Cover Reveal: A Need So Insatiable by Cecilia Robert

Everyone please help me celebrate with Cecilia Robert as she reveals the cover to A Need So Insatiable coming this winter. A gorgeous cover for a tantalizing book. She's also giving readers a chance to win a $15 gift card to Amazon and a free book from Book Depository! Make sure you enter below. 

“I’ve never bowed or kneeled for anyone,” Rafael said. “Never thought I would.” Then he was on his knees. He slid his arms around my waist, tugging me closer and bowed his head.

“You own me, Sophie.” He looked up, his dark eyes hitting me with enough force to snatch the breath from my lungs. “You’ve owned me from the moment I walked into your life in that music room. Then I saw you slipping out the window like the wolves were after you and I knew I wanted you in my life. You’ve wrapped yourself in my heart and mind. I can’t get you out. I don’t want to.” 

Graduate opera singer, Sophie Fisher’s life is on fire and it’s not her breathtaking voice lighting it, but the trail of debts her father left behind after he passed away a few months ago. If she’s not ducking around corners or slipping out of windows to escape the debt collectors and a slew of characters sent from hell, she’s dealing with her rebellious fifteen-year-old sister, Lilli, who is still coming to terms with their father’s death. And as if that’s not enough, Rafael Van Rees bursts into her life—literally—bringing with him a set of emotions she isn’t prepared to deal with and a life the public had no idea of.

Rafael Van Rees, Maestro extraordinaire, just wants to be left in peace to date whichever woman he feels like, have dinner with whomever he feels like, and just enjoy his life. Until he meets Sophie and his past returns to haunt him. And just when he thought he didn’t care about her, his history proves him wrong. He knows when it comes to her, it’s all or nothing. Besides, she makes him feel fuzzy all over.

Is Sophie’s fire hot enough to melt the ice coursing through his veins?

Learn more about Cecilia Robert on her blog or become a fan on Facebook

Hello, my friends. It's been forever, I know. I'm posting a big old
THANK YOU
to everyone who came out to see me at the Thousand Oaks Library Author Fair on May 20th. As promised, I am awarding a free copy of Frozen Heart to one winner who stopped by to chat and entered to win. Using Random.org, I have selected a winner!

The list as entered:

And the list with a winner chosen:





























Congratulations to Sandra S. ! I'll be emailing you the details.

The event itself was rather quiet but a wonderful experience overall. I met several other local authors, including Amazon Best Seller Kyle Fitzharris, and had a lovely time chatting with both long time lovers of books and unpublished authors looking to break into the publishing world. In all, I would liken this event to having a soft opening of a restaurant. Not too many people and just enough to begin to build some word of mouth.

I'll be back again soon, my friends. I miss waxing poetic about my life and my writing. In the mean time, I hope you've found some great books and talented authors with the monthly installment of Author Spotlight.

XOXO

Author Spotlight: Tiffany Reisz

Today, I have an interview with the amazing Tiffany Reizs for you. We are celebrating the digital release of her book The Siren (in paperback July 2012). Trust me, you do not want to miss this one. This is BDSM done right and done well. Besides being extremely talented, she's also really cool, so don't sleep on this one! Don't worry, I've provided links to get your dirty little self a copy of this delicious book at the end of the interview.

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With a reputation almost as wild as the truth about her, Nora Sutherlin is the most infamous writer in New York.

With black hair, ice blue eyes, and a British accent, Zachary Easton is the sexiest editor in all of publishing…and the stuffiest.

And now they have to work together.

This might not be a good idea…

What was the first romance novel you read? How did that book influence your future as a writer?

I not only remember the first romance novel I ever read, I still have a copy of it. It’s THE SHIEK’S REVENGE by Emma Darcy, a Harlequin Presents. I read and re-read it. The opening scene involves the hot sheik discussing a sexy painting with the heroine. Later I would steal this idea for THE SIREN.

When or how did you decide to write erotica? Did you or do you plan to write in any another genre?

I’m not a huge fan of genre labels. They tend to fence in a writer. But there’s something about the word “erotica” that stirs the blood. It’s the most ancient genre and the most infamous. I love sex and find it fascinating so it’s only natural that’s the genre I gravitated too. I have another book in the works that would be urban fantasy but urban fantasy with my trademark goofiness and eroticism.

We all have pitfalls in our writing process. What is yours and how do you combat it or work around it?

Twitter is an addiction. I’m a social butterfly online. I love to talk and interact with all my cool online friends so it’s hard for me to tear myself away to get real writing done. But then I remember 90% of my followers are following me because of my writing. I don’t want to let them down so I get back to the typing. Sigh…

You’re known for being very open about that fact that you enjoy BDSM. I know many ER authors who shy away from being overtly sexual because they fear how they will be viewed given their profession. As a person who also lives a good portion of her sex life publicly (writing The Bombshell Mommy), I’m intrigued that you decided to cross into the territory of full disclosure. What was it that made you take the leap and “tell all”?

I don’t know where my openness came from. I’ve just never been shy about my personal life. I suppose I don’t think my personal life is interesting enough to keep a secret. To me, being into BDSM is like being gay. It’s simply me. How could I hide that? It breaks my heart that so many women writers feel like they have to hide behind pen names. We’re just perpetuating the cycle of shame and embarrassment. Liking sex should be as neutral as enjoying food. It’s natural, it’s healthy, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your private life private or writing under a pen name. But there is something wrong when women writers feel like they have to.

Given the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, what are your thoughts on so-called “BDSM-lite” hitting mainstream American readers?

One person’s BDSM-lite is another person’s hardcore. I’m always happy when any book gets non-readers reading and starts intelligent discourse about formerly taboo subjects. If people now feel safe to read BDSM erotica, that can only help a dirty little writer like me.


Quick Three:
Favorite book: The Keep by Jennifer Egan
Favorite drink: A spiked Shirley Temple
Favorite article of clothing: My Batman shirt as my boyfriend likes it so much. Good memories.

Tiffany Reisz lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her boyfriend (a reformed book reviewer) and two cats (one good, one evil). She graduated with a B.A. in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and her professors proud by writing BDSM erotica under her real name. She has five piercings, one tattoo, and has been arrested twice. 

When not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her fourth grade teacher. Her first full-length novel THE SIREN was inspired by a desire to tie up actor Jason Isaacs (on paper). She hopes someday life will imitate art (in bed). 
If she couldn’t write, she would die.

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A huge thank you to Tiffany Reisz for taking time to be interviewed. For more on Reisz and her books, visit her website or follow her on twitter @tiffanyreisz

Read THE SIREN May 1st on your NOOK or KINDLE.

Author Spotlight: Cyndi Tefft

I'm a blogging failure, I know. My most sincere apologies. In my defense, I'm still learning how to juggle my freelance jobs, The Bombshell Mommy, and the publishing of Frozen Heart. Not to mention trying to squeak in work on my new WIP. 


Meanwhile, I'd like to introduce you all to Cyndi Tefft, the author of Between and the newly released sequel Hell Transporter.  Her YA books come with a heavy dose of skillfully written sexual tension. They are not to be missed. Plus, a grim reaper with a Scottish accent, how can you resist? Cyndi recently took time away from working on the last installment of Aiden and Linsey's journey together to chit chat with me about her books and her writing process.  


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Between 
It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.


What inspired you to write such a unique version of a grim reaper? And how did you decide on the delicious idea to make him Scottish? 

I wanted to write a good versus evil story, but I felt angels and demons had been done pretty extensively. Having always been fascinated with near death experiences, I thought it would be fun to create a world in between earth and heaven with a guide from one to the other.

Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series made me a Scot fanatic and I had just finished her sixth book when I started writing mine. Her seventh was not yet out at that time and I was hungry for some more Scottish Highlander hunkiness, so I decided to make one of my own!

Did you plan to write a romance novel with a strong religious theme or did it develop as the story evolved? 

Because the story is set in the afterlife, I knew God and heaven would play a strong role in the book, but things definitely evolved as I wrote. I am much more of a pantser than a plotter (I just start writing and see how things develop, rather than outlining ahead of time). 

The faith themes in the book are an integral part of the story, as I would imagine that in death, most everyone would wonder how the God thing comes into play.

You write fantastic sexual tension. What advice do you have for other authors *cough*me*cough* when it comes to writing the tension that comes before the actual sex? 

Thanks! *grin* Writing love scenes is one of my favorite things to do. It’s much easier for me than writing fight scenes! Between was actually an adult book when I finished the first draft. It went through countless revisions and finally ended up a YA novel. There are three *deleted* sex scenes from the book that I’ve made available upon request to readers who want to know the characters a bit more... intimately. hehe

As for writing sexual tension, I believe the key is making the reader want it to happen as much as the main characters do. We all want to fall in love with the characters and when we do, their longings become our own, and the ultimate satisfaction of that longing is all the sweeter.

Every writer comes across pitfalls in the writing process. What is your biggest challenge and how did you learn to overcome it?

When I finished the first draft of the story, which was actually one big HUGE book that I later split into Between and Hell Transporter, I thought it was done. *shakes head* Little did I know that I would spend years revising those books and that they would bear little resemblance to the first draft once they were finished.

My biggest challenge early on was underestimating how much I still had to learn about writing. Now I know much more about the craft, but more than that, I know I still have much to learn. That knowledge, rather than being depressing and defeating my spirit, actually provides me with grace for the present and excitement for the journey ahead.

I am a better writer than I was and not as good a writer as I will be.

Quick three:

Favorite Book: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Jamie Fraser- swoon!)

Favorite Drink: Diet Pepsi (followed closely by espresso)

Favorite Article of Clothing: My Sketchers tennies. I wear them every day!

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Thank you again to Cyndi Tefft for visiting the blog and sharing her insights. For more on Cyndi you can visit her website , her Twitter, and on Goodreads. Her books are available at her site, as well as Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. 

The Bombshell Mommy

Guess WHAT? Many of you already know this, but here's my official blog announcement.

I AM THE BOMBSHELL MOMMY!

I'm writing as The Bombshell Mommy exclusively for Vitacost. The entire focus is to encourage women to embrace their sexuality and sexual health in the face of the drudgery of every day life as moms, wives, and all around Superwoman duties.

See that click-through badge on the side of this blog? Hop over there any time. I'd love for you to visit. No writing talk, just fun, flirty, and fascinating discussions of why every woman is a Bombshell at heart.

I don't get political here, you know this, but I want you all to understand that in a time where women are being shoved back into the kitchen, being pushed into second class citizenry, being slut-shamed, our bodies continually commodified and treated as community property, it is of dire importance that we embrace our sexuality.

When you own your sexuality, you have the courage to stand up for yourself. You have the courage to tell that guy off when he puts his hands on your body without invitation. You have the strength to report when someone assaults you. You are empowered by knowledge you have of your body and how it works. Your children benefit from the freedom to ask you questions and your ability to answer them with confidence and compassion. You have the deep seeded knowledge that your body and your sexuality is not to be judged or defined by anyone else. It is YOURS and no one is entitled to your body simply because you are a woman.

It's time to stop living the conundrum of the Madonna/Whore syndrome. We CAN be mothers and  sexual beings, simultaneously. We CAN enjoy sex without being "easy", "loose", or "immoral". We CAN be women, with our lovely curves, our beautiful minds, our emotionally overflowing hearts, and our iron clad spines, while still enjoying the desires of the flesh.

Enough of the serious.

It's a crazy fun time over there. Light hearted and sexy, cheeky and sensual. Bombshell's of the world, UNITE!

Writing by the seat of my pants

I'm what's referred to as a "pantser"in the world of writing. I don't typically have every chapter outlined, or even any idea how I'm getting from beginning to end, but I always have a beginning and end. They come to me simultaneously when I get a plot bunny. NaNo is a pantser's dream. Permission to write without looking back, knowing the first draft will be crap; full of holes, overwriting, underwriting, repetitive and overused adjectives and serious adverb abuse. We also know that if we work hard at refining, polishing, and tightening this first draft, there is a chance that we will have a pretty darn good book when we're done.

It's been a really fun project and I'm loving the experience. I've had a few other work related projects that took precedence, as well as a random short story that insisted I write it (seriously, I spent all day Friday on a piece that I wouldn't show you guys if you paid me...well, you know what I mean), that set me back on my word count, but overall I'm doing okay. Since I don't have any serious writing advice or epiphanies for you in this post, I'm going to give you an tiny excerpt from my NaNo project, Frozen Heart (working title). This excerpt is a tasty little morsel of what I've done thus far.
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     I longed for the beautiful log fueled hearth that had enveloped me while in the safe hideaway of his cabin. The rich smell of woody smoke still permeated my clothing, a mix of sentimental feelings from childhood and sensual memories of being in Beckett’s arms. I increased the number on the digital screen, knowing it still wouldn’t bring the warmth I craved. What seemed to be a perfect existence, only a few days earlier, with just me an the boys, was now lifeless and empty. For the first time since my parents were taken by the Affinity, I felt the extreme cold of our frozen environment in every part of my body. Not just in my fingers or my toes, not in the frost against my skin, but deep in every fiber of my body. The very air that filled my lungs was frigid and biting. It hurt to draw it in, to try to sustain on it, and I found it even more excruciating to force it back out. 

I stood, chasing the warmth that floated from the glowing orange coils in front of me.  The change made the pain worse, instead of better. The wafting hot air felt stagnant and suffocating. I moved across the room searching for cleansing breaths. The tightness in my chest intensified, fear spiraling in my mind. Panic rose from the base of my spine and I clutched at my throat. The boys closed in around me, their instinct telling them to protect me from my invisible assailant.
Instead of quelling my fear, their presence only intensified my suffocation. I ran, fumbling, to the access door and slammed my hand against the button until it jerked open. Out in the snowy expanse, I gasped and sucked at the open air, falling to my knees as I succumbed to the knowledge that it wasn’t the air in my cabin, nor the air out in the wild, that was insufficient. Beckett had breathed new life into my soul, and without him, there was no air.

  I screamed out into the desolate white landscape, sending a lone owl fleeing from the disruption. For the first time in ten years, I gave myself over to the loneliness and the sorrow, crying tears for everything I had lost, for everything that was taken from me, and for the unending isolation that served as the price of freedom. There was no point to liberty if the cost was love. My parents gave up everything to avoid me being Matched, but the alternative was this life of solitude. 

Things I don't do.

I'm just going to lay it all out on the table, here. I'm a terrible housewife. It's true. If I had to interview for the job, in the same way you interview for a paying job, no one would hire me. There are things I just don't do. Then, there are things I can do, but I do them poorly. There is nothing related to my daily job that I excel at or even do particularly well.

My housekeeping skills leave so much to be desired. I've heard other people say, "I just love to vacuum" or "I really get into a zone when I'm dusting" and I think, "You've got to be kidding me. People really enjoy this crap?"

I'm sure my mother could give you a list ten miles long of the half assed or utterly incompetent ways I clean. I do the minimal amount necessary to keep my house presentable. When that fails, I aim for whatever keeps the guys in the hazmat suits at bay. And I absolutely do not iron unless it is forced upon me like an unwanted sexual advance in a dank and dirty nightclub.

The only redeeming quality of housework is that I get to count the calories I burned. Today, for instance, I swept, did dishes, 2 loads of laundry, and steam cleaned the couch cushions. I merrily entered this "cleaning:light to moderate effort" into my smartphone app, knowing I could eat an additional spicy tuna roll tonight. Ah, the taste of victory.

Then there is cooking. I can cook and there are some things I cook very well, but I'd rather not cook. Alas, I'm stuck doing it three times a day. I've heard people say cooking relaxes them. I can't relate. In fact, the idea of cooking a three course meal as a means to serenity is preposterous. There is no time more stressful than that which is spent toiling away over a hot stove, chopping, dicing, stirring, and timing everything so that it doesn't burn.

"Then what DO you do, Annabelle?"

Funny you should ask. I've spent some time contemplating this subject myself. I have concluded that I am not defined by my housekeeping skills. They are irrelevant. My talents lie elsewhere and that is what makes me, well, me. I am an artist, a medium, if you will. I transcribe the words my imaginary friends give me. I tell stories of love and life, happiness and hatred, estrangement and esteem. I channel the sights, sounds, and images that belong to another person and weave vivid tapestries of the world that surrounds them. That is what I do.

Know what you're meant to do and do it well, I say! So, my friends, what do you do?