Post and giveaway with Laura Browning!

Hi, Laura! Welcome back to my site, clearly you've been busy since your last visit. I cannot wait to hear about this book, the cover has completely drawn me in! Who was the artist? He or she deserves a mention, SO eye catching :)

Looking forward to reading your post today - wishing you lots of sales. Look out for Laura's GIVEAWAY at the end of her post. Good luck!

Honey, I’d be Happy to Help

Writers are often asked if they just imagine everything they include in stories, or (wink, wink) is it from practical experience? Of course when romance is what you’re writing, especially steamy romance, that can get a little awkward. Then there’s always the “What does your husband think about what you write?” question.

As a general rule, my husband doesn’t read what I write and has that rather condescending “it’s just romance” attitude. Boy did that change when I asked for his assistance in doing  research that went into my latest release, Balancing Act, and the next in the series, Remember Me, tentatively scheduled to release early next year.

You see, my heroine works a short stint as a waitress in a strip club, and Lucy, the heroine of Remember Me is the headline stripper at that same club. Now, I don’t consider myself sheltered.  Over the years, I’ve been in car accidents, decked a guy on a train while traveling through France, slept in houses built before Columbus sailed to America—and I’ve even been airlifted off a mountain in Switzerland. But I will admit, I had never been to a strip club.

To begin, I turned to my friend the Internet. I researched laws regarding strip clubs for this particular geographic area, read as much as I could about salaries and pay. I watched videos on the Internet, including how-to videos for pole dancing—yes, they’re out there(yawn)—but I was still not quite comfortable with the results because, unlike much of what I do write about (blush), I’d not actually been to a strip club. I needed a feel for the atmosphere.

There was no way around it. I needed to go, and I sure as the devil wasn’t going alone. That’s where my newly helpful research assistant, and in this instance, highly motivated husband, finally comes in. His checkered past did include personal experience with strip clubs (gasp!), and he was more than willing to make the sacrifice by accompanying me to one. Suddenly, his attitude wasn’t quite so condescending. Hmm.

It was an experience I will not soon forget.

I learned several things:

There aren’t many women, other than employees, in strip clubs.

Men really do walk right up to strange women on stage hoping to have breasts and bums flashed in their faces (very closely, I might add).

After the first couple of dances, I was more interested in the dancers’ tattoos than the jiggling T and A.

No one should try to walk far in the shoes strippers wear, but they will make your legs look about eight miles long.

The whole pole dancing thing requires an amazing amount of upper body strength. The stripper I talked to had biceps to rival most guys.

If you’re a woman in a strip bar—the dancers will hit on you instead of your husband. Okay…that was an eww factor, but funny nonetheless.

Being inside a strip club is like being inside a Casino—no windows, no clocks and an atmosphere where smiling people want to make sure you’re having a good time while they suck the money out of your pockets.

So, in the end, I learned my Internet research had been pretty solid. And hey, let’s not forget that year’s membership I now had at the strip club…lol

Please check out Tessa and Seth, the hot couple in Balancing Act. She’s like a match to his firecracker! 

Here’s a short excerpt:

“Are you tired?” Seth asked.

“Not really.” Tessa’s nerves tightened. Sleep would be elusive tonight.

“Join me out on the terrace? I think the lights and the view from there are something you won’t want to miss.”

He held the door open in invitation, then stood next to her, one arm thrown around her shoulders. There didn’t seem to be much to say, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. They both watched the lights twinkling below them. When Seth turned her toward him and tipped her head up, it was the most natural thing in the world. Then he kissed her.

Tessa’s experience with men was limited at best. She’d been sheltered through her teens, and attending an all-women’s college hadn’t given her the constant male contact many women took for granted. Seth’s stroking tongue startled her into opening her mouth to him. Heat spiraled through her body as he held her close.

“Tessa,” he murmured before pulling her even closer and plundering her mouth with his tongue. He smelled of shampoo, soap, a citrusy cologne that tickled her nostrils…and Seth. She leaned into him, giving herself over to his teasing, tantalizing kisses.

She heard a moan and realized it came from her. As he continued his toe-curling kisses, Seth kneaded her bottom, pushing the silky material of her skirt higher until he rested one hand above the lace of her stocking on the bare flesh of her thigh, then cupped one round cheek of her ass. With his other hand, he drifted up over her waist until he stroked her nipple through her dress with his thumb. Heat burned her, not just where he touched but everywhere. Arousal made her ache.

Tessa sighed as he lifted her, holding her tightly, and lowered his head to the swelling globe of her breast. “Seth, I…”

“Shh,” he soothed as he traced the neckline of her dress with the tip of his tongue. “Ah, Tessa,” he mumbled and pushed her breast upward until it spilled onto his waiting lips. “Mmm.”

Check it out at Lyrical Press.

Website: http://www.laurabrowningbooks.com/

Thanks for having me, Rachel. Happy reading everyone!

Great post, Laura! You are very brave - I have a friend who went with her husband to a strip club and is disgusted I write erotic romance and haven't been. She said the girls are amazing at what they do and hugely personable. I will get there one day - I'm sure, like yours, my husband will be more than willing to accompany me! Bit scared about the girls showing me more attention than him though...

Laura is giving away a ebook copy of "Balancing Act" to one lucky commenter - I will draw the winner on Saturday so comment away!!

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