Fun With Food #SundaySix Sentences from Exceeding Boundaries

To celebrate the close of 2012, I'm going to share 6 sentences from Exceeding Boundaries, my first published work. 

The set up: Adam and Megan are enjoying a bit of fresh pineapple spears for dessert. Who says getting your nutritional requirements for the day has to be boring... 

Six Sentences From Exceeding Boundaries

Adam pulled her closer, dabbed the spear to her lips and then kissed the juice away, his tongue lapping a path down her chin, along her jaw. Satisfied, he pulled back to watch her reaction. He loved the way innocence tore away as she realized his full intent. Her eyes widened as she bit her lip, and the hand on his chest trembled. He took another bite of the fruit and this time she leaned in, tentatively, and licked his mouth, his chin. Her gaze returned to his, as if seeking approval.

Buy links for Exceeding Boundaries: Amazon   The Wild Rose Press   B&N

For more Six Sunday Sentence greatness, visit:  Six Sunday website

Are You One of the 22 Percent?

 

On December 31, 2011 I decided I would make a New Year's resolution to write a book and publish it. Why I did this, I don't know. I suck at resolutions. In the past if I vowed I was going to lose 10 pounds I'd gain 10. A study I found stated 78% of people fail at accomplishing their New Year's resolutions. It's nice to know when the going gets tough, we all abandon ship like a herd of rats. But human nature wants us to be the rats on the good ship, the ones partying and eating the really good cheese while the rest of us float away on driftwood and plot out how long it will take to eat each other alive. We all want to be one of the 22% who succeed, dammit. 

Making resolutions isn't a new thing. The ancient Babylonians would vow to their gods that they would pay debts, and the ancient Romans would make promises to the god Janus. Even the knights of olden days would renew their commitment to chivalry every year after Christmas. I hope the knights were part of the 22% or there would be a whole bunch of disheartened princesses. 

I never intended to be one of the 22% when I woke up on January 1, 2012. I just said I would try. So I opened the laptop, found a story I had started working on, and began to write.  I wrote 10,000 words that day (in writer talk, that's 10k.) I was happy with that. I hadn't written anything new in eons so the world could have ended and I would have died happy. The next day I think I did 5K more. I didn't tell anyone, because if I was setting myself up to fail, I didn't want people making popcorn to eat while they enjoyed the train wreck. I would suffer in private. 

I don't quite remember when I finished the book, then called Phases of Seduction (you all know it as Exceeding Boundaries) but it was probably ten days later. I promptly sent it off, and suddenly, my resolution was complete. I had written a book and submitted it! So I did what any writer would do--I started the next one. And then another, and then another...

I wrote and submitted seven books in 2012. One is still in edits, the other six are published. I  wrote and published a short novella under my real name. I also started another book, which was 62K the last I checked. So in total, that's almost 500K words. WOW. 

I have a bunch of people to thank for helping me to become one of the 22% who succeeded for a change. First, thanks to my family, who went nearly naked, played with dust elephants and saw the back of my head more than the front (the back is more attractive.) You are not getting thanked for pegging my ass with rubber bands while I sat and wrote. You get to pet a dust elephant for that. 

Thanks to my friends for listening to me whine, for cheering with me, handing me tissues at the appropriate intervals. The coffee and IV tequila were also appreciated. 

Thanks to my editor, Diana Carlile, for either being smart (or silly) enough to buy my books and thanks to The Wild Rose Press for getting them out there. Diana gets extra thanks for all of the other things she does for me, such as the awesome cover art, the excellent editing, and the hand-holding. 

Thanks to my girls in The Hive, The Chick-lits, The Writer's Playground, and Series Romance. You know who you are and I love each and every one of you. 

Thanks to my groups, friends and fans at GoodReads. I wouldn't be here with out them. 

Finally, thanks to the average but cherished reader who decided to take a chance and pick up one of my books. Thank you so, so much. I hope you enjoyed them. 

Resolutions for 2013... Because it worked so well last year...

I'm going to write a book and submit it. :)

What's your New Year's Resolution? Are you going to be one of the 22% for a change? I hope so. 

Dangerous #SundaySix Sentences From Spy Game: Endgame

I was a slacker this week and didn't blog diddly. But we'll rectify that with six sentences from Spy Games: Endgame, book three in the series. 

The set up: Sexy actor Aaron James has had a pretty shitty evening. He was knocked out and bound to a chair by an unknown kidnapper. But things are looking up when he's rescued and then treated to the most awesome kiss by sexy spy Charlotte Smith. Unfortunately, Aaron's has a knack for putting his foot in his mouth when he's stressed, and he's said a few things he shouldn't have. Now Charlotte has gone from sultry hot to frosty cold, and she's got a dangerous side that turns him on. 

****

Six Sentences from Endgame (Spy Games #3) 

Charlotte put her hands on his thighs, her nails biting through the fabric of his jogging pants as she leaned closer until her nose almost touched his. “How many women have you fucked, love?”

“None of your business.” But his cock twitched, wanting her to be number three, bad.

Her eyes were violet steel, the set of her mouth firm, nostrils slightly flared. “Then keep in mind that I have killed more people than you have fucked.” 

****

Spy Games: Endgame will be available winter 2013. For more Six Sunday Sentences, visit: www.sixsunday.com

Serious #SixSunday Sentences from Just Ask by Mia Downing

If you're here for the blog hop, you'll need to jump down to here:

Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop Post

The rest of you, get ready for...

Today's Six Sentence Sunday features Just Ask, my m/m that is FREE 12/16 on Amazon.com! 

The set-up: Jordan has inherited half of an island resort from his half-uncle, Blake. Ryan, his business partner and lover, wants to know why Jordan's so afraid to own a piece of his uncle's dream.  Here's 6 sentences of their discussion. 

Six Sentences From Just Ask

Jordan swallowed, and the lump in his throat finally let go of his Adam’s apple. “I’ve tried to buy peace. Money only gets you great seats for a ball game.” 

Ryan said, “Maybe you’re afraid of the things you can’t buy.”

“That’s stupid.” But it wasn’t, not if you thought about the huge, long list of things not for sale and considered that Blake had found a lot of those, right here.

Just Ask Buy Link: Free on Amazon 12/16

For more Six Sentence Sunday goodness, visit: Six Sentence Sunday Website

Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Jump with @Miadowning007!

It's a Happy Holiday from your favorite Authors and Bloggers. While we know everyone celebrates a different way, we wanted to make sure that you guys knew how much we treasure you all.

Personally, I hate the holidays and sometimes it's hard to find the love in the mix of shopping, wrapping and finding parking spaces. I will say as my kids have gotten bigger, our traditions have gotten more interesting. Last year the kids took on a new tradition--extreme wrapping. That means your new sneakers in a shoe box may be transformed into a wrapped robot with moving arms and legs. Or your kitchen utensils may become a dachshund. Other unique presents were wrapped to look like a mouse, a cat, and a dolphin. The kids were so proud of their handiwork and it made the day really fun.

 
In my writing, none of my characters have gotten to celebrate the holidays on paper. I would think their gifts would be fairly interesting, though, seeing Chase and Kate Sanders gave their close friend, Jake, a menage for his birthday in Birthday Games. I can't imagine what Santa could shove in a stocking to beat that.

I do have a fun gift for you guys. My newest m/m Just Ask is free on Amazon this week! If you haven't tried m/m this is a great book to cut your teeth on. The book has spent the last 20 days on the top 100 list for Gay and Lesbian literature peaking at #4 and it's free until 12/16.

I'll leave you the link, go check out the blurb and download!

Amazon link for Just Ask

On to the prizes!!!! 

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!

Now what are those prizes?

(INT) 1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

(INT) 2nd Grand Prize: A $200 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

(US only) 3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

And I have something, too! 

I'm giving away a $10 Amazon gift card and an e-copy of one of my books. 

All you have to do is leave your email in a comment. What's your favorite holiday tradition?

 Are you a Grinch or do you love the holidays? Weigh in and get a little more than coal in your stocking.

To continue along the candy cane trail of holiday gifts, hop on over to: Carrie Ann's Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop 

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First Impressions #SixSunday Sentences from Lethal Limits

I'm doing six sentences from Lethal Limits this week! Secret agent Jake Anderson has just been informed he's getting a new partner by his boss and best friend, Chase. Unfortunately, the person who walks through the door is the last person he expects to be working with! I don't think she's too happy, either... 

Six Sentences from Spy Games: Lethal Limits

“I don’t want a new partner.”

Tia walked in, so beautifully exotic, even in casual wear, her dark hair tumbling down around her face, her shoulders. And suddenly in his mind, she was in black crotchless panties, a bra, and thigh-high stockings again.

Jake sucked in a breath, and the fact that air came though his mouth meant he wasn’t gagged and bound to her bed, she wasn’t hot for him, and this wasn’t Paris. 

Chase beckoned to Tia, who had frozen in the doorway. “Jake, meet your new work wife, Tia Richards.”




Buy Link: amazon

For more Six Sentence Sunday goodness, visit: Six Sentence Sunday website

Backdoor Lovin'--What Do Readers Think?

Okay, this is definitely an over 18 blog post, so if you're a youngster, hit the road. The rest of you, gather around. We're going to get down and dirty.

An acquaintance had commented on the amount of anal sex that takes place in erotic romances and erotica books (it was more of an eye roll and "God, please no more," comment.) It got me to thinkin'--scary, I know--do readers like reading about anal sex? Do they expect to read ALL about it in their steamier smut?

Yes, there tends to be a lot of backdoor lovin' in the true erotica/erotic romance books. Adding anal sex to a book tends to up the rating factor, which does make it sell better. For example, in our Scarlet Rose line of TWRP, adding anal sex will up your rating from a single rose to a double rose rating. There are other factors that can land you a happy double rose score, like heavier bondage and BDSM, but an episode of anal and you're in, no lube needed. Now, the editors aren't going to let us toss in anal for a rating--it has to work for the book. But give readers an anal-loving cowboy or military man and they're swooning and begging for more.

But I'm a nosy girl, and I wanted proof from actual readers. So I asked my friend Bookie, queen of the Erotic Enchants group on GoodReads to set up a poll for me about anal sex in erotic romances. The results were very interesting. Before we get to the results, feel free to join the naughtiness on Erotic Enchants. The link is embedded above (and you could weigh in on the poll yourself.)

The Poll!

Anal sex!
Inquiring minds would love to know what you think about backdoor lovin' in your reading material.


Out of 170 total votes...

88 votes (51.8%) weighed in as: "Hell yes! Love it!"
67 votes (39.4%) weighed in with: "With lots of lube and a good set up, it's acceptable."
15 votes (8.8%) weighed in with: "::Squirm:: Keep it in the front, mister!"

The demographics aren't broken down into percentage of male/female voters, but I know we have guys in the group. I would assume, however, the overwhelming majority consists of women.

The comments were interesting, too. Some readers expected anal sex in their erotic romance but preferred not to see it in contemporary books. Others just loved reading that aspect of sex. Some liked that some more generally mainstream contemporary authors were starting to press the envelope and add it in, where others weren't on board with that.

I personally don't like it tossed in for a steamier rating, and the characters I write truly want to experience that adventure (I voted for the middle choice, in case you hadn't guessed from this statement.)

Anal sex in my writing:

• In Trained for Seduction, anal sex was the one thing Chase refused to do with Kate, because he was afraid it would drag him back into his old ways of deeper kink, and he didn't want to take her there for many reasons. However, Kate feels it's just one more way for Chase to own her completely, which she truly wants. 
• Lethal Limits--Jake and Tia are just dirty, happy kinksters and they just love it. 
• In Endgame (to be released) the hero, Aaron, wants to try, but struggles with the religious aspects of whether it's right or wrong.
• And finally, in the work I have in progress, anal sex is actually important for plot reasons, and the hero, Marek, is going to make it as romantic as possible so Skye is thrilled enough to do it again (and again, and again. But not all the same day.)

Are you brave enough to weigh in here? What do you think? 

Ripped #SixSunday Sentences

I haven't done Six Sentences from Ripped in eons, so I think we'll see why Gavin is so conflicted. Today is the anniversary of his sister's death, and unfortunately, he was driving when a drunk driver hit them. He's come a long way since then--cleaning himself up, sobering up, graduating from college--but he still blames himself. His friend, Erik, is there to help him through this rough day.

Six Sentences from Ripped

Gavin raked a hand through his spiky hair, giving the ends a ruthless tug. “The one day I’m sober— yeah, I was hung over— but I was clean. No drugs, no booze. Clear-headed, driving like my grandfather across town. I even had my seatbelt on. Every single fucking T crossed, every I dotted, and I still manage to get her killed.”

For more six sentence fun, visit: Six Sentence Sunday website

Ripped buy links: The Wilder Roses (The Wild Rose Press Erotic Catalog)      Amazon          B&N