Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

Over the weekend I read a rather negative review of Secrets of Sin. It was the first one out of six or seven that’s been more negative than positive. The reviewer gave it 2 out of 5 something or other. It wasn’t stars and I can’t quite remember was she uses.

She said it had no romance and was just about sex. I’m not sure I can agree with that. I know how hard we worked to specifically make sure there was lots of romance. And several other reviewers have used phrases like “touch me on a deep emotional level”, “delightful lead characters” and “desire and love run wild” to describe the story so they all saw the romance in it too. What I do agree with is that the romance portion of the story didn’t work for her. She said she never warmed up to Reinier, the hero. I have no problem with that. He’s a hard man to love and we knew some people wouldn’t.

Personally as a reader I adore a man that’s flawed and hard to love. Knights in shining armor are fine too but give me a tarnished hero with some kinks (yes pun intended) in that armor and I’m even happier. I’ve read a lot of them lately like Ian in the The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, Leo in Wild Heart and Christian in The Sin of Lord Easterbrook. But they are hard to love in a much more sympathetic way than Reinier.

Reinier is more in the vein of a Susan Johnson “hard to love” hero. And no, I am not comparing Chloe Harris to Susan Johnson, just that our hero is flawed in a similar way as some of her’s. When many historical writers write bad boys the things that make them bad are generally off the page or happen before the hero and heroine meet. SJ isn’t afraid to have the hero turn back to his bad habits after the first meet and we weren’t afraid to show how bad Reinier can be in vivid detail.

In a lot of historical romances the reader falls in love with the hero way before the heroine does and they continue to read to see her discover what they already know. But with Reinier, I think, the reader and the heroine are on more of an equal footing. For the most part it’s going to take just as long for the reader to love and forgive him as it does the heroine, for some readers sooner and for some not at all.

One reviewer called the story “slightly dark in a sensationally passionate way.” It’s set in the Caribbean on a lush island where everything is bright and airy. How can she say it’s dark? The dark she’s talking about, I think, comes from Reinier. There is a darkness in him that invades the story. I LOVE that in a hero. I get the shivers from just looking at the DVD cover with Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII. But I’m weird that way. I’ve always known that.

So what about you? Do you like a hero that’s hard to love or that perfect knight that saves the day? And what the hell, let’s give away another copy to a commenter so you can see for yourself.

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

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

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

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

Maybe you’ve seen the four star review in Romantic Times or the hot Kate Douglas quote on the cover and you’re thinking of purchasing Secrets of Sin when it debuts this month on Januray 26th, well here are five reasons not to buy it. But you still have a chance to win it.

1. If You Want a Perfect Hero
If you are looking for a Mary Poppins Hero – Practically Perfect in Every Way – then Reinier is not the man for you. The boy is charming but he has some serious issues.

2. If You Think Strong Women Can’t Have Weak Moments.
Although Emiline is a very strong woman the girl definitely has her weak moments and bad days but don’t we all.

3. If You Like Things Black and White.
Even in the bright Caribbean sun there is a messy gray. There are no Dudley Do Rights and Snidely Whiplashes here, thank goodness!

4. If You Don’t Believe Love Can Redeem.
Well hell, if you don’t believe that why are you even thinking of reading Romance?

5. If You Only Like Plain Vanilla.
This book is spicy! Vanilla is not spicy. The characters in this book are individualists all and are not afraid to try new and different things in and out of the bedroom. Baskin Robbins couldn’t even keep up.

If you can identify with any of the above statements then please do not buy Secrets of Sin.

But if you’d like to win it instead leave a comment for a chance to win one of two copies of Secrets of Sin!!!

Two winners will be chosen by 6:00pm on 1/12/10. Good Luck!

www.authorchloeharris.com

Waiting for your first ever title to come out is like a child waiting from Santa to come. Sometimes it feels like he’s never going to get here.

And like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, there are people along the way that tell you you’re never going to get that one thing you really want.

But the wait is almost over and one month and one day after all the Christmas hubbub is over Secrets of Sin will be sitting on the shelf!

So here is my Holiday gift to you, a sneak peek excerpt from the best gift I’ve ever gotten. My very first book.

And what about you? What’s the best gift you’ve ever gotten?

“As I told you, Monsieur Barhydt.” Emiline thrust her chin up to make her point clear. “I rule Bougainvilla and I surely do not take your commands. But you are right about one thing, Sir. We will continue this discussion tomorrow.”

She wasn’t sure if it was his words or the definite twinge of excitement she felt that scared her most. This man she now considered barely more than a stranger, somehow saw into the farthest part of her mind—a part that she only even admitted to herself in the darkest of dark and lonely nights.

Learn more at www.authorchloeharris.com

We all love heroes! Historical heroes, contemporary heroes, paranormal heroes, heroes of every persuasion in many attractive shapes and sizes. But there are heroes and then there are HEROES.

Here in the US, November 11th is Veteran’s Day (its Remembrance Day in Canada so Susan Lyons tells me). It’s a day we recognize our military heroes that have served and sacrificed for their country. In honor of Veterans Day, I thought I’d take a break from talking about our wonderful imaginary heroes and talk about the real things and three ways you can show your support today.

1. Find a Boy Scout

One of the easiest things you can do to support our troops currently serving is track down your neighborhood Boy Scout and ask about Operation Popcorn. For a range of donations Trail’s End will send a variety of popcorn treats to U.S. Soldiers and families during the Boy Scouts current popcorn drive.

2. Give to a Historic and Romantic Organization

An organization with a very romantic history of service is the USO whose motto is “Till everyone comes home” For 47 years the USO has meant a little piece of home to our troops in faraway places. Their mission is “to provide morale, welfare and recreation-type services to service members and their families.” Check out their how to help page.

3. Go Shopping

My first thought when I think of veterans is my grandfather but there are now many veterans younger than I am. And there is a band new organization dedicated to “ honor and empower wounded warriors”. The Wounded Warriors Project provides “services and programs that ease the burdens of the most seriously wounded and their families, aid in the recovery process and smooth their transition back to civilian life.” You can help them by going shopping. They have teamed up with Overstocks.com. All net proceeds from the sell of WWP logoed Adidas gear goes to the project.

So on this Veteran’s Day, track down a boy scout, check out a bit of nostalgia, buy some cool threads and support our true heroes. Do you have a true hero in your life?

Chloe Harris
www.authorchloeharris.com

Who am I? I’m Chloe Harris a debut Aphrodisia Author. My book Secrets of Sin will be coming out in February. Here’s the blurb:

In 1745 on an alluring Caribbean island, Emiline du Ronde-Barhydt’s inheritance and dazzling beauty insure that she’s granted her every wish, but one…freedom from her wayward husband.

The two fall under a spell of the most forbidden sensations and Reinier risks losing control of his own carnal game. At the mercy of his own raw shattering needs, the three red hot days may just turn into a lifetime of smoldering passion…

I guess I should I said our book. Chloe Harris is really the pseudonym for two writers, Noelle and Barbra who’ve joined forces to write intriguing and sexy stories.

We’d love to tell you a little more about ourselves and get to know you too! So here’s four questions answered by both Barbra and Noelle and then hopefully you too.

What’s your all time favorite book?
Noelle: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Where to begin. I completely identify with Nick Carraway the master observer and bastion of sanity watching the wild world crumble and change around him. The end of innocence, unrequited love and oh those shirts that bring you to tears!
.
Barbra: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I never got over my infatuation with Mr. Darcy.

What are your Hobbies?
Barbra: Besides writing you mean? Why, reading, of course. What an asinine question.

Noelle: I love to cook, read, kayak, try to learn how to play tennis and walk in the woods.

Who is your favorite actor?
Noelle: Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He just has that something you can’t describe but you know you want some of it.

Barbra: Hm. Difficult question. There are several for various reasons. But I think I can say that Johnny Depp definitely pushes all – and I mean all – the right buttons.

What turns you on?
Barbra: I’m prude. And frigid.
Oh-kay… does that still count as a little white lie?

Noelle: The cerebral. Sex is 90% in the mind.

Okay we’ve opened up, what about you? Do you have any hobbies or a favorite book, or actor? Do you dare spill about what turns you on? Do share, we can’t wait to hear!

To learn more about Chloe Harris and Secrets of Sin check out www.authorchloeharris.com