Sara Brookes's Blog, page 20

With just two days to go until Taking Over Me releases (!!!) how about a little snippet?Allison had a very intense reaction to Patrick during their first meeting and she hasn’t stopped thinking about him since…

An Excerpt From: TAKING OVER ME

Copyright © SARA BROOKES, 2013

All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

Limp and feeling boneless, she closed her eyes and basked in the sensation of where her very dirty thoughts had taken her.

Holy hell.

Still breathing hard, her body tingling from the powerful release, she pushed off the bed. On shaky legs, she made her way to the bathroom to wash up again for the night. She did look in the mirror then and found her skin held a pink flush indicative of arousal. She was practically glowing.

As she wrapped her robe around her waist, the reality set in that she would have to face the very man she’d just fantasized about when the install job began. And the next day. And the day after that. And if she continued to be a customer at his shop, for months, even years, to come.

Frak.

She’d just objectified the coffee barista. Using him as fantasy fodder was wrong on so many levels. She rationalized her little masturbation delusion, chalking it up to the fact she just hadn’t gotten any action that would have taken the edge off. Patrick had taken the brunt simply because he’d been handy. The new guy. He’d merely been a victim of circumstance because he’d poured on the charm while smiling and winking at her over a cup of coffee. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t oozed sex appeal in the few minutes they’d talked. Walking testosterone, remember?

She’d had no choice but to give in. But she vowed to never use him for masturbation fodder again.

Ever.

http://www.ellorascave.com/taking-over-me.html

He’s everything she didn’t know she needed…

Allison would rather fix computers than worry about sex. That is, until the newest barista in town changes everything. All it takes is one hot stare with his sinful baby blues to remind her she’s not just one of the guys. She has lusty needs only he can fulfill.

Patrick’s coffee shop is on the verge of an epic failure, until Allison takes charge of his computer system. He may not know anything about motherboards, but he does know how to take control—in and out of bed. Now Patrick is determined to get what he wants—Allison in his cuffs. His sensual mastery awakens an intense passion and under his command, he’ll unlock the geek girl’s darkest desires.

Warning: Collars. Cuffs. Clamps. Coffee.

You may never look at your local barista the same way again.

Welcome to the Big Cocks and Shamrocks Blog Hop! Hope you’re having as much fun as I am this week. I have a new release, and several friends have new releases too – love that kind of news! To celebrate, I’m giving away the choice of ebook backlist to two lucky commenters on this post this week. Just tell me what you like most about St Patrick’s Day! The wearing o’ the green? Green beer? Tell me and be entered for a chance. Rules: Must be 18 years or older to enter || Void where prohibited || Open to international entries

Don’t forget about the Grand Prize for the hop, the Basket Full of Naughty. The basket contains a tickler/flogger (one on each end), penis-shaped sour candies, a flask that reads “girls with class don’t need a glass”, a g-spot vibe, oral sex “essentials” kit, glow in the dark erotic dice and Cabal of Hotness tee and a $30.00 gift card.

How can you not want a chance to own such great things? Just use the Rafflecopter widget below to be entered in the Grand Prize drawing.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t forget to stop by the other sites on the hop for more chances to win!

Every book has a soundtrack. If you’ve ever taken a look a my individual book pages here on the site, you know there’s always a list of songs on the page. With Taking Over Me releasing next week, I thought I’d share what I listened to quite a bit when it came to working on this book.

Summer Sunshine ~ The Corrs

The World I Know ~ Collective Soul

Borrowed Heaven ~ The Coors

Come Down to Me ~ Saving Jane

Sweet Surrender ~ Sarah McLachlan

Stiff Kittens ~ Blaqk Audio

Afterglow ~ INXS

Whatya Want From Me ~ Adam Lambert

Stupid ~ Sarah McLachlan

Closer ~ Ne-Yo

Come Home ~ One Republic

Satisfied (Acoustic) ~ Jewel

There’s also always one song that stands out more so than others. For Taking Over Me, it’s Sweet Surrender. And it’s probably not why you think. Sure the book has BDSM elements, so you’d think that was the connection I’d made. But that’s not true. The song has always stood out for me as acceptance of one another despite the ugly truths that we all hold inside us. In Taking Over Me, Patrick has one of those ugly truths within him despite his efforts to forget and it nearly ruins the his chances with the woman he loves so dearly.

So here it is, the beginning of March. Usually this month is busy in its own right because of St Pat’s Day. With my daughter being an Irish dancer, we always refer to the middle of March as Hell Week. Because of work schedules this year, Hell Week is not to be (not that you will find me complaining). But as she gets ready today to head off to this weekend’s performances (a mere two), I realized it’s very near the middle of March and I am nowhere near the goals I set for myself.

Of course, I was derailed by a stomach … thing … that I’m still dealing with but that’s not really an excuse to be honest. Sure I’m prepping for two releases here shortly, handling edits on a summer release and writing two books (one contracted and due in September and one not contracted).

My goal was to start the contracted book (the 3rd book of the Geek Kink series, Break Me In) and, sad to report, I’ve only fiddled with it a bit. The book is at 18K. Final word count should be over 70K. We have a family vacation planned for August in which I’m not dragging my notebook along and I like to let books sit around and percolate a bit after I finish them. So that means I really need to get cracking on this sucker.

I like goals. They’re pretty and shiny. Not to mention the sense of accomplishment you feel when you achieve one of those goals. Also, did I mention I’m an overachiever? So, yeah, I need to dig up my overachieving self and get to writing some words. For right now, the goal is 2K words a day. Interested in following along? I’ll be using the #write2K hashtag on twitter.

Silver Phoenix Labs welcomes Liia Ann White today!

~*~

My entire life I’ve had computers, video game consoles and machines. The perks of my parents owning a video store meant I got to play whatever video games I wanted when I wanted. My first video game obsession came when I was a kid, about five or six, with the Nintendo and a little game called A Boy And His Blob. Then came the Sega Mega Drive and Toe-Jam and Earl when I was seven or eight. But when I was about 10, I discovered Mortal Kombat.

My brothers and I would play MK for hours on end. If there was a video game being played in our house, chances are it was a Mortal Kombat. While I tended to prefer male characters, (Sub Zero was my absolute favourite) I discovered Kitana and Mileena. They were sisters – kick ass sisters – who stood on opposite sides of the war.

They fought, they bled, they were strong and still incredibly feminine. And it was those simple characteristics that led me to write the female characters that I do in my books. My first ever book had a heroine who is tall, curvy, feminine yet supernatural, strong and downright scary sometimes. Why? Because I’ve always admired a heroine that had those qualities, thanks to Mileena and Kitana.

Nowadays I play a lot of Halo, Minecraft and FPOV shooter games, but that’s so I can forget about my characters for a little while. But there is still a bundle of Mortal Kombat games on my Xbox console and even my phone – yes I’m just that nerdy.

Hey now! Taking Over Me releases in two weeks. How about a little time with the hero, Patrick as he deals with the very intense reaction he has to his first meeting with Allison? Warning, there is adult content ahoy!

An Excerpt From: TAKING OVER ME

Copyright © SARA BROOKES, 2013

All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

Patrick fondled the business card he’d slipped into his pocket.

The right thing to do would be to turn the information over to Alex so they could have the computer systems at the coffeehouse repaired and upgraded. But once he did, he knew he’d never see the card—and possibly Allison—again. Alex, a chronic case of disorganization, would lose the card in the black hole he called his desk. Then the business would either be left in the lurch with a shitty computer system or have to utilize another company when things became desperate.

Patrick hadn’t been doing the right thing for years.

He’d just tell Alex he would handle the issue and simply make the order with Bullseye. One less thing his older brother would need to worry about, since their grand opening couldn’t have come at a worse time. Vivian, Alex’s wife of four years, had cleaned her things out of their house without explanation two weeks ago. Alex was still trying to come to terms with what happened, leaving Patrick to handle the bulk of the grand re-opening duties.

Luckily, this was the slowest time of year for the small town where they lived. Nestled amid the northern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, GatlinFalls was a town that thrived on tourist seasons. Each summer, families on vacation sought relief from the humidity in the lower elevations. Autumn brought couples in search of the mysterious romance of the changing leaves while winter appealed to the thrill-seeking skiers who enjoyed throwing themselves down the sides of the mountains.

He and Alex had grown up not far from here, so both were familiar with how the pattern of life went in the small town. Spring was actually the slow season for the town, which was why they’d timed their opening for mid-April. It would allow them to work out all the rough spots before the crush of summer tourists. Rough spots such as faulty computer equipment.

They’d botched their first test with flying colors.

Allison had thankfully swept in and saved the day as though she was some modern-day superhero. All that had been missing was the gaudy spandex and flowing cape. He’d been so caught up in the preparations his brother was supposed to handle, he’d forgotten the basic necessity of making sure everything ran smoothly. That included having a computer system that would do its job without any problems. Computers weren’t his favorite thing to deal with. He chose to leave the advanced technology to those who fully understood the machines. Growing up, his interest had always been more focused on the baseball field.

As he began to count the inventory in the backroom, his mind wandered to a certain someone who’d swooped in out of nowhere. The way she’d filled out the boy-cut jeans certainly caused his mouth to water. There had been a slight sway to her hips, one he was fairly certain she wasn’t even aware of. The denim was baggy around her legs, but tight around her hips and across the rounded curve of her ass. He’d taken more than a few long glances at the way those jeans stretched and pulled as she moved to prepare orders.

His cock hardened at the thought of how she would look out of them.

He couldn’t help thinking how her slender body would feel under his. Everything about her, from the fit of her jeans to the jet-black dyed tips of her sandy-blonde hair intrigued him. It made him want to get to know her better. She was obviously intelligent, if the way she’d handled the computer this morning was any indication. Those long glances she’d cast in his direction were unmistakable. Years of training as a Dom had taught him to become familiar with what most women wanted when it came to relationships and sex. Something in his gut told him computers were the only thing she liked to be in charge with.

If the prospect of her under his command wasn’t enough, her throaty laugh had already drawn him in. Not to mention that honey-sweet voice. He’d never heard anything so sexy. And he could only imagine how that raspy voice sounded as she came undone.

Fuck yeah.

His imagination ran wild as he nearly started to salivate at the picture in his head of her kneeling on the floor before him, her hands cuffed and her throat collared by a thick ring of leather. Expectation shone clear in those brown eyes as she waited for his command. The wanton image caused him to blow out a slow breath in order to steady himself. Despite his efforts, his dick stirred again, pressing painfully against the zipper of his khakis.

Oh for fuck’s sake. Stop acting as though you’re a newbie Dom lusting over a sub for the first time.

He forced his mind back to the inventory. However, the mindless task of counting supplies was too monotonous and that creative mind wandered to places he couldn’t control. He couldn’t get Allison—and what he wanted to do with her—out of his mind.

What he wouldn’t give to bend her over the front counter next to that decrepit register, spread her thighs wide and spend several hours worshipping that tight ass. Was her pussy shaved bare or would he discover soft whorls of blonde between those legs? A treasure just waited to be discovered.

The sheet of graph paper he’d been holding fluttered to the ground. Thanks to his imagination, he’d just counted the same box of coffee filters three times. It was time to take matters into his own hands or he was never going to get any work done. Besides, this would simply help ease Alex’s burden and, if things went as he intended, everyone would win.

Before he could change his mind, he punched her work number into his cell. As the phone rang, he glanced around the shop, satisfied the customers were happy with their orders for the moment. He stepped out onto the sidewalk and into the spring sun glowing high in a cloudless blue sky. Birds chirped their sweet mating songs. A perfect spring day that just couldn’t get any better.

“Bullseye Technologies, Allison Stuart.”

He was wrong—it could.

He closed his eyes as her voice sounded over the line. The soft, feminine noise ran through his veins, enhancing the images he’d conjured earlier. Given his interests with out-of-the-ordinary sex, it was dangerous to let himself think this freely about someone. Especially since he didn’t know if she shared the same interests.

That jarring reality forced him to focus on the task at hand. “I hear there’s a new coffeehouse in town that has a barista who makes a mean doppio.”

“Well sure, but their computer system is shit.”

“Imagine that, it’s exactly why I’m calling. How are you?” The simple question of how her day was going seemed to be the best option. It would mean there was less danger to his libido that way. Hopefully.

“Calm, for now.” She snorted lightly, causing him to smile at the adorable noise. “My boss wants me to partition a new drive on the server he had me install a few weeks ago. Of course, he won’t listen to me whenever I tell him he has plenty of room for right now and I just realized I’m babbling. Sorry, I do that when I talk on the phone sometimes because I’m more of a face-to-face sort and shit, shit, shit—I just did it again. Me and my fraking mouth.”

What a completely adorable—and unusual—fluster. “No need to apologize, it’s cute.”

Allison cleared her throat. “Which is to say boring. I’ve got two brothers, Mr. Conners. I know what it means when a girl has been fed the cute line. So what exactly can I do for you?”

His mouth formed a thin line. He hadn’t meant it the way it sounded. Her curt dismissal of the compliment made it appear as if she didn’t receive them often. If he had anything to say about that, it wouldn’t continue. In fact, if he had his way about things, he’d shower her with more compliments than she could stand. He desperately wanted to show her that she was much more than just simply cute. “Well, you said the store needed something because you couldn’t even get the system to boot.”

“You may need a significant upgrade, at least. Even then, there’s no guarantee it will help because the system may be too old to handle the size of the data we’d throw at it. I wouldn’t really know until I could get in there and get my hands dirty.”

“And here I thought size didn’t matter.”

“No matter what women say, it so very much matters. Anyone who says otherwise is just trying to stroke your ego.” He wouldn’t mind giving her something to stroke. How would her hand feel wrapped around his dick? Better yet, her mouth? And there went his overactive imagination—again. Scolding himself, he focused on her pitch.

“Best case scenario would be to have a dedicated server installed that could handle the entire load of the store and then some. Need to keep an eye toward future expansion. Two registers would be ideal. Again, something to think about for long range objectives given the crowd I saw today. We could hook you up with new computers in your office, a security system, fire controls, even printers and any other peripherals you’d need if you’re interested in updating what you have.”

“Uh, I have no idea what needs replacing.”

“Well, okay, then. That would be something a tech could come out and look at for you in order to give you an estimate. Wireless internet for your customers would be a big draw for the college-age crowd and business professionals, if you’re looking to expand in that direction. You could even wire in a sound system to the main seating area for some ambiance.

“We just got in a really sweet package of internet phones that you could tack on too. Save you a few bucks every month on your phone bill, at least. Now if you’re really looking to spend some megabucks you could go for the top-of-the-line business automation deal.”

“Business automation?” There was a whole lot more to this venture then he’d expected, but he loved hearing every second of the technobabble coming from her. Who would have thought he’d be so wildly turned on by geek speak?

“The technology is a little on the new side still, but your entire store could be wired together like some wicked cool hive mind. We’d install a selection of transceivers, give you a means of controlling the system. What kind of cellphone do you have?”

“A ridiculously fancy one that I let my brother talk me into and that I don’t use half the time.”

Allison laughed. “Okay, sounds like one of the smartphones. That’s good because that means I can write an application so Perfect Shot could practically think for itself. It’s a little unsettling for some people at first, but once they get acclimated to the tasks they don’t have to think about any more, they usually wonder how they lived without it.”

“Just the type of thing that could serve the coffee for me. Not to mention put me out of a job.”

“We can’t have that.” The low throaty sound of her muffled giggle lifted his mood even more. “I can give you some time to decide what level of commitment you’d like to choose. I know it’s a lot to take in all at once.”

“Oh no. I know exactly what I want.” In fact, he was having a hard time not thinking about what he wanted. Her. Naked. Bound. Panting. Screaming. Coming.

“Okay, great. Davis is the head of the sales department. He’s the one you’re going to want to talk to in order to get you hooked up with the equipment.”

Disappointment thudded heavily in his gut. He’d wanted to deal strictly with her in the hope to see her again. He did his best not to let the emotion filter through his voice. “And what’s his number?”

“I’m going to transfer you. I’m also going to put a note on the work order that I’ll handle the job at the shop personally if you decide you like the quote. If that’s all right?”

“Yes. Of course.” He walked back into Perfect Shot ten minutes later with a bounce in his step and wearing a wide grin. Davis would stop by after lunch to work up a quote for an automated system and, depending on the equipment ordered, the team from Bullseye would begin the installation on Thursday. Since it was Monday and he was tied up at the coffee shop for the rest of the day, it gave him two days to prep. Two days to figure out how to convince Allison to submit to him and allow him to tie her up.

He was actually excited about the prospect of shopping, since there was nothing normal about one of his shopping trips. Not when most of the buying would be done in shops that specialized in BDSM equipment. When it came to sex for Patrick, normal didn’t even add to the equation.

…is happening exclusively on my Facebook author page! Come take a look.

https://www.facebook.com/authorsarabrookes

I’m part of a very special group blog called Java Karma (coffee giveaways!) and today I’m talking about what happens with BDSM and coffee meet. Plus I’m sharing an exclusive little snippet from Taking Over Me, which releases March 20th from Ellora’s Cave!

http://www.javakarma.com/when-coffee-bdsm-meet/

Please welcome Lisa Fox today to Silver Phoenix Labs!

~*~

My very first video game system was an Atari. I still have fond and wonderful memories of Frogger and Donkey Kong and of course Pac Man. These were good, good, good times, but the moment I became a gamer— a real, true, crazy gamer—wasn’t until I bought my first PlayStation way back in the fall of 1999. And it was all because I had to save Agent Mulder.

I was living in New Orleans at the time, a bartender at one of the many, many bars on Bourbon Street, a “writer” who had grand aspirations of penning the next great work of literary excellence.

Mostly I partied a lot.

I didn’t even own a t TV at the time, but I did manage to watch the X-Files every single week. I was in love (LOVE) with Agent Mulder and I was as obsessed with his quest for the truth as he was. It was a Sunday night like any other when it happened—the X-Files ended, I had a rosy glow of paranoid satisfaction on my cheeks, a smile fit for a conspiracy on my lips, and then I saw it, the commercial that changed my life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTBsKrEOikc

(That commercial still fills my heart with joy)

I had to help Mulder. Had too. And there were people to interview! Danger to defeat! I was ready to be a Special Agent, to take on the Smoking Man. I needed this game. Immediately.

Luckily for me, the person whose house I happened to be watching that week’s episode at also happened to have a car. It took a fair amount of bribery, but I finally roused him from the couch, out of his apartment, into his car, and then off to Chalmette, to the Wal-Mart and my destiny.

That night I bought a TV, a PlayStation, and the X-Files game. I got home, set it all up, got down to business. It wasn’t even a very good game, but the immersion in the gaming experience—the ability to play a story—was incredible. And addicting. The moment I completed the game, I knew I needed more. More action, more story, more bad guys to kill, more worlds to save, more princesses and swords and guns and gagsters and zombies and conspiracies and everything, everything, everything!

And I haven’t stopped since.

Today’s Technobabble Tuesday is a little different. Why? I received a release date for the first of my Geek Kink series books, Taking Over Me. The heroine of the book is a geek. Works in IT, treats comic books like gold and even has a standing gaming session with her buddies once a week. Despite all these things she loves in her life, something is still missing.

Until she walks through the doors of Perfect Shot…

Coming March 20, 2013 from Ellora’s Cave

He’s everything she didn’t know she needed.

Allison would rather fix computers than worry about sex. That is, until the newest barista in town changes everything. All it takes is one hot stare with his sinful baby blues to remind her she’s not just one of the guys. She has lusty needs only he can fulfill.

Patrick’s coffee shop is on the verge of an epic failure, until Allison takes charge of his computer system. He may not know anything about motherboards, but he does know how to take control—in and out of bed. Now Patrick is determined to get what he wants—Allison in his cuffs. His sensual mastery awakens an intense passion and under his command, he’ll unlock the geek girl’s darkest desires.