Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

DANE, THE LORDS OF SATYR

Do you talk with your friends about sex? With your mom? Your sister? Anyone? Do they know about your first sexual experience? Your current sex life?

I don’t share many of these intimate details. I met my best friend in middle school and we’ve been best buds ever since. We know the circumstances of each other’s first sexual experience, but we’ve only recently opened up about it. (I was 18, he was my first love, my second boyfriend, my first heartbreak.)

But my bf and I don’t know the details of each other’s story. Probably never will. We don’t know any details about each other’s current sex lives. I don’t know the details of my sister’s or my mom’s. When it comes to family members, that info is definitely TMI for me.

Are other romance readers and romance authors the same when it comes to this issue? I wonder.

How about you? Do you keep this very private, semi-private, or do you dish with a close friend or family member?

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

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

Read an excerpt from Dane, The Lords of Satyr (May/June 2010 release)

http://www.elizabethamber.com/excerptDane.html

Synopsis: As he searches for his missing brother in 1880s Rome, the arrogant Lord Dane Satyr wrestles with his fiery inner demon, Dante. Dane has little patience for the ElseWorld Council’s insistence that he must take a human wife to safeguard his ancestral lands.

Eva, a beautiful social climber with a gift for matchmaking, is determined to throw her humble beginnings in the faces of an Italian society that once scorned her mother. She schemes to wed a human from among their ranks. But she is far from human herself. And above all else, she must ensure that no one–not Dane, his brothers, her best friend, or anyone–learns what she truly is.

When Dane and Eva first meet, they are consumed by intense needs they cannot satisfy alone. Can their scorching passion and growing love for one another overcome the dangers that keep them apart?

It looks like I’m going to be doing a ton of traveling this year. In the month of April alone, I’ll be gone three out of the four weeks to go to conferences. Oy to the vay, dude!

So, here’s the line up of where I’ll be running around this year. Some of these places people can come see me. Some, not so much.

April:

PCA/ACA: The Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. I’ll be there getting my geek on and presenting about romance as a scholarly discipline.

Library Conference: This is an annual event in California where I’ll be presenting on librarianista type things. Should be entertaining.

RT: Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Columbus, Ohio. I’ll be at the print signing, which is open to the public and for those actually going to the conference, I’m doing a panel called Sextopia, where I talk about incorporating sex into worldbuilding when you’re writing. Come see me!

June:

Trip to my best friend’s house in Idaho. I haven’t seen her in a while and I miss her muchly, so I can’t wait to go hang out. Plus, she has a super cute puppy that never fails to entertain.

July:

RWA: This one’s in Nashville, Tennessee. I hope I can make it to RWA this year. I’m planning on it, but this might be the one that goes by the wayside. Fingers crossed! I hope to see you all there!

August:

Trip to my aunt’s house in Texas. No, you’re not invited. I don’t care how good a cook she is or how much you beg, you can’t come. I’m hanging out with my aunt, cousins, nieces and nephews (my cousins’ kids, and I know they aren’t technically my nieces and nephews, but I’ll call them what I want. I’m up to four on that side of the family!). I always come home with lots of stories from Texas.

I’m exhausted just thinking about all the travel. The last part of the year, I’m just going to spend recovering!

-Crystal Jordan

Well, there’s many things I could be talking about when I ask if you enjoy it. But right now, I’m asking about dressing up.

RT (Romantic Times convention) is coming up (less than two months!) and I’m getting super excited. This will be my first conference. Not only will I get to see author friends and meet readers, I get to DRESS UP! I mean, part of me will always be this kid who loves Halloween and any opportunity to put on a costume. But I never get invited to adult Halloween parties anymore <bummed sigh> and there’s never really been any other reason to get dressed up. Until RT!

So I’m getting all into the costume building, well, not as much as some people, but I am a little bit. Going more strong on the accessories to the costume (wings, head pieces, hats, etc.) Seriously, check out the headpiece–click pics to make bigger–I made from scratch (seriously I formed the wreath part and everything! I’ve got mad skillz with a glue gun!) for one of my costumes! I only used a little child labor for the beading (hey, working the fine motor skills). I’m really excited for this conference. For the costumes, the socializing, everything…did I hear something about cover models?

So who’s been to RT before? Anyone planning on going this year? Any tips for a newbie? Are you dressing up? If you’re coming please, please, please come say hi! I’ll be a total noob! I’ll also be at the signing with my Kensington and some Samhain books!

Shelli

www.shellistevens.com

I’m counting down to the release of my first book with Berkley, which is also the start of my new Sisters of Darkness Series. Book 1 is called Seducing the Succubus.

This series is about four succubus who are in Hell’s version of the Witness Relocation Program. They helped bring down a powerful demon back during the 1300s who was killing off the human population using the black plague. Now the demon has escaped and he’s mad as hell and looking for revenge not only on the succubus, but the world.

I’m very excited about this new series and was even more excited when I received my wonderful new cover.

Seducing the Succubus

Seducing the Succubus releases October 2010, and I’ll keep everyone updated as I know more!

For now – I’m off to continue writing Book 2!

Cassie

Watching the Olympics has me awed. These young men and women are among the best athletes in the world. Their work ethics, sacrifices, and confidence leaves me in awe. Each one has a story of putting excelling at their sport above everything else. I don’t know what they’re going to do with their lives once their years of competing are behind them and hope they draw on their can-do attitudes to succeed. What is it like to stand on the winner’s podium and know their committment has been worth it?

And what is it like to wake up two months later?

Comparing writing to athletic excellence might be a stretch, but I’m trying to make a point, to myself if no one else. I’ve been writing literally all my life. Granted, my early attempts are laughable, but although I didn’t know it, I was laying the groundwork for my career. I did well in English and loved journalism (and the sports editor/quarterback had only some to do with it) Restlessness was a way of life. I wanted to reach something; I just didn’t know what it was. I’m still not sure I do but writing manages that restlessness. There’s my creative outlet, my way of celebrating the human spirit, the satisfaction of making my fictional world come out right–unlike the real world. In fiction my characters seriously kick ass. They don’t have dirty windows, a sick husband, aged mother, flat feet, etc.

Is what I’m writing today the best I can do? Have I reached the limit of my incompetence as they say in the corporate world? Have I learned everything I need to learn or, as I suspect, will the curve continue? I start each story with a goal, a mountain top, a prayer that this character and plot and setting will speak to readers. This heroine will leap off the pages. This hero will bare his soul. This plot will break new grounds for me.

But will they? Do they? There’s always that moment (more than one of them) when I’m disappointed in myself. I’m not getting to the top of the mountain. I won’t stand on the winner’s platform. True, I reached the finish line but could I have run faster?

So, for me, being a career writer is a never-ending Olympics. I compete against other writers but mostly I’ll always strive to be better than before.
Vonna
www.VonnaHarper.com

Hi, Readers,

I’ve got a new giveaway going, a one of a kind ARC of my forthcoming Signet Eclipse release, Siren’s Call. (Betcha thought I was going to say Sexy Beast 8, which arrives in stores at the end of March–Fooled ya!!)

As you can see by the photo, I have a printed & bound copy of the manuscript, which the publisher created and sent out to collect cover “quotes” for the final, finished book. Siren’s Call is the first title in my “Dark Tides” mermaid series, and is slated for release in August 2010.

Kate Douglas, author the new Demonslayers series, is one of the authors who read and agreed to quote Siren’s Call. Kate has graciously written her blurb and signed the manuscript she received. In addition, I will also add a personal autograph to the winner.

How to enter? Details are here:

http://www.devynquinn.com/

To give readers a tease, I’m posting a little excerpt:

The fool. The damn fool.

Binoculars pressed to her eyes, Tessa Lonike frowned as she watched the man standing on shore strip off his clothing. What was it about these extreme athletes that made them think a swim in the bay during a severe thunderstorm would be a good idea? Given the temperature of the water, it would take only minutes for hypothermia to set in.

She sighed. Humans should know they weren’t made for the water. Leaning into the rail circling the deck of the thirty-foot high lighthouse, Tessa adjusted the focus on her high-powered binoculars, zooming in for a closer view.

Even from a distance she could tell he was tall, at least six feet, thin, definitely a swimmer’s physique. Though his features were indefinable, the long dark hair whipping around his face and shoulders gave him a sexy, bad-boy appeal. If he thought he could take on the water and win, more power to him.

Her breath caught in her throat when he unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them off his hips. At this point she was expecting to see a pair of those lycra-jammer swim trunks so popular with the local male swimmers.

A gasp rolled past her lips when he revealed himself to be one hundred percent bare-ass naked. Stepping out of his jeans, he stood proud and unashamed at the water’s edge. He didn’t flinch when a roll of thunder released a torrent of rain, the heavy drops slashing at his pale skin with brutal intent. The man was obviously an exhibitionist.

As the keeper of the Little Mer Island lighthouse and one of the area’s search-and-rescue volunteers, it was her job to keep an eye on the bay. With a storm about to make landfall, most people knew to get the hell off—or out of—the water. Summer had passed without a single incident. Soon fall would settle in, and then the freezing snows of winter. She’d be locked on this frickin’ island with little more to do than twiddle her thumbs until spring’s thaw.

Wiping the water off her lenses, Tessa lifted her binoculars for another look. Surely now that the rain had arrived, he’d give up his insane idea and go home. Thunderstorms blowing in off the North Atlantic had a tendency to get dangerous. High winds and crashing waves were sure to drive boats and bodies alike against the rocky shoreline. Not to mention the powerful undertows that could drag you under in the blink of an eye.

As if to second her concerns, thunder clapped around her, shaking the lighthouse. Lightning streaked to earth, striking the tower’s aluminum rod designed to take its charge safely into the ground.

“Get out of the water, idiot,” she murmured.

Instead of abandoning shore, the naked man entered the sea. Making slow progress against the waves, he began to swim, traveling through the water with strong determined strokes. Within seconds it became clear he wasn’t heading toward the lighthouse, the usual destination of endurance swimmers. Though the isle was privately owned by her family, it didn’t stop stragglers from coming ashore.

The man unexpectedly stopped, treading water. Then he dove. Disappeared.

A long minute stretched into two.

Nothing.

The water grew choppier. Waves crashed harder against the shores. Rain fell in sheets, obscuring her view. The wind howled, a banshee singing the doom of another soul taken under by the unforgiving bay.

“Aw, shit,” she cursed lightly under her breath. The damn fool was a suicidal fool. And my idiot lack of focus could cost the man his life.

I’m so sad to hear that one of my favorite writers has passed away. Dick Francis died on Valentine’s Day, at the age of 89. He was born in Wales, was a very successful jockey, then turned his hand to writing mysteries. More than 40 of them, and they almost always had something to do with the world of horse-racing.

I think I’ve read every single one of his books, and I’d happily read them again. And again. They’ll be on my keeper shelf forever. Yes, I love horses and I always enjoy a good mystery, but the real hook for me is his heroes.

Oh my God, do I love his heroes! They’re not always the biggest, most muscular, super handsome guys. What they are is strong in all the ways that count. They’re leaders, the kind of men who solve problems and save lives, who are intensely loyal and passionately devoted to doing the right thing. They have guts and integrity. And they never boast. They’re the quiet, unassuming kind that always comes through in a crunch. They’re also dead sexy and have a dry sense of humor.

Is it any wonder that every hero I write has a lot in common with the heroes in Dick Francis’s books? Of course, mine do tend to be super handsome because, after all, I write romance rather than mystery and we women do like our hot guys!

My January release, Sex on the Beach, has three sexy heroes. It’s a collection of three interrelated novellas all taking place in Belize, in the week before a destination wedding.

The first hero, Free Lafontaine, is an unusual sort of hero because he’s actually trying to stop his best friend from getting married – but he’s doing it for noble reasons: he believes the bride is a money-grubber and he’s honouring a promise to his friend. Of course, he’s going to realize he’s dead wrong – with a little help from wedding planner Sarah McCann!

The second hero, Ric Nunez, is the perfect man for Tamiko Sato, the fragile victim of sexual abuse. He’s gentle and sensual, and awakens the passionate woman inside her. Every woman deserves a lover like Ric!

And then there’s the third hero, James Moncrieff. When he was married to Giovanna, he was a stuffy professor who was definitely not the right match for the vibrant but immature Italian girl. Now, though, he’s about to show his ex that he’s a far different – far sexier! – man.

What I want to hear from you is, who are your favorite heroes? Writers who you’ve loved for years? What makes for a perfect romance hero?

By the way, I’m thrilled to announce that my December book, Sex Drive, is a Fresh Pick at Fresh Fiction today, and it will also be Cosmo “red hot read” for May!

Happy reading, and happy Olympics!

Love…we LOVE being “in love” so here’s a Happy Valentine’s Day to all the lovers out there.

It funny how the majority of the time, I write in silence EXCEPT when it time to write a hot sex scene. Then, I turn to music for my inspiration because I faced the fact a long time ago, music changes my mental status. I DO get hot and bothered reading my erotic writings and hearing music in the background.

Now when I was writing “You’ve Got Male” where our heroine has just purchased a mail-order groom…honestly, I wanted to hear something gritty, hard, kickass different. I need an aggressive song, one that pushed me over the edge…and I found it in Eminem’s Lose Yourself ( One Chance). From the first thumping beat, I could feel Dina’s new husband, Dubois, taking shape, growing, becoming her man to lose herself in…

For “Fiending for It”, my couples Sexolympics, I know how couples can become stale, lose that “umph” they had at the beginning so I was quick to turn to songs that made me remember how GREAT it was to be happily married. My top choice was my girl, Celine Dion’s Have You Ever Been in Love?. I have to smile whenever I hear it and I’m smiling now as I’m writing and listening to it for the thousandth time…and here is another one that just takes me there… Jennifer Hudson’s Giving Myself Over to You

“Becoming One”…a polyandrist needing to take three husbands down to one? You already know my heroine was hot, smoking and way too much to handle. I needed to pull out the bad girl song for this bad chick. LOL. Set in Nawlings, Mardi Gras and all those things that “push the envelope”, Patti LaBelle crooning her Lady Marmalade.

Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir… anyone? Have a GREAT one!

Syd

Hi all! The Noelle half of Chloe Harris here. Thursday Thirteen was a meme that started a while back where each Thursday bloggers posted a list of Thirteen things in any theme they chose. The main website where people posted links to their TTs is gone but the idea reminds and many people still post their lists on Thursdays.

So here is a list of 13 words or phrases plucked from the pages of Secrets of Sin. Use at least four of them in your comment in any way at all that you choose (even a list of your faves) and be entered to win a copy of Secrets of Sin plus a second Kensington title. Your choice between three of my favorites Wild Heart, Sinful Surrender or His Woman.
So don’t lay there like a bedcover. Put down the cafe-au-lait and get posting. It might just payoff with a sweet as sugarcane prize!

1. Barhydt-O’Driscoll Shipping Company
2. Bedcover
3. Bougainvillea
4. By-your-leave
5. Café-au-lait
6. Chambermaid
7. Crop
8. Ginger
9. Métier
10. Payoff
11. Red-handed
12. Sirene
13. Sugarcane

And don’t forget to check out The HOT GUY CONTEST at the Chloe Harris website featuring a HUGE Kensington prize package.

As an author, one of the single greatest joys in life is seeing your latest book on the shelves of your favorite local bookstore. Even better, when it is a Staff Pick at Powell’s Books. To have your story out and in the world is a remarkable thing.

However, there are new stories to be told. As I am savoring the sight of Sweet and Dirty on the shelves, I am also hard at work crafting the next story. I have a deadline rapidly approaching, and this next story is taking nearly every moment of my time.

And yet, there are also reviews still coming in about my latest book. There have been books to sign, and other matters needing attention. Finding a balance is critical; for the latest work, for the new work, for critique obligations, for everyday chores, for fun, and for filling the creative well.

Soon this deadline too will pass, and I’ll have more time to fill that well. I have my own favorite ways, and every writer is different. I do have to say that as hard as I’ve been working lately, I may need a fairly significant fill-up.

I may even plan a trip to a romantic coastal cabin. The kind with wood beam ceilings and a fireplace and a jacuzzi bathtub. I’d like to watch a spring storm come rolling in and simply indulge the senses.

Christina