Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

When I woke up this morning, it was with To Do lists and priorities streaming through my mind, as they do most every morning. And just like every morning, I tried to shove them all aside long enough to be thankful for another day and look forward to the coming hours with anticipation and gratitude. Now ‘try’ is the key word in that sentence. Some days I’m successful…others, not so much. But I will continue to try because those days I approach with anticipation and gratitude always go much better than all the others. Go figure, right?

But as I stood brushing my teeth this morning that bone deep weariness not only of body, but of mind threatened to send me right back to bed. A sure sign that I’d been pushing myself too hard…again. It seems to be a never ending cycle, no matter how much I promise myself that I’ll try to take it easier, won’t push until I get sick this time…I won’t, I won’t! But always seem to.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love my life and I’m not complaining. What I’m doing is taking a look at that deeply ingrained need for me to be Superwoman. I’m not exactly sure where it came from…okay, scratch that. I know exactly where it came from. I grew up in a pretty abusive household and from the time I was old enough to understand that things in my house weren’t normal, or how they were supposed to be, I decided to do everything I could to get out of that situation as soon as humanly possible. For me that entailed getting good grades, diving head first into music—something I’d always had a natural aptitude for, getting a full scholarship to college and then working hard to make myself self-sufficient. And from that time forward, I worked my butt off, juggling and overly full schedule, achieving great things and getting sick routinely about once a year when my body had had enough.

Now fast forward a few years (okay, it’s several, but hey—I get to hold on to some of my delusions, right?) and I don’t get sick as often, I don’t kill myself as much and I am much better at saying ‘no’, delegating and choosing to work on things for the right reasons. Not perfect, but better. I’ve dealt with many of the issues from my past and can see them for what they are. But I still struggle with that behavior. And looking around me, I’m not the only one. Most of the women I know do the same exact thing. So what’s the deal?

I know as women in this society we all wear several different hats. Mine alone include author, business woman, barista, wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, mentor, teacher, boss, counselor, promoter, cheerleader (no, not in the literal sense), and so many more that I’d use the entire day adding to this list. I spend each week juggling three jobs as well as being a wife, mother and all that other stuff. Oh yeah, and then there’s sleep, right? On one hand I think it’s terrific that as women we’ve come this far and in how society views us and how we view ourselves. But on the other hand, I think we’re stuck in that mindset that we’re out to prove something not only to the world, but to ourselves.

We’ve all seen the bumper stickers about how a woman needs to do something twice as well to even be viewed as equal to a man. I don’t quite buy that. I’ve worked in Corporate America before and was happy to say I didn’t see different treatment among the sexes at that company, but I think somehow that kind of thinking got stuck inside all of us and we are stuck on overachiever mode. I know my first reaction to stress of any type is to go out and overachieve to make me feel like I’ve got some kind of control over the situation—when we all know control is a big fat allusion anyway. But triggers and their reactions die hard.

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of men out there who aren’t work-a-holics, but as women, most of us aren’t just work-a-holics, we are every role-a-holics. Men might only be overachievers or overworkers at their job because that’s where they get their kudos. But us, we overdo in every single area and feel guilty if we drop one of the sixty balls we’re juggling.

I know logically that I shouldn’t feel guilty about taking down time or about telling people I need help or can’t take on more things, but that flash of guilt, that drive to do all and do all well doesn’t really listen to logic.

So, even though I know I need to post this blog, finish 70 pages of edits to send off to my editor, start Book 3 in my Sisters of Darkness Series, do laundry and figure out something for dinner today, among other things…I’m strongly thinking I need to have some other priorities for the day and worry about the rest tomorrow. Hmmm…I think I’ll have to make a commitment to myself to have the following priorities today: Post this blog, take a nap, a hot bath with a good book later, get out of the house and do something fun. And then I’ll bet some of that other stuff won’t seem quite so daunting.

So for all the women out there—take care of yourself, love yourself and spare some time for yourself so you have something left of yourself to share with everything and everyone else! So what are you going to do for yourself today?

On a purely promotional note (might as well be productive while I’m here – right?) I do have an amazing new series starting with Berkley called The Sisters of Darkness Series. The first book, Seducing the Succubus, comes out October 5th. It’s already available for pre-order and just for fun, here’s the blurb & excerpt. But after reading it – go do something for yourself and leave the guilt at home!

Cassie
www.cassieryan.com

Blurb:
First in a sexy new series featuring four succubus sisters fighting demons and desires.

Jezebeth is living out the centuries as any succubus must-seducing men to survive and corrupting souls to make her quota with her queen, Lilith. But, when she’s attacked by a bounty hunter demon, it’s a handsome human who saves her.

Noah Halston is a horror writer who owes his life to Lilith. Now he must pay up by eluding the fearsome beasts of hell while escorting a very attractive and tempting succubus safely to Lilith’s lair-or else he will forfeit his soul to an eternity of torture.

Trouble is, if he spends too much time with the all too tempting Jezebeth, he may just lose his heart-or, even worse, his life.

Excerpt:

When Jez could finally draw a breath, the stench of fresh sewage crossed with rotting flesh filled her lungs and stung her eyes. She stumbled backward, trying to put distance between her and the demon, but by the intensity of the stink she knew it was already too late.

The sweeping laser lights showed the crowd of humans still streamed toward the exits. The bluesy music continued to play like a macabre accompaniment to the human screams, sounds of breaking wood and screeching metal.

Jez dodged around overturned tables and chairs, trying to lose herself in the crowd of stampeding humans.

As she neared the exit door, her survival instincts screamed and her gut clenched, surging adrenaline through her body as she whirled to look behind her.

A flicker of movement was all the warning she had before red-hot pain sliced through her shoulder and left arm and she found herself flying backward. Her back smacked against something hard, and her breath whooshed out for the second time in a few minutes.

She gasped against the pain, even as her brain belatedly told her she’d been slammed against the wall. A few long seconds later, she glanced up into the glowing red eyes of the bounty demon.

Fear and frustration warred inside her belly as she struggled against the poison-tipped demon’s claws that were sunk inside her arm and shoulder pinning her back against the wall. Her movements were sluggish, which told her the poison had already begun to affect her.

“Jezebeth, follower of Lilith. Finally, we meet.” The demon’s hot, rotten breath huffed against her face with each cultured word. It towered over her, the laser lights flashing off its thousands of jagged sharklike teeth. Mottled black skin covered every inch of the demon and maggots and worms crawled along its flesh in a constant sea of putrid motion.

A pestilence demon.

Jez tried to ignore the shiver of revulsion as some of the maggots slid off the demon’s hands and crawled onto the bare skin of her shoulder.

She shoved aside her fear, glared up into the demon’s glowing red eyes and raised her chin. “You’d better hope Lilith never finds you. She’ll rip you into tiny little shreds to send back to your master.”

The demon laughed. “The size of the reward that Semiazas has on you will go a long way toward protecting me from the anger of the queen of the whores, little one. Besides, you’ll be dead long before that.” He opened his mouth revealing ten rows of razor sharp teeth, and Jez tensed as she waited for the deathblow.

A sizzling sound drowned out the music, and the stench of burning flesh filled her lungs just before the demon’s jaws snapped closed like a deadly animal trap just an inch from her nose. The demon let out a high-pitched squeal and wrenched his claws out of Jez’s flesh.

White-hot pain sliced through her, and she crumpled to the floor as she was freed from the demon’s grip.

“Run!” shouted a very deep voice.

Not about to argue and waste her chance to escape, Jez scrambled toward the door on all fours, trying to ignore the sudden rush of warmth down her arm as blood gushed out of her wound.

Another loud squeal from the demon made her glance back as she pushed to her feet.

A human male nearly as tall as the demon stood holding a Super Soaker toy gun Rambo style in front of him. There was no trace of fear in his gaze as he pumped the gun and then shot a stream of liquid toward the demon.

A sound like a thousand skillets of frying bacon filled the air along with another keening sound from the demon. The demon convulsed as plumes of black acrid smoke rose toward the ceiling in lazy curls.

The man turned his head toward Jez as if he sensed her scrutiny. Their gazes locked and Jez jumped like a guilty child caught eavesdropping. “I said run, damn it!”

If you sit and listen to any group of writers talk, eventually, you’ll hear the familiar question of, “Are you a plotter or a pantser?”

No, this isn’t some secret handshake or a writing outfit, it’s something which was created to bring torment and evil down upon every writer’s head!!! (Okay, got a little carried away there, sorry…) But seriously, plotter, is just what it sounds like – a writer who plots out their book, some meticulously, some loosely. And a pantser is someone who has a vague idea what their book is about, and who the characters are, and just sits down and writes and sees what happens as it goes.

Now, I have tried both of these methods, and thought I’d share my pain and suffering so you would be better able to compare and contrast.

I started out trying to be a plotter. After all, I mistakenly figured all writers were. I mean, how could they write all those intricate twists and turns and then bring back in something that happened on page 4 without careful planning, right? So, when I got an idea for my very first book, I scribbled down scene and plot ideas on a piece of paper and had the entire book planned out before I even tried to write one chapter.

So, what happened? I hated it and considered throwing myself on my sharp pencil and putting and end to my suffering. It just wasn’t any fun for me to plan out everything first, because by the time I started writing, I was sick of the story!

But, I wanted to be a writer, so once I finished the plotting, I sat down and wrote the first three chapters. Granted, they were three of the most horrible chapters known to man, but hey, they were my first three chapters of a book that I was GOING to publish, so I was doing a happy dance.

Fast forward to my first meeting with my critique group. They all read my chapters and besides telling me things like numbers are spelled out, okay is spelled out and not written as “ok,” the hero and the heroine should probably meet in the first three chapters, no head hopping and etc, they weren’t warm and fuzzy with my plot either. Too contrived, too predictable, too cliche. And I have to admit looking back, they were totally and completely right.

I rewrote those chapters and struggled through several dozen more rewrites to finish that book. I did sell that book, it came out as Into a Dangerous Mind, which was an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal for 2006. It’s currently with my agent so we can resell it. But the moral of that story is, the book did turn out okay.

BUT – I found out the hard way that as I wrote, I would find better ideas and I would end up deviating from the plot, and then I would spend countless hours going back and refiguring out the plot. GRRRRR!!!!

For my second book, I decided that plotting was not for me, so screw plotting. I was now a self-proclaimed pantser. So, I sat down to write what would become Stone Maiden. I wrote and wrote and my plot meandered and curled and twisted and I ended up rewriting and banging my head against the wall to get out of dead ends I’d written myself into. But, on a bright note, I liked this better than plotting! The book did well, and finaled in the Golden Quill contest and was nominated for eCataRomance Reviewer’s choice award. Yet, I knew I hadn’t quite found a solution which worked for me. On one bright note – I found out that you can still make those twisty plots happen and tie in things you did on page 4 because your subconscious is really great about remembering those things and bringing them to the surface when you need them!

By the time I sat down to write Fire Maiden, I was leery of trying either of the methods above. So, I tried my best to combine the two. I brainstormed with my critique group and scribbled down important things I knew I wanted in the book and didn’t want to forget. Then I did some character sketches – birth to present, which really helped me get to know my characters and to write in their voice. Only THEN did I sit down and write. This allowed me enough structure to not totally flounder, since I knew a general direction I wanted to go in, but also allowed me the freedom to use new ideas as they came to me. Woo Hoo! I had found my style.

Is it perfect? Hell, no. I still bang my head against the wall on plenty of occasions, but it’s a good fit for me and taking the best parts of both worlds has helped me finish all my other books to date.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not touting that this is right for you. I’ve tried to show you a little of my painful journey above so you can see that everyone is different. I have a good friend who plots every minute detail – to a point which would drive me insane. But it works for her and she gets books done – that’s what counts. I have another good friend who is a writing machine, and she doesn’t plot at all. She comes up with an idea and some general character ideas and she sits down to write and the story spins out under her fingertips.

None of us are doing it wrong, we are doing it right – for us. Don’t let anyone tell you that X is the gospel of how to write, I don’t care what it is. Everyone is different, their brains work differently, their work styles and comfort levels are different and we all can’t be neatly compartmentalized into the same box. This same logic goes for “writing rules” which I hate. For every writing rule which states, you can NOT do X or you’ll never sell, I’ve seen people break it successfully. Just make sure you know the rule well so you are breaking it on purpose and not accidentally!

Well, there’s my wisdom for the day. I’m off to work on my WIP. If you want something steamy to read to perk up your week, head on out to my newest release – Trio of Seduction, written as Cassie Ryan. You can find it in any of the brick and mortar stores with my steamy cover Just be forewarned, it’s a VERY hot book. So, if you like that – go grab a copy and in October I’ll have a fresh new smokin’-hot series called The Sisters of Darkness Series about Four Succubus in Hell’s Version of Witness Protection.

Cassie

A lot of authors (including me) have to juggle quite a few other things along with their writing. Things like a full time or part time job, kids, volunteer time, family time, exercise, promotions, emails, writers group, reading to stay current in the genre (and even for enjoyment now and then), and the ever-elusive mythical thing known as sleep. There are only so many hours in each day, and only so many days until a writing deadline.

If you want to be a working author (i.e continue to get contracts and get paid to write), then you need to not only meet your deadlines, but turn in a really good book every time.

Sound like a little bit of pressure? Yup. This is a classic case of be careful what you wish for.

Don’t get me wrong. I love to write. In fact, I wish I could drop the part time job (but it gives us health insurance & extra money) and spend that time on writing and my writing career. However, reality says I can’t quite do that yet, so like many other writers, I have to juggle, balance my time and try to keep all the balls in the air.

Sometimes that list of responsibilities starts to wear on me and I get run down and tired, or even sick. My muse starts taking longer and longer vacations and writing becomes an exercise of pure will – putting the butt in the chair each day and forcing words onto the page that feels like each one was written in my own blood.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Here’s a cold, hard fact: No matter how much you love to write (and I really do), writing sometimes feels more like a job than a joy. It’s hard work and often reminds me of labor – a lot of pain, tears and angst that results in something beautiful and wonderful that is all worth it in the end.

But this blog is not about the angst and gnashing of teeth, it’s about 10 things you can do to make sure you’re sending in a great book, even in light of everything I’ve said above.

1. Write every day.

This is harder than it sounds. There are definitely days when life conspires against me and I’d much rather come home and soak in a hot bath and fall into bed that force words onto a page, but writing every day is more than an exercise in self flagellation. Writing every day trains your mind and your creativity that it’s expected to show up daily and perform – and believe it or not, with steady application, it does. Writing every day also helps you make headway toward that looming deadline. A day off can turn into two, which turns into a week and can have a big effect on both your morale and your productivity.

2. Use Pavlov’s Dogs Phenomenon to your advantage.

We all remember the story of Pavlov’s dogs, we need to use that same idea to train ourselves. Get yourself in a routine that’s flexible and yet familiar. My usual writing spot is a squishy chair at Starbucks with a hot Chai next to me, my headphones in and movie soundtracks (with no words) playing softly while I write. With this combination of events, I can easily fall back into my story and tune out the world. So what happens when all the squishy chairs are taken, or I can’t make it to Starbucks for some reason (or I’m sick of it because I just finished a gazillion hour shift there?) I use the same scenario, but flex it a bit. I’ve found that as long as I’m somewhere comfy (booth at the Barnes & Noble café, my recliner in my living room, a booth at a restaurant, my back porch) I can still have a drink of my choice next to me, my laptop on my lap, my headphones in and my movie soundtracks playing in the background. That means I can begin salivating…er….writing, nearly anywhere. Find your own “Pavlov’s phenomenon” and put it to work for you.

3. How Do You Eat an Elephant?

We’ve all heard that old joke – and the answer is, a bite at a time. Writing a book is the same way. And while I’ve had days where I’ve sat down and written 11K words over the course of a day (pure necessity since I lost 22K from a corrupt file – eek!), those definitely aren’t the norm. I shoot for 3K words a day. Some days I make it and some I don’t, but I make an effort every day to make progress and keep moving forward. Part of that for me is writing in small chunks throughout the day when I’m able. I’m much more productive in little thirty to forty minute writing spurts with a bio break or a quick stretch session in between. That isn’t always an option if I only have three or four hours in the evening to write. But even within that timeframe it helps me to take short breaks, to get up and walk away from the laptop for a few minutes and come back fresh. Experiment and see what works best for you.

4. Don’t psych yourself out.

I recently posted my daily word count on Facebook & Twitter and in some back and forth comments ended up posting the following: “I still haven’t seen first round edits, so I’m in the ‘crossing my fingers it doesn’t suck’ mode of the editing process Does every author go through that, or is it just me?” The response was surprising. I not only received back comments in the public forum, but emails, texts and calls from a variety of writers who said they go through the same exact thing with each and every book! These writers ran the gamut from aspiring and working on their first manuscript to NYT & USA Today Best Selling authors. I’ve read many of their books and LOVED them! It really helped me feel not so alone. Those authors have the same fears I do – and it helped me convince myself that maybe I can do this again, too.

5. Step out of the cave now and then.

Writing, necessarily means we spend a lot of time alone with all the voices inside our heads. However, some real live socialization is like a breath of fresh air to our muse. This can include getting out and attending conferences, going to critique group, or even just heading out to a girls’ night out with lots of butterscotch martinis flowing. If you want to put an esoteric spin on it – your energy can become stagnant if you never interact with anyone else. Getting out and “airing” your energy and mingling with others can energize your muse and put some life back into your writing.

6. Don’t forget to read.

It always amazes me when I talk to writers who tell me they don’t have any time to read. Huh? I consider that not only part of my job to stay current on what’s out there in the book market, but also – I LOVE to read. Reading is what first made me think I might want to write, and is also what always reminds me why I love this crazy job And to get back to the “what’s in it for me?” vibe – getting sucked into a good story someone else wrote can not only give you great ideas for your own book (not plagiarizing, but inspiration!), but can also inspire you to dive back into your characters and bring them to life. You owe it to yourself and your writing career to read regularly. If you’re afraid of shorting your writing time – use it like I do as a reward for meeting word count. Nothing like a celebratory hot bath with a good book after a day of knocking out that 3K!

7. Give yourself permission to suck.

Before you disagree with this point, keep reading. Have you ever had those days where you sit down to write and nothing but garbage flows out onto the page? And you’re convinced that every word for that day is the most utter and complete crap ever scribbled or typed onto a page? Yeah, we’ve all had those days, and they suck. But about 90% of the time, when I come back the next day with a fresh perspective, what was drivel yesterday, is actually savable with a little editing, or if I’m really lucky – is actually pretty good And even on those days when it does turn out to be totally horrible, I wrote that day and trained my brain that writing is expected daily. Gotta keep making that lemonade!

8. Sometimes pure stubbornness wins the day.

There are days when you feel like your brain has oozed out your ears and hidden somewhere so it didn’t have to come to your writing session. On days like that, sometimes gutting it out actually works. What do I mean by this? Those are days where you just start typing – anything. Think I’m kidding? Here’s an excerpt from one of those recent days within my manuscript: “Dear succubus, I really need you to show up to work today, because I can’t write this @#%# manuscript without your participation. So could you please get over there and start getting it on with the uber sexy hot guy I’ve provided for you? What’s not to like? In the last chapter he had a vivid mental image of doing some toe curling things to you in that tub over there, so can you help me out here?” Yeah, I hear you laughing, but I actually had an entire page of that…lol. But a funny thing started to happen toward the end of that page…I started writing again and my succubus got hot and bothered and went over to jump on said provided hero – and kabam! Smoking hot scene So don’t let a few stubborn characters ruin your word count – put them to work!

9. Give yourself a break.

Sometimes all the best intentions are derailed by life. At the end of 2009 our household had two emergency room visits (luckily not for me), a bout of pneumonia, several bouts of cold & flu, and an unexpected funeral just after Christmas. Add my normal list of To Dos to that and it all added up to me having to ask for an extension on my deadline. (Always communicate early and often if this happens, and don’t make it a habit!) Anyway, my point is that sometimes despite all your best intentions – stuff happens. Take care of yourself and your family and keep your editor and agent in the loop so they aren’t surprised at the last minute…and don’t beat yourself up over it!

10. Take Care of Yourself.

Part of your job, not just as a writer, but as a member of your family, is to take care of yourself. That means eating right, getting some exercise, getting enough sleep, doing whatever you need to to reduce your stress level – meditation, yoga, venting to a friend – whatever. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to be modeling in my lingerie any time soon, and I struggle to keep this commitment just like all the others. But I do find that when I make sure to do all these things – I feel better, which means I write better! Amazing, right?

Here’s hoping out of these ten, you found something that helps…

I’d love to hear your tips & tricks

Cassie

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

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US and Canadian friends, and a happy holiday season to the rest of the globe

I’m currently under a very tight deadline to turn in the first book of my two book deal to Berkley called Seducing the Succubus, which is the first book in the Sisters of Darkness Series written as Cassie Ryan.

However, I didn’t want to let a blog day pass, especially since it fell on Thanksgiving, so here I am

And since I’ve got to be at work bright and early at 430am in the morning, I’m going to cheat just a bit and post a small teaser excerpt for Seducing the Succubus… I don’t have a release date yet and it is not edited – which means any mistakes you see are totally mine! But thought you might like a small taste of what I’m working on.

Stay tuned for details, or you can get daily updates on what’s going on with me by following me on Twitter or on Facebook.

Enjoy!

Excerpt:

“Dinner time, gentlemen,” Jezebeth said to herself as she raked her gaze over the many men crowding into the darkened club.

The heavy beat of hip hop music thumped through the souls of her knee high lace up boots and made her heart beat faster as anticipation curled deep inside her belly.

A long mahogany bar ran the length of the back wall and dozens of men crowded around jostling for their turn to order a drink. In the middle of the room scantily-clad women gyrated on four raised platforms while colored laser lights panned over the audience in regular intervals briefly illuminating the smoky atmosphere. Not that Jez needed the light. One of the perks of being a succubus was being able to see in the dark¾not to mention sense and smell the sustenance-giving potential of those beings around her.

Her searching gaze fell on a large human male sitting at a back table with broad shoulders and just the right amount of muscle. A glowing aura of nearly white energy surrounded him like a pulsing mist, and Jez’s skin ached with longing¾the succubus equivalent of a stomach growl. The size and general health of the man’s aura told her he’d not only feed her well, but that taking his energy and tainting his soul would also give her great brownie points with her boss, Lilith, the succubus queen. Especially since Jez was behind quota this month–again.

Jez concentrated on the man and a slow warm tingling flowed through her as her body shifted to become whatever form the man most desired.

She glanced down to see her now-overgenerous breasts nearly spilling out over a tight-laced blood-red corset, her skin milk-pale and her body fully curved. She wore a tight black mini skirt and short black ankle boots which displayed a winding rose tattoo that snaked up her right leg to disappear under her skirt.

This body was shorter than she was used to, and she had to crane her neck and stand on her tiptoes to keep the man in her line of sight over the tightly-packed crowd.

Jez reached up and tried to fluff out her hair, surprised to find it short and spiky instead of long and flowing. She shrugged as amusement spilled through her. The preferences of men were wide and varied, and as long as they provided her with what she needed, she didn’t care what form she had to take to get it.

Well–that was almost true.

There had been forms she’d outright refused to remain in.

She shuddered in memory of some of the more bizarre bodies men had desired her to take and wrangled her thoughts back to the situation at hand–dinner.

Jez started forward, weaving her way through the crowd, her gaze fixed on her target where he sipped his drink and watched the dancer on the nearest platform as she spun expertly around the golden pole using only her muscular thighs.

As Jez neared, the man turned his head and she could tell the exact moment he became aware of her. His movements stilled and his gaze did a slow and very thorough exploration of her from head to toe and then back again. When he was finished, his lips parted in surprise and the bulge just behind the fly of his jeans grew larger in response.

Jez smiled at him from under her lashes and wet her bottom lip with her tongue, suppressing a small giggle as she tasted strawberry-flavored lip-gloss.

His blue gaze burned into hers for a long moment before Jez stepped close and straddled him making her already short skirt ride up high around her hips. She sat on his lap and pressed close against his erection. The sensation of rough denim against the sensitive skin of her bare pussy was exquisite. She rubbed herself against him and laid her hand over his chest, noting how his heartbeat thumped a strong pulse under her palm and the energy surrounding him surged higher, tingling against her skin in tiny static electric shocks.

To her surprise, he didn’t push her away or show any signs of protest. For someone with such a clean aura, she’d expected a bit of a challenge, but she definitely wasn’t going to complain.

She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “Buy me a drink?”

His strong hand settled against her lower back, the heat from his skin burning through the corset and making her pussy throb in anticipation of what was to come. She pulled back slowly, allowing her breath to feather against the side of his neck until she could look into his eyes.

“Only a drink?” he asked with mischief and lust dancing in the blue depths of his eyes.

Jez smiled and leaned forward again so her breasts pressed against his chest as she brushed her lips over his.

His lips were warm and he growled deep in his throat and then deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth long and slow.

The tangy taste of Jack Daniels made her smile. That explained his lack of restraint. A few more drinks would probably make her job all that much easier.

His kisses were a bit sloppy and clumsy, but he made up for that with enthusiasm and the promise of a great energy payoff in the end. With one large hand he cupped her breast roughly, the hot possession making her gasp against his mouth.

She kissed him again, hard, and the familiar tingling and liquid warmth sensation of his life-energy siphoning into her hummed through her veins, ripping a long moan from her throat. Jez sighed against his lips as her clit hardened and slick moisture formed between her labia.

This was only an appetizer, but already her gnawing hunger receded and her skin tingled with vigor. She threaded her fingers into the man’s soft hair capturing him close as she continued to kiss him.

Two sharp taps on her shoulder surprised her and she turned, ready to deal with a bouncer or an angry girlfriend.

Instead, she found a four-foot imp.

It was shamrock green with two tiny yellow horns poking out the top of his knotty head. His glowing red eyes reminded her of twin laser pointers and he smiled revealing jagged yellow teeth. “Mind if I cut in for official business, Jezebeth?”

“What the hell is that?” The man stood abruptly, dumping her off his lap so she landed hard on her bare ass against the cold concrete floor.

I have been an avid reader all my life. It started way back with Green Eggs & Ham and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and have progressed throughout the years into many different genres, styles, authors etc. In fact the saying, “Too many books, so little time!” and “There’s no such thing as too many books!” were made for me. I’m quite an eclectic reader and enjoy anything from an interesting non fiction memoir (no Oprah show snickers in here…the REAL ones…lol) to a book on history, self help books, How To books, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy, mystery, gothic literature, classics, romance, action/adventure, suspense etc, etc. I must admit I can’t do well-written horror because it gives me nightmares (the movies either), but that’s my issue, not the books’! (And to answer your question, poorly written horror isn’t much fun, but just doesn’t give me nightmares…)

Throughout my journey as a devourer of books, I’ve noticed a distinct stigma associated with some types of books.

Now, as a society, we push reading. Reading=good. Even research shows that those who read more have lowered chances of memory diseases, higher IQ’s etc, etc, regardless of what they are reading. It’s basically the equivalent of weight lifting with your mind. So, why the stigma?

Let’s take a scenario here. Let’s say that you’re walking through the mall and you see a woman on a bench reading a book. You can’t help notice that it’s a memoir. What are your impressions? The one I hear most often is something along the lines of, “it’s non fiction, so therefore educational.” Uh huh. Memoirs, like history are told by the winner…er…the subject of the memoir and/or the writer looking to make a buck off said memoir subject, aka ghost writer. (No I’m not knocking ghost writers) And remember, I do enjoy reading some of them, too, so hold off on the hate male for now, we’re just looking at examples.

Okay, now let’s say you walk by the same woman and she’s reading a fantasy book with dragons on the front etc. What’s your impression now? The one I hear usually is, “just an escapist read, no real value to it.” Now for me, fantasies are usually very intricate in detail and description and have definitely broadened my mind as to what’s possible in this world and what’s not, so I don’t agree with the no real value part. But what are YOUR impressions?

Now again, let’s say you walk by the same woman and she’s reading a romance novel, or “worse” yet, a steamy-looking romance novel. Now what is your impression? If you’re a romance writer like me, you’re looking to see if it’s your book or was written by someone you know If not, I’ve heard reactions like, “what a waste of time” or “what trash” or even the ever-popular but totally inaccurate “those demean women, how can she read that?!?”

But wait a minute—all of these people are reading. All of them are exercising their minds, using their logic, their imaginations, expanding their vocabulary, learning something (yes, every book can teach you something and make you think), relaxing and enjoying some “them” time. So what’s the issue? And why are we so judgmental?

To this same point, I’ve seen people actually cover up the front of the book they are reading so no one knows. They’re even ashamed of what they are reading?? How sad that in a supposedly forward thinking society we are so worried about what everyone else thinks of our books and what we read. Remember, Reading = Good. Period.

I’ve even had people approach me and comment on what I’m reading. Now let me preface this by saying I never bother to hide the cover of what I’m reading unless there are yummy naked men on the front and there are children around (bad form to flash the kiddies). I’ve had people ask why I don’t read something worthwhile. My answer is usually to ask if they’ve read the book I’m reading, and when the answer is no, I ask how they know if it’s worthwhile or not. They usually try to pass off everything in that genre as not worthwhile. My next question is if they’ve read everything in that genre—usually not. They just go with the “stigma” and read the books that they are “supposed” to read. Didn’t we all do the “supposed to” thing in high school and college? Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of those weirdos who actually enjoyed Milton’s “Paradise Lost” and anything by Shakespeare and “Catcher in the Rye” etc. But my days of “supposed to” as far as reading are long gone. My reading time is valuable and I won’t waste it reading something I don’t enjoy.

So what’s the problem with that? And why as a society do we feel the need to get others to jump into the “supposed to”, and why aren’t most people comfortable saying “Screw supposed to! I want to read what I enjoy!”?

I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Cassie

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my newest release, the third book in the Seduction Trilogy, Trio of Seduction

A few nights ago I was out at one of the finest traditions ever created: the girl’s night out. Ours is a group of seven women who trade off houses every month, we all bring food and play games, drink, eat, talk about writing, life and of course, men and sex. It’s a great stress reliever, I always laugh too much, eat too much, talk to much and my batteries are totally recharged when I walk out of there.

A few of our number are single, a few married, a few divorced and dating again, so we have a wealth of stories to talk about across the board, and those of us who are wearing the rings can relive our wild days and live vicariously through those out there on the front lines of the dating scene. And like most women when they get together like this, yes, guys, we do talk specifics. Which after the very detailed and vivid discussions from the girl’s night out, and coming back home to write a sex scene, made me wonder: How real is too real when reading or writing a sex scene?

After all, let’s be honest, sex, at least really good sex is messy. But really good sex scenes are kind of a combination of reality and fantasy. So how do we split the difference?

Let’s take a look at some specifics.

The wet spot – yes or no? For me personally, I don’t write in a wet spot. When my characters are done with the uber mind-blowing sex and cuddling, they aren’t having to put a towel down or scoot around so someone isn’t laying on the wet spot. And come to think of it, I haven’t read a lot of books where that’s been mentioned. But would that make the scene more real, or any more romantic? Not for me…. But could be for others.

How to handle the come. For me personally, I do write come as an erotic addition into my sex scenes. After all, it is kind of one of those “turn on” type things. It happens, it’s a desired outcome and there are bodily secretions involved. In real life, I’ve always thought it was kind of funny for a woman to spit rather than swallow – after all, it’s already been inside your mouth at that point! So, yes, my heroines swallow and even enjoy it. And I guess since I view giving a blow job as very erotic, and laced with feminine power, so do my heroines. For my heroes, giving oral sex (and yes, they are damn good at it!!) is an integral part of the sex and they very much enjoy their heroine’s generated secretions. I even have the heroes kiss the heroines after giving her oral sex, and the heroine tasting herself on his lips. This may be a little too real and “in the face” (sorry, no pun intended, even though it made me giggle when I realized it was here…) for some people, but to put it bluntly, come happens….so how do you want to read about it?

Male stamina & quick rebound time. I’ll admit, my heroes have some pretty decent stamina and some good rebound time. I usually have the heroine coming first and the hero after her, or the good old simultaneous orgasm. Granted, in real life, I’m sure everyone has experienced the oops where the guy comes too quickly and you’re not even close to getting there—but since that’s not something I want to read or fantasize about, I don’t write that in my scenes. Now, to be fair, I don’t have the heroes turning into little sexual Energizer Bunnies and going for eight hours straight, or rebounding ten times a night in one minute intervals. (I think my poor heroines would not only be sore, but would hunt me down and break my laptop!) But having a guy so turned on by you that even though he’s already come once, a little kissing and cuddling can get him ready to go again is not only sexy—but makes us feel sexy, too! So why not have that in our sex scenes?

Location, location, location. Now I’ll admit that I’ve been adventurous in the past and had sex in some different locations. It’s fun, sexy and the thrill of doing it somewhere you’re not supposed to, does make it more hot somehow. That’s no different for my heroines. Although in this arena, they do tend to be much more adventurous than me. For example, I’ve never done it on an alter in front of twenty-one naked men and one woman (Ceremony of Seduction), in a public pool with another woman (Vision of Seduction), or had a six way with five of my closest women and men friends in a throne room where many of the male populace of my planet watched (Trio of Seduction). But that’s part of what makes reading a fun fantasy where we get to live vicariously—just like hearing about the escapades of others during the girl’s night out

So, come out and play. What do you like in your reading sex scenes that you don’t like in your real sex life and visa versa. What do you like to read, but don’t like to do? What do you wish you were brave enough to try in real life that you’ve read? Time for an online girl’s day out…and guys…you’re welcome to play too.

So pick up a martini (or your drink of choice) and spill. I’m waiting

Cassie

Btw – don’t forget that Trio of Seduction, the third book in the Seduction trilogy, releases on July 29th!

For any of you who know me well, or have known me for any length of time, you know I’m something of a promo whore—a title I’ve worked hard for. Even before the economy took a nosedive, 80% of my promotions were always of the “free/sweat equity” variety. Which means a significant amount of my valuable time is spent on promotions, so I have to be careful where to invest that time.

To give you an idea of what I mean by that, here’s just a small sample of my regular author promo items that take up my time:

– I have an author blog
– I blog weekly at my critique group blog
– I blog monthly here at the Aphrodisia blog
– I blog monthly at The Ladies of the Club blog
– I guest blog when I have time (and as people ask me
– I maintain a MySpace page for both my Cassie Ryan name and my Tina Gerow names
– I maintain a Facebook page
– I send out an author newsletter (although I’m way overdue for the next issue!)
– I’m a frequent speaker on motivational and writing topics anywhere where people will let me speak without throwing things (just kidding – no one has ever thrown anything yet…lol!)
– I leave bookmarks any time I pay a check at a restaurant, carry promo items and bookmarks everywhere I go and am generally not shy about what I do

So, when tons of my friend started singing the praises of Twitter, I was skeptical. After all, the entire idea is that you only send out status updates that have to be 140 characters or less. How much value can that really bring me, right?

Fast forward several months and I had a day where the universe seemed to be screaming “Freaking join Twitter already!!” So, one night when I was too brain dead to write and not really interested in even watching my taped favorite TV shows, I had a “what the hell” moment and signed up. You can check out my page at @TinaGerow

Today is my eighth day on Twitter and I have to say, I’m truly enjoying it. Not only have I gained some new readers and found some new people to network with, but I’ve also found some great links to information I wouldn’t have seen otherwise—both in the writing industry and not. And after some help from a few Facebook friends, I’ve figured out how to get Twitter on my Blackberry so I can send Tweets from my phone, and even check Tweets from people I follow while out and about. Just in eight days I can see the value Twitter has brought to me, but I also admit it is kind of addicting…lol. Who would’ve thought that 140 character bursts of information would be so great?

Here’s my top five favorite fellow Twitterers (yeah, I just made that up…lol) in no particular order:

– Brent Spiner – @brentspiner – He’s a riot and I look forward to his Tweets.
– Will Weaton – @wilw – His tweets are a fun melange of techie witticisms, interesting links and daily insights.
– Angela James – @angelajames – Great info on the publishing biz, fun and informational blog posts and general comments on daily life
– JonathanMizel – @JonathanMizel – Fun, inspirational life quotes
– Christopher Walken – @cwalken – Hilarious quotes and snippets with his signature brand of sarcasm and irony

So, what about all of you? Has anyone taken the Twitter plunge? Thoughts? Impressions? I’d love to hear from you!

And in a total side note – I received my Galleys for Trio of Seduction today which releases on July 29, 2009. And I’m posting my cover below since several of you have asked me to post it as soon as I received it

Cassie

I’m sure we’ve all been asked this question at one time or another, and being a paranormal writer, it’s a question that makes my mind buzz with possibilities.

So, I’m asking…

If you were offered the chance to go back in time twenty years, but you would retain the knowledge (and maturity) and skills you have now, would you?

Now, that would put us back in February 1989, which for me would mean I would be back at Arizona State University as an Instrumental Music Education major at the end of my junior year. I’d be living in an apartment off campus and it would be about six months before I would meet the man who would become my first husband and the father of my son. I really enjoyed my time in college and look back upon it fondly even though I don’t work in that industry any more. But to go back? To do those classes all over again? To navigate the social waters of college in my now more mature mindset, but with that very perky body and younger energy? To remake all those choices that I’d made over twenty years and see them through the eyes of the person I’ve become now? Very temping, I have to admit.

My answer would be, only if I could get back my son in a very similar form to who he is now. And I don’t mean looks, but I mean personality and the great person he is. If I could go back with that stipulation, and maybe start writing then, rather than waiting until I was 32 to be brave enough to take my shot. Hmmm, life would be very different. But what the hell, I’m always a girl up for a challenge.

Just for fun, I asked my husband the same question. And in normal man-style he wanted to know my answer first. I told him and he immediately told me that I was breaking the rules. Rules? What rules? I didn’t remember introducing any rules.

He promptly informed me that my son wouldn’t exist any more if I didn’t decide to get back with my first husband—a point I instantly debated. I think the person is more about their soul and who they choose to come into this life as than of their biological parts. Not that that isn’t a piece of it, but I think that’s an entirely different blog…lol! So, he said if I wanted my son without the failed relationship, I’d have to go have a one night stand with my husband and get my son that way. I told him that was total man thinking, but we had to agree to disagree in the end.

My hubby who is a lot younger than me said he definitely wouldn’t go back because it would put him in the fifth grade (yeah, made me feel veeeerrrry old to hear that) right before a very rough time in his life. He isn’t willing to relive that time, even with his additional knowledge and maturity so he’s happy to stay on the course he’s on right now.

When my son got home, and overheard some of this discussion, he promptly chimed in with a list of names he would prefer over the one he has now—both male and female (just in case) and a list of physical characteristics and personality traits I was to look for in a new father for him. (Yeah, the kid’s a smart-alec…and unfortunately for me, I know where he gets it…lol!) He also told me to reread all my books a few times before I went back, so I could rewrite them easily, as well as to study who the Superbowl winners, Kentucky Derby Winners and companies who had big stock jumps were so I could at least be rich in my next timeline And I have to admit, the kid has a point…

So, would you? Think back to where you were twenty years ago today, and what’s happened in the intervening years. Then think about what choices you would make knowing what you know now and with the maturity and skills you’ve gained. Would you take a new chance?

I’d love to hear your answers.

Cassie

I’ve recently had several friends tell me about books they really enjoyed, despite the fact that the reviews on Amazon, RT or wherever weren’t so hot. I’ve also recently had several newer writers send me very upset emails about reviews they thought were unfair, or less than stellar.

I myself try to ignore the bad reviews, smile over the good ones, and go on with my writing.

After all, not everyone likes the same books. Not everyone is going to “get” my sense of humor, or like the sexuality level of my books—under either pen name. And not everyone is going to enjoy the paranormal elements in my books, or understand the warped inner workings of my mind. And that’s okay. After all, the great thing about this business is that there’s something for everyone. Books are not a one size fits all type of proposition—thankfully!

A bad review doesn’t mean I’m a failure as a writer, just like a stellar review doesn’t mean I’m the next Sherrilyn Kenyon (although wouldn’t that be cool? )

Opinions (i.e.reviews) are like belly buttons—everyone has one, and they are just one person’s opinion at that time, and should be taken as such.

I know I’ve read books when I was younger that I absolutely hated, and now that I’m older and my tastes have changed, I absolutely love them. And by the same token, I adored certain books in my twenties that I can’t stomach at all now. And, I must mention, there are books that I loved then, love now and will most likely love until I take my last breath on this earth. Such is the beauty of books.

So – I have a few questions for everyone depending on if you are an author, a reader, or both.

For authors: Do you read your reviews? How do you let them affect you and your writing if at all?

For readers: Do you read book reviews? Do they affect your buying habits for books? Do you write reviews for books you like/don’t?

Now since I’ve asked, it’s only fair that I answer my own questions, right? So here they are.

I already told you above, I read mine, just to know what’s out there—after all, good review quotes make great promo! Not to mention a great review is great motivation to put my butt in the chair and write each day. I read the bad ones, but try not to take them too much to heart. After all, my books are selling, so someone out there likes them. I don’t want to let one person’s opinion overshadow my entire writing career. Just because they don’t happen to “get” my warped mind – there are others out there who will and do.

When I’m buying books, I rarely look at reviews—unless it’s a book by one of my friends, and that’s more for, “Oh, cool! Look, my friend X, got a five star review!” I do chat about books with friends, and friends who have the same reading taste as me, I listen to when they rave or don’t rave about a book. But I’m such an eclectic reader, I enjoy a wide range, and buy that way. If I REALLY love a book (i.e. Succubus Blues by Richelle Mead was the last one I wrote a review for on Amazon), I will write a stellar review for it. But if I hate it, I just won’t say anything. I don’t like putting negative energy out there for someone just because a book didn’t click with me.

So, fess up. What do you do?

Cassie