Follow this Link

Okay, I'm cheating today. But a friend of mine wrote a really interesting post, so I encourage you to check it out. Ayla's a new author to Total E-Bound, and she's got some great posts on her blog. This one is entitled, Since When Is a Female Orgasm a Bad Thing? And if that title doesn't grab you, nothing will.

New Release: GALE SEASON

Now available from Total E-Bound, the third installment in the Storm Lords: GALE SEASON

Control is more about perception than reality, a fact Aerolus realises all too well about his affai, a woman crafty enough to challenge him to a game he has every intention of winning, for a prize no less than her heart.

Aerolus Storm, Storm Lord and Wind Mage, has no liking for the idea of marriage, and even less enthusiasm for the trouble-making female destined to be his. The Aellei are a mischievous race steeped in deception, with a true fondness for games. They make poor allies and even worse enemies.

Self-appointed protector Alandra le Aelle has no intention of making things easy for him, especially since every glance at her beauty shatters his control. Wading through her illusions will take all the skill he’s built as a mage, but finding the truth of her heart will take all the skill he’s learned as a man.

To read more, click here.

The Number 3

I remember back before ménage was popular within the romance reading community. What was once taboo has now become almost the norm when it comes to erotic romance. There's nothing unusual reading about three people having sex, though the trend seems to be partnering (for women readers) two men and one woman, as opposed to those X-rated movies featuring two women and one man.

But even more today, as societal climes change, the whole m/f/m story, in which both men pleasure the female but never touch each other, is being replaced more and more with m/m/f, a true menage in the sense that all partners touch one another. Man on woman and man on man.

I've always been drawn to stories featuring full threesomes, in which every partner shares with the other. How can you conceive of two men with one woman never rubbing body parts and getting excited? Physically at least, there will be some stimulation. And if you want to get graphic about how two tab Bs really fit one woman's slot A and slot A+, both tab Bs are going to have to touch at some point if all three people are moving. (Watch a movie and see if you don't believe me.)

But I admit I enjoy m/m romance, so I may be biased. To many women, the fantasy of strong men being intimate with each other is enthralling. Honestly, how often do men open up and share in real life? Now imagine doubling that and throwing in some steamy interludes. And even better, throw in a woman to muck up the whole affair and bring femininity to the relationship.

I'm currently working on a title for Loose Id called The Lost Locket, and it involves two men and one woman. It's an all out threesome, m/m/f, where everyone's into everyone else. I am loving that dynamic and just thought I'd share the idea with you.

One more day to the weekend. Enjoy, you're almost there...

Something Nice

This picture really needs no explanation. And it has nothing to do with my post today. I just thought I'd enjoy a silent moment of reflection while looking at something nice. I'd like to title this, Inspiration.

Ah yes, better than coffee. Almost.

And now back to your regularly scheduled program.

MONDAY: TO DO

Happy Monday. Yeah, right.

I woke this morning twenty minutes later than I wanted to and spent the morning arguing with my 5 year old to move his little butt or he'd miss the bus. (Thankfully the 7 year old only grumbled marginally as much as he usually does. We are NOT a morning-family.) After many tears, threats, and physically stuffing said 5-yr-old into his pants and shirt, the pre-bus morning ended with smiles, laughter, and running up and down the driveway while waiting for the bus to arrive.

I went out for some PT (physical training.) I'm getting started slowly on my new routine, so I went for a brisk 2 mile walk with the dogs. Some weights, leg lifts and sit-ups, and now I'm ready to drive downtown to the Scout store. sigh. On my To Do list, I have writing as #2 after PT, #1. Unfortunately, I won't be sticking to my list today, and that aggravates me. But I have to do these errands, so the work needs to wait.

I'm not a huge list person, but it does help motivate me to finish everything on the list. And thus far remaining, I have Wolf Wanted edits, Gale Season edits, update website, and work on current WIP.

I have yet to take a shower or fold any of the million articles of clean clothing now lying helplessly on my bed. I have a feeling it's going to be busy week. Hope you're Monday is going swimmingly.

Coffee anyone?

Just One Bite Story Contest! GO VOTE

All Romance Ebooks is having a killer contest. They're offering some nifty prizes for the top three authors in their contest, and they're giving readers 32 free short reads!

All you have to do to vote is log in, and that's a free sign up if you don't already shop at ARe. You then get to read free short stories and can vote if you want.

The stories range from 2500-3000 words, really short, and have a paranormal theme. They can be anything from sweet to sexy.

Mine in round 1 of the voting is number 12. There are five rounds, and I have to win each one to go on. So go on over and vote. Besides, I want you to read my story. And again, it's free. What do you have to lose?

Marie

Audio Books? Really?

On October 6, Enemy Red will release from Total E-Bound in audio form.

Yes, take a moment to ponder that one. On the one hand, I'm pleased to see the book going out in more formats to reach a wider audience, but on the other hand I'm a bit confused. Not since the world of cassette tapes have I listened to a book, and that was only because I was driving on a long trip and needed something to keep me occupied.

My main question is, who narrates the story? Is it a man or woman? How will I feel when I hear some very frank language about personal intimacies being read aloud? I'm not a prude, but I think you lose something in the translation from words on a page, be it electronic or print, to hearing it spoken. Because if the voice displeases you, the story might as well. (Of course, if I couldn't see, I'd be dying for audio books, so I'm not trying to be picky about things.)

I have no idea what this will be like, but I can't wait to hear it. And I might actually get my husband to finally "read" one of my books! Ha!

Anyone out there listened to any erotic audio books? Your thoughts?

A Good Day for Naps...and Writing

I think it's a good thing when reviewing an old book you've written and it still sucks you in. I was doing some more edits on Gale Season, my third Storm Lord book which releases from Total E-Bound in a few weeks. I hadn't read the book in a while (it released from another publisher back in 2006 I think). And as I was editing, I found myself enjoying the work. Granted, some parts had me scratching my head wondering what I 'd meant by that or how the hell did the other publisher not catch these errors...? But it's been years and I'm clear on the re-read. It's now much better for it, and thanks to my editors at TEB as well.

I've been editing the book for a few days and finished it this morning. Then I took a nice lunch/walk break and settled in to start on my newest project for Loose Id: THE LOST LOCKET.

I wrote the first chapter and a little more today, and I'm loving it! Words are flying onto the screen, so far so good. A book about psychics, temptation, fun, and adventure. Two guys, a girl, and locket. Hurray.

I Can't Look Away

Disclaimer: This is NOT my house

Hoarders on A&E is a television show that deals with people who are clinically diagnosed with a disorder in which they hoard things. They never throw anything away and continue to accumulate stuff. Most of the time their homes are unsafe, unsanitary, and cluttered so much it's hard to maneuver inside at all.

One man used to spit in a cup and save his spent saliva in an orange juice container because his plumbing no longer worked and he couldn't get to his bathroom sink through all the clutter. Another woman lived with 30 cats who defecated and urinated on everything in her house--that she still lived in. When the cleaning crew came through, they found many of the cats diseased, living in their own filth, and others dead and buried under a ton of household crap, all while the old biddy bitched and complained about people throwing out her things. Mind you, this was after her house had been condemned by the city.

I don't know why, but this show fascinates me. I'm far from a perfect housekeeper, but I've never not been able to walk through my hallways because I'm stepping through mounds of clothing and/or refuse.

I realize hoarders suffer from a real mental illness. The question remains: how can anyone collect so much continued to bring things home they can't emotionally or financially afford, and not want to throw at least something away?

A common trend I've noticed among those diagnosed as hoarders is a tragic loss somewhere in their past. That by holding onto things they can hold onto the memories of those most dear. Some of the hoarders are children of hoarders, and several of the psychiatric doctors on the show mention a possible genetic link between those with the disorder. In any case, I wonder what's it's like to not be able to part with anything. Even trash? Balls of dog fur??

I don't have a problem steering clear of reality television. I don't like the invasive, sometimes tawdriness of exploring people's private issues. But Hoarders is compelling TV. Call me crazy--God knows I've been called worse. Now I have to go tidy up my desk, because I feel an intense need to throw something away.

(On a side note, I am determined to somehow work this dysfunction into one of my characters in a future novel. A child of a hoarder, perhaps? Make for an interesting dynamic, at the least.)

Ugly Monday

*Woke up late.
*The bus didn't come, had to take the kids to school.
*Hair is a mess so wearing bandana. Nice visual, eh?
*Had to wake up grown daughter--AGAIN-to walk the dogs.
*Tired from late (but fun) night with critique partner.
*Still haven't had a cup o' joe.

Is it Tuesday yet?

Good News

Foxy Lady has been Samhain's #1 seller for a few days now. Of course, saying that has no doubt slipped me to #2, 3, or 7 right now. But really, I did get there. It did happen. And just being on the list at all is a blast. Then again, I'm very competitive, and I don't like to see anything but #1 in my future. Ah well. Have a nice Sunday. Monday's coming soon enough.

The Ugly Truth About Reviews

I think at some point, every writer has felt both good and bad about reviewers--not reviews, those who do the reviewing. I mention this thread because a few days ago, a pretty well-known writer got into an unintentional battle with a popular review site, and the readers of that site are pretty rabid.

The reviewer mentioned that the heroine of the piece made her want to vomit. Yeah, hurl. The writer made a HUGE mistake by trying to make lemonade out of lemons. Honestly, I didn't read the author's comeback post as anything less than funny, something about Pepto Bismo, and it made me laugh. I thought, how clever of her not to say anything negative. Good for Jenny Writer. Well, then another hundred people jumped on the bandwagon that Jenny Writer was being mean, they looked at her Facebook comments, and the fur really started flying.

Man. You'd think most writers would know by now that you can't win. Seriously. Hell, and it's not just writers. Musicians, artists, athletes, you name it, none of us are ever free of criticism, are we?

But in the public eye, I think the best you can hope for (from a bad review) is for it to all blow away. Because if you try to play it off, someone out there will take offense to something you say and blow it all out of proportion. If you respond defensively, you come across as whiny and needful of praise. I've always found that a simple thank you or no reply at all is better than trying to engage in dialogue with snarky reviewers. They have an opinion, they stated it, end of story.

But it struck me when I read that post by Jenny Writer, because I honestly didn't see anything mean spirited about it. It's funny how you can turn anything inside out when you read written word. Spoken aloud, intonations and pitch lend meaning. But on a computer screen, anything can be misconstrued. Man, don't get me started on a post I wrote a few years ago about bad language. Oh man, that was ugly... and moving on...

A lot of people claim that reviews mean nothing. Well, in this day and age, they mean something to me--as a consumer. If enough people badmouth a book, I might not read it. If enough Yahoo users claim that next horror movie I've been eyeing sucks, I'm not shelling out ten bucks to see it.

So yeah, reviews mean something. And sure, as the receiver of both good and bad reviews, I've been annoyed. The other day I was digging for a review on an older book I'd written (for advertising purposes) and couldn't find anything. (Yes, I SO need to archive my stuff.) So I thought, why not try Amazon? And there I found a terrible review for one of my books. And why did the reviewer not like it? Because the Christian site that led her to my erotic romance title (????) didn't give her the mystery or suspense she'd wanted. Huh? I wanted very badly to ask the woman why she'd buy a book without reading the blurb that went with it, or to add something obnoxious like an "oh God" said in the heat of the moment could very well be inspirational, but I declined.

Not worth the effort or the potential mess of a discussion I really didn't want to have. And really, did it matter in the end? My royalties are nice and I'm happy with what I wrote. I have bigger problems to deal with and new stories to write. Why get dragged down in the negatives?

Food for thought on your happy Friday.