Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

I can’t believe it’s been over two weeks since I returned from the Romantic Times Convention. I’m back into revisions, so the time has really flown. I have to be finished by the 27th, so I haven’t been able to think about much else. One good thing—I returned from sunny Orlando to discover spring arrived back home. Soccer has started for my two kids. This is my son’s first year. His soccer team t-shirt reaches down to his knees. It’s so cute to watch his age group play. Sometimes they get distracted by picking bouquets of dandelions or drawing pictures in sandy parts of the field.

Romantic Times put on a terrific conference. It was so great to see fellow Aphrodisia authors, and chat with many other Kensington authors at the cocktail party.

It was also a huge thrill to win the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Historical Erotic Romance. Black Silk was the winning book. The hero of Black Silk, Dash, was one of the most delicious men I’ve written (in my opinion ).

My next Aphrodisia, Blood Deep releases on May 26, 2009. Hard to believe we’re almost into June! Here’s the blurb for Blood Deep:

Going to her lover, Miranda bond speeds through the night, heedless of danger. Then her carriage is captured by two daring and mysterious highwaymen—two devastatingly handsome men determined to share her in fantastic games of erotic titillation…

Miranda’s captors are deadly and dangerous vampires, who have escaped from a hellish prison to seek revenge. She cannot resist as Zayan and Lukos take her to the precipice of surrender—for it may be her innocence that brings them all release…

What are you doing for spring? Does your life get more hectic as the weather improves, or do you try to take it easy?

Sorry, I’m late blogging today. The kids have been off school for four days with Easter—and my daughter ended up in the hospital emergency room twice, as we suspected she had a concussion from a playground accident. I’m working on revisions, so things have been hectic. Luckily, my hubby took care of making Easter dinner—a lifesaver for me.

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend—and didn’t have to see any hospital waiting rooms 

My next Aphrodisia is Blood Deep—a vampire menage story. I have a few author’s copies left of Blood Rose, the second book in the series. I’ll give away a copy to a commentors who can answer this question: How is the heroine (Miranda Bond) carried to her carriage? I’ll check in tomorrow to chose the winner.

Hint: The answer is in the excerpt below from Blood Deep:

“And what do you intend to do, angel?” the other vampire asked.

She wouldn’t answer that.

“Ah, you plan to walk to the village.” Zayan tilted his head and the wind threw his hair behind him. Long, wavy, it looked like the style of the rakish and handsome Charles II. “I would not advise it. There are wolves out, and they are excited by the scent of magic in the air.”

The scent of magic? But she shivered—he was correct. She smelled something in the air—an exotic richness, a breathtaking scent that was alluring and indescribable.

The other vampire, the one with the streak of silver in his hair, strode forward. “You are to come with us, sweeting.”

“I won’t.”

“I can force you to come with me. I can control your mind, and you will obediently place one foot before the other and follow me.”

“Then do that,” she snapped, “because I won’t go willingly.”

“I am glad, fair lady, that yours is the first carriage we’ve encountered. But I have not the time to do battles with words.”

This vampire also wore a cape, one of black velvet, trimmed in a thick, luxurious fur of gray and white. Wolf fur. A jeweled clasp held it.

He tossed her over his shoulder, his hand clamped on her bottom to hold her in place. He squeezed her rump through her skirts.

“Put me down!”

“Let us take a look at your carriage first.”

They strode over, and though she kicked and struggled, she could not break free. She could not even see the wreck of the carriage, though she felt a perverse sense of satisfaction when the vampires paused, and the one holding her groaned.

Excerpt from Blood Deep © Sharon Page. Coming from Kensington Aphrodisia May 26, 2009

Hi,

I have a big announcement to make! The Club, my first mass-market historical romance made the USA Today best seller list. Publishers Weekly said about The Club: “Page (Black Silk) delivers a winner with this sensuous and captivating erotic Regency romance…This romantic whodunit is sizzling with chemistry and will keep readers hungrily turning pages.”

Things have been a bit frantic in my house—I’m working on revisions for an upcoming book (which means trying to edit 3 chapters a day) and we’ve had a few health issues. Also the kids are off school for March Break next week, so that should be hectic 

Since I’m rushed, I thought I’d post an excerpt from my upcoming vampire erotic romance, Blood Deep. Blood Deep was one of those fun stories that develops when a lot of ideas come together. I wanted to write about a heroine who is pursued by a demonic presence that appears as a mysterious fog. And I wanted to see if the villains of my previous “Blood” books could be redeemed by love. Hope you enjoy the excerpt!

Now, away from the vampires, she couldn’t understand why she had ever thought she belonged with them.

The doorknob rattled. Miranda jerked around.
The key turned in the lock by itself and the door opened.

Zayan leaned on the doorframe, his hands bare of gloves. He had discarded his coat. A white shirt, open at the throat, clung to his shoulders.

“Leave my bedroom.” She held her linen towel against her breasts, thrust up by the corset and covered only by a filmy chemise. Defiantly, she added, “I do not invite you across my threshold.”

“You climaxed with me. Your invitation has already been extended.”

She flushed. “That was when I was trying to save your soul.”

But he strode inside, to her bed, with an arrogance that was as heightened as his strength. He stretched out on her bedcover. His muscular legs easily reached to the end and his black boots hung over the edge.

“What do you want from me?” She strained to read his thoughts. She knew he wouldn’t answer aloud, but if he thought of it, she might hear it again. But she heard nothing. “You want my power, I know, but why? I can’t give it to you. I don’t even know what to do with it.”

Zayan levered up on his side, his eyes glittering in the
flicking light of the fire and the candles. “You felt at your most comfortable having orgasms with Lukos and I. You felt finally alive, didn’t you?”

I need her love.

She heard that small hint at his thoughts, and it stunned her. She did not know what to make of it—or the determined tone in which the words came to her. “I think I was controlled by the magic,” she said.
“Not true.” His grin slid over her from mussed hair and damp face down to her dirtied boots. “What you felt is what is truly inside you, Miranda. A passionate nature. A sensual soul. A yearning to explore and to be free in sexual pleasure.”

“N—no,” she said shakily.

© Excerpt from “Blood Deep” by Sharon Page 2009

I was thinking of blogging about what would make the Ultimate Valentine’s Day present, but right now, for me that would be sleep! I just turned in a book (a bit long at 120,000 words) on Monday and am working on new proposals right now.

I’m very laid back about Valentine’s Day. My hubby and I don’t make a big fuss, and with two kids, we don’t go out for dinner. Sitting on the couch and having a bottle of wine sounds like an ultimate fantasy to me .

As a romance author, I think one of the best gifts is a romance book—this is a treat I like to get for myself. There’s nothing more decadent than taking a little time to read. I received a bit of a gift from my publisher myself—a few extra copies of Hot Silk arrived yesterday. I’m giving away 2 on Fresh Fiction, and would like to give one away here.

So I’ll send a copy of Hot Silk to whoever answers the following question:
What does vampire Zayan do to Miranda while Lukos kisses her neck?

The answer can be found in the excerpt below—the excerpt is from my upcoming June 09 release, Blood Deep!

Zayan reached for her hand. “Isn’t a kiss on the hand the way a proper English gentleman begins his seduction of a lady?”

His hand clasped hers; his fingers threaded through hers. Like a perfect gentleman, like a man she might have dreamed about, he raised her hand to his lips.

“No, don’t do this.” She could not bear a mockery of courtship before she was killed and her blood taken. “No, I know nothing of magic. I didn’t even really believe in vampires!”

Soft and full, Zayan’s lower lip touched the back of her bare hand. A jolt of warm pleasure ignited there at the brush of his mouth. He kissed her hand as no man had ever done before—a tantalizing play of mouth and tongue. She’d had no idea a kiss to her hand could make her blood rush madly through her. Could make her nipples lift against her shift.

But Lukos was not going to simply watch, she realized. He had moved to their side—he was on his knees. It startled her that a vampire, a demonic creature, would be on his knees for her. “I do not share,” he growled, looking like a defiant boy. “We could have her choose—”

“Choose!” she cried. “I’d never—”

“But we can both compel her thoughts,” Lukos continued, ignoring her outrage. “I propose a competition. An amusement for a long journey.”

The fiends were speaking as though she were not even there. And butterflies took flight in her belly at the word competition.

“No magic?” Zayan asked.

“Magic is allowed, but only for seduction, which will begin like this…”

Miranda held her breath. Lukos bent to her neck. She felt him approach. Her skin seemed to anticipate him, tingling before he touched her.

His lips brushed her, and she moaned with desire. What was wrong with her? Zayan suckled her fingers one by one and the sensations left her dizzy. She could not fight the…the heated desire rising in her. They were competing for her, like she was a prize.
What if she touched them? What if she touched them as she did to others who had died? Could she bring them back? Could this mysterious power she possessed do that—to men who had been vampires for centuries?

Did she dare try? If she could change them, they couldn’t kill her.

The shade rattled away from the carriage window. Barely any light filtered in.

The sun had set. She had to try now. She did not have any more time, and this might be her only hope to live.

Excerpt From Blood Deep © Sharon Page 2009

Hi All,

I’m sure everyone’s caught up in holiday business. My “To Do” list gets bigger each day, not smaller. In fact, I was supposed to post last night, so I’m hoping to sneak in a quick entry this morning.

I just received my cover for my next Aphrodisia, Blood Deep—if you love an idea of sexy vampire menage a trois, the “Blood” series might just be for you!

For authors, check out my blog (the December 12, 2008 entry), for a terrific contest I’m running with Croco Designs, who is the amazing designer of the Aphrodisia website. You can win a $25.00 gift certificate for design work. Put it toward artwork for bookmarks, an ad, or banners, or toward some webdesign work.

For readers, I’m going to post a new website contest later this week. Win a $25.00 Amazon gift certificate, to be give away after Xmas, so you can treat yourself to a gift just for you.

And check out Rachelle Chase’s Dec 10 blog post here if you haven’t already, for her fabulous contest.
And I’ll also like to say thanks to my editor at Kensington, Hilary Sares, who braved the ice and snow to visit my RWA chapter last weekend, and gave us an amazing Q&A session on the publishing industry.

Blood Deep is a June 2009 release—here’s a sneak peek:

Miranda kicked out wildly. “Y—you can force me to feel pleasure, but you will never seduce me!”
Zayan jerked his attention upward to see Lukos stroking his fingers along the neckline of her pelisse. Miranda opened her eyes wide. They locked with his. Hers were vivid blue—the brilliant shining blue of the waves that lapped at the southern shores of Italy.
She didn’t look frightened. She looked…hopeful. It shocked Zayan so much, he straightened from her wrist. Strangely, he could not draw away from her steady, determined gaze.
“You won’t seduce me,” she said again. “No matter what you do. But I want to touch you. I believe I can return your soul, Zayan.”
Did she really think she could save him, the naïve child? His answer was harsh. “You can’t, angel.”
“Let me touch you,” she said.
He had not expected this. She spoke to him as his wife used to. He was the general, but his wife had spoken sharply to him, had expected him to obey her command.
Zayan jerked back as the woman’s hand struck his chest, her fingers splayed wide. Heat surged through his pectorals, a hot spear through his muscles, a fiery grip around his heart. Her power held him transfixed. He couldn’t move.
By the gods, she was strong with magic.
Far more than he’d guessed.
His temperature soared; heat raced through his veins as though he were being consumed by fire. Could she make him burst into flame? Could her touch make him explode, burn to ash?
“Oh! Oh!” she cried. Her body was convulsing. She moaned. She moved her hips in the fierce bounce of a woman caught in the throes of a powerful orgasm. Her lips opened wide as she rode out the pleasure.
Zayan’s nostrils flared at the tang of her juices. He could scent her cunny becoming wet and creamy. Lukos could scent her, too, he knew. Lukos could shift shape and become a wolf, which made the demon even more primal about sex than Zayan was.
“What in hell is she?” Lukos growled.
Still enduring the blasting heat, Zayan could barely speak. “Not a demon,” he managed. “Not a vampire.” He drew in a deep breath as the heat began to ebb. He wasn’t going to go up in a ball of flame. “An avenging angel?” But he didn’t think so.
Miss Miranda slumped back against the seat. Her chest rose and fell. Zayan saw the horror in her eyes. The stark fear. She stared down at her own shaking hands.
She didn’t understand her own power. He read it in her thoughts before her intense emotions became a blur that he couldn’t understand. He’d never had that happen before. The only minds that could shutter themselves from him were those of vampire queens, and demons who had been Lucifer’s apprentices. But he had glimpsed the most powerful emotion Miranda felt—she was afraid of herself.

Excerpt from Blood Deep © Sharon Page

I returned back a couple of weeks ago from a research trip in London, England. It was busy–trying to see everything in one week is hard. And only regency writers can be hanging against the window of a taxi like a salivating dog, saying, “OMG! I’m really on Park Lane! There’s Hyde Park. I set a scene in Hyde Park!”

The photo is of me on the steps of White’s Gentleman’s Club, which I’ve used in some of my stories. It was taken just a few moments before the doorman/bouncer came out and told me I was not allowed to stand in front of the door. Photos only below the steps, please. So I was “tossed off” the steps of White’s!

Hot Silk, my October release is on the shelves, and I recently turned in my next vampire story. I’m posting a small excerpt of Hot Silk, where the hero becomes a little vulnerable…

She leaned in more to reach his hand, pushing her breasts against him. He opened his mouth as wide as he could to take a big mouthful of breast. He suckled hard on her skin and heard her desperate whimper of pleasure.

The linen slid around his wrists, which he held together behind his back for her convenience. He moaned at the sensation, the sound muffled by the breast filling his mouth. Her hands worked, brushing his skin. He couldn’t see what she was doing; he could only feel it, and that sensation had him tense and coiled on the seat. It was as though he could explode like gunpowder on the spot.

Her body swayed as she worked, her breasts pushing forward and pulling back. He sucked hungrily at her skin. The fabric went tight around his wrists. Her knee bumped his hard cock and rested on his thigh. She had to be getting leverage to tie him tight.
Damn, he was so aroused.

Her knee kept smacking his cock and he grimaced, fighting for control. He couldn’t come at just the brush of her knee, could he?

“There.” She wriggled on him, moving sensuously, teasing his face with her tits. Then she moved back and he had to let her breast go.
With her teeth nibbling her lower lip, she gazed down at him. A lovely, curvaceous goddess limned by firelight.

“It’s so arousing to see you with your hands bound,” she whispered. “That’s terrible, isn’t it?”

Sweet Grace, revealing her fantasies and so uncertain and shy about them.

“It’s not terrible. It’s natural. We all have fantasies and our most private fantasies can be dark, shocking ones. And sometimes we have ones that are just damned odd.”

Her shy smile made him catch his breath. “After all,” he said, “I’m revealing mine to you.”

“Why would you, a swash-buckling pirate, want to be tied up by a woman?”

“I want to be wanted by a woman that much.”

He heard her soft, surprised gasp, and he watched the deliciously fetching confusion on her face. Then she gave a coquettish smile. “What do I do now, then, Captain? You have a rather upright mast.”

Excerpt from Hot Silk © Sharon Page 2008

I’m thrilled to announce that my vampire story Blood Red won th <!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

I’m thrilled to announce that my vampire story Blood Red won the 2008 National Readers’ Choice Award (from Oklahoma Romance Writers of America) for Erotic Romance. This is my 2^nd win for the award—Sin won last year.

I had lots of great contest news this year. Blood Red was a finalist in 5 contests and Blood Rose in two. You can check these out on my website, which has just been completely revamped by Crocodesigns (I really love it.)

I’m chained to the computer these days, working on Blood Deep, with is the 3^rd book in the ‘Blood’ vampire series. I have the back cover copy and a release date—June 09. I just finished my first book with Dell (that will be out in Feb 09) and haven’t had much time to think lately. So I thought I’d give a small excerpt from Hot Silk (coming October 08).

For me, Hot Silk embodied a lot of what I love about erotic romance, because it let me take chances that I couldn’t normally take.

“What is it you want, Mr. Sharpe? A ransom for my life?”

Standing in the west-facing drawing room of his home, bathed in rich afternoon light, Grace asked the questions without sarcasm, without rancor, and Devlin was taken aback to realize she seriously thought that was his intent. He tightened his grip on the glass in his hand, not tasting the fine brandy as it slid down his throat.

Months of planning had gone into this, his goal simple and direct—to bring Grace into his life once more, to have her again, to—

Hades, at that point his goals became hazy, a sensation that he’d experienced a long time ago and had never liked. He always decided exactly what he wanted and got it.

He set down his glass with a clunk that rattled the table, then tore off the tricorn, mask, and wig. Damp with sweat, his hair was caught back with a leather tie. “I would never trade you for money, love.”

Sunlight caressed Grace’s generous curves and played along the slender line of her neck. “Then what do you want?”

Devlin’s throat tightened. He slung his leg over the arm of a wing chair and drank in her features—the exotic, expressive curves of her mouth, the pert nose, and the sparking green eyes that promised a fiery temper and bewitching sensuality. But she looked afraid of him and that twisted his heart.

He glanced toward the window, a plane of reflective gold, and softly said, “I’ve seen you, sweetheart, over the last two years. At balls.” By revealing it, had he gone too far? He had taken a hell of a risk for a wanted man…but he’d been drawn to see her. He’d known men addicted to opium, addicted to drink. Damnation, but his desire for Grace was a merciless master, and he suspected he was addicted to her.

Unease brought lines to bracket her lips. “I did not know you went into society. But why would you? Why would you want to see me?”

“To see how you were coping in the world I’d ruined you for.”

“A woman ruins herself,” she threw back and he winced at the cynicism, the bitterness in her voice. She’d aged much more than two years.

He had stood on the fringes of society, in the shadows, and he’d watched her. She’d danced, but her eyes had been far away. She’d flirted, but would quickly retreat if the gentleman began to look too earnest. She’d fled from those who were apparently hoping for seduction, but also from those who looked obviously in love.

Even with her sisters, the fiery auburn-haired Lady Trent and the gentle, beautiful Lady Swansborough, Grace had seemed reserved—she was hiding secrets, and he could sense the weight of them affected every word she spoke.

“I never saw you,” she said. “But then, I never looked for you.”

The admission hurt. Of course, he’d hidden damn well, and she had no reason to think he would go out in society. So why should he be hoping that she had pined for him?

Devlin grinned, as he always did when he landed in trouble. “I was never formally invited. And I never went anywhere through the front door, love.”

Grace moved to the window and laid her white-gloved knuckles against the pane. She stood with the sun behind her, the brilliance of it dazzling his eyes. Her profile was cast in shadow, unreadable. “You still have not told me what you want.”

Simple answer to that. He wanted her in his bed.

From Hot Silk, © Sharon Page 2008 Kensington Aphrodisia Oct. 2008

Hi everyone,
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I always have good intentions, but with two little kids and deadlines, months just go by in the blink of an eye. I’m sure everyone has that problem.
First off, I want to give a Contest Alert:
This month I’m doing a cross contest with fellow Aphrodisia author Elizabeth Amber, who writes the sexy, historical paranormal Lords of Satyr series.
For details, check the contest page at my site http://www.sharonpage.com/contest.htm for a chance to win a copy of Elizabeth’s latest book, LYON, THE LORDS OF SATYR.
And for a chance to win my latest, BLACK SILK, check out Elizabeth’s newsletter group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ElizabethAmber

I’m also thrilled to announce that Blood Red and Blood Rose, my erotic vampire menage stories, are finalists for seven contests, which has been very exciting. Currently, I’m working on Blood Deep, the third book in the series. In this one, my heroes are the villains from the first two stories, so I’m exploring the question—Can the darkest vampires be redeemed by love?

My book currently on the shelves is Black Silk, and I’ve included an excerpt below. Enjoy!

Maryanne watched her raven-haired Lancelot elegantly climb into the basket. Of course, he could do it easily—he had endless legs and wore trousers. Just as she stared helplessly at it, he scooped her effortlessly into his arms. In a froth of hems and petticoats, she was hoisted over the wicker wall and into the basket. As her feet touched the floor of the basket, it came up to meet her. “Ooh!”

The flame illuminated the sculpted planes of his face, his wicked grin as the balloon went up. The basket tilted to the right. She clutched the side. “Goodness.”

Swansborough laughed. “But as you each take on orgasmic flight, you must remember to hold on tight,” he quoted. He wrapped a hand around the stays that secured their small basket to the enormous balloon and kept the other near the fire box and the ropes that worked the vents.

Below, illuminated by the torches, she saw the men gripping the tether ropes, feeding them through gloved hands.

A lurch to the left, and she tumbled back against his lordship. His large body pressed against her, his arm locked around her waist, and she felt safe—though if the basket tipped, they’d both fall. Why should the thought of falling to their deaths together, sharing disaster, make her feel better?

“Magnificent, isn’t it?”

With her hands gripping the basket, she stared down.

Far below, the torches looked like tiny candle flames, and she could no longer see the men. Men who thought she was going to rut with a viscount here. Men who thought her a courtesan.
Don’t think of that.

The Serpentine caught the moonlight, water rippling in the sweet breeze. Dark trees bobbed and swayed, the leaves silver, and the park was a stretch of dark velvet.

She gazed up. Stars dotted the violet skies above the park. And London’s lights were spread out before her. “It’s beautiful.” The basket swayed. “And terrifying.”

Excerpt from Black Silk © Sharon Page

Posting a little early as I’ll never get on the computer tomorrow

She spied the ropes hanging from the bedposts and stared at them, her arms crossed over her chest. Strangely, her pinched lips only made her more sensually enticing. He fought the urge to yank off her bonnet, rip out her pins, drop to his knees, and make her come with his mouth.

There is nothing more exasperating than the sound of a woman in pleasure if that woman is not you, and there is very little hope that the woman will ever be you.