Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

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

No, I don’t mean a list of places you can procure discount coupons to Michaels or JC Penney’s.

If you’ve been in a relationship, you might have heard of “The List.” It’s a list of either celebrities or characters who if they showed up out of the blue and offered you a smoking-hot night of steamy illegal-in-forty-seven-countries sex, that you’d have a free pass from your spouse or significant other to go for it. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about and others of you think I’m insane. But seriously—I know tons of people who have “The List” in place at this very moment. Still don’t believe me? Ask around—you’ll be surprised.

Now, of course, the general assumption is that you’ll never ever meet these people on your list, so it’s not really an issue. It’s just the fantasy of it.

For example: My husband’s list consists of Alyssa Milano (Phoebe from Charmed) and Jennifer Love-Hewitt (Melinda from Ghost Whisperer). And my list consists of Matthew MacFadyen (sexy British actor of MI-5 and Pride & Prejudice fame), Han Solo from Star Wars, and Captain Jack Sparrow. No, not Harrison Ford or Johnny Depp, not that I have anything against either of them, but it’s the characters they portrayed that are on my list, not the actors themselves.

I think, and my husband and friends who also have “The List” agree that everyone has secret fantasies, and there’s nothing warped or perverted about it. And in fact, in a trusting, monogamous relationship, acknowledging these fantasies is healthy. I’m not offended that my hubby has hot and sweaty fantasies about Alyssa and Jennifer. Hell, if I was up for a female fantasy partner, either one of those ladies would definitely make me strongly consider shedding the shackles of heterosexuality for one steamy night. And, in fact, as a writer, if I’m being picky about it, every time I write a sex scene, I’m doing a little bit of a group thing anyway—and I don’t just mean when I’m writing F/F scenes. I have to get inside those character’s heads—both female and male to write convincing sex, so, hey, I guess I already have a VERY active fantasy life!!

But I digress…

My husband also has no problem with me having Matthew on “The List”, or even Han Solo or Captain Jack (especially since the last two aren’t real). And in fact, the only time hubby even frowned over it was when he realized that when I base my hunky heroes on Matthew, I write with a picture of Matthew on my computer, for reference and inspiration. But to hubby’s credit, he got over that quickly and knows that I’m happily married and committed to our relationship. So, in light of that, he’s open-minded about me sharing some virtual fantasies with Matthew and my various and assorted characters.

Now, I do, actually hope to meet Matthew MacFadyen one of these days, and I’d love for him to star in a blockbuster movie made from one of my books. (Call me Matthew—I’ll send you signed copies of a few likely books…lol!) However, since both Matthew and I are happily married to other people, “The List” will come to naught. Because as much as I drool over Matthew’s public actor persona, A) I love my husband and would never do anything to jeopardize that, and B) I’m sure once I got to know Matthew, I’d find that he’s a real person who, just like my husband tends to leave his socks on the floor and has his share of other annoying male habits…lol! AKA, there would be no more fantasy!

But, since I’m a writer, I do truly enjoy my fantasies. And, also, as a writer, I enjoy hearing that I’m not the only one!!

So, it’s your turn. Do you have “The List”? If so, are both you and your spouse/partner fine with it? If not, why not? And, the juicy part—who is on your list and why?

Come on…DISH! You know you want to

Cassie

Hi everyone! Since my next release comes out in about a month, I thought I’d use my blogging opportunity to tell you a little about the book.

For those of you who have read Ceremony of Seduction, you won’t be surprised by any of this.

Vision of Seduction is book two of the trilogy and revolves around Katelyn (the Seer) and Prince Grayson.

For those of you who have absolutely no clue what I’m talking about – read on!

Blurb:

Katelyn Hunt is fascinated with the sexy stranger who has been hanging out at her New Age store for the last week. As a Seer, the sensual power she feels from this man of mystery intrigues—and arouses—her. But only his touch allows her to truly see what it would be like to lie beneath him naked and exposed, experiencing complete sexual surrender. And this vision is just the beginning…

As Prince of an otherworldly clan who use sexual energy as their life-force, Grayson de Klatch has searched far and wide for the Seer who can help save his planet. And when he finally finds Katelyn, he knows he has discovered his future mate. His body craves the sex her body so willingly offers and he aches with the need to make this woman his own…

What the Reviewers are saying:

“Deliciously wicked and sexy–intensely satisfying!” –Cheyenne McCray

“Scorching hot sex scenes leave nothing to the imagination.” –Romantic Times – 4 Stars

Enough already – show me the excerpt: **Warning, due to word choice, this excerpt is R-rated. Although in relation to the rest of the book – it’s pretty PG13…

Misty fog drifted around Katelyn’s ankles, even as she recognized the vision for what it was. Twenty-three years of experience made it almost impossible for her to mistake a vision for anything else.

Yet, this one was more vivid than usual—less déjà vu, and more current somehow. She couldn’t pinpoint the differences, but she knew.

The air was heavy with water and ripe with the scents of plants and earth. Katelyn couldn’t see anything past the mist even though the sun warmed her and shined off the soft green grass under her bare toes. From the smells, this place reminded her of the beautiful grassy meadow in her last vision.

“Good morning, Katelyn.”

The deep bass rumble that made her name sound like an exotic delicacy, startled her and she turned toward the voice.

Grayson emerged out of the mist looking much as he had when she’d first seen him walk into her shop. A plain black T-shirt stretched over broad shoulders, which veed down to a tapered waist. Tight jeans molded over muscular thighs before covering the tops of well-worn black cowboy boots.

His dark hair gleamed with amber highlights in the sunlight. He’d pulled it back into a simple ponytail. It looked soft and satiny, and her fingers literally itched to reach out and touch.

Grayson’s chiseled jaw and sensual lips would be enough to make him handsome, but those eyes the color of deep melted amethysts made him breathtaking.

Unease skittered along Katelyn’s spine as images of the battle inside her shop flooded back.
Shit! Did that actually happen?

It must’ve been another vision. Yet, it hadn’t felt like a vision, but something that actually occurred. And why would she vision something so bizarre when all her visions usually came true in some form?

A sinking sensation churned deep inside her belly and she concentrated, attempting to crystallize the images inside her mind’s eye.

Try as she might, she couldn’t remember anything past the blue beam that slammed into her chest like a sledgehammer. When the vivid memory of the pain searing into her chest made her wince, she knew she hadn’t imagined the attack.

Katelyn squeezed her eyes shut trying to block out the memory. Somehow, when the sizzling beam struck her, she had known if it didn’t stop draining her energy, she would die. She brought her hand to her chest, wincing as she touched the sore spot left by the beam.

“Am I dead?” Even in her vision, her voice sounded hoarse and unused.
Grayson’s deep chuckle vibrated through her. She longed to press her body flush against his and ask him to laugh or even speak, so she could see what those wonderful low rumbles would do to her in close proximity.

“No, far from dead, my beautiful Seer. Unconscious, or maybe even asleep, but not dead.” He stepped close, and Katelyn’s breath caught in her throat.

Heat and energy pulsed between them and every coherent thought fled her mind as she gave herself up to this vision.

“I’m glad you are all right. I have come to help you heal—to help heal us both, actually.” Grayson captured a strand of her hair and rubbed it between his thumb and first two fingers.
The innocent caress sent gooseflesh marching over her entire body followed by a tingling wave of heat just under her skin. A low moan escaped before she could stop it.

She nearly let her head fall back in surrender before his words, and not his actions filtered to the front of her awareness. “Are you a healer?” she asked. “Your energy is very powerful, but it doesn’t feel quite right for a healer.”

Grayson laughed, and once again, the beguiling sound roamed over her like a verbal caress. “No, my beautiful Seer. I’m no healer.” He traced a single callused finger over her bottom lip and she clenched her fists to keep from leaning into the light friction of his touch. “I’m a Klatch witch, an ancient line of otherworldly witches whose life force is sexual energy.”

It was Katelyn’s turn to laugh. “Wow, I’ll be happy to lend any help in that arena you might need. Although, unfortunately, I’m only human, and while sex is nice—stellar, if I’m lucky—I need rest and time to heal. That is, if I were sick or injured, which I’m not.”

He brushed his lips over hers, which left a pleasant buzzing sensation against her skin.
“You’re wrong, Seer. Healing doesn’t follow human rules here. And you’re still injured from the energy blast. Trust me.”

She stepped back.

“I don’t trust anyone,” she surprised herself by blurting out something she had thought to herself countless times before.

Grayson only smiled. “I know, my beautiful Seer. Then let me show you instead.” Before she could argue the point, he pulled her tight against him. He plunged his fingers into her hair while he captured her mouth with his.

Her hands found his chest, and her frantic mind sent her arms a signal to push him away, but her body betrayed her, and her fingers fisted in the soft cloth of his T-shirt. Heat sizzled between them and she felt like she would drown in the overwhelming sensations. Finally, his lips gentled against hers and she was able to step away from him. She swayed slightly, but locked her knees and stared him down. “What are you doing to me?”

Grayson didn’t state the obvious, but seemed to instinctively understand her real question. “Every Klatch has a special gift, and mine is to cause arousal in others. I can control it, but it comes very naturally, and most of the time, I don’t even realize I’m doing it.”

“It’s bad enough you’re a walking wet dream, but now you think you can cause magical arousal?” She slapped her hand over her mouth as she realized she’d said the words out loud.
Arousal, hell. So far he’s some sort of truth serum!

A pleased expression lit his already too-handsome features. “Not only have you shown more resistance to my inherent gift than any Klatch woman ever has, but you seem to have the same effect on me. No woman has ever affected me like this. Until you.”

Inside her mind, she laughed at the ridiculousness of his statement. He thought she’d shown resistance? Hell, if Ethel hadn’t interrupted, she might’ve backed him up against her display case and taken advantage of him right there.

Besides, he was delusional. He had to be. She’d never encountered any type of magick or energy that would do what he described. It sounded more like a case of male ego, and less like an “inherent gift.” Katelyn held up her hand stop sign fashion. “On demand arousal. Right. I don’t buy it.” She fisted her hands on her hips and glared up at him. “Hit me with your best shot, Mr.-Goddess’s-Gift-to-Womankind. Show me this ‘inherent gift.’”

Grayson sighed as if disappointed in her lack of belief. “You’re a very stubborn woman, Seer. Please remember that you specifically asked for this demonstration.” He shrugged. “Although it will help you heal, so I suppose it can’t hurt.”

She snorted. “You have no idea how stubborn I can be.” Katelyn held her arms wide as if making herself a bigger target. “Bring it on, stud.”

Grayson never moved, but a wave of his energy surrounded her and her entire body burned with desire.

Her breasts ached almost painfully.

Her pussy throbbed with need.

Even her skin felt like it might explode if she didn’t have Grayson inside her.

Katelyn wanted hot, kinky, explosive sex, and she wanted it now.

She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, drawing in lungfulls of air as she battled against her urges and desires.

Katelyn pictured a shield made of pure white light that surrounded her body and blocked his energy.

Immediately, the assault lessened, but didn’t stop. Apparently, even her strongest shields couldn’t totally protect her. He hadn’t been kidding about his “gift.”

“Enough.” The word slipped from her lips with effort, and she hoped Grayson heard it over the pounding of blood inside her head.

Just as quickly as the desire began, it stopped, as if Grayson had flipped a switch.

Katelyn locked her knees, fisted her hands, and screwed her eyes shut tight. She refused to crumple to the ground with relief like she wanted to.

When her heart had slowed enough that she was sure it wouldn’t pound right out of her chest, she opened her eyes. She expected his expression to be smug. Instead, it was apologetic. He stood stock still as if afraid to come closer.

“Okay.” Katelyn sucked in a shaky breath. “Remind me not to ask for any future demonstrations from you.”

My husband says all the technology in my life is conspiring against me.

And unfortunately, I’m starting to think he’s right. There’ve been several examples: the garage door opener that only works for me intermittently, but always works for him; the DVD player that refused to load for me on ANY disk I tried, and worked for him on the first try; and even the AMC theatres pre-bought ticket machine yesterday…sigh.

So I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when last Wednesday I booted up my trusty pink Mac and got a flashing file folder with a question mark instead of my friendly background picture. Unfortunately, hubby wasn’t able to get the Mac to work like he does with everything else and we had to take it down to the Apple store. They promptly told me my entire hard drive was toast, and they hoped I had backed up my data. EEK! Luckily, they exchanged the hard drive for a new one for free, and I did have backups. I had an entire laptop backup on Time Machine from a month ago, and before I left to speak at the Heart of Denver Romance Writers last weekend, I backed up my writing file and a few other folders I couldn’t live without.

Anyway, I consoled myself with Starbucks on the way home and the knowledge that my hubby has an affinity with technology and could fix my “baby” good as new.

I was having some serious laptop withdrawal when he came into the living room looking like someone had died. That’s when I got that icy cold sensation of dread curling inside my belly and making me nauseous—you know the one I’m talking about. Yup—my month-old backup was corrupted and wouldn’t load. That meant everything I hadn’t backed up the week before—pictures, emails, desktop, tax spreadsheets, and a hundred other things that flashed through my mind were gone.

Sigh…

I let myself pout and rail against the universe for all of about five minutes before taking a deep breath and reminding myself that A) I had only lost about 8K on my WIP from what I had done Sunday after I’d gotten home from Denver, and then Monday and Tuesday. And I did have all the work I’d done on my Alpha Smart since the demise of my poor laptop, and B) the situation was what it was and whining wasn’t going to buy me anything but stress.

My hubby closeted himself back inside the office messing with my laptop all the rest of Friday and all a good chunk of Saturday.

Anyway, much to my surprise, he found a program somewhere on the internet for $100 that allowed him to fix 95% of the corruption issues within my backup and restore most of my files. Woo Hoo! What a man! Gorgeous, sweet AND he recovered most of my data!!

So, yesterday morning when I woke up, I found my trusty pink Mac on my recliner in the living room, and I started the process of restoring the files I’d backed up right before I left for Denver, and finding out how much data I had lost from a month-old backup within my non critical files.

I think the biggest gap is on my emails—some of my accounts didn’t keep the email account history on the server, so those are gone. (So, if you wrote me and haven’t heard back, you may want to try again!) and my Sent history for the past month is totally gone.

Anyway, that’s my computer saga. And as much as I work with technology, it does become frustrating at times—like my automatic backup failing just a few minutes ago, for some unnamed reason! Sigh! But I’m thankful for what was saved, and thankful I can get back to my book today now that life is back to normal. Hopefully, that 8K won’t take too long to make up, and here’s hoping it’s even better the second time I write it.

Does anyone else have my same luck with technology? Or is it just me? LOL!

Cassie