Tomorrow Edge Will Be Available

Are you ready?

EDGE will be available at midnight and in celebration I am giving you a sneak peek today! In case you missed meeting Autumn, Jonas, and Michael in before, you can meet them in Voyeur now.

Excerpt:

She watched the shadow pass through his irises. It was always there, always lingering. He hid it behind his good-natured, almost-constant impish grin, but there it always was, ready to be called out, and she was calling him out to play. On her knees, tears she couldn’t explain to him streaking down her cheeks, she sobbed as a childhood song came to her mind. Patty-cake. Her father’s voice singing as she patted her small hands against his large, elegantly smooth ones, “Say, say, my playmate, come out and play with me, and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree.”

Jonas rushed to her side and knelt beside her, lifted her chin as she started humming the tune, the words haunting her mind. “Holler down my rain barrel, slide down my cellar door, and we’ll be jolly friends forever more…”

“What’s happened, Autumn? You were so certain you were winning” -- he pulled back to look into her face, afraid to ask but asking anyway -- “did you lose the case to Edward?”

“Don’t say his name!” she growled. She closed her eyes quickly, hiding from Jonas the pain of Edward’s offer. He would never know that Edward wanted her to come back, just as he didn’t know about her lapse with Edward in his office.

God, the shame of that.

She knew she was calling out danger to play, but she didn’t care. She wanted to hurt. She needed to hurt. The hurt on the outside must hurt more than the inside to make it go away. She’d learned that by accident, and she didn’t think that Jonas even realized that he’d taught her that lesson. “Hurt me!”

“Michael isn’t here. He’s in Vegas, remember?”

“We don’t need Michael.” Autumn pushed him, her palm a sharp punch against his shoulder. She shook her head hard, trying to dislodge the song. She needed Jonas to really come out and play. She leaned into him, kissing his cheek, biting his cheek; then when he turned to claim her lips, she kissed him, sucking his lower lip into her mouth. Sucking his lip. Biting his lip. A metallic taste filled her mouth. She’d bitten harder than she’d meant to. He pulled back away from her, jerked away, grabbed her chin, and made her meet his gaze.

She could see a drop of his blood on his bottom lip before willing herself to meet his gaze, finding control she didn’t want to see reflected back at her. “Why do you let Michael control you? Control us? You played with me before we became a ménage.

Play with me now. Just a little. Jonas. Hurt. Me. Just. A. Little.”

She could see his control slipping.

“Cut me, Jonas. You’ve wanted to. Michael always stops your plans. Michael isn’t here. It’s all right. I’m giving you permission. I trust you.”

Two Days until EDGE!

In the story Voyeur, my readers met Autumn and Jonas and Michael, learning that Jonas is a clinically diagnosed sadist who really likes to play on the edge, but tempers his need for "more" by taking photographs to keep things slow enough for him to remain rational...safe...if not completely sane.

In the follow-up story Edge, the level of play gets even more dangerous.

What is it about playing on the physical edge that lies between life and death? Suffocation, knife play, gun play?

You might not have even looked at it that way before, certainly you would never play with guns or knives, right? But have you ever drawn your lovers hands to circle your throat? Just a little pressure at the right moment? Just a little...

THat moment when you are walking the edge of orgasm and being suddenly unable to breath kicking you over the precipice of the best damn orgasm you've ever had...

I love playing on the edge.
I have really enjoyed writing this story...
In two more days you can let me know if you enjoy reading it;)

Three Days Until Edge

Edge Play: High risk BDSM play which may fall outside the lines of safe and sane but are still consensual, including physical threat (guns, knives or breath control), emotional threat (phobias, past traumas, or childhood memories), or activities which challenge social taboos.

What is emotional edge play and what makes it so damn fascinating?

I have been fascinated by edge play since before I had a name for what my first husband was “doing to me”…I thought he was nuts. Why would anyone want to “get in my head”, “mess with my mind”, “torture me” with words? And then I realized he was getting off on it. The interplay between us when I was devastated…a horrifyingly, ugly, emotional mess…think tears and snot and well, worse than that without the graphic detail…really did it for him. And in a way, I suppose it did it for me as well, because I still think about those times, more than anything else we did together.

At the time, I hated him.

There are nights…the intensity is all I can think about.

No one has ever made my heart pound so hard, no one has ever fucked my mind so totally. It was a rollercoaster ride that cannot be explained but only experienced.

So back to the question, what is emotional edge play?

There are hundreds of definitions if you use a search engine, but in my mind it is the creation of an emotional state using past or current emotional stressors that is then toyed with, manipulated, through the power exchange. It is the ability to take someone to the brink of fear or anger or jealousy and then tip them over the edge while still holding onto them. It is actions and words that provoke a huge emotional reaction.

Edge Play is not for novice players. Really. This is not the stuff you do on Saturday night for shits and giggles because the results can be far reaching.


Edge written by Roxy Harte

For the ménage of Autumn, Jonas, and Michael, their SM play is dark and dangerous, and for one sadism isn't a game at all…it's an illness.

BUY IT on Tuesday April 14th!

Edge Is Coming! Countdown Four Days!

You fell in love with Autumn, Jonas, and Michael in Voyeur...
And now their relationship gets really edgy.


Their play is dark and dangerous, and for one sadism isn't a game at all…it's an illness.

Atlanta attorney A.J. Blessings has it all going for her, a new law office with a solid client base, two men who love her and friends who envy her her men; however…

When her lover Michael starts to see another and she is left solely to the care of her sadist, play gets a little more dangerous, and when she starts topping her sadist from below, chaos ensues as the strength of the ménage is tested.

When it is announced that her father, a man she hasn’t seen since she was a child, is to be announced as the next Prime Minister, paparazzi descends on her life, making her every move front page news.

When a client is killed and the killer starts stalking her, Autumn turns to her men for protection, turning already tense relations into razor sharp emotional implements of torture.

Too stressed for words, Autumn flees to her childhood home.

Amidst the sunny, idyllic backdrop of the white sand and azure waters of the Bahamas, mystery hides within the shanty ruins and shackle remnants of a long-forgotten slave enclosure. The whispered secrets of half forgotten memories hold the secret of what really caused her parents to separate but self-discovery collides with danger when the killer shows up in paradise, but keeping her physically safe, sketchy at best, takes a back-seat to the emotional rollercoaster of having her father arrive on the island as well…

But the greater journey lies in the darkness calling to her soul as the ménage struggles to reunite…

EDGE will be available from Loose-Id at midnight April 14th.
If you haven't yet read Voyeur, you have four days before the naughtiness continues!

Insomniac, Movie Addict

Did anyone besides me know that Netflix has INSTANT UNLIMITED VIEWING?
Oh yay...

Things I learned today:

With three daughters it is a good day if two out of three are speaking to you, it is an awesome day if all three are actually speaking to you. I think its a jewish saying, or maybe its just a mother of daughters saying but I totally agree with, "A mother is only as happy as her unhappiest child."

Amusementland was enjoyable...I had my doubts.

It can snow in Ohio and twelve hours later be sunny and tolerable.

I can go an entire day without writing and I will not die.

Writing Today....

Working on the voodoo laced paranormal today...

Sad because I just got word that Reaper may not see publication at Liquid Silver until mid to late summer...geesh.

So, it snowed today...grrrrrrr...thank god it isn't sticking.

Kutner Died?

Tell me last night was a bad dream.
For those of you who do not know who Lawrence Kutner was...think House.

Online Memorial.

Okay, I'm going back to "my world"...I have scary voodoo monsters to write about.

Welcome Spring Party

The photo is from the back porch...I could have titled this post, why I hate spring in Ohio...

We had a BEAUTIFUL weekend, warm (mid-sixties) sunny skies...

...and today sucks. I will say it again. TODAY SUCKS. The furnace is back on, it is raining, sleeting, and snow flurrying. I don't know what the official temperature is because I don't want to know. Too cold and gray and dreary...and...actually, it's so awful, I don't even want to talk about it.

The dogs are in their little indoor doggie dens (ie shrouded kennel cages) snoring in front of the fireplace...

The cats are hidden under various couches, also snoring...

And I am not writing...
I don't have a n excuse other than I am pissed off about the weather... writers are fickle what can I say.


So, Naughty Guy is officially the hero for the weekend...

He sent Brooklyn Brewery Black Ops.

The back of the bottle reads...

"Brooklyn Black Ops does not exist. However, if it did exist, it would be a robust stout concocted by the Brooklyn Brewery under cover of secrecy and hidden from everyone else in the brewery. Supposedly "Black Ops" was aged four months in bourbon barrels, bottled flat, and refermented with Champagne yeast, creating big chocolate and and coffee flavors with a rich unpinning of vanilla-like oak notes. They say there are only a thousand cases. We have no idea what they are talking about."

I love this stout--or would--if it existed.

Sir Hotness found an amazingly rare beer (at least in these parts) that everyone was ooing and ahing over...

The Stone Breweries occasionally release a Belgium Style Triple Ale in conjunction with Ale Smith Brewing and Mikkeller Brewing...
The logo has all three brewerie names and the logo reads:
Triple the Breweries,
Triple the Brewmasters,
Triple the beer...

I think my favorite was Rogue's Double Dead Guy Ale. It comes in a red bottle and its yummy, so all the others may have been rarer or hard to obtain, but I still love the dead guy...I wouldn't turn down a Black Ops though...just saying.

There were a plethora of IPA's, double hopped IPA's, a HIPA, a home brew chocolate stout and a cazillion others too numerous to list...it was a fun party...so fun we didn't even get to the mixed drinks...so we're saving up for a welcome summer party:)

Mainstream BDSM Erotica...

Whenever I find smart, fun BDSM erotica on a real bookstore shelf, I get a little excited...

The Darker Side of Pleasure by Eden Bradley

I haven't read it yet but it is teasing me from my bedside, fifth or sixth in line behind the likes of "Angels and Demons" and "Best Lesbian Romance 2009"... I may be awhile getting to it but the first chapter (I cheated) is very promising; so I didn't want to not tell you to go looking for this one.

Watch Your Back People!

It's April Fool's Day!
Watch out people! Onward practical jokesters...bring out your best!

A little April Fool's history and a little more history.

Since I am supposed to be picking up hubby at the airport tonight, I am really hoping that is not a joke because I do normally pick him up late on Thursdays or Fridays...

Since I have big plans for working on the WIP VooDoo, I really hope the universe does not conspire against me.

Good luck every one, surviving the day prank free!

Wierd Day?

Everyone has days like this, right?

9am

Bounced into a woman I have not seen in twenty-six years...and she's screaming my name from across the dining room of a McDonalds...my maiden name. And I'm thinking WTF?
There are disadvantages to moving "back home" after twenty-odd years: like everyone who stayed remembers you.
I didn't have a clue.
I start racking my brain, seriously going through the names in my head of girls I used to know and she's naming "mutual friends" asking have you seen__, have you heard__, have you, have you, have you????? OMG.
She even knew my first husband was in a horrific accident and wanted to know if I'd ever remarried...
Okay, so I'm not stupid.
Me: "Oh my goodness! We have to get together, catch up, do you have a business card?" (Yeah, I can think quick on my feet when needed.) The conversation went down hill from there when I got invited to her house for a "Revolution Meeting."
Me: "A what?"
Her: "It's like a party. We are going to discuss what has to be done to take our country back."
Me: "Holy fuck. You're joking right?"
Her: "No! We have to get rid of Obama before the world as we no it comes to an end..." I zoned for a minute so I lost some of the conversation but it had veered into patriarchal fundamentalism and I started backing away. I announced I voted for Obama, am still supporting Obama, and proceeded to start listing all the amazing things he's already done in a short amount of time. I also mentioned that I'm pagan and have no intention of ever going to her church.

11a.m.
Chat with a friend who wanted advice about becoming a Pro-Domme...I ran out of advice right after asking if she knew if there were prostitution laws in Ohio...which yeah, I know, a Pro-Domme is not a prostitute but does the average city cop know that?

12-ish
Chat with my critique partner to ask her what I should write today.
She advised going back to the paranormal maybe horror VooDoo book...
I'm taking her advice irst thing a.m. tomorrow.

1pm
Advice to a friend who keeps getting women mad at her because when they ask her out to lunch, they get mad when she denies being a dyke...and accuse her of just not wanting to have sex with them, demanding to know what is wrong with them that she isn't interested. Trust me, I've seen some of these women and I wish I had my friend's problem.
Advice for too many hot women wanting to buy her lunch=have them call me.
She says, "You're not a lesbian either."
My answer to that? The same one its been since I was sixteen. "Hello? Bisexual. Pay attention."

3pm
Conversation with another friend who says to me, "You will not believe what my father-in-law wants us to do! He wants us to go in with him buying some guns."
Remembering my earlier weird conversation from this morning I said, "OMG tell me he is not going to a revolution meeting?" (I was JOKING!)
Her: "I don't know about that but he says we need to learn how to be survivalists. Maybe move to Mexico so we can avoid taxation without representation and avoid the draft into the militia."

Question...Can you be drafted by a militia? Seriously?

4pm
I google "revolution." Did anyone think that anyone was going to take Rep-Michele Buchmann
serious when she called for an orderly revolution? I'm still hoping not.

6pm
I get an email from a guy who has emailed me once before asking me if I want to see LA. This time he is trying to put together a party where he gets to be the Dom and I would get to be one of three or four other slaves pampering him for his birthday. (the short answer was No Fucking Way...but then I thought of my friend who wants to be a ProDomme and I really thought about giving her his email. I've never seen the guy but I think she could take him.)

7pm
Started laying out VooDoo chapter heading by chapter heading to get a head start

8:30pm
Finally got around to reading my email tarot for the day:
Taurus: Just take it step-by-step at work

Hmmm...step by step...chapter by chapter...I think I finally did something right today;)

Excerpt From Reaper

Many of you have already heard the news: My first paranormal is being released soon by Liquid Silver Books. I am very excited. I don't have art work yet but I've decided to share an excerpt...this scene follows the interrogation of Kendrah by Detective Jonathon Taylor in relation to her being at the scene of a homicide.

Excerpt begins here:

“I can leave?” Kendrah asks, pushing away from the table and standing.

“Yes.” Detective Taylor holds open the door for her. “That accent of yours? You’re from England?”

“Once,” she admits. “But that was a long time ago. A different life.”

“I’ve always been a sucker for a foreign accent, he admits, following her into the large room filled with the desks of lower ranking detectives. “You intrigue me Ms. Lake.”

She starts to walk away but he grabs her elbow and she faces him, her expression demanding an explanation. He stretches out her arm, looking down its length, rather looking at the tattooed sleeve covering her arm from shoulder to wrist. “This is unusual. When I first sat down with you, I thought, beautiful, vibrant, but once I took the time to take a closer look at the individual pieces that make the whole, it’s very disturbing.”

She licks her lips, self-consciously. She hasn’t stood so close to man she has no intent of crossing over for centuries. His scent surrounds her, cologne and coffee, but beneath that his scent, and she realizes she likes that scent entirely too much. It brings to mind other centuries, other men, love and lust and sex, want, desire, need, and pain.

She doesn’t want to remember the love lost and tries to jerk away but he only smiles, holding her wrist tight but not hurting her. “I can’t inquire about a tat? This one is truly a work of art. Can you explain the symbolism?”

She remains silent.

“I know a little bit about symbolism,” he admits. His finger traces the narrow band of trumpets circling above her bicep, each trumpet containing another figure, impressing him with its sheer level of artistic detail. He recites a verse from Revelations. “And the seven angels, which had the seven trumpets, prepared themselves to sound.” He touches the first trumpet depiction which within its shape holds a representation of earth. “See? This trumpet perfectly represents what happened when that trumpet sounded. The earth was assaulted by hail and fire.”

He touches the second trumpet, depicting the sea within, tarnished with red crests, reciting, “…and the sea became blood.”

Kendrah tries again to pull free her arm but he strokes the third and fourth trumpets sensually with his thumb, continuing to quote, not direct quotes, but understanding the verses enough that he paraphrases. “…and there fell a great star from heaven…the sun falling…and the moon and stars were darkened.” Lifting his gaze to hers, he asks, “I wonder what kind of a life a girl would have had to inspire the Biblical rendition of Armageddon on her arm. Some kind of messed up life, I’m guessing. ”

Where'd It Go?

Curious minds want to know:
What happened to the Chronicles of Surrenders links at Liquid Silver Books??

The Chronicles of Surrender were originally released by Liquid Silver Books...

They are being rereleased 2009-2010 by Lyrical Press. I am very excited about being represented by this small NY Press and will soon be able to hold a print copy in my hand.
**Author's edit:
I received an email inquiring about the fourth book in the series Echo of Redemption, asking when it would become available for those of you who are intently following the series. I believe I originally announced it would be this summer; however, since Lyrical Press is taking over publication of the series, the books will be released in order. Sacred Secrets should be released this summer followed approximately every four months by each that follows. The soonest Echo of Redemption will release will be Summer 2010.

I will continue to write for Liquid Silver Books and I have a paranoral coming soon titled REAPER.

In other news...I am in the process of updating my webpage.So, let me know what you think.

WIP Submitted

Whew! The latest WIP has been submitted...

Now, I can focus on my back burner which is bubbling over with WIPs. Deciding which to focus on is the problem. I have the paranormal monster, magic WIP Daughter of Darkness that could go horror...I have the yet unnamed paranormal werewolf romance...I have WIP Lovers, the BIG BOOK that I have been working on for eight months that is at 120K and nowhere near ending and falls somewhere between contemporary fiction, chick-lit, and erotica...I dare not call it literary fiction yet, but may have to face that truth when it hits 150K and I definitely see it doing that.

Actually, I think I'll take the weekend to mull it over since Sir Hotness will actually be in town AND we're celebrating his birthday before he goes out on the road for a week. Between trips he'll only be home for 36 hours (long enough for the Welcome Spring Party) before going out again, so I will have plenty of solitary time to focus and write which is making me feel like bringing the BIG BOOK forward to the main burner is a good idea.

Then there are a few short stories I'm playing with...

What is staying on the back burner for now:
WIP Frank's Garage (lesbian erotic romance)
WIP Perilous Rendezvous
WIP Prime
WIP Vow of Silence (George's stand alone story inspired by the Chronicles)
WIP Echo of Redemption (Book 4 of the Chronicles of Surrender)

Wow...looking at this list...I really don't think I have time to take a weekend off...geesh!

Having A Spring Party Research...

So Sir Hotness came in and announced we're having a Welcome Spring Party...

I'm going to digress from the Spring Party announcement to note that just in time for my Spring Party Drinkability Research (always a big to-do) is Rachel Maddow's appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show. I absolutely laughed until I cried watching this...


I'm not sure we will be making Bijou's although I've printed the recipe and added the indgredients we don't have to our shopping list.
However, we will be mixing...

You may remember last years Welcome Spring Party and this year we'll host the same crew, all big ale lovers ... not American swill but lagers and ales and foriegn named macro and micro brews...

I admit I have my favorites, and I'm as into beer tastings as anyone...
But...

My first love is mixed drinks...
Honestly, the main reason is a small stomach.
If I drink three beers I get a full gut and no "merriment"
But if I drink three shots--

More to come...since the party is not this weekend but next...and evidentally, I'm the last to know. Have I mentioned how much I love the way Sir Hotness and I communicate when he's away on business? Sigh.

Getting Closer...

It seems like I've been working on the WIP Prodigal Slave forever but really it's just because I keep taking breaks to do work on other WIPs.

My fault entirely...but still frustrating. So, I still have two chapters to write to call this one done. And really, I am sooo excited about Prodigal Slave. It's one of my favorites. A little history: I wrote the first chapter as a short story about six years ago, tried to turn it into a novella for an anthology in January of this year but realized it was really meant to be full length...and so here we are, three months later still writing.

As the name implies Prodigal Slave is heavy on the D/s relationship with bondage, international travel and two French men to round out the tale. Oo-la-la.

Oh BTW forced rest is a good concept...I've been writing like crazy for two days.

EDGE Cover Art Is Here!

Big, exciting day! The cover art for EDGE is finally here and I have Croco Designs to thank for another amazing job! Wow! It exceeds my expectations and gives me goosebumps every time I look at it.
And here's a close-up of the blade inside the camera...

So fitting...
I think that as much as I love Voyeur, the sequel is better...so if you want to meet this wonderful menage, why not go ahead and grab Voyeur now?
I can't wait until the release date!

Down...for now.

Today I woke up at eleven am and thought it was barely dawn. Removing my sleepmask proved it was day...looking at the clock was jarring. I rarely sleep. A nine hour sleep night is not a good sign...

Sir Hotness was home to witness the crash...

Luckily, he's a big boy and can entertain himself. I made it to the table by noon to slam two Pepsis. Took some vitamins and headed to the shower, ended up in the tub instead and woke up to the phone wringing at two in barely warm water. Torn between adding more hot water or trying to start the day over for a second time.

I opted for the latter and tried to read a book, but after reading the same page three times decided it was time to take another nap.

It's eight pm now and I am beginning to feel human but am making myself sleep tonight and giving my brain another day off tomorrow. Hopefully, Tuesday I will be back to normal.

My New Home Page...

My internet browser used to open to AOL...but I was spending too much time reading the articles...so I switched to MSNBC...but as an out of work real-estate agent and mood-dependent erotica writer I got rid of it as fast as I loaded it because it was too damn depressing. For the last month I have been opening to Google Mail. No distraction. No depression.

Life has been good.
I'm writing a lot.

Today I ran across a new site and I was so entertained, I've made it my new home page. Now, going in, I know this is a big mistake. I am probably going to lose an hour of productive writing time every morning. I don't care. (Sure, I say that now...my biggest mistakes in life have followed the "I don't care" response.)

It's a home page.
How much trouble can it cause?

I know...I've stroked your curiosity right?
The site is CarnalNation.com

I loved this post...because...you know it happens...

"Hey, where'd the condom go?"

Massachusettes Has It All

So, Sir Hotness is in Cambridge...
The Pogues are playing in Boston...
What in the fuck am I doing in Ohio?

While I try to figure out the answer to that question, I'll leave you with some eye candy...

Understand Copy Right Law? How About Fair Use?

Copyright law...
Hmmm...
Fair use?
Hmmmmm....
You don't understand it either?
This cute 10 minute movie was created to help us all get the gist of it...so sit back, relax, and enjoy A Fair(y) Use Tale, using Disney animation...



I have no idea who to give credit for this movie because some are crediting Stanford University while others are claiming Bucknell University.

I'll Get Back To BDSM Soon...I Promise

I was talking to Xandra Gregory today about a whole lot of stuff, mainly writing, sick kids, and trying to guess the whims and trends of publishing houses...

I think she still has concerns that I am turning my back on what I know...BDSM.
But what I really know is erotica...
And what I have been studying for the last twelve years is how to craft a story...
So, I'm not really turning my back on anything.

I actually have three...yes THREE...WIP's with heavy BDSM in the works...
It just so happens I also have three paranormals spinning around my head, my heart, and simmering on my backburner...

Then there's the lesbian erotica which is and always has been a major writing focus...it just isn't published anywhere. Why? Don't get me started on the LGBT soapbox...in case you missed that rant.

This week I'm working on Frankie and Holly's story...F/F...next week...who knows.

And a small PS...
Is anyone in my reading audience a serious Rachel Maddox fan? You may want to read this.

Writing Lesbian Erotica

My current paranormal WIP has been put on hold...
My current BDSM WIP has been put on hold...

It's Sir Hotness's fault...
He took me to The Pub for lunch. I love going to The Pub, they serve the best bar food anywhere and they serve Leffe. The eyecandy is purely incidental... guys in kilts and girls in very, very short plaid skirts. The gal behind the bar could have been the love of my life if...
she was a decade older
or
I was a decade younger...
or
if we somehow met in the middle.

I used to be really pissed off when I saw older guys (middle-aged, 40 plus) with younger girls (20-something)

And then I turned forty.
Hypocrisy is hell.

I digress.

The girl behind the bar is made of the stuff that makes my knees go weak. Dark hair, dark eyes, too much dark kohl around her eyes... petite, thin, small breasts... and the tats...

Now the tats can only be described as beautiful and sexy as hell. Left arm sleeve and up the back of her legs thin lines, mimicking the hosiery of women long ago, and at the tops of those thin lines, barely peeking from beneath that very narrow plaid skirt her family crests.

I crane my neck to watch her move from pull to pull, she looks over her shoulder while she's pouring to maintain eye-contact and conversation...

She. Is. Too. Young.

So I come home and write lesbian erotica.
Because in my novels I can be any age I want to be and twenty-four or five isn't too young.

And BTW ... Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Writing...writing...writing...

Dear Readers,

The push is on!

I've submitted two manuscripts so far this month, one digital, one for print, fingers crossed...but I still have another short I'm wanting to get out this week for an anthology submission to Samhain and a 55K novel I'm targeting toward Loose-Id that I need to get submitted by the end of the month...

So if You've wondered why the personal shares...
Orchids...
Mixed Medias...

It's because it is an easy post that lets you know a little more about me...but leaves me a big part of my day to write and not feel guilty about posting something:)
I have such guilt complexes...you would not believe...

So I hope you've enjoyed peeks into my life while I write super HOT sex scenes:)

Hugs
Roxy

Did Anyone Notice?

Yesterday was Friday the Thirteenth, the second Friday the thirteenth in as many months...back to back...and it was a full moon...

Seems like the perfect time to talk about my split-writer-personality...

I love, love, love to write about sex, BDSM, and unusual romances...thus, Roxy Harte, erotica writer...

But I've also been writing paranormal both romantic and straight fiction since 1996...without submitting...because I've seen them as stories just for me. A vacation from my norm...

Recently, I've been looking them over with a critical eye and feel that they are just as well written, just as entertaining as my erotica, and I've been thinking, why not try to get them published?

Intent I have put in motion this month with my submission to Liquid Silver Books of REAPER...and had accepted...so it is coming soon. I am very excited!

I have several more I plan to spruce up, finish (they're kind of in an unfinished limbo on the back burner), and get submitted...

And I know I am not the first writer to worry about such things, but my pen name, Roxy Harte, has become associated with BDSM emotionally-psychologically charged erotica...and I don't want someone to pick up one of my paranormals and think that is what they are getting. Likewise, I do not want someone whose first impression of my writing as paranormal to pick up a BDSM charged erotic and hurl obsenities at me because they didn't realize what they were getting...

So what to do? What to do?

I'm leaving the question open over the weekend, anyone with any ideas or comments, anyone who has previously dealt with a similar issue or was disappointed or pleasantly surprised by an author who pulled a genre-changaroo...comment. I need input...

I'm kind of toying with using my maiden name...instead of Roxy Harte.
Or I could used my married name (which would be strange because I never changed my name to the last name of my latest husband)...

My Orchids Are in Bloom

I've been waiting to share my orchids with you until they were all in bloom...

So here they are...

Aren't they lovely?
I only have six...so not a big show...but as my collection grows I'll share them with you:) I love orchids and everyone knows it, so if anyone ever wants to ship me something for birthdays, holidays, etc...it makes shopping for me easy!

Mixed Media Vintage Nudes

Okay, I've been good...I've been writing...but I promised a reveal of what I was doing when I wasn't writing. So here are two of the mixed medias I did this week. Both are 16"x20" and will hang in the small bathroom downstairs... ohhh, and the purple walls there are to die for...

"Gypsy"

Mixed medias are fun for me because it is all in the layering and the details. Like the poems. This one Bronte:

But it is also the little things...the details in the torn velvet scarf and the hand knotted on silver janglies...

"Invincible Summer"

Poem and fabric close-up details:

Reaper

The contract for Reaper is signed, sealed and delivered.
I'm excited about this one because it shows a different side of Roxy Harte...
Hopefully a side of me you will be seeing a lot more of in the future.
I'll let you know a release date as soon as I have one...

Edits are done on Edge (maybe one more round after test readers have at it but all in all...I'm thinking about done). Release date is looking like May. I know, I wish it was sooner too...but like fine wine...it all takes time.

Today I am writing.
And for those of you who emailed, thank you for your concern, daughter is doing better after going to two different doctors in as many days and finally getting the correct treatment from the second one.

Hoping to add photos later today (maybe early tomorrow) of the mixed medias I did.
Very exciting...

Blame Suzi Blu...

I love Suzi Blu...
Never heard of her? Google her, or you tube search her...
I'm just saying the chick is really hot when she has on her Hot Pink wig...

and she's an artist...
be still my heart.

Aside from all that...she inspired me to dust off the paint brushes, pull the Gesso and canvases out of storage...and create.

I know, I'm not writing. Haven't written since Saturday...
I did edits on Sunday and Monday though...
And my daughter was horribly ill yesterday and today...
So I don't feel too bad about throwing some paint around yesterday and today...

I'll write tonight...later...maybe after everyone else is in bed.
That will give me another hour to layer some mixed media components.
Maybe I'll include pictures of the finished product.

And thank you Rosemary for the wonderful letter. I am so glad you are around to boost my spirits...and I promise I will not leave you hanging over the ending of Garrett, Kitten, and Thomas's menage. They're decorating the nursery in my head even as I type this...

A Commune With Purpose...

The year was 2002 and I was recently divorced from husband number two...and embracing a life of yogic celibacy and veganism. I travelled out west seeking to "find myself" and dragging my then nine year old with me. I meditated and did yoga in the desert, she pointed and laughed... after a month she was doing yoga too if not quite getting the whole meditation concept. What was I looking for? Answers to all the basic questions...
Who I am?
What's my life purpose?
Why can't I fucking orgasm?
I was considering communal living if I could just find the right place...

Oh, boy, if I'd only known then...

The place is One Taste on Folsom Street. Yes, the Folsom Street.
It's been touted a cult...
It's drawn lots of voyeurs...
Their meditation is based around the Female Orgasm.
Seriously.
A New York Times article begins, "EVEN in a culture in which sex toys are a booming business and Oprah Winfrey discusses living your best life in the bedroom, a coed live-in commune dedicated to the female orgasm hovers at the extremes."

I'm over the whole communal living dream...
But I'm having visions of meditation hour taking on a whole new meaning at our house.

Rita Seagrave, Lochai, Hogtied...

I am posting a link to a Hogtied video that does have some nudity, moaning, bondage, flogging etc...so if you find this type of video disturbing, please do not open the link and it IS NOT work safe.

That said, I think that everyone who has an interest in BDSM should watch this video. Rita Seagrave is an amazing (and beautiful) woman. She is a sexual educator who also happens to be hearing impaired; so this is an amazing video that although it is specifically geared toward, playing with the hearing impaired, it explains basic BDSM with simple instructions. So I hope you will watch the video. (A scene is on the front quarter and then the introduction to Rita and instruction starts)

DEAFNESS AND POWER EXCHANGE: ALTERNATIVE INTERCOURSE

Exciting Day!

I'm putting the finishing touches to REAPER and hope to have it submitted to Liquid Silver Books by midnight...

I received my edits on EDGE and hope to have them back to my Loose-Id editor in the morning:) which means up all night for me...but I'm very excited to have EDGE coming out following the success of Voyeur. So if you haven't read Voyeur yet...get it! EDGE is its sequel and you will not be disappointed.

And...
I have received an editor introduction and welcome package at the new home of my Chronicles of Surrender: Lyrical Press, a small press based in New York City that has absolutely lovely covers and some amazing authors. I am proud to be joining their ranks!

And...
I have a strong start on my werewolf trilogy...
Whew!
It's been a busy week!

Today's Focus...

I'm trying to wrap up a new paranormal I'm writing for Liquid Silver Books this week...since I asked for a release from my contract I have nothing there for sale and that makes me feel horrible!

So I'm writing day and night...
With the exception of Friday night when hubby said "Go to bed or I'm medicating you."
Hmmm...
I know a serious threat when I hear one...I bitched and moaned all the way to bed though.

So the paranormal I'm working on is about a three millenia old grim reaper who hasn't had a sex life in a couple of centuries...give or take a few decades...because she's sworn off love.

The title is REAPER and yes, when she meets the right guy there is sparks, and fireworks, a few angels singing...oh no...sorry...that was her screaming in orgasm.

BREAKING NEWS FROM ROXY HARTE

Today is the last day in 2009 to buy any of the Chronicles of Surrender in ebook at Liquid Silver Books.

I am committing to a contract with a small but very exciting print publisher based in New York and the digital versions of The Chronicles will again be released in 2009 with their print versions available in 2010.

So, although I am sad that my babies are leaving LSB, I am very excited that they are going to have their chance in paperback;)

REAPER

Since my last post...I'm not eating or sleeping...I'm drinking too much caffeine...and I'm WRITING! What am I working on?

Here it is...the much anticipated blurb to my very first paranormal!

Reaper
By Roxy Harte

Kendra Lake has a secret she’s keeping from Detective Jonathon Taylor of NYPD’s Homicide division and he will not rest until he discovers what it is since she has been linked to at least three crime scenes in as many days. But when he discovers who she really is the truth comes with a price tag, die or become one of her kind, a conveyor of souls.

A New Release!

Just wanted to let you know that my short story "Just Climb" has not only been included in an anthology by Ravenous Romance but that it also released LAST NIGHT!

Here's the link to the anthology blurb and an excerpt!

I'm so excited!
Of course in my stories all aspects of life, including sports, involve some form of BDSM element...so if you like rope...get ready to be titillated!

Hope to add more to this post later this evening but today the WIP's are coming first before all other things to do!

This Is A Problem...

So, I think I wrote a few weeks ago that I was writing a short WIP for submission to the Bind Anthology Samhain is acquiring for...

So how's that going? you ask.

Well, let me tell you about it...

I started working on "Freedom" ... and half-way in I had the thought, "Oh! Oh,oh. Oh! I have that little thing tucked away on my harddrive that I could just polish up and be done with it...WIP: Prodigal Slave...yeah, I started polishing and a week later, I'm at 34K." The anthology target is 20k-25k. That means I either have to whittle it back down for the antho...or add 20k to make it a novel. It's back on the backburner...

Meanwhile, last week I pulled another short from the backburner...WIP: Under The Big Top...knowing all it needed was the final scene...a little tie me up and throw knives at me number...the setting is a circus...trust me the scene is very erotic...but the more I imagined and typed...I decided this is never going to work for the anthology and so started turning the work into a quick little something for Liquid Silver Books that would have been an unexpected boon because I've been wanting to try writing something a little different...and this one would be perfect for their Sterling line, which is a little softer, sweeter...and I'm staying on track as far as pacing. The problem is I decided that the main male character should be a werewolf and now my plot is outgrowing my original romance-novel intent, it's sort of morphing into a full-grown urban fantasy. My first thought of a quick 40K "quickie" is now turning into my second thought of, "Oh shit, I doing it again." So this morning I sit with 26k already written and a decision to make...I either have to rein in the plot and turn the spin back toward the softer, sweeter side of erotic for LSB Sterling...or I need to continue on my present course and see what it morphs into because at this point there isn't an erotic bone in its body...I know! How crazy is that?...There's potential for soft erotic...but not yet.

Meanwhile, back on to the anthology, which is supposed to be my prime focus this week. I'm back to square one. Looks like I'm going back to where I left off with Freedom...

Oy vey...

Asleep At The...Keyboard

Last night I took my new baby to bed with me...
I know, it's sad. Very, very sad.

Hubby told me this morning he'd been replaced...



Not very likely...

Fingerprint Login...

I wasn't expecting today to be an especially wonderful day...
It was dreary and snowy, which meant I wanted to sit in front of the computer and write all day; but that seemed pretty selfish, seeing that my hubby was home following a week long business trip and is leaving for another trip on Monday. So when he said, "Lets go prowl around," which means lets go out in the cold and find something to do...I wasn't terribly excited.

He drove straight to BestBuy because he needed another (yes, another) external hard-drive, not because his was broken but because it was getting full...

He bought me a present while he was there :)

A bright and shiny (yes, shiny) laptop!

Of course I had to tell him that my old laptop was perfectly fine (slightly unstable, but fine when the icons aren't blinking...), I had to tell him that I was emotionally attached to my old computer and since it was officially still alive I'd have a hard time separating from it (he promised me we'd find it a good home), and then I had to explain my buyers pre-morse (I don't wait until I buy something to regret it...I regret it before I ever pull out my debit card...I save a ton of money that way and hardly ever actually swipe my card for anything.)

He said it was a present...

Saying no to a present would be wrong, right?

I am so excited now that it is out of the box...

• It's shiny (I know, I said that all ready) I think the color is platinum, he says gun-metal...it's beautiful...
• It has a finger-print security scanner (I know, I was like, "Why do I need that? It's not like I'll ever use it. Wrong! Do you know how many sites need log-ins and passwords? And how much time it takes to type that info in over and over again? Well no more. I slide my fingerprint and go! How awesome is that?)
• It has a lighted key board. (Seriously, this computer was made with me in mind. I write in the dark every night. I swear it's making me blind. A lighted keyboard is a miracle.)
• It's the perfect size. 13" screen. I can take this baby everywhere.

Of course, I've already broken it in. Two thousand words on the latest WIP!

Did I say that I am very excited?

I have the best honey-bunny ever...it isn't even my birthday...he is sooooooooooooo getting an unforgettable night tonight. *wink*

We Interupt The Previously Scheduled Post...

Okay, I know, I know, you're here to find out Lord Fyre's favorite color, or Kitten's birthday, or Garrett's darkest secret...

Hold that thought...

Today...okay, every day at some point...Xandra Gregory and I chat...phone, text, something...mostly hours of phonage...AT&T hates us cause we both have the talk forever plan...lately we've talked about how I can somehow bring Lewd Larry's to life for my fans...and we've talked about her gay-pirate book which will soon be coming from Liquid Silver Books...

Actually we talk about gay boys alot...
We're both absolutely enthralled with gay boys...
For me it's a way of imagining my inner boi as a grown-up...I have no idea what her excuse is...

Anyway...
Tonight she sent me this video and I loved it so much...I'm now sharing it with you by embedding the youtube video...if you want a higher standard of quality go to the Tomboy Site...Hell, go to the Tomboy site anyway. He has a great personal message there...

I'm buying the album so I can sing the It's Okay To Be Gay Song every day...it will give me a reason to dance with my purple boa...


Actually, if you added a few whips and chains to that video...it would be pretty close to a Lewd Larry's moment...

And I don't know if anyone noticed the gay pirate besides me...and probably Xandra...so hot...I' just saying.

And BTW, I need a fedora...just in case you want to buy me something for my birthday.
And make-up pointers...

Chronicles of Surrender Celebration Week...Continues

The question for YOU...
Who is my favorite character to write?

A question from ME: Why the hard questions? These are almost impossible to answer!

Okay...I love Jackie...I dream of the day she gets her own story:)
Haven't met Jackie yet? She makes appearances in all three Chronicles of Surrender as Garrett's MtoF transgendered best friend. Imagine 6'6" Cocoa-skinned, loud, opinionated, hormonal, clothing fetish, shoe fetish, wig fetish...in love with Garrett, in hate with Lord Fyre, who has a poodle-boy as a pet and an entourage of a dozen or more flaming gay men...did I mention a career?...I don't know that she has one other than being a personality...like Paris Hilton except with an adam's apple and a bigger cup size...

* * *

I've also been dwelling on yesterday's question...
I think each book had a favorite moment in a scene:

Remember when Garrett bought Celia at auction?

Or when he introduced her to the idea of pretending to be a cat?

Remember when Lord Fyre caught Celia using the cell phone without permission?

Or when he stayed on the phone talking to Celia while she fell asleep?

Chronicles of Surrender Celebration Week...

I asked you, my FABULOUS READERS, to ask questions about the series...and I now have answers...but you will have to come back every day...to keep up!

Question number one:

What is your favorite scene from Sacred Revelations?

Oh! I have to choose? I really can't narrow it down to one...but I can whittle it down to a few:

the shibari scene on the rocky beach during the thunder storm or the very muddy sex scene on the soccer field...

A scene comes to mind from Sacred Revelations though...the orgy. I really wanted to be at THAT party!

And this photo was the inspiration for Jackie's Marie Antoinette Masque

Valentine's Day Flu...

So both hubby and teen daughter went to bed Friday the thirteen feeling awful...I bought Nyquil for them and homeopathy "keep from getting sick" tabs for me...I woke up Valentine's day feeling fine...they woke up feeling worse than when they went to bed...

I have to say, my honey bunny made the best of a bad situation...

We went to see Push...with Dakota Fanning.

I loved it, can't wait for the sequel...and there will be a sequel...right?

We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch which wasn't so great but then it might have been that he was feeling worse and I wasn't feeling wonderful...
The bottle of Italian red table wine and tiramisu was the best part of the meal...

Before going home we stopped at the bookstore to get me a book...because I knew he would be taking Nyquil and going back to bed...and I'm a night owl anyway...plus it was still hours til dark...

I wanted to get Silk by Caitlin Kiernan...and I'd seen earlier in the week that they actually had it in stock...I should have gotten it then...because they were sold out.

I ended up getting a book called Sunshine by Robin McKinley and stayed up all night reading it...even though I swore off vampire books months ago...I am sooooo over vampires....and honestly, somewhere in the first twenty pages I was like, "Really?" ... "This is all you've got?" but I kept trudging through (even though it was honestly exceptionally well written...crafted...reminding me of the long luxurious build-up employed by Stephen King)...page twenty-one, twenty-two, because Neil Gaiman said in a quote on the front cover, "Pretty much perfect."...and in my world, an endorsement from Neil is like gospel...after all, he turned me onto Caitlin Kiernan. On page twenty-eight Robin McKinley got my attention...

So what happened on page twenty-eight?
A single sentence from a master vampire, Constantine, described as, "thin, thin to emanciated, the cheekbones and ribs looking like they were about to split the old-mushroom skin..." who was being kept in chains by another master vampire.

"Speak," he said at last. "Remind me that you are a rational creature."

By then I had figured out the heroine was to be dinner...and Constantine was trying to find a single reason not to eat her...which meant I had to find a reason to like her...

I started the book over right then and there without going any further and reread the first twenty-eight pages with fresh eyes, understanding that those twenty-eight pages were establishing Rae's humanity...

Page twenty-eight established a reason to not hate the vampire...he wasn't human...but he wasn't a bad guy...

It's a skill...drawing out the story...weaving magic with words...I have a new appreciation for an author i hadn't read before...

I've been told by agents and beta readers that I need to draw out the "clues"...
But I learned early on that the first five pages get you out of the slush pile...so pacing isn't my strong point...relaxing enough to really enjoy a finely crafted story isn't either...I really like it when I do though...

Falling in love with an author...
Is there a better way to spend Valentine's day?

So, Happy Valentine's Day

And since I can't send you chocolates...

I hope you'll be happy with some eyecandy;)

Hmmmm...
Not good enough?
maybe this ones more to your liking...

I absolutely love his eyes...mmmm yummy...

I hope you enjoy your day!

You Give Massage?

Happy Friday the Thirteenth! I'm celebrating by dragging my hubby to a movie...

It will keep my mind off my new phone stalker...
It started out innocent enough on Monday when a guy called and asked, "You give massage?"

He sounded Asian...
I said, "No, you have a wrong number."

Okay, so yes, I used to have a Reiki studio (listed under massage) and every once in awhile I get THAT phone call...you know the one... heavy breathing...

Or on occasion the lonely guy who wants more than a massage...
And rarely, the guy who really is just looking for a massage...

Four days and many phone calls later, I decide we are not having a language issue because he is Asian...but AN ISSUE...because he will not leave me alone and will not take no for an answer...

On Monday, I would have said a very hot sounding, very young guy called and made me laugh...
Tuesday and Wednesday I pressed IGNORE on my phone...
Thursday, I answered...established that he is a horny young man...he said that I sounded HOT...so hot that he was sure I could help him out with his problem...that I should meet him somewhere. I told him in no uncertain terms to stop calling me...

He called back this afternoon!
Seriously!

So now, I have a phone stalker...yep, he's calling every few minutes...and I'm hitting IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE

Welcome to my life...

Define Friend...

I thought I knew what a friend was...
Then today I found out how good a friend I really have...

Xandra Gregory, critique partner extraordinaire, called me from the Pure Romance Warehouse and said the magic words to any woman, "BIG SALE, you gotta be here now!"

I said, "I have grandbabies today...followed by a few expletives...because I would have loved to have been at that warehouse sale! Even though I was having a wonderful time watching IGOR with the babies (and watching them ride their brand new training wheels included big girl bikes that I got them for their birthdays (age 3 and 5) inside the house)...

She said, "Get online and shop with me..."
Okay...

So item by item that she passed by, I pulled up online so that I could enjoy the full sex-toy big-sale experience...

First up the Valentines Day Specials:
Who needs Diamonds ... Of course the main conversation revolved around the $36.00 savings...the "too adorable for words bling collar" ... ridges ... and length. Also important were if all the extras...toy cleaner, creams and et caeteras were "regular size" or "smaller size" ... I was surprised, they were regular size ... and I was almost drooling that I wasn't there with her because it did indeed seem a shopping savings that could not be passed up...but then all of the Valentine's Day Packages were attractive... I'm still not sure about the orange g-spot stimulator that online looks like an alien but ...

She hurried off to novelty items before I could get too involved in alien sex talks...
And was impressed that there were so many vanilla-ish bdsm toys...ticklers and teasers, feather dusters and fuzzy handcuffs...oh my, that does give me an idea for a new book...

Edible undies?
A bed of roses?
A stripper pole?
A sex sling?

I nodded and smiled, got distracted by IGOR's creation singing "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow"...

But then I went with her (virtually)to the vibrators with clitoral stimulator's table ... and I knew I was in trouble ...
I love the Humdbelievable (I broke mine...bummer)
I like the Cowboy-Up but not so much that it's irreplaceable...
So I might be in the market of a new toy...so through Xandra's excellent descriptions I "comparison shop" everything on the table...
Her side of the conversation went something like, "Oooo, this one has bigger beads...no texture...lot's of texture...wow, this one's big!"
I asked, "How big?"
Her: "Really big."
Me: "Length or girth?"
Her: "Length."
Hmmm...
Me: "Compared to Cowboy Up, longer or shorter?"
Her: "Definitely longer. Wait, I'll hold them up side by side...oh wow...about an inch and a half longer."
Really...
Me: "Is it slick like Cowboy Up or ridged like Humbelievable?"
Her: "Oh ridged, definitely ridged...more than Humbelievable."
Insert expletives here because I am not there with my Mastercard...
Her: "Do you want it?"
Me: "Yeah! Maybe I can get there tomorrow...is the sale on tomorrow?"
Her: "Or I can throw it in my basket and you can pay me later."

That dear readers is a truer than true friend...

Meet my new friend Tom...Described online as:
T.O.M.
Looking for a whole new meaning to multiple orgasms? Meet T.O.M., our triple orgasm machine! T.O.M.’s intense multi-speed and function clitoral stimulator, multi-functional rotating and thrusting shaft, and waterproof design is sure to fly you to new orgasmic heights! A must have!

Of course I haven't met Tom yet, but I have a feeling we're going to really like each other...

And as for Xandra? She's the most awesomest friend a girl could have!

High Wind Advisory...

What is up with Ohio and 70mph winds? OMG! Have you ever tried to walk 2 miles in pouring rain and 70mph winds? IT'S A BLAST! I know, who knew?

My daughter and I were on a 2 mi walking path when the storm hit full force...about 1/4 mile in...and we could turn around, or keeping going...we kept walking! Talk about resistence training! We were laughing so hard we were in tears and so soaked through that water was dripping off the tips of our noses...

And of course, thousands are again without power in Ohio (we're hanging in there at our house) but we did have to mount a search and rescue for our recycle bins and trash cans...ahem...we found them in the far side of the back forty...

Tomorrow will tell us if our roof made it through...

Stress and Drama...

The bane of a writer's career is stress and drama...give me one good life crisis hour and I won't be able to write for days...

Without going into details...last night sucked ass...actually I'm going on 39 hours without sleep because there just hasn't been time for that...and I haven't had a clear thought since the high stress/high drama moment. Which REALLY pisses me off because I am so close to finishing not one but two WIP's I was actually counting down the days until I could submit them and cross them off my list...

Sigh.
Curse.

I'm waiting for the rebound, which is usually good...but right now I'm moping around because I just can't get my mojo flowing. Does anyone else have this problem?

Obama's Recovery Conference

Was anyone besides me glued to the television last night? If you missed President Obama's press conference...you owe it to yourself to watch the video...

Guest Blogging Today!

I have been invited to blog at The Erotic Muses today! How exciting! I hope you will stop by and say hello!! ...Okay, I'll bribe you...I posted an excerpt! (An excerpt with an ORGASM!) So hurry...go now! Do not miss the excitement:)

Woot! I Love Acceptance Letters!

This weekend just became better! Very late last night (early this morning?) I opened my email to find an acceptance letter from my new Loose-Id editor for the sequel to Voyeur! So tomorrow I will be printing the contract for EDGE and sticking it in the mail Monday...

Then the really fun part begins...filling out the blurb forms and art request forms...
Over the next few months my "baby" will get a "face"...I always look forward to what the cover artists come up with...and honestly the cover for VOYEUR was so perfect...it will be hard to top with EDGE...but I am really excited to see what they do!

Of course then the other work begins...line edits and small changes that make my story even better...what fun!

And through all of this...
I'm still writing!

Actually writing with even more intensity because there is nothing more motivating than knowing I have a new book coming out...

So all my back burners need to be ready for the heat to be turned up...and actually I'd kind of forgotten what all I do have on a back burner...

My main focus is the submission for the Bind Anthology: Prodigal Slave...damn, I hope this one gets accepted because it is probably in my mind the hottest, most emotional book I've ever written... but maybe it's just my emotion and I won't know that until someone else reads it... all I know is that my beta readers and critique partner were wowed...

Then there are the backburners...oy vey...too many to think about but all hopefully good enough to find future homes...

Do You Have Questions?

I hope you enjoyed a look at what I am working on now from the post: Where is Kitten?

I am hoping to start a dialogue over the week of February 14-20th with questions from fans of the series: Want to know Garrett's birth sign? Or Lord Fyre's? Want to know what is going on with Fyre's wife Latisha (who was last seen in the middle of a desert giving birth)? Let me know in the comment section what YOU want to know and I will answer as many questions as I can! Hopefully with some excerpts from FUTURE books in the series;)

Have no idea what I am talking about? Get caught up by reading the Series The Chronicles of Surrender:
Book I: Sacred Secrets
Book II: Sacred Revelations
Book III: Unholy Promises

And coming as soon as I can finish writing it...the stand alone story that follows George and Gigi:
Book IV: Vow of Silence

Blogging today at SExPressions...

Posting today at Liquid Silver Books blog SexPressions.
Please stop by and say hello...

A Fan Asked...

Yesterday one of my readers text me asking, "What's going on with Kitten? Where is she? What's she doing? When will we see her again?"

Well the easy question is that we last saw her in Unholy Promises...unraveling at the seams because she discovered she was pregnant...and babies, like plot development takes time...so Kitten is gestating...

With the release of Unholy Promises, the menage of Kitten, Garrett, and Thomas strengthened...lots of revelations and surprises...and the new characters Daniel and Eva were introduced, which still need resolution. Thomas's ex wife Latisha too seems to need closure. So I have a lot of plotting to wrap up the loose-ends of this menage...

Sacred Secrets and Sacred Revelations were both Garrett and Celia's (Kitten) stories. I always considered Unholy Promises to be (Thomas') Lord Fyres's story...

When I first envisioned The Chronicles I saw 5 stand alone books: Garrett's Story, Celia's Story, Thomas's Story, George's Story, and Jackie's Story; however my characters had different ideas...and thus the first three books have been the development of the menage...

Now, I am ready to get my series back on track (Kitten seems okay with this idea because she is leaving me alone to think about my secondary characters.)

The Chronicle that I am writing now is based around George Kirkpatrick, the professional dominant known as Dr. Psycho, and explores the relationship that destroyed him and thus rebuilt him... If you've been following the series you will know that George pre-Lewd Larry's days was a prominent psychiatrist. Here is how he was described in Sacred Secrets by Garrett:

Sacred Secret's Quote:
George Kirkpatrick is pacing and his pacing is making me insane. He is the calmest, most rational handler I have on staff, my Number One, and he is pacing the length of my office. His blond hair and preppy countenance make him seem better suited for the tennis courts of LA or the golf clubs of Solvang. But no, he will tell you that is his past; he gave up a very successful LA psychiatric practice to get lost in the fantasy, a time before he made fantasy real life.

So what experience could be so traumatic that a very successful, much acclaimed psychiatrist would leave his career, leave his life, to take refuge in a BDSM-Fantasy Club?

Well, of course it's a woman...
And I want you to meet her...

Want more about George's Story? I'll try to post an excerpt soon...but I think there must be some begging involved...don't make me flog you....mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha

So, I guess the full answer to my reader's question is: Kitten will be seen again.

Just not yet...not until all of the secondary characters have been developed as stand alone books:
George's Story will be the next release: titled: Vow of Silence

Still jelling in my brain are:
Morgana's story: Hallowed Screams
Daniel's Story: Echoes of Redemption
Jackie's Story: Transcendence

The way my brain sees it right now, the final book of the series will be the conclusion of the Garrett, Thomas, Celia menage: Whispers of Forgiveness.

An Epiphany...

So, I've had grandbabies all day...I adore my grandbabies and cherish every minute with them...but having them cuts into my writing time. Meaning, I just don't write while they are here...

In preparation, knowing that they were coming this morning, I wrote as late as I possibly could last night...actually until the wee hours of the morning...on the short piece I'm targeting for the Samhain Bind Antho...

Ten-K words into it...I realized...this is the wrong story...
I love epiphanies...

So, I've spent the day, numbing my brain on cartoons and carbohydrates and dwelling on which story is the right story...and then it dawned on me. I already wrote the right story. At least ten thousand words of it...

As soon as the grandbabies headed for home, I pulled it off the hard drive and started reading. Six thousand words that had me in laughter and tears. I had to take two breaks just to remind myself that I am not the person in the story...she is fictional...her emotion doesn't have to be my emotion...

Sir Hotness watched my face like it was the most fascinating movie...

"I never finished it," I said when I was done reading through it. "I couldn't do it."

I'm still wondering if the next ten thousand words to finish it can ever measure up to the first ten thousand words...I honestly don't know...but I'm going to give it my best shot.

Fear kept me from finishing it...
Now it's time to be brave.

And even if it isn't selected for the antho...I'll still feel accomplished...because this short story is probably the best piece of fiction I've ever written.

Call For Submissions...

I am writing, writing, writing...

I woke up focused on the paranormal that at some point got moved to the farthest reaches of the back burners...then shifted to the piece I'm working on (the 100K Never-Ending relationship drama) for Samhain...then shifted to the shorter piece I'm also hoping to submit to Samhain in response to Samhain Publishing recent call for submissions. Actually, Samhain has released two calls for submissions...so if anyone is interested:

Call Closes: March 1, 2009
Call for Submissions! Shapeshifter Anthology

I'm too sexy for my shape!

Bad boys and wild girls. Cats, wolves, dragons and hamsters (just kidding about the hamsters…really). We're looking for the best of your shifters, no holds barred. Show us your sexy, your untamed and all the growls, purrs and squeaking hamster wheels (still kidding about this part) you think we can handle.

Samhain Publishing is seeking submissions for their as-yet-untitled Summer 2009 shapeshifter anthology. Stories can be of any genre or heat level—make them fun, make them sexy, make them burn right off the pages but whatever you do, they must feature a shifter theme as integral to the story. M/m or same-sex submissions welcome and anticipated.

Submissions should be 20,000 to 30,000 words in length. This anthology is open to all authors previously published with Samhain and authors aspiring to publish with Samhain. Submissions must be new material; previously published material will not be considered.

Chosen manuscripts will be published as separate ebooks under their individual titles in Summer 2009 but will be combined in print titles for Spring 2010 print release.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include:
The full manuscript (of 20,000 to 30,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Please include a letter of introduction/ query letter. Full manuscripts are required for this as it's a special project. Important! When sending your manuscript/synopsis please name them: SS_Title_full/ synopsis.

Submissions are open until March 1st, 2009 and final decision will be made by March 23rd,2009.

Send your submission to editor@samhainpubli shing.com

Please put Sexy Shifters Anthology Submission in the subject line. Query letters can be addressed to Angela James.

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Call for submissions: In a Bind Anthology
Call Closes: April 15, 2009

Tie them up, tie them down, use the ancient art of shibari or just plain old furry handcuffs, so long as someone’s being bound.

I’m very pleased to announce an open call for submissions for a new, yet-to-be titled Winter 2009 anthology. I’m looking for your super-hot bondage romance stories. Push the boundaries and push the bindings. I’m open to any genre, M/F, M/M, or multiples thereof. The only rule is bondage needs to be a main theme in the story and there needs to be a HEA (or HFN).

The anthology will include novellas from 20,000 to 25,000 words in length and will be released individually as ebooks in September 2009.

Submissions are open to all authors, published with Samhain or aspiring to be published with Samhain. All submissions must be new material, previously published submissions will not be considered. Additionally, manuscripts previously submitted, whether individually or for past anthologies, will not be considered either. Please be aware that manuscripts submitted to this anthology cannot be resubmitted at a later date unless by invitation from an editor.

To submit a manuscript for consideration, please include:

The full manuscript (of 20,000 to 25,000 words) with a comprehensive 2-5 page synopsis. Please include a letter of introduction/query letter. Full manuscripts are required for this as it’s a special project.

As well, when you send your manuscript, please be sure to use the naming convention Bind_Title_MS or Bind_Title_Synopsis. This will ensure that your submission doesn’t get missed in the many submissions we receive, and makes it easy for me to find in my ebook reader.

Submissions are open until April 15th, 2009 and final decision will be made by April 30th, 2009. Please send your submission to editor@samhainpublishing.com and include In a Bind Anthology in the subject line. Questions and queries can be addressed to Laurie M. Rauch (laurie@samhainpublishing.com)

*permission to forward granted

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So, two guesses which anthology I'm hoping to submit to? And with a "maybe snow" in the forecast and still inches on the ground, I am more than happy to sit tapping on my keyboard...

Someone who normally doesn't get snow was dumped on yeaterday: London. Eleven inches fell...how exciting! And also Paris saw several inches...

My scientist husband says that weather pattern shifts are a sure sign of global warning in action...ummm...I think something is backwards here. I'd be more than happy with an eighty degree day about now...