Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

Some books—like some lives—are just more FUN than others! And from the time I brainstormed the plot of SEXUAL SECRETS with my Aphrodisia editor, I knew this story with its twin French heroines would be as much fun for me to write as it’ll be for you to read!

It all started with the premise…what if identical twin sisters were dissatisfied with their husbands’ performance in bed, so they switched? Since historicals were my first love as a writer, I was tickled to set this story in Victorian London—partly because husband swapping would’ve been a little easier then, if not entirely . . . moral.

Ah, but in fiction, we sometimes overlook those little details, just as Colette and Camille quickly shove aside any qualms about their dirty little secret. Colette’s husband, Heath, is a man of, shall we say, larger-than-life proportion and stamina, while poor Camille is married to an old codger who, yes, saved her from a tawdry life in the Paris backstreets, but he’s full of himself and . . . limp. Rutledge also happens to be Heath’s father!

So imagine the little escapades in that mansion where these four Bentleys live, in separate wings. And figure in the ladies’ maids and the cook, who immediately realize what’s happened but keep their mouths shut.
And then mix in a dark, exotic stranger who comes to London on a devious mission . . . spies on the twins in their couturier shop, under the guise of having them design his fiancee’s wedding dress and a costume for an upcoming ball. Hadrian Swann and his beloved are not what they seem—and they’ve come to cash in on a Bentley secret that makes our twin heroines look downright angelic.

And Rubio Palladino, London’s most celebrated trance medium, sees the whole affair on another plane entirely! Rubio is an artsy sort who can’t go anywhere without making an entrance in his flashy clothes, and he’s also a continuing character in the companion piece to SEXUAL SECRETS, which I’m writing now! It’ll be called SEXUAL HUNGER, out next fall, and it features twin heroes!

Meanwhile, YOU have an opp to win a free copy of Camille and Colette’s story!

I’m a newbie on Facebook, so I’m looking for friends! Post a note on my wall about getting a copy of SEXUAL SECRETS—and send me a friend request! It’s yours, autographed! Not on Facebook? Be among the first three to email me from my website, asking for a book—that would be www.MelissaMacNeal.com.

Are we having fun yet?! Hope you enjoy my story as much as I enjoyed concocting it!

Just the other day, I received my author copies of BREATHLESS my next Aphrodisia anthology . It’s been nearly two years since THIGH HIGH hit the shelves…and now….those of you with a SONY e-reader will get two for the price of one! By what miracle of modern technology is this possible you ask? (I don’t know – don’t have a clue)

My editor has informed me that to celebrate my new release, people will get a free electronic copy of THIGH HIGH if they buy BREATHLESS for their SONY e-reader. How cool is that?
My thanks go out to the fabulous Janice Maynard (Mating Game) for her kind generosity in reading BREATHLESS and offering this quote for the cover: “Hot, sexy, and mysterious.”

Also, for the first time ever, I’ve got teaser pages from another of my books in the back of BREATHLESS. (Did I mention how fabulous my editor is?) For those people who want to see more of Perdition House, and how the series began, you can get a peek at MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS.

So much for not having much to say for this post! I’ve covered three books at once and this all leaves me BREATHLESS. (groaner, I know)

BREATHLESS is available for pre-order at your favorite bookstore or web retailer now! And for those of you (like me) who still love paper, BREATHLESS will be on store shelves the first week of December. And I couldn’t be happier or more excited.

It’s soooo good to be back!

Life’s sweet, enjoy it,
Bonnie

I was in the local Safeway today picking up some groceries, and I stopped to look at the books to see what was new. An older lady stood beside me picking up one, then putting it down with an audible grunt of disgust, then picking up another book, same thing. Finally she turned to me and said, “My daughter reads all the time. I don’t understand what she sees in this shit. It’s a waste of time.” And she grabs a copy of COVET by JR Ward. “It’s all make believe,” she said. “None of it’s real. It’s garbage.”

Coming December 29

Obviously, I could NOT keep my mouth shut–especially since I absolutely loved JR’s COVET! I smiled and said, “Well, I’m an author and that’s what I write—paranormal romance—and I certainly don’t think it’s garbage. It’s
entertainment, pure and simple.”

She got sort of a blank look on her face so I reached into my purse and grabbed a Wolf Tales bookmark and a DemonSlayers postcard (yes, I ALWAYS have them with me!) and handed them to her and said, “Maybe your daughter would like these.”

She stared at them a minute and then gave me a bug-eyed look and held up my Wolf Tales bookmark and said, “My daughter has almost all of these. She reads your books!” Now she wasn’t grunting, but she was definitely excited to be talking to the author of the books that her daughter reads that bug her so much.

We parted on good terms. Hopefully she won’t be quite so critical of her daughter, who, she said is 34 and has always loved to read. She, however, does not like to read. I feel sorry for her, but at least her daughter’s obviously got a mind of her own and reads in spite of dear mom…and she reads MY books!

I’m still chuckling over that little interlude…but it made me sad, in a way, to think that a mother would be so critical of her adult daughter who enjoys reading, simply because Mom doesn’t understand the books her daughter enjoys. Of course, my own mother doesn’t understand the books I write—she did ask me if she could read DemonFire, “because it’s not one of THOSE.”

I explained that it may not have as much sex in it, but it’s still got demons and spirits and make believe. So then she said she still wanted to read it, but I’m not supposed to tell anyone. Sure thing, Mom…uh, do you mind if I blog about it?

Hope you’re able to enjoy a good book without guilt. We should all be free to read–and write–what entertains us, what inspires us and what makes us happy. Do you ever find yourself having to defend your choice of reading material? If so, I want to hear what you have to say when someone asks why you’re reading “THAT BOOK!”

I’ll be choosing ONE WINNER for a copy of an ARC of DemonFire, the first book in my DemonSlayers series, out of those of you who leave a comment.

OKAY EVER AFTER?

As romance writers, we were “taught” the determining factor of romance is the HEA(Happily Ever After). In recent years, that factor has been redefined. Now it just has to have a “satisfactory ending”. How do you determine satisfactory? I think it means giving the reader hope that things will, indeed, ultimately end with the hero and heroine together with or without benefit of matrimony. Hey, I write contemporary romance, so no marriage is okay. But, I admit, sometimes I catch myself tacking on a last minute proposal toward the end. Old habits die hard. Whenever I do this lately, I usually do something to cancel it out—the heroine punches the hero/turns him down etc. I even had a heroine slam the hero’s fingers in a window once. Hmm. I just realized I may have latent tendencies to violence.
How many of you have watched a movie and thought you could write a better script or at least a better, more satisfactory ending? I first realized this when I was about eight and saw Gone With The Wind for the first time. I wanted so badly for Rhett to walk right back in the door and sweep poor Scarlett off her feet and tell her he was wrong to leave her and then beg her forgiveness. How about you?
One Fine Day is another movie I would have rewritten. They spend one day together that is, well, “fine” and then nothing? Huh? At the very least the characters should have had hot sex!
Of course, I can’t talk movies without mentioning one of my all time faves, Romancing the Stone. It had it all, humor, sexual tension, action. . .and a satisfactory ending. And then there was the sequel, Jewel of the Nile. Sigh. After the satisfaction of the first movie, we were clambering to revisit our old friends, Jack and Joan. This movie, too, had action, at least attempted humor, and a definite HEA—with a wedding, no less! And yet. . .
More recently, the movie 27 Dresses had a HEA, with the main characters getting married, yet I felt a little let down. The writers did such a fabulous job of layering conflict onto the hapless heroine throughout the movie, maybe it set up unrealistic expectations, especially for writers.
I was recently appalled to realize I had written two endings to one of my books. I didn’t realize this until my editor pointed it out. I still admit I have no idea how it happened. I just knew it didn’t seem to be working for me—maybe I just kept writing until it did. It was easy and relatively painless to cut the first ending and the book read so much better! I can’t help but wonder if some of the screenwriters would benefit fro doing the same thing—write past their original ending to see where it leads, then decide which ending to cut.
How about you? Have you seen a movie recently with just an okay ever after ending? How about one that was great? What was it about the movie and/or the ending that worked or didn’t work for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts! As usual, I will pick a commenter to receive a free book.
PJM