Valentine's Day Quiz - Can You Answer These? by Marianne Stephens

In honor of Valentine's Day...a day of love and romance...here's a quiz for you! See how many you can answer! Answers are at bottom! HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

1. Who sent the oldest known Valentine around 1415?
Nicholas, Czar of Russia
Charles, Duke of Orleans
Napoleon, Emperor of France

2. St. Valentine is indeed the patron saint of love, but he has many other duties. He is also the patron saint of:
Actors
Bee keepers
Orphans
Vinegar makers

3. Who sold the first mass-produced valentines in the US?
Esther Howland
Julia Chauncy
Mary Joy

4. Before it became fashionable to give chocolates and flowers, what was the traditional gift given by a man to a woman on St. Valentine's Day?
A pair of gloves
A piece of jewelry
A hair ribbon

5. How many Valentines Day cards are sold each year?
50 million
500 million
1 billion

6. Which shape have Necco Sweetheart Conversation Hearts never been made in?
Horseshoe
Baseball
Star
Postcard

7. Who is Cupid?
In Roman mythology, he is the son of Venus
In Greek mythology, he is the child of love
In Norse mythology, he is a winged child of Zeus
In Roman mythology, he is the king of other gods and goddesses

8. Where is Valentines Day not celebrated?
France
United Kingdom
Sweden
United States



9. When were the first commercial Valentines Day cards sold?
1545
1710
1840
1920

10. Who created the first box of Valentines Day candy?
Richard Cadbury, 1868
George Hershey, 1910
Martha and Melvin Mars, 1945
Phil Snickers, 1880

Lovers, love, and romance...all the elements romance authors use to create books for readers!

Quiz answers:1. Charles
2. Bee keeper
3. Esther Howland
4. Gloves
5. 1 billion
6. Star
7. Roman Mythology, son of Venus
8. Sweden
9. 1840
10. Richard Cadbury

http://www.mariannestephens.net
http://www.aprilash.net

Photos: Flickr: Suchitra prints1, David Prior, toephotos, and D. Sharon Pruitt's photostreams.

Hot enough to make Cupid blush ~ #‎ValentinesDay‬ ‪#‎romances‬~ ‪#‎99cents‬ or FREE on #KindleUnlimited http://tinyurl.com/jbzeheo

Naughty Cupid came up with 11 hot and pounding romance stories for your #‎ValentinesDay #‎romance #‎reading pleasure... Just  .99 or FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

NAUGHTY HEARTS: ELEVEN NAUGHTY ROMANCES 

by The Naughty Literati

Get NAUGHTY HEARTS today!

Warning: May cause heart palpitations and skyrocketing blood pressure

Eleven Naughty Romance Stories including Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, Menage, M/M, M/M/F, New Adult, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Steampunk, & Time Travel from bestselling authors. 

SPECIAL RE-RELEASE! Additional bonus content inside. 

THE REAPER’S VALENTINE by Charlotte Boyett-Compo 

Sometimes a Reaper has to do what a Reaper does. It would be wise for a life-mate to remember that! 

NAUGHTY BALLS by Suz deMello 

Two college basketball players find themselves alone on V-Day evening. (M/F) 

LOVE POTION #69 by Alexa Silver 

When Keith and Jenna accidentally fall under the spell of one of her Valentine’s Day love potions, lust is in the air! 

MY VALENTINE LOVERS by Nicole Austin 

All I want for Valentine’s Day is to get barbed by a feline shifter and act out a few of the naughty twin fantasies getting me hot and bothered. 

VALENTIME by Belle Scarlett 

Valerie buys a South Carolina plantation and discovers a Valentine addressed to her from a previous owner who bids her to return to him in 1865. 

DELIA’S HEARTTHROB by Regina Kammer 

Gadzooks! Valentine’s Day is fast approaching – what’s a scientist to do? Edward knows naught of romance. Can steam power prevail over chocolates to win Delia’s heart? 

TWO INTO ONE GOES GREAT by Lynne Connolly 

A booker at a top model agency learns she’s anything but ordinary when two sexy photographers point their lenses—and more—at her. 

BUY ME A ROSE by Francesca Hawley 

Jessica and Nathaniel Whitewolf celebrate their thirtieth anniversary as True Mates but they’ve lost their bond. Now a hot couples’ retreat will get it back. 

CHOCOLATE-COATED REUNION by Berengaria Brown 

Jake refuses to talk to Matt after he was very late on Christmas Eve. Matt’s determined to reconnect with Jake on Valentine’s Day. 

CUPID’S CURIOUS CASE by Marianne Stephens 

Alan’s last job as Cupid 84 involves neighbor Amy and a special box of candy. Both secretly desire the other. Can they find true love? 

FIFTY SHADES OF VALENTINE’S DAY by Katherine Kingston 

Dumped on Valentine’s Day! Melissa only thinks the day can’t get any worse. Until she damages her hot neighbor’s car, and he demands unexpected compensation. 

Reviews for NAUGHTY HEARTS! 

"A must read for fans of quick and sexy reads.” 

• M. Fullington 

"There's something in this collection for everyone and for every mood. There's also a great blend of sweet (sexy sweet), funny and intense.” 

• CarolineP 

“Fantastic… Each story has its own unique flavor, but the one common factor is that they all rate high on the spice meter." 

• Rachel's Willful Thoughts 

“...this was a wonderful compilation of stories.” 

• Tina Brunelle, Redz World Reviews 

“Super read! A fun and sexy read...” 

• Tina Williams 

“Quite a bargain!” 

• L.S. Tucker

Get NAUGHTY HEARTS: ELEVEN NAUGHTY ROMANCE STORIES by The Naughty Literati today! Only .99  or FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FROM THE NAUGHTY LITERATI!  
May your hearts be naughty in the BEST way this February 14th!

To sequel or not to sequel…

I know that as a reader, I’m ambivalent about sequels. I like to know the hero and heroine (or whatever combination of main characters) are still living happily ever after. But too often, in books something nasty happens to one or another of them down the track, in a long series. Or even to an important secondary character, like JK Rowling’s Dumbledore.
But sometimes, even though the hero and heroine are satisfactorily together, the story just isn’t finished. Other characters are screaming for their turn in the limelight, the villain escapes from captivity, or something else just appears.
This has happened to me several times now, so in each case I’ve written a stand-alone sequel where the main characters remain HEA, but other characters pick up the storyline.
The “Born to Rule” series began with four books. They follow the stories of Terah, Raine, Flame, and Skye, women whose destiny will only be discovered after the world as we know it has gone forever. The planet Mu Arae 7 sends warriors to Earth on a mission. Each warrior must find his bride to complete his mission.
The problem was that eight Mu Araen warriors insisted on making the journey to Earth and yet each woman only wanted one man. Life would have been so much easier for me, the writer, if each woman had chosen two men. But the characters refused to make my life that easy. Each warrior chooses his woman. He recognizes her by her scent and the series is MF—one man, one woman.
Which meant when the four women had all been settled into their own happy ending, four warriors were left unsatisfied.
And they hounded me for their own stories. So I wrote two more books, “North” which is out now, and “South” which releases tomorrow.
Because really. How can I deny a hunky warrior with purple eyes, determined to find the one woman on Earth who will make him happy?

PG 13 Excerpt from “Born to Rule” book 1: “Earth”.
Terah took a deep breath in through her nose. “Danger. There’s danger here.”
She picked up her pack and screamed, “Run!” but it was too late. As the four of them scattered, a horde of enormous aliens burst over the hill and captured them. One of the giants grabbed her, sweeping her into his arms, and saying something in a language she didn’t know.
Terah kicked and screamed, struggling to get free from arms that were like ropes around her body. His hand, twice the size of hers, covered her mouth and nose.
“I found you and you are mine. By the laws of all Mu Arae I claim you.”
Terah went limp in his arms. She was a slave. The long walk, the days and days, hands and feet of them for her, for Skye, for Raine, and for Flame, were all wasted. Instead of escaping from the aliens they’d all been caught almost at the safe place. The aliens must have discovered it and waited here to trap them. Now she was this man’s slave forever.
The man called out something in the strange language, and then there was silence. He was holding her so tightly against his chest she couldn’t even say goodbye to her friends. Tears prickled behind her eyelids but she refused to cry.
Goodbye, Skye. Goodbye, Flame. Goodbye, Raine. I hope your aliens aren’t too horrible to work for.
The alien turned her in his arms and spoke slowly in English. “Do you understand that you belong to me now?”
“Yes.” Her voice was soft and defeated so she immediately squared her shoulders. She belonged to him and had to do whatever he told her. But inside he couldn’t change her thoughts and personhood. She would always be Terah in her heart.
“You are my bride. We belong together. You will stay with me and we will rebuild the land.”
Terah didn’t understand the word bride. But since she had to stay with him and work the land she guessed slave was close enough to the meaning. At least she knew how to scavenge food and which plants they could eat. He was so big she supposed it would take most of her time every day just to find enough food to feed him.
He put her down and began to undress. His purple clothing looked very strange to her, but then she’d never seen an alien before either. At least he had arms and legs just like hers, and his hair was blond. His eyes were different though. She’d never seen anyone with purple eyes before. When he was naked, he pulled her closer to his body and dragged her shirt off over her head. He pulled so hard she worried that it would tear.
“Let me do it.”
She stepped back and undressed, even taking her sandals off, and stood naked before him. She couldn’t decide whether he was just looking to see what he’d gotten, or if he was going to mark her in some way to show she belonged to him, or whether he wanted to have sex with her. As his slave there was nothing she could do to complain whatever he wanted to do with her. He’d told her twice she belonged to him and she accepted that. She’d known the aliens were coming looking for slaves. It was just bad luck that she and her friends had been caught.
“You are too thin. You need to eat more,” he said.
Yes, well, that was only going to happen if he permitted her to eat more, but it was a positive sign that he meant to feed her.
“Andreas.” He tapped his chest and looked at her.
Apparently they were exchanging names. “Terah.”
“Suck my cock.”

The best-selling “Born to Rule” series by Berengaria Brown:
Available at Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/earth-mf
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Born-Rule-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0167JJKXU/ref=pd_sim_351_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=512Azyy6JIL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=09JVFQ14C5VRPZA6E307
All Romance ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-earth-1901004-340.html
Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/north-by-berengaria-brown/

Berengaria Brown
http://berengariasblog.blogspot.com/

NAUGHTY HEARTS ~ 11 ‪#‎ValentinesDay‬ ‪#‎romances‬ naughty enough to make Cupid blush ~ only ‪#‎99cents‬ http://tinyurl.com/jbzeheo

Naughty Cupid came up with 11 hot and pounding romance stories for your‪ #‎ValentinesDay‬ ‪#‎romance‬ ‪#‎reading‬ pleasure...

NAUGHTY HEARTS: ELEVEN NAUGHTY ROMANCE STORIES by The Naughty Literati

Get NAUGHTY HEARTS today!
Warning: May cause heart palpitations and skyrocketing blood pressure

Eleven Naughty Romance Stories including Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, Menage, M/M, M/M/F, New Adult, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Steampunk, & Time Travel from bestselling authors. 

SPECIAL RE-RELEASE! Additional bonus content inside. 

THE REAPER’S VALENTINE by Charlotte Boyett-Compo 
Sometimes a Reaper has to do what a Reaper does. It would be wise for a life-mate to remember that! 

NAUGHTY BALLS by Suz deMello 
Two college basketball players find themselves alone on V-Day evening. (M/F) 

LOVE POTION #69 by Alexa Silver 
When Keith and Jenna accidentally fall under the spell of one of her Valentine’s Day love potions, lust is in the air! 

MY VALENTINE LOVERS by Nicole Austin 
All I want for Valentine’s Day is to get barbed by a feline shifter and act out a few of the naughty twin fantasies getting me hot and bothered. 

VALENTIME by Belle Scarlett 
Valerie buys a South Carolina plantation and discovers a Valentine addressed to her from a previous owner who bids her to return to him in 1865. 

DELIA’S HEARTTHROB by Regina Kammer 
Gadzooks! Valentine’s Day is fast approaching – what’s a scientist to do? Edward knows naught of romance. Can steam power prevail over chocolates to win Delia’s heart? 

TWO INTO ONE GOES GREAT by Lynne Connolly 
A booker at a top model agency learns she’s anything but ordinary when two sexy photographers point their lenses—and more—at her. 

BUY ME A ROSE by Francesca Hawley 
Jessica and Nathaniel Whitewolf celebrate their thirtieth anniversary as True Mates but they’ve lost their bond. Now a hot couples’ retreat will get it back. 

CHOCOLATE-COATED REUNION by Berengaria Brown 
Jake refuses to talk to Matt after he was very late on Christmas Eve. Matt’s determined to reconnect with Jake on Valentine’s Day. 

CUPID’S CURIOUS CASE by Marianne Stephens 
Alan’s last job as Cupid 84 involves neighbor Amy and a special box of candy. Both secretly desire the other. Can they find true love? 

FIFTY SHADES OF VALENTINE’S DAY by Katherine Kingston 
Dumped on Valentine’s Day! Melissa only thinks the day can’t get any worse. Until she damages her hot neighbor’s car, and he demands unexpected compensation. 


Previous Reviews for NAUGHTY HEARTS! 

"A must read for fans of quick and sexy reads.” 
• M. Fullington 

"There's something in this collection for everyone and for every mood. There's also a great blend of sweet (sexy sweet), funny and intense.” 
• CarolineP 

“Fantastic… Each story has its own unique flavor, but the one common factor is that they all rate high on the spice meter." 
• Rachel's Willful Thoughts 

“...this was a wonderful compilation of stories.” 
• Tina Brunelle, Redz World Reviews 

“Super read! A fun and sexy read...” 
• Tina Williams 

“Quite a bargain!” 
• L.S. Tucker


Get NAUGHTY HEARTS: ELEVEN NAUGHTY ROMANCE STORIES by The Naughty Literati today! Only .99 !

Connect with the Naughty Literati here:

     

FATAL SUBMISSION by Nicole Austin

My sexy and scary erotic horror story, Fatal Submission, is back and even better than before with a new cover of my own design.

Blurb: Claire Hanson is a submissive in need of a Dom. Finding one in rural Illinois in 1981 is no easy feat but her requirements are simple. Forget complicated limit lists, take charge and give her lots of hot, sweaty sex.

On edge, body humming with arousal, Claire aches to have her desires sated. And ruggedly handsome Dominant Mason Burke is the man she wants. But for Mason work comes first and Claire’s tired of waiting.

Mason’s loss is Dr. Carl Skinner’s lucky break. The bonus—Carl’s a rich, drop-dead gorgeous Dom with a real dungeon in his basement.

Getting what you want isn’t always a good thing and the game takes a drastic turn Claire never saw coming. According to the Dungeon Master’s victims who still haunt his torture chamber, submission has fatal consequences and she’s running out of time.

*Note: This scary tale contains graphic scenes of erotic torture and violence that may cause the reader to stay up late reading with all the lights on. Previously published title that has been revised and re-edited.*

Read a sexy excerpt here: http://www.nicoleaustin.net/excerptfs

Read a scary excerpt here: http://www.nicoleaustin.net/excerptfs2

The Death of a Fan by Regina Kammer

January was a difficult month. A few people I know lost loved ones. The Naughty Literati lost one of our own authors. And I lost my biggest fan.

That may seem self-serving, perhaps a little trivial. Except my biggest fan was my mother-in-law.

Writers of erotic romance frequently get the question “does your family know what you write?” Yes, everyone in my family knows what I write and some have even read some of it. My mother-in-law read everything I wrote. She was a voracious reader and, after I became a published author, added my books and stories into the mix of mysteries and history and what-not.

Whenever I had something on pre-order, she immediately pre-ordered it, and then when it showed up on her Kindle, I would get an email or a comment at a family function. She loved that she could pre-order my stuff and it would “suddenly” appear one day. She would read it immediately.

We saw her in December. She asked about Naughty Chances. She was certain she had purchased it, thought she had read it, but it seemed confusion was slowly starting to take hold of her.

Of course she was more than a fan. She was a mother, a grandmother, a matriarch, a listener, a teacher. But to me she was also one more reader who looked forward to my next story, one more person who always asked what I was writing and listened intently.

And one more person I will miss very, very much.

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

Follow her on Twitter @Kammerotica

Or Google+

Like her on Facebook

Connect with her on Goodreads

See what’s new on her Amazon Author Page

Pushing The Limits

Pushing boundaries is not being content with the norm and wanting to experiment, expand your frontiers, boldly move out of your comfort zone and make new discoveries. I am a firm believer that getting out of your comfort zone and pushing boundaries is how you grow. History has proven this to be true time and again. There are countless examples of people who created positive change by being brave enough to push against societal constraints.


I practice this concept in both my personal life and my writing. In 2013 I took a major leap from my comfort zone and boundaries. Instead of dreaming about what I wanted, I went for it. After 40 years of living in Florida, I bucked tradition--no empty nest for me. Instead of my children leaving home, I did. I took a major leap of faith, left my job of 12 years and moved to Colorado for a new job without having sold my house. I handed the keys over to a realtor, packed up my car and drove 1,900 miles alone. I didn't even have a rental house leased when I left. About three hours into the drive, I nearly had a panic attack but talked myself through it and kept driving. I am so happy to be living in this beautiful state, seeing new sights and meeting different people. That never would have happened if I'd stayed within my familiar comfort zone.

When my first erotic romance, Passionate Realities, was published in 2005, I pushed the genre boundaries. At that time, M/M sexual interactions within the genre were rare and I bravely went there. Oh, I fought it at first but that's where my characters kept insisting they wanted to take their menage. The heroine encouraged her guys to explore and push past their own comfort zones. I followed their lead, pushing past my own barriers, and couldn't be happier with the results.
Note: You won't find Passionate Realities on my website as I am working to get my rights back from my former publisher.

I am still pushing writing/societal boundaries in my upcoming story with the Naughty Literati, Cinderella Scandal, part of the Naughty Lovers boxed-set which will be available March 1st. This story pushes the societal boundaries of step-sibling romantic relationships. Nolan and Carly meet and indulge their mutual lust before learning that his dad and her mom have eloped, making them step-siblings. Since there is no blood relation between the pair their budding relationship is not wrong yet they must face societal prejudices against such a union.

Cinderella Scandal Blurb: It was a onetime indulgence—a random encounter between strangers. A good girl’s dirty little secret with her bad boy stepbrother. Anything else is forbidden. Or is it?
Click here to read an excerpt from the first chapter.

The future is a blank page waiting to be written. Are you brave enough to move forward, push past the boundaries and discover what's out there waiting for you?