Friday, July 24, 2015

#spotlight -- Shehanne Moore on How To Write Sexy

I am so pleased and honored to have Shehanne Moore, the Queen of Smexy Hisotrical Romance on my blog today, discussing what makes sex good when writing a romance.

Shehanne:

And the good sex award goes to….. 

Now there’s a question. Four books, four very different couples, one thing in common. Sex. Some of it not that brilliant. Why? Because I don’t like writing sex scenes? Believe it or not, it can be difficult to write.  Or because I think that one of the most important aspects of writing a sex scene is to make it appropriate for that couple at that stage in the story?

Let’s start with the sex in The Unraveling of Lady Fury.  It’s sex all right and quite a lot of it, but it’s cold. Flint broke Fury’s heart, now she needs an heir, so she sets the terms of exactly how this  encounter will be and—it’s not nice. It’s cold. It’s clinical. She will use a cream. He will keep his hands to himself. Of course eventually it’s back to how it used to be in the old days.  But you are not going to bring a couple with that amount of baggage to together and expect an instant blaze and I did have a lot of fun writing him trying to get around her rules. I think I’d give them a good sex award eventually.

 Moving on, the sex in His Judas Bride was kind of scorching. Games are being played and these games get out of hand. Also neither the Black Wolf or Kara have been with anyone for a long time.  But do they qualify for a good sex award when this passion gets completely out of control and they’re not really caring about what happens next? Eventually love comes into it, so they get a little bit more tender.

I think Devorlane Hawley and Cassidy Armstrong from Loving Lady Lazuli would win the bad sex award hands down.  The problem here was that here’s a man who has experienced it all and feels nothing, sex is one wild night’s ride to him. As for Cass? Well, beneath her glittering, premiere London jewel thief exterior, she’s a virgin. So the big question was what’s so different about her that she keeps him when the initial encounter is a complete disaster.  It’s awkward, it’s fumbling, she nearly falls all her length when her leg gets tangled in her skirt, then she ends up slapping him when he has the temerity to ask if she’s a virgin. But when Cass is  torn between looking a complete fool and not wanting to give herself up to him, she turns the heat up.  That also ends in disaster, but perhaps it’s because he never quite has her to his satisfaction that he keeps coming back for more by which time he’s hooked. I’d give them a good sex award but not till the very end of the book.

So what is the sex like between Sin and Malice, hero and heroine of my new book, The Viking and the Courtesan? Pretty hot, largely because of the hero’s guilt that he’s cheating on his pretty horrible betrothed. But the catch with this time-slip story is that without true love this couple can never be together, so they have to learn sex is about more than a scorching screw. The catch is that to start with the arrangement between them is purely business.

What tips can I give for writing a sex scene?

  1. Never write what you are uncomfortable with writhing.
  2. Anchor the sex to where your couple are in the story.
  3. Remember sex is a great source of conflict and tension in a story. When I was writing the first sex scene in Loving Lady Lazuli I initially had Cass succumbing to Devorlane. That one touch and she is swooning with need scenario has been done- pardon that pun – to death. So I ripped the scene up and explored things differently. This leads me to…
  4. Vary your scenes that way. Length-pardon that pun too- how much you describe, cut to fade occasionally. Repetition can be dull.
  5. Remember the five senses. Appeal to each. Set your scene carefully that way even down to the lighting. 
  6. Watch the flying body parts. Phrases like,  ‘she exploded, her head hitting the pillow’ sounds like she stood on a hand grenade and it went off.
  7. Think about the physical possibilities of what you are describing. I think the main thing is to make it real. Sometimes that can mean lousy sex. Just look at the possibilities opening up when that sex starts to get better.


 Excerpt 

He reached down, grasped her skirt, the material so wet he could have wrung drips from it. Delicious. As for her lips, her fingers tugging at his belt, even as he brought his lips back on hers, they drugged and beguiled. But most of all, they drove him. Of all the women he’d had, he couldn’t think of one who did this to him. Cost him his restraint. Made him just want to have her at any cost.  He had to be inside her whatever the insanity.

                The frantic fumbling, the way her fingers tugged his clothes, yanking his tunic free of his breeches, then working inside the tight waist, drove him to the edge. Her skirt was around her hips so his hand clasped naked thigh. She hooked her leg over his hip. He hoped she was ready for him because he couldn’t hold off. Heart, blood, breath pounded. So did he. Her eyes stared with a wantonness, a desperation, that increased his. Although she was cold and shivering he had never known a woman so hot.


Blurb The Viking and The Courtesan


In 898 AD she wasn’t just from another land.
Wrecking a marriage is generally no problem for the divorce obtaining, Lady Malice Mallender. But she faces a dilemma when she’s asked to ruin her own. Just how businesslike should she remain when the marriage was never consummated and kissing her husband leads to Sin--a handsome Viking who wants her for a bed slave in name only? 
She came from another time.
Viking raider Sin Gudrunsson wants one thing. To marry his childhood sweetheart. Only she’s left him before, so he needs to keep her on her toes, and a bed slave, in name only, seems just the thing. Until he meets Malice.
One kiss is all it takes to flash between two worlds
But when one kiss is no longer enough, which will it be?  Regency London? Or Viking Norway? Will Malice learn what governs the flashes? Can Sin? 
Where worlds collide can love melt the iciest heart?


Buy Links – on pre-sale now at Amazon. FREE on Kindle Unlimited. RELEASE DAY....July 29th!


BIO




When not cuddling inn signs in her beloved Scottish mountains alongside Mr Shey, Shehanne Moore writes dark and smexy historical romance, featuring bad boys who need a bad girl to sort them out. She firmly believes everyone deserves a little love, forgiveness and a second chance in life.
Shehanne caused general apoplexy when she penned her first story, The Hore House Mystery—aged seven. What didn’t she work at while pursuing her dream of becoming a published author?
Visit her blog to find out about past releases and hear more about her forthcoming time-slip historical,  The Viking and The Courtesan. 


 Other links










Sunday, July 19, 2015

Fit To Be Tied? It's time for a party!

OOoh! I'm so excited. *squee*


Get your e-readers charged everyone. Felicity Kates' (that's me!) latest book, Fit To Be Tied, the long awaited sequel to Steam Bunny is here! To celebrate she's having a party on July 31 and giving away copies of her book. So stop in at the party for a chance to win awesome prizes and schmooze with some of your favorite authors who will be there too: Shehanne Moore, Anne Lange, Renea Mason, Zara Cox and Rissa Blakeley. The party link is here: Whoohoo party time!

And here's what the new book is all about:

Fit To Be Tied 


Release date: July 31, 2015
Series: Little Miss Kick-Ass, book #2, standalone sequel to Steam Bunny and Super-Sex Me. (no cliffhangers)
Genre: Erotic paranormal romance.
Tags: billionaire, sex god, Viking, alpha hero, urban fantasy, ghost
Length: 40,000 words approx. (novella)
Heat level: High (like as in scorching)
Content warning: contains voyeurism, light ménage, explicit sex scenes, graphic language, profanity, may trigger readers sensitive to miscarriage.







Blurb:

He was the bad guy in Steam Bunny. The superhero lover in Super-Sex Me. Now find out what deep dark secrets make Race Lindstrom Fit To Be Tied in the latest erotic romance novella in the Little Miss Kick-Ass series.

1 Viking sex god + 1 kick-ass heroine = 130 pages full of hot sex scenes, snappy dialogue and heart-aching romance. Grab a glass of wine, a fan to cool yourself, and a box of tissues. You're going to need it.


From bestselling author, Felicity Kates, the Little Miss Kick-Ass series continues.
Casey’s BFF, Astrid Bitten, takes center stage this time with her nemesis, Race Lindstrom.
Is love written in the stars by the gods, or just a fantasy?

~Astrid~
He's a liar. A manipulative ass. He doesn't deserve a second chance. Yet I can't stop thinking about him and that night we shared in Chicago four weeks ago. He dominates my dreams, making me want him more each day. Trapped with him at an Ice Hotel in Sweden, do I have a hope in hell of resisting him? Maybe not, but I'll kick his ass if he ever calls me his goddess again.

~Race~
She's the love of my life, my dream, the goddess I've been waiting an eternity for. I know she hates me for the deceptive life I've led, but I want to give her everything she's ever craved, fill each second of her life with bliss. But...trapped for a weekend in the place where my life went to hell, how can I avoid the nightmare that haunts me? Not to mention the ass-kicking Astrid will give me when she discovers the darkest secret of my past.



Steamy excerpt (readers 18+):

“I never lied to you,” I say with as much conviction as I can put into my voice without resorting to using my unique gift in persuasion. If she’s going to trust me, she needs to do so on her own.
“No? So sleeping with me to get a deal with my best friend was what? Honest business?” Her eyes flash with anger as she speaks in hushed tones. “You used me, Race. Just like you’re using me now for this stupid reality TV show. If I didn’t love Casey and Lucas so much, there’s no way in hell I’d ever be here as part of this wedding crap. So just shove it with your games and your lies.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she settles back against her seat and resumes looking out her window.
So edgy and untrusting. Not that I can blame her, but damn. How can I explain to her any differently than the few hundred times I’ve already tried? What will it take to get her to understand, without using my gods-given gift of influence, that meeting her at that Fan Expo convention changed my life forever?
Yes, I went there for business. Yes, my intention was to swindle a deal. And, yes, I set out to do so by compromising the fiery relationship between Lucas and Casey. But it wasn’t the Buxom Bunny who caught my eye.
Maybe I should have ignored my attraction for Astrid and kept on walking by. Saved us from the pain we’re experiencing now by keeping everything strictly business. But being around her eased the lonely ache, even as it twisted it with memories best left buried. And I couldn’t deny the startling realization, which imprinted on my body that first intensely erotic night we shared, that maybe, just maybe, the gods have handed me a precious second chance.
I’ll be damned before I’ll let that go, no matter how stubborn she is.
“I fell in love with you.” It’s the honest truth, but the mistake in saying so is obvious the moment the words blurt from my mouth.
“Oh, please,” she scoffs as she stiffens in her chair, clearly offended by the idea. “Don’t start with that bullshit. That’s low, even for you.”
“It’s not bullshit.”
“No?” She presses her fingers to her temples and sucks in a breath, fighting for calm. “Do you even know what love is, Race?” she asks, her patronizing tone loaded with anger as she folds her hands in her lap.
“Yes.”
I’ve felt the pleasure of it burn in my chest, seeming so long ago now, at Charity’s first shy kiss. And I’ve felt the absolute agony of it as the body of my wife grew cold in my arms. The rage and helplessness of knowing, that even with all the unique power I was born with, there was nothing I could do to stop death.
Yes, I have loved. And I vowed never to fall victim to the gut-wrenching insanity again. Yet here I am, more insane than ever, at the mercy of Astrid’s rejection.
White knuckled, her hands grip the armrests as the plane banks toward Kiruna. Out of the corner of my eye, the small city looms large in the window, but if Astrid notices the dazzling view, it doesn’t show. Her nostrils flare, her gaze fixed squarely on me.
“We fucked, Race. You got what you wanted. I learned my lesson. End of story. So stop trying to prove what a con you are. I get it.”
No, she didn’t get it. Not by a long shot.
“Just tell me one thing,” I say and wait for her to stop rolling her eyes and settle her gaze on mine again. “Before you knew my name. When you thought I was just some guy in a costume. How did it feel when we were together?”
Exciting. Beautiful. Alive.
I see the truths we both experienced flash within her eyes before her expression turns hot with shame. She sucks in a breath and blinks, her chin lifting slightly. Wary. Distrustful.
She opened for me so briefly, but the beauty I saw within her stole my heart. My crumpled, damaged heart. Does she think I enjoy feeling this vulnerability? This painful re-awakening?
“It was fun. That was all,” she snaps.
“That wasn’t all.” Not even remotely. One day soon I’ll have to explain the full extent of my secrets to her as I’m certain she must already have questions about her own. But first, she needs to trust me. “Now who’s lying, Astrid?” I can’t help prodding.
She felt the recognition in her soul. I saw it in her eyes and smile when she looked at me the moment we met at the convention. I saw it in her dreams while she slept beside me that one precious night we shared.
Before the so-called truth of my narcissistic business identity intruded, and the callous shell I worked so hard to build out of my loss and pain came back to bite me. Hard.
Race Lindstrom: professional asshole and womanizer.
The betrayal I knew she would feel as soon as she recognized my name took root with swift, uncompromising fury. She clings to it now as a shield. But it’s a shield I fully intend to crack. Swiftly. And without mercy.
Whether she wants to accept it or not, she is mine.
“Do me a favor, Race? Don’t talk to me for the rest of this trip. Don’t look at me. Don’t touch me. Just leave me the hell alone.”
“I can’t. You were right about one thing, Astrid.” I lick my lips as her own purse in frustration. “I am a selfish bastard. I love you. I want you. And I won’t stop until you are moaning my name with my cock buried deep inside you. Bliss, sweetheart. I’m going to give you bliss or die trying.”


Buy links:
Amazon  
B&N 
Kobo 

Other books by Felicity Kates:

Steam Bunny available free on Kindle Unlimited for the summer (or winter depending on which hemisphere you are). 









Super-Sex Me available free on Kindle Unlimited as part of the Just Desserts anthology of sexy bite-sized erotic stories. 






About the Author:

Felicity Kates is a mild-mannered manager by day. At night, she trades in her sensible shoes for stilettos and lets her imagination run wild. Felicity enjoys writing fun, flirty fantasies that combine geek humor with strong characters who have super-sexy desires. She lives off of coffee and dreams and loves to go for walks along the shores of Lake Ontario, taking pictures of whatever catches her eye. A romantic at heart, Felicity is a firm believer in snuggling under blankets and reading a good book to warm up the cold Canadian winters. When not writing, she can most often be found enjoying the quiet company of her husband and son, whom she loves very, very much.
She also loves to hear from her readers and can be found on:

You can email her directly at felicitykates.author@gmail.com and receive quarterly-or-so newsletters by signing up.




Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The Final Quarter is here with Anne Lange!

TheFinalQuarterRBBanner TheFinalQuarterCover 35fe1-add-to-goodreads-button31 button synopsis
A quarterback facing the end of his career must come to peace with his past, and accept his present, before he can move on with his future.
Mitch Ryland accomplished what his father said he never would—he made something of himself.
When his wife suggests she’d like to start a family, Mitch is thrown for a loop. He’s never told her about his life before he ended up with his foster parents or his plans never to become a father. So when he’s taken out of the game, his failings from the past come back to haunt him, and Mitch blames his injury on his loss of focus. He’s unprepared for his career as a professional quarterback to be over. Nor is he ready to tell his wife about why football is so important to him. He’d rather put emotional and physical distance between them and focus on getting back in the game.
Serena Ryland has dreamed of becoming a mother. But when she mentions the idea to her husband, he freezes her out and she has no idea why. She’s worried that if they don’t start talking soon, she’ll lose him forever. When he refuses to come home to mend from an injury, she takes matters into her own hands, determined to spend more time with him, hoping to reignite the romance in their relationship. But she’s unprepared for the things she learns on this trip. Her husband has been carrying a few secrets that just might change the outlook of their future.
Reader Advisory: This book contains oral sex in a public environment and light bondage.
Publisher's note: This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone title.
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Mitch sighed and shifted in his chair. The knee he could handle. Bruised and sore, he’d limp for a few days, but it was his shoulder he worried about most. This was the third time he’d dislocated it. The first official time the team doctor knew about. His fingers itched to massage the joint, but he didn’t dare. No way in hell would he show any sign of weakness. The one thing his father and grandfather had drilled into him from a young age. A lesson he’d learned well. “It’s more than just a simple sprain or a bad bruise, Mitch, and you know it. This is potentially career ending, especially if you don’t do as I’ve instructed. You need to rest it. Whatever you’ve been doing to keep this from us isn’t helping. Today’s proof of that. And it’s not going to get better until you do something about it. And you can’t do something about it until you’re not on the field every day.” Noah took a deep breath, his expression full of compassion. “Apply ice to reduce the swelling three times a day for fifteen to twenty minutes. That shoulder needs to be kept stable. We need the swelling to go down so we can take a good look at it. I want you to wear an arm sling for the next three weeks. “I’ve scheduled an appointment for you three days from now then we’ll have a better idea what we’re dealing with. You’ll probably need to go through some therapy regardless of whether you end up heading down the surgery path or not. With some rest, maybe some therapy, and a light training regiment, we’ll see if there’s been any change.” Panic swept through Mitch. He clenched his hands into fists on his thighs. “And if it doesn’t get better?” “We’ll discuss that when the time comes.” Mitch, well aware of the consequences, filled in the blanks. Surgery. Rehab. Months off the field. If he ended this season on the injury reserve list for next season, he’d miss training camp and wouldn’t be allowed to practice or play until the doctor cleared him. And if he did practice and aggravated the injury, or possibly made it worse, he’d be out for the rest of that season. Or longer. On top of that, he’d have to deal with his standings. Out of play meant his rating would be affected and his stats would tank—and not only his. The team would take a hit as well. He’d disappoint the fans. He’d disappoint his friends and family. He might never be the same afterward. He’d end up a nobody. Just like he’d been told. His football career may already be at the top of the spiral, just waiting for that push to send him off the edge and into the vortex. He’d always compared his life to a house of cards. Painstaking to build, easy to destroy. The king sits perched at the top, but then one slip, one tiny tug or poke on one of those cards and the whole thing would come tumbling down. A tremor now rocked the house beneath his feet.
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button About the author
AnneLangeShoes are her addiction, but books are her passion. Anne Lange grew up with a love for reading. If you take a close look, she’s got either a book, her Kindle or her Kobo nearby at all times. You know, just in case there’s time to sneak in a chapter or ten. Anne reads many genres of romance, but prefers to write sexy stories, often with a dash of humor, and usually with a side of those sinful pleasures your mom never told you about. And always with a happily ever after. While embarking on this wild journey of becoming a romance author, Anne juggles a full time job and a family. Though not always successfully. Who needs a clean house every day? And what’s wrong with cereal for dinner? She lives in Ontario, Canada with her wonderfully supportive husband, three awesome kids who are growing up way too fast, and the family pets, Rocky the bearded dragon and Lily the chocolate lab.
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Email: Anne_Lange66@yahoo.ca
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