Typically, it’s the woman who jumps in with both feet to change her life, get a new job, even go back to school.   For The Bull Rider’s Keeper, I wanted to explore what happens when a bull rider decides to give up the ropes.

I’ve been where Jesse finds himself at the beginning of the book. I’d divorced my husband of eighteen years, our only son was leaving for college the next fall, and I was bored with my job.   I’d always been the good girl. After college, I accepted a full-time (secure) job with the state, one that allowed me to take care of my family when my husband decided not to work. I’d always wondered what if? Where would I have been if I’d stretched and went back east to attend college? Or hadn’t taken that summer job where I met husband number one?

The feeling of freedom to do anything was at once exhilarating and stifling.  What if I again, made the wrong choice? What if, like my ex told me often, no one would ever fall in love with me?  My confidence level was at an all-time low. So I took little risks.

Like taking off on a spring break to California to see my sister.

Or joining a dart team to learn to play.

I met new people, laughed, and for the first time in a long time, lived.  I was more than my job and my family.

Believe me, I made mistakes in those years. Some pretty big ones. My biggest downfall was trusting people who took advantage of that trust. But isn’t that part of life? To learn who you can trust?

Jesse’s learning those lessons in The Bull Rider’s Keeper. The biggest difference between our situations is he is more confident and has a strong family and friends support system. But I made it through, and, somehow, so will Jesse.

Have you ever taken a risk you regretted later?

Lynn

Buy Links:
Amazon | Nook

BIO:
Lynn Cahoon’s a multi-published author. An Idaho native, her stories focus around the depth and experience of small town life and love. Lynn’s published in Chicken Soup anthologies, explored controversial stories for the confessional magazines, short stories in Women’s World, and contemporary romantic fiction. Currently, she’s living in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. She lives with her husband and four fur babies.

Jesse Sullivan isn’t afraid of any thing, any man, or any bull. But when he decides to take a chance and carve out a life outside his rodeo career, he’s feeling like he’s walking on shaky ground. In typical Jesse style, he jumps at a chance to purchase Main Street Gallery, a Boise tradition in the art world.

Taylor DeMarco has two goals for the next year. Getting the gallery on sound financial ground to prove to her parents that she can keep her grandfather’s legacy alive is the first one. Moving out of the house and into her own condo by the Boise river, is the second. When she finds her folks are selling the gallery to Jesse, she vows to stop the sale, no hands barred.

When sparks fly between Jesse and Taylor, family gets in the way of reason, and they have to decide what is more important, their desires or keeping Main Street Gallery open and successful.

Excerpt:

Time waits for no man, and as usual, Jesse was late. Peeking in the doorway of the class that was supposed to start any minute, he breathed a sigh of relief. Professor DeMarco wasn’t there. He crossed to the next door that led to her office, knocked quickly, then burst in. “Professor DeMarco, I need to leave early today …” He stopped two steps into the room, glancing at the open door for the name plate. Right office, wrong woman. Instead of the elegant art instructor, a very curvy Venus stood in a black bra and lacy black panties, holding a privacy sheet out from her body like she didn’t quite know what to do with it.

Her eyes widened as she realized he was in the room. “Get out of here!” she shrieked. Then, realizing she still held the sheet at arm’s length, she grabbed it and pressed it against her body.

Jesse could have told her it was a lost cause. What he’d seen couldn’t be unseen and she would be haunting his dreams for a while. Instead, he cast his glance regretfully downward and turned around. “Sorry, I guess I should have waited in the hall.”

He was closing the door behind him when he heard her response.

“Neanderthal.”

I think I always knew I’d be a romance writer. I can remember thinking about it when I went to bed at night. For several years in my early teens I’d think up stories about dark prince heroes who were misunderstood by society, but who would and could be healed through the power of my love. I dreamt about being kidnapped in a coach as I was taken to my palace, held for ransom and then falling in love with my captor, and never wanting to leave him. I saw the face of a dark-haired man in my dreams, like it would become my future. And in a way, it did.

I don’t know if this is what every young girl dreams about, but I did. I was drawn by the power of love and how it made people become better people, how it transformed everyday existence into something miraculous.

Stories such as Beauty And The Beast and Phantom are filled with a similar sister fantasy. The power of love takes a hulking power dark individual and reveals in them their true higher self, the beauty of that special part of them that allows love to warm their doorway. Gives them the courage to act with integrity, to do the right thing in the end. The Beast allows Belle to go, and she decides she loves the strange creature who will sacrifice his own future to assure her of one. The Phantom, driven by his obsession with Christine, finds it in himself to free her when she confesses her true love for him.

In my Navy SEAL stories, I try to portray an elite warrior, trained to the highest of combat readiness, one of a handful who can pass the tests physically and mentally, who are driven to do what they do for the love of their country, the men they serve with, and the innocents they strive to protect. They are driven to do the right thing, even when it costs them their lives. Because they have that ethos, that love of life and the bond of brotherhood, anything is possible. The highest calling to them is that juice of life that makes them want to be the best of the best.

We get criticized often for our simplistic stories of love and the Happily Ever After we write. Almost like there is something more noble about writing “the way it is,” instead of writing about the fantasy of what could be. As romance readers, I know you would disagree with that. You’d probably smile and feel sorry for the person who said such folly.

But no one can dispute the facts that over 50% of all the books that are sold are romance novels. And far from being a fad, the trend is spreading throughout the globe. What a fantastic time to be a romance writer.

What about you? Do you believe in the transformative power of true love?

Sharon Hamilton
Life is one fool thing after another.
Love is two fool things after each other.
Author Page ** Sharon’s Blog ** Sharon’s Website ** Facebook**Twitter
Sharon’s Newsletter

My Royal Pride series is based in a small farming community in Pennsylvania. There are several factors that made me pick this setting for my books, but the main reason is that I love small towns. It’s much different living in one versus a city. I’ve lived in both and here are the top ten differences I’ve noticed.

In a small town…

1. There’s often only one diner, one drugstore and one fancy restaurant. (Fancy is defined as having a menu, whether it’s a paper or a laminated one.)
2. There are multiple bars, sometimes one on every street.
3. When you walk into any business, people welcome you be name.
4. Dating your best friend’s ex-girlfriend is common and acceptable. So is running into multiple exes in any given day.
5. The best person to ask for gossip is usually the mailman.
6. Discussions on everything from world peace to the local chili contest can be had at the local diner.
7. You don’t have to worry about getting locked out of your house. It’s rarely locked and if for some reason it is, your neighbor has a key.
8. People will notice a change in your routine immediately and question you about it.
9. If you get in trouble, everyone will find out and never let you forget it.
10. And finally…when you need help, there’s always somebody there to give it to you.

Favorite Obsession
Nancy Corrigan
Book 3, Royal Pride

Centuries after what should have been a blessing from a goddess, Mira has gone from the chosen daughter to a woman shamed. She’s found a tentative peace among her family and the females they’ve chosen to mate. And despite the potentially fatal consequences, Mira has found the one thing she never thought she’d have—love. Josh is the only male she’s ever wanted, desired and burned for, and he’s the only man she can never hope to keep.

One glance into Mira’s exotic feline eyes and Josh is lost. She’s everything he never knew he wanted and loving her becomes a passion he can’t deny. The obstacles keeping them apart seem insurmountable, but Josh knows he’s the man Mira needs. With every passionate encounter, every stolen touch, his certainty that he and Mira belong together grows. He’ll defy every shifter decree and fight to his dying breath to convince those around them of the truth—Mira belongs to him, mind, body and soul.

A Romantica® Paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Forbidden love…Undeniable passion.

Author Bio

Nancy Corrigan believes in unending love and epic tales with a paranormal flare. She enjoys transcending the boundaries of reality to take her readers on an erotic, emotional and romantic journey.

She resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and three children. When she’s not weaving sizzling fantasies, she works as a chemist in a pharmaceutical lab.

Purchase Links:
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Chico Burnside is one of the two heroes in my new release from Samhain, Hungry Heart. It’s my eighth novel set in Konigsburg, Texas, and Chico has shown up (or at least been mentioned) in five of the eight. He was always a secondary character, the bouncer at the Faro tavern, best friend of one of my heroes (Tom Ames in Brand New Me), part-time employer of one of my heroines (MG Carmody in Fearless Love) and all-around stand-up guy.

But I always wanted to do something else with Chico. He had so many possibilities. He was a Very Big Guy, to begin with, a type I’m partial to. He had a dry sense of humor, and he knew when to use his slightly terrifying presence for maximum effect. The more I played around with Chico as secondary character, the more I knew I wanted him to have his own book and his own heroine. But it took me a while to figure out who that heroine would be.

Readers made a few suggestions, but they were always along the line of the woman Chico dated in Brand New Me—tough girls who’d been around who seemed to be the type to show up with somebody like Chico, or somebody like the man Chico had seemed to be in the other books. But I knew there was more to him than that. And I wanted to give him a Significant Other who’d shake things up a bit.

Enter Andy Wells.

Andy is another recycled character since she showed up briefly in Long Time Gone. Andy’s an administrator with the Texas Department of Environmental Quality. I enjoyed the idea of a shy scientist and a bouncer, particularly a bouncer who had a lot of hidden talents and a large, curious family. Nobody in Konigsburg expects these two to be together, but they are. Andy has a little trouble dealing with that, but Chico knows he’s struck gold.

I loved dealing with Chico again, and I loved giving him someone who really appreciates him, which Andy definitely does. In fact, she becomes the only woman in history to refer to him as Hon, a fact that seals her status as his One True Love.

Here’s a bit of their first real date:

“We’re here,” she said.

He looked up. His truck was parked at the curb. Her porch light gleamed in the darkness. A couple dozen steps, and she’d be home. He pushed the front gate open, then followed her through.

Okay, you’ve got this. No problem. Except, of course, that he didn’t. He hadn’t felt this awkward since middle school.

She turned on the top step, looking down at him, or as down as she could look when they were basically nose to nose. “This is where I say I had a great time and thank you. Which is true. I did have a great time. And I do thank you. But it still sounds sort of weird to me.”

He frowned. “Why weird?”

She gave him a slightly rueful smile. “Because it’s such a routine thing to say. I feel like I should come up with something better.”

He shook his head. “I’ll take it.” His right hand moved to the back of her neck, almost without his thinking about it, and he drew her lips down to his.

Random thoughts drifted through his mind. She was so soft, so warm. How long had it been since he’d touched a woman like this? Kissed a woman when it wasn’t just a prelude to something else, when kissing was the main event?

He moved his hand up to the back of her head, let his fingers slide into her hair, trace the shape of her skull. He changed the angle of the kiss, brought his tongue to her mouth and tasted her.

Honey. Sweetness. A hint of fragrance. Gracious Lord above.

And here’s the blurb for Hungry Heart:

Peace, love, and barbecue—with a big order of sexy on the side.

Konigsburg, Texas, Book 8

Sous chef Darcy Cunningham is less than entranced with small-town Konigsburg’s obsession with barbecue. But her future career as a chef de cuisine requires expanding her culinary horizons, so she talks the Barbecue King, a.k.a. Harris Temple, into taking her on as his apprentice.

However, learning Harris’s professional secrets wasn’t supposed to include falling for his spicy blend of smoky sexiness and laid-back charm.

Chico Burnside specializes in flying under Konigsburg’s small-town radar, but lately life has been going a little too smoothly, even for him. Hoping to shake things up a bit, he talks Harris into teaming up for Konigsburg’s first barbecue cook-off. But once shy scientist Andy Wells catches his eye, Chico’s got more on his mind than brisket. Like enticing her out of her shell to show her just how tenderly a big guy can love.

As the competition ignites, so does the romance. Until a natural disaster threatens to derail Konigsburg’s dream team before the grills even get good and warmed up.

Warning: Contains hot sauce, hot sex, and a whole lot of smokin’ action.

Samhain Store | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Some people may not know that I was an RN in the psychiatric field for many years. I found it fascinating, mostly because we’re still learning so much about the mind, personality, and behavior of human beings. Now toss into the mix a creative brain and you have something really interesting.

Someone once told me, “You don’t think like other people.” She was a fellow writer and didn’t mean it as an insult. She meant it to help me…and it did.

Writer Juliet Bruce, PhD paraphrased creativity researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi best when speaking of creative people. “Instead of being an individual, they are a multitude.

“Like the color white that includes all colors, they tend to bring together the entire range of human possibilities within themselves. Creativity allows for paradox, light, shadow, inconsistency, even chaos – and creative people experience both extremes with equal intensity.”

I think she meant to say the color ‘black’ since white is the absence of color and black is what you get when you mix all colors together. Oh well…I went to Mass College of Art, so you can blame it on them.

Here are a few qualities he lists, as Bruce summarizes and I identify:

1. A great deal of physical energy alternating with a great need for quiet and rest. (*Check)
2. Highly sexual, yet often celibate, especially when working. (*Check with husband.)
3. Smart and naïve at the same time. A mix of wisdom and childishness. Emotional immaturity along with the deepest insights. (*Um…yup. Double check.)
4. Convergent (rational, left brain, sound judgment) and divergent (intuitive, right brain, visionary) thinking…(*What left brain? The only sound judgment I demonstrate is letting other people take care of the rational stuff.)
5. Both extroverted and introverted, needing people and solitude equally. (*Check—especially at writers conferences.)
6. Humble and proud, both painfully self-doubting and wildly self-confident. (*More about this later.)
7. May defy gender stereotypes, and are likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other as well. A kind of psychic androgyny. (*?)

For more, see Bruce’s post “Understanding Creative People” – and Csikszentmihalyi’s classic book Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, plus his article “The Creative Personality: Ten paradoxical traits of the creative personality.”

It’s that intensity (passion) that can get us writers into trouble, in my opinion. Speaking of painful self-doubt…John Lennon had huge issues with self-esteem. Even during the height of Beetle Mania, he thought he was a fraud.

I vacillate wildly, just as mentioned—especially after reading a review. Horrible thoughts go through my mind if a review is a bit negative. Everything from “What’s the matter with that broad? Can’t she recognize my brilliance?” To, “Oh, God. I’ve been found out. I suck. I’m a hack, and now everyone knows it.” For self-preservation, I no longer read consumer reviews. They seem to be the harshest and my assistant would have to talk me off a ledge.

But when I receive a fan letter (okay, these days it’s an email) I realize I’m doing what I was meant to do. I’ve entertained someone. (Yay!) Even so, I have a hard time using the word ‘fan.’ I have readers. When someone calls themselves a fan of my work, I’m flattered and humbled. When they call themselves a fan of me, my mind goes a little numb. No—they can’t mean that. They don’t know me.

Or do they? How much of who we are goes into our books?

Thomas Wolfe said, “Every novel is an autobiography.” (*Gulp.)

Even though I’ve never met a vampire or werewolf, I have the type of creative imagination that makes them very real. They live in my head. They speak to me and all I do is take dictation. (Talk about crazy!) If they are real to me, they become real to my readers—and apparently that is happening. I received an angry letter because my heroine was “selfish” when she let her true love give up his immortality for her.

Something to note is that I had a different ending to that story—one that the reader would have loved. An editor made me change it, and all I can think now is, “Why did I let myself be pushed around like that? I suck.”

Well, dear reader, I apologize! I shall try to be true to myself and my characters in the future. I’ve always thought of myself as a “girly-girl,” but I can fight like a man if I have to. (That must be where androgyny comes in.) If an editor again tries to force me to compromise part of my story that makes sense, I will drag said editor into the middle of Times Square and…

No. I really won’t. But I’ll be more assertive. I promise.

Here’s where a lot of creative writers (including romance authors) are showing their testosterone levels. We’re taking charge. We’re self-publishing our books. And we’re doing it our way.

Many are just dumping their agents and publishers and have decided to handle the business as well as the creative parts of publishing. The big benefit of this is keeping a much higher percentage of the profits. Even among these authors, the smart ones will hire artists and editing professionals to make a good product better—and then keep the rest.

Some authors (like me) are becoming ‘Hybrids.’ We continue to work with professional publishers and agents for some books, but we self-publish other projects on the side. The self-published books are called ‘Indies.’ My first Indie is The Cupcake Coven (release date May 5, 2014.) Here’s a quick promo:

Pretty Wiccan Rebecca Colby borrowed money from her father to start her bakery, and now he’s calling the loan due. When she learns he fell off the gambling wagon and owes big money to some scary people, she has to start making a profit—quickly—and hope the loan shark takes payment plans before anyone has an “accident.”

Hot cowboy Dru Tanner is looking for his missing sister who left Texas to explore their New England Wiccan roots. She’s the only family he has left and losing her is not an option. Dru has to hide the fact that he’s not Wiccan long enough to infiltrate a Portsmouth, NH coven, which is the only lead he has.

Dru needs a job and a place to stay. Rebecca needs cheap help, and he’s willing to work for nothing. Perhaps he can pick her brain about Wicca and she can learn how to run a business from a ranch foreman—if lust doesn’t drive them crazy first.

Log line– *This was written by Dorine Linnen of Romance Junkies, but it’s better than the one I wrote. LOL

“Entertainment abounds when a coven of witches whip up a few spells to help their friend hold onto her bakery while losing her heart.  Can a long distance romance work between a cowboy and a baker if they believe in magic?” 

I hope you’ll give my crazy brain a chance to entertain you.

The Cupcake Coven should be available at all e-tailers (like Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com) for only $2.99.

Print copies cost a little more, but you can have your library get one. Every sale will help me continue this insane path I’m on. I want to thank my blog host Delilah, and thank you for your support and encouragement.

Here’s a picture of a bracelet I made and will give to one commenter on Delilah’s blog! I know she makes beautiful jewelry too, but just like writing, our styles vary.

Biography of Ashlyn Chase

Ashlyn Chase describes herself as an Almond Joy bar.  A little nutty, a little flaky, but basically sweet, wanting only to give her readers a satisfying experience.

She holds a degree in behavioral sciences, worked as a psychiatric RN for several years and spent a few more years working for the American Red Cross.  She credits her sense of humor to her former careers since comedy helped preserve whatever was left of her sanity.  She is a multi-published, award-winning author of humorous erotic and paranormal romances, represented by the Seymour Agency.

She lives in beautiful New Hampshire with her true-life hero husband who looks like Hugh Jackman with a salt and pepper dye job, and they’re owned by a spoiled brat cat.

Where there’s fire, there’s Ash
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I think one of the best gifts is the one you don’t expect and I’ve been lucky enough to be on the received end of one.

Let me back up a bit.

I’m not a purse lady. On a daily basis I load up my pockets with what’s necessary, otherwise I don’t take it with me. If I’m traveling then I take a backpack so I can have my laptop with power cord at hand. The few times I’ve been abroad without my cutie to carry stuff for me I carried a sling type backpack.

It’s funny but I don’t normally carry a purse and if I do, they’re usually small and not appropriate. My cutie has actually bought me all but one of my purses. The brown one was from my mom gifted decades ago, yes, DECADES! The red one doesn’t zip closed and so he happily bought the blue one which does. It’s bigger and I can carry my laptop in it and load it up so I nearly break my back from the weight – oops. The last one was gifted to me a few Christmas ago by the cutie. He gave a hot pink gem that is small, holds a Coke and my phone, and only snaps closed. I need to admit security is his thing, not mine, but I pay attention now and again.

One day last year we went shopping so I could point out birthday ideas and he took me to the purse section. I liked them, many were stunning, but none were for me until I laid eyes on one in particular.

I picked it up, held it on my forearm and then in my hand, and wow. It felt so right. I tried the zippers, checked inside to see what it had in the way of pockets, and dang … it was perfect for me.

My birthday wasn’t for two weeks and the cutie was going on a trip until the day before my birthday. I didn’t forget about the purse, but I did put it from my mind while he was gone. After I picked him up at the airport we went back to the mall in a bid to keep him awake for a few hours. [That’s a trick we’ve taken on for our trips abroad. Make it until 8pm local time and then a half hour or later each night after. Most trips we have no problem and don’t have to do this, but coming home is always a tough transition.]

Anyway, we were walking through the mall and went back to look at the purses. It wasn’t there and I was little sad until the cutie handed over a receipt. He’d prepurchased the bag, and I now owned my Trophy Purse. I’m very careful with it and only use it in Spring/Summer as I don’t want the ugly weather to mark it in any way.

Okay, it’s time to share. What’s you favorite gift … your trophy item? Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

My latest release is Branded, a collection of my contemporary western erotic romances. They all have BDSM and toys, some are multicultural and have ménage a trois, and one has some sensory deprivation. There are four books in the collection: Konnichiwa Cowboy, Giddy Up, Jon Black’s Woman and A Kinky Ride – the latter can only be found in Branded. Ride ‘em was the first in the Branded series and isn’t in the collection but can be found for $0.99 at Ellora’s Cave.

I adore my cowboys from Montana that are looking for a life behind bushes of roses and the white picket fence while enjoying BDSM with the woman they love. They’re all adorable and different. Their unique qualities make the catches but once they find the right lady, they cannot be steered away from getting them in their beds.

Thank you, Delilah, for giving me the time and space to share about my Trophy Purse and the Branded cowboys.

Tilly Greene
Scorching romances full of twists, turns and ties.
www.tillygreene.com
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Whether traveling or sitting in her office, Tilly Greene researches and writes erotica and erotic romance novels in a variety of genres and sub-genres like shape shifter, paranormal, contemporary and futuristics, and themes such as BDSM, multiculturalism and ménages.  Every day she looks forward to writing about women who are independent and confident, the men who love them, and their twisting passionate path to each other.

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!