening and forget about Facebook, Twitter, and whatever else is happening in the blogosphere, just to let my mind rest. But you know, when things are hopping like this, my muses go haywire. Too many ideas screaming at me to write.
When you’re wired, what do you do to relax and fall asleep?
Kaily Hart, a seemingly straight-laced mother of four left corporate America and a high-powered, lucrative career to be a stay at home mom. Ha! That lasted about four weeks, during which time she realized she had a deeply repressed dream—to write. And (gasp) romance at that! Who knew? By day, Kaily plays conservative wife and soccer mom, but at night crafts hot and steamy tales of romance and love with gorgeous heroes who wouldn’t dream of leaving the toilet seat up. Ever. She’s smart and sassy, at least in her own mind, and is creating as many happy ever afters as she can, one hot story at a time. Kaily never would have thought she’d be doing this, but now that she is? Well, you couldn’t pay her enough to do anything else. 
I wrote my first romance novel about a million years ago. Since then I’ve penned thirty others, and I’ve loved every one of them. But eventually, when my kids ran away from home (a.k.a. grew up) I decided to try writing some other things. A lot of other things. I wrote a story about a talking cat (weird). I did a twisted Cinderella story (sad). I believe there was even an odd little tale about a Martian (super weird). Not to mention a host of other “stellar” ideas.
