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Wednesday

Death by...accessories?

As a suspense author I spent a lot of time planning the demise of some characters. Sometimes it's just because they are bugging me. These tend to be quick and easy. Like being tossed out a window of a high rise, or pushed off a cliff. Maybe even shot pointblank while the gunman saunters off into the sunset. These are probably the easiest for me.



Sometimes I need to figure out an attempt on their life, but something that won't actually do them in. My husband has become fairly used to me asking questions like, "Is it possible to reverse the exaust in the car and the driver wouldn't be aware of it?" and since one of my bosses is a former trauma surgeon I've been known to ask, "If I shot someone right here, would they live? What about here?"


And sometimes I read something in the news or think of something that's so beyond the scope of reality that it could only happen in reality. Today I was getting ready to take the 50lb lap dog out on a walk. He was under my feet, just like usual, when my purse fell off the chair it was sitting in and nearly conked him in the head. And since we'd been out for dinner last night, my purse was full of toys for the kids, the kindle, probably a small boulder or two. You've picked up those purses that are literally 20 pounds or more, so you know what I mean.  And I couldn't help think..."Death by purse?" Which of course took me to various other accessories that could be used in someone's demise.


What do you think? What accessory would be the best?

Saturday

The Delicate art of Pretense…And Steamy Erotic Regencies (Guest Blog by Sabrina York)



The Delicate art of Pretense…And Steamy Erotic Regencies
When I was in college, my best friend and I loved to travel through Europe. Between us we spoke five languages (at least enough to get food and find the toilet, as you will agree, are the most important things in life). We considered ourselves linguists, even though our French was execrable and I had the German of a Schwabian guttersnipe. Which, trust me, was not a good thing.

In addition to being linguists of note, we were also pranksters and our favorite thing to do was find a seat in a train compartment, surrounded by people, and speak to each other…in a language we made up.

Being college students—and therefore unduly arrogant and quite open to alcohol consumption—we found it hysterical to listen to them wonder where we were from.

Did I mention I am easily entertained?

But there is a reason for this confession.

In my newest steamy erotic Regency, Dark Fancy, both Helena and James are pretending to be someone they’re not. Helena, because she’s running from an unwanted marriage and James because, well, he wants to seduce Helena.

My question for you is: Have you ever pretended to be someone you are not? And did it result—as it did for Helena—in a sexy spanking?

Oh, do tell. Inquiring minds want to know!

I have attached the blurb and a steamy excerpt for your enjoyment. Dark Fancy is available on Amazon for preorder and at e-tailers everywhere after February 22nd.



Dark Fancy
By Sabrina York

When Lady Helena Eloise Simpson flees an unwanted marriage to a revolting lord, she finds refuge with James, a charming, handsome man unlike any she’s ever known. Helena concocts the perfect solution to her problem. She asks—begs—James to ruin her. Surely her betrothed will repudiate her if she is no longer pure. And if all her efforts fail and she still ends up married to a horrid man until the end of her days, she will—at least once—have known true passion.

But James is not all he seems. He is, in fact, a wicked lord with a dark fancy. When Helena awakens his desire, he becomes determined to take everything she has to offer and more. No matter the cost.


Dark Fancy by Sabrina York

An excerpt from: DARK FANCY
Copyright © 2013 by Sabrina York, 2013
All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing , Inc.

By reading any further you are stating you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, it is necessary for you to exit this site.

James stared at Eloise, brave, proud, innocent Eloise. He could relate to the passion in her plea. He had a sudden desire to be released from a betrothal himself. He fiddled with the corner of his napkin. “There is always the chance your betrothed won’t care if you’re ruined.” Some men did not.

Her lashes fluttered. When they rose again, there was a look in her eye that sent lust coursing down his spine. It settled in his cock. “If I’m to be married to a bilious flounder of a man for the rest of my life, I should like to know passion just once. Just once, James.”

“J-just once?” His voice cracked.

Her smile blossomed. “Perhaps more than once.”

He had to laugh, although this was clearly no laughing matter. “My dear. I would be happy to oblige.”

“Excellent!” She clapped her hands with glee.

Unfortunate, that, because it made her look, once again, like a little girl. But then she picked up her cup and ran her pink tongue around the rim, lapping at the wayward drops. He reached for the second bottle.

She held out her cup for a refill. “You will need to show me what to do.”

He almost forgot to stop pouring. Hell yes. He’d love to show her what to do. He’d love to instruct her—in elaborate detail—what, precisely, to do. Something snarled in his belly.  His palm itched.
He forced down that decadent desire. Chained the beast.

For God’s sake. She was an innocent, a virgin. If he opened with that card, not only would she truly be ruined, she would probably hie off to the nearest nunnery and spend the remainder of her life in seclusion.

Oh, he would bed her. He would despoil and beguile her, but only in the very gentlest of fashions.
But his fantasies, the darkling imagery of what he would truly like to do, simmered.

“Are you…” He cleared his throat. “Are you ready for your bath?”

“Heavens, yes.” Once again, she clapped her hands.

The childlike gesture was off-putting since, at the moment, he was thinking of sinking his cock into her body and swallowing her moans with his mouth. But he liked her enthusiasm. It also made him desire—very deeply—to tie those hands to the bedposts. So she couldn’t clap them.
Why that thought made him salivate, he didn’t know.

Ah hell. Of course he knew.

Despite the lust snarling through him, he managed a modicum of chivalry, although it was perfunctory at best. “I’ll fashion a curtain.”

Her next words nearly unmanned him. “You don’t need to.”

“I b-beg your pardon?”

“You don’t need to bother with a curtain.” For a shy and demure innocent, she had something of a brazen streak. “I mean, if we’re going to…you know…”

“Make love?”

“Yes. If we’re going to make love, you will see me naked anyway.” A frown crossed her brow. “Won’t you?”

He chuckled. “Most certainly.”

“I thought so. But people are not very forthcoming when one asks about such things.”

“Really?” That had not been his experience in the slightest. Then again, she was a girl. The world sought to save and protect innocence. Until it ravaged it.

He did not know why he trembled as he poured the heavy buckets into the tub. He was a man of the world. Jaded and used to much more decadent fare than initiating virgins to the delights of the flesh. He should hardly be nervous about the prospect of having her.

Then again, maybe it wasn’t nerves. Maybe it was just pure, seething desire.


Dark Fancy is now available for preorder on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Fancy-ebook/dp/B00AN86ILY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1355761557&sr=8-4&keywords=dark+fancy

About Sabrina York
Sabrina is an award winning author of erotic romance with over a dozen titles available, ranging from sweet & sexy erotic romance to BDSM to erotic horror. Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york or Facebook.
Check out Sabrina’s books and read an excerpt on her webpage (www.sabrinayork.com) or explore on Amazon or at Ellora’s Cave.
·         Adam’s Obsession: Contemporary Erotic Romance  
·         Extreme Couponing: Contemporary BDSM
·         Folly: Erotic Regency
·         Pushing Her Buttons: Contemporary BDSM  
·         Rising Green: Steamy Erotic horror
·         Training Tess: Contemporary BDSM  
·         Trickery: Magical Domination  
·         Tristan’s Temptation: Contemporary Erotic Romance  

Coming Releases



Win a Tiara From Her Royal Hotness!
Enter to win a gorgeous tiara by signing up for Sabrina York's Royal Hotsheet (new book and contest info only--no spam! Your e-mail address will not be shared). If you're already getting the newsletter, don't fret. You're already in the drawing. Send an email with "Enter Me" in the subject line (this is erotica, after all) to sabrina@sabrinayork.com. The drawing will be March 31, 2013.

One entry per person.

Refer Your Friends Bonus Entries
Tell your friends about Sabrina York, Her Royal Hotness. If they sign up for Sabrina's Hotsheet you earn another entry, plus a chance at a Referrals Only drawing for more bling. (NOTE: They must tell me that you referred them in the message box so I can give you credit).

Good luck!!!

Friday


Just one more day until Sabrina York invades the blog to talk about her newest book, Dark Fancy.
Dark Fancy is an Erotic Regency. Yes, you read that right, Erotic Regency. Now, I admit to being a bit...timid, when Sabrina was telling me about this book she was working on. It was her other Erotic Regency, Folly.

The first romances I remember reading were Regency era, ballroom filled, wall flower turned belle of the ball books. You know the type. When I tried to picture her book, I just couldn't place it properly.
And then I read it.
Holy. WOW. I loved it. LOVED it. If you are a fan of historicals and erotica, I insist you get your hands on a copy of Folly. And then Dark Fancy.

And, now a sneak peak of tomorrow's post:
Come back and get instructions on how to enter to win this tiara.

See you tomorrow!

Carmen

Thursday

Two more days until her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, stops by to chat about her newest release. I figured I'd give some fun facts about Sabrina.
1) She likes to sparkle. Not like those twinkle vampires, but with gems and rhinestones. Bling is her middle name.
2)She like bacon. To the point that she's coined the phrase, "Orgasmic bacon". I think there's something wrong with all the bacon I've had-Ever.
3) She writes like the wind. Seriously, every time I turn around she's got another book done or is poking at me to read something else of hers. Meanwhile, I may have finished a paragraph. It's pathetic.
4) The first book I ever read for Sabrina was this one.
It had a different name then, but ho-lee-cow. Talk about an introduction.

I hope you'll all stop by on Saturday to meet Ms. Twinkle Toes...I mean Her Royal Hotness, herself.

Carmen

Wednesday

Counting down

I feel like doing a count down to my first ever guest blogger, Sabrina York's, Saturday blogpost.
That's right, just three more days until Her Royal Hotness joins us to talk about...I'm not sure what. Frankly, I'm a little terrified to find out what she has up her sleeve. She's a bit of a loose cannon at times.
That's just one of the reasons I love her.

Saturday

Marketing...better known as finding the readers

There is a lot of buzz about marketing for authors. A lot of information out there telling us what we need to do, where we need to do it, who we need to connect with, tweet with (or is it tweet at?), Facebook, Goodreads, blogs, advertise...I'm sure I'm not mentioning several things that I should be doing.
I've noticed one major thing missing though: write. Don't forget to write. Every day. It's the only way to get published (I'm including self publishing in that 'get published' goal); create a product that you can sell. A product that people want to read. It's the only way to practice our craft.
Now, I'm not talking about writing a hundred thousand word piece right from the start. I'm realizing that setting smaller goals helps. A lot. Write that scene that just won't leave you alone, you might meet a character that you can use in your current book. Write a scene about something that happened in your character's past. Something that is part of his history, but won't actually be in the book. It's amazing how much that helps.
All the marketing stuff is good. It's needed. But don't lose sight of your product.

That being said, on my FB fan page (I have 'fans', can you believe it??) I post covers that catch my eye. Any and all covers are welcome. Feel free to offer suggestions and take part in the small conversations that happen over there.
https://www.facebook.com/authorcarmencook

Also, I'm going to have a guest blogger next Saturday, the wonderful Sabrina York! YAY! I can't wait to see what she's got up her sleeve...or tucked in her tiara as the case may be.

More soon,

Carmen

Comfort Reads

This week I read an interesting, fun blog on one of those "oldie but goodie" books that we all tend to recommend to one another. You know, the book that you just can't help but pull off your keeper self and read again and again throughout the years. The ultimate comfort reads that you grab when your own muse refuses to budge on an idea, or life is so crazy that you just need that little escape.
I have several comfort reads. Right now I'm revisiting Celeste Bradley's Liars Club series, after reading her newest which featured a character from the original series. It was so much fun reading "When She Said I Do" and catching glimpses of those characters that I fell in love with years ago...and wondering what they were up to.
What are some of your comfort reads?

Creating the Mood

One of the toughest things I've encountered is setting 'the mood'. Readers expect a certain mood (not to mention world building and all that other stuff) when they pick up a book. Depending on the genre, those moods can be pretty specific.

Yesterday I was in the middle of a steamy scene and my fifty pound lap dog crawled into the chair with me and promptly started snoring. And farting. Not exactly the mood I was trying to set as my hero gently ran his fingers through the heroine's hair.

The other buzz kill I've been facing are my lovely children, who must have rigged my desk chair somehow because the second I sit down they yell, "Hey Mom!" or "By the way, Mom..." typically followed with something like, "that report I told you I was done with, I'm not. It's due tomorrow and I need you to take me to the library NOW to get the book I need to finish it."
*sigh*

Or, my poor husband, who puts up with so much. As I type this, he's shopping for some noise canceling headphones for me...I guess I've been ranting about this situations a lot this weekend. Until those headphones arrive, I've been using my ipod to signal to my guys (unsuccessfully) that I am not available for conversation. That doesn't stop hubby from wanting to talk to me about the latest news story that caught his attention, or discuss what it is that he'd like to have for dinner.

So tell me, how to do you set the mood so you are better able to set the mood...if you know what I mean?