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DANE, The Lords of Satyr

My husband just got back from 2 weeks in Sweden and Denmark. It was part work and part vacation for him. I stayed home working on Bastian, my 5th Lords of Satyr novel. I missed my husband, but I enjoyed my alone time with Bastian!  Oh yeah!

And I have to say that it is SO much easier to work when my husband’s not here. No interruptions, except phone calls. And I got things done, baby! I worked on my novel every day, but I also assigned myself one task from a to-do list. One day I cleaned a spare bedroom, which tends to become a catch-all room for empty boxes and ‘treasures’. The boxes got flattened and put out with recycling and most of the ‘treasures’ went to Goodwill. I think I need to send my husband off once a year, so I can do spring cleaning like this!

Without exception, my friends all said they envied me because I had the house to myself. And, although I’m glad my guy is home again, I did enjoy the solitude. Are you like this? Even though you love your husband/partner/SO/children/pets, do you yearn for some alone time? To clean, to read, to shop, to think, or whatever you want? What do you do when they’re gone?

Drop a comment for a chance to win a copy of my newest release–Dane, The Lords of Satyr.

Elizabeth Amber
Nicholas | Raine | Lyon | Dominic : The Lords of Satyr series
Dane ~ RT Book Reviews TOP PICK! (June 2010)
hot historical paranormal romance
Kensington Aphrodisia
www.elizabethamber.com

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

When I first saw the Nicholas cover, I fell in love. It got the Lords of Satyr series off to a great start, and the book won numerous regional RWA awards, including Judge A Book by its Cover. I’ve loved every cover since (a total of 5.) The design is consistent–each book has an LOS logo, is named for the hero, and best of all–each book has a hunky headless cover model. My June release, Dane, The Lords of Satyr, begins a new trilogy within the Lords of Satyr series. I’ve moved the stories up 50 years and moved from Tuscany to Rome. I’m currently writing the next book, Bastian. I haven’t seen the US cover for that one yet, and am looking forward to it. (I suggested a royal purple.)

From the US: Nicholas, Raine, Lyon, Dominic, Dane

From Germany: Nicholas Raine Lyon

But over in Germany, the Satyr lords are just getting started. And, look at these covers. Can I just say, wow? Yummy, aren’t they? I don’t know the story behind why the Nicholas cover (the green, black, & white one) is different from the Raine (purple tattoo) and the Lyon (green tattoo.) Nicholas released some time ago, and shortly afterward, similar Raine and Lyon covers were designed and posted on Amazon. Then they disappeared and these two tattooed guys showed up.

So which do you prefer? The US covers? The non-tattooed German covers? The tatted-out German ones? Do you dislike all of them? Love them all equally? And why? I’m really curious to know which you prefer and why, and plan to pass the info on to my publisher. Answer in a comment below to be entered to win an autographed copy of Dane, The Lords of Satyr. Winner to be chosen July 4th.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what Dane looks like in a German edition!

Dane, The Lords of Satyr

My June release, Dane, begins a new trilogy within my erotic historical paranormal Lords of Satyr series about half-satyr/half-human brothers who guard the secrets of their ancestors while hiding what they are from humankind. In myth, the satyr are the carnal followers of the Roman wine god, Bacchus, so I created highly sexed heroes whose lives are complicated by the fact that they’re driven to engage in a monthly ritual involving fleshly pursuits from dusk to dawn.

They’re vulnerable during this time, and when we meet Dane and his two brothers, the satyr have never been in more danger of discovery due to the fact that excavations have begun in the Roman Forum.

To further cloak themselves in normalcy and entrench themselves in Italian society, they are directed to select human wives. I get to play matchmaker through the character of the heroine, Eva, who is dispatched from ElseWorld to assist in this. But when Dane meets his matchmaker — Eva — he also meets his match. She is the only female satyr in existence, something she disguises. And she has her own agenda — she’s determined to make the Roman society that scorned her mother, accept her.

Both Dane and Eva are troubled by mysterious secrets in their pasts that make them perfect for one another. I loved having a part in bringing these two together!

The settings for the satyr novels (1800s Italy) came about because I’m a museum junkie and an art history buff, and am completely fascinated by Greco-Roman history. I’m also mesmerized by museums of all kinds—transit museums, fashion museums, toy museums–pretty much any kind. I once went to Musée de l’Erotisme, an erotic museum near the Moulin Rouge in Paris. It was a little cramped, but was intriguing and worth a look if you’re ever in the area.

Museums feed my passion for the past. They fuel my longing to return to various time periods or events—not forever, but just for a few hours or a few days. I’d love to go to Coney Island during its heyday. Or to Henry VIII’s court for an evening.

Or to the Roman Forum. I so wish I could have been there during its excavation. Writing the stories The Lords of Satyr is as close as I can come.

satyr sculpture

What era and place would you return to if you could time-travel for a few hours or a few days? What’s your favorite museum?

See some of the photos I took in and out of museums on a trip to Europe that inspired the satyr novels at RT Book Reviews blog.

Dane is an RT Book Reviews (Romantic Times) TOP PICK in the June issue (4.5 stars), 5 stars from Romance Junkies, Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews, 4.5 stars from Bookaholics, and a Recommended Read at Kwips & Kritiques! Many thanks to these reviewers for taking time to read Dane and post a review.

One randomly selected commenter will win a copy of DANE, THE LORDS OF SATYR. USA only, winner chosen today (Friday.) Good luck everyone and thanks for dropping by the Kensington Aphrodisia blog today!

Dane, The Lords of Satyr (May 25)
by Elizabeth Amber
Read a DANE excerpt.
erotic historical paranormal romance / Kensington Aphrodisia
ISBN 978-0758241283
www.elizabethamber.com
my e-newsletter for contests, news, and more

Dane, The Lords of Satyr (June!)

I’m late with my post! What else is new? Seems like my blog date creeps up so quickly on me. Are you one of those on-time people, or are you often just a few minutes late for things? Do your friends get mad if you’re late? Or if you’re a punctual person, does it bug you when your friends are late?

Also, I’m at the Readers At Home online event all week at

http://lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/gotta-love-hea-by-elizabeth-amber.html

Just drop a comment to be entered! Lucy has done a wonderful job organizing this event and there are many great prizes. (I can tell Lucy is a punctual person, btw. She was very organized!)

I don’t have my copies of Dane yet, or I’d offer one here. Next month for sure! It releases June first. I’m excited!!!
Excerpt: http://www.elizabethamber.com/excerptDane.html

Dane, The Lords of Satyr

I work with some hot men…all half-satyrs and all sexy alpha hunks from 1800s Italy. But is my husband jealous of any of them? Of Nicholas? Or Raine, Lyon, Dominic, Dane? Not at all. He’s proud of my work and very supportive.

But he is jealous…of the time I spend social networking on my computer. Blogging and chatting with readers on Facebook or via my e-newsletter group every month takes time away from our lives together. But it’s mostly fun for me and it’s what authors do. We want to meet our readers and to talk about our books.

Although he’s very tech-savvy and is a vocal proponent of MACs, my husband is not interested in social networking. He’s never been on Facebook or Twitter or MySpace, and he doesn’t understand their appeal or why they’re useful. I discussed this with a friend who said that her husband resents the time she spends online as a blogger-reviewer of adult and YA mystery and sci-fi novels.

So I’m wondering…are there people in your lives–husbands, partners, brothers, mothers, friends, and/or significant others—who are jealous of the time you spend social networking online? How do you handle their feelings? Do you try to spend more time with them? Bargain about how long you’ll spend online? Explain what you’re doing and why it’s important to you? Or are there some husbands, boyfriends, partners, who hang out in the blogosphere too? And are you jealous of the time they spend online and away from you?

GIVEAWAY: Please drop a comment with your thoughts. I don’t have copies of my June release, Dane, The Lords of Satyr, yet, but I’m giving away one copy of your choice of the other satyr novels (Nicholas, Raine, Lyon, or Dominic) plus an autographed Dane bookmark to one person who drops a comment here within the coming week. Winner announced here April 4th (next Sunday). Looking forward to your thoughts!

Elizabeth Amber
Nicholas | Raine | Lyon | Dominic : The Lords of Satyr series
June 2010: Dane ~ Read an Excerpt
hot historical paranormal romance
Kensington Aphrodisia
www.elizabethamber.com

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

DANE, THE LORDS OF SATYR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dominic, The Lords of Satyr

I’m finishing up my revisions on Dane, The Lords of Satyr, my fifth novel, so I’ll be short and sweet.  I missed Lora Leigh’s RAW this past weekend because my husband has a bad case of flu.  I urge you to all to be diligent in washing your hands this fall and winter.  My husband’s doc said hand-washing is a big help in preventing flu.  I read that a good rule of thumb for how long to wash, is to sing the Happy Birthday song twice as you wash (in your head so people don’t think you’re eccentric.)  And I hope to be invited to RAW 2010 because I was really sad to miss meeting Lora Leigh and Lorie O’Clare and many other authors and readers who were able to attend this great event in West Virginia.

I WILL make it to Moonlight and Magnolias in Atlanta October 2-4 and to the Seattle area GSRWA conference on October 9-11.  I hope you’ll come by and say hello if you see me running around or at the booksignings. Authors love to yak, and I’m no exception. We’re sequestered in our little caves writing all the time, so when you let us out . . . woo hoo! I’m ready for some wine and conversation. Don’t be shy about meeting and greeting any author. Seriously.  Sometimes people are shy about it and authors wind up feeling like wallflowers. We want to meet you and we love chatting about books and what you like to read. Whatever.  As long as you don’t ask us to write a novel on the spot, we’re happy.

Kensington has been generous in giving me some extra books recently, so I have a copy of Nicholas, The Lords of Satyr to give away.  I’ll choose a winner from among commenters October 6th. I know that’s a little over a week away! Sorry about that.  I may be remiss in replying to comments till then too. A busy week ahead.  So tell me, what ‘s the one question you’d ask me (or authors in general) if you met me/us about books and writing?

xoxo

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

Okay, this isn’t Dane. But I do have Dane on the brain since the manuscript (officially DANE, THE LORDS OF SATYR) is due to my editor soon.

Since I have no Dane cover yet, I’m celebrating one of my favorite satyr covers–NICHOLAS.  My Kensington editor (Audrey) just told me it went into a 7th reprinting!  A shout out to all you readers who helped make this happen!  I couldn’t keep writing without you, so many many thanks to you all.

WHAT I’M DOING IN SEPTEMBER:
1. Revising Dane!
2. Paying attention to the husband I’ve neglected while working on Dane.
3. Attending Lora Leigh’s RAW: September 25-27, Huntington, WV

http://www.readersappreciationweekend.com/

WHAT I’M DOING IN OCTOBER:
I’ll be at two other conferences in October and would love to meet any of you who’ll be in the neighborhood:

1. Moonlight and Magnolias, Georgia (near Atlanta)

http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/mm-conference/

I’ll be speaking on: Nailing the High Concept Book Hook, and I’ll be at the big booksigning.

2. Emerald City Writers Conference, Washington (near Seattle)

http://www.gsrwa.org/conferenceregistration.php

I’ll be speaking on: Nailing the High Concept Book Hook, and I’ll be at the big booksigning.

I hope to see some of you there! Please be sure to say hi.

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

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

My friend Eva just got a subscription to Entertainment Weekly, and she’s passing issues on to me when she finishes with them.  I’ve never really read this magazine before, but it’s kind of nice to know what’s coming up this summer.  I usually find out about series I might’ve liked after the fact and miss out.

Tonight it’s Hung. This has a great hook, but EW just gives it a C+ because some of the jokes are a bit “limp” and the series hasn’t figured out what it wants to be.  Still, I’m intrigued and I’ll watch the first episode.

Then July 7th, Warehouse 13.  It’s sci-fi. Basically, the X-files are real and they’re in this warehouse.  I hope they don’t screw this up because it’s a great premise and I’m looking forward to it.

I think a Torchwood (BBC America) miniseries is coming July 7th, but I didn’t see anything about it in EW.

July 10th, Eureka continues. Humor and sci-fi. What’s not to like?

July 12th, Entourage. Oh yeah!  One of my favorite series is back for a 6th season. Did you watch Brian Williams’ interviews with President Obama a few weeks ago? That’s where I found out that agent Ari Gold (a character on Entourage) is rumored to be based on the brother of Obama’s Chief of Staff. Rham Emmanuel.

August will bring Project Runway and Mad Men, two more favorites.  I’m not really a TV-watcher, so this wealth of interesting shows is overwhelming. The manuscript for my fifth erotic historical romance for Kensington—Dane, The Lords of Satyr–is due September 1st. Good thing I can DVR some of these shows to watch after that!

Are you a True Blood fan?  EW said that its first episode this season had amazing ratings.  I was turned off by the violence in the first two episodes of season one, but I’ve been thinking of trying the series again. I love Sookie Stackhouse.

So what are you looking forward to watching this summer? What are you definitely not going to watch?

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

I posted this blog on Lust In Time a while back, where it sparked an interesting conversation that was sometimes funny, sometimes poignant.  I’m fascinated by stories of how relationships begin and end, so in hopes of sparking more thoughts on this topic, here’s my story first . . .

Marilyn Monroe, JFK Jr., Jimi Hendrix, Princess Diana, my first love.  I lost each of them too soon. They fascinated me.  They still do.  Forever young, energetic, beautiful, unobtainable.

That’s how I’d describe my first love.  Long story short, we dated senior year in high school for five months.  I loved him.  More than he loved me.  We went to different colleges and he met someone else.  I shed a lot of tears over that guy.  He was fun, funny, tall, muscular, cute, classy, smart, and had a fantastic family that was wealthier than mine. I’ll never forget him.

And that’s a good thing.

Through him, I first learned the piercing joy of loving. I learned the intense, debilitating pain of losing a love I’m desperate to keep, yet sense is slipping away. The highs and lows of that relationship are chiseled on my heart.  His loss was a wound, then a bruise. But it never quite healed.

And that’s a good thing.

I never thought I would thank my first love. I thought I’d hate him forever. But he’s a part of me that helps me write characters with deep emotions. I use all that pain and desperation; all the volatility of my time with him, in my romance writing.

So, Stephen, wherever you are, thank you for loving me. For leaving me.  I’ve written four romance novels, and you helped with every one.  Yes, I still remember you. What? You’re unhappy? You’re sorry you didn’t realize how great I was?  You’re miserable now and curse the day you left me?  Your wife divorced you, you’re broke, and you’re impotent?

Oh, sorry to hear that.

I think I prefer to remember you the way you were—forever young, energetic, beautiful, unobtainable.  A heartbreaker.

Do you remember your first love? Are you glad/sorry you ever met him? What were the good and bad things that you took from the relationship? Do you know where he is now? Do you want to? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Dominic, The Lords of Satyr (or Nicholas if you prefer).  I’ll post a winner in the comments on Tuesday.

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