Excited to Be Here - Yeah, I'm a New NL Member #TinaDonahue #EroticRomance

Hey, everyone. Dropping in to say hi, and to thank the wonderful gang at Naughty Literati for inviting me to be a permanent team member.

I loved working with this group for the Naughty Lovers -  Spring is in the Air boxset. Until I wrote The Ride of Her Life, my contribution to the set, I'd never penned a really short, erotic story. Definitely a challenge to keep the word count under 10K. But I loved doing it and look forward to my next story with the group, a paranormal-themed set coming out in October.

This month, I have two new releases, both on the same day. Makes for some heavy-duty promo, especially since one is an erotic historical and the other is an erotic paranormal-romantic comedy. No one ever said I'm stuck in a rut.

The first release is Wicked Whispers, erotic historical, book two in my Dangerous Desires series about hot Spanish men and the women they simply can't tame. Yeah, there's a ton of conflict, danger, and smokin' hot romance.

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Available in ebook and print

AMAZON - AMAZON UK - BN - KOBO - iTUNES - GOOGLE PLAY

Blurb:

Follow the heart through darkness...

As the Inquisition gains force, even the faintest rumor can brand one a heretic. In this world it is Sancha's gift - or curse - to be blessed with the gift of healing. But the villagers are in need of her arts more than ever, and she feels it is her duty to help them at the risk of losing her life. And at the sacrifice of her heart.

Enrique has never wanted a woman as he does Sancha. Determined to have her love, he woos her with exquisite passion, giving her refuge to pursue her healing in secret. But their very desire and escape from the ruthless forces of the world may be their undoing. And together, they must pit themselves against a jealous rival and archaic tradition to secure their place in a hopeful new dawn.

Excerpt:

He looked at her. “Never have I met women like you.”

She inclined her head slightly to concede his point. “Now you understand why I said you must find another more in accord with your needs.”

“I want no one but you.”

“Enrique.”

He’d cupped her face, his thumb skimming her bottom lip. Her mouth tingled. Her breath spilled out on a wanting sigh at the tenderness and desire in his expression.

He reined in his gelding and lowered his mouth to hers.

She couldn’t fight him. Didn’t want to. The night was perfect for love, their attraction too intense, his kiss soft and searching at first then filled with raw male need, his tongue slipping into her mouth.

Sancha sagged against him, suckling his tongue as though she’d been born for the task, loving his clean flavor, his strong caress.

With the reins in one hand, he eased his other beneath her shirt, fingertips grazing her skin, hand cupping her naked breast.

She should have pulled away, told him to stop. Trembling with unbearable need, she opened her mouth even more to his tongue, inviting him to invade her deeply, intoxicated by his scent and strength.

Emboldened by her willing surrender, he dragged his thumb over her nipple, making the tip even harder. She ached for him in a way she couldn’t deny. All her life others had told her how sinful lust was. For her to avoid it at all cost. A woman’s purity was worth more than love. Passion could fade in a moment. Chastity alone proved a female’s honor the same as valor did with a man.

She’d never doubted those truths, having rarely thought of them until now.

Within Enrique’s embrace, she was complete for the first time, even though they had no future. Somehow, this moment and a few others seemed enough. On some level, she knew her sentiments were wrong. A better woman would fight for what was right, denying herself and him.

She gripped Enrique’s thigh, not wanting him to stop. Her touch seemed to excite him even more. He tore his mouth free and lifted her shirt, exposing her breasts to the ebbing moon and night air. The cool breeze skipped lightly against her feverish skin. His mouth was hot and damp on her throat. 

_________

My second release this month, Muzzling the Beast, is an erotic paranormal-romantic comedy, book four Taming the Beast series. Takes place in New Orleans at From Crud to Stud, a makeover service for supernatural beings owned by a half-witch and staffed by a reformed demon, a good fairy, and a voodoo priestess. Oh yeah, it's hotter than Hell too.

AMAZON - AMAZON UK - SAMHAIN - iTUNES - KOBO - GOOGLE PLAY

Blurb:

When all hell breaks loose, playing fair isn't an option.

Taming the Beast, Book 4

Removing memories from mortals who stumble into From Crud to Stud, a makeover service for supernatural beings, is a cinch for Constance, a voodoo priestess. Finding her own Mr. Right is another matter.

However, the latest intruder into their business stops Constance dead in her tracks. He's tall, dark, and deliciously hot. He's also a New Orleans police detective with questions. And answering them will bring down a plague of exposure, purges, and exorcisms.

Gabe Legrand has come to check out reports of strange activities. But the strangest thing is how Constance's sexy curves and silky skin have him uncharacteristically panting like a rutting beast. Trouble is, every time his questions probe too deep, his memories go poof, sending him back to square one with his luscious guide.

There's no denying their aching need crackles like an electrical storm. But Constance has a business to protect, which means keeping Gabe at arm's length - even as all hell breaks loose.

Warning: Epic whoppers (and we're not just talking about lies), smokin' hot sex, frequent brain farts, and two star-crossed lovers willing to do it again. And again. And again. Yeah, baby!

Excerpt:

He stepped toward her. She didn’t give an inch either. They were so close, Constance saw laugh lines at the corners of his beautiful eyes, along with flecks of light brown in his irises. His fragrance surrounded her, making Constance weak, causing her to yearn.

It had been months since she’d been involved with a man, and even then they’d been mainly supernaturals she’d met here. Like mortal guys, most of them were jerks or users, taking what they wanted, leaving her heartbroken and lonely.

Gabe’s heat and big body called to everything female within Constance, especially as his expression grew distracted and then intense, revealing the same carnal hunger she felt. A minute ticked by, followed by another and another.

His breathing picked up. So did hers.

Someone slammed into the wall behind them, grunted loudly, and let out a string of curses, killing the magic.

Gabe looked past her and frowned. “What is going on here? And don’t you dare tell me regular therapy. The business license is for a behavior adjustment and grooming service, whatever that’s supposed to be.”

“We like to think of it as a finishing school for guys.” She smiled indulgently. “So many of you are rough around the edges. Wouldn’t you agree?”

He gave her a cop’s hard stare.

Constance wondered if he liked using his cuffs during bed play. If there was a God and She was female, Gabe did. “We’re simply trying to help guys suppress their uncivilized urges, just like women have always been taught to do.”

He regarded her hand resting on his forearm, her fingers stroking him. His Adam’s apple bobbed with his hard swallow. “That’s not what I’ve heard.”

She went hot, cold, and hot again, wondering what he was getting at. Surely, none of the clients had lodged a complaint with the cops, telling the authorities they were vamps, weres, reapers, or any number of other beings trying to suppress their beasts. Why would any of them expose their true natures to a mortal?

Oh hell. Constance wondered if the police department had a supernatural working undercover, egged on by the Religious Right, who saw conspiracies everywhere, even in Barbie dolls and McDonald’s Happy Meals.

Afraid to know but curious too, she murmured, “What have you heard?”

Gabe wasn’t talking. He took in the sofa and the plants and then finally turned to the cabinet.

Before he could get a good look at the photos, Constance cupped his head and turned his face to hers.

He lifted his eyebrows in obvious surprise but didn’t move away. “What are you doing?”

What she shouldn’t…wanting him. The feel of his tight curls was a major distraction, the same as his rich mouth. She sighed. “Nothing.”

Gabe didn’t argue. He blinked as she zapped his memories of why he’d come here and then looked at her questioningly.

What could she say, sorry? She really was for having played with his mind, but not for touching him.

Thankfully, he wasn’t complaining about her stroking his scalp. After a moment, he grew distracted, as he had earlier, studying her features, becoming lost in them.

She drank his in too, liking his looks, feeling oddly comfortable with him even though they didn’t know each other and never would. A pang of sorrow hit Constance hard, with longing beneath it for a good man, someone she could count on who’d make each day a pleasure.

Wasn’t gonna happen with him. They only had these moments.

“You okay?” she asked.

He stared at her eyes, then her mouth. “Shouldn’t I be?”

As far as his memories were concerned, no. When it came to her touching him, she would have liked to have heard a definite yes. “Absolutely,” she finally said, answering his question. “You’re good…more than…”

She didn’t finish as Gabe edged closer, as though he couldn’t help himself. Well, hell, she couldn’t either, finally acting on pure instinct and bringing his mouth down to hers.

Aw God. His lips were ungodly heated and super soft, his beard-roughened cheeks a wonder against her skin, so virile and welcomed. On an unsteady breath, Constance sagged into him, opening her mouth to his, inviting his tongue inside.

About me:

I'm an Amazon and international bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised my work. Three of my erotic novels (Freeing the Beast, Come and Get Your Love, and Wicked Takeover) were Readers' Choice Award winners. Another three (Adored, Lush Velvet Nights, and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, my erotic contemporary romance, was chosen Book of the Year at the French review site Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for my erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights. Two of my titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition. Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years). I'm featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, I worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.

Looking forward to seeing everyone back here June 27..

Website - FB - FB Fanpage - Twitter - Amazon Author Page

Sheikhs, Secret Babies and All Those Romance-y Cliches by Suz deMello

When I was the authorial equivalent of a young whippersnapper--back in the 90s--there were all sorts of dogmas about what could and couldn't be the subject of romance novels. Tropes and characters such as marriage of convenience, secret babies, cowboys and the like were the steady fodder of series publishers such as Harlequin. Some subjects were untouchable, including sports figures and BDSM. And sex never occurred between characters in Regency novels--as far as the Polite World was concerned, Upper Ten Thousand babies were the products of Immaculate Conception or were found under cabbage leaves in Hyde Park.

This sexy Regency has been a
consistent best seller...

...in all of its incarnations

Silly me--I hadn't heard about a lot of that. My first manuscript was about an

injured quarterback. My third was a sex-laced Regency. Not only did that Regency win awards, but it's been my most consistent seller.

Both were published and did well, which goes to show that the conventional wisdom is often not so wise.

But then I spent a few years writing for Silhouette Romance, a division of Harlequin. And what did I write? Sweet romance. First a baby book--which made it to the finals of the prestigious RITA contest--then a cowboy with amnesia, then two sheikh books, both of which were bestsellers. I just published a secret baby book, which became a bestseller on All Romance Ebooks. And my next story for the Naughty Literati is a sheikh book.

my bestselling secret baby book
find it at http://tinyurl.com/SecretFather

So why the persistence and popularity of these timeworn tropes and themes?

It's simple: readers like familiarity.

It's often said that romances are formulaic and predictable--this usually spoken by a man in a disparaging tone. However, that man wouldn't see that his favorite mysteries, thrillers and superhero movies are also formulaic and predictable. All plots are based on a simple concept: resolving conflict, and they have one mission: to make the reader feel good (or, more cynically, get the reader to buy).

Because I'd already written two sheikh books, writing, Alice's Sheikh wasn't a big stretch. However, my two previous sheikh books had been set in the US, one in Florida and the other in Texas. Alice's Sheikh is set on the sheikh's home turf, his mythical kingdom of Barr Aghiba, islands in the Red Sea. But all of the usual alpha male tropes are there: wealth, power, hotness. And my heroine, just like the heroines of my other sheikh books, is a virgin.

Folks say that romances are easy to write because these cliches are used. Guess what? They're harder. It's more difficult to make a book convincing when one has to write something as unrealistic as a twenty-something virgin in a contemporary novel.

So how did I do it? In one sheikh book, my heroine was eighteen. That she was still a virgin was plausible, even though she'd attended a year of college. In my second sheikh book, the heroine, though in her twenties, was still a virgin due to suffering an attempted rape. In Alice's Sheikh, Alice is the daughter of two passionate, hard-partying druggies who died from overdoses. Even before that had happened, Alice had decided that passion was dangerous. She focused on other aspects of her life instead. Thus, her virginity and resistance to the sexy sheikh are motivated by something other than a desire to stick with the cliches.

Conflict must exist and be resolved, but it has to have a logical reason for its existence and has to be resolved in a logical way,

On June first, when Alice's Sheikh is published, you'll be able to decide if the conflict is logical and if I resolved it in a logical way.

Alice's Sheikh is part of the Naughty Literati's upcoming anthology, Naughty Heatwave: Turn up the Heat. Get it at all online etailers!

Intuition, ESP, or Fact-Based Logic? by Marianne Stephens

The 10th was "Trust Your Intuition Day". I'm not sure I always trust mine...how about you? 


Intuition: "The immediate knowing of something without the conscious use of reasoning." Now, that's what my big print, Webster's Dictionary says. (Yes, I like the big print!). This means you know something happened, will happen, is happening minus the thinking process to figure out the when/why/how/who/what.

It's said that women have intuition. Do we...really? A mother might say something like, "I knew he was no good for you." Was that intuition...or based on the fact that she heard him sweet-talking on his cell phone while her daughter went into the kitchen? Or, while watching a movie, someone will blurt out, "The butler did it." Are they guessing? Basing that answer on other movies they've seen or books they've read?

I guess the key word is immediate. No thoughts about a subject. Just a brief "flash" in your head about someone/something.

So...is it intuition, Extrasensory Perception,  or simply a matter of experience-based logic?

I wrote one book about a psychic who uses her special gift, ESP, to match couples at her dating service. ("Second Sight Dating" by Marianne Stephens) No intuition or experience-based logic was used in her process. She simply "saw" numbers and letters of clients in her head and matched them. She couldn't possibly remember what each wrote on their client forms, and match them that way. Her matching process had no scientific, fact-based routine involved at all. She had to close her eyes, concentrate on a letter, and wait for a number to appear in her head (or the other way around).

"Trust Your Intuition Day" gives the appearance of you going about your daily routine, and believing anything that pops into your head as being the truth. So, if you're at work and suddenly think "the phone will ring"...and it does...maybe it's your intuition at work. Or...maybe deep down inside you realize you're so busy that life would throw you a curve ball by having that damn phone ring just to bother you!

My very first encounter with what I labeled intuition happened the day President Kennedy was shot. (Yes, I'm that old). I wasn't "into" politics at that time...just trying to get through the angst of high school. I remember having breakfast and suddenly blurting out to my mother, "I think President Kennedy will be shot in an open car."

Yes...I'd seen news reports of him visiting cities and riding in open cars. But I had no idea where he was that day. An overpowering feeling of dread made me say what popped into my head. My mother assured me I was wrong and I was NOT to even think that might happen.

So, I went to school, he got shot, and I freaked out. Even went to church because I somehow felt like my intuition had told me that would happen and I should have warned him. As if anyone would have listened to the ramblings of a teenager!

Another time, I was in a car, going to a bridal shower with relatives. I knew my father was working late. Suddenly, the thought of him being in danger with a fire popped into my head. I said nothing, but called my mother once we got to the shower. Sure enough, my father had been working on a ship, a fire had broken out, and he had helped get some workers out of danger.

Again, I was a teenager and knew he worked on ships...but where had the danger and fire come from? ESP or my intuition kicking in?

I wish my intuition had helped me other times...like when I dated two brothers (not at the same time), got dumped by both, felt awful...and then found out both were gay. Then again, after  dancing and talking to my husband the night we first met, the thought that popped into my head was, "This is someone I can take home to meet my mother." Was that my intuition kicking in?
Any tales of intuition lurking in your past? Share your stories with us!

Marianne Stephens

http://www.mariannestephens.net

http://www.romancebooks4us.com 

http://sensuousromances.com

Photos: Flickr: kpishdadi and A30_Tsitika's photostreams

My favorite book

I was recently asked to blog about my favorite book of all the stories I’ve written. It was very difficult indeed. I’ve written over one hundred stories. How could I possibly choose just one?

Obviously my first published book is very close to my heart. After all, no one ever forgets their first. That’s “Intensity” an MMF ménage. It became the first book in a trilogy published by Siren. Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/intensity

But after much thought I decided that even though it’s very special because it was my first, it’s not my favorite.

As my bio explains, I write all different kinds of romance, whatever genre and pairing of characters that they demand. “The Paint Store Boys” books are all MM, contemporary, whereas some of my series have different pairings within them because that’s what the characters wanted. So that makes this series special.

But what makes “Sunshine Yellow Days” my favorite (although a good momma never admits she has a favorite) is that Basil is such an outrageously flamboyant person, and Edward is so quiet and self effacing. Edward is a nervous, frightened, failure who tries very hard to be ignored and to remain invisible. The word “invisible” isn’t even in Basil’s vocabulary. From the top of his green and purple hair, to the soles of his tap-dancing, bright red leather boots, he is front and center of the stage all the time and no one could possibly fail to see him. Their romance is very, very precious indeed.

Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/sunshine-yellow-days

Berengaria Brown’s links:
Blog: http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com/
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/berengaria-brown
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Berengaria-Brown/e/B00541R3YQ/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berengaria.brown?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BerengariaBrown
ARe: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/storeSearch.html?searchBy=author&qString=Berengaria+Brown

Another One's Out But Life Intervenes

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got the third story in the Suburban Dominants Series, Charming

the Masters out the door. The fact that this one is a short story made it easier since I'm re-editing and reformatting all of the books before I re-release them. There were things about the way my former publisher edited my stories that really irritated me. The use of certain words that I despise, but they considered essential. Certain grammatical imperatives that seemed nuts to me.

All this is the long way of saying that it takes me a while to get a story ready for re-release. I'm a perfectionist and picky about the details. I want it to be as perfect as possible.

So Charming the Masters is now available as an ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most other ebook retailers.

I had hope to have the fourth, Kyle's Bargain, which is a full length novel, ready to go by the 15th of May, but I don't think that's going to happen.  I'll have visitors in the house for the next two weeks, which means not much writing will happen.

I'm aiming for June 15th for releasing Kyle's Bargain.

In the meantime, though, the Naughty Literati will be releasing Naughty Heatwave on June 1st.  It looks like a terrific anthology, with ten stories from some amazing writers.  My own story is titled Weapon of Choice .  It's another of my paranormal stories, though this one has a more traditional fantasy sort of setting. Selvya’s gift for controlling fire made her a weapon in the hands of unscrupulous men. The king’s commander offers a chance for revenge and redemption, but it’s a risk she’s not sure she can take. I hope you'll enjoy it!

#Free Roman Imperial Historical #Erotica by Regina Kammer

Hadrian and Sabina: A Love Story is free for a limited time!

My Imperial Roman historical erotica epic, Hadrian and Sabina: A Love Story, is free on Amazon for five days only: May 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7!

Hadrian and Sabina is pretty intense historical erotica – heavy on the history and the sex. There are definitely romantic elements, though. In fact there are four different love stories involving five different people (so, yeah, some crossover there with the pairings). And there is a nod to the paranormal with brief appearances by gods and goddesses.

There is also a dastardly over-sexed villain so some of the erotic scenes are not for the faint of heart. The villain is an entirely made up character to satisfy my exploration of a centuries old question: why did historians and writers in antiquity believe Hadrian hated his wife Sabina?

There are plenty of real-life historical personages in the story. First and foremost, of course, is the Roman emperor Hadrian (born 76 CE, reigned 117-138 CE), plus his wife Sabina and her family, Hadrian’s beloved youth Antinous, the emperor Trajan, the librarian and biographer Suetonius, etc., etc. Let’s just say if you love multi-character historical epics with lots of sex, you’ll love this book!

After this freebie five days, Hadrian and Sabina will continue to be free under the Kindle Unlimited program but only until May 29th. In June, I’ll be launching the epub edition of Hadrian and Sabina on all retailer platforms. I will keep the paperback edition of Hadrian and Sabina in Amazon’s Matchbook program where you can buy the paperback on Amazon and get the Kindle edition for free.

So if you’ve ever been curious about why my author tagline is "Erotica for the Hardcore Historian" you’ll discover the reason by reading Hadrian and Sabina: A Love Story. This epic novel is quintessential Erotica for the Hardcore Historian. It even includes a bibliography. And for five days it's free!

Sign up for Kammerotica News

I now have a newsletter of my very own! Sign up for Kammerotica News and you’ll get an exclusive Victorian erotica freebie!

Of course if you want to keep up with the Naughty Literati, sign up for Naughty News!

About the Author

Regina Kammer is a librarian, an art historian, and an award-nominated, best-selling, multi-published writer of erotica and historical erotic romance. Her short stories and novels make history sexier, whether the era is Roman, Byzantine, Viking, American Revolution, or Victorian. She’s even sexed up contemporary settings, Steampunk, and Greco-Roman mythology. She has been published by Cleis Press, Go Deeper Press, Ellora’s Cave, House of Erotica, Story Ink, The Naughty Literati, and her own imprint, Viridium Press. She began writing historical fiction with romantic elements during National Novel Writing Month 2006, switching to erotica when all her characters suddenly demanded to have sex.

Keep up with Regina on her website

Subscribe to her newsletter Kammerotica News

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In My World ... Aliens Glow

Every story requires the author build a world for their characters, whether its a real place or one that's a figment of their overactive imagination. World building, when done right, is behind the scenes magic that becomes part of the background leaving the characters and story in the foreground. Basically, there but not really seen.

I view world building much like the magic of Disney World. Visitors see the attractions, well manicured landscaping, shops and restaurants. They see the world Disney wants them to see. And just out of sight are a network of hidden walkways and buildings where employees, who remain out of sight, support and maintain the created world.

More often than not my stories take place in real places yet I still create their world in subtle ways from the decor of their homes to the places where they work. For my story Alien Rights, part of the Naughty Heatwave boxed-set available June 1st, I built everything. From the diner where Emily works to the stasis chamber on the astrocruiser Neimus where she meets Ralosian commander Kalgron Rodar.

For me, alien environments are a lot more fun as I get to invent things only known to my imagination. An exo-med unit, for example, is a computerized device that can scan someone, detect any anomalies in their genes and repair the problem within minutes. Now that's a device we could sorely use in healthcare, although it would put me out of my "day" job as a CT Scan Technologist.

In addition to the world, I created a race of beings, the Ralosians from the planet Ralos. Since Ralosians are not of Earth they had to be different but still potentially attractive to us. I made the Ralosians large with skin that glows, along with glowing eyes that have elongated pupils similar to an animals.

Of course, since I am also an artist, I had to create an image of Emily's alien hero. Here he is, the dark yet glowing Ralosian Commander, Kalgron Rodar.

Alien Rights by Nicole Austin
Blurb: Be careful what you wish for—it just might come true. While Emily may have wished to be taken away, waking up on an alien cruiser, naked and intensely turned-on wasn’t what she’d had in mind.

Click the button below to read an excerpt from Alien Rights.



And find out more about the Naughty Heatwave boxed-set on the Naughty Literati website.

Happy Reading,
Nicole