Jude Mason

"The The Impotence of Proofreading," by TAYLOR MALI

2011-11-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome Rose Anderson

2011-11-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to have Rose Anderson with us this week, a truly interesting and talented woman who I'm really glad to meet. Welcome Rose!

1. Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

Before I begin Jude, I’d like to thank you for hosting this interview today. I very much appreciate your time and I’ve enjoyed your interesting and fun Q&A.

Something unglamorous eh? Just this morning, my husband asked me what my readers would think about me lounging around all day in baggy old clothes. LOL I hardly “lounge around all day” but I do dress in comfortable clothing when I write. Why wouldn’t I? I think my readers would see the sense in it.

I’m a natural redhead with gray eyes. With this genetic distinction comes fair skin that sunburns easily. Growing up in the days before sunscreen, as a little girl I’d get burn upon burn just playing outside. Add to that a rather stupid attempt to gain the highly touted Coppertone tan in my teens, and it’s a recipe for skin damage. Several days ago I went to the dermatologist because I found several suspicious spots over the summer. Sure enough, these pre-cancerous monsters had to be frozen with cryotherapy. I’m glad I went because this stuff can turn deadly. Unfortunately the timing is terrible. I have two social functions this weekend and I look like I’ve been brawling. Yes, it’s been a very unglamorous few days.

2. Plotter or pantzer?

I definitely write by the seat of my comfortable baggy pants. <grin> Even when I try to plot the story, it takes on a life of its own and I resume pantzing! An interesting idea will pop into my head and before I know it I have a character or two and they’ll start talking to themselves and each other. When they walk forward in their world, for one reason or another conflict comes in from the sides and they must react to it. The strange thing here is, I really don’t know how the story will end until they end it. They take over my brain until they’re done with me. I’ve heard other authors refer to this state of mind as a form of possession.

3. If you could invite any famous person, dead or alive, for dinner, who would it be and what would you eat?

Oh this is a tricky one. As I’m terribly shy, I’d rather have a dinner party, then I can pop in and out of the conversation but not have it depend upon me to keep it going. At the table I’d sit Thomas Jefferson, Leonardo Da Vinci, Lao Tzu, King Solomon, Jane Austen, Astronaut Jim Lovell, Oprah Winfrey, René Descartes, Thoth, John and Abigail Adams, and President and Mrs. Barack Obama. Can you imagine how fabulous that conversation would be? I think I’d have a Mongolian Hot Pot -- hot stock and small bits of food to cook in it -- or perhaps a fondue. Slow meals are great for keeping a dinner conversation going.

4. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

I’d like more than anything to become successful enough to buy a nice piece of land for my husband to retire on. That’s been my goal from the start. Second to that, I’d like to set up a foundation that gives grant monies to people and organizations that do good things for the environment, animals, and mankind. Think of it like picking up Ben and Jerry’s torch and running with it.

5. Are you in love? Have you ever been?

Yes I am. I’ve loved this man since I was nineteen years old. My soul mate and I have been together nearly 35 years and he’s my best friend too. You can’t get better than that.

6. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

I’d say they need to keep in mind that not all of their books will be a good fit with every reader out there and not to take it too hard when the inevitable poor or snarky review pops up. Books are no less works of art than masterpieces in oil or stone. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When I began this amazing journey back in March of this year, I learned I had a narrow window of opportunity to find reviews for my book. I did a little digging around the internet to learn all I could about reviews. I read a few dozen and found many thought-filled assessments by obvious booklovers. Some lower-rated reviews offered constructive criticism and I realized they’d be useful to the author, if the authors took them to heart. They were things like: The story dragged in chapter two, or The point of view shifts were confusing at times.

Then to my dismay I read some very nasty reviews. The one that stood out went something like this: This author should have their fingers broken so they can’t write another piece of sh*t. All I could say was really? Was it that bad to say that terrible thing? Especially in the Romance Genre! How could another person’s work of art evoke that kind of emotional response? It’s not like seeing something that turns your stomach with its shock value. It’s not like watching a tank ready to crush a student in Tiananmen Square, witnessing that hapless truck driver in Los Angeles getting his head koshed in with a brick, or viewing a monk setting himself on fire in protest. It’s a romance novel that on some level just didn’t do it for the reader. That’s all. And really, even doing it for the reader is a personal thing. One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.

So new writers, please remember that reviews are simply opinions. How many people do you know with opinions different than your own? Revel in the good ones. They feel great! Consider the bad ones. If you’re lucky, they’ll come with constructive criticism and that’s not a bad thing because sometimes authors are just too close to the story to see gaffs and gaps. Once they’re out in the open and you know what they look like, these glitches can be avoided. And above all, ignore the nasty reviews. If they have nothing of value to impart and are simply mean-spirited, consider them to be the power plays they are, and then move on.

7. If you had one wish, would you give away? Why or why not and to whom would you give it?

If I had one wish, I wouldn’t take it for myself. As a helpless bystander, I watched two beloved sisters die to catastrophic diseases. I would use my one wish to remove suffering in all its forms from all of earth’s creatures – hunger, abuse, disease, etc… etc …etc. Of course the planet would spring back to life. In lieu of that, I’d wish for a genie in a lamp that gave me unlimited wishes and fix things that way. :)

8. If you found that, for one reason or another, you couldn’t write anymore, what would you like to do instead?

I love making things but after 38 years of rheumatoid arthritis, my hands don’t always cooperate with my creative spark. I really enjoy making things with my computer. I’d go into graphics.

9. What are you working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?

I have several books simmering away right now – a five-book non-erotic romance series I’ve been working on for four full years now, a magical story set in the Isle of Skye, and I’m getting ready to submit one to my publisher that tracks an urban legend in my area. There’ll be two books to that story. I’m half way through book two now. I’ve been busy!

10. What do you enjoy doing with your spare time, your non-writing time?

My husband and I go to flea markets on most Sundays. He’s searching for old correspondence. I collect little trinkets like Cracker Jack toys, political buttons, and pickle pins. Sometimes we get lucky. I like to sew and recently discovered repurposing. In other words, I’d buy a vintage table cloth or wool sweater and use them as fabric to make napkins or mittens etc. Were I to be summed up, I guess you’d call me a dabbler. I have many interests and am just as happy doing one as another.

On to a short teaser from Rose's book, Dreamscape!

Dreamscape

by Rose Anderson

publisher: Siren Publishing

ISBN: 978-1619260221

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance

To buy: http://www.bookstrand.com/rose-anderson

Blurb:
Unable to deny his own translucence, Dr. Jason Bowen determines his lack of physical substance could only mean one thing -- he's a ghost. Murdered more than a century before, Jason haunts his house and ponders the treachery that took his life. When Lanie O'Keefe arrives with plans to renovate her newly purchased Victorian mansion, Jason discovers, ghost or not, he's still very much a man.

Despite its derelict condition and haunted reputation, Lanie couldn't be happier with her new home, but then she has no idea a spirit follows her every move throughout the day and shares her captivating warmth at night. Jason soon discovers he can travel through Lanie's dreams and finds himself reliving the days before his murder with Lanie by his side. It took one hundred and twenty years for love to find them, but there's that insurmountable little matter of Jason being dead.

Excerpt:

Seeing the ghost of Jason Bowen for the first time, Lanie falls to the floor in a faint. Coming to, she doesn't believe what she's seen and writes it off as simply a fearful reaction to a severe thunderstorm. Laughing away her overactive imagination, Lanie playfully calls the ghost to her bath. She never expected a ghost to come to this innocent invitation.

Summer birds were now singing their twilight song, and Lanie woke with no clear notion on how she came to be on the floor. The last thing she remembered was the deafening roar of the hail on the cupola’s copper roof. No, the last thing she remembered was coming face to face with a ghost. So Jason Bowen really did haunt this house. Catching glimpses of some movement out of the corner of her eye all these weeks wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

She’d heard the stories as a girl, those playground conversations of how the ghost of Jason Bowen killed kids whenever he appeared. Early on she’d wondered how crazy stories like that ever got started and had decided it most likely came from parents wanting their children to stay away from abandoned houses where they could get hurt. The recently identified Jason Bowen was the man in her dreams, the same man she’d had a crush on since her late teens. Lanie sighed wistfully. There was no future in loving a ghost, none at all.

Deciding a long, soaking bath was the perfect solution for the helplessly lovelorn, she opened the windows to the storm-clean air and headed downstairs to do just that. The instant Lanie turned on the bathroom light the bulb blew with a pop, the surprise of it eliciting her squeak. After turning the water full-blast to hot, she went rummaging through the built-in bureau drawer for matches with which to light the scented candle on her nightstand. Setting it on the top of the toilet tank, she undressed then turned to the mirror to pin up her hair.

The upper portion of a man projected upon the steam as if it were a movie screen. Her mirrored reflection clearly showed him standing just behind her, his form outlined in blue light. She whirled around but found herself alone. She eyed the mirror again. There really had been a man’s face visible for an instant before it evaporated. And although the image was brief, it looked like Jason Bowen.

Lanie shook her head. Now that she knew exactly what Jason Bowen looked like from his portrait and photograph, was she going to believe she was seeing him around every corner? “Yeah, wishful thinking.” She had to admit Dr. Jason Bowen had a presence, at least to her sleeping mind he did. If her imagination was a fraction of what he was truly like when he lived, then Mmm mmm mmm. Steeped in her flight of fancy, she spoke as if the figment of her imagination stood there in the flesh. “I was hoping you’d keep me company while I took a bath…” Taking a fanciful stab she added, “Jason.”

Standing nearby, Jason blinked in disbelief. He focused his mind and appeared an instant later in the kitchen. No, this wasn’t his time, the modern appliances proved that. He appeared a split second later back in the doorway to her bath and found her in the tub with her eyes closed. Deliberating if he should speak or not, he reasoned she wouldn’t have used his name if she didn’t know he was there—an invitation to her bath no less. The male part of him replied, “Yes, I’m here, Lanie.”

Seeing the instant change in her expression, Jason’s logical mind half expected her to shriek and run bare-assed out of the house.

“Oh, my god.” She said the words under her breath and sunk deeper into the water.

He sat on the commode, not quite knowing what the hell had just happened. In fact, he found her reaction to him perplexing. For all appearances she acted like she knew he was there. She called him by name yet went rigid when he replied. Fear perhaps? He hoped not. “You were jesting?”

“Where are you?”

Jason materialized sitting on the closed toilet seat. The stunned expression on Lanie’s face making him feel apprehensive, he begged her silently, Please don’t run away.

To buy: http://www.bookstrand.com/rose-anderson

Want to know a bit more about Rose? Me too!

A classic Wordie, Rose Anderson writes across genres -- children’s early readers and youth literature, romance and erotic romance, paranormal, metaphysical, historical, and mystery. She also freelances for magazines. Painfully shy, Rose is always on the lookout for ways to challenge herself because she loves to learn. Aside from collecting just about everything under the sun, she has an impressive word library consisting of dictionaries and encyclopedias of all sorts (ask her anything, she loves research) Rose has a husband, two grown kids, two dogs (one empty nest child and one granddog), three cockatiels, and a thirty-year-old Angolan monitor lizard. Nearly all of them share her small home in the middle of nowhere in the wilds of northern Illinois.

Her most recent novel is Dreamscape published through Siren-BookStrand Publishing. Written in homage to Agatha Christie, Dreamscape is a reader's Easter egg hunt in the truest sense. Peppered throughout, are clues suggesting a story behind the scenes.

Last, but not least, here are a few places you'll be able to find Rose online:

Blog ~ CalliopesWritingTablet | Buy Rose's Books

Book Trailers ~ MusesWritingTablet

Follow Rose on Twitter | Join Rose's Google+ Circles of Friends

Welcome Trinity Blacio

2011-10-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I've got the pleasure of sharing my blog with the lovely and talented Trinity Blacio, who also, it seems, goes by the moniker Maria MoonStar, which I find very sexy. Please give Trinity a warm welcome and let her know you've check out her 'stuff'.

1. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?

My writing really started while doing genealogy research and taking some college classes. I have been published in genealogy magazines, local newspapers, and of course, college papers of which one was published in our local paper. But to write fiction, the idea was brought up by my mother when she actually read my autobiography I wrote for a college class; hence some of the things she read she had no idea had happened to me. That was over nine years ago ,now and I haven’t stopped writing since.

2. What influenced you to get published? How long did it take? Can you tell us the name of your first published work?

My first fiction story was a sweet romance. I learned of the call on a help group that Faith

Bicknell-Brown was running on Yahoo; she was also editing the anthology, so One Touch, One Glance A Collection of Sweet Romance Stories was born. My story, Tuesday’s Affair, was the hardest and most challenging story I have ever written to date, which is published at Freya’s Bower. Faith worked with a number of us that were first timers, and she had the huge, rolled-up newspaper she always threatened to whack us with! I’m smiling here, because she still throws things at me when she helps me with editing. I can just hear her now, cussing from across the state. An amazing woman and talented, just don’t get on her bad side because she has a wicked right hook.

3. What genre would you like to try that you haven’t yet?

I have two that I would love to try: historical and cowboys! I love cowboys, even though we did do Cowboy Rubies I want to explore the wild west further, and I would love to write a few stories back in time when rakes where plentiful—boy would I have fun.

4. Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

I have to laugh at this question. About a week ago, I had a gentlemen ask me why I did so much work promoting my work. He said, “Didn’t you get your advance?” I asked him what he thought my advance was. He thought most authors got a nice check, a couple thousand each book. I laughed my butt off and proceeded to tell him all the things authors have to do to get paid. He was flabbergasted and said I just dashed his ideas of writing again. As far as something unglamorous right now, I’m sitting here in a rocking chair my mother bought me from a garage sale, my furniture all comes from garage sales or family members. I drive a van that has over a hundred and forty-seven thousand miles on it that I know of. You see the dash board went kaput in it, so I don’t know how fast I drive, the odometer stopped turning, and the gas needle…,well let’s just say I don’t dare go under a quarter tank of gas. I’m hoping with October royalties I will have enough for a down payment for a new car, but we’ll see. Since husband had a major heart attack two weeks ago, (he’s fine now) leaving us without any money. So if you want glamorous, you would have to go to the big-name authors, Christine Feehen, Sherryln Kenyon, and so on.

5. If you could be a character in any of your books who would it be and why?

Suzanne in Dragon’s Den. As a matter of fact, I put a lot of myself in that one story. She even carries my real name, Suzanne. Do I have a dream of having two me?, What woman wouldn’t? I’m not ashamed to admit it, but will it come true? Most likely not, so I keep dreaming and writing. Suzanne is strong, goes for what she wants, and will not back down.

6. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

Join my group The Publishing Trove. If you have a question and I don’t know the answer, someone will. NEVER give up on your dream; it might take a while, but one day it will come true, so believe.

7. Looking over the past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?

Meeting Lori Perkins at Lori Foster’s convention. I have never met a wonderful woman with so much energy and ideas. I don’t know how she does it; she worksg non-stop every minute of the day. Smart, funny ,and she believes in me. Love you, Lori!

8. If you could invite any famous person, dead or alive, for dinner, who would it be and what would you eat?

Hmm, this is a hard one, but one that sticks in my head right now is Mark Twain. My mom just introduced me to his later writings. Where many thought of him as insane in reality he was way ahead of his time. I see a dinner, maybe on a steamboat on the Mississippi in the spring time. Just picking his brain would be so fun.

9. If you had one wish, would you give away? Why or why not and to whom would you give it?

I guess I would give it to my best friend, Faith. Of all the people I’ve met moving from state to state with my mom, Faith would have to be one of the most giving people I’ve met. I would give her my wish, because I know she would not only use the wish to help herself, but others also, and if anyone a break in life it would be her.

10. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

To me success would be my kids in college and doing well with their lives, enough money where I could travel to the places I would love to write about in my stories, and to at least live out one of my many fantasies. If I have all three of these then I know my life has been a success. It does not matter how I would get there as long as I got there. If it takes me writing non-stop at least my kids will have a future, they will not have to worry about where the next meal will come from, and they will have a loving partner by their sides and treasure her or him as I wish I had had in my life.

And here's a little more information about this intriguing woman:

Trinity Blacio has been writing now professionally for over nine years. Currently, she has titles available from Freya’s Bower and Ravenous Romance, with more to come. She is always excited to be writing, hearing from readers, and helping fellow authors.

One of Trinity’s strongest beliefs is that no matter how small or big an author is, he or she should always support others in the profession. With this idea in mind, she has created a place where authors, editors, publishers, and anyone in the publishing business can come together to help each other.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/publishingtrove/

She has two children Cheyenne and Rudy. When Trinity has time, you can find her reading all sorts of romance novels. But as you have probably figured out, her favorites are dark fantasy, erotica, ménage, and erotic horror.

And now to the sexy fun stuff. The book Trinity has chosen to share with us is called Summer of the Beast. Sends shivers up my spine! Read on:

Summer of the Beast

which includes the stories:

Independence Day Union

Surrender to Frankenstein

by Trinity Blancio

Publisher: Ravenous Romance

BUY HERE

Blurb:

When they say summer is hot, they aren't kidding, but it's sizzling as far as Violet Vanworth and Whitnee Rae are concerned. Especially when the men around them have enough testosterone to melt the North Pole!

All Whitnee Rae wanted was one night of hot sex. Instead, she ends up bitten by a werewolf on the run! And her rescuer happens to be the one and only Frankenstein. Could her summer fling get any weirder?

Violet Vanworth has just buried her mother, and for the first time in her life, she's free. There are no guards and no one telling her what to do. Packing her stuff, she moves far from New York to begin a new life, but fate intercedes. Once more, Violet is surrounded by people who place her in bubble wrap and set her on a shelf - until she is informed that the four breathtaking, built and alpha men were her mates and now they just want her in their bed!

Excerpt from, Independence Day Union:

“Well, then, you must have fools for men in New York,” he teased and stepped back.

Violet laughed. “Creeps, more like.” She turned to Kelvin, who moved in front of her and kissed both of her cheeks. “I have to agree with Salvador. You are a beauty. It’s New York’s loss and our gain to have you here.”

She fanned her face. “You guys sure know how to make a girl’s head spin. Let me go grab my jacket and purse.” Violet nodded to the bikes. “I take it we’re going for a ride?” She laughed and moved to the porch, glancing over her shoulder at the three hunks.

All three of them stared at her, their gazes traveling up and down her body. “Oh, we’ll be going for a ride many times,” Landon said.

“You are very bad, Mr. Drews.” Violet shook her head and grabbed her jacket and purse, taking a deep breath. Violet had a feeling that when she got home tonight, her small toy was going to get a nice workout.

You can find Trinity on Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo, and of course at her website: http://trinityblacio.com

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/trinityblacio

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/trinityblaciosfantasy

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/trinityblacio

Google +: https://plus.google.com/107748069776881497564/posts?hl=en

Maria MoonStar: http://mariamoonstar.com

What to read

2011-10-20T12:17:00.003-07:00

Today, I thought I'd share a few bits from books of mine I hope you'll check out. Some of these will be new, some older, but on the internet, that doesn't really matter. Books will remain for sale as long as the publisher is satisfied with sales, and I'll keep my books out for as long as you all like them.

Here Puss
ISBN: 978-1-55487-927-4

Categories: GLBT, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Romance

Publisher: eXtasy Books

Jack Burns and Samuel Dresser are a young gay couple who love their cabin by the lake. On this occasion, Jack arrives at their secluded retreat a day before Samuel and prepares for his lover's arrival. Excitement turns to terror when a big cat appears as the couple make love in the great outdoors. Will the big cat cause more trouble than the lover's can handle? Or will a twist of fate and nature add some spice to the lover's weekend?

Excerpt:

Samuel took a deep breath and hitched up his pack. The last couple of dozen meters he wanted to make it look as if he'd simply breezed in, rather than struggled under the weight of bringing too much gear. He knew he had. His short brown hair was damp with sweat, but Jack would hopefully assume it was from the heat, not the strain. His shirt clung to his chest and back. His cut-offs chafed and tugged, and not at all in a nice way. Only his hiking boots seemed somehow cool and they were the most substantial thing he wore.

Peering at the lake, Samuel saw their canoe tied to the makeshift wharf. No sign of his partner though, and he started across the grass towards the cabin. "Ja…" His breath caught, the word froze half-spoken.

Jack, much as he'd imagined, strode out of the water--naked, a towel in one hand, he stopped only when he'd reached a thick patch of grass next to the chopping block. The blade of an axe lay buried in the block, its handle thrust up, apparently a convenient place to hang the towel once he'd dried his shoulder-length, brown hair. He watched appreciatively, while Jack's thick cock swung from thigh to thigh every time he moved.

To buy, go HERE

Sam, the Man

Publisher Total E-Bound

ISBN: 978-0-85715-639-6

Genre: m/m, contemporary, mild BDSM

When Gregg Jackson’s wife passes away after a prolonged illness, can the care giving, flamboyantly gay, Sam Nicholson, convince him that being a bad boy is a good thing?

Excerpt:

Chapter Two

Opening the front door, he was thrilled to see Greg approaching him and said, "Get out of those clothes and kneel." He swished passed his lover, tossed his coat on the chair and headed for the kitchen. Behind him, he heard Greg's soft curse and then a thump. Turning, he stifled the chuckle that threatened. He'd pushed his jeans down to the tops of his boots then tried to get out of the boots. Again. He'd toppled over. The curse had been when he realised he'd lost his balance, the thump was when his butt hit the floor, or so Sammy assumed. He'd have a bruise for sure.

Placing his hand on his hip, he pointed out, "If you'd just take the damn boots off first…"

Greg looked at him, scowled, then lowered his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I'm just in a hurry."

"Sir?" He waggled his eyebrows.

Greg smiled, adding, "Sir."

"Get naked, boy." The words sent a shiver of pleasure running up his spine. He loved the feeling of power his control over Greg gave him.

"Yes, Sir," Greg said, in that deep sexy voice he used only when they the two of them were going into a scene. Jeans and boots finally formed a small pile beside him on the door mat. His shirt followed, a crumpled pile of white cotton. Finally, he wriggled out of his underpants and tossed them on the heap. He turned to face Sammy. "Here, Sir?"

Before he answered, he went into the kitchen and got a glass of white wine. Standing in the doorway, he said, "In front of the couch. Face away from it." He watched and sipped, as the lovely man crawled to the specified spot. Greg knelt, turned away from the couch, making sure his back was straight and his knees spread wide apart. With his hands behind his back, his thickening cock was in full view.

To buy, go HERE

Of Death and Desire - re-released

Publisher BWLPP

ISBN: 9781926965697

Genre: historical, m/m, mild BDSM, romance

Dear diary, that's how you're supposed to begin these things, or so I assume. I never in a million years thought I'd write in one, let alone under these circumstances. This was Jonathan's doing. When he asked me to make this entry, it was something I had to do, for him. He's given up so much.

The beginning. Yes, that's where I should begin and then let his accounting tell the tale.

Jonathan Strand—artist, author, wealthy due to an inheritance from his parents who'd died years ago. My Jonathan—tall, slender, dark-haired, and dark-eyed—has a Mediterranean look about him that drives me wild. Yes, we're lovers, and have been since I turned twenty-four.

Two years old than I, Jonathan was twenty-seven, and I, well into my twenty-fifth year, when I became ill. At first, we thought it was just a passing ailment that would take its toll and then fade, as so many disorders do. Unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Consumption doesn't simply go away. There's little treatment for it, and what there is does little good.

Before I became too ill, we traveled to New Orleans—a final vacation together, arranged by him, of course. Friends, good ones, owned a property there, and offered it to us for as long as we wanted to stay. We jumped at the opportunity to get away together, and what better place to spend the last days of one's life.

Little did we know what would transpire while we were there. But, that's for Jonathan to tell.

To buy, go HERE

Welcome Tex

2011-10-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

I've got a very special guest this week and I'm sure all you authorly types will be as excited about this as I am. One of the editor for both eXtasy and Devine Destiny, the fellow goes by the name Tex. Please give the man a warm welcome and feel free to ask him whatever questions you'd like.

1. What got you started as an editor?

I love helping writers polish their work. I checked several epubs to see if they needed an editor and Jay Austin, EIC of eXtasy and Devine Destinies, accepted me as one of her editors.

2. Besides reading, what are your favorite hobbies?

Well if you call watching professional sports a hobby then I love watching baseball, football and hockey. I am also a trivia buff and go to local trivia contests. I also enjoy going for walks.

3. What is your favorite genre to read? Your least favorite?

Thrillers, courtroom dramas and, mob and gangster stories. I hate reading Sci Fi, but love watching it in the movies, ex: Star Wars, Star Trek etc.

4. As an editor, do you get to choose the books you edit?

Yes, Jay knows editors prefer certain genres and so tries to match authors and editors in certain categories.

5. Have you ever met any of the authors you’ve edited for? If yes, could you tell us about it?

I haven’t officially met her but I have spoken over the phone to Annie Alvarez, one of my favorite authors to edit for. She has come a long way since I did her first book and I am very proud of her. I have also received Thank You’s via slo-mail from other authors.

6. What clothing makes you feel sexy?

I hate wearing suits and thankfully, my job doesn’t require it. I just love wearing casual clothes. A loose t-shirt and jeans. Not sure if it makes me sexy but I feel comfortable wearing them.

7. From an editor’s point of view, do you have any advice for authors?

Before submitting to an epub or traditional publisher, read and reread your story. eXtasy and DD have standards in the submission policies page and asks authors to make sure their stories are as clean as possible. Unfortunately, I have found more than one author who doesn’t comply with this. Editors are not book doctors. We do not and will not write or rewrite your book. All we do, is polish your book, by telling the author about passive voices, POV shifts, head hopping and/or catching minor grammar or punctuation faux pas, etc. We make suggestions to the author. If I have authors who have a lot of issues, more than once I have sent the book back to them to have them fix the rest of the problems themselves. I do it because it is the only way they will learn.

8. If you could invite a famous person to dinner, who would it be and what would you serve them?

My favorite author is James Patterson. I would love to pick his brain while serving him lasagna. (This from Jude: Um, can I come? I LOOOOVE lasagna!)

9. What’s your favorite comfort food?

Orange sherbet ice cream.

10. Did you receive any special training to edit?

The only training I’ve had is through Jay Austin, whose advice has been invaluable.

11. Are you a dreamer? Why yes or no?

I have a Walter Mitty mind. In case someone doesn’t know Walter Mitty is a character from a James Thurber novel. A movie was made about him starring Danny Kaye. He went through life imagining himself as a hero or famous person. I always dream or dreamt that I kicked the winning field goal in the Super Bowl, being a famous movie star, getting on the NYTimes best seller list.

12. Is there one book you remember and would read again in a heartbeat?

Yes, The Godfather. In fact I have read it several times and will read it again if I come across it.

13. Winter or Summer?

Both actually. I love looking out the window during winter and watching the snow falling down. It is so relaxing. I also love summer, though not the heat wave we had here in the Midwest, but I love the rain, especially hearing it at night while lying in bed.

Ocotober Newsletter

2011-10-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

What Jude's
been up to:

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all you Canadian readers! I hope you all had as spectacular a day as I did. My son and his family entertained all the in-laws! OMG! What a brave pair. We really had a lovely time and yours truly got into the Sambuka. If you like licorice, it's a liquor you should try. It's wonderful!

As you all know, I've been really struggling for the last few months, if not more, with writer's block because of the condition I've developed. Nothing much has changed and I've decided, after a lot of discussion with my husband, and some tearful searching on my own, to simply give myself some time away from the craft. This really has been an enormous decision for me. I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and to not have that spark in my life is enormous. I won't simply walk away, I don't think I could ever do that. But, as of this writing, the last new release, Jazz, will be coming out in January 2012. Doc and Jazz will be put into print later on, and I will definitely be around to yodel about it. I'm also hopeful I'll be able to get out a short story or two, perhaps even more than that in the near future.

Sounds ominous there, doesn't it?

Let's hope this is just a temporary set back... an extended vacation, or a hiatus that will see me back in a month or so with a myriad of new ideas and the stamina to write them! Yes, I do like that.

Having said all that, I plan to make this newsletter a quarterly thing, for now. So, that means, for the next two months, there won't be a Wanton Quill in your mail box, but there will be one in January. I'll continue like that, unless things change. If I do have news, new book, writing picks up or something I'm sure you'll want to know, you'll receive a special notice in your email. I'll also be around in the groups, litergagasm, theeXfactor, my group and a few others I poke around in. Please, don't be shy, if you do catch sight of me, say hi. I'd love to chat with you all.

On to what's happening. Jenna Byrnes and I are again working on the next enstallment of our Kindred Spirits series. You may recall my mentioning the title, Frankie's Flame, to you a couple of months ago. Well, it's back in the 'working on' folder, so cross your fingers. LOL I'm also working on editing a book for her, as well as wading through the pile of stories from Darker Pleasures.

Now to my animal friends: The bucks are heading into the rut. Heck, they're pushing at each other and anything that's not nailed down. It's an interesting time for them, and for me. The weather is getting colder, the leaves are changing, and the animals seem to move so easily into their next season. I've got at least 8 raccoons visiting now, and one who seems to have moved in. He spends a couple of hours a day lounging in the yard, then filling his tummy with whatever cat food he can beg from me. Everyone is doing well. Let's hope the winter is kind to them all.

New releases:

Jesse's Homecoming

Publisher: eXtasy Books

Genre: f/f, western, romance

Genre: f/f, western, romance
http://www.extasybooks.com/jesses-homecoming/

Jesse returns to the ranch to find her lover, Meg, in trouble—raped and beaten by her ex. It's up to Jesse to rescue her and to see that justice is done.

Peeping Johnny
Publisher: Darker Pleasures
Genre: Erotica, BDSM, Fetish, F/f
BUY LINK
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92030

Life in the city was great. With buildings crushed against each other, his curvy, kinky neighbor lived just a few feet away. Separated only by two windows that gave him a hell of a view, he enjoyed a nightly show of tortured female flesh and masturbation. But on this night, just when his peep show had passed from clamps to needles, another woman walked into view. That's when it really got good.

Sam, the Man

Publisher Total E-Bound

ISBN: 978-0-85715-639-6

Genre: m/m, contemporary, mild BDSM
BUY LINK
http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1340

When Gregg Jackson’s wife passes away after a prolonged illness, can the care giving, flamboyantly gay, Sam Nicholson, convince him that being a bad boy is a good thing?

Contest information:

September's contest question was: Which anniversary did my husband and I just celebrate?

I have to say, the response was wonderful and the well wishes were even moreso. Thank you all for taking the time. The winner of the contest is:

Cheri O
cheri.oggy@gmail.com

Congratulations Cheri and thank you so much. Would you please email me at Jude_Mason@my-haven2001.com and let me know which of my backlist of ebooks you'd like. If you're not sure what's on my backlist, here's where to find it:

http://www.my-haven2001.com/Backlist/JudeMasonbacklist.pdf

October 2011
Edition #77

Where's Jude:

Website:
http://www.my-haven2001.com/

My Blog:
http://jude-mason.blogspot.com/

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/MasonJude

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Author.Jude.Mason

Google +
https://plus.google.com/u/0/101756995898929857907/posts?hl=en_US

GLBT Bookshelf:
http://bookworld.editme.com/JudeMason

The eXfactor on Yahoo
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theexfactor/

Infinite Possibilities: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Infinite_Possibilities/

Books We Love Spice: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BWL_Spice_Readers/

The Romance Studio: http://theromancestudio.com/fm/jmason.htm

The Romance Studio
Blue Blog: http://trsblue.blogspot.com/

The Rainbow Studio Blog:
http://therainbowstudio.blogspot.com/

Total E-Bound blog:
http://totalebound.blogspot.com/
(14^th of every month)

*frequently felt blog:
http://frequentlyfelt.blogspot.com/

Reviews

Jacob's Pony, reviewed by Tina of Two Lips Reviews, had this to say: I would love more in this world Ms. Mason created. I think it has potential for many more interesting and thought provoking stories and would love to see where it can go next.

To read the rest:
http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6246&Itemid=36

Sam, the Man, reviewed by Serena Yates of QMO, had this say: This is a story that, I suspect, will polarize people.

To read the rest:
http://www.queermagazineonline.com/component/content/article/223-book-reviews/book-reviews/33324-sam-the-man-by-jude-mason#56

Sam, the Man, reviewed by Greendragon of Nightowl Reviews, had this to say: For a short story, Sam, the Man by Jude Mason, was very intense and emotional.

To read the rest:
http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Reviews/Greendragon-reviews-Sam-The-Man-by-Jude-Mason.aspx

Website Updates

Oh yeah! I've done some updating, cleaning up and also added to my backlist. Also, check the cover art page, I've added a couple of new ones that are simply awesome.

Wednesday
Blog Guest

Every Wednesday, I have a surprise guest on my blog, and it's turned into quite a show. If yo'd like to check them out, visit my blog:
http://jude-mason.blogspot.com/

Sept.7 -Karenna Colcroft
Sept.14 -Caitlin West
Sept 21 -Marc Jarrod
Oct. 5 -Justine Dark
Oct.12 -Amy Valenti
Oct. 19 - Tex
Oct. 26 - Trinity Blacio
Nov.2 - Rose Anderson
Nov. 9 - Imara Jade

My Publishers

Total E-Bound
http://www.total-e-bound.com/

eXtasy Books
http://www.extasybooks.com/

BWLPP Spice
http://www.bwlpp.com/spice.php

Untreed Read
http://www.untreedreads.com/

Noble Romance
http://www.nobleromance.com/

Logical Lust
http://www.logical-lust.com/

Darker Pleasures
http://www.darkerpleasures.com/

Sizzler Edition
http://shop.renebooks.com

And there you have it, another month gone and one more newsletter put to bed. I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about me and the work I love so much. Take care and be well, and I’ll see you again in a couple of months.

Hugs
Jude

Coming Oct. 15th, Jesse's Homecoming

2011-10-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

Jesse's Homecoming
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Genre: f/f, western, romance

Jesse returns to the ranch to find her lover, Meg, in trouble—raped and beaten by her ex. It's up to Jesse to rescue her and to see that justice is done.

Coming October 15th, to eXtasy Books

Welcome Amy Valenti

2011-10-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I have the pleasure to bring you, the lovely, sexy, talented, Amy Valenti. I'm sure you'll love finding out what makes this woman tick.

1. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?

I started writing Muppet Babies fan fiction in about 1988 (I was four!). Seriously… I was a big fan of Miss Piggy – not so much now I’m older, but back then she was my idol!

More on-topic, I started on erotica in about 1999, when I was fifteen. That was fan fiction, too, actually… Buffy and Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, followed by a Buffy/Willow/Faith lesbian threesome! Back then I had no idea what sex was like, so it was terrible, of course, but here we are in 2011, and I’m published, so stuff must have happened in the meantime...

2. What influenced you to get published? How long did it take? Can you tell us the name of your first published work?

I’ve started so many writing projects over the years, and the only ones I seem to be able to finish are the erotica ones! I have no idea why that is. But a couple of years after finishing my first erotica fiction over the usual minimum word count of 10K, I thought, “I could be waiting forever to finish a project I can tell my parents about. I’ll send out a few erotica stories in the meantime and see if I get any acceptances.”

I nearly died when I found out I got one, about three months later! The story in question isn’t in print any more – it was a paranormal, loosely vampire-based short named Shocked, and I have a revised, rewritten version coming out in December.

3. What genre would you like to try that you haven’t yet?

Well, so far I’ve written contemporary vanilla, contemporary kink, kinky crime, paranormal erotica, and I’ve also dabbled in some dystopian erotica, though that’s going to take a while to finish.

For some reason, recently I’ve wanted to write about dragons. A female dragon trainer and a male knight, to be specific… I’ve never really been that into swords and sorcery, so I’m a little surprised, but I plan to give it a go!

4. Plotter or pantzer?

I’m getting a little bit better at plotting, but so much of my stuff has just been me sitting down and letting the characters worry about themselves, and just going scene by scene with a very vague plot in mind. It seems to work for me, though my longer works tend to be the more plotted ones.

5. What do you do when you’re suffering writers block?

As bad as it sounds, I go and walk around my local bookshop. It’s not what it seems like, though – I don’t go and read through other authors’ work to steal their ideas. Just being around a lot of books makes me inspired – in a kind of ‘one day, this could be you’ way. And there’s a lot of pretty cover art around, these days!

6. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

If you’re having trouble getting your ideas onto the page, there’s a tool online named Write or Die – it gives you noise prompts whenever you stop writing, and it times you, so you don’t have the time to spare deliberating over whether something sounds good or not. I’d suggest getting your first draft down using Write or Die, and then going back and editing/restructuring later, once you’ve finished. You might surprise yourself with what you’ve written!

7. Looking over the past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?

Finding out that Dominance and Deception was going to be given a print release. I might have actually jumped up and down on the spot. ;D On a more practical level, my editor at Total-E-Bound has been a joy to work with, and I’ve now begun to call her my ‘Freditor’, because she’s a friend as well as an editor. That’s probably the best behind-the-scenes thing to come out of 2011. :)

8. What do you enjoy doing with your spare time, your non-writing time?

Sleeping, definitely! And playing videogames. I’m a proofreader and copy editor as a day job, and I enjoy it even though it’s work. I’m a big reader, too, and there are a few TV shows (most significantly, NCIS and Castle) that I wouldn’t want to miss.

9. If you could change one thing that you have written, what would it be?

I wrote a silly little short for some friends, which parodied the were-shifter genre. It’s named Cursed and Compelled, and it’s one of the free reads on my website. Everywhere I looked, I seemed to see stories about new were-creatures – were-leopards, were-lions, were-panthers, were-tigers, you name it! – so I decided to pick a very silly animal for my oh-so-sexy hero to turn into.

It still makes me laugh, but I wish the ending was better. It’s not a happily-ever-after, and I think it lets the rest down a little, but at the time I wasn’t putting the greatest amount of thought into it.

10. What are you working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?

I’m very excited about my new BDSM series, which is centred around a fetish club named Club Alterna. Each novella in the series will focus on a different girl and the guy or girl who catches her eye, and so far I have the first four stories planned out.

The first is named Floored, dealing with a stubborn switch’s struggle against the urge to submit, and it’s written and contracted for release in March 2012. That’ll be M/F, followed by book two, Suspended, which is F/F and bondage-centric. Book thee, Captured, is M/F and revolves around alternative fashion and fetish photography. Book four, Swayed, is F/F, and is about the club’s vanilla DJ, and the Domme who unexpectedly falls for her.

You can find out more at my series page, here: http://amyvalenti.wordpress.com/club-alterna-series/

11. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

I’m thinking in baby steps right now. Step one: my first print release, which is Dominance and Deception in January. Step two: finish my first series, Club Alterna, which starts in March. Step three: get a novel published with one of the big publishing houses, so I can one day walk into my local book shop and go, ‘Hey, look! There I am!” That’ll be when I really count myself as a success, I think.

And now for a teaser from Amy's book:

Dominance and Deception

Author: Amy Valenti

Genre: Crime/Thriller, BDSM

Publisher: Total-E-Bound Publishing

Buy Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1389

Blurb:

Submission is a dangerous game…

Faye Tate is a police forensic scientist, a switch, and secretly in love with a police detective. Detective Zach Pierce has made many enemies, but his attraction to Faye is too strong to be denied.

Can Pierce protect his submissive from those who seek to use her against him, or will her devotion to her Dom cost Faye her life?

Excerpt:

Faye looked down at the red mark rising on her flesh, then up at me. “That the best you can do, Sir?”

I raised the crop, never letting my pissed-off façade slip. “I haven’t even started—”

Faye’s phone rang, the unexpected sound disorientating us both. She groaned, scowling at the offending object as if it was sentient.

“Damn it! Not now!” She tugged expectantly at her handcuffs. “Okay, let me out of these.”

I stood there, impassive, and she rolled her eyes.

“Zach, seriously. Someone’s probably dead and we’ll have to go to work.”

I knew she was right, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. Dropping the crop and stepping over the tangle of our clothing, I crossed to the dresser and checked the caller ID. Sure enough, it was Santoro. For a brief moment, I entertained the irrational thought of firing him, but it passed.

Without releasing Faye from her bonds, I hit the speakerphone button to answer the call.

Taking a deep breath to steady her breathing, she spoke. “Santoro, this better be good. I’m a little tied up right now.”

As I stifled a chuckle, Santoro replied, “I know, it’s really late and I’m sorry. But we have a problem. There’s been a triple homicide, and Pierce isn’t answering his cell. His home phone’s off the hook.”

I didn’t remember taking my home phone off the hook, but I’d left my cell phone switched off in the car, which was parked outside Faye’s place.

“He probably let the battery run down again,” she told Santoro. “I’ll stop by his place on the way into work, okay?”

“Are you sure? It’s not out of your way?”

“I’m sure. You get going, and I will handle Pierce.” She winked at me.

“You’re risking an awful lot, here,” I murmured, quietly enough that the cell phone wouldn’t pick it up.

“Relax,” she mouthed back.

“That’d really help,” Santoro said wearily. “Thanks.”

“So what do I tell Pierce when I see him?” Faye asked.

Silently, I sat on the edge of the bed. Faye’s eyes widened, and she shook her head at me, though I could tell her heart wasn’t really in the denial.

As Santoro began to outline the case, his tinny voice just barely audible in the quiet of Faye’s bedroom, I trailed light kisses over her breasts and stomach. When I glanced up, I could see she wasn’t taking in anything Santoro was saying. Her eyes were closed, and a tiny smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

“…Faye?” Santoro’s voice brought us both down to earth.

“Hmmm?” she replied languorously, before shaking herself out of it. “Sorry, what?”

Santoro laughed. “Oh, Jeez… When you say you’re tied up, you really mean that literally, don’t you?”

Faye and I stared at one another for an instant before she cracked up. “I knew there was a reason you’re Pierce’s right-hand man, Santoro. Nothin’ gets past you.”

Buy Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1389

And now, for a little more info about Amy!

Bio: Amy Valenti is a tarnished tease, and her mind has lived in the gutter since the day she realised what sex was. She hails from England, which she doesn’t find quite as exotic and sexy as the average US citizen seems to, but if people want to compliment her on her accent, that’s all fine with her! Her muses are many, fickle and very demanding.

She has a degree in creative writing and currently works as a proofreader/copy editor. In her free time, she reads, writes and plays videogames. On the rare occasions she doesn’t have a laptop on her knee, she loves to curl up with friends and pets – and chocolate – for TV show and movie marathons.

Contact links

http://amyvalenti.wordpress.com

http://www.twitter.com/AmyValenti

http://www.facebook.com/AmyValentiErotica

Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)

2011-10-09T12:17:00.001-07:00

Welcome Starfox Howl

2011-10-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

A special guest on a day I don't normally have guests on my blog. This man has a byline that caught my attention months ago and I'm sure it will you.

Starfox Howl

The Middle of Nowhere – Afghanistan

Now that does make you want to know more, doesn't it? Read on, and please let this guy know what you think.

1. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?

I’ve always liked to read. The books I read took me out of the mundane world and off into fantasy worlds of the far future and into the land of dragons and magic. My father was in the Marine Corps so we lived on military bases around the United States. On most bases, science fiction and fantasy books were not plentiful. So, when I ran through the available books at the library, I started writing my own stories. I wrote for myself, I was too shy about them to share with family or friends. I used up a lot of paper and dried up a lot of ball point pens writing about places and people no one else ever saw.

2. What influenced you to get published? How long did it take? Can you tell us the name of your first published work?

While Jason to Jessica was my first royalty paying published work, it was not the first thing that I’ve written that’s been published. While I was in high school, I was a member of the local Civil Air Patrol squadron, the Cadet Public Information Officer, to be exact. I wrote articles about cadet activities in the squadron, our training days, advancements and other things. These were published in the Marine Air Station’s base newspaper.

The biggest influence on my getting published wasn’t a WHAT, but a WHO. I think like most new authors I was worried about what I had written being “good enough” to get published. I asked someone I had met online in a writer’s loop to take a look at a different story, and she thought it was good enough to be published. Jason to Jessica was written after this first story and it took about a year for me to complete it. I had asked other writers about a publisher that was friendly to new authors and eXtasy Books was suggested more than once.

I submitted to them and was totally floored when I got back an acceptance.

3. Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

Well, writing is not my day job. I’m one of the IT guys that support the users at the International Security Assistance Forces Headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. As far as unglamorous, that would sitting out in the hot sun, wearing a helmet, ballistic vest and carrying a CLS (combat life saver) bag during a suspicious package alarm on the base. We were all glad that the package was found to not be dangerous.

4. Plotter or pantzer?

Pantzer. There are times when I find myself in a corner, but I just backtrack and start off in a new direction.

5. What do you do when you’re suffering writers block?

I either read, or go back and edit an earlier story.

6. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

Read all you can about story engineering, plot, character building, world building, all the elements that make up a good story. While “writing is re-writing” it’s also learning.

7. Looking over the past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?

When I received the acceptance message from eXtasy Books. For a long time I was caught up in the OH WOW!

8. What do you enjoy doing with your spare time, your non-writing time?

Reading or watching movies. I’d rather be spending time with family, but I’m out here in Afghanistan and family is way far away.

9. When you wake up in the morning, what celebrity do you most resemble?

I’m not sure that he’s a celebrity, but the “old man of the mountain”.

10. What are you working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?

I have two major stories that are in the works right now. One is a follow-on to an unpublished novel, the second is a science fiction story that I hope I can spin into a three book epic.

11. Are you in love? Have you ever been?

I’ve been in love with the same woman for almost thirty years. I’m surprised she’s put with me this long.

12. What kind of comfort food do you like best?

Those that aren’t good for me. Ice Cream, tuna noodle casserole and occasional potent potable.

13. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

I hope to achieve a measure of comfort in this life for my wife and myself. I don’t know that there’s a line any of us can cross and say “we have made it”.

Want a bit more about Starfox? Here's his bio, which in my opinion is much too short. I want more:

Starfox Howl is the pen name of a former U.S. Navy Submariner who is currently working in Afghanistan supporting United States, NATO and Coalition Forces for Operation Enduring Freedom. When not playing in the sand, he is at home, near Atlanta, Georgia husband to a loving wife, and slave to five cats and two dogs.

And now for a look at Starfox's book Jason to Jessica, which I found incredibly intriguing:

Jason to Jessica

by Starfox Howl

Buy link at Extasy:

http://www.extasybooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=3145

ISBN: 978-1-55487-904-5

Genre: Science Fiction, Romance, GLBT, Futuristic

Blurb:

Jason Ryerson wakes from sleep in a different room and a different body. In the hour after waking up, he learns that he has been a victim twice over, first of a car accident that cause massive injuries to his old body. Secondly, and more devastatingly a victim of the MORFS plague.

Jason, now Jessica, learns what it means to be on the other side of the bed. Outwardly a beautiful woman, she is forced to come to terms with how the world views women. As ties to her past are confronted, dissolved or strengthened, Jessica turns her attention to her future. A man who knew her as both Jason and now Jessica becomes more than just a friend. With no secrets between them, will he help her find her way into the world of being a woman?

Excerpt:

Whose music is playing? That was the first conscious thought I had as I woke up. It was my sister's style of quick instrumental. Crystal must be doing her exercises, or just got back from practice. My hands slid across slick sheets as I stretched. Satin? My sister was the only one in the house that used satin sheets.

Wiping the gunk out of my eyes, I blinked a couple times to let things focus. Once my vision cleared, I could see the light pink walls and the one opposite from me was covered in boy band and movie posters, including this year’s teen hit, Twilight 2020.

What was I doing in Crystal’s room? My fuzz-ball brain barely cranked out that second thought before the body told me I needed to get to the bathroom, quickly.

I made a half-awake dash to the bathroom and sat down on the commode. Rubbing my face, I didn’t find my normal morning stubble. As my hand fell to my lap, it bounced against something warm, firm and sensitive before landing.

Huh? I brought my hands back up and they ran into my chest again. Fingers curled against warm flesh and nipples stiffened. The higher functions of the brain finally engaged, processed the data, and outputted an exclamation.

“What the hell?”

Apparently, my yell carried downstairs. I heard shoes on the stairs and then on the hardwood floor outside the bathroom.

“Jason?” Mom’s voice came through the mostly closed door. Her shadow flickered through the gap between the door and the wall.

“Mom?” My higher pitched voice sounded very strange. “What happened to me?”

“I’ll tell you all about it, hon when you get out of there,” her strong, confident voice the only thing nearly normal about the strange situation at the moment.

“When you’re ready, come into the studio and we’ll talk.”

I finished, flushed, washed my hands, then caught my reflection in the mirror over the sink. The mass of dark violet hair on my head held my attention. It cascaded down my back and brushed against my still bare bottom. I ran my fingers through the heavy silk-like strands wondering what it would look like after taming the morning bedhead.

Next to draw my attention was my eyes. Green. Not a dark, emerald green, but an intense crystalline green.

Leaning close to the mirror I peered into the reflection of my eyes. Everyone my age knew this could happen. There was no way you could prepare for the day that it did happen.

Buy link at Extasy:

http://www.extasybooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=3145

You can find Starfox here:

Blog and WIP’s at: http://starfoxhowl.Blogspot.com

Welcome Justine Darkholme

2011-10-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. When I decided to start inviting guests to my blog for these Wednesday spots, I'd hoped to 'acquire' a variety of guests, from all the varied sides of the publishing world. Many of my guests have been authors, and I'm extremely pleased about the quality and diversity of the content they've all sent. (Might I add hot? Sure, it's my blog)

This week, I'm thrilled to have a very special guest.The lovely, Justine Darkholme has joined us. Justine works with Muse it Up Publishing and I'll allow her to tell you all about her job.

Welcome Justine!

Hi, I’m Justine. (Waits for the *Hi Justine*) I’m a content editor for Muse it Up Publishing. I’m also part of the acquisitions editor team at Muse it Up Publishing. Jude has been kind enough to ask me to do a guest post here on her blog. After Jude found out I was a content editor, during our initial emails, she asked me a few questions and I’ve agreed—quite happily, might I add—to answer them as part of this nifty (if I can say so myself) article.

1. How did you get into the business?

Believe it or not, I was kind of bullied into becoming a freelance editor. No, seriously. My critique partner is very persistent. I’ve always been an editor at heart. I know a lot of people say they’ve been story-tellers/writers since they could string together a semi-cohesive sentence. Well, I think I’ve always been an editor at heart. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing but I’m a perfectionist. Therefore, it takes me twice as long to write my own books.

2. What kinds of things do you look for when you’re sifting through submissions?

A few things I look for are: an interesting premise, a strong voice, and a clean submission. Voice is important and I’ve found that it will make or break an author’s chances at being contracted. Another important issue a lot of authors seem to neglect is grammar. If you’re submission is littered with grammar and or punctuation errors, it doesn’t matter how wonderful the book is; we won’t contract it. Also, believe or not, the skill and professionalism demonstrated in the author’s query and or synopsis color my perspective on their submission. If the query and or synopsis are horrible, I tend to be leery of what the submission is going to be like.

3. What are some things that drive you crazy about submissions and or working with authors?

I have two pet peeves when it comes to working with authors. The first one being: when an author doesn’t reply or acknowledge an email I’ve sent. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. I’m your editor, damn it. Please take the time to let me know you’ve received the email, even if you haven’t the time to reply in detail right then and there. Frankly, I almost consider it impolite when an author doesn’t respond or at least give me a heads up and I’m leery about working with them in the future.

The second pet peeve: when an author doesn’t apply a number of edits I’ve made in their manuscript, and doesn’t even bother to leave me a little comment explaining WHY they’ve rejected the edit. This irritates me because most of the time I have to go back through the manuscript and re-edit things I’ve already edited. I don’t have time for those kinds of shenanigans. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not upset the author didn’t take my editorial advice as gospel. I’m upset because the author didn’t give me an explanation. Instead, they just took it upon themselves to delete or change something back. And usually, it’s been my experience that the naughty author in question refuses to change things, it’s usually things that absolutely need to be changed. There are some things you can’t argue with, especially things like grammar and punctuation.

4. What are some things authors consistently do wrong?

The Un-readable Synopsis: Once again, the synopsis is important. If your synopsis is un-readable, you’re more likely to be rejected. And believe me, we receive a slew of synopsis that look like they were thrown together at the last minute. Stop that. Take the time to write a synopsis worth reading. It might actually turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes.’

Starting in the Wrong Place: This is tricky. However, it’s important. The very first page of the story is critical. Knowing when and how to start your story can make or break your chances at being accepted. Personally, by the time I’ve read the first page, I already have a pretty good idea as to whether or not I’m going to vote for an acceptance or rejection. Now, I’m not saying the story needs to start with action, etc. It just needs to start in the right place. One thing I can advise is: don’t start your story with a flashback and or dream. It’s jarring and very likely your manuscript will be rejected because you haven’t given us time to even meet the characters before you’re hurling us into their subconscious.

Submitting Unedited Manuscripts: First off, I know a lot of authors already know this, but I’m going to say it here just in case: every author needs a critique partner. Yep. Even multi-published authors need a critique partner. Nothing says amateur author like a submission that looks like it hasn’t been edited. I don’t think authors are sending us their first drafts, I just think they’ve never had a second pair of eyes on it. We get a lot of those kinds of submissions and every time we do, we suggest they enlist a frank critique partner along with whatever feedback we’ve provided in their rejection notice.

5. What are some things authors consistently do right?

There are a number of things authors consistently do right. To name a few: meeting deadlines, being courteous, accepting criticism, participating in book marketing and promotion, and querying. Believe me; we editors appreciate all of an author’s efforts. These efforts make our lives much easier, and a happy editor is an approachable editor—and we all love approachable editors. :-]

Well, that’s all for now folks! Thank you so much, Jude. I’ve really enjoyed writing this article and I hope to be a regular guest here on your blog.
(From Jude: Thank you so much, Justine. I've really enjoyed learning a little more about you, and I'd love to have you on my blog again.)

~Justine

For more information about Justine please see the following links:

Justine Darkholme’s Editor Page on Muse it Up Publishing webpage http://museituppublishing.com/musepub/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=29

Justine Darkholme’s Submission Calls on Muse it Up Publishing’s industry blog http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/p/editors-call-for-submissions.html

Justine Darkholme’s Blog: Paranormal Passions

www.paranormalpassions-romance.blogspot.com

Welcome Marc Jarrod

2011-10-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

A great guy comes to visit this week, a new friend and fellow eXtasy author, Marc Jarrod. He's one of those special breed of men who writes both romance and erotica, so please make him feel welcome.

1. What influenced you to get published? How long did it take? Can you tell us the name of your first published work?

I had always been fascinated with time travel and so based my first book on a time travel story. It is a story about a medical doctor—a surgeon who is inadvertently transported to the year 1865, right at the tail end of the Civil War. He comes across a family, which includes a beautiful woman who he ends up falling in love with. The question is, should he stay there to be with Amanda Crane and if so, how would that affect his genealogy in the grand scheme of things. I had submitted the story and got accepted by an epub, but right in the middle of my story being edited, the epub went out of business. I thought my writing career was over before it got started. It took about 3 months to find this publisher. To show how naïve I was in the publishing world, I actually started looking for literary agents to hawk my book. Finally I found the now defunct epub. The name of the book is Time Eternal. It is on the back burner right now. Someday I will bring it up and start working on it—polishing it up and then submit it.

2. What genre would you like to try that you haven’t yet?

I just started writing gay.

3. Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

Unless you are a famous author like Tess Gerritson, no it is not glamorous. It takes a lot of work and sometimes it can get discouraging. All I can say is keep at it. Unglamorous? I work at UPS and it is a dirty, sweaty job. ‘Nuf said. LOL

4. Plotter or pantzer?

I am a write by the seat of my pants, author. When my muse says go, I don’t question it and just go with the flow. Sometimes I even write the ending first and then build my story around it.

5. What do you do when you’re suffering writers block?

There is a pond in my condo complex that has a fountain. I use it to relax. I call it my own Walden’s Pond. It really does works—well, sometimes. I also take a walk, and sometime just work on something else for a few days and then come back.

6. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

Just keep plugging away. If you get rejected from an epub, try another. Some epubs have requirements that are less stringent than others. Also read their submission requirements. Most accept a majority of genres but some won't accept kids’ books or young adult. So, if you are writing that genre and you submit to an epub that doesn’t accept that genre, you are wasting both your time and the epub’s time. Also, if an epub rejects your story, and if they suggest changes, take them up on the offer. The main thing is don’t get discouraged.

7. Looking over the past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?

That’s easy—sales of my book. More than I expected. It’s moments like this that motivate me to keep on writing.

8. If you could change one thing that you have written, what would it be?

The title to my first book, One Dangerous Woman. It was initially titled My Demon Lover but the title was already taken. The original title exemplified the plot of the story. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of another title because of time constraints. I think I could have sold more of the book if the title reflected what the story was about.

9. If you could invite any famous person, dead or alive, for dinner, who would it be and what would you eat?

Cary Grant. He was truly a class act, an actor’s actor along with Laurence Olivier. I would serve them both filet mignon with caviar, served with Dom Perignon, because that is what I believe they stand for—rich, famous, and classy and debonair.

10. When you wake up in the morning, what celebrity do you most resemble? Uhmmm, Frankenstein’s monster. At least I walk like him until I get my bearings and realize where I am at and who I am.

11. What are you working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?

I am writing my first gay novel. It is about a guy who questions his sexual orientation and is brought along by his gay roommate. It is kind of a coming of age story, though the main character is in his mid twenties.

12. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

Retire with a good pension, which I hope to do in about 6 years. When I do retire, I will have been at my job for almost 40 years, which is unheard of these days. I have a good pension built up along with my 401(k) so I should be set. Then I can really concentrate on my writing.

Interesting or what? I'm trying to picture Marc, the nice looking man up at the top of this post, all Frankenstein monstery! Eeep!

Now, on to a lovely peek at Marc's book:

One Dangerous Woman

By Marc Jarrod

Publisher: eXtasy Books
ISBN: 978-1-55487-128-5

Word Count: 50,850

Genre: adventure, contemporary, erotica, paranormal, suspense

BUY LINK: http://www.extasybooks.com/one-dangerous-woman-5/

Charlie Jackson is not just your everyday hit woman. No, she is one of the deadliest female assassins ever. One day, after a botched hit, she decides to resign. As a result, she finds that the tables are turned and now she is the target of a hit because now she knows too much. Meanwhile, Dexter Dewitt, a resident of Hell and chief escort of souls to Satan has fallen in love with Charlie. Unfortunately, he is the one assigned to bring Charlie’s soul straight to his Master. Dexter’s love for Charlie makes him rebel against bringing her to such a fate and instead plots to save her. When Satan realizes this, he is enraged to say the least, because he had his own plans for Charlie. The battle is on. Teaming together, they journey across continents, outrunning Charlie’s assassins and Dexter’s destiny with the Devil. Along the way, they discover an attraction that erupts into a combustible union of body and soul. Will Charlie and Dexter win their respective battles and save each other or be forever condemned to their fiery fate?

Excerpt:

Charlie lifted her head and saw him with his eyes closed, lying on his back in just his boxer shorts. God she loved this pose. Dexter opened his eyes smiling as she smiled back. She took her velvety hand that was on his chest and started working her way down to where it touched the elastic band of his underwear. She maneuvered her fingers underneath the band until they met with a flaccid organ laying in wait. Giving his prick a gentle squeeze, Charlie watched it come to life.

“It’s my turn,” she said stroking his cock. This time, I’ll do the work.”

Dexter’s half-erection turned into immediate granite when Charlie wrapped her fingers around his staff. His eyes grew dark, bracing himself for her assault.

Unfortunately, he would have to wait a little longer. Charlie reluctantly released her hand from Dexter’s chiseled staff and continued her exploration as her fingers lightly ran through his black springy chest hair. The roughness of the hair in contrast to the softness of the underlying skin sent a sensual awareness through her body. She palmed his nipple and felt it tighten into a hard knot. She bent over him and kissed each nipple, her teeth grazing over the hard buds, feeling his body tighten. Exploring down the path to his belly button and giving it a gentle kiss, Dexter started to tremble and Charlie showered his belly with many more kisses.

She raised her head and told him to turn over. As he lay on his stomach, she feathered her fingers down his spine. He groaned and muttered something about her killing him. She laughed and bit his bottom, hard. Dexter flinched and Charlie started giggling.

“I’m sorry. I’ve wanted to do that ever since I first laid eyes on you. You have a delicious rump, Dexter. I could feast on it all day.”

“Anytime, but, honey I am about to burst if you know what I mean,” his words barely getting out of his lips.

“Then turn over and I will see what I can do to help.”

When Dexter flipped over, Charlie immediately bent over his erection and enclosed him in the moist warmth of her mouth. Her tongue slowly laved his tip as her fingers enclosed his penis again. As she began to suck, he shuddered, moving his hips upward. She took his cock even deeper in her throat until she heard a groan emanating from her lover and then felt his hands lift her and place her down on top of him. Rocking her hips and moving up and down, she rode him. Their eyes met. Charlie saw a flash of something in his eyes, but it passed too quickly to know what it meant.

Dexter took over control as he slipped his hand between their bodies and began massaging Charlie’s button. Soon Charlie cried out and with a shudder, her inner muscles clamped down hard on Dexter as he released his seed…

---

You can find more of Marc's work at www.extasybooks.com or www.devindestinies.com

Find Marc on his blog: www.mjarrod.blogspot.com

Welcome Mahalia Levey

2011-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I'm incredibly pleased to bring you something a little different to ponder on. The lovely and very talented Mahalia Levey is my guest and she's going to share her take on something near and dear to many people's hearts. The Price of Beauty. I'm sure you'll all find this as interesting as I did.

The Price of Beauty!

by Mahalia Levey

What price do a majority of women pay for being glamorous or a smokin’ hawt knockout for a girl’s night out?

From waxing, to plucking eyebrows, to a few of us attaching fake eyebrows that look fantastic but have a penchant to make the eyes water the first day, or even irritate the skin inflaming it. You’d think we’d stray away from being uncomfortable…But somewhere in our DNA it’s been ingrained that to look fantastic is to feel fantastic…no matter the cost.

My personal contribution to this…is shoes-glorious shoes. I am a die-hard sexy shoes fanatic.

My predicament! We were out watching my favorite local band play and I looked down at my adorable canvas wedges, not too dressy but cute with black jeans and a pink top to be casual. My feet were killing me. My friend’s feet were killing her, and we both felt out toes falling asleep at points in time and doing the little wiggle dance and scrunchin of the toes in time with the Rock music to play it off. Mind you we were only at the performance for three hours and not enough alcohol would dull the painful aching. The dance floor is sticky and music is blaring and you daren’t take off your shoes and go barefoot. So like the troopers we were…we held strong til time to go.

As the DH came to get me and meet my good friends he hadn’t been able to…I hobbled to the car. We got home and the balls of my feet hurt so bad I crawled from the garage to the door. He of course laughed because he doesn’t get the whole wearing what ends up being unbearable. There is no price that’s too high for cute shoes… well unless it causes an untimely demise- that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Now onto Matters of the Heart which happens to take place in Hollywood one of the hugest areas where beauty is a high demand for various careers!

Matters of the Heart

by Mahalia Levey
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Genre: contemporary, erotic romance, Tarot series
Buy Link

~Card Overview~ The Queen of Cups is the quality of a woman’s kind nature to others. Inside, she is at constant odds with self-love and often is troubled by insecurity. She is a provider to others, her chalice always overflows. Her cup in a situation symbolizes that the virtue of true love is unconditional. It is a calling for growth in emotional fulfillment. All one has to do is reach out and accept it. We can only hope she will see for herself that she is worthy of having what she bestows on others to herself.

Blurb

Madeline ‘Eden’ Jenning’s life is in upheaval. Growing older is perilous for her career. Aging gracefully does nothing for her if it means losing out on all she’s worked for. Plastic surgery becomes her obsession— finding the fountain of youth, a way to hold onto the persona she’s emulated for three decades. Desperation makes her beg her dearest friend for the best surgeon known in their area. She doesn’t expect him to be someone from her past.

Tanner James Thornton, a well-known plastic surgeon, takes only the worst of all cases, those needing his skilled hands to give them a semblance of normalcy once again. When he promises a friend he’ll assess a new client, immediately he knows being her surgeon won’t work. Not only is he attracted to her, but he remembers who she was before the glam. He has the answers she needs that don’t revolve around Hollywood’s superficial reasons for body augmentation.

Excerpt

Rain pelted down on the morning of her appointment. Umbrella shielding her, she moved to the doors of the clinic. In her email box, she’d received a confirmation of appointment, was given a questionnaire and advised what to expect. Eden clicked her umbrella to close and shook off excess drops of water and then entered the establishment.

A warm ambience greeted her. She’d expected the building to be a high rise. Pleased, she walked up to the receptionist’s desk.

“Good morning, I’m here to check in for an assessment.”

“Name?” the receptionist asked while fielding phone calls from her headset.

“Eden Jennings.”

“You’re a bit early, please fill out these forms, front and back, and don’t forget to include insurance policy numbers, if you decide to have surgery, payment options will be discussed, including monthly payments, should you qualify. One second please.” She paused, “Thank you for calling the Thornton clinic, please hold.” She shifted her attention back to Eden. “When you’re done, please bring back the clipboard and the top document, the rest will go with you.”

“Thank you,” Eden said as she found a plush seat to fill out the requested health assessment forms.

“Eden Jennings?” a nurse called from the opening of a private set of doors leading to examination rooms.

“Yes.” Eden picked up her purse, tucked it under her arm and rose, following the nurse to the back.

“I’m Carmen, I’ll be joining Dr. Thornton during your physical. Please follow me.”

“Okay.” She eyed the efficient nurse and followed her past the doors leading to the back.

“Nervous?”

“Very. Is it obvious?”

“Normal. Anyone contemplating surgery should have a level of nervousness.”

Carmen’s warm smile made it easy for Eden to relax.

“Dr. Thornton’s door is two doors down on the left.”

Eden opened her mouth to speak.

“Thank you for the report, Mrs. Hatfield. I’m pleased to hear your son’s healing well. Don’t forget his check up in two weeks. No, daily reports aren’t necessary.”

“It can’t be.” She stopped dead still just before his office. Her heart lurched. One coincidence was enough, now two? She didn’t believe in such things. On the other side of that door sat TJ.

“Is there a problem, Ms. Jennings?” Carmen said as she touched her arm lightly.

“I’ve made a mistake.”

“Panic is common, let’s go talk to the doctor and we’ll see if this is for you, okay?” She encouraged her.

“I-I can’t go in there. Do you have another doctor?”

Carmen shook her head. “Doctor Thornton doesn’t have a partner, ma’am. You did request him. I’m not sure why there’s a problem. I assure you he’s the best surgeon on the West coast.”

Bile rose in her throat. No way could she go in there and ask her first lover to augment her body.

“Carmen, bring my appointment in please,” a timber voice ordered over the intercom.

Eden darted a nervous glance at the door and began backing up toward the reception desk, her throat dry, hands shaking. She couldn’t very well explain why to the nurse. The sooner she made it out the door, the better. Turning on her heel, she made a break for the door.

“Madeline.”

Tanner James sure did know how to use her name like no other. His warm whiskey voice brought her to a screeching halt. Pasting a false smile on her face, she turned. Her heartbeat spiked. His large body was leaning in the doorway. “Tanner James.” Who was the woman whispering his name on an airy breath?

“I thought we had an appointment. Are you backing out on me?

“I—uh.” She looked over at Carmen who watched the byplay with a look of interest.

“No,” she squeaked, not willing to give the satisfaction of him calling her a coward, as his eyes belied.

“Good. Today would be nice, now—even better.”

“Coming,” Eden said, blushing furiously at her choice of retort. A lot of time had passed since she’d been called Madeline. God, he even smelled the same. Time had taken away the youthful athlete and in its place stuck a debonair man. Her brain screamed run, her body screamed you’re home. Warring with what to say, she bit her tongue and sauntered toward him, determined not to let him find another reason to comment. Drat, that man and his chuckle.

“Carmen, please cancel the rest of my appointments for the day. Reschedule them and apologize for the short notice.”

“You don’t need me here?”

Bless her soul. The nurse wasn’t going to leave her alone.

“Maddy and I have some catching up to do, don’t we?”

The tone of his voice dared her to disagree. Melting like butter, Eden swallowed and shook her head no.

“If you’re sure,” Carmen replied.

“Carmen. Maddy and I have a long history together. When we’re ready to discuss augmentation, I’ll page you.”

“Damn.” His dismissing tone improved tenfold since the old days. Eden felt a pang of sympathy for the protective nurse. “I’ll be fine Carmen,” she said, almost believing the lie springing out of her mouth. Eden brushed past her and ducked under Tanner’s arm into his office and found a chair to sit in before her knees buckled on her.

Pure magnetism, Tanner walked in and sat down behind his desk. There were no family pictures or photographs gracing the polished cherry wood, and no ring on his ring finger. She observed it all with her first glance. “This is awkward.”

“You look beautiful Maddy,” Tanner complimented, taking the forms from her hands, setting them in front of him.

Buy Link

And, Mahalia has offered another snippet for your enjoyment. Make sure you read right down to the end, she's got a surprise for you!

Not Since You

by Mahalia Levey

Publisher: eXtasy Books

Genre: Paranormal, romance, shapeshifter

Buy Link

Blurb

A moment of reckless passion changed S’Niah Donovan’s life. As her family’s healer, she’s coveted, and as the only female in three generations, she’s overprotected. Personal tragedy takes her faith and hope in one fell swoop, unfairly harming the one man who’s brought nothing but joy to her darkened life.

Mason Donovan loves two things, music and his mate. The complicated woman wove an unbreakable spell around his heart and then shattered it with her desertion. No longer human, unable to leave her as she did him, he sticks around, in the shadows, learning his new craft and how to tame his beast. Three years later, enough is enough. He now plans on using every trick of magic to bring his wayward mate back into his life.

Excerpt

“S’Niah Murielle Donovan.”

Her name and the loud banging on the door broke apart their conversation. Sin looked at Reina and groaned.

“Well, I guess you have your answer.”

Reina dinged it right on the dot. Chaos erupted in her home. The sound of Havi bellowing added to Lyric’s voice saying her movie was over. Sin cast a surreptitious glance at the door, playing it off as if she didn’t know who was out there. Reina pinched her into action.

“Ouch.”

“Get to that door. I got the kids.” Reina darted into the playroom to handle Havi’s racket.

“Lyric, Auntie Reina will be in in a minute, okay,” Sin called out to her daughter as she headed to her front door, placing her hand on the knob and removing it. Would Mason go away if she pretended not to be home? She stepped back on her tiptoes.

“I don’t have time for games, S’Niah. I know you’re right on the other side of the door.”

He couldn’t possibly. Or had his senses picked up quite a bit more? Sin closed her hand around the knob and opened it up a sliver. “What do you want and how do you know where I live?”

“To talk…and I’ve always known.”

He sounded a bit angry and smelled better than the scone she’d devoured alongside Reina. “I have to feed the baby.”

“Hiding behind him still? Worked earlier, not this time. Let me in.”

“Mason Donovan, you have some nerve demanding I let you into my home.”

“I played things your way once before, Sin. Not again. You can open the door and let me in to talk like civilized adults or I can break it down and let myself in to talk at you uncivilized.”

Sin shut the door with force and wove an intricate ward with her dancing fingertips. Feeling rather smug with herself, she turned, her intention to finish her conversation with Reina after seeing to Havi.

Pinpricks of unease drifted down her spine, her tiger moving restlessly just under her skin, pacing. She sniffed at the smell of magic and turned back at the door to see her ward unraveling quickly. In an effort to keep Mason out, she called upon her best spell and began a second level to shield her from his presence.

“I could do this all night and the next day.” Mason’s voice rang with determination and a hint of arrogance.

Sin cracked her knuckles and sat on the floor Indian style. “Let’s see what you got, or did you forget you gained your magic from me?” Sparks fizzled in front of her. He danced a fine tune, dissolving layers of symbols. Each time he gained entry, she slammed him with another tighter woven ward and smirked though he couldn’t see it.

“You think that after a year of strategy with Roarke and Valerian I couldn’t disable a simple ward?”

“I don’t think it. I know it. You can barely keep up with my talent. You’re good…but I’m better.”

“Sin. I gave Havi a bottle and grabbed two more. Taking them over to my place,” Reina yelled.

“No. Wait. Reina.” Sin groaned.

“Problems? I’ll give you a handicap. As soon as the door shuts and she’s free. You have ten seconds to enable a new ward.”

Sin wasn’t a fool. Yeah, she needed the handicap. He’d grown in capabilities since she last saw him. “Deal.” Her palms sweated profusely. Her back screen door slammed shut, the sound resonating to her anticipating-audible sense. Rewriting the ward took a second longer than she anticipated. At each turn she stumbled to keep it moving, watching it stall on her and break apart into tiny fragments.

The door flew open with a spike of energy that sent shards of ice-cold unease rippling across her body. Mason stepped in and used telekinesis to slam the door shut behind him, and the entire time his scrutinized glare daring her to bolt, to give him a reason to chase.

Sin blinked in rapid succession and licked her dry lips. Her mouth went dry the moment she raked her gaze over his toned body decorated in new artwork. The white tee shirt stretched over his pectorals and the nipple rings he sported. Cargo pants encased his muscular thighs and side view of his ass she’d glimpsed briefly at the grocery store earlier. Now faced with all of him, desire coiled within her, waking the sleeping tiger she’d put into hibernation. On sensory overload, her breath came out in uneven spurts, mimicking her unsteady, palpating heartbeat.

Yeah, he enjoyed her discomfort. Run or stand my ground. There wasn’t time for bubble gum in a dish or some other childish game to help her come to a resolution.

“Boo.” He leaned forward, breaking her concentration.

Buy Link

Mahalia is offering a free copy of each book to two lucky people who post a response there on the blog. That's two books you have the chance to win, folks. So, make sure you comment and leave an email address where she can get in touch with you.

You can find Mahalia at the following sites online:

www.mahalialevey.com

www.extasybooks.com

Peeping Johnny, available now!

2011-09-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Peeping Johnny

Short Story

Publisher: Darker Pleasures

To read an excerpt and buy, go HERE

I'm back!

2011-09-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, you weren't sure where I went, or what had happened to the old broad who usually babbles away here, but now I'll spill the beans.

Hubby and I took a little time off and went away for a week. Partially it was to celebrate an anniversary. Partially it was to help a friend out who needed a favor. Partially, I truly needed to get a little space between myself and my writing for a while. We toured the province and took a million pictures, walked the beach of some tiny lake in the interior and ate a little too much. I'll pay for that, I know, but it was heaven.

I am back now, though and will try to get back to the job I adore. Writing. It's not going to come easily. I can say that in all certainty. But, it will come.

I've got a picture or two to share with you. I hope they come through all right.

This was taken in Jasper Park. An amazing place where I could live and be happy. Even hubby said the same thing.

Rocky Mountain Bull Elk. Isn't he amazing. They're just moving down from the mountains and thinking about mating, so they're in the best shape of the year. This one had a small herd of cows he was trying to hold to himself. He was bugling in answer to another male we couldn't see. The rut will come next and they'll fight to keep their harems. It's brutal, but it's so honest.

I don't know the name of the mountain, we saw so many, but I thought this was incredibly beautiful. The colors were so striking.

We saw these ewes and their young on the side of the road and stopped. There were a few other people there as well, but they seemed to sense we didn't mean any harm. The entire herd followed me back to the car. Hubby wouldn't let me bring them home. Sigh!

That's it for this time. I may post a few more later on. I do hope you enjoy them.

Hugs
Jude

September 2011 Newsletter teaser

2011-09-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

I hope you've had a spectacular month. Mine has been busy, which is good, and productive, which is very good. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and I'll tell you all about it.

What you'll find in the full version:

What Jude's been up to

Coming soon

New Releases

Reviews

Contest Information

Where to find Jude

Guest Bloggers

Website updates

Hot Excerpt

What Jude's up to:

Hey everyone. By the time you are all reading this, hubby and I will be in the middle of the province of BC heading north. OMG! We're delivering a truck to a friend who's working in one of the small towns up there. Seems he's found a permanent job and needs his truck to get to it. At the moment, he's got his wife's small car. So, we volunteered to drive one vehicle up there and drive the other one back. He's paying for the gas, so it's a paid trip, sort of. Whoo hooo!!

It's really been an insane month here. Hubby is back from his three weeks away, and I'm so glad he is. Even being together for all these years, I miss him dreadfully when he's gone. Ya know, a few years ago, he went away and I had sooo much trouble sleeping. I even rolled out of bed one night. I was so used to him being on that side, I guess my body just didn't react to there being no one there. Yup, fell flat on the floor. Scared the liven bejeesus out of myself. I know put spare pillows on his side. LOL (Ya, go ahead and laugh!)

We've also just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Course, I got some ugly sinus cold the day before, so was no fun at all for the day. We plan to do a little celebrating while we're away.

The animals are all doing fabulously well. We've got baby raccoons coming every day to visit and be silly. Our deer are all doing really well, too. Three fawns this year and they all survived, so far, and are growing like weeds. The bucks are beautiful. They've all got their antlers now and the velvet is gone. So, they're just beginning to challenge each other. The big boys are putting the younger bucks in their place. Course the young ones don't want to listen and the scrapping can get pretty intense. Next month, they'll be going into the rut and the fighting over who's the best and biggest will get more serious. They don't usually harm each other, but it's not unheard of for a stubborn young buck to get stuck with an antler. Yikes!

Now for my writing news. I'm really struggling right now and haven't gotten much done this month at all. I've decided to back off and to quit pushing myself with deadlines for a while. This might mean I don't have much coming out for the next while, but I'm hoping not for long. One of my nightmares has always been to wake up one morning and not be able to write.

It's not all bad news, though. Some of you old time readers might remember me writing for a fetish website called Darker Pleasures. It was a pretty intense place, and the genre was definitely not for the faint of heart. The owner of the site closed down submissions ages ago and I'd pretty much decided I'd never hear from him again. Well, low and behold, a few weeks ago I got an email from him. He's publishing all of the stories from the old site on Smashwords. He's given me and one or two of the other authors the opportunity to do some edits on our stuff before it goes up on the Smashwords site. I'm doing that for now, and finding out how badly I wrote a few years ago. OMG! It's not what I'd planned, but it's keeping me busy and working on the craft.

I hope you're all ready for the seasons to change. It will be fall here soon, the leaves have already begun to change and with the deer acting up, I know it's in the air.

That's about it. Oh, please remember, if you're entering my contest this month, or if you just happen to be the lucky winner of last month's contest, I won't be available to respond to your emails. I'll be away for about a week, from September 15^th until 23^rd. I may be back a bit early, I may find I can get online while I'm away, but I can't count on it. I will get in touch with any and all of you who enter the contest as soon as I possibly can. And, the winner of Augusts' contest will definitely receive her/his e-book if they contact me.

Wednesday Blog Guests

A while ago, I decided to invite guests to my blog every Wednesday and it's already turned into quite a show.

Aug. 3 - Annie Alvarez
Aug.10 - Nikki McCoy
Aug.17 - Connie Northrop
Aug.24 - Celine Chatillion
Aug.31 - Nichelle Gregory
Sept.7 - Karenna Colcroft
Sept.14 - Caitlin West
Sept 21 - Marc Jarrod
Oct. 5 - Justine Dark
Oct.12 - Amy Valenti

If you'd like to sign up for a date, I'd be thrilled to hear from you. I'm seriously looking for both authors and readers, as well as anyone who'd like to dive in for a little fun. You know the email address, but please do visit the BLOG and say hey to my guests.

Contest information:

Augusts' contest question was: When is Jazz scheduled to be published?
The winner of Augusts' contest is...Drum roll please:

Bethann M
at
queenbethanny1@yahoo.com

Congratulations Bethann! Would you please email me at Jude_Mason@my-haven2001.com and let me know which of my backlist of ebooks you'd like. If you're not sure what's on my backlist, here's where to find it:

http://www.my-haven2001.com/Backlist/JudeMasonbacklist.pdf

Thanks so much for participating!

Where to find Jude

Website:

http://www.my-haven2001.com/

My Blog:

http://jude-mason.blogspot.com/

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/MasonJude

GLBT Bookshelf:

http://bookworld.editme.com/JudeMason

Infinite Possibilities:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Infinite_Possibilities/

Books We Love Spice:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BWL_Spice_Readers/

The Romance Studio:

http://theromancestudio.com/fm/jmason.htm

The Romance Studio Blue Blog:
http://trsblue.blogspot.com/

The Rainbow Studio Blog:

http://therainbowstudio.blogspot.com/
Total E-Bound blog:
http://totalebound.blogspot.com/ (14^th of every month)

*frequently felt blog:

http://frequentlyfelt.blogspot.com/

I also attend publisher organized chats and will let you know about those as they happen.

For the full version of the newsletter, please join my mailing list by filling out the form HERE or my newsletter group on Yahoo, HERE.

Hugs

Jude

Welcome Caitlin West

2011-09-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I've got the great joy to bring you an article created by Caitlin West. An article, I'm sure you'll find both entertaining, and informative.

Modernism & Distraction

The modern world has really altered entertainment as a whole. You can see it in a movie like ‘The Departed’ where people are texting with their phones with all the alacrity of a Japanese Schoolgirl and in brand new television shows like ‘Strike Back’ where a character comments about their Facebook page. These provide an excellent means to set a story in the ‘now’ but potentially date the work.

I had avoided using many modernisms until recently when I started writing my Avalon Nights series. Each chapter has a Twitter post by the main character with personal information. I use it to provide background on her, snippets of her personality and anecdotes about her past that wouldn’t really fit into the story itself.

Gratuitous use of these things can obviously cause distraction. When the reader starts to think more about the technology the character is using than what the character is doing, the author should probably reign in the geeking out. Much in the same way that hard sci-fi can become distracting with massive word count dedicated to the workings of a strange device or a costume romance goes into the stitch work for a ball gown, moderation should be exercised.

I remember some Asimov books breaking out the slide rulers and talking about how women were little more than secretaries and gossips. Even with his far reaching science fiction, he implemented a piece of modern technology that reminds the reader now that the piece was written decades ago. I would argue that in some ways, this robs the magic of the piece. Distracting the reader from the ‘what if’ of the tale and making them think ‘wow, this really is old’.

Ultimately, I’m talking about distraction. Modern readers and storytellers are much more interested in what the characters are going through, how they are overcoming their obstacles and what sort of conclusion they’ve built for themselves. The little details, whether they are modern uses of Google or old stories talking about the abacus, these should be props and tools for story progression.

There are a number of niche genres that happily embrace embellishment. One publisher has a requirement that if you’re submitting a fantasy story, the magic system must be well thought out and detailed, explainable to the reader and sound in theory. Their science fiction must have tech that has been defined and based upon real research and plausible description.

Look on the bookshelves at your local shop and you’ll notice that the number of books as I just described are dwindling. Even the sequel books to Dune are far less technical than Frank Herbert wrote. One of the authors is a physicist and he still manages to focus more on the emotional side to what’s going on. I think that’s what people are most interested in since that’s what we, as readers, can associate with.

Do I need to know how the ship goes into hyperspace to appreciate that the pilot is on a quest to find his lost daughter amidst a crew of smuggling space monkeys? Does it matter what ethereal realm a wizard draws his power from or would I prefer that word count spent on him roasting some goblins before they destroy an unsuspecting town?

I caution other writers in the use of modernisms and over embellishment but at the same time, I don’t think people should shy away. Even though I said earlier that some of the magic is taken away by a realization of how dated something is, there’s a chance that a reader might experience some nostalgia too. It may seem like I’m suggesting right and wrong ways to do thing and that’s not my intention. I’m more interested in drawing ambiguous attention to something that I thought about before writing Avalon Nights.

My father read the first Avalon Nights before I submitted it and he LOVED the Twitter thing. He thought it was super fun and it was really his first real explanation as to what Twitter even is. He also commented that he appreciated that it only happened at the beginnings of the chapters. I could’ve probably overdone it but as a background device, it worked splendidly.

The last thing I wanted to talk about is texting in stories. It’s amazing trying to format a chat conversation or a text conversation into a narrative. The closest thing I can equate it to is a telepathic conversation I read out of the Amber series by Roger Zelazny. I used that as my inspiration when I started text conversations in a book. I suppose in that regard, it’s not so new as a new way to convey a previously ‘fantasy-centric’ means of communication.

I suspect that this trend will become more and more popular as modern authors fully embrace these various technologies. So many people read blogs, use Twitter or Facebook, google things and text each other that the audience will roll with whatever we can toss at them. We’re all jacked in, informed and well versed in the Web. We might as well use these tools to their fullest and throw them into the spotlight of exposition.

So long as we don’t let them become a distraction, they’ll only legitimize our own growth as artists.

And now, for a teaser from her newest book at eXtasy Books:

I wrote a two part series called ‘Creative Spark’. Part 1 came out in August and Part 2 was released at the beginning of September. The books are available through eXtasy Books and the entire first chapter is available to read on my web site: www.caitlinwest.com. The back cover blurb is below.

Part 1 ‘Time to Wake’

Part 2 ‘Unveiling the Serpent’

Publisher" Devine Destinies

ISBN: 978-1-55487-939-7

Series: Creative Sparks Book#1
BUY HERE

Blurb:

Karen Bowers has always dreamed of dead people. They begged for her help and at the tender age of twelve, her parents had her institutionalized. Now, a semi-successful artist, she has embraced what doctors could not stamp out, quietly helping spirits move on to the afterlife.

But even accepting her fate has not made her immune to the twisted designs of the universe. A spirit two hundred years in her grave shows up asking for help, centuries beyond anything she’s ever dealt with. Her clues involve a tragedy in 1805, a doomed love affair and a dangerous ambition that could unravel the very fabric of reality.

Can she unlock the mystery before it’s all too late? Will the help of an eccentric book store owner turn the tide? What will happen to the life she’s managed to build around her odd condition? The answer lies in a spark.)

BUY HERE

It's Monday!

2011-09-12T15:55:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know you've probably figured that out and are way ahead of me on other things too. Just shush and read on.

Life is rushing away with me again. For the next couple of weeks, I'll be pretty scarce. I'll get my newsletter out, thank heaven for the scheduling abilities of some things. If anyone is looking for a reliable and easy to handle newsletter provider, check out Mailchimp, it's been a real lifesaver for me.

So, you might ask, what's happening? I've been sick with a horrible sinus cold for the last week or so, and because of it, had to cancel an appointment with my specialist. That was bad enough, but now I've got to see him, and get ready to take a week off beginning the next day. Eeep! I'm organized. I mean you tell me I've got to have things done by a certain date or things prepared by such and such, I'll bend over backwards to get it done. This is crazy though. LOL

Hubby and I will be traveling to the northern part of the next province over. It's going to take us a couple of days to get where we want to be, in order to deliver a SUV to a fellow who's working up there. He's found himself a permanent job at another company and it starts two days after this one he's working on right now ends. He won't have enough time to get back home, swap vehicles and get back there before the job starts. Hubby volunteered. I want to go too. So, the mad scramble begins. Sheesh!

I'm taking a camera, so you might just get to see some of the countryside up there and some wildlife. We're hoping to see caribou, elk, possibly buffalo, although I've seen those here, big horn sheep, dall sheep, porcupine and others if we're really lucky!

Don't forget to come and check out the Wednesday guests. I may miss announcing one, but I've got them scheduled. LOL Oh, and the newsletter will come out on time, so don't be shy about joining that.

Take care and try to have fun. Summer's almost over, so enjoy the tail end of it.

Hugs
Jude

Hehehe!

2011-09-08T15:51:00.001-07:00

There are just some things I can't help but laugh at.

Welcome Karenna Colcroft

2011-09-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm extremely please to have the lovely and talented Karenna Colcroft with me here today.

1. How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?

I wrote my first story when I was five, and I’d been making up stories for a year or two before that. I’ve always had a big imagination, and since my real life wasn’t always great, stories were both an escape and a way of keeping my imagination from driving me insane.

2. What influenced you to get published? How long did it take? Can you tell us the name of your first published work?

I’d wanted to be published since I was very young, but didn’t have the confidence to submit things, or the self-discipline to revise things enough to submit them. I did submit a couple of things over the years, which were rejected and on which I subsequently gave up. My first publication, which wasn’t romance at all and is under my real name so I’d prefer not to talk much about it, was accepted in 2000, when I was 30. My first published erotic romance, Ask and You Shall Receive, came out in 2009. (It’s currently unavailable as rights have reverted to me.)

3. Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

Glamorous? I wish! There isn’t much glamorous about sitting in a small room staring at a small screen for hours on end while children argue in the other room or repeat, “Mom!” half a dozen times, and/or while listening to my hubby playing online role-playing games behind me. Some people in my real life know that I’m an author (mostly they know about my young adult books, not about the Karenna Colcroft stuff), but few of them read anything I’ve written. I think the most unglamorous thing I’ve done this week is cleaning out our cats’ litter box.

4. What do you do when you’re suffering writers block?

I usually have two or three projects going at the same time, so if I’m blocked on one I switch over to a different one.

5. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

Take your time, learn your craft. Don’t be in a rush to get published. Polish your manuscript to the absolute best you can make it, and then find a beta reader or critique partner or group to help you improve it even more. When you are ready to submit, do your homework when choosing a publisher. There are plenty of reputable companies out there, but there are also a lot of scam artists and companies with good intentions who just don’t know what they’re doing.

6. Looking over the past year, what has been the best moment for you in your writing career?

There have been a lot of great moments, but I would say the best was when I received my first private fan email, about my novel Salad on the Side.

7. If you could change one thing that you have written, what would it be?

The first two erotic romances that I wrote, because at that time I didn’t know as much about writing as I do now, and there are a lot of details that were left out, and some not-so-great description. Fortunately, I have rights back on both of them, so now I’ll have the chance to change them.

8. What are you working on now? Can you tell us a little about it?

Right now I’m working on a shifter romance novel titled Beta Test, about a werewolf pack beta who discovers that his mate is human. Although this one is a heterosexual romance, it’s set in the same universe as my M/M romance Salad on the Side. (I have the publisher’s permission.)

9. Are you in love? Have you ever been?

Completely and totally. I met my husband in an online dating chat room in May 2008; ten days later, we met face-to-face at a party and the connection was instant. We’ve literally been together since that night. We moved in together in June 2009 and were married in April 2010. He’s my best friend, my biggest cheerleader, and a partner in everything. He’s also incredible with my two kids from my first marriage.

10. What do you hope to achieve in life and when will you know that you have been a success?

As far as writing goes, I hope to earn enough money to really help with household expenses and buy a car. When I have the new car, I’ll have been a success in that. As for the rest of my life, I hope to be the best mother and wife I can be, and the measure of success for that will be my children as they grow into adulthood, and how much longer my husband tolerates me. LOL

Want to find out a little more about Karenna and where you can find her? Read on!

Bio
Karenna Colcroft is the alter ego of a normally sedate wife and mother. She began writing when she was five years old, and started writing erotic romance in 2006 on a challenge from a friend. Since 2009, Karenna has had numerous titles published by publishers including Pink Petal Books, Ellora’s Cave, MLR Press, and Passion in Print Press. Karenna lives in the northeastern US with her two children, her real-life romance hero husband, and two cats.

You can find out more about Karenna
on her website, http://www.karennacolcroft.com,
friend her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/karenna.colcroft,
or follow her on Twitter @KarennaColcroft.

And now for the good stuff. An exciting tease from her latest book!

Karenna’s latest release is the contemporary novella Help Around the House, released September 1 from Pink Petal Books http://pinkpetalbooks.com.

Two years after the death of her husband, Jodie thinks it’s time to move on. And who better to move on with than Todd, the next-door neighbor who has stood by her and helped her with everything from snow removal to her two children?

But Jodie isn’t completely sure she’s ready to become involved with Todd. Todd, who has been divorced for several years, barely remembers how to be in a relationship. If the two of them want everything to work out, they must agree on what they want and work through their pasts to build a future together.

Excerpt:

Without waiting for his response, she took off the cami and set it aside, then touched the front clasp of her bra. She hadn’t undressed in front of a man other than Royce in so long that she’d forgotten the awkwardness of the first time undressing in front of a new partner. Now she remembered. Todd had called her beautiful, but he hadn’t seen all of her yet, and she wasn’t sure she wanted him to. She wasn’t fashion model material by any means, and since she’d lost Royce she hadn’t been as attentive as she could have been to staying in shape and eating well.

“Keep going,” Todd urged. “I want to see all of you.”

“Then it would only be fair to let me see you,” Jodie pointed out. She might not feel as awkward about her own body if Todd was nude as well.

“Good point.” Todd sat up and stripped off his T-shirt. His chest had sparse hair a slightly darker red than what he had on his head, and the muscles were more obvious with no clothing covering them. His belly was also a little more prominent, which made Jodie feel better. Neither of them had perfect bodies. That shouldn’t matter.

“Your turn,” Todd said, his eyes gleaming mischievously.

“I didn’t know we were playing a game.” Quickly, before she started doubting herself again, Jodie unclasped her bra and let the straps fall from her shoulders. She stifled her urge to cover her breasts and instead leaned back on her hands, giving Todd the full view. “Am I winning?”

“No, I think I am.” Todd stared at her appreciatively and reached toward her, though he stopped before he touched her. “Yeah, as long as I get to look at you like this, I’m definitely winning.”

The idea of making a game out of undressing struck Jodie as a little immature. She wanted to take their lovemaking seriously. On the other hand, that wouldn’t have been very Todd-like, and the play took her mind off how weird she felt about taking her clothes off in front of him.

Playing with Todd this way turned her on more than she would have expected.

I write like.....

2011-09-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

Just for a little fun, there's a website where you can insert a little of your writing and when you hit the button, it'll tell you who you write like. It would seem I'm a wanna be J.K. Rowling. Which isn't all that bad considering how wealthy she is now. LOL

Give it a try!

I write like
J. K. Rowling

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

Available Now: Memories of a Masochist

2011-09-04T10:47:00.001-07:00

Memories of a Masochist
Ebook By Jude Mason
Published by, Darker Pleasures
Published: Sep. 03, 2011
Category: Fiction, erotica, BDSM, fetish

BUY HERE

Kitten was nineteen when her father married her off to an older man. Tom was almost thirty, but he was good and strong, and taught her everythings she knew about love...and about the wonderful things he could do to her with just the right amount of pain.

Each year that passed was better than the first, their adventures in his dungeon filled with experiments in bondage and erotic torment. She loved being his Kitten, his masochist. And as the years went on, she loved the memories almost as much as making them.

Released today: "Love Bites"

2011-09-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

Released today: "Love Bites"

by Jude Mason

Publisher: Darker Pleasures

Genre: Vampire, fetish, dominance, SM, erotica, BDSM

BUY HERE

"They were two vampires sharing a life of insane, exciting passion. They hunted hard, played harder, experiencing glorious, erotic pain and pleasure that would last forever. But 'forever' ended the day he was killed in a fiery blaze. Years later, she finds herself naked and helpless in the hands of a mysterious captor whose sadistic use of her body stirs memories she'd long since left behind."

Teaser:

When she came to, her head ached as if a herd of buffalo had stampeded across the back of her skull. She was afraid to move in case her head exploded. Groaning, she tried to bring her hand to the back of her head. She couldn't move it, or the other hand.

She opened her eyes and growled. The growl turned into a snarl of agony as light pierced her eyes, daggers driving into her skull. She twitched, growling again. Her nipples burned. When she glanced down, she saw the position she was in and her mouth sagged open. Someone had stripped her body stocking off her and she was hanging from the rafters, in the center of the room she'd entered. A beautifully simple hogtie, wrists to ankles, but with a couple of differences. First, no matter how she struggled, she couldn't break free of the 'rope' binding her, and that meant it wasn't just rope. Next, she hung by her ankles and wrists from the ceiling, belly to the floor, at eye level, or thereabouts. Added to that torment, were the alligator clamps adorning both her nipples and the heavy weights dangling toward the floor. From the way her shoulders ached, she knew she'd been hanging for some time. Each time she moved, it her shoulders burned as if someone was tearing her arms from the sockets.

"I see you're finally awake."

BUY HERE

Welcome Nichelle Gregory

2011-08-31T04:16:00.000-07:00

I'm tickled this week to have the pleasure of sharing my blog with the amazing Nichelle Gregory, a fellow author with Total E-Bound.

Nichelle is offering a treat for you all this week. One lucky blog reader will win a copy of her book, As You Wish. So, make sure you read all of this post to find the question Nichelle asks and how she wants you to answer.

1. What genre would you like to try that you haven’t yet?

I love all things sci-fi! I've got several sci-fi tales on my WIP docket!

2. Most people envision an author’s life as being really glamorous. What’s your take on this? Can you tell us something unglamorous you did within the last week or so?

Being an author is anything but glamorous. Well, I guess there must be glamorous moments for huge authors like J.K. Rowling, but in reality, there are just a lot of long (hopefully) solitary moments at your computer as you work to tell the stories your characters whisper in your ears.

A totally unglamorous moment you ask...hmm...probably writing a sexy scene with my mud mask on!

3. Plotter or pantzer?

I'm definitely a minimalist in the plotting department. I don't want to know every single scene ahead of time! I always start with a story idea. I generate character sketches, names, personality traits and quirks. I pin down the setting, grab photos or anything else to help sync what's in my head to what I want to bring to life on paper (screen). I always know where I want the story to end. From there, I let my characters do as they like as the tale unfolds while I type!

4. What do you do when you’re suffering writers block?

Grrr! It never last very long. I find after I finish and submit a work, I need a little down time. My muse takes a break for a few days and I usually catch up on my ever growing TBR list or my neglected DVR!

5. What would you like to share with new writers? Any suggestions or advice?

Don't think you're going to make it big over night. This business is changing faster than a cat can lick its fur and you've got to try and keep up by staying connected. Know what's going on in whatever writing niche you're into.

Be ready and willing to pull up your sleeves and write, submit, promote, write, submit, promote...you get the idea!

Don't be afraid to reach out to authors in the genre you want to become published in. I was amazed by how many authors were willing to answer a question or point me in the right direction when I first got started.

Don't let ANYONE discourage you if you truly have a story to tell and share. Get a critique partner (not your mom), or join a critique group and submit your work! It doesn't matter how many stories you've got stored on your hard drive or written in a notebook if you don’t put your work out there!

6. If you could be a character in any of your books who would it be and why?

Definitely, Zori from Taken By Surprise! She's fierce! She knows what she wants and goes after it with gusto! Plus, she can fly! J

7. If you could change one thing that you have written, what would it be?

I wouldn't change anything and that's not because I think my work is perfect. There isn't a story I have published that I haven't gone back and said, "I wish I had of added this or why didn't I see this word I used one too many times." But, I believe my body of work is like my life and each page I've written or experience I've had has helped me grow as person and a writer.

8. If you found that, for one reason or another, you couldn’t write anymore, what would you like to do instead?

I majored in music, so I would throw myself fully into that or try my hand at painting. I would truly be heartbroken if I couldn't write anymore, but I would find some other creative outlet to express myself.

9. When you wake up in the morning, what celebrity do you most resemble?

Ha ha! Tina Turner! The hair...lol. Plus, "you'd better be good to me." At least until I've had my first cup of coffee! J

10. Are you in love? Have you ever been?

Totally in love! My husband is my biggest supporter and fan. He has my heart fully and completely!

*Contest time!!*

Here's Nichelle's question:

You've got a hot genie ready to grant you ONE wish...what would it be? And no, you can't ask for more wishes! :-)

Answer the question here, on my blog, and make sure you supply an email address so Nichelle can contact you. Good luck!

And now for a very sexy little teaser from As You Wish, Nichelle's newest TEB release:

As You Wish

by Nichelle Gregory

publisher: Total E-Bound

Blurb:

A race against time to save her physic mother from supernatural forces leaves Karis, a novice clairvoyant, no choice but to trust a very sexy genie granting three wishes and an offer to help her tap into her psychic abilities...if she'll come willing to his bed.

Excerpt:

With her eyes still closed, Karis kept chanting the mantra, “This isn’t real, this isn’t happening.” If she said it enough times, it would have to be true.

“Oh, yes, I am real and this is definitely happening.” A deep voice filled the room.

Her eyes flew open and for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she screamed.

A strange man stood in her living room within arm’s reach! He towered above her, standing well over six feet with rich mahogany skin and a thick muscular build. Her gaze dipped to his bare chest and tapered waist. Ripped oblique muscles disappeared beneath the loose white pants riding low on his hips. Heat flooded her cheeks as she tore her eyes from his torso back to his face.

He held her shocked gaze with the most beautiful hazel eyes she had ever seen. He had the chiselled profile that would inspire fantasies and fantastic works of art. From the crown of his bald head to the soles of his bare feet, his bold features set him apart from the average male. He exuded confidence, evidenced in his relaxed stance and the cool sexy smile directed at her. A stylish goatee encircled his full lips and she couldn’t stop her eyes from travelling over the rest of his rock hard body. She took in every detail from his strong jaw line, thick neck, and the most impressive set of abs on full display. He was sexy as hell, but his sex appeal did nothing to calm her racing heart or the stark realisation she needed to call her doctor now.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered again, feeling light-headed.

The gorgeous apparition chuckled, flashing a perfect smile. “Not quite, but I get that a lot.”

She was losing her mind, hallucinating now in broad daylight.

“Tell me, how I may serve you?” The rich sound of his voice flowed over her like a warm summer breeze.

At least she was hallucinating about a hot guy and not the hideous creature in her dreams. She sucked in a breath as the half-naked man approached her and the entire room began to spin.

“No,” Karis whispered. She took one faltering step backwards and fainted.

As You Wish is available now with Total E-Bound Publishing!

Author Bio:

Nichelle Gregory has been in love with books and writing since middle school. A lover of the arts, she enjoys anything that embraces the creative nature within us all. Bringing believable characters to life that thrill and excite her readers is a challenge that continues to push Nichelle. She loves creating stories involving super sexy alpha heroes with divine heroines in magical, exotic, and fantastic scenarios.

So, gone on . . . Indulge your secret fetishes and desires!

Visit her website http://www.nichellegregory.com

and blog http://www.simplysexystories.blogspot.com

Where you can find the lovely Nichelle:

website: www.nichellegregory.com
blog: www.simplysexystories.blogspot.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nichellegregory
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nichellegregory
tumblr: http://nichellegregory.tumblr.com/

Jude Mason

"The The Impotence of Proofreading," by TAYLOR MALI

Welcome Rose Anderson

Welcome Trinity Blacio

What to read

Welcome Tex

Ocotober Newsletter

Coming Oct. 15th, Jesse's Homecoming

Welcome Amy Valenti

Jack Sparrow (feat. Michael Bolton)

Welcome Starfox Howl

Welcome Justine Darkholme

Welcome Marc Jarrod

Welcome Mahalia Levey

Peeping Johnny, available now!

I'm back!

September 2011 Newsletter teaser

Welcome Caitlin West

It's Monday!

Hehehe!

Welcome Karenna Colcroft

I write like.....

Available Now: Memories of a Masochist

Memories of a MasochistEbook By Jude MasonPublished by, Darker PleasuresPublished: Sep. 03, 2011Category: Fiction, erotica, BDSM, fetish

Released today: "Love Bites"

Welcome Nichelle Gregory

Memories of a Masochist
Ebook By Jude Mason
Published by, Darker Pleasures
Published: Sep. 03, 2011
Category: Fiction, erotica, BDSM, fetish