Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

My current work in progress for Aphrodisia is a lovely little piece with alien shape-shifters who come to Earth and are very, very naughty. As well as a bit haughty, but love makes even the most high an mighty tip off their little pedestal, so never fear!

To get in the mood, I’ve been watching a ton of sci-fi movies and I thought I’d share some of the ones I’ve gone through recently. Note that these are not necessarily my favorites of all time, just the ones from this week or two.

Oh, yeah, I went and watch the new Star Trek. I’m a Next Generation girl myself, but I’ve seen all the movies, regardless of which cast they were using. I liked it! Chris Pine’s redo of Kirk was very interesting; plus, eye candy! Hello!

Another remake. Not sure if I liked it better or worse than the original. I do love Charlton Heston, but the updated special effects and costumes were pretty awesome.

Fave. Oh, yeah. This one is on the list because I watch it for more than just sci-fi inspiration. I love Firefly and the spin off movie Serenity. More the show than the movie, to be honest, but I own them both on DVD and love, love, loooove them.

Battlestar Galatica. I loved it, I hated it. Or parts of it. They went places I thought they wouldn’t or shouldn’t go, and yet I still liked it. Who knew?

Crystal Jordan
http://www.crystaljordan.com

“Naughty or Nice” in UNDER THE COVERS- Sept 09
UNTAMED – Nov 09

I posted this blog on Lust In Time a while back, where it sparked an interesting conversation that was sometimes funny, sometimes poignant.  I’m fascinated by stories of how relationships begin and end, so in hopes of sparking more thoughts on this topic, here’s my story first . . .

Marilyn Monroe, JFK Jr., Jimi Hendrix, Princess Diana, my first love.  I lost each of them too soon. They fascinated me.  They still do.  Forever young, energetic, beautiful, unobtainable.

That’s how I’d describe my first love.  Long story short, we dated senior year in high school for five months.  I loved him.  More than he loved me.  We went to different colleges and he met someone else.  I shed a lot of tears over that guy.  He was fun, funny, tall, muscular, cute, classy, smart, and had a fantastic family that was wealthier than mine. I’ll never forget him.

And that’s a good thing.

Through him, I first learned the piercing joy of loving. I learned the intense, debilitating pain of losing a love I’m desperate to keep, yet sense is slipping away. The highs and lows of that relationship are chiseled on my heart.  His loss was a wound, then a bruise. But it never quite healed.

And that’s a good thing.

I never thought I would thank my first love. I thought I’d hate him forever. But he’s a part of me that helps me write characters with deep emotions. I use all that pain and desperation; all the volatility of my time with him, in my romance writing.

So, Stephen, wherever you are, thank you for loving me. For leaving me.  I’ve written four romance novels, and you helped with every one.  Yes, I still remember you. What? You’re unhappy? You’re sorry you didn’t realize how great I was?  You’re miserable now and curse the day you left me?  Your wife divorced you, you’re broke, and you’re impotent?

Oh, sorry to hear that.

I think I prefer to remember you the way you were—forever young, energetic, beautiful, unobtainable.  A heartbreaker.

Do you remember your first love? Are you glad/sorry you ever met him? What were the good and bad things that you took from the relationship? Do you know where he is now? Do you want to? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Dominic, The Lords of Satyr (or Nicholas if you prefer).  I’ll post a winner in the comments on Tuesday.

~ Elizabeth Amber
Nicholas | Raine | Lyon | Dominic : The Lords of Satyr series
Coming in 2010: Dane
erotic historical paranormal romance
Kensington Aphrodisia
www.elizabethamber.com

<——— Just about two months until Take Me releases (squeee!)

Okay, today I’ve just decided to have a fun interactive/game type blog topic. Maybe it’s a little on the wow really? side, but I promise you’ll have fun!

Now this is how I learned about this game. While out with friends on Friday night at a brewery, my guy friend piped up and said, “Beat up, Screw, Marry. Who would you rather…” And then proceeded to mention the last three secretaries of the state. I quickly realized I had to decide which option Madelyne, Hillary, and Condoleezza got. We played this game for an hour using various people to choose from and had a great time.

So since it’s hump day and we could all use a moment of fun, I thought I’d play a version on the Aphrodisia blog. Of course, with hotter people than the previous/current secretaries of state. So here we go.

Which out of the following would you rather…

Beat up.  Screw.  Marry.

Shelli’s answers:

Marry: Brad Pitt (cause he’s such a family guy cutie)

Beat up: Tom Cruise (Run, Katie and Suri, run!)

Screw: Russell Crow (I was torn between wanting to beat him up and screw him.)

Now time for your answers! And to all those who play, I’ll randomly draw one winner and give them a copy of my latest ebook release at Samhain Anybody by Justin.

I’ll admit it. I’ve been waiting for this day my entire life. The day when a book I wrote would appear on the shelves of bookstores. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. And while I’ve spent many years writing things–academic papers, technical documentation, training materials–none of them satisfied that deepest impulse. To create characters and a story that people would read, not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

Tomorrow, the day I’ve looked forward to since I was old enough to know what a book was will arrive. Well, actually, it’s officially a bit anti-climactic. Because, from what I hear, the book has been shipping from online retailers since Monday, and I’ve had reports of it on bookstore shelves since Thursday.

Which does sort of make one wonder what the point of an “official” release date actually is. The official date has been May 26, 2009 for, like, forever, but it doesn’t seem anyone pays attention to it. And I’m not complaining. I’m happy the book is out there. That’s all, in the end, that really matters!

As one more teaser, here’s an excerpt from the last novella in the anthology, Scandalously Ever After.

“Please, Mrs. Upshaw. My betrothed is well-known for his vast experience and varied appetites. To hold him, I must be both—a lady of quality and a lady of the night. And you are my only hope to achieve that. So if there is anything you can tell me, anything you can show me, that might assist me in making him—and myself—happy, I promise it shall be our secret.”

The madam’s mouth pressed into a thin, disapproving red line, and Jane feared she’d lost her plea, but then the older woman sighed and a wistful smile spread across her lips. “You’re very much in love with your young man, aren’t you, my lady?”

At the words “in love,” Jane’s heart pinched. Oh, how she wished she wasn’t! How she wished she could have been sensible and fallen for any one of the half-dozen or so suitors who’d courted her since her coming-out three years ago.

Men who found her comely enough to flatter her by calling her, if not beautiful, then at least pretty. If she were truthful with herself, she would admit it was more than likely they found her dowry and bloodline more attractive than her face, but at least they desired those qualities enough to pretend otherwise. In truth, there had only been one thing wrong with them.

None of them were Gerard Everett.

“With every beat of my fool heart,” she admitted sadly.

The soft, faraway look in the older woman’s eyes said she, too, had once loved unwisely . . . and while it had not turned out well, she did not regret her folly. She squeezed Jane’s hand gently and nodded. “Then we had best see to getting you a more thorough education. And while the best method is to learn by doing, the next best is to learn by watching.”

“Watching?” Jane repeated the word stupidly, incredulously.

“Yes.” Mrs. Upshaw dropped her hand and crossed to a cabinet on the opposite side of the library. From it, she withdrew a hooded cloak and a black mask, which she brought back and handed to Jane. “Put these on and come with me.”

Jane knew she shouldn’t. It was reckless and wicked. Unthinkable for a well-bred lady. But then, this entire enterprise was unthinkable for a well-bred lady. What did it matter now?

In for a penny, in for a pound.

She donned the proffered items and followed the madam out of the large but cozy library and down a narrow, dimly lit corridor. At the end of the hallway, Mrs. Upshaw paused and opened a door, which swung inward. On the other side, Jane could make out a large landing with stairs leading in both directions. On the opposite side of the landing was a double doorway into a room from which the warm glow of large lamps shone.

Jane knew, without being told, that the landing, the flight of stairs, and the room were inside the brothel. The implications of what she was about to do hit her fullforce.

This was a mistake. If she were seen and recognized . . . She ought to beg off, ought to stop herself from committing the most grievous breach of propriety imaginable, but the peculiar blend of curiosity and excitement that had infected her since she’d first opened the book of cards propelled her forward.

As the madam turned and mounted the first stair, Jane caught a glimpse of a figure standing just inside the double doors. She paused in mid-step and squinted.

Surely it wasn’t. Couldn’t be.

But it was. The shock of recognition twisted in her gut and burned a path of acid up to her heart. She stared through the slitted eyeholes in the mask she wore, heedless of the possibility that he might turn away from the woman to whom he was speaking—a gorgeous, flame-haired creature wearing a diaphanous green gown whom Jane hated on sight—and see her standing there, watching him.

The woman ran her fingers under the lapel of his green jacket—the one that matched perfectly the cast of his eyes—and he covered her hand with his. He smiled and responded, saying something that made the redhead trill with laughter.

How could he? He had asked her to marry him only two days ago. And he had been at her house this very morning, claiming to be so overcome with desire to see her, he’d failed to wait for the footman to announce him. And yet here he was, hiring some strange woman—some strange, beautiful woman—to slake his lust.

How dare he?

An emphatic tug on Jane’s arm drew her up short. Without conscious effort, she’d been walking toward the double doors, toward Gerard, though to what end, she didn’t know. She knew only that seeing him here, with another woman—and knowing what they might do together—was more unbearable, more intolerable than any insult or injury she’d ever suffered.

“No, no, not in there. This way . . . why, what is it, my dear?”

Jane shook her head, despair and outrage thickening her throat.

“Not what.” Tears stung at her eyes, and she blinked to clear them as she turned to look at the older woman’s kind, concerned face. “Who.”

I hope you enjoyed that excerpt and that, if you pick up your own copy of Behind the Red Door, you enjoy the rest of of the book just as much.

I get asked all the time where I come up with my story ideas – and my answer is, I have no clue. I don’t think many authors do. They inch into our minds during that time between sleep and wakefulness, they spring boldly into our imaginations when we listen to music, meeting someone can spark an idea, as can a TV show or movie. Ideas come from everywhere and anywhere.

The idea for my May 26 release MOST WANTED, come from you, the reader.

MOST WANTED is a single author anthology with three stories, all of them connected to previous stories of mine from Aphrodisia – and I finally set about writing them because of the reader letters I was getting for more of Lexy and Devon (From The Crib) or more of my paranormal Hunters. As much as I love the characters and the stories, I don’t think I would’ve ever gotten around to actually writing them if it hadn’t been for readers asking for more.

HIDDEN CRAVINGS, the first story in the anthology, is a sequel to THE CRIB from the PURE SEX anthology. It’s the exact same hero and heroine. THE CRIB was my first story for Aphrodisia, and it was released in June 2006, when Aphrodisia was s till a fairly new line. There were plenty of reviews that said it wasn’t an erotic romance because it didn’t have a traditional HEA. I felt it was a happy ending, because that particular story was about Lexy’s personal issues. Issues she had to deal with in order to move on in her life-emotionally. And while it ended on a good note with the characters relationship wise, I can see how readers wanted more, because at the end of THE CRIB, Devon dropped Lexy off at the airport so she could fly back home. It was the right ending for that novella, but yes…there was certainly more tot he story of Lexy and Devon. So I was thrilled to get back to them and pick things up about a year after THE CRIB ends, when Devon shows up on Lexy’s doorstep to ask for her help.

UNRESTRICTED ACCESS is Jackson Barrows story. Jackson is a cop, and his partner was the hero in SEX AS A WEAPON from THE COP anthology. Jack didn’t get much page time in that story because he was recovering from a bullet in the butt. *grin*. Jackson is a typical cop in that he guards his own secrets well…I had no idea that he had such a need to please when I first met him-and neither did his pretty neighbor Jill.

The final story in the anthology is called NO ANGEL, and it ended up being one of my most favorite ever stories. The hero is Gabriel Mann, the work-hard, play-harder younger brother of Caleb Mann from SEXY DEVIL. (and shares some of the characters form PRIMAL MALE also) I have to tell you, when I sat down to write this story I had no idea what it was about aside from the fact that that Anna was a demon hunter, and Gabe, was a bit of a party- hard bad boy. But these two, as soon as I started writing, they had me. I finished the first draft of their story in 2 days. I didn’t even sleep! They hooked me and reeled me in, and completely took over my fingers.

All in all, the book was written with love, and I really hope readers feel that when they pick it up. To all of you who read -Thank you. You have the power to inspire me.

*Click on the covers to go to Bookpages with Excerpts from those books*

I have a question, but you’ll have to read down a ways to reach it. If I weren’t long-winded, all of my novels would be memos.

I love to read and write about specific places. To me, setting–when done correctly–is a major story element. I’ve written (under another name) a number of historical mysteries set in Louisiana that couldn’t have been set anywhere else. Something about living with the humidity, mosquitoes, and marsh gives people a different sense of humor. Ah, wait…perhaps it’s the effect setting has on characters that makes it interesting, or maybe it’s the kind of characters you find in certain places that does it. My shape shifter in Animal Instinct (Sexy Beast VI) is very Russian; his story had to start in Siberia (a wonderful place to visit, by the way). And it moved easily to Alaska where the wilderness is vast enough to accommodate shape-shifting foxes without anyone noticing.

My vampires, on the other hand, tend to reside in historic cities. That’s where they seem to fit best. In Addicted, both novellas are set, at least partially, in Santa Fe. It’s a wonderful old city with lots of winding, dark streets and intriguing doorways. (While we’re talking about books for other publishers, my Nocturne Bites vampire in Shadow Lover also lived in Santa Fe at the time of the story. Of course, he had traveled for centuries.) For my next book, Devour Me (due out the first of September 2009), I moved the settings a bit, but to places still quite historic: Maya ruins in the Yucatan and the east coast near Boston. I love traveling from my desk! Fortunately, the essence of these places is still in my head somewhere. I remember the taste of the evening breeze in Merida while sitting outside at a restaurant eating something baked in banana leaves.

I’m currently reading the first Guido Brunetti mystery by Donna Leon, and enjoying the descriptions of Venice. But it’s more than just description. The author inserts the flavor of Venice into her writing. Without Venetian society and government, Guido’s life would be too easy and probably boring. Instead, we share his frustrations and revel in his joys. And speaking of Louisiana (we were, remember?), if you haven’t read any of James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux books, you’re missing the most amazingly accurate portrayal of southeast Louisiana ever written. He even gets the dialect right, him. (Sorry– that’s my Cajun heritage sneaking out.)

I promised a question, and I have one (or two). Do you have a favorite setting? Or do you like variety when you read? Are you sold on small town life with all its ups and downs, or is it the big city for you? How about weather? Cold and snowy, or hot and sunny? Where were some of your favorite books set? Is there one setting you’d love to read about that you never have? I’d appreciate your feedback. I don’t know where my next book will be set. Well, except that one story will be on another planet–I’ve never done that before. I’m hoping someone will give me a new place to consider so I can start planning a vacation.

Happy reading to you all! I hope your summer is off to an extraordinary start.:razz:

I’m not including the cover for my upcoming Loose-ID release simply because I want everyone to rush over there the first of June and buy Storm Howl (although it wouldn’t break my heart if you did). I chose to display what I think is a rocking cover because I recently discussed with other Aphrodisia authors how much we should promote ourselves on this blog. Obviously, we’re focused on reaching readers of Aphrodisia erotica, but for many of us (me included) our erotica worlds reach beyond Aphrodisia.

Case in point, I cut my erotica teeth at Ellora’s Cave. At the time I jumped in, EC was just about the only act in town and I was intrigued by what none other than our own Kate Douglas told me about her experience there. I’m not sure how many stories I’ve written for EC, maybe close to twenty. I also wrote one book for Samhain, and as the Storm Howl cover shows, I’m on Loose-ID’s payroll as well

The reasons for spreading myself around are pretty simple. I love to write. I want to pay my bills with my writing. (See, told you, there wasn’t much to the explanation) I consider myself extremely fortunate that Kensington (parent company for Aphrodisia) continues to want my stories. Kensington allows me the thrill of walking into a bookstore and seeing my name on those eyecatching covers. Kensington is New York and as such one of the mainstays of traditional print publishing. The machinery that makes print publishing possible is complex and in the main, slow-moving. From submission of a book until I see it in the stores is around a year.

In contrast, electronic stories from such as EC and Loose-ID can have a much shorter turn-around. In addition, because there’s no ‘hard’ product, there’s no need for those publishers to consider printing, shipping, etc costs. They are open to a wide variety of story lengths. Because upfront costs to those publishers are much less, they can experiment with subjects that print publishers might be reluctant to take a chance on. Take a look at EC, Loose-ID, etc and you’ll see that subject matter is all over the board and limitless. This means that if a writer gets a wild hair of an idea that truly pushes a lot of envelopes, she can submit it to an e-publisher and they’re more likely to give it a shot.

So while I write a limited number of stories for Aphrodisia, the sky’s the limit with e-publishing (as long as the quality is there). I can keep as busy as time and creativity allows and hopefully pay more bills. I love this new world of publishing!!!!!
Vonna
www.VonnaHarper.com

Authors all know about bad reviews. We’re hyper-sensitive to any criticism of our books (after all, they’re our babies!). But the reality is, not every book appeals to every reader, and – gasp! – some books actually are better written than others. Reviews are important in helping readers decide what they want to read. A large part of my own reading list comes from reviews. Not primarily from which books get the highest number of stars, hearts, cups or whatever, but from what the reviewers say about the books: story line, strengths, weaknesses. Tell me a book is romantic, emotional, and thought-provoking, and I’m there!

Some authors read the reviews of their books. Others say it’s a crazy thing to do and you’re only going to get upset. You might get 20 lovely reviews but if you find one bad one, you’re likely to agonize over it. Which is silly because, really, it’s only one person’s opinion, and maybe they were having a bad day, or just don’t like your type of book. But on the other hand, if that review is at the top of the list at Amazon.ca and it’s a real stinker, you can get pretty darned upset. But would any of us go so far as to sue the reviewer?

Well, it happened recently, in Russia. Not with an Amazon review, but with one in a newspaper. The book author said that, as a result of this bad review, he suffered physically and emotionally, and his career was damaged – and he wanted $150,000 in damages. Well, guess what? He won! Only $1,000, but all the same, he won. You can read about it here:

http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_1279_text

Now, if a review is a deliberate, mean attempt to sabotage an author’s career, and that can be proved, then maybe an author ought to be able to sue the reviewer. But in the huge majority of cases, reviews are an honest expression of the reviewer’s subjective opinion on a book. Isn’t that what a review is supposed to be? What if every review said, “This is a fabulous book written by a wonderful author. A definite keeper and the author is going on my must-read list.” Then reviews wouldn’t be very useful, would they?

The article also asks, if an author can sue a reviewer when she doesn’t like the review, will a reader be able to sue an author if she doesn’t like the book she paid good money for? (No, please no, a thousand times no!) As they say in law, it’s a slippery slope. Is it one we should start climbing? What do you think?

(And on a lighter note, what do you think of the cover for MEN ON FIRE, a firefighter anthology from Aphrodisia that will come out in November?)

Hi, all,

I haven’t blogged in a few months, mostly because I’ve been buried under a pressing deadline for my December 09 Aphrodisia release, Heart of the Wildcat. Now that I am down to the last 13k or so, I can take a few minutes and catch up with the things that have been on my mind recently. That subject happens to be information. How much is too much and when does it become too overwhelming to keep up with?

Some of you may wonder what information I’m talking about, so I will clarify. It’s common knowledge that many of the writers and readers here are subscribed to groups such as Yahoo, My Space, Twitter, Facebook, as well as this very blog and many, many others. As my times tightens, I’ve had to cut down on the amount of time I spend online–and that in turn affects the time I spend on said groups. Many of the Yahoo groups I am subscribed to, like The Romance Studio, TRS Blue and countless others have mainly turned into promotional tools for authors, who are posting information and excerpts from their newest releases. In fact, so many writers have begun to do it that I have found I had to put my memberships on digest. To that end, I’ve started filtering group mail into a special folder in Outlook. Even on digest, I find the posts are too overwhelming to go through and instead of reading my group mail, I find myself hitting the delete button more often than not. With that in mind I have come to consider posting information on Yahoo Groups a useless waste of time, and have stopped doing it myself. If I haven’t got time to read the posts, I am sure many others don’t have time either.

It’s gotten to be the same with MySpace and Facebook. I really haven’t got time to pop in Facebook every hour or so and post an update on my word count, or if my cat is sick or my kid’s got the sniffles. A lot of people do, though. Do I care? Not really. Most of the people who have friended me have done so because they perhaps admire my books. Do they really care I pop in and report another 2000 words done on my WIP. I doubt it. Ditto MySpace. Do I really have time to run over and read all my friend’s blog postings? Um, no. I don’t. Which is why I haven’t jumped on the Twitter wagon, either as a tweeter or follower of someone tweeting. I don’t have time — and I really don’t care. I’m busy with work, family and my own writing, so I’m not logging in every ten minutes to check tweets.

Does that make me sound cold or maybe just like a plain old cranky bitch? Probably. The truth is, if I want an update, I’m going to email the person directly, or I am going to check their personal website. That’s where I feel I can get the information I want when I want it. Twittering, My Spacing and Facebook are all fun, but when they’re eating into my time, I’ve got to let them go.

So here’s the question: Do you — readers and authors — often feel you’re being overloaded with TMI? Leave a comment and you will be entered into the drawing for a signed print copy from my backlist of Aphrodisia print titles. The winner will be drawn on 5-18-09.

@Karenknowsbest twittered this morning about a sign she saw on the freeway. It said: “Kelly I love u, pls come back!”

The collective Awwwwwwww was heard ’round Twitter. I know I awwwwwwwww’ed and I’m about as close as you can get to a cynic. I mean really, other than the gooey mushy closet romantic center that is my heart. But please, don’t tell anyone. I’ll just deny it.

But it got me back to thinking about something I’ve been thinking about for a while and that’s themes writers address in their books. And I’m talking as a reader AND a writer. For the most part I try not to think too hard when I wear my reader hat or get too scholarly about what I read–I read purely for enjoyment (unless it’s self-help LOL)….

In Hater by David Moody (not a romance), the main protag was an ass for like 1/2 the book, the stuff going on around them was horrifying (people appear to be infected with “something” that makes them attack the people around them) and the Protag is very judgmental/hateful of the attackers….until the end when the big reveal comes. Granted Hater is very much a horror novel in the tradition of classic twisty horror and not for the faint of heart but what did I realized when I was done? I think the author deliberately didn’t want me to like the Protag. and in the process took me on an exploration of the different facets of Hate.

And in Ann Aguirre’s Blue Diablo…well, where do I begin? First off, if you haven’t read it, why not? Yes, I’m a total fan girl and while BD isn’t “technically” a romance, I think it’s worth looking at because Blue Diablo tackles a theme I see a lot in my own work (believe it nor LOL)…and that’s Redemption and not just with Corine who I think seeks/wants/needs some form of redemption regarding her mother’s death, but with Chance, who redeems himself in Corine’s eyes by showing her (and the reader) a more vulnerable side, and even the alleged baddy who joins them at the end (whose name I can’t remember); I don’t want to say too much for fear of spoilers regarding him but I thought it was a really cool twist.

I picked both of these books because they left a strong impression on me. Like I said, I see a lot of redemption though mostly in my non-erotic/less hot work. And of course, as a closet romantic, I think “Love” is the ultimate redeemer.

So what are some of your favorite themes? Is it also redemption? And do you have any favorite redemption books/redeemed heroes or heroines?