Thank you to Delilah for having me as a guest on her blog today.

July 18 is the release date of my next book, Falling Hard, and I was thinking about all of the writing I’ve done this year. I realized that I really need a break!

But it’s so hard to think about going on a vacation when I still have deadlines looming over my head and the laptop is just so darn portable. On the other hand, the weather is so beautiful and where I’m from we don’t get long enough summers. My brain wants to turn off for a while, and my body wants to soak in the sunshine, lay out on the dock with the lake lapping and sparkling in front of me. I would watch kiddo splashing around and have hubby to bring me something refreshing to drink…all right, let’s not get carried away. 🙂

But you get the idea. My writing is important to me and I enjoy it very much (sometimes more than other times, depending on how the words are flowing), but I think everyone needs time to recharge every once in a while, and I not only owe it to myself, but also to my family to spend some time with them without anything else to get in the way.

This is why, although I’m writing this blog post for Delilah BEFORE my holiday, by the time it’s posted here, I’ll have returned, and I’ll be all refreshed and ready to get to work on the next book!

How is your summer coming along? What have you done to relax, or what do you plan to do? Give me some ideas for next year!

J.K. Coi is a multi-published, award winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She makes her home in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and son and a feisty black cat who is the uncontested head of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters that leap off the page and into readers’ hearts.

FALLING HARD is available from Carina Press on July 18!
Check it out: Carina Press
JK Coi’s website: http://www.jkcoi.com

TAM LIN AND THE ORIGINS OF
THE SURRENDER OF LADY JANE

or “Where I Didn’t Get My Ideas From”

by Marissa Day

All things considered, traditional ballads and broadsheet songs are not a fertile source for good Romance. Seriously. If you are a hero or a heroine in, say, a Child ballad, your odds of successfully achieving the Happily Ever After are really, really small. You’re far more likely to be betrayed by your lady love over a very small misunderstanding, which will cause you to die of a broken heart (Barbara Allen). Better yet, she could kill you herself over a badly timed joke and have her servants throw you in the backyard well (Proud Lady Margaret). On the heroine’s side, you could be accidently shot because your lover turns out to have bad eyesight and you’ve got an unusually large apron (Polly Von), or the guy you thought was going to marry you could show up already married to another woman, after which she kills you, which causes him to kill her follows that up with his public suicide at the wedding feast (Fair Ellen). Alternately, you could elope with a guy who turns out to be a serial killer and have to chuck him in the ocean and then talk your parrot into not ratting you out (The Outlandish Knight).

Mothers are particularly hazardous to your Trad. Ballad couple. Your mother could leave your true love out in the cold (The Lass of Roch Royal), or you could get the double whammy where your mother curses you, and then the heroine’s mother leaves you out in the cold (The Drowned Lovers). Fathers aren’t any good either. They tend to do things like follow up the arrangement an advantageous marriage for you by trying to perform a public confirmation of your virginity, forcing you to either die of embarrassment or turn into a tree (The Arbutus). For an exciting variation, there’s the possibility that your husband will murder both your shapeshifting lover and your son (The Great Selkie of Sule Skerry), or you could just get murdered by your jealous brunette of a sister on general principles (The Twa Sisters).

Of course, this is not a problem limited to the Scottish and British ballads. Do not even get me started on the dope slap needed by all the players in the traditional Appalachian ballad “The Long, Black Veil.” I’m telling you, it is just not a grand ballroom of glamour and romance out there.

And yet, it was a traditional Ballad that furnished me with the basics for THE SURRENDER OF LADY JANE. The ballad was “Tam Lin.”
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Reader Gold – Series/Serials

I’ve been reading a lot lately and I love series/serials so I have been rereading my favs. I’ve written on my own blog about my love of series and serials. What they are and how I feel about them. Almost monthly there are so many books coming that are part of a series/serial.

First here are my definitions of them both:

Series ~ Taige Crenshaw Definition:
Novels that has a related story theme but each one is complete in and of itself.

Serial ~ Taige Crenshaw Definition:
Novels that feature/follows the same main character/s yet are still a fresh story each time.

No matter which way you slice it I find whether it is a serial or series I enjoy writing stories like this. It gives me room to stretch my mind, push my characters to give me more and wallow in there adventure even more. Although I enjoy these stories I don’t usually start writing with the intention of it being a series/serial sometimes it just happens to evolve that way.

I write what I love to read and I’m one of those readers that wondered what is next for such and such main character. Or what happened to this sub – character that I liked in this or that novel. I go hunting to find more and when I find it I feel like I’ve struck READER’S GOLD. I jump up and down and shout in glee. LOL.
I’ve been known to search for years to get that book to complete a series/serial I was reading. Hey I’m a dedicated reader and I want the complete set of my series/serial.

That is what I want my novels to be to my current and future readers ~ Reader’s Gold. No I don’t want you the reader to wait a long time for my books but I want you to be so drawn into the worlds that I create you can’t wait to see what happens next.

This is what Reader’s Gold is all about. As my thoughts of Reader’s Gold evolved I thought of all the author’s who have some wonderful series/serials that I feel are Reader’s Gold. They line my bookshelf’s (online and print) and I go looking for them when they are released.

I’m sure most of you have a little Reader’s Gold on your bookshelf so come on and share. Give me some new Reader’s Gold to find.

Taige Crenshaw is a multi-published author with books available at Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id, Total-E-Bound and Summerhouse Publishing. 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.

Silken Inferno – When the past comes calling it brings unexpected revelations that must be faced. Buy Here at Summerhouse Publishing.

One and Done? I can’t do it.

I keep telling myself that I’m done. When I started Small Town Siren, I knew it was going to be one book and then I was going to move on. I had a single story to tell, right? That what stories do. They end. In a romance, all stories end happily. Until those damn characters keep whispering to me.

I never meant to write more than one story set in Willow Fork, Texas. This week my fourth Texas Sirens book, Siren Beloved was released. Where did I go wrong? Well, I listened to those damn characters who kept telling me the story of this little family wasn’t finished. First, Sam Fleetwood had a few things to work out. Julian Lodge was only mentioned in the first book, but by the time I was done with Siren in the City, Julian simply had to settle down. And by the time I was finished with Siren Enslaved, I knew that Lucas and Lexi would need a story. Even as I was writing the second book of this series, I told myself that I would take a little break from Willow Fork and write a one off about a weird little Colorado town. Yeah – that worked out for me. Book four of that series comes out in August.

Why do I go back to the same well? I fall in love. I fall in love with the worlds I create and the people in my mind. Some of my readers might have noticed that I even cross over series characters. In Two to Love (a Bliss, CO book), Callie has a wild night in an unnamed Dallas BDSM club and Stef meets two of his old friends. Of course it’s The Club and Stef is having a drink with Jack and Sam. In Siren Beloved, I make it plain that my charming Dom Leo was raised close to a town called Bliss, and his mother is the girlfriend of Bliss’s notorious alien hunter. I can’t even leave my actual stand alone novellas out it. At the end of Siren Beloved, Dani is opening a spa in Willow Fork complete with a new manager who knows a thing or two about running a BDSM resort. Yep. If anyone’s read it, Gaby and Cal from Away From Me are back in Texas with two kids in tow.

I guess I do it because it’s my world. I see it so clearly in my brain. It’s vivid and alive to me. It’s a place I want to live in and people I want to know. I can’t leave them behind because each one is a piece of me.

But Texas Sirens is done. I’ve finished off that little family.

Except for Leo. And the Dawson twins. And maybe Bo…Damn it.

Sophie Oak writes erotic romance for Siren Publishing. You can read all the first chapters of her books at www.sophieoak.com.

Aural Sex

In my stories, sex is a vital component and sometimes tricky to pull off effectively. So many things go into writing a sex scene, and using all five senses is crucial. Touch, taste, sight, and smell are all important, but sometimes dialogue is overlooked. The physicality of the encounter might seem paramount, but without the emotion and intimacy of dialogue, it all becomes mechanical and the scene falls flat.

Good dialogue during lovemaking can make a sexy scene even hotter. If the characters are making love for the first time, their dialogue can reveal a turning point in their relationship, a time of new understanding or greater intimacy.

Whatever they say has to be consistent with their personalities. How would they express themselves in bed? Are they shy about talking dirty? How graphic would they be with each other? Would they use explicit language or sensual words?

How the words are spoken can be just as important as what is said. If a character is bilingual, he or she will often revert to their native tongue during sex. Using a few foreign phrases can bring a lot of emotion into a scene. In my short story, Love Bytes, Rhys, a Welshman, whispers to Ben in his mother tongue when they make love. Ben has no idea what Rhys is saying, but it sounds romantic and makes him feel sexy.

Sometimes less is more. Words aren’t always needed. A gasp, a moan, or a growl can be enough to show what the characters are feeling. And using inner dialogue can reveal feelings and emotions that a character can’t vocalize. In the end, it’s all about the characters, and making sure the reader will connect and care about them.

Thanks for reading and a big thanks to Delilah for having me today.

Gale

Erotic Romance Author, Gale Stanley writes for SirenBookstrand and Silver Publishing. She lives in the City of Brotherly Love, with hubby and two talkative Tonkinese cats, Buffy and Spike. Her kids are grown and the grandkids are waiting for a book they can read. Her latest book One Night in Bangkok was released June 4 from Silver Publishing.

The temperature in Bangkok is a humid ninety degrees but things are about to get a lot hotter. David Elliot is in Thailand on business but when he meets Kai, the younger man turns his world upside down. It was never meant to be anything more than a pleasant diversion but can he walk away when it’s over?

http://silverpublishing.info/index/book_authors_id/48/typefilter/book_authors
http://galestanley.net/
http://www.facebook.com/gale.stanley.author

Remember, the Promo Ho and Cabbage Rose Fairy contests continue!

Click here for details!

New Release and Book Giveaway!

I’m Randi Alexander and I write cowboy erotic romance. My first book, Chase and Seduction was released May 27 from The Wild Rose Press’ Cowboy Kink line. I want to thank Delilah for letting me guest blog today. She and I share a love of cowboys. We both blog on Wild and Wicked Cowboys with 12 other erotic romance authors.

Some of the 14 published authors on W&W are full-time writers, others have day jobs and write evenings and weekends. I’m a stay-at-home author, and I wonder if sometimes I’m not as focused on the actual writing as someone who works a day job. Someone who needs to get things done in a condensed amount of time.

So, here’s my story. “A day in the life of a full-time writer.” I hear my husband get up at 6:30 AM because I’m a light sleeper. I get up, too, put on my pull-over robe, which he calls my muumuu, and shuffle off into the kitchen to make coffee, breakfast for two, and his lunch. He says I don’t have to make him lunch, but if I don’t, he goes out and spends $15 a day at a restaurant. (Have I mentioned I’m very frugal?)

I kiss him goodbye at 8:00 and power up the ol’ laptop. Checking all my social networking hangouts takes about an hour. It gets longer every day as I add more favorites. Then it’s e-mails, which can take a little or a LOT of time.

I still haven’t written anything, and it’s already 10:00. Yeay! Time for a snack! Oh, and I put on real clothes right about now, too, because when the mail comes, I want to be ready! Mail is an exciting part of my day!

Now the neighbor guy starts mowing his lawn. I watch him for a while, concocting a story about the lonely stay-at-home writer who falls for the handsome hunk next door. Except Burt is about 83, and has on a huge, floppy sun hat that I’m sure his wife makes him wear, so I really have to use my imagination.

Okay, butt back into the writing chair. Tummy’s full, water glass is full, brain…isn’t so much. I’m outlining a book, and things just aren’t flowing. So, I open my library book on voiceover acting and do my voice exercises. “Unique New York, unique New York, red leather, yellow leather, blue blood, black blood.”
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Recurring themes

My books seem to have several recurring themes: China, vacations, water, and gardens.

“Changing Cherry”, “Chinese Love Triad”, and “Terracotta Warriors” (releasing 30 March) are all set in China. I have spent some time in China on business and love their centuries of tradition, the polite, helpful people, their beautiful country. Also, I write a lot of two men/one woman ménages, and in a country with many millions more young men than women, because of their one-child policy, such ménages make excellent sense.

Everyone loves a vacation and vacations leave time for people to discover more about each other, spend long hours having fun together (in and out of bed) and are a great way to move the story forward. “Summer Sizzle”, “Vivienne’s Vacation”, “Huldah’s Two Hikers”, “Three for the Road”, and “Double Satisfaction” are all set during vacations. “Combustion”, and “Flash Flood”, include mini-vacations.

As for water and gardens, my characters love the beach, lakes, the countryside. The “Sex Odyssey” series is set in Resort City, a beachside town. “Dance for Three” has a hot beach scene, “Summer Sizzle” is set at the beach, and the heroine in “Flash Flood” gets caught in a tidal wave. “Tempting Tenealle” involves a courtyard garden, the gardens in “Double Satisfaction” are purely awesome, and “Huldah’s Two Hikers” is set on a hike through a national park.

My newest release, is “Strung Tight” the final book in the “Sex Odyssey” series. Jeff lives in the trailer Park at Resort City and Pete arrives there as a tour guide with a group of very demanding clients.

After a scorching night of sex and sin, two men need to make a decision in their lives.

Jeff works nights playing guitar at a strip club. Pete works days as a tour guide. Neither man is happy and both search for fulfillment. Can they find it in each other’s arms?

While the sex is great, and the orgasms body shaking, how can their relationship survive if they’re separated by time? Surrendering to wild emotions is easy. Real life is messy but the fight for love is worth it.

The two men gazed into each other’s eyes. Lust exploded like a visible force, and Jeff took two hurried paces to close the gap between them. Pete stepped into Jeff’s embrace and wrapped his arms around the taller man’s waist, lifting his face for a kiss.

Jeff gently pressed his lips to Pete’s, then swiped his tongue along the seam of the blond’s mouth. He opened and Jeff slid his tongue inside, enjoying Pete’s taste of coffee and mints and something spicy.

He trailed his tongue behind Pete’s teeth, and along the insides of his cheeks, then tangled it with the blond’s in an erotic dance, before sucking his tongue into his mouth.

They didn’t break the kiss until both of them were breathless. Even then Jeff nibbled on Pete’s lower lip and ran his hands up and down the man’s spine, wanting to get closer, needing to be inside him, right now, but not wanting to seem to be rushing or coercing the blond.
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