Who reads Bi Erotic Romance?

Who reads Bi Erotic Romance?

We do – and we write it, too! Hubs and I write erotic romance together under the pen name Adriana Kraft, and most of the heroines we write (well, and a hero here and there, too) are bisexual.

Last weekend we accidentally ran an informal poll on our website. For the Hot Summer Nights Blog Hope, we asked readers to tell us what kind of heat they liked best—just an open ended question. We didn’t say what categories to use. Here are the answers—a few readers listed more than one response:

11 – Anything. Many of these readers added things like strong characters, great plots, hot sex of any kind.

11 – M/M

9 – Ménage. Most of these readers didn’t specify what pairing they wanted in their ménage.

9 – Two men and one woman – readers who added comments in this category wanted the two men focused on the woman. If they used initials, they put the woman in the middle: M/F/M.

6 – BDSM

3 – F/F

2 – Two women and one man

1 – M/F

Of course this wasn’t scientific – it’s a self selected group of readers who like to win books and spend time leaving comments in a Blog Hop for erotic books.

Who on this list might like to read bisexual characters? I’ll go with the “anything,” the “ménage” and the two women and one man, at least. That means about half the readers who stopped by either like it or might be open to reading it.

 Where do we fit in all this? I love the “anything” readers – they left comments like “I’ll try anything,” “characters that are hot,” “steamy sex in different positions.” We write lots of that!

Almost everything we write has ménage scenes. Most often these are two women and one man, and the women are definitely involved with each other as well as with the man. These are our bisexual heroines, the women we love to write and read.

There’s fabulous variety in the bisexual world, and our books reflect this. Some are a true polyamory story, with the love and romance unfolding among all three main characters. Sometimes two couples with bisexual women find each other and the ménage can be three-way or four-way. Some stories focus on a committed M/F pair who find a way for the woman to express her bi orientation, often through the Swing Lifestyle, sometimes with a Girls’ Night Out solution.

We’re writing what we love, and we’ll keep on delivering those steamy stories for readers who love the same things.

Coming This Sunday!

The sought-after Unicorn, so elusive in the Swing Lifestyle.

Now that Sarah Creston has materialized in Jen and Brett Andrews’ bed, what’s next?

Too Close for Comfort is Book Nine in our Swinging Games series at Extasy Books

BLURB

It all seemed so simple: Sarah Creston would move in for the summer, Brett and Jen Andrews could revel in their new threesome, and everyone else would understand. But now Donna and Ryan – their best friends and lovers – won’t speak to them, and Jen seems so infatuated with Sarah that even Brett is worried about the consequences.

Battered from the double whammy of her husband’s death and caring for her aging parents, Sarah Creston thrills to Jen and Brett’s exquisite care and ravishing sex. Now that she’s had her first taste of a woman, will she be satisfied – or will she want more?  Everything hinges on what Sarah wants.

When The Ideas Just Won't Come

No matter how much you want it or how much you try, sometimes the characters simply won't talk to you, nor will the story unkink the knots and blocks that have suddenly popped up. These interruptions can be frustrating if they're short, but disconcerting when they last for a longer period of time. There's no telling when these problems will crop up, if they do. But when it happens an author has to be ready to work through them.

Authors have a multitude of methods for dealing with the disconcerting curve balls characters and stories throw at them. Some exercise. Some take showers or bubble baths. Some stay at a hotel or vacation home. For me...it varies.

When the ideas just won't come I have different ways to deal with it. First, I have to figure out where my problem is. Is it during brainstorming the idea? Is it while I'm writing the rough draft? Or is it when I'm revising the rough draft to strengthen motivation and deepen POV? For each of these stages, I have a way to work through the problems and not all of them are the same.

Mango-Peach-Nectarine Jelly

Blackberry-Plum Jelly

I'll save the descriptions of the different methods for the stages and focus on the one that has occupied me for the last week. My big problem right now is getting the rough draft of a story written. In order to get my mind off the issues of the story and generate scenes for the book, I tend to need to make things. Cakes, clothes, totebags -- all are things I've made to work through stuff. This week though, I've turned my hand to making jam and jellies. Since last week, I've made seven different types of jellies. My favorite two are Mango-Peach-Nectarine and Blackberry-Plum.

It may seem odd to use the making of jelly as a method of breaking through a block, but it's the simple kinesthetic motion of preparing the fruit, heating up the water and pectin, then filling the jars and soaking them in the waterbath that helps walk me through the characters' motivations, the turning points in the story, and the dialogue for a scene. Cooking becomes my "recipe" for breaking through writer's block.

When you're trying to get through a situation whether fictional or real, what do you use to help you problem solve?

Writing Romance: The Internal Apocalypse, by EM Lynley

I've noticed that of my past posts here the ones about naked guys, Sherlock and writing tips seem the most popular. Today I'm sharing some thoughts on writing.

In addition to writing, I edit for several different publishers, all in the genre of erotic romance. I learn a lot about writing from editing. When I edit a story, I always look for the parts which don't quite fit together or work for me. And one of the big issues I've seen lately is writers struggling to bring in enough conflict and tension to keep their stories going—and building toward a satisfying conclusion for readers.

Why You Need an Impending Internal Apocalypse

Don't just throw random obstacles in your characters'' paths. I see this a lot. Some writers like to make characters jump through hoops to test their relationship. What this does is lessen the impact of the main conflict, which should be huge. Smaller conflicts are fine, but they work best when you use them to show (remember "show don't tell"?) characterization and values of your main characters. 

Make the big conflict life-altering. The main conflict in a romance should be something which threatens to break up a relationship or destroy the chance of attraction becoming more. This is where the opposites attract or "we're mortal enemies but I love you" comes into play. You want to create an obstacle to the romance that forces either or both characters to make a huge decision about who they are and often involves a terrible choice that forces them to choose the relationship over the other goal. 

Notice a trend in films and books of someone having to choose between saving the world and the woman he loves? There's a reason that's such a prevalent theme. Anything less than impending apocalypse and there isn't enough to threaten the relationship. You can always come up with a way to avoid any other external problems. Not every story lends itself to saving the world, but you absolutely can (and must) come up with a more personal disaster for the protagonist to contemplate, and to balance against the love story. So, instead of preventing the end of the world, you must force your protagonist to battle an impending internal apocalypse.

Casablanca: We don't have the end of the world, but we have Sam still in love with Ilsa, and she's ready to sacrifice herself in trade for her husband getting the travel documents. She thinks Viktor's important enough that he has to leave, no matter the cost. Sam knows he holds all the cards, yet at the moment of truth, he realizes that he isn't that bad of a guy who would force Ilsa to stay to save her husband. Ilsa chooses her husband's cause over her marriage and the fact that it doesn't take her long to make the decision tells Sam everything he needs to know. Ilsa doesn't love him and they'll never get Paris back as long as that's true. While Casablanca isn't a true romance (no HEA for the main characters) it's a perfect example of the kind of larger-than-love choices that create the best conflicts. In a romance the love wins, or also works out, while the external conflict is appropriately addressed. 

Let's try our own example of how to take a so-so conflict and make it even  more powerful

Example: Let's take a love triangle. We have a lawyer, and actor and a bad guy who can't get over being dumped by the actor. He wants to break up the lawyer and the actor, by threatening the lawyer. ( I write gay romance, so there's often an issue of homophobia, even for characters who are out. You can easily find a parallel conflict that has the same impact.)

The antagonist "blackmails" the lawyer with a threat to publish some racy pics of the actor back when he did some embarrassing work before he got well known and make it clear that the well-respected lawyer is in a relationship with this less-than-respectable actor. This could make the lawyer's life a bit uncomfortable. But should he give up the actor to prevent his from happening? Not much of a threat unless one or both are hiding. If both characters aren't afraid of being outed, it's a tame conflict and won't really break them up. It might cause some ripples and really it threatens the actor's career more than the relationship, but the lawyer will probably stick with him and they'll both be stronger against the antagonist. It can serve to show some characterization of both characters by how they discuss the potential threats.

Let's make it worse: The lawyer happens to work with children who are victims of abuse. He also lives in a conservative town where he's not exactly in the closet, but he's not broadcasting his private life. The antagonist wants to break him up with the actor, and threatens to tell not only that the lawyer is gay but that he might be abusing the very kids he's representing. In a conservative homophobic town the combination is enough to destroy his career. 

The conflict here: should the lawyer break up to save his career? We now have a very worthy main conflict. The lawyer loves his job and helping kids. Is he willing to risk this to keep a relationship with the actor? The facts in the case against him don't even need to be proven to wreak havoc for him. 

The lawyer's dilemma becomes a decision between the two most important things to him: his job, where he helps a lot of people, and the person he loves. How is he going to fight back? Will he fight back? How will the fight affect him and affect the relationship? This leads to the potential for a lot of drama and pain for both main characters.

Why does this matter? For readers to believe the relationship, it must be fantastic enough to compete with the other main internal goal of the protagonist. Of course this also requires that the love interest be worth any and all sacrifice. (We'll discuss that another day).

How to Set up the Internal Apocalypse

So, the key to discovering the best conflict is to know your characters before you start plotting out how you'll try to wreck their lives. Ask your characters some key questions. Go beyond the typical goal, motivation, conflict. 

What makes him tick? What is his dream job, life, etc? What will he endure to achieve it? What will he give up to achieve it? What is the worst thing you can do to this character? What is his biggest fear? What is the worst thing that ever happened to him and how did he respond? How did that change his life? Why is the love interest the right person for him? What will he do to win/keep this love? What won't he do?

You don't need all that stuff in your story. But you need to know it to figure out what is going to get your character upset, because you need to do that to make the conflict real. You have to threaten what he most loves and believes in. Sometimes trying to come up with a few early life episodes can really make the character come alive in ways you never expected. You can't just threaten something important to him, you must go after his most important identity, beliefs and concerns.Then find his limits and threaten or actually push him past those.

Anything less and it's not enough for real impact to the relationship or the story. Your characters don't have to be saving the world, but they have to be fighting for something approaching a life-or-death situation for themselves (or someone they care deeply about). 

EM Lynley writes for Dreamspinner Press, Silver Publishing and Torquere, edits for several erotic romance publishers and provides editing and writer coaching for private clients. She has worked in finance, the wine industry, and high-tech, though she'd rather be writing sexy man-on-man romance. She spent 10 years as an economist and financial analyst, including a year as a White House Staff Economist, but only because all the intern positions were filled. Tired of boring herself and others with dry business reports and articles, her creative muse is back and naughtier than ever. She has lived and worked in London, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., but the San Francisco Bay Area is home for now.Visit her online: http://www.emlynley.com or email at em@emlynley.com

Love it or Leave it (The joys of writing erotica)

Love It or Leave It

(The joys of writing erotica)

Beth Wylde

http://www.bethwylde.com/

Hi. My name is Beth Wylde and I write lesbian erotica! My stories feature graphic sexual descriptions between consenting adults of various kinks, colors, genders and orientations.

There I said it. I meant it too.

Now that may sound like the introduction for a twelve step program but I can promise you it isn’t intended to be. Group meetings are for people who want to give their habit up. I’m just fine with what I do. I’m not ashamed of what I like and I’m not doing it for fame or fortune. (If I was, I definitely wouldn’t be writing GLBT erotica. I’d have picked something a lot more mainstream. LOL)

If writing smut is an addiction, I’m definitely not looking for a cure. I’m proud to be an author of kinky, naughty, graphic, girl on girl sex. When writing legitimate sex scenes between consenting adults becomes a crime I’ll gladly bend over and assume the position. Someone remember the handcuffs please!

When I first got the acceptance for my newest release, Born to Ride, in DL King’s The Harder She Comes anthology I let loose with a shout so loud I’m sure people in foreign countries heard me.

I’d been trying to get a story in a Cleis antho for quite some time, but what I was writing just wasn’t clicking with the calls or the editors. My rejection emails were pleasant, telling me the stories I sent in were well written and extremely HOT, but they just didn’t fit in with the other submissions. I knew what the problem was but I had no clue how to fix it.

I was trying to mold my stories to fit the submission calls instead of writing a story from the heart. I write erotica because I enjoy it. I put a piece of my heart and soul into every tale I type. There’s just something different that shines through when a storyline is based on something the author is passionate about instead of the essay feeling you get when you try to force out a story based on a subject you’re given. When I saw DL King’s butch/femme call I knew fate had finally shined on me. I didn’t have to tailor a story to a sub call, there was a sub call tailored to my story.

Writing about sexy femmes and hot, muscular butches getting horizontal and vertical and kinky, or any combination of the above, is something of an obsession of mine. There’s just something about a strong strapping butch showing her femme lots of love and affection that gets my juices flowing. No pun intended.

And if the butch is inclined to get a bit rough and introduce some off the wall interests too? Well that’s even better. I have a kinky streak that’s rather wide and still developing so I like exploring new territory.

That’s another fun thing I often included in my writing. Though my stories are published as fiction, and a lot of what I write comes directly from my twisted imagination, quite often my storylines originate from real life events. Readers will always find a bit of reality thrown in. I love it when everyday occurrences find a home in one of my books. It makes the characters come alive for me and I believe it makes the story better for readers too.

You can tell the difference right away between a sex scene someone is trying to force their way through and something taking place on the page that really turns the author on. I think writing about sex should get the author all hot and bothered. I wouldn’t do it if it didn’t. Writing action scenes should get you pumped up, Sad stories should make you cry and good erotica should leave you wet and panting.

Lately I’ve become a bit like Pavlov’s dog. Just sitting in my computer chair and hearing the sound of my comp roaring to life can get me aroused. It makes getting into the mood to write something sexy so much easier, but it’s been hell on my budget. Comp chairs don’t seem to hold up as well as they once did. (I’ll leave those details to your imagination)

The day I stop getting turned on is the day I stop writing erotica. Until then I’ll leave you, the reader, to guess what’s real and what isn’t.

For a peak inside my mind and what turns me on check out my website at http://www.bethwylde.com/

Another new story of mine, Brotherly Love, which can be found in the Sapphic Planet anthology, shows a bit of my softer more humorous side. It's still hot but fun too. Find details on that book here:

https://www.createspace.com/3714319

You can order an autographed print copy of Sapphic Planet right now with free shipping (in the US) if you mention this blog post. Just email me at b.wylde@yahoo.com to get in on the deal.

Happy reading!

Beth

http://www.bethwylde.com/

I Was Born Under A Wandering Star

Hey all,

It's been a while since I was able to blog here.  But I'm back and hopefully you'll see me every month about this time.  My life has been a bit crazy lately, but for those who don't know what's going on with me, my sweet baboo, Jonathon and I did something AWESOMELY COOL last year.

We ran away and joined the circus.

That's right.  We may be not be kids any more, but we are at heart, and when the opportunity arose to join up with the Corteo Cirque du Soleil in Europe, we were jazzed, excited and packing our bags before the ink dried on the contract!

Jonathon's title is Electronics Maintenance Coordinator, which means he's the go-to guy when something breaks down around the show or site.  He's his own boss which is great, and he absolutely loves the job.

As a writer, for me, traveling around the world is a dream come true.  I've got SOOOOO many things to inspire me, my head is swimming!  I decided before we went on tour that I'd do a series of books--novellas--set in each of the countries/towns we visited.  And believe me, finding the inspiration for The Wandering Star Series of books has been easy!!!

I went into the Natural History Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and bamn--a dream pops up, and I have to stop and write it down.  I walked down the street in the Red Light district of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and a story is right there, waiting for me to find a pen.

In fact, I just finished doing a final edit on a story that came to me as I was visiting one of the most famous cemeteries in Paris--Père Lachaise Cemetery. I'd no more than looked at one of the many ornate sepulchres they have there, and I had to sit down and scribble the story outline before I could take another step!   So now I have another Ethereal (ghost) story to add to my lineup!

So you see?  Inspiration is everywhere.

Right now we are in Antwerp, Belgium.  We've just arrived, the first show was last night, but already I've found my inspiration for the city.   I was wandering around in a park nearby when I came across this very interesting sculpture.  And, as you can see, it is rife with possibilities.  My mind immediately started spinning a tale of love, loss and revenge, and before I could even say, "Give me a Belgium chocolate!" I had the outline of my newest story sitting in front of me!

Am I lucky or what?

I've already got enough dreams in my head to fill a library, but there's just something about traveling about that makes it all even more special.  I must have gypsy blood in me, because this is a life that I'm totally enjoying!

Of course the books I've already written had a specific criteria as well.  Every story you've seen of mine was set in a place I've actually visited.  And for those books that are set in a fantasy or space world, the world I build is based on a town or area that I fell in love with and wanted to remember in a story.

In a very real way, my books tell a story of my life.  Where I've been, what I've seen.  Whether it's my bestselling Eyes of Fire whose world was inspired by the Northern California Redwoods or my latest release, Second Chances II: Do Me a Favor, which is set in the mountains of West Virginia, and later in Nashville, Tennessee, I've actually been there...done that!

So, how about you?  Have a place you'd love to see a book set?  Maybe I've been there.  Or maybe I'll be able to add it to my bucket list of places to see.  Let me know in the comments below.  

It's good to be back.  And it's a great time to be a writer!

Until next month,

CJ England

 

Follow Your Dreams

http://cjengland.com

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

Coming This Summer From Elizabeth Black: Erotic Fairy Tales

This summer, I'm self-publishing for the first time. I plan to release erotic retellings of two fairy tales. "Climbing Her Tower" is a retelling of "Rapunzel". "Trouble In Thigh High Boots" is my second, longer retelling of "Puss In Boots". I plan to write an erotic retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" after those two have been on the market for awhile.

This isn't the first time I've retold a fairy tale with an erotic twist. The very first story I ever published was a retelling of Cinderella after she marries the handsome prince. Suffice to say things weren't going well in the Magic Kingdom. It was entitled "Happily Ever After", and I wrote it for Scarlet Magazine in the U. K. I've wanted to write more erotic fairy tales ever since, and now I've finally given in to that urge.

Self-publishing has been an interesting challenge. I've hired an editor to look over both pieces. I've selected my cover art stock photos, but I haven't bought them yet. I will attack them with photoshop very soon. I plan an extensive blog tour and promo avalanche for about a month prior to release and a month post-release. I also plan to send an advanced review copy to as many review sites as I can find. It's both exciting and scary to self-publish. I'm relying on several self-published authors to get me past the potholes in the road on my way to accomplishing this feat.

I already have an erotic fairy tale available to read, and it was published by a small e-book publisher. Have you read "Purr"? It's my short story erotic retelling of "Puss In Boots". Here's my blurb:

The alluring puss in boots Muca aspired for her master to become the richest and most respected man in the land, but her job was cut out for her. Could she convince the local farmers to trust in her against the vicious ogre who ruled the region?

Read all about "Purr" at this link:

http://elizabethablack.blogspot.com/search/label/Purr

Here are buy links for "Purr". Go ahead! Read a banned book!

New Dawning Bookfair: http://tinyurl.com/purr-ndb

Amazon Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/purr-kindle

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/63792

AllRomanceEBooks: http://tinyurl.com/purr-are

Would you like a free read? Are you a fan of the American TV show "Once Upon A Time"? I am! I've written a romantic fan fiction story based on OUAT's characters Rumpelstiltskin and Belle, with a little Regina thrown in. It's entitled "Every Deal Has A Price" and it's labeled T at fanfiction.net. Here's a link to read what I've written so far. This is an on-going story.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8161824/1/

Enjoy!

The Nun Who Wrote About Sexuality

I cam across this article a few days ago. The Vatican is furious that this nun wrote a book about sexuality. The big controversy seems to be over gays and gay marriage. You can read more about it in the actual article. I have to say that I'm impressed that a nun wrote about sex. How she did it is what I'd like to know. Now if you are reading this and a nun, please add your input. I thought nuns weren't allowed to have, think about or in any way surmise sexual things. I may be naive. I'm not sure how someone could not think about sex. Not having sex I get. Especially with the world the way it is today. There are ads, commercials, movies and even music that discuss sex, sex, sex. It's all around us. One brave nun stood up to the church to give her opinion and got blasted for it. She didn't have sex, she didn't watch sex and heck, who knows, maybe she didn't even think about sex. I admire you, dear lady and I'm sure your words will help countless many...

Stronger than Death

By A.J. Llewellyn

I am a strong believer in the Storyteller's Creed. It sits on my desk and I look at it every day. The last line of it is this: I believe that love is stronger than death.
I've been thinking about death a lot this week. Ever since the "Canadian Pyscho" Luka Rocco Magnotta was arrested in Berlin for murdering his lover, I have seen all the articles online focusing on this horrendous loser. I however, have been thinking of his victim, poor Jun Lin, a 33-year old Chinese student who loved everything French and how he loved cats.
He moved to Canada to study and took up with Magnotta. From all accounts he was looking for love.
Magnotta was a freak who had an obsession with fame and an unfulfilled desire to be a gay porn star.
What Magnotta did when he couldn't make sex films was to film snuff videos involving harmless animals. That should have been a red flag to all who knew him.
I have always believed that anyone who can hurt an animal can easily hurt a human. When that thrill wore off, he grabbed his lover, tied him to a chair and videotaped his killing and dismemberment on a video he posted to the Internet.
And then he began mailing off pieces of June to Canadian politicians.
Can you imagine?
How insane has this world become?
This is a sick, sad case. And it goes to show the extent to which people will go for love. What on earth possessed Jun Lin (pictured above) to get involved with Magnotta, who, by all accounts wore his mental illness on his sleeve.
What worries me is that this is not an isolated case. I remember some years ago researching serial killers and came across John Douglas and Stephen Singular's terrifying book, Anyone You Want Me to Be: A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet. 
It is a study of John Robinson, the Internet's first known serial killer. The authors talk about how he lured lonely women into sex slave contracts. He took over their lives, their finances and ultimately killed them. What actually came to untangle his web of death however was love.
One of his victims, Suzette Trouten had two dogs. Without even knowing Robinson, she agreed to be his slave after chatting online with him and drove her pets across country to a motel.
He always promised her he wouldn't hurt them. They were her babies. She loved those dogs.
Surprisingly, though she walked around town wearing a dog collar (literally) and began to look more and more bizarre according to the book, and though she was regularly abused by Robinson, he never hurt her dogs.
When he finally killed her, he kept the dogs for himself but they got loose and wound up at the pound. The police traced the animals back to her...
In reading the book, I was astounded how her concern was for them, not for her. Maybe she never thought he'd kill her.
Maybe she thought like so many women do, If I love him enough, I can fix him.
Were these Jun Lin's thoughts?
Did he think he could tame the demon?
It's interesting to me that Magnotta isn't fighting extradition from Berlin. Of course he isn't. As much as he was busy running across the world to evade capture, a part of him must have loved all the attention.
He must have missed being in the spotlight of his own imagined stardom.
I hope that Jun Lin didn't suffer. I suspect he did. Horribly. I can't imagine he was drugged for his snuff movie. I grieve for his family and friends who thought he was on his way to a new journey, a wonderful fantastic new life.
Not death.
But I still believe in love. The romantic in me, the author, who chooses to believe in the worlds I create, the joy I get from giving these stories to my readers has to believe, love doesn't always have to end in death. Love is so much stronger than that.
I am a storyteller. And that is my creed.
Aloha oe,
A.J.

Randi McLaughlin gave her heart to Jake Matthews only to be left at the alter before taking their wedding vows. She continues to preside over the McLaughlin’s Cosmetic Empire established by her father before his death. While trying to swallow her heartache, she’s remembering the many times Jake held her in his arms and made passionate love to her, but he is no longer in the picture. Will Randi find happiness again once Jake walks back into her life? How is she going to feel about him after finding that he now owns her company?

Passion Never Fades coming soon from www.extasybooks.com. Also coming soon from www.romancedivine.com Guilty of Love, an erotic contemporary romance, Flame an erotic historical romance and a short The Streetwalker and the Cop.

Do the intense and detailed scenes in books bring more enjoyment to a reader?

When writing a story, I form a mental picture of a love scene. The more erotic, the better. I want to transfer my mental picture to the readers in words. If scenes don’t come clear enough in my head and I continue with the love scene, I’m unsure if I’m leaving my readers hanging wondering what’s going on.

Sometimes it takes me a day or two to get the right image and make sure the description of a love scene isn’t vague. That’s what it’s all about when you write. Giving enjoyment to the reader and taking them along for the journey whether it’s in the bedroom, or an office setting.

I like to think my readers feel something when I put emotions into a heated argument between my characters, or an erotic bedroom scene. This is my whole purpose in entertaining even though it’s only for a short while until they finish the book.

In the back of my mind, I’m hoping they enjoy the first read so much, they’ll glance at it the second time. That’s when you know you’ve succeeded as a writer. The five little words I couldn’t put it down is music to an author’s ears.

Is this how you feel as a writer in conveying such realistic scenes that the reader can’t put the book down?  And here’s a question for the readers out there that are reading this blog. Do you feel a writer goes into enough detail in love scenes and other scenes in the story to give you an emotional impact that remains with you long after finishing the book?

http://www.mary-suzanne.blogspot.com

http://www.webspawner.com/users/Romancewriter/index.html

June is #Pride Month!

It’s June, and that means Pride Month!
 By now you know most of our books feature GLBT characters, so it’s no surprise that we’re all excited about Pride Month! We’ve been friends with author Beth Wylde for years and always look forward to the June events on her Yahoo Reader Group. She’ll be running special events almost every day for the entire month. Each Monday in June features one of the four GLBT  letters, and you can catch the whole schedule HERE. We’ll be participating with giveaways on the following dates – and here’s an extra contest, just for Newsletter subscribers: Catch me at one of Beth’s events and comment on something I’ve said, and you’re entered for your choice of a download from my backlist! Click HERE for subscription info.
  June 11 – L day. We have erotic stories in several lesbian anthologies  as well as one stand alone novella, so I’ll be at Beth’s to pimp those.
  June 16 – Torquere Press, home to two of our lesbian pieces.
  June 18 – B day. I can hardly wait – this is my personal fave, and with a new release coming out July 1^st, I’m way pumped. Some special authors have already committed to join the party: Elizabeth Black, Louisa Bacio, Delilah Devlin and Giselle Renarde!
  June 24 – Midnight Seductions. I’ve been part of this author group with Beth since a few of us founded it in 2007, and as always I’m excited about the range and quality of LGBT stories from members of our group.
 Here are some of our GLBT books we're especially proud of: