Showing posts with label Paranormal/Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paranormal/Fantasy. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

@NaughtyLiterati Turns ONE! To celebrate, enjoy a free #romance #audiobook chapter ~ Happy Listening!

Happy birthday to The Naughty Literati!

It was one year ago this month that a collection of authors from the same publisher met on a Yahoo Group and decided to work together to put out hot and spicy short story anthologies packed full of heart a few times per year.

SO much has happened for all of us since then. Your response has been so gratifying that we're now nearing our sixth (!) boxed set with the upcoming winter collection, Naughty Chances, in December 2015.

Many thanks to our fearless and wise leaders Suz deMello and Marianne Stephens for keeping us naughty writers herded and motivated so that our quills kept scratching parchment to create over the past year (6!) boxed sets that include sixty-five (count 'em, 65!) imaginative, best-selling stories to date.

In my "other life" I work in the entertainment industry and, among other things, I produce and narrate audiobooks for Audible. So for the one year anniversary of our very first boxed set, Naughty List (see the trailer and get all the stories in Naughty List now for only .99!)...



... I'm recording all my Naughty Literary short stories into one audiobook on Audible, starting with my very first one, How the Alien Stole Christmas.





Please enjoy the first audio chapter above now... and look for the entire recording of all my Naughty Literati stories ~ AlienSeductions: How the Alien Stole Christmas, Valentime, Blood Mates: How toBlackmail a Vampire, and Pack Masters: The Bermuda Love Triangle ~  in December on Audible in my upcoming collection Absolutely Alpha. I'll be giving away FREE copies of the audiobook over on my blog when it's out, so stay tuned to WIN!





And to our readers, thank you! You inspire us in so many ways and we've appreciated hearing from you over the past year.  Remember...





XO, 







Thursday, April 16, 2015

What's in a Pen Name?


I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I’m new to romance writing. I started selling fiction around the turn of the century. Fantasy and science fiction mostly, with a bit of non-fiction tossed in for seasoning. The question of pennames is one most writers I know have at least thought about.

There are more reasons for pennames than there are writers who use them. Some day jobs might object. Sometimes families might have a problem with what a son or daughter or mother or father writes. Knowing my family as I do I know it would be less that they’d be horrified by what I write and more than everyone would decide they know best and I’d never have a moment’s peace. Sometimes a writer just wants the privacy of keeping her real name separate from her writing life.

The biggest reason for pen names is marketing. The first is very simple: how does your name look on a book cover? Some names are too long to fit in a readable font. Some feel jarring for a particular genre. For years, women have written under male names to get published in science fiction (James Tiptree anyone?). And yes, men have written under women’s names to get published in romance. Dean Knootz wrote gothic romance as Deanna Dwyer. Marketing can be to the reader…or to the publisher. For such a seemingly small thing, a pen name can make a huge difference.

For those of us who write in different genres, a pen name, or names, let readers know what they’re getting. The late Barbara Mertz wrote non-fiction books on Ancient Egypt under her real name, but most of us knew her best as either Elizabeth Peters or Barbara Michaels. Or both. In her case, her publisher made the decision for her to use pen names to keep her fiction and non-fiction separate. But in these Wild West days of indie writing, more and more authors are making that decision themselves.

Terry Rissen is my latest pen name and one I hope to be using for a long time. The story I have coming out in the upcoming Naughty Flings anthology (May 15, 2015) is more than just an urban fantasy story of a young man and young woman finding each other on a night in 1969, but it’s the debut of a universe I’ve been living with for close to a year now. Blue Plate Special introduces characters I created for my novel Phoenix. It still has a rewrite or two in its future, and I can’t guarantee the title won’t change (again) before I send it out into the world. While Phoenix is light on romance, it’s heavy on character with a little end of the world action tossed in for good measure.

I’m doing something very different with this pen name. I’m not limiting my genres. In addition to Blue Plate Special’s urban fantasy, I’ve got Lodestone, a male/male science fiction paranormal romance adventure story in space coming out in June from Dreamspinner. I keep thinking I should have had horses so I could add western to the mix. Rainmaker is currently being written in the Lodestone universe, but with completely different characters. I have no idea how long it’ll be, I just hope Dreamspinner likes it as much as I do. Then there’s The Glass Spinner’s Tale, which is in rewrites. It’s a male/male steampunkesque fantasy with an almost Regency sensibility which doesn’t have a home yet and might end up going out as an Indie title.

I always swore I’d never juggle universes like this, but it’s turning out to be more fun than I ever imagined. I hope you all enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it.

Keep calm and read!

For now, you can connect with me on Twitter @terryrissen. I hope to have my own blog up and running before too long. When it is, the link will be posted on Twitter and appended here to future posts.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Excerpt from CUPID'S CURIOUS CASE by Marianne Stephens

From the NAUGHTY HEARTS boxed set - Available February 1st

Copyright © Marianne Stephens, 2015

Amy picked a pink candy with a red heart on it. Alan chose a blue piece that had white sprinkles on it. They popped their chosen pieces into their mouths at the same time.

A tingle went through Amy as she savored the rich treat. It spread through her body, and sent a shocking flame of desire to every inch of her body. There was a catch in her breath, and she itched to satisfy a lustful need she’d never felt with Scott.

She peeked at Alan, and noticed his eyes were closed as he devoured his candy. His breathing quickened, and dropping her gaze lower, she spied a distinct bulge pressing against his jeans’ zipper.

Alan opened his eyes and stared into hers. A heightened sense of craving, want, desire seemed to spark between them. Amy was at a loss for words, at least common sense ones. She wanted him. Here. Now. With a wanton passion.

“Try another piece,” she whispered, almost afraid to say anything.

“I—Sure. These are overwhelming. All my senses are aware of the decadent taste it leaves in my mouth. You too?”

“Yes,” she managed to answer before biting into a green piece of candy with a soft, minty inside that slid down her throat, leaving more tingling sensations wreaking havoc with her body.

Alan raked a hand through his hair. “Is it me, or is it hot in here?”

A stinging rush of heat course through her, settling in her cheeks. “It must be the champagne.” She fanned her face with her hand. “It does feel warmer than before.”

“Why don’t we open your window a little? Cool us off.”

Both stood, and walked to the window. Amy cranked it open and a rush of cooler air flowed inside. For a moment she shivered, and then felt warmer as Alan, wrapped his arms around her.

“You’re cold. Maybe this wasn’t a great idea.”

Amy clasped his arms, hugging them tighter. “No. I mean, we can close the window, but I’m enjoying standing here with you.”

Alan pulled her back towards him. Amy couldn’t stop her hormones from racing into overdrive at the sensation of rubbing against the bulge in his jeans. “Turn around, Amy. I want to see you while I hold you in my arms. Please.”

She quickly turned to face him, never losing contact. Heat radiated between them, satisfying her passionate lust now controlling her every thought. “I want to be held by you—touch you.” She rested her head on his chest. “We’ve missed out on being with each other all this time. I feel a need now. And no, it’s not the champagne talking. It’s me. I’ve always hoped for more between us.”

Alan lifted her head, lowered his mouth to hers, and began with a slow, gentle kiss. He pulled his head away and said, “We’re together now. I want this. I want you. No, like the note said, I desire you.”

His next kiss was more urgent as he rubbed his hands down her back and lifted her rear end closer. “Tell me now if you want me to stop and I’ll leave. I’ll go, but I don’t want to.”

“No. Please stay. I want you,” she moaned, consumed in a need to have Alan make love to her.

The next series of kisses were more frantic, with tongues slipping between teeth to thrust into each other’s mouth. Amy ran her hands down his chest and pressed against the zipper of his jeans. She noted the catch in his breathing as she undid his belt and lowered his zipper.

Then, she slipped her hand inside and touch the torrid flesh of his penis. Alan had circled her breasts with his hands. With every brush across each nipple, Amy’s breathing raced. Her nipples ached to have him hold, squeeze, lave them.

She stepped back, holding her lust in check, for a moment of sanity. “We’ll be more comfortable in my bedroom. I’ll undress you and then you can undress me.”

His smile only encouraged her to take control. “A definite invitation I won’t refuse.”

She took his hand and started walking to her bedroom.

Alan pulled her on a slight detour to grab the candy box, champagne bottle, and glasses. “I have plans for this.” He winked.