Tag Archives: romance

August Blog Chain

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It’s that time of the month again- AW‘s blog chain is here!!! lol What did you think I meant?!?! My flash fiction piece is below. At the end is a list of the other participant’s blogs where their flash fiction pieces will be. It’s a kinda cool topic this month, so go read some of the others.

 

This month’s prompt:
Child of the devil

Whether the devil be literal, figurative, or Cruella. As always, can be prose, poetry, play, fiction, nonfiction.

Instructions:
Simply post your blog’s URL in this thread to join. I’ll let you know in this thread when it’s your turn. Once your turn comes up, you have two days to complete a blog post using the prompt. When you are finished, please add a link to your post on the thread.

1000 words or less

Date Night at the Devil’s House

“Don’t scare Trevor, dad,” she told her father. Then she turned to Trevor. “Don’t let dad scare you. I’ll only be a second grabbing my wrap.”

She turned and walked out of the room confident the two she’d left behind would get along. Her surety lasted only so long as it took to grab her wrap from her room and return. She almost walked into a low yet heartfelt discussion.

“I promise I only have the utmost respect for your daughter, sir.” She heard Trevor say so earnestly, it almost colored the room.

“Don’t stay out past her curfew. And if I find out that you’ve laid one single hand on my daughter, I promise I’ll make your life hell.” Her dad’s tone of voice was even, which was incongruous with the words he’d spoken.

She didn’t doubt her dad would make any guy who hurt her regret it. Could possibly make that guy’s life a living hell if he desired. Literally. He was the Lord of the Underworld. The proverbial devil- with a capital D,  after all. Satan. Beelzebub. And a host of other really odd sounding and spelled names.

She’d long ago given up the hope of having a second date with any guy while she still lived at home. Most guys took her out once.

Before meeting her dad, they would be all excited to have her agree to a date. Then they would meet her dad. Not wanting to offend him, they couldn’t very well turn tail and run on the spot. So invariably the date would proceed. But it would proceed in the sense that the guy would treat her like his kid sister and not an almost adult female. A few had given her a chaste kiss goodbye. Most just said ‘see ya later’ and then ran-walked as fast as they could far, far away from her and her house and her dad.

In the beginning, she’d just thought the guys were being nice in a gentlemanly sort of way. But as she waited and waited and then waited some more for a phone call about a second date, she’d finally gotten a clue they hadn’t been nice or gentlemanly. No, they’d been petrified of her father.

At first, her feelings had been hurt. But over time, she’d realized that such spineless ninnies weren’t for her anyway. Still, she’d wished that at least one of them had had a backbone. Seriously, was every guy such a wuss? Apparently, all the ones that came into her sphere of existence were.

Trevor would be the same. She had no doubt he would be like all the others. After overhearing her dad’s spiel, she at least understood why her other dates had all but peed themselves.

Resigned, she stepped back into the front room where Trevor was standing close to her father.

“I’m ready,” she said in a cheerful manner that belied her certainty that this date would be like all the others and just fizzle.

“I forgot to tell you that you looked fabulous, Lily,” Trevor said.

He walked over to her, pretended to help adjust her wrap and then kissed her lightly on the cheek.

She was so surprised by his actions, she couldn’t form a reply.

Her dad looked murderous. Whether it was because she was in the room, her dad kept his silence, however, just glowering in his dadly way. On anybody else, the the smoke coming out his nose would have been hypothetical. But since her dad was her dad, he had real little puffs of smoke coming out of his nostrils. Not a lot. But enough for her to know he was ticked.

She’d have to talk to him later. It wasn’t as if she were a child. She was 17 after all and a kiss on the cheek was pretty damn tame compared to some of the stories she’d heard from other girls.

She smiled. Maybe this date wasn’t going to be like all the others. It had certainly started out different.

She turned her head slightly so she could look directly into Trevor’s eyes. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Her dad followed her to the door and waited with the door open as they got into the car. As soon as the doors were shut, words tumbled out of her mouth.

“You’re brave, you know.”

“Not really. But if I had let him see I was afraid it would have colored our relationship.”

“Yeah? How?”

“I just wanted him to know he could care about you but so can I. Plus, it was a man thing. Trust me, he’ll respect me more for it and next time I come pick you up, he’ll be less intense.”

“Seriously? Is there like a handbook on this?”

“Nah. It’s just that my dad behaved like your dad when my sisters were dating. I figured it out then.”

“You’re dad’s a dick too?”

Trevor laughed. “Not normally. But the guys my sisters would date thought so. Until they started bring home guys he couldn’t intimidate. Then he chilled.”

“Great,” she muttered. “Wished I’d figured that out ages ago.”

Trevor broke out into a full on smile then. “No way, babe. Then you might’ve been taken when I was ready to ask you out. Besides, your dad’s gonna be more pissed when he figures out who my dad is.”

“Who’s your dad?”

“Michael.”

Well shit. What were the odds?

“Umm, my dad and your dad used to be friends. I overheard my mom talking about it once when she was complaining to her BFF that dad doesn’t get out for a guy’s night out anymore.”

“Yeah, I think they had a falling out.”

“Must have been serious. How long have they been on the outs?”

“A pretty long time,” Trevor told her. “But maybe if we keep going out, we can get them back together again.”

“The world might end if we do.”  Literally.

“True.”

“We’re going out again?” She couldn’t keep the hope and surprise out of her voice.

“Absolutely.”

“Cool.”

 

Participants and posts:

ishtar’sgate – http://chickenscratchbc.blogspot.ca/ (link to post)
orion_mk3 – http://nonexistentbooks.wordpress.com (link to post)
areteus – http://lurkingmusings.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
BDavidHughes – http://bdavidhughes.com/ (link to post)
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com/ (link to post)
articshark – http://www.drslaten.com/blog (link to post)<———–me
pyrosama – http://matrix-hole.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Anarchic Q – http://anarchicq.com/ (link to post)
meowzbark – http://www.lizzylessard.com/ (link to post)
MsLaylaCakes – http://www.taraquan.com/ (link to post)
grace elliot – http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com/ (link to post)
Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/ (link to post)

milkweed – http://www.thistlequill.blogspot.com/ (link to post) [after 8/15]

Home Run Release

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Home Run released today from Rebel Ink Press. Woohoo!! The blurb and buy links are pasted below. Enjoy.

HomeRun_Cover

Rebel Ink Press
Release date: 8/3/13
Amazon
ARe
Barnes & Noble

Blurb:

Daniela Sinclair is a trust fund baby who believes she can make a difference in the world by making the wishes of sick children come true. Noah Barker is a major league baseball player from a common background who agrees to fulfill a sick child’s wish. Together they burn up the sheets. Unfortunately, they also cause a family member to burn in anger. In a stunning case of betrayal, the home run ending they both envisioned is threatened and they teeter on the brink of striking out.

Home Run- Snippet 2

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Gonna do a snippet a week until my August 3rd release date. Here is number 2. Enjoy!

 

HomeRun_Cover

She blasted Rihanna from the car stereo, pumping out the bass to get her groove going as she belted out the lyrics. Music helped her reset and she wasn’t going to let the other drivers’ stares stop her from enjoying the upgraded stereo she’d chosen for her sporty little Beemer. Her hair was whipping around because she’d rolled down windows and she probably looked ridiculous singing at the top of her lungs. She didn’t care. It made her happy.

She made it to Noah’s netting only a few uptight looks from his closest neighbors. Surely they were skeptical seeing so many women come and go. But Dani had grown up around uptight and she knew the look well. If she had her way, uptight would be a thing of the past for everybody.

Thinking of uptight people always made her think of her parents, the epitome of uptight, snobby and unwelcoming. She wasn’t sure how she had ever grown up in a house so cold, so devoid of laughter, love and joy. Then she thought of spending time with Betty in the kitchen and the answer was right there. Betty was how she had survived. Thank God for Betty.

She wanted to keep Noah and her parents in different spheres so those two worlds didn’t collide or even intersect. Noah was too precious and her parents too relentless. A shudder went through her at what would happen if they ever met. Dani would prevent that for as long as possible even though she knew if she kept dating Noah, a confrontation with her parents would be inevitable.

Her car glided to a stop and as she reached Noah’s front door, he opened it, grabbed her and hustled her inside as fast as her feet allowed.

Guess someone missed me.

Home Run- Snippet 1

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Here is a snippet from Home Run. It’ll be released from Rebel Ink Press August 3, 2013.

HomeRun_Cover

 

Noah was amazingly magnetic. She fully understood why women stood in line for a night with him. In addition to his personality, he was ruggedly handsome. But it was his mouth that set him apart from most other handsome men. It was surprisingly lush and full, almost but not quite feminine. His good looks combined with his soft heart for sick kids were a lethal combination and Dani wasn’t immune.

That same care he showed Juan then was how he took care of her now. He remembered the big things but he paid special attention to the small things and that set him apart from other men she’d dated. It was the beginning of the steamiest, yet sweetest, relationship she’d ever had.

He was addictive. But he was a complication. Her parents would surely hate him.

Open Road Release

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HotRodsHotBods_200

Open Road Release on Jupiter Gardens Press today.
AllRomance
Coffee Time Romance
Amazon

 

Here’s the blurb:

Zoe Akio is a professional dirt bike racer who decides to ride her motorcycle across the country and think about a future post motocross racing. Her manager hires two bodyguards, Deke and Nathan, to travel with her. The three weeks with the three of them in close quarters changes all of their lives as a new, unexpected road opens up.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Malcolm, I don’t need anyone to go with me. I’ve got three weeks between races, and I just want to ride. I can make it from Cali to the East Coast in that time with no problem.” Zoe knew she was whining, but she really didn’t care. It didn’t matter that she was talking so loud people on the other side of the bar could hear her. But, Mal wasn’t listening to what she was saying. Typical.

“It’s not safe for you to be on the road by yourself, Zoe. I need you to get to the next races on time and in one piece. I’m sending some riders with you. And that’s final.” Mal’s tone brooked no argument.

She grunted at him and took a long pull off her beer. She was tired of listening to him yap. Soon she’d be on the road riding her bike for fun. Not for work. God, when had her passion turned into work?

If she didn’t argue with him, maybe he would just shut up and go away. Being her manager didn’t give him license to constantly tell her what to do, where to go or how to live . He was worse than owning a little yappy dog, always dogging her heels.

She could see the disgusted look on Mal’s face and the tightening of his mouth as he looked around the rundown bar. She didn’t care about his discomfort at being in a place like this. The bar was old, dirty, and smelly. But she’d been coming here since she could legally drink. She was comfortable here, and the bartenders knew her name.

Plus she was surrounded by other bikers. They gave her respect and space. Being a motocross rider had some pull with the patrons in this bar.

Dressed in faded Levis that looked almost broken down and her motorcycle boots, all scuffed and worn, she fit right in. At least in the way she dressed she fit in with the guys. Most of the girls were biker sluts, wearing short skirts and too much makeup. Zoe kept her face relatively free of face paint, and her hair was all teased out but hanging in soft curls down her back.

At Mama’s, she was more like a guy than a girl. She liked that. She liked that most of the people in this bar liked to ride for fun. She needed that energy now more than ever. She was just so damn tired of competing. It had become all about the money and not about the ride.

“Look Mal, you get my rigs to Pennsylvania and I’ll show up to ride,” she declared. “You send people with me, it’ll take planning and shit, and I’m trying to avoid that. I need this ride.”

“I’m not telling you not to make the drive, Zoe,” he spoke slowly. “I’m just asking you not to ride alone. In fact, I won’t let you.”

Smutty Sunday 6/30/13

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Doing something different again. Gotta give a shout out to my peeps at the AW Forum, yeah? So instead of telling y’all about books I’ve read, I’m telling you about books you should buy. And they are SMUT-TACK-U-LOUS. Just from the covers, you know they’re yummy!

America’s Darlings by Gail Bridges

Leah Collins is a sexual gymnast, a brilliant athlete poised to compete in the Mexico City Olympic Games of 2112. She takes pride in her advanced skills in the sexual arts, but performing Courtesan’s Treat and Raging Volcano in front of thousands of cheering fans is no easy task, especially when sexual malfunctions threaten.

At her side, a pillar of strength and compassion, is her best friend, Benson White. He is the one who scrapes her from the ground when her self-destructive tendencies surface. Benson is a talented sexual gymnast in his own right, the other half of America’s Darlings.

They hope for a gold medal. What neither of them expects is to fall in love.

Inside Scoop: This book contains a mixed-gender ménage, girl-on-girl, references to male/male sex, group sex, voyeurism, exhibitionism and everything else you’d expect from a society where sex is a game.

An Exotika® futuristic erotica story from Ellora’s Cave

Click here to go to the book’s page and buy.

 

Angel’s Redemption by Azalea Moone

Twenty-four-year-old Blaine Schneider is seasoned to hardship. Since the age of eight, he’s experienced nothing but a swarm of bad luck: from the funny electrical fire in shop class to failing grades and relationships gone sour. He believes he’ll never get past it; only his band, ‘Til Dark, and their dream, keeps him going through it all.

Shortly after he mysteriously inherits a beautifully carved angel statue, Blaine also finds an apartment big enough to display the lifelike sculpture, and he thinks his luck has finally taken a turn for the better. But when he discovers the spell inscribed on the statue’s base, he frees Lynsael from his stone prison, a handsome fallen angel who claims to be Blaine’s former guardian angel, and then his luck really improves.

But while Blaine is falling hard for the angel’s blue eyes and lively personality, in the shadows, dark forces are working to keep Blaine and Lynsael apart. It will take more than luck for the pair to come through unscathed—it’ll take a miracle.

Click here to go to the book’s page and buy.

 

Directing Traffic by Charley Descoteaux

Neil Sedwick expects to spend his vacation in a sleepy tourist trap mourning his late partner’s death. Instead, he puts his recently acquired CPR certificate to use and saves an elderly resident’s life. But it’s the survivor’s nephew, sexy middle-school teacher Ty Bigelow, who causes Neil to reevaluate his routine and consider reopening his heart.

Though the electricity between them is undeniable, Ty is struggling with his own feelings of inadequacy, and Neil is moored to the past. Even the healing peace of an old man’s garden and the ever-changing waters of the Oregon coast may not be enough to prepare Neil to overcome a crisis of the heart.

Click here to go the the book’s page and buy.

Plagiarism

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So there was a big brouhaha this past weekend when Lorelei James found out that @AlisonGilmore had ripped off her entire book and put it up as her fanfic and then to a blog. AlisonGilmore claimed she was writing the book chapter by chapter. She wasn’t. She was and is a thief of the highest order. She ripped off someone else’s work and claimed it as her own. There was a huge internet smack down. HUGE. Like by several people all getting into the act and it brought her blog pages down and she ended up shutting off her twitter account. She now has a new twitter account and has made it private. Only the internet isn’t “private.” Not at all. The internet is very public and is forever.

Limecello posted a blog about the internet takedown.  As did Rilzy on her blog. They both have several pictures of the images capturing the twitter logs and the blog and the subsequent takedown. They have a, forever on the internet for all time and for anyone to see and read,  blog entry about the blatant plagiarism AlisonGilmore engaged in when she ripped off Lorelei’s book. The book was ALL JACKED UP.

Plagiarist aren’t new. They are the necessary evil when you are an award winning author. Only the internet makes it so much easier to find them and ferret them out. Like ridiculously easy. Almost as easy as it makes for someone to do the ripping off. So the internet is both a sword and a shield. It cuts and protects all at the same time.

What it can’t do is make stupid people smarter. Or people who can’t write, write. And that’s what it boils down to. Plagiarist are inherently lazy, stupid and weak. No talent is involved when you steal someone’s ideas and storylines. Word for frickin’ word.

AlisonGilmore sent a tweet that said in effect- writing romance, erotic romance and erotica is for talentless dweebs. I won’t go into why writing GOOD smex is hard- almost as hard as writing comedy. But what I will go into is my response to AlisonGilmore’s talentless dweeb comments. My tweet is below. I bolded what I wrote in response to her tweet. What I wrote is true. And it was a kick-ass response to her assertions.

 

D.R. Slaten ‏@DRSlaten 14 Jun

Plagiarism is for people who can’t think. @laurahunsaker @megantgrimm @loreleijames smut is for people who can’t write.

Smutty Sunday 6/16/13

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Mine To Take by Cynthia Eden

 

Another smutty Sunday book rec deviation. Gonna focus on one author and one book. Cause that’s just what’s happening. One of these days we’ll return to my regularly scheduled program of doing a variety of different genre recs. But that day is not today .

Cynthia Eden. Need I say more? Hot alpha heroes. Wicked cool heroines. Lots of paranormal peeps. And Smoking sex.  Seriously, a girl who likes to read smut couldn’t ask for more. Not at all.

But here, I’m going to review her new contemporary romantic suspense novella- Mine to Take. Got an advance copy from NetGalley. It’s a longer novella. It is a really good length. I want to say it is a perfect length. But seriously, I love her writing so much that even a full length novel makes me want more. Never fails. I get to the end and I get the sads.

Mine to Take has a lot of goodness. I didn’t like the hero at first. I thought Trace was a douche of the highest order. But… but… but… as the story unfolded, I totally fell in LOVE with him. He has all the traits in an alpha hero that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. He’s a badass. He cares more for the heroine than himself. And when danger loomed large, Trace loomed LARGER.

Skye is being stalked. Her life is being threatened. And it is someone close to her. Someone who knows where she is and what she is doing. So she goes to Trace to ask for help in stopping her stalker. What she doesn’t know is that Trace has always looked out for her from the very first time they met in foster care. And that hasn’t changed. Won’t ever change. Can’t change. Because some people aren’t just people you meet and move on from. Some people get under your skin. And they become your very reason for breathing.

There are some twist and turns in this story. Both Skye and Trace have their trust, beliefs and sanity questioned. And the bad guy? Totally didn’t see it coming until the end. Which is the way a good suspense story should be.

Ten years they been apart. Cause if you love someone, really love someone, sometimes you have to do the thing you don’t want to do the most. Let them go. And it’s the hope, the undying, never-ending, all-consuming hope of them returning to you that drives you forward. Because if someone you love has a dream, and you are in the way of that dream and you love them more than you love yourself, there’s only one course of action. At least if your a badass alpha hero who has loved his woman since he was a kid.

And when she returns to you? Sheesh, not even a crazy-assed stalker is going to get in the way of THAT reunion and happily ever after. No way. No how.

So get Mine to Take on Amazon. Read it. Love it. I promise, you’ll like it. I did.

Smutty Sunday 6/2/13

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http://www.kristenashley.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/cover31216-medium.png

 

Gonna do something a little different for my smutty sunday recs this time. Normally, I try to give recs in various genres so that there’s a little something for everybody instead of just for the smut and smex readers.

But I got an advance copy of Kristen Ashley‘s book Fire Inside, her second Chaos Novel from Netgalley. It rocked. Seriously great reading. But before I go into all the reasons why this book rocked, I have to let you know that it is really the third Chaos novel. And we have to talk the the first two before we can talk about this one.

The first Chaos novel was Motorcycle Man. It was the last of her Dream Man series and probably my favorite in that series. It wasn’t my favorite because there were hot dudes on motorcycles. Although, that fact did add to its overall goodness. It was good because the characters in the book were great. I like Tack. And I like Tyra. I would want to know them in real life. They were interesting people living out an interesting life. Sure they had some shit to overcome. That’s called plot. This book also introduced me to the Chaos Motorcycle Club dudes. And what fascinating dudes they were. What I really like most about this book though was that Tyra had her dream life planned out. And she was going to go for the brass ring. She wanted it all, she let people know and then she made it happen. She didn’t want to compromise any component in that dream. She didn’t. Tack was her dream man. He was also good with giving her all the components of her dream life. So it all turned out good but it went bad before it could get there.

The second Chaos book was Own the Wind. It is the first in the Chaos series. It is about Shy and Tabitha. They had secret crushes on each other. Hid those feelings which brought other lovers into their lives. Were enemies at one point and then became friends. It wasn’t until much later they became lovers. Full circle. I didn’t like this book as much as Motorcycle Man or Fire Inside. But it was still a good read. You can’t like all books to an equal degree cause it is just impossible. some you just like more than others. The female character in this book wasn’t one I connected with as well as the other two. So there you have it. I gotta think the dude it hot. But I also have to like the girl. I liked Tab, I just didn’t like her enough. If you see what I mean.

Now, we get to Fire Inside. This is Lanie and Hop’s story. Hop is a Chaos brother and Lanie is Tyra’s best friend. Lanie’s old boyfriend, Elliot, got killed in Motorcycle Man. Lanie has taken years to come back to herself. Hop has been there watching it. They are attracted to each other. But it isn’t until Lanie propositions Hop that they get together. There’s drama in this book. But it’s the good kind. Where there’s personal growth, facing demons and becoming a bigger person. Living large instead of getting by small. I really liked Lanie. I really, really like Hop. And I really liked Fire Inside. Get it cause you’ll be rooting for Lanie. But you will be totally cheering for Hop. I liked the girl character in this book as much as I liked the guy character. So buy it and love it like I did.

Men Should Read Erotic Romance

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Normally I post random thoughts on Friday. But this Friday, my random though deserved a separate post. Men should read Erotica and Erotic Romance. They should do this for a number of reasons. Here’s a perfect illustration why.

*I used to be in a book club. It was a chick lit book club. But we had a dude in it. And he’s the one that turned me on to erotic romances. He told me he read them because his wife appreciated it.*

So guys, read erotic romances. Your women will appreciate it. Really they will.

First, read it because it’ll help you get into the mind of a woman. Now I’m not telling you to use lines from the things you read. But if your at a loss for what a woman wants in a particular situation, use the readings as guide posts. If your feeling at a loss because your brain is from Mars and her brain is from Venus, women writing men characters can give you a glimpse into the wants of how women might want you to respond. This isn’t rocket science dudes. And even if you don’t think any real life dudes would behave the way males behave in romances, still it’s like an outline for how she wants you to behave. Get as close as you can while still being authentic.

Second, read and reread the sex scenes. Seriously. Reading explicit erotic romance can make you a better lover. Trust me on this, you want to be a better lover. After many martinis and lots of heart-to-heart girl talks, LOTS of men need to do better. If you don’t think this is about you, it is. Your girl just won’t tell you. I will. Read some frickin’ books. Learn some new techniques. Figure this shit out cause YOU really need to. Really. I can’t stress this enough. Can’t. Stress. This. ENOUGH. This post is about you. Seriously.

If you’ve ever wondered what women want or the woman you are with can’t verbalize what she wants, read some frickin’ books and try out a variety of the things being written in those books. It’s a pretty sure bet, at some point, you are going to hit upon what your woman wants. If you’ve gotten into a rut or you don’t think your current technique is all that, don’t read dude publications to fix things. You want to read women’s writings, thought and wants. I mean it is women you are sleeping with. Who better to give you pointers on how to be a better lover than women? Ummm, no one.

Third, even if you’re not in a rut or your woman thinks you sex it up fine, it’ll still expand your mind. You’ll get ideas. And they are kind of fun to read. It’s not called mommy porn (a term I loathe but fits here) for nothing. Even though most dudes are visual, there’s only so much shitty porn on TV you can watch before you’ve seen just about everything. Reading erotica and erotic romance will help broaden your horizons and you can visualize as you read. It totally engages your imagination. See it’s a new avenue to get your stranger sex fix.

So there are a lot of reasons guys should read Erotic Romance and Erotica. For them and for their partners. Of the three reasons above, I find one of them to be the most relevant to me. But I hope I given some dudes some things to think about because all of the reasons are relevant to guys.