Friday 27 January 2017

Wicked Weekends

WICKED WEEKENDS


 
Title: Payback’s a Bitch

Author: Kacey Hammell

Genre: Contemporary Erotic Short Story / Romance on the Go

Sexual orientation: MF

Type of book: short story

What’s hot?: no-holds-barred sexual teasing, dances meant to titillate and push you over the edge.

Blurb:

No amount of braking will stop this payback from crashing and burning.

Racecar driver Lark Stevens agrees to help a close friend prove that paybacks can be a bitch. What she doesn’t expect is to fall in lust with her mark.

Set on her mission, Lark assumes the mystery man who amps up the heat and pushes her heart into overdrive is her intended target. And once they connect, getting even is the last thing on her mind.

As the heat smolders and revs from zero to sixty in mere seconds, Lark realizes she's on a crash course of emotion that no amount of braking will stop.

**Author Note: This book was previously released at another publisher. It has been revised extensively with a new title for re-release.

Buy links:



 
Title of book: No One Until Her, Risso Family #6

Author: Lynn Burke

Genre: Erotic Romance / BDSM / Menage

Sexual orientation: MF with MFM scene

What’s hot: first space and threesome with Viking-like Dom

Blurb:

Kaden Quinn has life by the balls and enjoys his side job as a Dom in a downtown Boston BDSM club. What he doesn’t want—or need—is a pseudo-sub trying to shred the veil that protects his painful past.

When untamed Livi Risso's insatiable need to get to the bottom of a story leads her to an exclusive kink club, her curiosity ignites upon meeting a restrained Dom who refuses to touch her.

Kaden feigns disinterest while scening, but that doesn’t stop Livi from experiencing intimacy like she’s never imagined. When one misstep leaves Kaden shaken, will Livi be the one to break down his wall against love?
Buy links:









Title of book: Rapunzel’s Romp
 
Author: T. Lee Garland

Genre: Erotica

Sexual orientation: MF

Type of book: Novella

What’s hot?: Sex in a castle

Blurb:

Rae Ann Compton has been called Rapunzel for the majority of her life. Her floor sweeping honey-blonde hair though had a purpose; she grows it in memory of her mother who died from cancer when she was a small girl. She now owns and operates Rapunzel’s, a high-end hair salon in Hollywood. Her life is orderly and business driven, until the day Alex Princeton, her secret crush walks in.

Alex is the quarterback for the Hollywood Hounds, and has been dubbed the Prince of Sunday, by the press. He’s sexy and usually only dates super models. Rae is no super model, but he makes her an offer she can’t refuse and soon she is flying first class to a castle in Germany, for the wedding of the century.

Locking this Rapunzel in a tower isn't going to keep her from the man she knows in her heart belongs to her.

Buy links:




Wednesday 25 January 2017

Yorkshire Sculpture Park




I went to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park at the weekend. Always wanted to go but you need a car to get there and I don’t drive. But my lovely friend, Morgan King, was going and invited me along.


Looking at the map of the park there were tons of it we didn’t get to see but it was fun to walk across the park spotting various statues.








The highlight was the crystal room – an old empty bedsit which was crated and sealed and some chemical pumped inside and it formed stunningly beautiful blue crystals.


Monday 23 January 2017

Origins to some of our nursery rhymes

I am an historian and genealogist and am writing an historical crime anthology based on real life genealogical stories I have unearthed.

One of the things I most love finding out is the origins to words, phrases and other things and recently was looking at the origins to some of our well known nursery rhymes.

Did you know, for example, that Mary Mary Quite Contrary refers to Mary 1 of England who was a firm believer in Catholicism and persecuted protestants. The ‘silver bells and cockleshells’ apparently refer to implements of torture!

Baa Baa Black Sheep – refers to a tax on wool in the middle ages.

Ring A Ring O Rosies – some people think it relates to the plague (eg, the line ‘attishoo attishoo we all fall down’).

Who Killed Cock Robin? – could relate to the death of that famous person from folklore, Robin Hood.

London Bridge is Falling Down may be down to the burning of wooden bridges by the Vikings.

Remember Remember the Fifth of November (an English rhyme) – refers to Guy Fawkes attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.

Jack & Jill might be about King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette and when they tumbled down the hill it was them losing the throne and being beheaded.

Dr Foster Went to Gloucester – could well refer to Edward 1 who is said to have visited Gloucester but fell off his horse into a big puddle and declared he would never go there again!

Little Tommy Tucker who sings for his supper is because ‘little tommy tucker’ was a colloquial name for orphans reduced to begging for food.

And my favourite Oranges and Lemons may be to do with prisons of London, eg, the bells of Old Bailey is where Newgate prison used to be and ‘when will you pay me’ referring to debtors.

Of course, this is all speculation – but the explanations sound good!


Friday 20 January 2017

Wicked Weekends



Sacred & Profane: Priest Erotic Romance
edited by Torrance Sené

Ten stories of temptation, romance, and blasphemy featuring Sonni de Soto, Piper Denna, Torrance Sené, Charlotte French, Bronwyn Green, Leandra Vane, Mira Stanley, Jordan Monroe, H K Carlton, and Jillian Boyd.

Not even men of the cloth are exempt from God’s greatest gift: Love. In Sacred and Profane: Priest Erotic Romance, you’ll find stories of clergymen stepping outside their vows, pastors weaving divinity into their seductions, nuns and parishioners confessing to their body’s every earthly desire, and more.

Are you aroused by the blasphemous dance of sex and religion? The dangerous edge of eroticism contained within submission to something beyond oneself? The taboo juxtaposition of holy and sensual? Then Sacred and Profane welcomes you.


Length: 60,220 words / 186 pages


“Genuflect” by Sonni de Soto
Father Nicholas has a secret, one he must keep protected. The solace and beauty he finds in the heresy of Donovan’s, a BDSM club that perverts his faith, fills a space in his soul that nothing else can.

Pairing(s): MF
“His Undoing” by Piper Denna
Shasta has a face Pastor Luke cannot resist. Out of all the parishioners, he spends the most time thinking of her. One night, the virgin preacher finds himself unable to escape the temptation that is her, and it turns out she too needs to be alone with him.

Pairing(s): MF
“Temptation Follows” by Torrance Sené
Father Yorke never expected his faith would be tested in the form of Good Samaritan Abby Lewison. But when she comes to him in need of guidance, her desires become his own and blasphemy is embraced.

Pairing(s): MF
“Absolution” by Charlotte French
Burdened with the sins of his parishioners, Father Granger’s spirit and soul are heavy and listless. His salvation lies in an old skeleton key left to him by Father Brennan. Through an otherworldly and taboo encounter, Granger discovers even priests deserve absolution.

Pairing(s): MF
“Father What-a-Waste” by Bronwyn Green
Against her better judgement, Prudence bares her soul in the confessional. But when past and present collide in the form of Father Thomas, she finds herself completely exposed and longing for for more than a few Hail Marys as penance.

Pairing(s): MF
“Shelter” by Leandra Vane
Morgan only goes to church to occasionally placate her mother. On her latest visit, she meets Pastor Buchanan can’t resist pushing his boundaries—and those of his parishioners—with her sex-positive attitude. Through Morgan’s mischief, the pastor soon learns more about his own body’s wants and needs.

Pairing(s): MF
“Taking Mary Beth” by Mira Stanley
After learning about Mary Beth from an inmate he ministered to, former Russian criminal-turned-priest, Father Aleksei discovers his true calling in life: protecting her. Forsaking the priesthood, he comes to her rescue and shows the young woman how all-encompassing love can be.

Pairing(s): MF
“Succumb to Temptation” by Jordan Monroe
After stepping away from his former life as a Dominant, Father Michael joined the priesthood to find solace and meaning. Instead, he is drawn to Claire and her enchanting soprano voice. She stirs a yearning in him he thought he’d left behind.

Pairing(s): MF
“Sin Bin” by H K Carlton
Father Daunté Bennifetto never expected to find the one who got away, but there she was, dancing at a strip club. The Sin Bin. He was sent to bring her back to righteousness, but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Pairing(s): MF
“Down on My Knees” by Jillian Boyd
Opened and awakened to the earthly lust that lie within her, Sister Josephine is unable to move on from her desires and the priest who stirred them in her one night. When they meet again, will either be strong enough to escape their attraction?


Pairing(s): MF

Wednesday 18 January 2017

Producing an audiobook

I have a most interesting interview today – with the three authors who wrote a book about producing audio books! Welcome Renea Mason, Noah Levine and Erin deWard.


What inspired you to write The Audiobook Book?

Hi Jennifer.

Thanks for letting us stop by your blog.
 
In answer to your first question, we were inspired by several factors.  A lot of people have, at different times, asked all three of us about getting started on their path to producing/recording audiobooks.  It’s something we’re all passionate about, but it’s hard to give all this information to people on an individual basis. More importantly, we believe fostering the creation of more audiobooks is good for everyone – authors and narrators.

It’s a growing industry and listeners are hungry for more content.  If a person listens to one audiobook and likes it – they’ll want to listen to more. That translates into more sales for authors and narrators, and more listeners appreciating what we all work so hard to create.

Lastly, we had such a great experience collaborating on all the books we’ve done together.  We want others to have similar experiences.  Not all authors and narrators will want to collaborate as fully as we have. Our way certainly isn’t the only way, but we felt having both narrators and authors understand a bit more about the challenges each other faces when creating audiobooks would go a long way toward enhancing empathy and potentially, better audiobooks, smoother productions and happier experiences.
(absolutely fascinating! JD)


What sorts of things are included in the book?

We tried to include everything we could think of, from soup to nuts, to help both authors and narrators through the process.  Upfront costs for narrators just getting started, financial considerations for authors with regards to producing and promoting the audiobook, the different types of contracts that authors and narrators can enter into, the ups and downs of those different contracts, how vitally important clear and open communication is from the get-go, how to set up an ACX profile, how to run an audition, the different narration styles, figuring out which one(s) are a good fit.

We also covered aspects of performance, marketing, and generally speaking, the need for all of us to support each other. Sure, there's a certain amount of competitiveness between authors and other authors and narrators and other narrators, and a healthy does of competition can be a good thing.  We emphasize the overarching idea of mutual respect, understanding and support is a big message in the book.


What made you decide to work as co-authors?

When we worked collaboratively on audiobooks, we found that the final result was benefited from our multiple viewpoints.  As individuals, we each do the best work we can, and hopefully, our readers and listeners enjoy the work, but there’s something special about the creative process being collaborative.  So it seemed like a natural flow for us to write the book together, each giving our individual perspectives, drafted as one unified message.


How did you find it working together?

It was both rewarding and challenging in equal measure. We each have different writing styles and degrees of experience writing, but in the end, we fed off each other’s ideas and styles.  For example, all of the anecdotes in the book came as a secondary thought.  The first draft felt a little stiff and too business-like, but when we added some of our personal experiences to the mix, it took on a whole new flavor. It made the presentation of all the business material a lot more entertaining and intimate.  But we definitely faced our challenges with deadlines and edits.
(having co-written a book myself I know what you mean about rewarding AND challenging! JD)


Buy Links


All other major online retailer - https://books2read.com/TheAudiobookBook


Print and audio editions coming soon...
The price is $3.99.


Author bios


RENEA MASON
 
"Sexy, fun and so creative it makes my head spin! I'd read the damn phone book if Renea Mason wrote it." 
-NYT and USA TODAY Bestselling author ROBYN PETERMAN

Multi-award-winning and bestselling author Renea Mason writes erotic romances which challenge the definition of conventional love. Whether it be contemporary or paranormal, the author of the 2016 Audie Award-Winning Curing Doctor Vincent, prides herself on bringing readers unique storylines, memorable characters, and top-notch audiobook performances in her tales of love, lust, and mystery.

In addition to being an author, Renea has spent more than two decades in leadership roles, from manager to vice president, in various fundraising and healthcare organizations. Currently, she works under her legal name, Sheila Hollums Bates, as a Senior Business Advisor, providing management and process consulting services to internal constituencies for the seventh largest revenue producing company in the US.

When she isn't crafting sensual stories which stimulate the mind and body alike or providing the latest management and process guidance, she spends time in the Laurel Mountains of Western Pennsylvania with her beyond-supportive husband, two wonderful sons, and two loving but needy cats.

Renea loves connecting with her readers. Visit her on…

Twitter – @reneamason1
Instagram – @renea_mason




NOAH MICHAEL LEVINE
 
Noah Michael Levine is an Audie Award-Winning narrator, actor and author, living in the beautiful Hudson River Village of Nyack, NY. He has narrated 200 audiobook titles and looks forward to doing many more. He truly loves his work.

Sometimes known by #AuralSexpert, he’s performed a lot of Romance and Erotica, but his catalog spans the full breadth of genres, from history, philosophy, science, and literary critique to drama, comedy, young adult, and thriller. He is deeply thankful for and grateful to both Audible and ACX, as well as the authors and lovers of audiobooks who make his work possible.

Noah’s career in the entertainment industry spans over thirty years, including a long run as lead singer, lyricist, and keyboard player for the largely unknown 1980s-era band PLCourage and as owner of Eleuthra Productions. He’s appeared in many productions from stage to TV and Film, in addition to writing and producing works for large and small screens.

When not in “The Booth,” he’s an avid home chef, lover of animals and is working on his first novel.

ACX Narrator Profile - Noah Michael Levine
Twitter – @badnoah
Instagram – @therealbadnoah
  


ERIN deWARD

Erin deWard is an Audie Award-Winning narrator with over fifty titles in genres ranging from Spirituality to Young Adult to Adult Contemporary and others. She's worked on stage, screen, and behind the mic for over thirty years. She is beyond grateful to have come to this place in her life and thanks all of the people and organizations that sped her on her way.

In addition to her love of acting, Erin is passionate about her work as an audio describer, translating visual images in media and performance into aural pictures for people who have low or no vision. She studies and performs Shakespearean text and can most frequently be seen cavorting onstage with The Strange Bedfellows, the adult troupe of the Children’s Shakespeare Theatre of New York.

Erin lives in lovely Nyack on Hudson, New York with her husband, daughter, sometimes her college-aged son, and two ill-behaved but loveable dogs, Annie and Benevolio.

ACX Narrator Profile - Erin deWard
Twitter – @erindeward
Instagram – @erindeward


Thanks for sharing with us. Good luck with your book.


Monday 16 January 2017

First Chapters - The Sonic Dilda'tor

The last in my ‘First Chapters’ series comes to an end as we are up to date! The Sonic Dilda’tor was a short story in the ‘Love & Lust in Space’ anthology which came out in November.



CHAPTER ONE

            “What you need is a Sonic Dilda’tor.”
            “I beg your pardon?” Skarlet wasn’t sure she correctly heard Pock, the sex therapist. This was her second session here on the planet of Vulvania. Tactile, like all people from her own planet of Clusio, Skarlet was finding it difficult adjusting to life on the home world of her husband, Braemel.
            In truth, it wasn’t just the rigid Vulvanian culture she was finding hard, but her husband’s lack of emotion. Married now for two years, she wondered if she had made a mistake in thinking the two of them could make their differences work. Not least, because a Vulvanian came into heat, whether man or woman, only once every five years.
            When they had met on her planet, whilst Braemel was on a diplomatic mission, he had been just starting his cycle of sexuality. Not only did his hormones drive his emotions causing him to pursue Skarlet with fervent demonstrations of love and lust, but it also made him incredibly attractive to Clusions. She had to quickly declare herself to him before she lost him to rivals. Not that she regretted her choice. At least, she hadn’t until eight months ago when this phase began to wear off and sex between them ceased to happen.
            “A Sonic Dilda’tor is what you require,” repeated Pock.
            Skarlet was taken aback. Is he making a joke? However, Vulvanians were famous for their lack of humour.
            “Unfortunately, they are outlawed on this planet.”
            Yes, he is laughing at me. “Um. Why mention it then?”
            The sex therapist looked down his nose at her and glared, his dark eyes boring into her. Skarlet often felt inferior on this world of people who were the leaders in the International Council and the founding nation of the community of planets.
“I mention it because it is the only logical answer to your problem. It is regrettable from your point of view that your husband’s sexual needs are not aligned to yours. A Sonic Dilda’tor would solve your issue.”
            It was Skarlet’s turn to glower. “So why are they forbidden then? It would seem sensible on a planet like yours where your people have varying sexual cycles that you have such an implement.”
            Pock nearly smiled. At least, she was sure he was about to. “Indeed. However, Vulvanians do not generally marry someone not matching their needs.”
            Skarlet crossed her arms, wishing someone had told her this before she married Braemel.
The therapist continued. “But as you have expressed interest, I will explain the background—for abstract reasons, only.” He settled back in his tilting chair and placed his hands together with just the fingertips touching, in a pose of thoughtful remembrance. “This device was invented for massages. We, Vulvanians, have the highest work ethic, but, at the same time, we refuse to acknowledge when we have over stretched our bodies. By using the Dilda’tor on sore parts of our bodies, the sonic harmonics relax the taut muscles. This way we were able to recover quickly. This meant an ever greater work output ensued, which made all parties satisfied—particularly as this all happened behind closed doors.”
            Skarlet was very aware of how reserved a Vulvanian could be from her experience with her husband. But she was intrigued by how this information related to her sex life—or lack of.
            “It is not known who first discovered this instrument could be used to stimulate a person’s genitals, but it swiftly became popular amongst the younger Vulvanians. In my profession, I found it very useful to persuade older members of society that this could be the answer to their sexual issues—those that may become misaligned through disease or accident—even if it did mean a drop in my clientele.”
            She gasped. Despite his stony expression, Pock definitely had a sense of humour. “I am intrigued as to how it came to be banned, then.”
            Pock inclined his head acknowledging her question. “We soon started to notice a remarkable drop in the jujufly population. You may not know, but these insects are essential in pollinating our many fruit trees. Without them, we have no food.”
            As the main diet of the Vulvanians, Skarlet could understand why this was so disastrous. “How did you link that to the use of the dildators?”
            The therapist gave out such a bark of a laugh that Skarlet jumped and nearly fell out of her seat. “Oh, my dear lady, it is called a Dilda’tor—the emphasis is on ‘Dilda’. It comes from the ancient Vulvanian root word meaning massage. Therefore, ‘to be massaged’. I don’t think the inventor was aware of the similarity to your word as we have nothing like that on our planet. Although, in my profession, I am aware of the ‘toys’ you refer to and am trying to encourage their import.”
            Oh! Skarlet could feel her face reddening.
            “Having said that, I can see how you could link the two.”
            Since she had already made a fool of herself, Skarlet jumped in with another question. “So how exactly is it used to align sexual drives?”
            He gave her a stare, his dark eyes boring into her once more. Skarlet jutted her chin out in defiance.
            “I take it this is an abstract question, since you would never be in the position of using one and if found out, you do realise it would mean banishment from our planet?”
            Skarlet shrugged her shoulders. As she had no idea the object existed, let alone where to get hold of one, she had asked because she was intrigued, even if it didn’t assist with her problem.
            “One inserts it into the anus of the male—or vagina of the female—who needs to be brought into heat. The sonic harmonics work to stimulate the hormones in our bodies, adjusting to that of their partner.”
            Oh great. Just what I need and I can’t get hold of one.
            She sighed.
            Pock was finished. “There is a group of people who are lobbying for its return since scientists discovered that by playing the music of the violinet at the same time, it reduces the sonic vibrations and the jujufly is unaffected. But until that time, it remains illegal to use.” He looked up as a buzzer sounded indicating the end of their session. “That finishes my work with you. I am afraid, I can offer no simple solution to your needs other than do as Vulvanians do and absent yourself from sexual activities for the time between your husband’s sexual cycles.”
            Saying that to a Clusion was like telling them to cut off a limb. They were such a sexually active species, that Skarlet was in deep depression.
            As she left the building, she considered her options. A) Put up with being sexually deprived for the next few years. B) Continue using her own sex toys that she had brought with her—which didn’t give her the satisfaction she required as her body required the presence of semen in order to orgasm. C) Divorce Braemel and return home.

The fourth option, of finding a Dilda’tor, didn’t even enter her head.