Monday 30 July 2012

Looking for Blog Hosts!!

Good morning, lovelies!!

I am in the process of arranging a blog tour for my upcoming release, "Hot Summer Sands"(available August 17th) and looking for some other erotic romance sites to visit. Would any of you writers out there be willing to offer me a place on your blog? I'd love an interview but more than happy to write a post - entirely up to you!

Here's the blurb and an excerpt:


Blurb

Chef Michelle Hutton flees her controlling mother in the UK for the sun and freedom of Greece, longing for a new beginning and maybe just a bit of Zante’s local heat. Sexy, pro-bono lawyer Sam Clarke might just be the one to teach her to let go. He's sexy, capable, and totally in control. And too damn hard to resist.

Sam Clarke and his best friend had once been the baddest boys to hit the local party scene— sex, booze, and more sex—until his friend is killed. Sam turned his back on the blatant sexuality of the island years ago, but can’t resist Michelle’s desire to bask in the sun and explore the need that grows between them.

Excerpt

Closer and closer he came, rounding the counter and standing so close to her that Michelle was forced to tip her head back to meet his eyes. The smell of him – warm, musky and clean--wafted under her nose. She inhaled…and really wished she hadn’t as her knees quivered. She took another step back until her ass hit the steel countertop behind her.
His gaze darted over her face, lingering at her lips. Michelle put a hand on his chest without thinking and then whipped it back to grip the counter.
Trepidation mixed with arousal pooled like liquid in her stomach. “Sam, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
His eyes dropped to her chest and unmistakable lust flared in eyes, darkening them to a gorgeous midnight blue. Desire pulled at her core and her nipples tightened.
He met her eyes. “Everything.”
She was trapped by the raw animal need to have him. To feel his hands on her bare skin, his mouth on hers. She licked dry lips. “You look like you’re either going to attack me or--”
“Fuck you?”
She flinched. The harsh expletive shocked and aroused her in equal measure. “What?”
His hands clamped onto her hips, possessive and unyielding. A feral storm raged in his dark blue gaze. “I need to know.”
She stared, unable to move or breathe. “Need to know what?”
“Need to know if this…these feelings…are just--”
“Lust?” The word slipped from her tongue, her mind blank of everything but Sam. The way he smelled, the lickable square line of his jaw. The yearning to have him on her, in her, over her.

Buy Link:


Thursday 26 July 2012

Welcome fellow Wild Rose Press author, M M Bordeaux!



 It's great to welcome another Wild Rose Press author to my blog today! And what a delicious array of handsomeness adorns this fabulous cover...how can a girl's eyes not be drawn to it?? I'd love Ms Bordeaux to share the name of the cover artist - he or she most definitely deserves an acknowledgment, lol!

Okay, now I've stopped lusting, let's start with the questions...

1) When and why did you decide to be a published author?
In my early career as a graphic designer I was fortunate to spend several years working for firms in Europe. I began writing advertising and promotional copy to accompany my design concepts. I came to enjoy writing and decided to try my hand at fiction. I was successful getting my short erotic fiction published and finally decided to try a full-length book. I’m delighted that the Wild Rose Press has published my first erotic romance.

2) What is the best and worst thing you’ve learned from an editor?
I think one of the best things I’ve learned from an editor is not to be too attached to “little darlings” that sound great but don’t really advance the story. Sometimes whole pages can be eliminated, which end up making the book better and the story tighter. I’ve also learned how easy it is to slip out of POV. My editor at TWRP, Angela Anderson, was also great in confronting me about what my characters were feeling, what’s in their head at any given moment, what’s behind the dialogue that they are having. I’ve heard horror stories from first time authors, but my editorial experience was great. I actually can’t think of any bad things I’ve learned, at least not from an editor.

3) Favorite authors?
There are so many great authors I like that it’s hard to narrow it down! I like Opal Carew a lot. She writes hot stories that appeal to me. Maya Banks and Jaci Burton are also favorites. At TWRP, Randi Alexander’s new book “Turn Up the Heat” has some sexy f/f scenes. I haven’t written female/female relationships yet but that could be fun. Desiree Holt’s new book, “Buckskin, Boots and Bondage” has some hot ménage scenes, which, if you read “One Hard Ride,” you’ll know appeal to me. She also writes sexy bondage scenes which I might try writing someday.

4) Typical day?
 My days are usually split between my design work and writing. Not on a particular schedule, but as time, projects, and three helpful cats allow.

 5) Blurb
Amanda Sloane's passion has been solely focused on becoming a well-respected, NYC art appraiser. With that appetite sated, she can no longer ignore her body's carnal desires. Tasked with authenticating an uncataloged Randell painting that could be worth millions, she meets a trio of Texas ranch hands who take her on an erotic ride imagined only in her deepest fantasy. Between ranch owners, Jake and Justin Morgan, and their ranch foreman, Luke, the cowboys ignite in Amanda a raging fire of uninhibited sexuality. For years, the Morgan brothers have fought off their greedy cousin's attempts to take their ranch, including poison and sabotage. Now, Jake is counting on the elegant and sophisticated art appraiser to authenticate his grandaddy's painting to stave off foreclosure on the family ranch. Awakening the big city vixen's sexual hunger has his body ablaze with need and his heart yearning for love. Can Amanda give up the intoxicating pleasure of her sexual awakening? Or is Jake's love unconditional enough to encourage her to continue her erotic odyssey?

6) Who would you cast to play hero and heroine in a movie?
I hesitate to say because I think the reader should have his or her own idea of who the characters are and what they look like. There has been a lot of buzz recently about Christian Grey in “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The composite drawing I saw didn’t look anything like I imagined the character.

7) Did you plan the book or write it as it came?
I had a half dozen scenes in mind that were spaced out from the beginning to the end of the book. These scenes set the basic story I wanted to tell, and established the relationships, sexual and otherwise, between the characters.
The rest of the book was written as it came, to tie all the primary scenes together.

8) What surprised you the most when you became published?
How much fun it is to find “One Hard Ride” on Amazon!

9) Do you have a dedicated writing space, and what does it look like?
 I write at a desk and worktable in an office for design projects which are pushed aside when I want/need to write.

10) What’s next?
I’m working on a new book and two short stories (or novellas). Ummm. Maybe now is the time to add some f/f or bondage – what do you think?

I can be reached via my blog at www.mmbordeaux.com .

Great interview! I really enjoyed finding out more about you and your work - okay, over to you guys, comments???

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Welcome multi-published erotic romance author, Dana Littlejohn!



Welcome, Dana! I'm sure I am right in saying this is your second visit to my site so it's great to see you again. I am loving your website and all the fantastic titles you have currently available. You are certainly riding the wave! Let's get started with the questions...

1)   Did you set any goals for 2012?
Yes! I wanted to get at least five books out this year and finish at least 3 on my to-do list including a full length novel.

2)   What is the best part of the writing process for you?
The research, for sure! Depending on the genre the research is sooo much fun. I learn so much that most of it doesn’t even make the book.

3)   The worst part?
The research. LOL Sometimes it can be tedious, but you want to be factual and correct when you say something in your book that can be checked out.

4)   What is the book you wish you’d written?
I always wanted to do a murder mystery. I have been putting it off for years, but I think it is time. It is one of the books on my to-do list to finish this year.

5)   Favorite author/s & book/s?
My favorite author is Bertrice Small and the book is her To Love Again. I absolutely love it. I read it a couple of times a year and I it gets better every time.

6)   Tell us about your latest release?
My latest release is book 3 of my Erotes series: Charles’ Goddess.

7)   Tease us with a blurb/short except
Goddess Herophile is set for punishment by Zeus for misusing the powers given to her from her father, Poseidon, causing precious humans harm and distress. Aphrodite, her mother, and the Erotes, her brothers, only have one chance to save Herophile from further harm once Zeus carries out his sentence. Will it be enough time to enhance Aphrodite’s dormant gifts and make Herophile’s future better than her present?
“You are by far the loveliest, most alluring woman I have ever seen,” he expressed in an amazed tone. He scoffed then shook his head as he left his seat to pace the floor. “I confess I did not know what to expect. For many years I have sated my lust on beautiful females, never limiting myself to a particular type, per se. Thus, I had no idea of the attributes the woman sent to me would have.”
Angel watched the man curiously as he moved back and forth babbling, mostly to himself rather than to her.
“Then,” he said, thrusting his finger into the air. “On wisdom not my own, I left it to the gods to choose who was best for me.” He stopped then turned an appreciative eye to her. “And, bless my soul, I am truly pleased with their choice,” he concluded with a triumphant smile.
The man stood at the foot of the bed looking at her as if waiting for her to comment. Angel stared at him, her head tilted and eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Who are you? And what are you doing in my chamber?”

Obvious confusion twisted his features. “Excuse me? I beg to differ, Madam, but you are in my bedroom.”

8)   What is your favorite attribute of the hero and heroine?
I love how Angel adapts, but doesn’t completely lose her wild streak when she is made to change her behavior to suit her situation.

9)   What’s next?
There is a book 4 to complete the series and then in the fall there is book one in an African goddess series, Conquering the Sun.

10)                  Tell me where you write?
Although I have a desk and space to write in the corner of my living room, you can mostly find me on the couch with my laptop in my lap. I feel closer to my family that way.


11)                  Where would you like your career to be in 5 years?
I want to write a movie script. I would love to see one of my novels on the big screen. Hey! It can happen.

12)                  Where can we find you?
I have a facebook page, www.facebook.com/liljohndana



To Have and To Hold
by Dana Littlejohn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Christian and Andrea Cooper had made many plans on what they would do when their children were finally out of the house. Now that they were gone their plans had hit a snag. Christian had the chance to start his own company and promised to put their plans in motion as soon as it was off the ground. Andrea agreed to those terms, but she had no idea how lonely and neglected she would feel while she waited. On a trip to the city in search of something to do she ran into Raymond Reyes, her first love. Reminiscing with Ray brought back a flood of emotions that she found difficult to ignore. Did she make the right decision by marrying Christian after all? Could Ray convince her that this was their second chance and they were meant to be together?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

Yes! Finally, a notch on the positive side of the sex chart,” her brain screamed joyfully as her body prepared itself for his entry.

He knew where to touch her, where to move, when to go fast and when to slow down. It was wonderful! Just as it always was, just like she remembered. She started to climb that golden staircase to bliss, reveling in the feeling he was giving her and then…it was over. He stopped.

Her eyes popped open. “Christian? What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I’m sorry, Andrea. I guess I got a little too excited,” he confessed, and rolled off her.

She stared at the ceiling wide-eyed. “What? You got—”

“I know, baby. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

Andrea still stared at the ceiling as he moved around next to her. “Huh? But—” She heard his soft snores and turned over to him. “Christian?” She pushed his shoulder. “Christian!”

“Tomorrow, Andrea, I promise. I love you,” he mumbled, before his snores filled the room.

She muffled a frustrated outburst and then pulled the sheets over them. She turned over and punched her pillow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio:

Dana Littlejohn was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, but has called Indianapolis, IN her home for over ten years. She works a nine to five at a nearby doctor's office while she pursues her dream of writing. Her writing to-do list grows daily. Stop by Dana's website to see what she's doing next . It's a ride you will not soon forget!

Dana will be awarding five prizes, one randomly chosen commenter at each tour stop will win a prize. All are promo items displaying a different Dana Littlejohn design: 2- t-shirts (size XL), 1 coffee mug, 1 ink pen (black ink) and 1 baseball style hat .

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/06/virtual-book-tour-to-have-and-to-hold.html

Comments?


Saturday 21 July 2012

Welcome Lazy Day author, Marcus Lopes...



Today, I am welcoming Marcus Lopes to my site with his debut release, "Freestyle Love" - Marcus is on a blog tour throughout July so why not pop by each stop and be in with a chance to win! Details of Marcus' prize is at the end of his fabulous interview.

Take it away, Marcus!

1)  Who is your favourite author and why?

My favourite author is Iris Murdoch. I enjoy Mrudoch’s attention to detail, the way she makes her characters come alive — sometimes I want to root for them, other times I’m hopeful that they will fail. What I enjoy in Murdoch’s works is the relentless search for hope and love in a world that can be, at times, unsteady and dark.

2)  When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I began to think of myself as a writer around age twenty-five. I had just moved to Ottawa (Ontario), and I was determined to make writing an integral part of my day. And I did. I wrote (and still do write) faithfully first thing in the morning. I would spend my lunch hour writing. I would go to a coffee shop and writing before heading hope after a day at the office.

3)  Describe your writing space?

My writing space is the upstairs bedroom I use as my office. My desk is pushed up against the wall, in part to keep me focused on my writing and not on what is going on outside on the street, but also to let me reread the quotes that inspire me. Specifically, Charlie Chaplin’s “As I Began to Love Myself.” Also on the wall above my desk is a landscape watercolour painting done by my grade school art teacher. To the right of the door there are two beige armchairs where I often read. On the wall above the chair is one of my paintings, “When Night Falls I,” the title piece of my newest series of paintings. My framed university diploma is on the wall next to the window that offers a view onto the street below.

4)  What are you reading now?

I am currently reading Julia Cameron’s Faith and Will: Weathering the Storms in Our Spiritual Lives, Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit, and Iris Murdoch’s Existentialists and Mystics: Writings on Philosophy and Literature.

5)  How many books have your written?  Which is your favourite?

Freestyle Love is my first (published) book, so for now it’s my favourite.

6)  What comes first, plot or characters?

Sometimes plot comes first, sometimes it’s a character that I hear in my head, a scrap of dialogue that I have to get down. But more often than not, whether it’s the plot or a character that starts me writing, I let the characters — their interactions with each other — drive the story initially. Then, once the draft is completed, I set about to put the pieces together, and in the right order. So I guess it’s fair to say that I let the characters get inside my head and let them “lead me.”


7)  Do you ever suffer from writer’s block?

I’ve never experienced writer’s block. I sit down and write every day. Sometimes the writing is easy, sometimes I feel like I’m writing uphill. But I write. Like today. I work to my daily quota and then, and only then, am I free to do as I please.


8)  What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

When I’m not writing, I like to run, hike, read, cook, playing the piano, travel, and spend time with friends and family. I’m also a painter, so that keeps me busy, too.

9)  Tell us about your latest book?

My latest, and first, book is Freestyle Love. In many ways, Freestyle Love is not your typical romance novel. Love may be the novel’s currency, but it’s really the characters’ actions and reactions — how they interact in love — that interests me. Sometimes we let our experiences define who we are, and that is the trap that Malachi Bishop involuntary falls into. Malachi is far from perfect — although I think in his mind he’d disagree. He’s arrogant and uncompromising, held to the “It’s my way or the highway” mentality. Malachi becomes a character people love to hate. So Malachi, on an unexpected journey of self-discovery, experiences a sort of great awakening, moving from “denial” to acceptance of the man he thought he was to the man, at the end of the novel, who he becomes.


10) What’s next for you?

What’s next for me? To keep writing, and where that leads me, time will tell.

Blurb:
When it comes to one-night stands, Malachi Bishop has “rules”. No pillow talk. No sleeping over. No planning a future hook-up. First names only. It’s just sex, not a prelude to love. But when Cole Malcolm, a smooth-talking management consultant, woos Malachi into bed, the rulebook is tossed out the window. The one-time fling leaves Cole reeling: Malachi is his first real shot at happiness, his “forever” man, and he’s determined to show Malachi just how good they could be together. But Malachi doesn’t believe in happily-ever-after, and dodges Cole’s play for his heart. After all, Malachi is still mourning the loss of Taylor Blanchard, whom he hoped to love forever. Then there’s Zach Brennan, a handsome twenty-five-year-old and student at the college where Malachi teaches. Falling for Zach could destroy everything he’s worked for, but Malachi can’t help himself.

Caught by love and in its betrayal, it’s a later affair with a beautiful stranger that changes Malachi’s life most dramatically. Now Malachi must confront his present and his past that bring into question the larger fantasies of home and his place in the world.

Excerpt:

As Cole Malcolm asked the server for his bill, Malachi Bishop was across town, alone in his condo, pouring himself a stiff drink. Malachi picked up the crystal tumbler and moved into the living room, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and watching as the dark storm clouds edged their way eastward, dulling the bright sky. His unit, located just below the penthouse level, offered a view of the west side of Claredon, including the college. And Malachi was right, as he had explained to Shane Martin, that on a clear day he could see to Chemong Lake.

Malachi sat down on the worn brown leather sofa and stared blankly at the TV. Am I unreal? Malachi lifted his glass to his mouth and held it there. Tuesdays, when he taught three of his four classes, left him drained. Today he was exhausted. Malachi’s day started off with the advanced writing workshop, and Zach Brennan had not shown up again. Malachi had taught the ninety-minute English literature course that started right after the lunch break pausing often, as if he were unable to weave together, and hold, a train of thought. One of his students asked if he was okay, to which he replied, “I’m fine,” with great defence, and then dismissed the class — forty minutes early. When all of the students had left the classroom, Malachi sat down at his desk and wrote out a notice cancelling the creative writing class he was to teach later that afternoon. He posted the notice to his classroom door and then made for home.

Beyond the usually long day of teaching, beyond the ordinariness of his life, Malachi was caught up in the paralyzing, awful, blackly saddening events of the day. In the aftermath of the day’s events, his perception of his life in Claredon had shifted, seen now as imaginary and formless, indeed a fabrication. There remained a contradiction because he knew that there was an inescapable realness to Claredon where he had, over the past five years, carved out a home. And in that realness there was Zach Brennan.


About the Author:
Marcus Lopés is originally from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. His writing has appeared in Canadian and international literary magazines. Freestyle Love is his first novel. A novelist, essayist, poet, painter and singer-songwriter, Lopés lives in Sherbrooke, Québec.

Email: marcus@marcuslopes.ca

Click here to win!!!


Link to schedule:

Comments:


Wednesday 18 July 2012

Welcome Decadent Publishing author, KevaD!



Hi, KevaD! Great to have you here and to be a part of your ongoing tour - I have heard so many fantastic things about Decadent Publishing even though I haven't submitted anything to them yet. They certainly seem to be going from strength to strength - any insider tips for my visitors and I??

Greetings!
I want to thank Ms. Leigh for having the courage and courtesy to allow me to be here today.

I’m David Kentner, a prize-winning author and journalist. As KevaD (Dave K backwards), I write mystery, suspense, horror, comedy, contemporary, historical – pretty much whatever story is demanding to be told. The one common thread in everything I write is love. I can’t help it. There has to be some sort of love story or interest, even if that love is a bit convoluted and perverted. Yes, I’ve gone there. In my short story psychological horror series Catherine’s Toys, the main character is in physical and emotional love with his alter ego, the sexually insatiable Catherine. Yes, it’s very strange, and, no, it’s not an autobiography.

But, that’s why I love writing. Authors have the freedom to explore anywhere and everywhere our imaginations take us. My stories range from sweet and innocent to Holy Hannah break out the asbestos gloves – from first love to an abused sex slave who kills her latest owner and tries to find the home and family she’s never known and may not have – from contemporary to the Civil War to a 1955 setting the Historic Novel Society termed “dead on” for accuracy.

I’m married – my wife reminds me of that fact every payday when she scarfs up my check – and live in northwestern Illinois about 120 miles or so due west of Chicago. My secondary hobby these days is buying and selling farm style antiques. It’s fun. I guess I don’t really need any other reason for doing it. My primary hobby is writing the weekly national column The Readers’ Writers where I interview authors for GateHouse News Service. Again, it’s fun. I’ve met, sort of, a lot of truly wonderful writers who keep me in awe of their work. I suppose, in a way, I’m an author groupie. Talented storytellers really do fascinate me.

On the reading side of things, I read just about anything and everything. There isn’t a genre that doesn’t have a place on my bookshelves, and I enjoy nothing more than discovering a new author who grabs my attention with their masterful prose and captivating plots. I’m not a fan of cookie cutter. If the story and characters aren’t original and non-formulaic, I probably won’t read much past the first few pages. But that’s because I believe reading should be – here it comes again – fun! If it isn’t, what’s the point? I love imagination, which brings us to why I’m here today.

My latest release Kantu’s Heart, a time travel romantic suspense novel published by Decadent Publishing as part of their Western Escape line – aren’t you glad the commercial break is finished? – is an example of imagination run amuck.

The story opens with the murders of Kantu and his mate, his heart, Sanda. They’re cave dwellers who lived and loved fifty thousand years ago. Kantu awakens in contemporary Freewill, Wyoming. Confused and saddened by what man has done to the world he knew, Kantu is convinced his ancient deities are punishing him for failing to protect his mate. That is, until he spots a woman he believes to be Sanda in the arms of the man who killed her.

Sandra Harn has no idea why the regal, proud, and probably insane Native American standing in the middle of a rodeo arena has awakened an intense need within her. After all, the man is offering to fight to the death the entire Crow Indian nation in order to spare the life of a bull. When the self-proclaimed warrior suddenly turns and unleashes his unfurled fury on her male companion, Sandra’s mind screams run, while her body begs to surrender.

Kantu’s Heart is a mixture of historical, contemporary, and Native American lore and mythology. The real challenge was keeping Kantu’s appearance in the modern world from eroding to a cartoonish character fumbling through comical situations. That’s just not who he is. He’s a strong, skilled, and decisive warrior with little use for insincere words.

Sandra/Sanda was also a bit of a challenge in that she isn’t aware of her past life, and, because of that, needed a conveyance to bring that part of her to a level of consciousness. Once more, I drew on Native American beliefs and provided her the gift of confusing visions that Kantu’s presence unravels for her.

Thanks for visiting with me. I truly do appreciate it and hope to see you again.

Title: Kantu's Heart (DP’s “Western Escape” Series)
Author: KevaD
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Length: 159 pages
Main Sub-Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Sub-Categories: Erotic

Available at:

Blurb:
Before the ice age, warrior Kantu lost his tribe, his mate Sanda, and his life to a vicious band of cannibals led by his most powerful enemy. He awakens in a world beyond his comprehension only to find his mate in the arms of her killer. Misery and strength meld into one goal—to win back his heart and kill his enemy.

With a nudge from her gentle guardian, Sandra Harn travels to Freewill, WY, looking for bargains at the annual rummage sale and, hopefully, answers to her mysterious past. Once there, visions of a time before the town existed make her question her sanity. When an exotic stranger with flowing raven hair and a body she can’t resist tries to kill her companion, logic tells her to run, but her heart and body have other ideas.

Excerpt:

Sanda’s gaze dropped to Kantu’s chest. He glanced at his shirt hanging on a fence post and hoped his skin would not offend her in this world where everyone covered their bodies.
“How did you get those scars.”

Her hand started to reach out to him; she jerked it back and folded her arms under her bosom. Her nipples dotted the pink of her shirt. Sanda raised her arms to conceal the delicate rises of flesh he had sucked and licked once upon a time gone by.

A cloud of sadness dampened his eyes. He breathed deep to try and clear his mind of the memory of her breasts, their taste and feel in his mouth, the wetness between her thighs when he entered her, the tightness of his sac before his seed flowed. He grimaced and turned his back to her.

“Did I say something wrong?” Her voice trembled. “I’m sorry if I did.”

“No,” he said in a constricted breath. “It is not you. The scars are the mark of a warrior. My father dragged a claw across my body three times - one for each man I killed my first time in battle.”

“Are you serious? You killed three men? Were you in the army or something?”

He clamped his lips together. His eyes burned, and a tear streaked down his face. This Sanda did not know him at all.

“No.” Her voice softened to a tuft of air. “You weren’t. I know that. I just don’t know how I know that.” A barely audible sigh sounded behind him. “I sometimes see the forest at the MGR before it existed, when it was an open plain. One night the whole town melted into nothing, and I was alone with grass all around me. I could feel the dew on each blade.”

Her fingers touched his shoulder, her natural, wild scent floated into his nostrils. He rested his cheek on the back of Sanda’s hand. Sparks of desire flickered through him, a longing to be held by his mate, his heart, quivered in his chest and arms.

“I know you, don’t I?” A tremor vibrated from her fingers into his shoulder.

He lifted her hand to his cheek and turned to face her. Her eyes shone like summer rain as her gaze drifted back and forth as if searching for something she believed might be found in his eyes, but couldn’t quite see.

“Yes,” he whispered.



Video Book Trailer:

About the Author:
KevaD is David "DA" Kentner, prolific author of romance, suspense, horror, fantasy, and winner of American Mensa, Ltd’s Calliope magazine 18th annual fiction competition. His weekly column "The Readers' Writers" in which he interviews famous and soon-to-be-famous authors appears in newspapers across the country.

When not writing, shoveling snow, or mowing their 5 acres outside Freeport, IL, he's trying to explain to his wife the TV has more than SOAP and GAME channels, and pizza really is a necessary and required food group.

Email: dakentner@yahoo.com

KevaD is hosting a fabulous giveaway - go here for the details:




Link to schedule:

Comments?


Monday 16 July 2012

Welcome Ellora's Cave author, Nara Malone!


Hi, Nara and welcome to my blog! I was really pleased when your post dropped into my inbox because I've done a lot of interviews lately so it was nice to see a post. Looking forward to reading what you have to say - all the best with your ongoing tour!


Journey into the Next Dimension
I like to think of my writing journey as a quest. I approach it the way I would a good adventure game. I assess current skills and create a map going forward that plays to my strengths. Then I work through each obstacle to reach the next level. 
There are levels of skill to acquire as an author, and there are levels of the game to complete as a storyteller. Like any good game/story, the experience has me looking inward as I go. My author quest, by its nature, forces me to examine who I am. It forces me to dig deep and stretch in order to grow in my craft.
Call to adventure
Quests begin with a call to break away from safe routines and try something new.
As is often the case, my call to adventure was an attempt to escape. My father was dying, that slow disintegration of bones and organs that we call aging had reached a crisis level. He was on a downward spiral I knew he couldn’t come back from, but he was not going down without a fight. I was helping my sister take care of him and the emotional toll of watching his battle was beating us both into the ground. So I came up with an escape plan. We’d write those books we had always wanted to write. We’d escape into our story worlds to get a break from the stress of reality.
We signed up for NanoWriMo. At the end of Nano I polished what I had and submitted it in the Passionate Reads Stroke of Midnight contest, hoping for a little feedback on how marketable my story idea was.
Enter call to adventure:  I won the contest and only had a few months to finish my book. That book, The Tiger’s Tale, was requested by Raelene Gorlinsky and became my first published novel.
Leveling Up
Once I had a foot in the door of the publishing world, I wanted to head in new directions with my writing, explore new ways to tell stories. From the time  I first saw a holodeck in Star Trek TV series, I’ve wanted the experience of stepping into the story world and interacting as the protagonist.  Unfortunately, publishing tends to be a rather conservative, stick-with-what-works sort of medium. And new authors aren’t the ones they pick to blaze new trails. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to convert publishing to switching from books to holodecks over night and there were still a few technological details to work out. But just because you can’t have everything you want, doesn’t mean you can’t have some of it.
My next book, The Dungeon Gourmet, told the story of a kinky blogging French chef, Master Bond, who blogged inside his book and after he won his HEA in the love story, he continued to turn up in real world blogs. He’s  still whipping up sensuality and heat in the kitchen.  Last summer he led readers on a quest to rescue me after plot bunnies kidnapped me.
While  Bond was entertaining readers with his Cook Naked blogs at Passionate Reads, I was working with Orchid Games on an adventure game for women, Spirit Walkers: Curse of the Cypress Witch. Spirit Walkers allows the player to step into the role of protagonist, as the heroine Maylynn, and help her save her friends and the Cypress Witch. It’s almost like a holodeck adventure. I’m getting closer.
 The Next Level
Experimenting is my addiction. It’s my fuel. My motivation, compelling me to keep mixing things up.
I was dutifully working on the sequel to The Tiger’s Tale, when the heroine for Snatch Me, Jolie,  took over my brain. In Snatch Me a young woman turns to virtual reality to escape the grief of losing her father. She’s so caught up in the game that it becomes an addiction.  I bent rules, telling the story of her reality in third person and her in-game virtual experiences in first person to convey that the fictional world was more real to her.
Snatch Me was another opportunity to bring the fictional world and the real world closer together. Could I make the fiction feel more real than the  reality?
I was pretty sure my editor, Grace Bradley, would never go along with the story as written.  But she loved it  was so enthusiastic about that she visited the virtual reality model world I built of the Quarterz—the post-apocalyptic world that served as the setting for Snatch Me. You can check that world out yourself here: http://www.naramalone.com/p/naras-worlds.html
When a story moves people to step out of their comfort zone and into one of my virtual worlds, I feel I’ve done my job as a storyteller.

There’s Always Another Story, and Another Level
Blind Heat, my newest novel, is the sequel to The Tiger’s Tale and the  second book in the Pantherian Passions series. I envision a long series.
Because readers wanted to know more about Pantheria, the fictional world my shifters are from, I built a model of the main Island and posted it online for readers to visit. There are eight Islands in the chain, one for each Pantherian tribe, so expect Pantheria  to grow.
In addition to the virtual world, I made Therianverse.com, a companion website to the series where all things related to the Pantherian worldbuilding can be shared with readers as I go along. I have a primer up about the Pantherian race, a lexicon, a blog, links to virtual worlds. My next addition will be a bestiary.
You could ask, is all about gimmicks? After all, isn’t the real power of a story the art you create with words.  It is. That’s the first level. I spend most of my time getting that level right.
 Still, there is a limitation to stories that I would like to overcome. When I write a story, or a game adventure, you can only arrive at the happy ending I choose, with the solutions I can see. And it has to be that way for some stories. But…
I also want to create stories that give readers some room to take their own hero’s journey, discover their own lesson and happy ending. And beyond  that, I want to write at least one never ending story, one that can be revisited, be new every time it’s read.
A tall order? Impossible dream?
Augmented Reality, Google Glasses, an agent interested in a unique twist I came up with for the old Choose Your Own Adventure stories—are real opportunities ahead of me. New calls to adventure. I hope to use them to prove my dreams are not so far from reality.
You can follow me and my quest in the following places:
My personal blog: www.NaraMalone.com
My Series Blogs: www.Therianverse.com, www.Passion’s Portal.com
Twitter  @nara_malone
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/naramalone/



Blind Heat
by Nara Malone

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BLURB:

Allie is determined to build an ordinary life. To survive, she needs to be the sort of woman no one notices. She has a generic job, lives in a generic apartment, and thinks maybe one day she’ll find an ordinary Joe who wants an average Jane sort of woman.

Marcus is anything but an ordinary Joe. Even if humans don’t know he’s a shifter and millennial being, he’s the sort of man women notice. A night of passion spent with Marcus is a night any female, human or Pantherian, won’t forget.

But Allie does forget. She repeatedly fails to recognize him even after an intense sexual encounter. Marcus discovers the source of her problem—face blindness, a genetic disorder with no cure. And he decides to use erotic rituals to teach her to see with more than her eyes. What he doesn’t count on is Allie seeing past the man—and recognizing the beast within.

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EXCERPT

The greatest threats from a man were injury or death. She’d known how to read those kinds of threats in a man before she was old enough to read a book. She could see no intent to harm. No evil. He looked at her as if he’d discovered something precious. A warmth seemed to reach from his eyes into her soul, drawing her closer. She made her choice.

The red cloth shimmered with an aura of passion, dared her to press her body to it. The thought sent her blood zinging through her veins. There was something there, something irresistible. His eyes spoke promises she could feel. Her feet wouldn’t let her turn away, but took the risk. Took one step. Then the next. Her lips burned with a need to glide over his jawline, explore planes and angles with kisses and nips. Her heart hammered so loud he had to hear it even over the rain.

True to his word, he didn’t move an inch until she was right there in front of him, reaching to press her hands to the shirt, feel its heat, prove he was real. Her palms sighed with pleasure, like the fabric was a meal to be savored. His strong fingers closed around her wrist then, not painfully but with the finality of a manacle, reminding her that he’d said he wouldn’t let her go until he had what he wanted.

“Good girl,” he whispered, soothing away the little trill of fear that rose with his touch, stroking her face with the backs of his fingers. Her body sang like chimes in the wind, notes shivering down her spine.

“I won’t stop at a kiss,” he said. “But you can start with one. Make it sweet.”

She rose obediently to her toes, finding his lips, feeling them firm, parting under hers. He ordered and demanded with such a low, seductive tone. If he’d told her to go rob the jewelry store, in just the same way, it would have seemed a good idea.

He shifted, turning quickly so she was between him and the tree, cutting off any chance to change her mind and run. He held her face between his hands, and her own hands felt small and fragile against the breadth of his. He kissed his desire into her. Her mind grappled to reassert caution, but her thoughts slipped away, formless as water spilling through fingers. He didn’t stop kissing until she stopped thinking, until the rigidity in her muscles softened, until she kissed him back.

He tasted like spring rain.

His hands were warm through her soggy shirt, his fingers curved under her chilled breasts, his thumbs stroking over the tops. Thumbs and fingers came together, squeezing until she squirmed. His lips and tongue moved over her neck, tracing the line of her collarbone, a warm, sensual touch that made her whimper. He split the worn cotton with a sharp twist. The ripping sound jolted her. Her shirt split down the center, parting to offer her breasts. A wave of fear welled in her belly. of desire trickled between her thighs. She glanced down the puddled path. He pressed her tighter against the tree.

“You had your chance,” he whispered. “It’s the last I’m willing to give you for a while.”


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Like the heroine, Allie, in Blind Heat, Nara is face blind and lived with the condition not knowing there was a medical explanation for her inability to remember faces.  It’s a rare and only recently publicized condition.  She hopes Blind Heat will help get the word out about face blindness.

Nara lives on a small farm in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. When she's not writing, she loves to run, hike, bike, and kayak. Every story she tells incorporates her love of animals, nature, and adventure.

The interactive world Nara built for Blind Heat is here--http://therianverse.com/naras-worlds/

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PLEASE MENTION THE PRIZE THAT THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY: 

Nara will be awarding a digital copy of The Tiger's Tale, first in the Pantherian Passions series, and a $10 Ellora's Cave GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a GC to purchase a video game targeted for female gamers written by Nara Malone with Orchid Games, Spirit Walkers: Curse of the Cypress Witch to a second randomly drawn commenter.

Encourage your readers to follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/06/virtual-book-tour-blind-heat-by-nara.html