Crymsyn Hart's Blog, page 17

Hello all,

Sex.

Yes that is the topic of discussion today.

This past weekend I was on an awesome panel with many wonderful authors including, Marica Collette, Alexandra Christian, and Susan Roddey. And of course the topic was about sex.

Now when you include alcohol, a late night, and sex you are bound to end up with some interesting conversations. However, even with the giveaway including the Big Bags of Sin that were won the six inch rainbow penis sucker was the talking stick and stole the show.

Although no liquor was imbibed on my part, it was a very informative panel and hopefully we were able to give some readers some insights into how to write sex and that no. Erotica writers don't practice everything they write. There is some rules one has to follow when writing sex.
Keep it interesting.Keep it fun.Make sure all the body parts are inserted in the right place and a third hand appears from out of no where.Make sure the sex moves the story forward.Last, but not certainly not all, please make sure that safe book sex is practiced. No one wants to get a paper cut on their sensitive parts while reading.

Hi Everyone, Let's please welcome Linda Deleon to the blog today. She has her short story in Southern Haunts 2 out now from Seventh Star Press.

DEDILESS was my first attempt in writing a short story. All I had ever written up to that point were novels. Honestly, I did not think I could do it. With heaping amounts of encouragement from Alexander S Brown and my husband, Rene, I started forming ideas of demons in my dark, twisted and already haunted mind. The hardest part was deciding on which demon to write about. There are so many to choose from.
              Blues music started in Mississippi and Robert Johnson started the Blues. The legend is that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil by the way of the crossroads demon in the delta in the early 1930’s. His life was one of struggle and hardship. As is my usual, I wrote DEDILESS around historical fact around my warped imagination. One year, he could barely play the guitar and the next, he was a genius. This, along with the fact that his songs were about selling his soul to the devil and having Hell Hounds on chasing him, sparked legends that still live today. All demons need a name. Throughout history, this particular demon has only been known by the name of the Crossroads Demon.  That was not good enough. I needed to give him a name with character and a distinctive personality. My husband, Rene, came up with the name DEDILESS. He said he did not know where it came from. I took the name and ran with it. My mind thinks simply, so I broke it down to DEAD ONE LESS… DEDILESS. I HAD IT!
               The main character, Chad, was taken from a friend of mine who is an ER nurse from Texas. He is a great guy with an even greater personality. One night, I made the remark that I was going to write him into a story so I could kill him. He thought I was joking. He will be forever immortalized in DEDILESS. New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. The rich history and folklore give rise to stories like mine since its beginning. It is a place where anyone that is a little different, such as myself, can feel at home and welcomed by the living and the dead. It is an area that you will not be judged for not following the politically correct norms that are dictated by today’s society.
               I had never ventured out from my writing of my beloved vampires such as VEIL OF TIME and FALL INTO DARKNESS. They had always been my comfort zone. DEDILESS taught me that there was more out there. Vampires, witches and ghosts with always come first, but now I can include demons among those that surround me in my darkest hours.  Maybe there is more in the darkness. We will see. Believe that I will find it. When I do, I will bring it to you in more stories that are sure to come.  


Amazon Links for Southern Haunts: Devils in the Darkness  
Print Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Southern-Haunts-Darkness-Alexander-Brown/dp/193792954X  


Kindle Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Southern-Haunts-Darkness-Alexander-Brown-ebook/dp/B00IZ6OMIW




About the Editors: Alexander S. Brown: Alexander S. Brown is a Mississippi author who was published in 2008 with his first book, Traumatized. Reviews for this short story collection were so favorable that it will be released as a special edition. Brown is currently one of the co-editors/coordinators with the Southern Haunts Anthologies published by Seventh Star Press. His horror novel, Syrenthia Falls is represented by Dark Oak Press. He is also the author of multiple young adult steampunk stories found in the following anthologies Dreams of Steam Vol 2 & 4, Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells, and Capes and Clockworks. Look out for his controversial piece, “The Last Lamb” found in the anthology, Luna’s Children.



About the Editors: Louise Myers: Louise Myers was born in New Orleans. During her teenage years, she was uprooted from everything she knew and was replanted in Mississippi. Though the transition was difficult, she is grateful for this change. She says this because she knows that both places are a world all to their own. She is the wife of a wonderful husband and mother of three beautiful children, as well as the proud parent of a spoiled mutt. She was assistant editor for Southern Haunts: Spirits That Walk Among Us and was proud to be part of The Southern Haunts Series once again. She is a beta reader, book doctor, editor, and author. Though this is her first story in print, she has been weaving tales for many years. With the gentle, yet firm, shove from a very special person, she has decided to dive into the world of print. She has many thoughts on several topics she’d like to write, mostly involving ghost stories.  


Book Synopsis Southern Haunts Devils in the Darkness: From the fiery abyss of the underworld comes 20 hellish tales from the south and southwest. Within these charred pages are stories that will introduce you to the many demons that stay hidden but are always nearby… 20 authors provide stories of possessed people, objects, houses, highways, and the devil’s favorite playground - the forest. Dare to meet Deidless, a demon who is a buyer of souls. Discover what kind of demons men can summon. Read of battles between good and evil. Learn of ancient artifacts and stones that crave sacrifice. Finally, become acquainted with legions of evil. Again, we invite you, sit back, dim the lights, and prepare yourself to meet the devils in the darkness. Southern Haunts: Devils in the Darkness is the next installment in the exciting anthology series that began with Southern Haunts: Spirits That Walk Among Us.  

Anthology and Editor Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southern-Haunts/417536915003428
Twitter: @AlexanderSBrown @louisemyers197  

Tour Schedule and Activities
May 26 I Smell Sheep Guest Post
May 26 Novel-ties Review
May 27 Deal Sharing Aunt Guest Post
May 28 Armand Rosamilia Guest Post
May 28 Book in the Bag Interview
May 29 Spellbindings Guest Post
May 29 Bees Knees Reviews Guest Post
May 30 Beauty in Ruins Guest Post
May 31 Vampires, Witches and Me Oh My! Guest Post
May 31 Sheila Deeth Blog Guest Post

Hey Everyone,

Today we have Selah Janel making another stop at the blog today. Please make her feel welcome and get ready to read about an awesome new series she's rocking with the first book called Olde School. If you love fairy tales and fantasy gone a little off kilter, you'll love this book.


I’d like to think that I know exactly what to say when talking about a title, but Olde School is one of those that is so detailed, rich, and beautifully weird, that it’s hard for me to pick a place to start. It’s one of those books that combines a lot of my loves in the world of stories: fairy and folk tales, archetypes, fantasy, turning genres on their heads, heroes, and humor. Truth be told, this book is probably the most meout of all my published releases so far. Whether it’s because of the silliness, the blending of genres, or because I finally feel ready to start shedding my inhibitions and show the stories in my head and heart to the world, I am so in love and at home with Kingdom City, it almost makes me forget how hard I worked to write this book.
But what isOlde School? I’ve said before that it has elements of the old stories, paranormal bits, some horror, a lot of the fantastic, and even a new take on urban fantasy…but what does that even mean?
Kingdom City is the biggest city in The Land (not to be confused with The Other Land, The Other Other Land, and The Other Land That Isn’t Those Other Lands). It’s set in a world where the stories that we know as fairy tales were once part of history, of sorts. It’s a world where trolls, goblins, brownies, elves, humans, ogres, pixies, and all the rest coexist and strive to make their way in the world. 
Oh, and by the way, there’s no magic. They also have what we’d consider modern technology (for the most part). Trolls use laptops and are business owners. Goblins make good lawyers. Princes tend to go for doctors and CEOs as much or more than princesses. Kingdom City has a university, arenas for concerts, sports teams and everything else that you’d expect, just all done with a fantasy/folklore twist. The city’s making a move toward more of a democratic process, but there are still those partial to a monarchy and making appearances in court. The old stories are used mostly as movie fodder and marketing, though the story of King Thadd the Dreamer who founded the city and got humans and creatures to work together still inspires the residents.
Though those residents are all types of beings, they all have hopes, dreams, occupations, and daily irritations – just like the rest of us. Paddlelump Stonemonger is a troll who just wants to have a successful bridge business. Unfortunately, he’s a little naïve and a little too nice-looking for a troll, something his older, more cynical friends are always quick to remind him of. Between that, his mysterious human maid Nobody (who has an agenda of her own), and a battle with the pixie Lord Mayor Addlebaum and ogre Sheriff Yargle Grimclaw over the ownership of the land his bridge is on, he’s having quite a time. He has well-meaning friends, though. Ippick and Uljah are trolls who haunt the local diner and offer advice and much ribbing. Flora is a feisty human waitress who guards her heart close, but is always ready to help a friend. Together, they’re willing to help Paddlelump tackle all the challenges in front of him, along with Clyde, a very special, very unusual bird, who may or may not be more than he seems.
And then they find out that magic really does exist, and has since the beginning of time. They also quickly realize that the reason no one knows this fact is because it’s a completely horrific thing to know about.
So can these typical personalities in atypical characters band together and fight something bigger than themselves in a world that’s strange and familiar all at once?

Well, you’ll have to read the book and wander the streets of Kingdom City for yourself to see. While you’re there, be sure to order the house special from Trip Trap’s and check out whatever sequel in the Rumplestiltskin horror franchise is playing at the local cinema. Feel free to meander through the common market, and be sure to go to the palace to gawk at the downtown district. The residents are friendly, no matter what form they come in, so there’s no need to worry about who you might encounter! There’s only one thing, and it’s probably nothing, really…just be sure to stay away from the woods at nightfall.

Amazon Links for Olde School
Print Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Olde-School-Selah-Janel/dp/1937929655Kindle Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Olde-School-Kingdom-City-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00J4UGVIM




About the Author: Selah Janel has been blessed with a giant imagination and a love of story since she was little and convinced that fairies lived in the nearby state park or vampires hid in the abandoned barns outside of town. Learning to read and being encouraged by those around her only made things worse. Her work ranges from e-books to traditional print, and she prefers to write every genre at once rather than choose just one. The stories “Holly and Ivy”, “The Other Man”, and “Mooner” are available online through Mocha Memoirs Press. Her work has also been included in The MacGuffin, The Realm Beyond, Stories for Children Magazine, The Big Bad: an Anthology of Evil, Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery, The Grotesquerie, and the short story collection Lost in the Shadows, co-written with S.H. Roddey. She likes her music to rock, her vampires lethal, her fairies to play mind games, and her princesses to have adventures and hold their own.

Author Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorSJ
Twitter:@selahjanel
Website:http://selahjanel.wordpress.com/
  
Book Synopsis Olde School: Kingdom City has moved into the modern era. Run by a lord mayor and city council (though still under the influence of the High King of The Land), it proudly embraces a blend of progress and tradition. Trolls, ogres, and other Folk walk the streets with humans, but are more likely to be entrepreneurs than cause trouble. Princesses still want to be rescued, but they now frequent online dating services to encourage lords, royals, and politicians to win their favor. The old stories are around, but everyone knows they’re just fodder for the next movie franchise. Everyone knows there’s no such thing as magic. It's all old superstition and harmless tradition.
Bookish, timid, and more likely to carry a laptop than a weapon, Paddlelump Stonemonger is quickly coming to wish he'd never put a toll bridge over Crescent Ravine. While his success has brought him lots of gold, it's also brought him unwanted attention from the Lord Mayor. Adding to his frustration, Padd’s oldest friends give him a hard time when his new maid seems inept at best and conniving at worst. When a shepherd warns Paddlelump of strange noises coming from Thadd Forest, he doesn't think much of it. Unfortunately for him, the history of his land goes back further than anyone can imagine. Before long he'll realize that he should have paid attention to the old tales and carried a club.
Darkness threatens to overwhelm not only Paddlelump, but the entire realm. With a little luck, a strange bird, a feisty waitress, and some sturdy friends, maybe, just maybe, Padd will survive to eat another meal at Trip Trap's diner. It's enough to make the troll want to crawl under his bridge, if he can manage to keep it out of the clutches of greedy politicians.
Olde School if Book One of The Kingdom City Chronicles

Tour Schedule and Activities

May 26 SpecMusicMuse Review/Interview May 26 Vampires, Witches, and me oh my! Guest Post May 27 Alexx Momcat’s Gateway Book Blog  Character Post May 27 Watch Play Read Review May 28 Fantastical Adventures in the Paper Realm Review May 28 Sheila Deeth Blog Character Post May 28 Close Encounters with the Night Kind Review May 29 Deal Sharing Aunt Promo/Spotlight May 29 Workaday Reads Reviews May 30 Exquisite Corpse Guest Post May 31 Bee’s Knees Reviews Review May 31 I Smell Sheep Character Post June 1 Seers, Seraphs, Immortals and More! Interview 

Once upon a time, Seventh Star Press made a callout for an anthology of  fairy tales, some from the Seelie Court, some from the Unseelie Court. I knew I had to write something for that anthology.
I have a couple of books written for an upcoming series I like to call "Tipsy Fairy Tales". They're the story of Skye, who lost a bit of her soul while drunk, playing a vampire in a live action roleplaying game. She survived the experience, but was forever changed. She gained "second sight" – a view into a magical dimension she thought of as fairyland. Wolf-boys on the bus, a wicked horned huntress stealing her boyfriend, and blue fire sprites that set her house on fire. The trouble with this second sight was that it only worked when she'd had a drink or two. Or three.
Fortunately, along with this double-edged "gift", Skye gained a friend. That missing bit of her soul became its own being, a foot-tall mirror of Skye herself in mock vampire form, complete with teeny tiny fangs. Skye called her Minnie, of course. Minnie takes care of Skye, warning her of supernatural dangers, acting as an unseen spy, and often as Skye's only voice of reason.
When RJ Sullivan asked to use Skye (but not Minnie) for his novel Virtual Blue, I knew I needed to have a solo adventure for little Minnie. The tiny pseudo-fae could focus on something other than her other half – and maybe find herself a bit in the process.
The Chimerical World anthology seemed the perfect opportunity to tell Minnie's story. She found herself alone in Bloomington, Indiana, and rather than helping Skye get out of trouble, she met a Goose Girl and got tangled up in fairy political infighting as she stood up to do the honorable thing.
But that way lay spoilers, dear reader, so I'll clue you in on the origin of the other ingredients of the story.
First off, Bloomington, the home of Indiana University seemed to me to be the perfect place for the fae, full of chaos and lore, artists and musicians, mischief and traditions.  I used to live there, and if any place is the focus of fairy celebrations, I figured it had to be Showalter Fountain, which features Venus and fishlike "dolphin" sculptures. But Minnie being the odd little thing she was, I needed her to start somewhere quieter, and I could think of no place more Minnie than the small cemetery next to the Indiana Memorial Union, Dunn Cemetery.
Why goose-people as fairies? Believe it or not, the idea of a "mother goose" character didn't occur to me until later in the process. A friend of mine refers to a mated pair of geese in her apartment complex as "George and Gracie", and the idea of a fairy wedding came from some roleplay with another friend in Second Life. So, the ideas gelled for me, the geese pair became the fairy people getting married. I named them Georgette and Grace at first, but the two G names confused beta readers, so Georgette became Bernadette (a play on Burns).
Once I had these ingredients stirred together, the story seemed to write itself. It was fun telling a tale from so low to the ground, and Minnie surprised me with her resourcefulness and hidden powers. She managed to get along without Skye in a foreign place, and learned a bit about herself in the process.
I submitted the story, and was proud and delighted when Scott Sandridge let me know that it had been accepted as part of the Seventh Star Press Seelie anthology! If you'd like to read about Minnie's adventures, check out A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court!


Eric Garrison has a bad habit of making silly whiteboard drawings (especially on Wednesdays!) depicting scenes from his stories. In this picture, we see fairy goose girl, Bernadette Nutt, sketching statues in Dunn Cemetery.

A close-up of Minnie dancing in front of Skye, from a picture done by artist by Nell Williams

Eric Garrison is active in the writing community in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lives in the Circle City with his wife, step-daughter and a cabal of cats. He also enjoys gaming, home brewing beer, and finding innovative uses for duct tape.
Eric’s novel, Reality Check, is a science fiction adventure released by Hydra Publications.Reality Check reached #1 in Science Fiction on Amazon.com during a promotion in July 2013.
His supernatural fantasy novels include the Road Ghosts trilogy, published by Seventh Star Press. The first two books in the series, Four ’til Lateand Sinking Down, were released in 2013. His novels are dark supernatural fantasies, dealing with ghosts, demonic possession and even sinister fairy folk. Eric can be found at http://sillyhatbooks.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EricGarrisonAuthor



Author photo credit: Kriss Morton

About the Editor: Scott M. Sandridge is a writer, editor, freedom fighter, and all-around trouble-maker. His latest works as an editor include the Seventh Star Press anthologies Hero’s Best Friend: An Anthology of Animal Companions, and the two volumes of A Chimerical World, Tales of the Seelie Court and Tales of the Unseelie Court.
Book Synopsis Tales of the Seelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the first volume of A Chimerical World focuses on the Seelie Court: the court we humans seem to view as the "good" faeries. But "good" and "evil" are human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us.Inside you will find 19 stories that delve into the world of the faeries of the Seelie Court, from authors both established and new, including George S. Walker, Eric Garrison, and Alexandra Christian.
But be warned: these faeries are nothing like Tinker Bell.
Stories Included in Tales of the Seelie Court:
"Extra-Ordinary" by BC Brown"Dead Fairy Doormat" by George S. Walker"Taggers" by Christine Morgan"Wormwood" by Alexandra Christian"The Harpist's Hand" by Steven S. Long"Sanae's Garden" by Chantal Boudreau"Mark of Ruins" by SD Grimm."Birdie's Life at the School for Distressed Young Ladies" by JH Fleming"Cultivated Hope" by Jordan Phelps"Seelie Goose" by Eric Garrison"I Knocked Up My Fairy Girlfriend" by Brandon Black"The Body Electric" by Sarah Madsen."The Last Mission" by Cindy Koepp."The Beggar-Knight & the Lady Perilous"by Matthew A. Timmins."The Filigreed Lamp" by Edward Ahern."Keys" by Michael M. Jones"Like a Sister in the Proper Court" by Lisa Hawkridge"Gnome Games" by Saera Corvin"The Goat Man's Garden" by Marten Hoyle
Be sure to also see A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court, for more tales of the Fey!
Book Synopsis Tales of the Unseelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the second volume of A Chimerical World focuses on the Unseelie Court: the court we humans seem to view as the "evil" faeries. But "good" and "evil" are human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us.Inside you will find 19 stories that delve into the world of the faeries of the Unseelie Court, from authors both established and new, including Michael Shimek, Deedee Davies, and Nick Bryan.
But don't be surprised if these faeries decide to play with their food.
Stories included in Tales of the Unseelie Court:
"In Plain Sight" by Rebecca Leo"The Wunderhorn" by David Turnbull"Treehouse" by Kim Smith"I'll Watch Over You" by Angeline Trevena"The Enemy of my Enemy" by Deedee Davies."Maestro" by Nicholas Paschall"Prey of the Boggart" by Rony Blechman."Fear of Little Men" by Mike Pieloor.."Faerie Stories and the Bean Nighe" by Carmen Tudor.."Gifts" by Michael Shimek.."Djinn and Tonic" by S. Clayton Rhodes"The Bet" by Jodi Ralston..."The Fool and his Money" by Nick Bryan"The Yielding" by J. A. Ironside."The Tamer of Beasts" by Doug Blakeslee.."The Last Sword of Barrow Thorns" by Matthew A. Timmins"The Rose and the Dragon" by Steven S. Long"The Brothers Doran" by John A. McColley"Wonderland" by Stephanie Jessop
Be sure to also see A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court, for more tales of the Fey!

Editor Links:
Twitter:https://twitter.com/scottmsandridge
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/smsandwrites
Website/Blog:http://smsand.wordpress.com
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...

Tour Schedule and Activities5/18    Jorie Loves a Story                                         Review5/20    Deal Sharing Aunt                                          Guest Post5/21    Armand Rosamilia, Horror Author               Guest Post5/21    Vampires, Witches, and Me, Oh My!           Guest Post5/21    Beauty in Ruins                                              Guest Post5/21    The Bird's Word                                             Interview5/21    Book in the Bag                                             Interview5/22    Bee's Knees Reviews                                     Guest Post5/22    Spellbindings                                                  Promo/Spotlight5/22    I Smell Sheep                                                  Guest Post5/23    The Official Writing Blog of Deedee Davies Guest Post5/24    Heroic Fantasy Writers                                  Review5/24    Sheila Deeth Blog                                          Guest Post5/25    Come Selahway With Me                              Interview

Tour Page URL: http://www.tomorrowcomesmedia.com/a-chimerical-world-anthologies-virtual-tour/Tour Badge Html: http://www.tomorrowcomesmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/AChimericalWorldBadge.jpg
Amazon Links for Tales of the Seelie CourtPrint Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Seelie-Court/dp/1937929477Kindle Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Seelie-Court-ebook/dp/B00IAHTMAOAmazon Links for Tales of the Unseelie CourtPrint Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Unseelie-Court/dp/1937929493Kindle Versionhttp://www.amazon.com/Chimerical-World-Tales-Unseelie-Court-ebook/dp/B00IAHTVSC 

Let's Welcome Elise Hepner to the blog today talking about her new book Furious Temptation.


Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance
Blurb:   For millennia Megaera, a Fury, has functioned as Hades right hand by passing judgment on demons who break the sacred laws. Stalwart in her moral compass, but harboring a curse triggered by rage, she walks a thin line between perfection and destruction. But when she digs into a case  uncovering a string of demon rapes, she incites a war with Mount Olympus that could ripple chaos throughout the ages.

Omen Cole was demon made during the Civil War after repeated torture at the hands of his enemies.  Sentenced to an eternity as watchdog over his emotionally frail, once human ex-wife, he’s haunted that he couldn’t save her from a brutal assault.

Now it’s happened again. And Megaera needs his testimony. Omen will sell his body—and anything else—to avenge his fragile ex-wife. If that means  an alliance with Megaera, he’ll make it the most memorable of their eternity.
Buy Links:

Secret Cravings

Amazon
Bio: Elise Hepner lives with her husband and two eccentric cats in Maryland. She spends the majority of her free time in her basement office concocting smutty characters and sinful situations that leaves readers satisfied. When not writing, she researches everything from automatons in the 18th century to gladiatorial rules in Ancient Rome. She prides herself on being an avid information hound as well as a blog reading addict--which is her favorite way to procrastinate. Her previous publications include books and stories with Entangled, Excessica, Xcite, Ellora's Cave, Secret Cravings Publishing and Cleis Press.Author Links:
Website: www.elisehepner.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/EHepnerFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elise-Hepner-Writing/311925106401

It's Blog Hopping time!
What are the rules?  Well that's easy, just enter the Rafflecopter give away below.What are the prizes?

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Love, Lust and Lipstick Stains Blog Hop

Gods and Goblins 3rd edition coverSo today was my re-release of the first in my Gods Trilogy; Gods and Goblins, oh my! a comedic journey of a witch whose spells go awry for no reason and a naked god shows up in her bed in the middle of a hot erotic dream and when she wakes up, he's still there.


Gods & Goblins 2nd edition coverGods and Goblins, Oh My! was one of the very first books that I had wrote and published more than eight years ago. My goal at the time of writing the first book was to have the worse things I could think of happen to my heroine and how she would react to it. And of course it had to be funny. I wanted each book to have a different pantheon of gods and of course over all these years being trapped in a tree a few of them are going to be a little bit insane.


That was where the idea started.


Gods and Goblins 1st edition coverOnce the book was originally accepted, I was paired up with a great editor and cover artist. Over the years, this editor and cover artist has stalked me, heheh in a manner of speaking, until she invited me over to her own publishing house called Purple Sword Publications.


This is the third incarnation of this book and probably the last because we all know the third time is the charm. But the amazing thing is, the progression of the covers that I have had over the years.
I think this one is the best out of all three of them. I'm so happy to have this book out again and I'll let you decide which cover you like the best.

 Today is a new release day for me. My first Contemporary Romance with no paranormal. I'm stoked. Come on and check it out!

Blurb:
 
Lara Kinman has returned home for her father’s funeral. It’s been almost a decade since she’s been home and doesn’t expect a happy homecoming with her brother.  However, when she returns, Lara runs in her ex-boyfriend Hale Dobbs. He isn’t anything like she remembered. The awkward boy has been replaced by a gorgeous man.

Hale tries to distract Lara from her grief by inviting her out for dinner. She agrees because there’s no need to worry because she’s not going to be in town long enough for anything to blossom between them. Little does she know that her family history has finally caught up with her. Can Hale help grease her wheels to reveal her true feelings for him? Or will Lara have to take over the family business and cut him completely out of her life?

Excerpt:

He rubbed his fingers gently over her back, trying to soothe her. With each stroke, it awoke the desire that she had been harboring for him for such a long time. Lara snuggled into the warmth of his hug and forgot about everything else. She rubbed her cheek against his shirt, feeling the soft fabric. Hale slid his finger along her cheek, causing her to look up at him. He moved his finger under her chin and pulled her closer so that she had to stand on her tiptoes if she were going to kiss him. In high school she had been the taller one, now she came up to his chest. He definitely had a growth spurt. Staring into those deep blue eyes of his made everything in her stop. The world around her ceased to exist. When he tilted her chin up a little bit more, she noticed the sensuous curve of his top lip. A slight shadow of stubble was spattered across his cheeks, but it made him sexy as hell. She waited a couple of breaths to see what he would do, but even as they got closer and closer together, she couldn’t predict the outcome. Lara knew what she wanted, but she didn’t want to push him. After all that had happened and their heated words, she…

And then his mouth connected with hers, blocking all cohesive thoughts from her mind. Those sumptuous lips of his engulfed hers in a soft kiss. Her brain halted all ideas except experiencing more of his mouth and the tingles that it sent through her. The passion ignited within her and her nipples firmed. Lara pressed herself against Hale and slipped her arm around his back, experiencing his hard muscles. It took all her strength not to jump on him, climb him like a tree, and claim his breathtaking body right there in the parking lot. She ran her fingers along the curve of his spine and finally placed another on his chest to pull away from him. Lara licked her lips, savoring the smoky taste of him.
Hale seemed as out of breath as she was. His eyes were unfocused. The heat of his body kept her warm. Her lips seemed swollen from the intensity of the kiss.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I—”

Lara placed a hand over his mouth to silence him. “You didn’t do anything I didn’t want you to. I—” He held her wrist lightly and flicked his tongue over her index finger before he sucked it between his lips. Lara curled her toes together in her shoes to keep herself grounded. Her knees were weak and she was suddenly in need of new panties from being so aroused.

He wrapped his tongue around her finger, drawing it in and out of his mouth. She walked her fingers down his chest and clutched his cock, feeling the hardness of it. Lara rubbed him through his jeans and molded her body to his. Hale’s teeth grazed her fingertip as he nibbled it before letting her go. She squeezed his length and watched his eyes flutter shut. A soft moan tumbled from his lips. If she wasn’t careful, she’d fuck him in the backseat of his car.

“We have to stop,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. His breathing was even more labored than hers. Hale slipped his hands along her sides, stopping at the curve of her breast. Her nipples ached to be touched. Sparks ignited her nerves in anticipation. He continued down the sides of her stomach to the waistband of her skirt. His thumb delved between the fabric and her skin. He ran his finger over the silky material of her panties. She shivered at the light touch. Lara wanted him to continue further. To take away the ache that had started at her center and now needed to be satisfied. Scenarios of where this was going to go ran through her mind so quickly that she had could barely latch on to any of them.

She bit her lip, holding in the bliss that was already settling over her body. “Yes, we should stop,” Lara whispered.

Buy Link: http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=4&products_id=847

On the blog today is author Selah Janel. She is sharing her new release, Olde School, a twist on fairy tales

Blurb:


Olde School introduces you to Kingdom City, which has moved into the modern era. Run by a lord mayor and city council (though still under the influence of the High King of The Land), it proudly embraces a blend of progress and tradition. Trolls, ogres, and other Folk walk the streets with humans, but are more likely to be entrepreneurs than cause trouble. Princesses still want to be rescued, but they now frequent online dating services to encourage lords, royals, and politicians to win their favor. The old stories are around, but everyone knows they’re just fodder for the next movie franchise. Everyone knows there’s no such thing as magic. It's all old superstition and harmless tradition. 
Bookish, timid, and more likely to carry a laptop than a weapon, Paddlelump Stonemonger is quickly coming to wish he'd never put a toll bridge over Crescent Ravine. While his success has brought him lots of gold, it's also brought him unwanted attention from the Lord Mayor. Adding to his frustration, Padd’s oldest friends give him a hard time when his new maid seems inept at best and conniving at worst. When a shepherd warns Paddlelump of strange noises coming from Thadd Forest, he doesn't think much of it. Unfortunately for him, the history of his land goes back further than anyone can imagine. Before long he'll realize that he should have paid attention to the old tales and carried a club. Darkness threatens to overwhelm not only Paddlelump, but the entire realm. With a little luck, a strange bird, a feisty waitress, and some sturdy friends, maybe, just maybe, Padd will survive to eat another meal at Trip Trap's diner. It's enough to make the troll want to crawl under his bridge, if he can manage to keep it out of the clutches of greedy politicians.



Excerpt:
Her eyes were a vast, clear sea that stable hands, checkout boys, and princes alike would probably pay good coin to fall into, especially if it would lead to more enjoyable tumbles later on. All that mattered to Paddlelump was how utterly devoid of intelligence the cerulean pools were. It was ridiculous, especially given how professional and polished her online profile had been! Nobody was not only clean, but truly beautiful. Her golden hair was immaculately braided down her back, her skin was flawless as fresh milk, and her simple peasant dress hinted that although she was willowy, what lay hidden under the fabric was a rare treat, indeed. She only came up to Paddlelump’s waist, and her delicate frame, her sharp and lovely face, her vast eyes made him want to climb up a wall.
"Let me get this straight," he sighed, and rubbed the base of a tusk stump in an attempt to focus his center. She batted her lashes and he cleared his throat, forcing himself to keep looking at her. "Not only are you almost an hour late—"
            “Forty minutes,” she corrected in a soft, melodious voice that clawed into the troll’s last nerve. “And it wasn't my fault! I was on time until I got to Juniper Street! The motor coaches are never that dense on a weekday. Everyone was going to market and I couldn’t get through!" the pert, cherry mouth was quick to interject.

She doesn’t even stop to think up a good lie, Paddlelump mused, full-well knowing that not only was Juniper Street was nowhere near the common market, it was also the organization’s day off. "At any rate, I laid out a purse for you yesterday, a purse that was gone from the table last night, though there were no groceries in my cupboards—”
“I took it home,” Nobody explained, twisting her hands in front of her. “I didn’t want to lose it. I thought I’d have enough time to go to shop on my way here! It wasn’t my fault I got slowed down.” Her sharp chin raised haughtily and the troll fought a shudder. He’d seen the town girls get snooty, of course, but this was different. From Nobody’s expression, it was obvious that she expected her employer to not only say her behavior was just fine, but she looked like she expected an apology!
“I understand you’re still learning the area and getting settled in, but don’t forget that I’m paying you good wages and letting you board your cow on my land for free.” Paddlelump took a deep breath and loomed over the maid, doing his best to channel any inner brute that might be buried way deep down in his genetic makeup. Remember how Da could scare the dung out of you when you snuck out as a youth. Channel that. “The lists that I give you aren’t that involved,” he growled, and worked up a good glower while he was at it. “Not doing the work is one thing, but if you’re stealing from me, lass…”
For a moment the twin oceans darted away. Then Nobody was staring at him again, wide-eyed and brainless. It was an expression he had never seen on Flora's face, nor on any of the other hired lasses in town. The young maidens and shepherd girls had their moments, but they never walked around as if they were trying to be unintelligent. "It was the oddest thing! I took it with me last night so I could shop before I arrived this morning; it was my intention to arrive early with the goods in hand! But I was so flustered from the birds outside my window—dear little things, though a bit noisy—that I completely walked out without it!"
            Paddlelump paused and tilted his head, his effort at rage deflating at her inane conversational parry. She was lovely, but not as sturdy as Flora or the other union wenches in town. He couldn't imagine her doing a full day's worth of lugging grain at the mill or carting a barrow around with her thin little limbs and lithe build. Her speech was altogether different than the rough melodies he regularly heard in the streets and meadows. While he was a young-ish troll, he was far from stupid and it didn't take a lot to sniff out that something was afoot. Still, it was clear that she wouldn't willingly give the game away. "Do you still expect to leave at the regular time?" he demanded, his throaty tone gruff from his frustration.
             The girl’s eyes darkened to a stormy grey and narrowed just slightly. Paddlelump's eyes darted to her fingers that flicked with restrained movement, as if they were doing their best to withhold from reaching up and giving her golden braid a huffy flip. "But that's union rules,” she pleaded. “I can only work so many hours in a day!"

             The pain near his tusks rose up his jaw in a full-fledged migraine. He hated to crush her spirit, but she was wearing on his last nerve. The troll took a deep breath, silently counting to five. I am deep, still water. In his mind’s eye, he could almost see the pool come into being as he attempted to get the girl to see reason. "But you came in late,” he persisted. “I could easily get a copy of the rules from a friend of mine just to see what proper procedure on that is. It seems to me that there's a vast exaggeration on the use of the word 'work.' For a week now more than half of the list has been left unfinished! How am I supposed to accomplish anything when I'm picking up all of your slack, Nobody?” The calm pond water his mind clung to rippled on the surface. Just do it. Let her go. Better to find someone else than constantly be paying her for work you’re doing, he realized. “I really don't know if this is working out—"

            To his horror those little round pools of robin-blue sweetness grew wider as they filled with tears. Her apple cheeks deepened to the hue of overripe tomatoes and her face scrunched up and she began to cry. "I can't help that there's so much to do! I'm only one person!" The soft, lilting voice that was often annoying as blazes rose a few octaves, and she put a hard accent on the last word. “I just found a place to rent in town; how will I live if I don’t work? How will my poor cow survive? I promised my family I’d make it in the big city!”
           The water of his mental image boiled and churned, and before he could count himself back to serenity the troll got a very clear image of a giant, tentacled sea monster slashing through the water, mouth snapping for any prey it could reach. His head throbbed and he fought the urge to rub his temples. It took Paddlelump a moment to find his voice; he had to shut his eyes to continue. "There are a lot of girls who'd love to have your job instead of making a living cleaning stables or working the telemarketing lines!" he snapped and shuffled blindly towards the door, his hand fumbling to grab his cloak from its hook. "You said you didn't mind hard work—damn!" he hissed as his nose squashed against the doorframe. He bit back his more colorful remarks and rubbed the sore area. Turning from the door, he was confronted with those blasted eyes again. They were like something out of a horror movie: large, devoid of humanity, and apt to follow a poor soul anywhere, ready to suck the life and will right out of a warm body.

 Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Olde-School-Kingdom-City-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B00J4UGVIM
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/olde-school-selah-janel/1118944108?ean=2940149568864
 Bio:
Selah Janel has been blessed with a giant imagination and a love of story since she was little and convinced that fairies lived in the nearby state park or vampires hid in the abandoned barns outside of town. Learning to read and being encouraged by those around her only made things worse. Her work ranges from e-books to traditional print, and she prefers to write every genre at once rather than choose just one. The stories Holly and Ivy, The Other Man, and Mooner are available online through Mocha Memoirs Press. Her work has also been included in The MacGuffin, The Realm Beyond, Stories for Children Magazine, The Big Bad: an Anthology of Evil, Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery, The Grotesquerie, and the short story collection Lost in the Shadows, co-written with S.H. Roddey. She likes her music to rock, her vampires lethal, her fairies to play mind games, and her princesses to have adventures and hold their own.
Catch up with her thoughts and projects at:
www.selahjanel.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/authorSJ

Today let's please welcome Alexandra Christian to the blog. She has a hot...and I mean sizzling...new release out called Hellsong. Go and check it out.
Blurb:  Theo is a child of the storm, found wandering after the hurricane that devastated New Orleans, with no memory of her past. She’s made a quiet, contented existence for herself. But all that changes when two very different but equally compelling men come into her life.
Dantalion and Saraqael both want her body, and her soul. But there’s a much greater prize at stake. If she chooses right, she’ll find Heaven in the arms of an angel. If she chooses wrong, all Hell will be let loose on Earth.
A Romantica® horror erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave 
Excerpt:
The heavy clunk of her boots on the sidewalk marked off each step toward her car. The sound seemed to reverberate on the brick walls all around. The streetlamp beside her car flickered and she had to shield her eyes to see as she approached. She finally reached the car and began attempting to unlock the door. She felt around with her fingertips, seeking out the tiny keyhole. By now the rain was coming down in sheets and that, coupled with the flickering streetlight, wasn’t helping her progress much. “Damn it,” she cursed, shoving the key at the door and missing the hole completely. She gasped and dropped her keys as lightning struck mere feet away from her, taking out the already ailing streetlamp. “Fuck, fuck, fuck…” she shrieked, nearly in tears. She fell to her knees, feeling around on the soaking wet street to find the key ring. 
A car whizzed past behind her back, close enough to make her jacket rustle with the tailwind. When lightning flashed again, she saw a glimmer of metal under the car. If she got down on her belly she could just reach it. She groaned with the strain of her muscles as she stretched her hand toward the keys. She started to panic a little, hearing a heavy footfall behind her. The heels dragged along the gravel and stopped right behind her foot. She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to muster up the courage to sit up and face what knew must be a psycho killer. 
“Do you need some help?” The voice was soft, tinged with an accent Theo couldn’t place. She sat up, staring up at this new person. She couldn’t see his face save for the lines and shadows illuminated by the erratic lightning flashes. 
“I dropped my keys,” she whimpered, knowing that she probably shouldn’t tell this stranger anything about herself. “They slid under the car.” 
“Slide back, then,” he replied. She obeyed and watched as he squatted down gracefully and easily plucked the keys from their resting place under the car. “Are these what you’re looking for?” The keys dangled from his sinewy fingertips in front of her face. In that moment, the streetlamp flickered to life again and poured a fluorescent glow over them both. She was struck by the electricity of his eyes. They were like blue flames staring down at her. His hair and skin were so pale she could hardly believe he was real. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but for a moment she was sure that his skin was glowing silver. He offered his other hand and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. 
“Thank you,” she stammered, her teeth chattering in the frigid air. While sitting on the ground, she had become soaking wet, the dampness chilling her to the bone. She reached out to take the keys and her fingers brushed his. His hands were so warm. She had a sudden feeling that she’d like to press her body against his, absorb his warmth. He seemed to read her mind and looked down, smirking. “I’m not sure how I would have gotten them if you hadn’t come along.” 
“Well, you should be careful. Not everyone lurking about is as nice as I am.” He smiled again, making Theo’s heart race. “Now be a good girl and get into your car. I want to see that you’re safe before I go.”
Buy Links: Ellora’s Cave:  http://www.ellorascave.com/hellsong.html#Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Hellsong-Alexandra-Christian-ebook/dp/B00J2XAC2C/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1395160055&sr=1-3&keywords=Hellsong
About Alexandra:  My name is Alexandra Christian, or Lexxx if you like (yes, those three Xs are on purpose). I'm an author of mostly paranormal erotic romance and horror. In case you don't know what that means, I write about not-so-nice girls getting it on with out-of-this-world heroes. Vampires, werewolves, selkies, angels and demons—and that's just recently! My first novel was published two years ago and ever since, I've been working my sweet Southern ass off to churn out as much sin and debauchery as I can.
A while ago, I christened myself The Southern Belle from Hell and I think it's a title that suits me well. I live in a small town in South Carolina—the same town I've lived in my entire life. The rich Southern culture, fried foods and a healthy dose of superstition have colored my personality and my writing style. I have an extremely tolerant husband who is the epitome of the Southern male with his buttery-thick accent, laid-back swagger and simple sweetness that makes women of all ages swoon. Of course, how we ended up together is a miraculous wonder. I'm a closeted Goth and when we go out, he looks like my chaperon, but it works! We’re kind of a Herman and Lily Munster in our neighborhood and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve published several novels, novellas and short stories so far and look forward to sharing my twisted view of reality with the masses through erotic paranormal romance and horror. I aspire to one day be a bestselling author and part-time pinup girl. Questions, comments and complaints are most welcome.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.christian1 Twitter: @LexxxChristianBlog: http://lexxxchristian.wordpress.com/