by Sarah | Sep 19, 2013 | Friday Dialogues, Guest Authors, Writing
Personal
- Can you tell us a little about yourself? I live in Michigan with my husband and teenage son. I have two older sons and a daughter-in-law who live nearby. I like fishing, camping, and going for long walks. I love books, so I have a collection of old books and paperbacks. But I mostly read books on my Nook now. I leave reviews on books I read.
- Do you have a day job? Sort of. My husband and I love to buy things at auctions. We resell those items at the flea market, and online auction sites such as ebay, webstore, and ebids.
- What was the greatest thing you learned at school? My school days were a long time ago. But since I have been out of school I have learned you never stop learning. I’m not a big fan of research, but I believe it helps my writing and I always learn something new.
- Do you laugh at your own jokes? Sometimes.
- Have you ever found true love? Yes. I’ve been married for 29 years. And we are still in love. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.
- What is something you never leave home without (apart from keys, phone, money, and ID)? My Nook and notebook. I used to carry a book in my purse, but now it’s my Nook. I always like to read, and you never know when an idea will hit you.
- Where can people find you on the web? Where can they read more about your books?
www.kaylalone.weebly.com (website) www.kaylalone.blogspot.com (blog)
Your Novel
- What is your book about? Sarah Kay gets help from her dead grandma to find her father who she thought was dead.
- What inspired you to write this particular story? My grandma. I was about Sarah Kay’s age, main character in Ghostly Clues, when my grandmother died. I remember one night seeing a ghostly hand creep up on my bed. It scared me at the time, but it is a memory that has haunted me. I do include that ghost hand in Ghostly Clues.
- Are the names of the characters in your novel important? I think so. Sarah Kay is a name I always liked. If I had a daughter, that would have been her name.
- How much of yourself is hidden in the characters in the book? Sarah Kay is a lot like me.
Writing
- How many stories are swirling around in your head? Do you keep a mental list, a computer file, or a spiral notebook filled with the ideas? There are a lot of ideas swirling around my head. That’s why I carry a notebook with me. I always try to write down my ideas in a notebook.
- Who gave you the best writing advice you ever received and what was it? I don’t remember who gave me the advice, but the best writing advice I received is write, write, write, and read, read, read.
- Where do you get the names for your characters? They just pop into my head.
- What are you working on now? I have several project in different stages that I am working on.
- Have you written any other books? I have one manuscript, Family Secret, which I have sent to my publisher.
Fun (Crazy, odd questions just for fun)
- Have you ever gone out in public in mis-matched shoes, or with your shirt on backward, and when you realized it just said ‘eh, screw it’? Yes, I’ve gone out in public with my shirt on backwards. No one noticed and I didn’t tell them.
- Are you a neat freak? Or clutter-bound? My house is a clutter zone because of all the things my family collects and things we buy to resell.
Quick Questions
- Sing in the rain or dance in the streets? Dance in the streets
- Pen or pencil? pencil
- Summer or Winter? summer
- Movies or TV? movies
- Theater or DVD? DVD
- Rural or Urban? Rural
- Facial hair or clean shaven? Facial hair
- Marvel or DC? Marvel
- Cowboy or Bad Boy? Bad boy
- Sunrise or Sunsent? Sunset
- Fall leaves or Spring flowers? Fall leaves (fall is beautiful in Michigan)
- Peanut butter or jelly? Peanutbutter
- Spender or Saver? saver
*~*
| [amazon_link id=”B00AFGJRLM” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | BN | Smashwords | MuseItUp |
Blurb
The sweet scent of lilacs permeates the air around Grandma’s gravesite. Only Sarah Kay can smell Grandma’s favorite flower, and they’re not even in bloom.
Sarah Kay and her best friend, Mary Jane, believe the lilacs are a sign from Grandma’s ghost. The girls follow one ghostly clue after another, uncovering a secret that Mom never wanted Sarah Kay to know.
Grandma makes sure Sarah Kay gets the message even from the grave. As the evidence piles up, Mom still refuses to accept the possibility Sarah Kay’s father is alive.
Sarah Kay finds Dad’s parents. A set of grandparents she didn’t realize existed. They make it clear her father is alive but days and miles separate the father and daughter reunion because Dad is a truck driver on a long haul.
Sarah Kay waits. The news reports a fatal car accident involving a semi and Sarah Kay fears the worse. She runs away which leads to Dad and the truth, Mom wanted Dad to remain dead.
Dad had faked his death so why not just stay dead. The ghostly clues of Grandma wouldn’t allow Dad to remain dead to Sarah Kay.
*~*
Excerpt
The house was blanketed in a quiet slumber. I snuggled under the sleeping bag with Allison, trying not to think about ghosts, as I drifted to sleep.
Random pictures floated in my mind like ghostly images.
I tiptoed among tombstones and my heart ached as if I had lost something or someone. He had to be here, somewhere. The gravestones rose like stone walls. No names engraved on them. No dates. No R.I.P. Nothing. Just smooth, flat stones. Ghosts—grayish, smoky forms with black eyes—floated over the tombstones. I shivered, suddenly cold, freezing. My breath visible like a little ghost. I didn’t want to look at the ghost anymore so I looked down at my feet. A tombstone with Grandma’s name appeared out of nowhere. The earth moved. The dirt around the headstone broke away and gnarled fingers clawed their way into the air, searching, grasping. Shriveled fingers clutched my leg.
Something grabbed at my leg—the hand, I screamed and frantically wiggled out of my sleeping bag, bumping MJ as I tried to get away from the hand I thought I felt grab at my leg.
*~*
Bio
I’m Kay LaLone. Ghostly Clues is my first middle grade novel published by MuseItUp. I live in Michigan with my husband and teenage son (two older sons and a daughter-in-law live near by) and two dogs and a cat. I love to get up every morning and write about ghosts, the paranormal, and anything that goes bump in the night. Or anything that interest my characters. Making my characters come to life for readers is important to a good story. I’m an avid reader of just about any type of book. I do reviews on the books I read and post them on my website and blog.
My website www.kaylalone.weebly.com
My blog www.kaylalone.blogspot.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ghostlyclues
Twitter https://twitter.com/kaylalone
by Sarah | Sep 12, 2013 | Author Interview, Friday Dialogues, Guest Authors, Writing
Personal
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a stay at home Mom from the Midwest. I enjoy all things vampire and paranormal and love to read (when I get the chance in between writing books)!
Do you have a day job?
As a stay at home mom that also home schools my daughter, I consider that my full-time job!
Do you laugh at your own jokes?
Occasionally. Sometimes when I’m writing and I come up with a good line…I can’t help but chuckle.
Where can people find you on the web? Where can they read more about your books?
You can find me at www.alexandra-anthony.com and all of my books are listed there.
Your Novel
What is your book about?
This book is a Companion to The Vampire Destiny Series. The book is written from my heroes POV…his take on Fated (Book 1) and Illusion (Book 2). It also features his backstory…his human death, his struggles with immortality up until he meets my heroine, Josephine.
What about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Many of my fans love Stefan and wanted to hear his story…especially since my books are written in 1st Person POV. It was a fun journey to write as my dashing vampire hero.
You got the call – your novel is being made into a TV series or movie – who’s in your dream cast?
Stefan-Alexander Skarsgard
Josephine- Olivia Wilde
Lukas- Rupert Everett
Anna-Evangeline Lilly
Nikolaus-Adam Levine
Georgia-Catherine Bell
These are my core characters…I could go on and on!
Writing
How many people (i.e. characters) have you done away with in the course of your career?
Five.
Have you ever regretted killing one of them off?
No. Each character’s death was important to the story line…and had to be done!
What’s your writing schedule like? Do you strive for a certain amount of words each day?
My writing schedule is crazy. With school back in session, I now get up early to write or brainstorm…and then it’s school time. I also try to sit down in the evening and write for an hour or two. It’s hectic, but it works!
What is the most difficult part of the writing process? The easiest?
Editing is the worst. The easiest part is coming up with the story!
Have you written any other books?
Yes, I’ve written 4 books in The Vampire Destiny Series and 1 in The Dark Hart Chronicles. I’m working on Book 2 right now.
Fun (Crazy, odd questions just for fun)
Are you a neat freak? Or clutter-bound?
I’m a total neat freak…which does not work well with a writing schedule!
You were just given a yacht. What would you name it?
Mitt hjärtas önskan (My Heart’s Desire in Swedish)
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Invisibility
Quick Questions
Sing in the rain or dance in the streets?
Dance in the street. My voice might scare innocent people!
Pen or pencil?
Pen
Summer or Winter?
Winter
Movies or TV?
TV
*~*~*~*
Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1)
| [amazon_link id=”B00EZ8A4FE” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | BN | Smashwords |
Book Blurb
In this first Companion Piece to The Vampire Destiny Series, we follow our hero, Stefan Lifsten, from the time of his human death, through his early years as a vampire until he meets Josephine Anderson, his fated mate.
We’ll travel along with him during his initial struggles to accept his immortality, his betrayals by friends and foes, and experience his joy of meeting the woman from his vision…experiencing Fated and Illusion through his eyes.
This book is a Companion to The Vampire Destiny Series and will feature missing scenes and character information. While this book can be read as a stand-alone, it is highly recommended that you read Fated and Illusion to fully experience this book.
*This book contains sexy vampires, graphic language and highly erotic scenes that are not for those 18 and under or are of the faint of heart. Consider yourself warned.*
Excerpt
“Lukas? What happened?” I demanded harshly. I needed to know who had done this to her.
“I don’t know. She hasn’t had the chance to tell me anything.”
“Kian,” she sputtered. “Stefan, let me show you.”
Giving me access to her memories, she replayed her confrontation with her father at the art gallery for me. I stiffened against her and was ready to find Kian and rip him apart piece by piece.
“What?!? Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Lukas asked, tapping his foot impatiently.
“Josephine had an argument with her father. He apparently has been following her and confronted her today,” I said, placing a kiss against the top of her head.
Lukas was on the floor beside of us before I even realized he had moved. His fangs had dropped and he looked terrifying, so unlike the sweet Lukas we knew. “If that bastard even thinks he’s going to mess with her, I’ll end him, Stefan.”
Letting out a resigned sigh, I reached to place a hand on my child’s shoulder. “No one is ending anyone, Lukas. Only the game has changed. We knew it would happen eventually.” I focused my attention back on Josephine, smoothing her hair back from her tear-stained face. “Vackra, did he harm you at all?”
As I comforted her, I knew in that moment that I would kill Kian Ahearne and rejoice at his blood on my hands. His demise meant freedom for not only Josephine, but also for me. Her fear, her agony gave me the justification I had been waiting for.
“No. But he’s a monster.”
“You are safe now.” I nodded towards Lukas, who stroked Josephine’s arm gently before rising gracefully to his feet and leaving the apartment.
I scooped her up in my arms and carried her into the bedroom, sitting her down carefully on the edge of the bed. I motioned for her to lie down and I sat next to her. I removed her ankle boots, placing them on the floor beside the bed. The bed shifted under my weight and I collected her in the strong embrace of my arms, whispering against my temple. “Han kommer aldrig att röra dig. Om det är det sista jag gör på denna jord, kommer jag att dö skydda dig. Du är mitt liv, min kärlek.”
She let out a shaky sigh as she breathed in the smell of my skin. “When you speak in your native tongue, it sounds so beautiful. What did you just say?”
I snorted and closed my eyes. “You will not be happy with what I said.”
She pushed against my chest. “I’m already unhappy. Unless you just told me we’re over, I think I can deal with whatever you said.”
I let out a weary sigh. “I used to be a much stronger vampire. I give in to every whim, every request you have.” Smiling sheepishly, I rested my face against her hair. “I told you that he would never touch you. If it is the last thing I do on this earth, I will die protecting you. You are my life, my love.”
*~*
About Alexandra Anthony
Alexandra Anthony is the independent author of two romantic, erotic book series: The Vampire Destiny Series and The Dark Hart Chronicles. Both feature sexy vampires to die for, steamy love scenes and follow the twists and turns of her character’s many adventures. Her books are not for the faint of heart.
She was most recently featured in USA Today in an article by Joyce Lamb titled, “It’s time to put some Paranormal Activity into your Reading” and was featured under Self-Published/Indie Authors for the release of Ascend (The Vampire Destiny Series Book 4). Her paranormal, erotic romance Tempted (The Dark Hart Chronicles Book 1) was nominated for Best Erotica in the 2013 Orangeberry Hall of Fame Contest.
by Sarah | Aug 22, 2013 | Friday Dialogues, Guest Authors, Guest Post, Writing
The Best and Worse Things about being an Author.
I am not a veteran author, not by a long shot. The fact is, I’m still learning the ropes as they say. My journey into the wonderful world of professional publishing began about three and a half years ago, when a very well established publishing company, Renaissance E Books Inc, picked up my first book Soulmate’s Touch.
My overzealous joy, as you can imagine, made me feel like a five year old on Christmas morning. I soon learned that it actually required a lot of work to actually publish a book and get it ready for the public. Yeah my excitement soon fizzled into anxiety and the fear of being rejected by readers.
You see I wanted everyone to like my book. I wanted to sell millions and have thousands of adoring fans. Boy was I b _ _ch slapped with reality very fast.
Now before I continue, let me say that my journey has been worth every single sleepless night, every single tear I shed, and most importantly every failure and every success I’ve been through so far.
This is what I have learned in my short, eye-opening career as an Author to date.
First off, as I mentioned before, I wanted love, I wanted fame, I wanted… hell I wanted all the positive things that comes from being a popular author. However, that is not what happened. Nope, not even close and here’s why.
W.O.R.K =
W-working your ass off, rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing, rewriting editing…see a pattern here.
O-owning your mistakes and learning from them. Yes that is correct. Sometimes as a new author on the scene we go into the public forums with the expectation of being recognized and praised. Gulp! No that is not what happens. Humility goes a long way here. I’ve learned the hard way that joining a popular online website for promoting your books, doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to. There are certain un-written rules that need to be followed.
Honestly I’m still learning these rules. But the most important one I’ve learned is to remain an observer. Wait until the public comes to you and starts up the conversation. Of course, not all sites are like this, but for the most part being humble and grateful is most effective. Eventually your readership will grow and readers will seek you out.
R-recognizing that because you are now published doesn’t mean you are the best of the best. In other words, like anything else writing takes practice and a lot of eating crow. If your editor, who has been writing for nearly two decades, is a multi published author, and whose books have been featured in USA Today magazine, tells you something sucks and needs to be revised, it probably sucks. So, swallow that sulking pity-me and FU attitude and fix it. Trust me a good editor will NOT coddle you. No, a good editor will kick you in the arse and make you work to be a better writer.
K-Knowing your flaws. This is where criticism is going to help you. Remember how I started by saying I wanted to be loved. Okay I still do. However, this does not happen overnight. Nor does everyone who reads your book praise you. Don’t expect them to. Everyone, especially people purchasing your books have a right to either hate, like or just be indifferent.
Do I want everyone to like instead of hate my books? Absolutely! But that’s not reality. The reality is critical reviews, mean reviews, and reviews that make you cry, are going to happen to most new authors. And so are good reviews that praise, encourage and make you feel like Queen/King of the hill.
Perception and the idea of what is good and what is bad, differs from one person to the next. So for every five or six positive reviews be prepared to get a critical one where the reader felt your writing and your book were less than stellar. See it for what it really is, an opinion, and all reviews are opinions. Some are more “colorful” (ahem), than others, but it still is the point of view and perception of the individual writing it. So how can this help you as an author?
First thing, it makes you realize that you are human and can’t please everyone. Secondly, it helps you grow a thicker skin. I hated that term, until I was forced to grow one of my own. And third, it helps you develop a better understanding of what readers want and what they don’t want. This is true for good and bad reviews.
To conclude I believe the most important thing that being an Author thus far has taught me is when you find your readership, and they take the time to contact you, friend you on Facebook or Twitter and let you know how much they can’t wait for your next book, makes the W.O.R.K we authors go through absolutely P.R.I.C.E.L.E.S.S. And that is why I write.
*~*
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Vampires, Demons and Gargoyles are real. Joyce Davis has just found out that she is mated to one of them. Romiel is a gargoyle, an offspring of a Demon father and Vampire mother. Cursed by a powerful human wizard, Romiel and all Gargoyles are imprisoned in stone. And only the touch of a true Soulmate can free him. The moment that Joyce touches Romiel, she knows there is a strong bond between them. Although she tries to justify why loving a Gargoyle is wrong, her heart, soul and body refuse to listen.
Together she and Romiel face an uncertain future, as evil forces are unleashed on the unsuspecting humans. In the midst of an ancient war between the immortal vampires and demons, Romiel must unite with an old enemy in order to protect the human race against certain annihilation. As their love for each other grows stronger, Joy and Romiel must face evil head on to save humanity and the Gods themselves.
by Sarah | Aug 15, 2013 | Friday Dialogues, Guest Authors, Writing
Have you ever had one of those days?
I decided after I dropped the kids off at school that I was going to clean the cat boxes. I get downstairs… no litter. I can’t even blame it on anyone because I clean the box and I buy the litter… so I decide to run to the store (I have to pick up a prescription anyway, they called yesterday and said it was ready).
I get to the store, get the litter – pharmacy doesn’t open for another 15 mins so I look around and, yes, I do have a problem, I’m an impulse shopper – which means 20 mins and $50 in stuff later I go to the pharmacy for the prescription. Um, yeah, it’s not ready. They don’t know why they called and said it was ready, ’cause it’s not. I can come back Monday and get it.
Ok, I figure, I’m out, I’ll get some nice fresh fruit and have fruit salad for lunch. I don’t like the fruit at this store, so I go across the street to another store where the fruit is better priced. I find some fresh stuff – strawberries, blackberries, raspberries – and I get some jarred stuff – not as healthy, I know, but tasty and I love jarred pears and peaches.
So, I get all my stuff, lug it out to the car, drive home and start bringing my goodies inside. And of course, it’s me, so the bag breaks in the driveway and all my fruit goes splattering everywhere. There’s glass all over, the strawberries and raspberries popped out of their plastic containers and are scattered across the driveway. I live in a suburban neighborhood, the houses are fairly close together. The woman two doors down does daycare out of her home, my neighbor is retired, the guy across the street works weird hours…
My reaction to seeing my beautiful fruit salad colorfully decorating my driveway is to yell “F—!” I then realize that someone may have heard me and yell “Ohhh S**t!” while looking around. Realizing that I’ve done it again, I mutter “Dammit! Dammit! Dammit” under my breath.
I decide to take my other purchases inside – I have some hamburger meat that I don’t want to get warm outside. So I take my blackberries – which has popped open, but is salvageable – along with my other stuff and put it inside the doorway. I figure I’ll throw the blackberries in some vanilla yogurt – not as good as the fruit salad idea, but at least I have my blackberries.
I get a broom and start cleaning up the sticky mess and proceed to cut my finger. Not a bad cut, just enough to p* me off a little bit more. I get the mess in the driveway cleaned up and leave the broom in the sink – now I have to rinse that because it’s all sticky – and get ready to put stuff away.
I find the blackberry container, but all the blackberries are missing. I’m thinking WTF. I look down and there’s a dog toy next to the plastic container. Oh S**t! And I mean Oh S**t because the damn dog can’t eat stuff like that cause it gives her the runs. I then start to put my stuff away… well, it’s all sticky. I have to rinse everything and I don’t want to put it away wet, so I leave all my stuff spread all over the counter.
Okay, now I can finally clean that cat box. I go down and start cleaning and realize that I’m going to have to drag the vacuum down two flights of stairs because my broom is sticky. As I’m vacuumming, I look over, and the cats are out of food. Dammit! That’s The Boy’s job! Why didn’t he feed them?
I decide I should go and check on Gus – the old man kitty – to make sure he’s ok. He’s got a nice little bed with a heater under it cause he gets cold – which is in the other room. I peek around the corner and – I’m not kidding – there’s a paper plate next to Gus’ bed filled with chips! The Boy fed the 19 year old cat chips!!
I feed the cats, finish the catboxes and rinse the broom. I’m sticky and covered in cat litter dust plus whatever else I’ve encountered on my travels through my house that has decided to stick to my fruity sweatpants, so I decide I need a shower.
I get in the shower and am all wet and realize dammit! I left my new disposable razor that I just bought downstairs. I end up using my old one which is totally dull – the reason I bought the new one.
I am ready to wash my hair and Oh My God there’s no shampoo!! Dammit! I find The Girl’s No More Tears Smurf Berry Shampoo and end up using that.
Now I am sitting at my laptop, it’s lunchtime, I haven’t gotten any work done, I don’t have any fruit salad, my armpits are stinging like crazy, I smell smurfberrylicious and I’m waiting for my dog to crap all over my house…
| Amazon | B&N | Breathless Press | Are | Bookstrand | Smashwords |
Blurb: Tessa is having one seriously bad day. After agreeing to dress as a cheesy mascot at a convention for her boss, her clothes get stolen, she gets chased through a sinister parking garage, and her apartment gets broken into and turned upside down.
Gray, an off-duty police officer, can’t resist the sexy legs he sees in costume at a hotel convention. When he catches sight of her running for her life through a dark car lot, he’s determined to find out what her story is and ends up promising to keep Tessa safe…even if that means taking her home with him.
Excerpt:
Gray stepped outside of the hotel ballroom hoping the air would be cooler out there. He hated stuffy gatherings. Hell, he hated weddings. How two people could think they’d love each other forever was beyond him. Gray didn’t do love. Which was why he was stag at a co-worker’s wedding. He’d originally planned to invite Monique, but several months back she’d become demanding and talked about moving into his place with hearts and flowers in her eyes. So he’d ended it. Deep down, he’d known that she didn’t really want him. She wanted any warm body that would take care of her. She had slowly been trying to mold him into some GQ tycoon, telling him what to wear, how to act, and even going as far as telling him what he needed to do career-wise.
A loud crash on the other side of the hall caught Gray’s attention. In the open ballroom across the way he saw legs. Glorious legs in strappy high heels. The beautiful legs were tangled on the floor and attached to an ass that was just as gorgeous. After taking a closer look, Gray realized that above the amazing ass was an enormous, white light bulb-shaped head with blue googly eyes. It had blonde hair and wore a glittery purple hat. The tangled-up legs and heels were flailing around in a pile of what looked like empty light bulb boxes. Several gentlemen nearby were quick to help Legs get her feet beneath her. From their smiles and laughter he could tell that they were all quite happy to be of assistance. Gray didn’t blame them.
He watched Legs find her balance in those high heels, and with a little wiggle and tug of her skirt she went on her way.
*~*
About The Author:
Edie Hart was born in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, where she now resides with her husband, two children, dog, and three cats. After spending her childhood making up stories in her head, she finally decided to put them on paper. What came of it was her first novella, One Bad Day. Edie is a die-hard romantic and believes that everyone deserves to be loved unconditionally—both in print and real life.
Edie also admits that “Edie Hart” is a pen name and an alter ego to an otherwise boring wife and mother. Edie is 20 pounds lighter, loves to skydive, travels to foreign places, and is a total sex kitten as compared to the uninteresting other half who is none of those things.
In reality the counterpart of Edie is a lackluster 40-something-year-old, whose main goal is to keep The Big One (The Boy) from torturing The Little One (The Girl). This week he hit her in the head with a 12-pack of Juicy Juice. Last week he left ravioli handprints on the back of her white T-shirt. The week before that he told her she was adopted and she believed him.
To learn more about her, and find out what The Big One and The Little One are up to, visit her via her website, Facebook, or Twitter:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
by Sarah | Aug 8, 2013 | Friday Dialogues, Guest Authors, Writing
*Disclaimer: Two of the covers shown in this post are racier. They are shown below the fold, but do not open at work. Thank you.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Sure. I’m 28 (just!) and from Derbyshire in the UK. I divide my time between running my own business (http://www.writermarketing.co.uk) and writing (http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk). I also love reading, watching TV and films, spending time in the countryside walking and visiting places.
Are you a pantser or a plotter?
A little bit of both. For the most part I’m a pantser. But in the past few months I’ve been writing longer works (I started out in short stories) and I’ve found that they often need more plotting to make sure they’re the best they can be, and that I don’t lose my thread.
Can you tell us about the challenges you faced getting your first book published?
I was actually incredibly lucky when it came to getting my first short story published. I sent it off to Xcite Books, who included it in an anthology called Seriously Sexy 3. As it happens, Xcite is also publishing my first novel, Stately Pleasures, which I wrote last year. It went to a couple of other publishers, one of which didn’t respond at all, and the other that is no longer publishing erotic romance. So I sent the book out a third time, and luckily, Xcite accepted it. It should hopefully be published towards the end of 2013.
What was your favorite chapter to write and why?
I’ll answer this in regards to my two latest releases, Testing Tom and A Taste of Paris, which came out within days of one another.
For Testing Tom, it would probably be the last chapter. I can’t really say why without giving it away, but let’s just say I didn’t plan this book and so that chapter came as a total surprise!
For A Taste of Paris, I would say it’s the scene in the peep show. Again, I don’t want to give too much away, but bear in mind this book is aimed at men, and so is harder and with zero romance. That scene was just fun!
Were all of your characters easy to write, or did some of them give you trouble? Any particular character you didn’t like at all?
In the aforementioned books, I’d say yes, they were all easy characters to write. So far, I haven’t really written any characters that I didn’t like. I’m sure I will at some point!
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Read lots in your chosen genre, learn to edit yourself and pay attention to what publishers are looking for.
In researching your book what did you learn that surprised you? Or, alternatively, what thing did you research that you never thought you would (and considered deleting from your browsing history)?
Well, Testing Tom and A Taste of Paris both have some pretty hardcore scenes in them, but I didn’t do that much online research. The vast majority of Testing Tom was purely from my warped imagination. I did search for collars, though. And for A Taste of Paris I asked a friend that had been to a peep show to describe it, which was really useful, as often the Internet isn’t that good for absolute specifics.
Narrow down your novel. Why must we read it? (besides the obvious, it’s awesome answer…because of course it is!)
You should read Testing Tom because it’s fun, filthy and yet very romantic. The hero goes through an awful lot to prove to the heroine that he loves her and is worthy of her.
You should read A Taste of Paris… only if you’ve read A Taste of London. The books do stand alone, but you’ll have a much better reading experience if you read book one first. You should check them out because they’re lighthearted, sexy and fun, and the characters are gorgeous!
Do you have any unique talents or hobbies?
I’m afraid I’m pretty dull in that respect. Unless you count enjoying visiting stately homes and historical monuments as unique…
Which character speaks the loudest to you?
Ryan Stonebridge speaks loudly to me. He’s the main character in the A Taste of… series. I think he speaks loudly because he’s very similar to how I would be if I was an eighteen year old male travelling the world. He’s just so much fun to write.
Do you have another book coming out soon?
I sure do. My good friend Lily Harlem and I co-authored a novel back at the beginning of the year, and we just recently had a release date. Grand Slam is a BDSM erotic romance that is due out on the 23rd August from Ellora’s Cave. It’s released in time for the US Open, as there’s where some of the action takes place. I can’t wait for people to meet Travis Connolly and Marie Sherratt.
How many books can we expect to see in your series? Is the number tentative or set?
For the A Taste of… I don’t have a set number. In terms of location, I’m writing what I know. I visit London a lot, so that was easy. I’ve also been to Paris (latest book), Rome (the next book) and Amsterdam (the book after that). I’m hoping to go to Barcelona in 2014, so that will be where the book after Amsterdam is set. After that, I’m bringing the boys home for a while, I think, so I have chance to make enough cash to take another holiday! But basically I’m hoping to have enough books to cover their whole gap year before they start university. And who knows, if people like the boys enough, I may even follow them to university. Watch this space.
For the Raw Talent series, of which Grand Slam is book one, we don’t have a clue yet. We only decided to make it into a series when we were almost finished writing the first book. We’ve started book two and are planning to write two novels in the series per year, depending on our other commitments. So I guess we’ll do that until we run out of inspiration… which may be never!
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Testing Tom is a femdom erotic romance novella. Here’s the blurb:
When Katrina’s ex, Tom, turns up on her doorstep, he’s literally the last person she was expecting to see. After dumping her and running off with a vanilla chick, Tom broke the Domme’s heart and left her seriously hurting. So when he returns, begging for another chance, Katrina is understandably very confused and protective of her bruised feelings. She finds it very difficult to believe that he’s turned his back on a vanilla lifestyle for good and wants to be with her, a professional dominatrix. Rather than letting her head or her heart figure out what to do, whether to forgive him, she decides to put Tom through a series of challenges that will prove his devotion to her—or not. Testing Tom is not something she’d ever expected she’d have to do, but to her, it’s the only way she can be sure whether he’s back for good.
More info, excerpt and buy links here: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/testing-tom/
Add to Goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18147133-testing-tom
A Taste of Paris is book two in my A Taste of… series and is an erotic short story. Here’s the blurb:
Ryan Stonebridge and his friend Kristian Hurst are traveling on their year off before going to University.
Unfortunately, Kristian has been called back home due to a family emergency. Ryan continues on to Paris alone, hoping his friend will join him again soon.
In the meantime, Ryan’s lucky streak with women continues, and by the time Kristian makes it to Paris, Ryan’s bumper box of condoms is depleting rapidly. However, there are more than enough women to go around, and Kristian intends to have some sexy fun of his own, and when the boys get a chance to play with two sexy ladies at once, they certainly aren’t going to turn it down.
More info, excerpt and buy links here: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/a-taste-of-paris/
Add to Goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17368766-a-taste-of-paris
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Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over seventy publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include Best Bondage Erotica 2012 and 2013, and Best Women’s Erotica 2013. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
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