Aphrodisia Authors :: Blog

Picking up on Kate Douglas’s last post (March 18), I, too am a glass half-full person. I’m optimistic and a worker. I get things done. I’m determined and energetic. I do get upset or depressed sometimes, like everyone, though. Everyone except my mom, who is the most optimistic person I know. Even when she should be unhappy because her life is not going well, she’s not! As you can imagine, I enjoyed growing up under her wing.

So I’m watching the news and reading news blogs. I was glued to CNN when Egypt first revolted. My husband has a very good friend here on a school visa from Egypt and she was super-glued to the TV. In her family’s town, the neighborhood residents trolled the streets at night, trying to protect themselves against looters taking advantage of the unrest.

Sometimes, the world seems to be going crazy around us, doesn’t it? And it’s unsettling. There are things I’ve counted on before that are changing. When I say ‘counted on’ I don’t mean I wanted the status quo to remain in Egypt or Libya. I just knew where things stood. Change is often a good thing, but it still rocks our world–the big world and the small one made up of our friends, families, jobs, homes. And some change is not so good. In Japan, they couldn’t count on the very ground beneath their feet to remain steady. Now that, is a frightening thought. I lived in the ‘ring of fire’ at one time and went through only one small quake. Talk about rock your world. I’ve never run out of the house so fast.

I moved to NC a few years ago and we bought a house. I didn’t really hang many pictures or get enthusiastic about furniture arrangement in this house. It has been fine, but not home. Suddenly, I’m hanging pictures and making pillows. I’m cleaning. I’m making sure to get together with neighbors and friends. After reading Kate’s post it occurred to  me that I’m trying to fix my nest. Or more accurately, maybe exert some control over it. I used to do this when things felt unsettled in my family home growing up. It makes me feel better, more in control, more able to carry on and accomplish my goals and be the person my family depends upon.

I’m so glad I can lose myself in writing and reading–a mix of work and pleasure immersion. I’ve been re-reading books I know and love, which I think is another way to comfort myself. I know what to expect with these old friends. We’ve met before and they didn’t let me down. I’m still making time for new books–Maya Banks’ KGI series, Lora Leigh’s Elite Ops, and I’m looking forward to Kate’s Starfire here shortly. (She’s holding a giveaway of it for members of my enewsletter at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ElizabethAmber/ ) And my new release, BASTIAN, The Lords of Satyr, is coming in one month! I revel in these successes and pleasures. I’m a half-full lady, remember?

I hope you’re all finding ways to make your “small” world make sense. How are you coping in your life, with the broader picture? Do you see your kids or families finding ways to cope that surprise or touch you? I’d love to hear from you. Hugs to all. xox

~ Elizabeth Amber

The Lords of Satyr series:
Nicholas | Raine | Lyon | Dominic
Dane ~ RT Book Reviews TOP PICK! RT best erotic fantasy romance winner!
Bastian ~ coming April 26, 2011
paranormal erotic historical romance
Kensington Aphrodisia
http://www.elizabethamber.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ElizabethAmber/

70 Author Book Fair!

I’ll be at the Book Fair October 2nd, along with about 70 other authors. It’s open to the public from 4pm – 6pm, in Bellevue, WA (adjacent to Seattle) at the Bellevue Hilton. I hope to see some of you there! List of authors.

Elizabeth Amber
Nicholas | Raine | Lyon | Dominic | Dane
hot historical paranormal romance
Kensington Aphrodisia
www.elizabethamber.com

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

Night Owl Reviews Halloween Hunt

Just a heads-up that Night Owl Reviews is hosting a month-long Halloween Web Hunt in October. Over 100 prizes, including gift cards, signed books, and more. Click graphic for deets:

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

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?

So Many Clothes, So Little To Wear

There’s a smarter way to shop for clothes than the way I’ve shopped all my life.  This, I discovered when my best friend (BF) came over recently to help me go through my closet and come up with some “outfits.”  I have plenty of clothes, it seems, but few outfits. Why? Because I buy clothes on impulse.

On the other hand, BF is very disciplined. She’ll try on something in a store that looks great on her, and I’ll urge her to buy it.  She’ll often refuse, saying, “I don’t have anything to go with it.”  My response has always been bafflement. “Who cares? You’ll find something.”

So BF came over that afternoon, and like a fashion drill sergeant, she ordered me to hang my clothes in color groups. Then we mixed and matched.  When we managed to put together an “outfit,” she took a photo of me wearing it, so it would be easy to remember. Along the way, I realized how many pieces of clothing I have that are lovely, but that I haven’t worn because they don’t go with anything else I have. That has always frustrated me.

By the time BF left, I had six outfits.  And a shopping list.  She told me to get a long, narrow, red scarf; high, chunky-heeled black shoes; a black belt; and a red camisole.  “Yes sir!” I replied.  I’ve gotten three of the four.  (Red camisoles of the right length and decoration are hard to find.)

I’m not saying I’ll never impulse-buy again, but I’ll be doing less of it. I really learned something about shopping from my best friend that day:
1. The RIGHT accessories go a long way.
2. Buy smart—buy things that go together.

If you’ve felt the same frustration when trying to put your clothes together, invite a willing friend over to do this. It’s fun and worthwhile!

CONTEST:
My new release, Dominic, The Lords of Satyr pubs in March and I’ll offer a copy of it in next month’s blog. This month, I’m offering an autographed copy of the first book in the satyr series, Nicholas, The Lords of Satyr, since I have extras. Next Wednesday (Feb. 4th), I’ll have someone randomly select a winner from among those who leave a comment here.  Good luck, and thanks for visiting the Aphrodisia Authors’ blog!

~ Elizabeth Amber