Friday, February 27, 2015

~ Symposium: Talk Dirty ~


Hello Everyone! Welcome to my February Symposium!


Since it’s cold outside and winter is still kicking ass, I thought we could turn the heat up for this month’s Symposium. In order to do that, I asked my friends and fellow authors to share a little about their favorite spicy scenes. Do they enjoy writing a slow, sweet scene...or a wild, dirty talking sexfest? Read on and find out what they had to say!



LAURIE ROMA: When I’m writing a story, my characters usually determine what type of love scenes end up in my books. If it fits the plot, I love a sweet, slow, sensual scene that helps develop the relationship of my characters. On the other hand, there is nothing better than writing a hot, sexy scene that gets the blood pumping and leaves you breathless. Oh, and those scenes usually end up being somewhere like in an elevator or on the stairs...with lots of dirty talk. I’m not saying a hot scene can’t happen in the bedroom, but it’s so much fun when my characters lose control before they get there. Still, either type of scene has to fit the characters and plot. They can’t just get naked and bounce on each other if it doesn’t fit what is going on in the story.
  
Tessa Campbell is a woman in an impossible situation. As the owner of an event planning company, her days are usually filled celebrating the best moments of people’s lives, but all of that changes when her father makes a grievous mistake that may cost him the job he loves. He is depending on her to fix his mistake, but nothing is ever as simple as it seems. In order to save him, she must find a way to reason with his boss...the man everyone calls The Beast.

Drake Vidal has a dangerous reputation. A ruthless business man who has taken Vidal Labs and Technology to the top of the industry, he expects perfection from everyone who works for him. He has never believed in love, but all it takes is one look at the gentle beauty that comes to him to plead for her father for him to lose his heart. Can she find a way to see beyond the savage veneer he portrays to the world to discover the good hidden beneath, or will she think he isn’t worth taming? For who could ever really love a beast?

Available March 9 - 30th!
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KALLYPSO MASTERS: My stories often deal with people overcoming past issues that can affect their response in bed. By using BDSM as one of my healing tools, I help them overcome problems (in and out of bed). But I also have characters like Adam and Karla who just like rough, kinky sex and have no hangups! So my favorite is whatever the current couple needs or wants! I stay true to their language and past experience. I’m working on one now with Cassie (gang raped as a virgin during college) who has never made love before and is sexually shut down. She even uses a “down there” at one point! Adam, on the other hand, uses graphic terms. But my sex scenes always show vulnerability, humor, and character growth. My readers assure me they never skip/skim them! They’re afraid they’ll miss something important!

One broken heart.

One battered soul.

No one said life would be fair or easy. Quiet, Peruvian-born artist Cassie Lopez learned this the hard way. Betrayed by the man she planned to marry, she shut herself off as far away from all but her closest friend from college…

Until the night Luke Denton came crashing into her Colorado mountain sanctuary with a vengeance. Confused by her heart's response to this kind and gentle man, Cassie pushes herself to help the cowboy recover quickly so she can send him on his way. But Luke’s patience and understanding threaten to break down the very defenses she needs to survive in this world after he's gone.

Search-and-Rescue worker Luke, who lost his wife and unborn child in a tragic accident, also knows firsthand of the unfairness of life. He keeps his own nightmares at bay by focusing on his rescue activities, most recently adopting and working with abused and neglected horses.

Can two wounded people find trust and love together? Do nightmares end where dreams come true?

PRE-ORDER LINK: 
NJ WALTERS: I write spicy hot romance, which means I write a lot of sex scenes between the hero and heroine. There are the slow, hot kisses that seem to go on forever while hands stroke and touch and pleasure. There are interludes where the main couple can’t keep their hands off one another, ripping off their clothing, too hungry for one another to wait. Sex in strange locations, different times of day, and in various positions. Which kind to I like to write most? All of them. Each sex scene is as unique as the couple involved. Whether it’s hot and fast, slow and sexy or somewhere in-between, no scene is ever the same. It’s driven by the emotional wants and needs of the hero and heroine. That’s what keeps it interesting for both for my character and for me. It adds layers and depth to whatever story I’m telling.


Just when you thought the Devil had gotten his due, he’s back for more.

Hades’ Carnival, Book 5


Now that the five-thousand-year curse that kept him and his fellow shapeshifting warriors trapped in animal form has been lifted, Mordecai doesn’t quite know what to do with himself. He is free—in theory.

Hell left its stain on his soul, and his relationship with the warriors who once trusted him is uneasy. The only bright spot in his life is Jessica, whose shining innocence he dare not taint with his inner darkness. But it’s getting harder and harder to stay away from her. 

Jessica longs for the days she and Mordecai shared an easy friendship. Now he seems as distant as the stars. He denies there’s a problem, but she’s determined to penetrate his shields.

Hades has been plotting his revenge from his prison. He can’t harm Mordecai without harming himself. But there’s nothing to stop him from wreaking havoc by hurting the one woman Mordecai would give his life to protect—Jessica.

BUY LINKS:
SAMHAIN | AMAZON | B&N | ARe

LACEY THORN: My favorite spicy scenes are the combustible ones. Where he’s feeling all alpha but she won’t back down and give him control. It becomes a battle. Clothes get ripped. Teeth come out. Soft touches are intermeshed with harder ones. They grab and take each other, every move and counter move made to assert dominance. In the end they both win. The sex explodes off the page, showing a rich desire that can’t be tamed. It becomes something primal, instinctual. Those scenes do it for me every time!
  

The lone Jaguar...

Gideon prefers to stay on the outside, watching, but he’s willing to step in and protect when needed. He doesn’t want family, keeps friends at arm’s length and refuses to believe there might be a woman out there meant to be his and only his. Men like him don’t have mates.

A Woman Undone...

Vic only has one use for men, and it sure as hell isn’t to protect her. She was a Marine. She takes care of herself. She feels the intense burn of desire and knows what others think. There’s only one way to prove them wrong. Sate the lust and walk away.

Mine...

He’s sure he can fight the need for her even with the touch of fever in his veins, but he never counted on fighting her need as well. Neither of them wants a mate, but the beast inside Gideon is ready to stake a claim.  And if that happens, one night might turn into forever.

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SUSAN HAYES: I love writing all sorts of spicy scenes, it’s one of the perks of the job! While there is something compelling about writing a scene where the characters already have a relationship and there are more emotional connections woven into the sex and spice, they’re not my favorite. For me, there’s nothing better than writing about the first-time lovers come together. That heart-pounding, sizzling moment when passion overtakes reason and desires burn white hot, dashing every good intention and burning away all the doubts and fears the characters might have. There’s magic in those first moments, and they are absolutely my favorite scenes to write.

Alliance Commanders Brandt Carver and Hawke Summers have a new mission. Take command of Space Station: Alpha X2, get it running smoothly again, and find out how the last station commander wound up murdered in the middle of a Krytos sanctuary.

The two Elites are experienced troubleshooters, specializing in fixing problems and putting out fires all over the galaxy, but this assignment is going to be the greatest challenge of their careers.

T’karra Ryvern runs the Black Hole bar, the Krytos sanctuary on X2. The bar is the only home she’s ever known and a safe haven for the Krytos who lost their planet to alien invaders more than a century ago. A proud warrior and pack leader, she offers protection to those who need it, but now someone has targeted T’karra and her family. With everything she loves in danger, she’ll do whatever it takes to end the threat. Even if it means working with two men she has no reason to trust.

The Commanders will do whatever it takes to protect T’karra, while convincing her that the three of them belong together. Will they uncover the truth in time to stop the attacks, or will they lose their chance at love when one of them becomes the enemy’s final target?

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JENIKA SNOW: I like my sex scenes dirty, raunchy, and very detailed. I like my guys to be over the top alpha, demanding and dominating, and telling the heroine exactly what he wants. I always like to think how flexible can the woman get, should she be just as strong-willed as her hero, or more soft spoken and timid. In truth a good, strong and dominant man taking care of his equally strong, yet submissive heroine is always a winner for me. The soft and slow sex scenes never really did it for me, because I want to see the explosive chemistry and animalistic tendencies that can happen on the pages between the characters.


One drunken night, Shoshanna Clarke let her inhibitions go and said yes to Toby Mason. Sleeping with the town bad boy ends up completely changing her life. 



Toby finally got the girl he wanted, despite the fact she doesn’t know it yet. She’s a good girl, and Toby is known for being a bad boy. But before Toby can tell Shoshanna he wants her for more than that one night, he has to leave town due to his father’s death.


When Shoshanna finds out she is pregnant, she has no way to tell Toby he’s the father. It isn’t until Toby’s return that she must finally face reality and tell him everything. Can Toby put his bad boy ways behind him and give Shoshanna and his baby what they both deserve?


BUY LINKS: 

ERIKA REED: Normally I let my frisky characters write my sex scenes for me. I enjoy writing each story differently, mixing it up a little in each book. Sometimes my characters are burning up the sheets and other times they are making love so sweet and lovingly that I can’t help but feel their tenderness and emotions. One of my latest favorite sex scenes is between my two characters Goldie and Travis in my newest release Goldie. In one scene, Goldie and Travis find themselves making love in front of a roaring fire in a cozy cabin, deep in the woods. But I don’t want to give too much away with these two. You’ll just have to wait and read about how much friction and steamy chemistry Goldie and Travis have after March 9th  when Seduction at Midnight releases.


Goldie Locke is in love with her boss, Travis. He has always been the man of her dreams, but it’s getting harder to work for him when she really wants more. After a fire in her apartment leaves her temporarily homeless, she finds herself on her way to Travis’ cabin in the mountains, at his brothers’ insistence. She decides to use the time away to make some decisions about her future...with or without Travis.

Travis Baer had always prided himself at making his construction business a success. He is a man who goes after what he wants, but what he desires more than anything is Goldie. After being tricked into a weekend alone with his gorgeous assistant, Travis is determined to finally make Goldie his, and reveal his true feeling for her.

Could their weekend retreat be the beginning to the fairy tale ending Goldie has always wanted?

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ELODIE PARKS: I enjoy writing all types of spicy scenes. It depends on the characters and plot if my favorite in each story is a tender love fest or a dirty talking, high intensity sex fest. Usually, there’s a number of each type of scene in the book. One of my all-time favorite scenes comes from a ménage I wrote where the summer heat heightens all emotions, and the characters fall on each other as they enter the house the sexual tension is so high. It’s yummy to write my characters enjoying the physical and emotional sensations in sex scenes. My characters use explicit, intentional talk sparingly, and when they do, it rockets the scene into a new level of hotness. I like the little high when suddenly the heat in the love scene shoots up with the character’s sex talk or actions. I guess I just love writing sex scenes … and lots of them.

Cade’s trying to get over a broken heart when his friend Jack takes him off to a nightclub, named only, The Club. Although at first Cade is shocked by the place, he meets Marissa. It’s not long before he and Marissa get together, but under the pressure of mixed emotions, and Marissa’s fear of commitment, they’re both running in opposite directions.

Gorgeous Cade has touched Marissa’s heart in ways she doesn’t want to admit. 

Lovely Marissa has lifted Cade’s sadness and opened his heart to love again. 

The trouble is—someone has to give a little. Who’s it going to be?



BUY LINKS:

CATALINA HARPER: Spicy scenes are always the part of the story where I really get to solidify the connection between my heroes and their heroines and there isn’t anything better for me than the first one. I love the kind of scene where the hero throws the heroine against the wall and their passion overwhelms the both of them. There is something incredibly sensual and shiver inducing about the moment they both give into absolute desire. They’re definitely my favorite to write. :)


We’re all Mad Here. The words immortalized on the door of Chris Jensen’s nightclub, Wonderland, have been a beacon for other eccentric souls in Chicago’s urban landscape. Chris might have been alone but he hadn’t realized he was lonely until he finds a bartender who makes him want more than good music and great Scotch. Alison Liddell walks into his life brandishing a rapier wit and a take-no-lip attitude, but trusting the attraction that sizzles between them will take more than his gut instincts to come into fruition. 

Alison has wanted Chris since the day she started working at Wonderland. However, the beautiful man is nearly as stubborn as she is and keeps her at arms’ length. A night of drinking leads to a kiss that neither of them are prepared to deny, however, walking into a relationship is unfamiliar territory for the both of them and only time will tell if they will be able to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

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JORDAN MARIE: Thanks Laurie for letting me take part!  Give me dirty, sweet, funny or shy men, just give me!  When I create a scene I want to infuse some type of emotion in it to make the characters real. With Breaking Dragon, my debut book, it was humor. It made the scenes fun.  I tend to let the story dictate to me. In my new book Saving Dancer, the hero is damaged and though he should be tender, he can’t find that in himself yet.  So, he makes up for it with commanding dirty talk.  While writing Dragon’s scenes I happy sighed and with Dancer’s I usually need a cold shower.  Both men are dirty, nasty boys, but very different and I can't choose! I love them both! After all, bad boys need love too. (Plus, I'm just greedy.)  Happy Reading!!!

Nicole

At one time, I had everything I wanted in life. Or I thought I did, but I lived in black and white. Then, he exploded into my world. Dragon.

He’s hot-blooded, cocky, stubborn as hell, and he drives me crazy. With him everything is more...It’s more vibrant, more exciting, more...real.

Suddenly I have everything to lose. In fact, I’m terrified that I might not be strong enough to hold on to it all. Because I’m learning with life, there are no hearts and flowers. Sometimes, there is just darkness.

---

Dragon

There’s one thing I know about life. You have to grab it by the throat and go at it full throttle.

Thrown away with the garbage on the day I was born, hooked on crack before I even take my first breath and doing what I had to do just to survive—

That’s who I am.
I’m the filth your mother warned you about.

The Savage MC is the only family I’ve ever had, the only ones I can depend on.
Then she walks into my life. Nicole.

Nothing like what I expected, sassy, smart and sexy as hell. She’s everything I could want and more.

Our worlds don’t mix. I’m only going to drag her down.
She should have never let me touch her…

Life can tear you into shreds, make you bend until you break.
Sometimes, you have to face death, so you can live.

BUY LINK:

KALI ARGENT: I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could say when it comes to writing sex scenes. Since I consider myself to be more plot driven in my writing, and sex scenes are very character-centric, it wasn’t easy trying to decide what kind of scenes I enjoy writing the most. Then it hit me. My favorite spicy moments in any book I’m writing are always filled with a sense of need, not just want. Whether it’s that building moment of near-desperation where my characters finally realize the depths of their feelings for one another, or the angry, animalistic scene after a big fight when nothing else matters, when the stress of the moment explodes into a carnal desire neither can fight against. In essence, I suppose it’s the urgency I enjoy, the physical representation of every touch, word, fight, and action leading to that final climax—no pun intended.


Driven and career-focused, Starla Winters doesn’t have the time or patience for dating. Other than her family, she has only a handful of personal connections, only a few relationships that truly mean anything to her, but she’s content. Or so she thinks. Then the laidback, free-spirited owner of a local toy store blows into her life, making her want things she’s never even contemplated.

Turner McCord fell in love the moment the uptight advertising agent marched into his office, and nothing has been the same for him since. He knows it won’t be easy to break through Starla’s shiny layer of professionalism to the fiery woman beneath, but he’s determined to make her his. After all, to love someone as beautiful and captivating as Starla Winters would be an awfully big adventure.

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Don't forgot to stop by Kali Argent's blog for her


Monday, February 16, 2015

~ Guest: Elodie Parkes - Rescuing Cade ~


Elodie Parkes: I was asked to write a story for an erotic romance anthology. Almost immediately I had my character, Cade, form in my head and a love story for him, but then I was informed the anthology would be BDSM. I thought I’d have trouble with the genre, but the editor of the proposed anthology said, ‘give it a go’. I began to adapt the love story in my mind for the character Cade, thinking I’d have to consider the plot for a short time, but only a few days later the anthology was cancelled. By then Cade was so real to me and a story with a sprinkle of the genre, BDSM, was firmly in my mind, so I wrote it.

The story is much longer than I originally thought it might be, especially when it was going to be for an anthology, and the romance conflict arc is now about both Cade and my heroine, Marissa. As usual, I fell in love with my characters and couldn’t stop writing until they reached their HEA.

I did a little research for this story because I didn’t know much about the type of club Jack, Cade’s friend, takes him to. Once I no longer needed to place emphasis on dominance and submission, the story unfolded easily, interweaving with the original love story I had for Cade when he first began whispering in my ear.

With scorching hot love scenes, tender moments, a dash of angst and a splash of humor this is Cade’s journey to love again.

I hope readers enjoy it.


Cade’s trying to get over a broken heart when his friend Jack takes him off to a nightclub, named only, The Club. Although at first Cade is shocked by the place he meets Marissa. It’s not long before he and Marissa get together, but under the pressure of expectations from, The Club, and Marissa’s fear of commitment, they’re both running in opposite directions.

Gorgeous Cade has touched Marissa’s heart in ways she doesn’t want to admit. Lovely Marissa has lifted Cade’s sadness and opened his heart to love again. The trouble is — someone has to give a little. Who’s it going to be?

Excerpt

Cade took his time drinking his coffee on Saturday morning. He wanted to go out to the street market and call into the coffee shop to buy fresh grounds, but he knew the reminder of being with Marissa there the weekend before would hurt. He drove there and parked in the big flat lot at one end of the High Street. Thoughts of Marissa teased him as he sat for a moment in his car and assessed his feelings. She’d touched his heart and he knew it. He sighed and thrust away the idea of calling into her place on the journey home from the market. She doesn’t want me. 

He turned up the collar of his leather jacket against the cool breeze, and after checking he’d locked his car, since his thoughts drifted time and again to Marissa’s lovely face, he stalked off up the street. He avoided the market stalls he and Marissa had stopped at the week before, making straight for the farmers’ market section, where he bought two different kinds of apples and a couple of large potatoes he knew could be put in the oven and baked without him having to hassle around. 

When he entered the coffee shop he kept his face turned from the café end and ordered his usual Italian roast grounds, but then, longing to recall Marissa as she gazed at him over the table they shared the Saturday before, he glanced around—and there she was. 

She stared at him from a table in the middle of the café. 

Cade blinked to make sure he wasn’t just imagining she was there. He paid for his coffee order, and drawn to Marissa’s table as if by some invisible thread, Cade quickly walked over there. 

“Marissa, it’s so good to see you. I hoped you’d call me. May I sit with you?” He croaked out the words as his heart flipped about and the urge to pick her up, crush her to his body, and devastate her with a kiss scared him with its ferocity. 

She didn’t speak, only nodded an assent at him. 

Cade dragged out a chair and dropped his shopping to the floor. He sat down close to Marissa, but still facing her. 

She turned her coffee cup around and around in the saucer. Her gaze riveted on the coffee in there. 

She wasn’t wearing makeup. Her face was pale and her cloud of brown hair wisped around her heart-shaped face. 

Cade smiled noticing for the first time a faded splatter of freckles across her nose. The tremble in her fingers, didn’t escape Cade’s hungry observation. She’s nervous. Is that because she likes me or thinks I’ll make a scene and wishes I’d leave? He reached out and clasped her fingers in his. 

Her coffee cup clattered a little in the saucer.



About Elodie:
Elodie Parkes is a British author writing romance, erotic, contemporary, and often with a twist of mystery, paranormal, fantasy, or suspense. Her books are always steamy. Her tag is, Cool stories: Hot love scenes.

Elodie lives in Canterbury with her two dogs. She works in an antique shop by day and writes at night, loving the cloak of silent darkness that descends on the rural countryside around her home.
Elodie writes for, Evernight Siren Hot Ink Press Eternal Press Secret Cravings Ra Jones Anthologies Side Street Cookie PublishingShe has also released titles as an individual indie author.

Find Elodie online: 

Sunday, February 1, 2015

~ Seduction at Midnight - Anthology! ~

***LIMITED EDITION BOX SET FOR CHARITY***


All-new Anthology of modern-day, fairy tale romances, written by seven of your favorite authors! All proceeds of the Limited Edition Box Set will be going to the Make a Wish Foundation. On Sale for .99¢ only from March 9 - 30th. Now Available for Pre-order!




Beautiful Dreamer by Lacey Thorn - Chase wakes up in the hospital with no memory of the attack that left her best friend dead, and her lost in a deep slumber. Will Detective Phillip Wade be able to keep her safe, or will the secrets he's keeping tear them apart?

Cinder’s Rising by Jenika Snow - Cinder is the light to Ryder's darkness, and he must show her she's worth so much more than she gives herself credit for. It's up to him to show her that she's his world now.

Rescuing Red by Susan Hayes - When an act of kindness sparks a moment of chivalry, two lives are changed forever. Veronica and Lucas have a chance at a storybook ending, but first, they'll have to face the monster who wants Veronica for himself.

Wonderland by Catalina Harper - Alison has wanted eccentric club owner, Chris Jensen, since the day she started working at Wonderland. Nothing about a relationship with Chris will be easy, but Alison is determined to make the ex-Marine see her as more than just one of the guys.

Stardust by Kali Argent - What could a self-professed workaholic and a laid-back toy store owner possibly have in common? Nothing, as far as Starla Winters is concerned, but when roguishly handsome Turner McCord sets his sights on her, she’ll soon understand why sometimes, opposites do attract.

Goldie by Erika Reed - After being tricked into a weekend alone with her handsome boss, Goldie Locke is looking forward to getting to know Travis Baer outside of the office. Could this be the beginning to the fairy tale ending Goldie has always wanted?

Beauty by Laurie Roma - Tessa Campbell has to face the man everyone calls The Beast in order to protect her father. Can she find a way to see beyond Drake Vidal's savage veneer to the good hidden beneath, or will she think he isn't worth taming?


NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!