I’ve over at Seductive Musings today talking about covers. Not an original topic, but I had reason to be thinking about them recently. Carrie is giving away a copy of Paradise Rules to a commenter.

I’m also chatting today at Joyfully Reviewed starting at 1 p.m. EST. Join me for ramblings and book giveaways. Here’s the link if you’d like to join Chatting with Joyfully Reviewed and chat with me today.

I was invited by terrific author Tracy Wollf to guest over at the Sizzling Pens blog today. Thanks for the invite, Tracy!

Also, I belong to a yahoo chat group with authors Lacey Savage, Fiona Jayde and Juliana Stone called Total Exposure. If you aren’t a member of Total Exposure, you are cordially invited to join. The link is below–under Beth’s Stuff. We’d love to see you there.

Here’s a little blurb from the website about this terrific online book club, Bookaholics Romance Book Club , which was kind enough to interview me recently.

Are you are interested in: Paranormal Romance, Historical Romance, Urban Fantasy, Futuristic/Sci- Fic. Romance, Romantic Suspense, Chick Lit, or Erotica?!

-Meet or chat online about your favorite books or the latest/upcoming books

Steph, the leader at Bookaholics, is a very nice lady who I met at RT last year. She’s a true bookaholic and makes terrific jewelry. :) Here is the interview she did for the book club and their website. She kindly said I could re-print here, so I did in celebration of the Release Day Eve for Paradise Rules!

SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH BETH KERY

Beth Kery is a versatile author who excels at writing steamy romances that vary from contemporary suspense to the paranormal. She is best known for her sexy writing and the intense relationships between her likeable characters!

But whatever she writes her stories are guaranteed to keep your eyes glued to every page! This year she has 3 books scheduled for release and a 4th for 2010.

With her heavy writing schedule I was amazed she was gracious enough to find the time to answer our questions in this special sneak peak into her writing.

Steph: How did you get starting writing? Do you find writing is a dream come true? What do you find is the most difficult thing about writing that surprised you?

Beth Kery: I’ve always been an avid reader in all genres, but I always suspected I could write romance. I’m not sure why. Kismet? So about four years ago I thought…why not give it a try?

Is writing a dream come true? In many ways, yes. I love the independence, the way you have to be self-driven vs. externally driven. I love being able to create something that starts as a whimsical idea or flickering vision into a many-layered story with complex characters.

Probably the most difficult thing about writing for me is the waiting. There’s always waiting involved. Waiting to hear from your agent or editor about a submission, waiting anxiously for a book to release, waiting to hear about sales figures…and the list goes on.

Steph: All your books are a pleasure to read! You have a very sensual writing style. Do you feel you have found a niche in your writing that sets you apart from other writers?

Beth Kery:
Thank you, Steph!

I’m not so sure about my niche. I haven’t been writing all that long, technically speaking. My aim in an erotic romance is to write a very taut, emotional story, and the sex flows from that emotion and also informs the plot-line. However, there are some other authors—Lacey Alexander and Shiloh Walker, off the top of my head. I know there are other fantastic ones—who do the same, and much better, in my opinion. So I can’t necessarily call that a niche.

Perhaps one of my niches is the layered quality to my stories. I like them to be wildly entertaining and sexy, but also thought-provoking. I have a lot of respect for the romance reader, and I want to give her something intellectually and emotionally fulfilling as well as sensually exciting.

Steph: I totally agree! What I love best about your books is the relationship between your 2 characters, it never seems rushed or artificial. How do start the process of writing your 2 main characters? Do you have the characters firmly in your mind before you even write them? Can you give us an example from one of your upcoming books?

Beth Kery:
I do typically have ideas for my characters before I begin writing, but they’re shadowy. The process of writing helps to flesh them out.

In regard to my characters relationship not seeming rushed—thank you. That’s a nice compliment. One thing that I always assume is that even though each character may not know it at that first meeting, something inside him or her knows on some primitive, unconscious level this is other person is important to me. Crucial, even. It’s not rational, and he or she might struggle with that idea. That’s one of my common themes, I think: that falling in love is a deeply irrational process that nevertheless makes perfect sense.

It’s pure magic.

Examples of this theme are everywhere in my books. For instance, Ryan Daire in Daring Time knows he’s behaving irrationally by moving into a mansion that he can’t afford to maintain, but he does it anyway because he can’t ignore his visions of a captivating woman that he sees in the house. He also knows that it’s unlikely that he would fall head over heels for a female after such a short period of knowing her (because that’s what all the “˜experts’ say in this day and age) but beyond all reason, he eventually comes to accept that’s precisely what happened.

Shane Dominic in Sweet Restraint also has to take a similar plunge of faith. In essence, he risks everything; his illustrious career—even his freedom—by taking the love of his life captive in order to learn her secrets and keep her safe. Even though he’s the consummate rationalist, he makes a conscious choice to behave in a manner that on the surface seems irrational and highly risky.

But it’s only irrational if one doesn’t factor in the kind of love that turns logic on its head. In many ways, that’s the essence of romance; how love breaks all the rules and challenges personal and cultural beliefs about how things should be.

Steph: You just released a time travel romance earlier this year in May 2009, called Daring Time and you have already have 2 more books to be released this year and another for early Feb 2010. How do you set aside time to write? Do you find yourself running out of ideas or make a set schedule?

Beth Kery:
Once I get started on a book, I typically need to do a set word count everyday. I do sometimes find that the creative well gets dry. That’s when I know I need to take a break or get into a fun brainstorming session with one of my writer friends. Also, I find it works best for me to write through a block; to not worry about whether it’s crap or not. If it’s awful, at least I learned something. That’s not the direction I want to go. :) And that’s pretty good information to have.

Steph: I really enjoyed your paranormal and contemporary romances. Do you find it difficult switching between them? Is one genre easier or more fun to write than the other?

Beth Kery:

I don’t think it’s hard to switch. I enjoy both genres for different reasons and both have their challenges. Many people seem to believe that contemporaries are “˜easier’ in regard to not needing to world build, less research, etc. However, I do as much if not more research and setting building for my contemporaries than I do for paranormals. My heroes and heroines have dozens of different professions, for instance. I work really hard to understand some of the details and “˜everyday’ practicalities of that job. It’s even a bigger deal in a contemporary, because there are people out there reading it who will be like—that’s ludicrous! I’m an artist and a sculpture never does that. Whereas if you build your own world, or even do a historical, most people are much more forgiving because it’s not their world.

Steph: I especially liked your time travel romance Daring Time. Time travel can be a difficult genre to write realistically. Did you particularly find it a challenge to write? Did you have to do extensive research?

Beth Kery:

Thanks! I loved doing Daring Time. I hope I can do another time travel. Yes, there was a great deal of research involved, especially in regard to historical Chicago.

There’s something so fun and whimsical about a time travel, and yet they interest me on an intellectual level too—getting all the details correct given things like time paradoxes, parallel time lines, etc. Another thing I love about a time travel is it incorporates so many genres that I’ve written and like writing: contemporary, paranormal and even historical. In Daring Time’s case, there was also a suspense/crime element. So I was in seventh heaven. :)

Steph: That makes so much sense. What do you feel is the most challenging book you have written? Is that your favorite book?

Beth Kery: Hmmmm….probably Sweet Restraint. The reason it was difficult is because even though I typically write erotic romances with mild BDSM in the storylines, Sweet Restraint’s kink factor is a bit higher. I was worried about how Shane Dominic, my hero, would come off to the reader when he first takes Laura captive. He acts more “˜dom-ish’ than most of my heroes, and even more “˜dom-ish- than he normally would be sexually with a woman. However, he’s doing it for a reason. He’s a desperate man with a desperate plan. :)
Because of the story set-up, his behavior was called for and necessary, but my ultimate goal was to show how much he loves this woman…how he’s sacrificing everything for her by his actions.

If I can convince the reader story to take the journey with me, I think she’ll find Sweet Restraint is quite possibly the most intense, romantic story I’ve written.

Oh, you are bad to ask about favorites. Lol. Well…I’ll say that Paradise Rules which comes out October 6 is a major favorite. Why? This is one story I would literally love to escape to. It mostly takes place on this luxury houseboat moored on a private lagoon in Hawaii. I love the parallel of taut emotion between the main characters juxtaposed with this golden, lazy, sensual…almost magical setting.

Steph: Your next 3 upcoming books are all contemporary. Was this a break from writing paranormal romances? Will you go back to writing paranormal romances? (Please?!)

LOL, thanks Steph.

Being a new writer in the NY market is a challenge in regard to genre. I think I got Daring Time through because it’s very loosely a paranormal, what my editor at Berkley actually calls a paranormal light—something with a background theme of ghosts or maybe ESP, but a story that for the most part takes place in the real, everyday world. In Daring Time’s case, most of that real world is actually contemporary Chicago.

It’s difficult, because readers tend to label you with that first book (Wicked Burn, in my case) and that’s what they come to expect. Even with Daring Time, while some people loved the few paranormal elements, some readers wanted me back to doing contemporaries ASAP. :) Until an author becomes more established, it’s harder to expand in the genres she writes.

I’m really pleased to tell you, though, that I sold a paranormal last month to Samhain. It’s called Velvet Cataclysm, Princes of the Underground and features a race of men that we would call vampires, but who really possess more mysterious origins. I like writing one liner blurbs, so here is my one liner for Velvet Cataclysm.

For her, he battled both his own dark nature and his Scourge vampire clone and unexpectedly found the impossible: his soul.

Look for it next spring, 2010 from Samhain.

Steph: As I mentioned earlier I think you are a versatile writer. I think it would be a shame for you to write one genre! The main thing that attracts me to your books is the relationship between your 2 main characters. I am especially looking forward to reading Sweet Restraint, which released on July 7th, 2009. It sounds deliciously naughty! Can you tell us more about your characters? Your men are always super sexy, I am sure Shane is no exception, do you base them on anyone?!

Beth Kery: My characters are always from my overactive imagination. :)

Sweet Restraint is very naughty, and like I said, the kink factor is a bit higher because it essentially involves Shane taking Laura captive against her will. As the reader will see, of course, it’s actually a forbidden dream come true for Laura—not just to have Shane tie her up to a bed and have his way with her, but to give over control to Shane.

I suppose one could read this story just as a naughty erotic romance, but the reason I think it’s much more is that the sex—more specifically the type of sex—is symbolic of giving over control, which is something that Laura has struggled to do for most of her adult life. Here is a couple who have been kept apart from each other for fourteen years by ruthless men, after all. The bed becomes the place where Shane coaxes her to give over the crushing weight of responsibility that she’s carried on her own shoulders for so long. He’s essentially telling her with his every action, “˜give over the burden to me, you’ve carried it long enough. Tell me the truth and let me take the weight from you.’
Of course Laura is stubborn, so it takes some convincing.

I think Sweet Restraint an extraordinary love story.

Steph: I also wanted to ask you about your book Paradise Rules. It is a straight contemporary romance instead of a suspense novel. Your heroine in this book seems more independent and take charge than your previous heroines. Do you feel this story is a departure from you usual writing style? What other plans do you have for your upcoming books?

Beth Kery: It’s funny, but I actually believe that outside of the bedroom, where my heroines’ tend to have submissive qualities as far as sex goes, every heroine I’ve written is incredibly independent and determined. It’s often a quiet confidence, and they aren’t kicking butt and taking names. Lol. But I guess I tend to admire quiet strength and fortitude a great deal. For me, being loud and bossy might connote confidence and strength, but often it’s just a shield against the world. For my heroines, you often see their strength in their actions and their inner struggles against their own emotional demons, more than anything.

And in a strange kind of way, Lana Rodriguez, my heroine in Paradise Rules is a good example of this theme, but in the opposite sense. She might look like the most independent and take charge female on the surface, especially when it comes to sex. But in reality, she’s the most emotionally brittle of all my heroines. She’s a lovely, special woman, but her psychological wounds have left her vulnerable.

I think we’ve all seen that—when someone covers their wounds with an attitude that acts as armor. I think Lana actually is very strong, but her strength doesn’t come from the fact that she keeps men at a distance by controlling every aspect of sex, even paying for her sexual encounters so that she never loses an ounce of control.

I’m excited to have a contemporary coming out with no suspense elements. In many ways Paradise Rules is the most similar to Wicked Burn in that way out of all my Berkley books. It’s the story of two people who crash together sexually and emotionally, and how that pivotal event changes their way of thinking…their entire life, really. Both stories probe the depths of the characters’ psyches and emotions. Both are about choosing love even in the face of deep, primitive psychological fears and insecurities, and growing because that hard choice was made.

Steph: Whew! I gotta read them now! Thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions. It has been a real pleasure meeting you and learning more about your writing!

Beth Kery: Whew is right. That was a lot of fun, Steph. Thanks for taking the time to read all the books and ask such relevant and probing questions. ( I added this later as a tease)
You’re not related to Barbara Walters, are you, Steph?

Steph: Gee, thank you! :)

********

Interested in finding out more or joining Steph and her gang at Bookaholics Romance Book Club?

Here is their information–by the way, Steph says they are giving away a signed Paradise Rules at their website. :)

Join Bookaholic’s Romance at yahoo book club here
Bookaholics website is here

Okay, first off, I really got something wonky going on with that schedule above. In my daytimer, I had Denise down for 10/5, but I didn’t have her up above. I’m sorry, Denise. Anyway, this will work out perfect, because I just got home from work anyway and you already announced your winner. It’s like you were mind-reading. Amazing woman.

So, drum roll please, the winner of the BIG Paradise Rules Contest is #39, Rachel!! Here is her entry:

I posted it here:

by Rachel

Huge congrats to Rachel! Rachel, you can write me at bethkery@aol.com. I usually send e-gift certificates, so let me know if that works for you, and also, the official email where you’d like your prize sent.

Thank you, thank you to all of you who posted at your blogs and who helped me celebrate the upcoming release–just hours away now!–of Paradise Rules. It’s been a really nice one for me, a little more relaxed and laid back, but still fun and exciting. I hope you’ll join me for the next go-round. Hugs to everyone who participated, contest entrants, authors, Fi for helping me with my blog and Lea for having her own PR week! All my books are out, by the way, went to the post office today.

Up next, have you ever wanted to join an online book club? I’ve got a good suggestion for you. Stephanie Kwan from The Bookaholics Romance Bookclub interviewed me about my books, and I’m including links to their vibrant yahoo book club in case you’d like to join…up next.

#27 Stephine! Stephine, right me at bethkery@aol.com with your address information, and I’ll forward the information to Larissa.

Big thanks to Larissa and to all those who participated. Make sure you’ve all signed up for the Paradise Rules contest, which happens next Monday!!

Up next, chat with author Christine d’Abo!

Please join me in welcoming best-selling author and personal fave Larissa Ione! She’s here visiting today and telling us about her most recent AND her upcoming books (stop salivating on the keyboard Demonica fans). She’s generously giving away a copy of Passion Unleashed to one lucky commenter here today!

BLURB FOR PASSION UNLEASHED:

Forbidden Temptations…

Serena Kelley is an archaeologist and treasure hunter—and a woman with a secret. Since she was seven, she’s been the keeper of a powerful charm that grants her health and immortality . . . as long as she stays a virgin. But Serena isn’t all that innocent. And when a dangerously handsome stranger brings her to the brink of ecstasy, she wonders if she’s finally met the one man she cannot resist.

Fatal Desires…

Wraith is a Seminus demon with a death wish. But when an old enemy poisons him, he must find Serena and persuade her to give him the only known antidote in the universe—her charm. Yet, as she begins to surrender to his seductions, and Wraith senses the cure is within his grasp, he realizes a horrible truth: he’s falling for the woman whose life he must take in order to save his own.

“The third book in Ione’s supercharged Demonica series ignites on the first page and never looks back. Extreme bad boy Wraith is front and center and, man, is his life screwed up. It takes a special heroine to deal with this antihero, and Ione has created one! with all the previous players back for this apocalyptic adventure, action and danger leap off every page. The best of the series to date!”
““Romantic Times BookClub Magazine, 4 1/2 stars!

Link to purchase Passion Unleashed

Larissa’s Interview

BK: Thanks so much for stopping by Larissa!

What future projects are you especially excited about?

LI: Thanks for having me, Beth! It’s always awesome to chat with you!  As for future projects…well, I’m currently working on Demonica book 5, and I LOVE it. Love. It. The heroine is savvy, dangerous, and damaged, and the hero is confident, hot, and a vampire. Yeah, I’m having so much fun with it! I’m also working on a secret (shh!) project I’m hoping to be able to talk more about later in the year, but I can tell you that the seeds for it are planted in the fifth Demonica novel.

BK: Book 5 sounds really hot, and oh…I love secrets that are soon to be unveiled!

Every writer has moments they cringe when they read past stuff, and moments when they think…yeah, that’s good. Would you please share with us a paragraph or two of a sample of your writing of which you are particularly proud and say why you like it? Ack! I’m so bad at this kind of thing! I really have a hard time looking at my work and thinking it’s good. I’m more of the, Wow, this really sucks, type!

But here’s a bit from the fourth Demonica novel, Ecstasy Unveiled, which releases at the end of January:

Their gazes locked. Tension bloomed like a Sheoulin rose, dark, beautiful and, potentially, poisonous. Lore’s chest tightened, squeezing his lungs into deflated little balloons that had him gasping for air. If Idess didn’t kiss him, he thought he’d die of oxygen depravation. And then, with agonizing slowness, she leaned forward and braced herself on his shoulders. All over, she trembled, but her mouth lowered tentatively. The first, fleeting contact of her lips against his sent a buzz of lust through him. The second contact was bolder, lingering, and the buzz grew strong enough to send reverberations all the way to his toes.

She might not know what she was doing, but it didn’t matter, because what she was doing was enough. More than enough. He lifted his face to meet hers, to intensify the kiss that was already building steam. When her tongue flicked timidly across his bottom lip, he jerked like he’d been goosed and damned near forgot why he’d asked her to kiss him in the first place.

Steeling himself, he carefully eased his wrist out of the cuff. Flexed his fingers. Wished he could touch her, could run with this kiss and see where it would lead.
Instead, he struck.

BK: Oh, wow, I love when a male is just freakin’ overwhelmed by a woman. And you picked a kissing scene, another one of my faves. Nicely done indeed, Larissa. Whew.

Okay, you just got to show off a bit (and thank you for that, by the way!). Now can you tell us about a “˜blush moment,’ an especially humorous or mortifying moment in your writing career?

LI: Wow. There are a lot of those! LOL…okay, I guess I’ll go with the story of how I met Barry Eisler at the Romantic Times Convention last year.

See, I had a migraine the entire time, so I was taking a LOT of meds (yes, I’m blaming this on the drugs.) And at one point in the conference, I had something in my eye (I’m also blaming it on my fuzzy vision,) so I went to the bathroom. While I was in there, a man walks in, sees me, and looks pretty confused. I was pretty surprised, myself.

Him: Uh…are you in the wrong bathroom, or am I?
Me: I hope to God it’s you.
Him (backing up to look at the door): Nope. That would be you.
Me: *turning my name badge over* I’m Stephanie Tyler. Nice to meet you, Barry. Bye!

Omg, that was humiliating. I still groan when I think about it! (And the part about me saying I was my Sydney Croft writing partner, Stephanie Tyler, might or might not be true… *g*)

BK: Snort. And a mystery along with the humiliation story. Only Larissa could pull that off!

What are you working on right now, and when can readers look forward to seeing it?

LI: I’m working on Demonica book 5 (which I mentioned above) and book 6. Both should be available in the latter part of 2010!

BK: You just won the dream vacation of your choice. Where would you go? Why? Who would go with you? What book would you bring with you? What would you make SURE you left behind?

LI: My dream vacation takes me to Europe! England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France, Germany…yeah, you get the picture! *g* I love, love, love Europe, and I’d live there if I could. I lived in England while I was in the Air Force, and I miss it!

Who would go with me? I’d actually like to take my husband. I’ve been back to Europe twice since moving away, both times with friends, and it’s probably time I actually went with the man I’ve been married to for 15 years! : )

Book? I’d take something I’ve been saving for exactly something like a long plane trip (I hate to fly, so I like to make sure I have a treat to fly with!) I’ve held on to the latest Sharon Kay Penman novel for forever, so I might take that, or maybe the upcoming Robert Jordan.

What would I leave behind? Work! Absolutely NO work on a dream vacation!

BK: I didn’t know Robert Jordan had another coming out! From the Wheel of Time Series? Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by Larissa. You are a delight to readers.

LI: Thanks again for having me, Beth! And congrats on Paradise Rules’s release!

Sharon M! Sharon, congrats! Write to me at bethkery@aol.com and I’ll make sure Michelle gets your information. Thanks to Michelle for being here!

Up next, wonderful Larissa Ione and a chance to win Passion Unleashed!

Last Man on Earth by Michelle M. Pillow

Dr. Micco Hagan has been charged with pairing up the last of Earth’s survivors based on genetics for optimal survival of the species. He can’t resist the opportunity to be with his dream girl, Rena Gates. Though she rejected him before the Earth ended, he hopes now she’ll find a soft spot for him.

In the time before, Rena thought Micco had only come on to her to win a bet. She never expected them to be rescued together, or to be eventually partnered. Unable to resist following orders, she discovers they have a lot more going for them than DNA matching. The sex is explosive, but can it eventually grow into love?

Purchase Last Man on Earth

Michelle’s Interview:

BK: Thanks so much for joining us here today!
What future projects are you especially excited about?

MP: Thanks for having me!

I’ve recently started/gotten back into some non-writing projects. I’ve been working a little more on my photography and hope to have some up on my website soon. I’ve also just started doing paranormal interviews for Paranormal Underground Magazine. My first one is in the Oct 2009 issue and features Mandy Roth and can be found here.

As for writing, I’ve been considering some nonfiction projects that combine my writing and photography. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I’m really excited by the prospect.
BK: Sounds like you’re keeping yourself fresh and motivated creatively speaking, Michelle. Good for you.
Every writer has moments they cringe when they read past stuff, and moments when they think…yeah, that’s good. Would you please share with us a paragraph or two of a sample of your writing of which you are particularly proud and say why you like it?

MP: I think several of those moments, for me, I like are when taken in context with the whole book, like the one below. It’s reflects the longing the hero feels to be what he once was, combined with the reality of his present.

From Maiden and the Monster, RT Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner

Vladamir lifted his callused hand to touch her neck. Her eyes fluttered closed and her pulse drummed against his hand. She stiffened, but to his surprise she didn’t run. He cupped her chin gently before letting his hand fall to the side. His mind once again gained its control, but at a devious cost.

What would you, m’lady, want with a monster? You, a maiden of great beauty.

“Begone,” he ordered under his breath. He watched her slender hips as she darted inside, disappointed that she obeyed. Then, sighing, he turned to the exercise yard. “Yea, what would you want indeed?”

BK: Ooh, you know that’s a favorite of mine. Okay, you just got to show off a bit (and deservedly so ). Now can you tell us about a “˜blush moment,’ an especially humorous or mortifying moment in your writing career?

MP: Those usually come after a late night writing and get deleted immediately. They come in the form of extra limbs or morphing clothing. However, once, after referencing an older book in a series, I spent several sections calling the heroine the wrong name. A test reader found it and is probably still laughing at me.

BK: Well, at least it was found. I’ve read my share of changing names in a published work. lol.
What are you working on right now, and when can readers look forward to seeing it?

MP: I just handed in a couple books to my agent—a new futuristic series start and a historical. I hope to have news on them soon.

This year, I had a four book alternate reality series release with Ellora’s Cave, Divinity Warriors—Lilith Enraptured, Fighting Lady Jayne, Keeping Paige, Taking Karre.

In one of the many universes parallel to ours, Divinity Corporation has discovered the secret to moving between the planes. This has given them the power to do pretty much whatever they want without consequence or regulation. Whether it’s to ship unwilling brides in trade for minerals rights, to control everything from entertainment circuits to governments to academics, or simply gain that which every greedy corporation wants–Power.

Currently, I am working on the next Divinity installments on a new parallel plane. They should release next year.

BK: You just won the dream vacation of your choice. Where would you go? Why? Who would go with you? What book would you bring with you? What would you make SURE you left behind?

MP: I would go on a trip around Europe and Asia, making sure to hit every country. I’ve already taken road trips around the USA. I’d like to do the same overseas. I love traveling, discovering new places and customs. I’d go with my family. I don’t like being away from them for too long and I’d have my camera permanently attached to my hand.

Only one book? I think not, lol! That’s what ebook readers are for. Hundreds of books in one unit. I think I’d have to leave behind my English Bulldog, Bella. I would miss her terribly, but I don’t think she’d be good for fostering relations with other countries. She gets too excited when she meets new people and jumps around like an excitable dog 4 times smaller than she is. She’d single-pawedly knock down a whole continent.

Leave Michelle a comment and qualify to win an ebook copy of Divinity Warriors: Lilith Enraptured

For a signed copy of Paradise Rules: #4 Amy M.

For Melissa’s Contest: #14 Karin!

Congrats ladies. Please write me with your addresses, and Karin, I’ll get off your information to Melissa. Melissa, thanks for the generosity of your time and prize. It was nice having you here!

Up next, one of the first erotic romance authors I ever read, award winning author Michelle Pillow!

Of course as soon as I hit ‘send’ on my post, Melissa sent me her stuff, so we have TWO giveaways today…Melissa Schroeder’s here and mine below. Woo Hoo!

Melissa is a lovely lady that I recently met through Samhain (We both are lucky enough to have Laurie Rauch as our editor.) I’m very happy to welcome her here today. Melissa has generously offered to give away one copy of HER MOTHER’S KILLER to one comenter on her post–Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone.

Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone by Melissa Schroeder

As some of my readers know, I have recently started writing a new series that is in a new genre for me. It came about after some hard thinking on what to send to my agent next. Granted, I took her advice on what was looking good in the market—which unfortunately doesn’t include action adventure futuristics which I truly love to write. What was gaining a lot of steam was vampires. Which was odd because a year ago you couldn’t say the word vampire without making an editor run away screaming. The success of True Blood on HBO and the Twilight series, not to mention several things on the horizon, publishers saw a new uptick in interest.

I wanted to write in vampires, but, let’s be honest, there has been a lot done in that realm in the last few years. So, I knew I needed to do something different, something unique. Historical has a few vampires, but I went a completely different direction, melding together what I knew about historicals, vampires and world building and came up with a unique concept. Granted, still not sure if NY is going to take a bite of it, but I am hopeful. What I took away from the experience was a renewed excitement.

When I started planning By Blood, I was at a tough place. I had three proposals out, all of them sort of seemed stalled, and I was having problems writing my contracted work. There were various reasons for that, stress, work issues, family…other writers know what I am talking about. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off because I will be truthful, 2009 has been a tough year for me. Thankfully, not as bad as the dreaded hospital year of 2007, but I kept getting knocked down metaphorically by problems mostly related to my work. So, taking a chance on a different genre, melding two genres together in a way I had never attempted was daunting.

I was pretty lucky thought. Shayla Black, aka Shelley Bradley, and Kris Cook helped me through the concept. Still, when I sat down to write the proposal, I was a little worried. This was going to take a chunk out of my time, where I could be writing things for my publishers now, and it was going to make me take a hit in royalties because my releases would be spread out. I had also been through 9 months of disappointments with projects I sent to NY. Was it worth the risk?

I found out the answer to that was a resounding YES. I loved delving into a world of my own creation. I know some readers will say that I can do that every day I write. But, when you build the world, you can break the rules, and recreate the kind of rules you like. I got my creative juices going, and gave me a renewed optimism about my writing on a whole. Don’t get me wrong, I always have my down days, but for the first time in a long time, I feel a real energy about writing, ideas that just keep coming to me.

I think we can all learn that a comfort zone is just that. Some place warm and cuddly, where we are never challenged, and if we are, we know we can beat that challenge without much effort. A person can get complacent, lazy. You can still succeed there, but for someone like me, I need a challenge. That challenge presented itself in a Victorian vampire world, one that tested not only my writing skills but also my plotting abilities. Rising to confront the new genre has given me a new outlook on my writing and has me looking toward the future again. That is something I could have never had without it.

Melissa Schroeder is the author of over 25 short stories, novellas and novels spanning from historical to futuristic and sensual to erotic. She loves to laugh and always believes that everyone deserves a happy ending. Her most recent release was Turning Paige from Ellora’s Cave. She finally lives with her AF Major husband and two military brats where the bugs die in the winter. She can be reached via her website.

ME!! EEK, I just realized that I don’t have Melissa S’s information. I have a plea out to her, so if she sends me her stuff, I’ll put it up as well. Sorry, but you’ll have to put up with me! Here’s a bit about the reason for all the hoopla for the past few weeks–an excerpt from Paradise Rules. I’ll give away a signed copy of Paradise to one commenter tomorrow morning. Good luck!

PARADISE RULES
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Format: Trade Paperback

She didn’t believe in paradise…

To most people Hawaii’s crystal blue shores are an inviting opportunity to escape reality. But for Lana Rodriguez who grew up there, the picture-perfect vacation getaway disguises the bitter truths she escaped years ago, and not without some emotional scars. Now a successful blues singer, Lana’s returning to Waikiki with a different outlook on the past, and a bold defiance when it comes to men, romance, and sex. This time, it’s on her terms.

Until she found it in him.

Local celebrity, businessman and island god, Jason Koa, may be every woman’s dream. For Lana, it’s not exactly love at first sight. Though their start is rocky, they can’t deny the passions they arouse in each other. Jason refuses to become Lana’s pawn. It’s time to show her who makes the rules on this island—and in the bedroom. But will Jason’s attempt at breaking Lana’s shell reveal secrets that neither are prepared to face, or will they allow themselves to get swept away by a tidal wave of desire?

Excerpt

Five minutes later, after he was satisfied that Melanie had the basics of paddling, kneeling, positioning herself in a standing position in the center of the board, and falling in the safest way, he suggested that she go and pick out a board from the beginner rack he kept on the beach.

He gave Melanie’s silent friend a bland look. “You’re up.”

“I don’t need instruction on the basics.”

“Is that right?” he asked mockingly.

He glanced down over her. He had to admit she had the body of an athlete. It wouldn’t surprise him if she knew exactly what she was doing. He’d immediately taken note of the casual manner in which she took off her sundress earlier in his shop. She was as used to bearing her body as the female swimmers he knew—as most native Hawaiians, for that matter.

He hated to admit it, but she had excellent reason to be comfortable stripping down in public. She had a jaw-dropping body—strong and supple, but soft and feminine, too. And even though she wasn’t tanned, her smooth skin held a golden hue that promised to soak up the sun thirstily. If she stayed on the island for two weeks, she’d probably be ready to contend in a Miss Hawaiian Tropic contest.

“I’ll be the one to decide whether or not you need instruction. Get up on the board, and show me the basics.”

Her muscles stiffened. For a second, he thought she’d refuse, which would be fine by him. He’d be more than happy to leave her on the beach.

She surprised him by stepping up on the board, however. He stopped her with a hand on her elbow when she started to go lie down on her belly.

“Take off the hat and glasses.”

She started. Despite her frigid nature, her skin felt warm and satiny beneath his appreciative fingers.

“Why? What difference does it make?”

“I like to be able to look into the eyes of my students. Got a problem with that?”
He felt her stare on him from behind the dark glasses.

“Look, Waikiki isn’t Waimea in March—or even Sandy for that matter,” he said, referring to a few Oahu advanced surfer beaches. “But it ain’t the wave pool at the water park, either, lady. Those waves can pound the hell out of you. If you don’t do what I say, it can be dangerous. Call me an ass, but I tend to like to know what I’m dealing with before I take responsibility for you out there. If I can’t look into your eyes, it makes it a little difficult for me to know what you’re made of. Play by my rules, or don’t play at all.”

He realized he’d tightened his grip on her firm biceps. Without speaking she removed the straw hat and tossed it on the grass. Brown hair with golden highlights spilled around her shoulders. The glasses landed on top of the hat. Exotically tilted hazel eyes studied him coldly through thick, long lashes.

He knew those eyes. He knew that face. So did half the population.

He dropped his hand.

Okay, so half the population wouldn’t recognize her. She wasn’t pop-star famous by any means, but she did have a loyal following, not to mention the fact that her work commanded the respect of blues and jazz aficionados across the globe.

“Show me what you got,” he said grimly. He watched her as she gracefully came up into a surfing stance.

“I told you,” she said coldly over her left shoulder.

Jason spread his hand on the back of her thigh. “You know the actions, but you need to loosen up. You’re too tight. Relax” He almost broke out in a huge smile when he slapped her thigh lightly. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Get your hand off me.”

“Give me a break, lady,” he muttered as he slid his hand down to her ankle, urging her to widen her stance an inch or two. “You saw me touching your friend as well. You need to relax more than just your body. Your attitude could use a Hawaiian adjustment as well.”

“Think I should just hang loose, dude?”

He paused with his hand on her firm calf and glanced up at her. Her face was livid with fury.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear that particular expression on the front cover of a magazine. I guess that’s for the best, considering the publisher wants people to buy their magazine, not be repulsed by it.”

She clamped her jaw shut. He watched in fascination as her face smoothed into a beautiful mask of impassivity. He stroked her satiny skin ever so lightly, preferring her fury for some reason. Must be turning into a masochist in his old age. When she tensed even further, he knew she’d noticed his subtle groping. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Melanie approaching with a short board under her arm.

“Lana.” Her name lingered on his tongue. “That wouldn’t be short for ‘Ailana now, would it?”

This was interesting, Jason thought when he saw her cheek muscle twitch. He rose slowly until he looked down at her, holding her gaze all the while.

“It means loving in Hawaiian. Of course without the okina, the word ailana refers to raw, fuck-me-till-I’m-blind sexual intercourse,” he said softly, referring to the punctuation mark before the name. He saw the fury return to her expression and smiled insolently. “Ah—I see you already knew that, ‘Ailana.”

“There isn’t a damn thing you can teach me that I don’t already know and wish I didn’t, Mr. Koa.”

He leaned closer, catching her fresh, floral fragrance combined with healthy, sweet sweat. Onaona, he thought, instinctively using his admittedly primitive knowledge of the Hawaiian language to describe her scent. She even smelled like the islands.

“I beg to differ.”

He saw her nostrils flare. His eyes fastened on her lush mouth.

“Is this board okay, Jason?” Melanie called out. He stepped back, glad for the interruption. He was only too happy to consider something else beside the fact that his cock had just stiffened to a lead pipe as he verbally sparred with a prima dona who clearly had some serious issues.

Not his problem.

So what if her personality was a far stretch from what he’d thought it would be given her low, sultry singing voice. Her voice, face, and body had thrilled many a male before him. He didn’t need to be a fan of the entertainment industry to know that most famous people were whacked. Why should it surprise him that Lana Rodriguez was no different?

Still, Jason acknowledged he was disappointed. Her voice and bluesy arrangements brought out the pensive, moody side of him—the side he rarely showed others, certainly not in his role as an athlete or as an extroverted businessman in the Hawaiian tourist industry. In truth, he’d always been a little haunted by her songs.

He suppressed a frown when he fully registered his thoughts and gave an easy grin instead.

“Yeah, that’s perfect, Melanie. Why don’t you go and pick a board, Lana, and we’ll catch a wave.”

“Bitchin’,” he heard Lana mutter scathingly under her breath before she walked away.

Pre-order Paradise Rules

What people are saying about Paradise…

–Love scenes that are so hot they set the pages on fire…a must add to your forever bookshelf! ParanormalRomanceReviews

–4 stars from Romantic Times”“Kery creates tension by weaving together a mystery and a happily-ever-after love story.

–5 Stars from Genre Go Round Reviews–hot enough to melt the polar cap

–A “Desert Island Keeper” from Lea Closetwriter–these two are volcanic together