Archive for December, 2010

First Timer Friday

with Miranda Baker

Join us in meeting some of the new authors on the scene every Friday.  Hear what the newbies have to say and discover your new favorite author.

1) Who did you dedicate your book to and why?

MB-You know, I agonized over that one. There are so many people who support a writer – editors, friends, family. I finally decided that my husband deserved sole credit for Bottoms Up because without him, it truly wouldn’t have been written. He sends me upstairs to write while he entertains all our small children. He delivers meals to me at the computer. And whenever I get blocked he gives me excellent advice: add more sex.

2) What music are you listening to lately?

MB- Music inspires a state of mind for me, and each story has a soundtrack that I listen to obsessively while writing it. The songs that inspired this story were “Come On Get Higher” by Matt Nathanson, “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence and “Sorry” by Buckcherry. At the moment I can’t get Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie” out of my head. So passionate. So painful.

3) If you were going to cast the hero of your book, what actor would get the part?

MB- David Beckham. Totally. He’s not an actor, but he embodies the absolute physical confidence of Johnny – the proud shoulders, the challenging glint in his eyes, the tattoos. *moan* Johnny was always Beckham for me.

4) Favorite Superhero?

MB- Ha! I was just discussing this with my editor. Wolverine. Raw. Dangerous. Powerful. When I was in college I used to hang out in bed on lazy Saturdays and watch the X-men cartoons with my boyfriend. Good memories!

5) What makes your first book Naughty?

MB- Oh, dear. *clears throat* I would have to say it’s all the graphic, kinky sex. It’s a BDSM love story, so the emotion is there too, but when Johnny and Destiny throw down, they really go for it. Their desires are extreme and they take it to the limit. I suppose a simpler answer is nipple clamps, caning and anal sex…. followed by chocolate cheesecake. A man who understands women that well must be naughty!

About the Author: It makes Miranda chuckle to think about all the romantic short stories she wrote in her rather too literary creative writing classes in college. If only one of her professors had steered her toward popular fiction! On the other hand, if she had discovered her calling back then, she wouldn’t have gone to culinary school, she wouldn’t have met her husband, she wouldn’t have had three children and she wouldn’t have turned to erotic romance to get her mojo back during all the hair-raising kid raising.

Check Out Miranda’s New Book — Out Now!!!!

Bottoms Up

By Miranda Baker

Samhain Publishing

Synopsis:

Destiny Blake senses that her boredom with blond pretty boys is about to come to a flesh-tingling end. Since her first love left her for a more experienced Domme, she’s honed her topping skills to a fine edge. Yet the idea of bottoming for the hard-bodied owner of her favorite BDSM club is an erotic challenge she can’t resist.

Destiny isn’t Johnny Delcorral’s type. Tangling with her, even for one night, is a dangerous proposition for a man with good reason for needing his women submissive. But he suspects she’s hiding a submissive streak under her dreadlocks and leather, and he hungers to make her obey—and curb her reckless spirit.

The battle is on, both in the bedroom and out. Under Johnny’s knowing hands, she is dismayed to discover she’s enjoying submission more than she cares to admit. And Johnny finds himself relishing her defiance instead of curbing it—and fighting a growing unease with his inability to find her boundaries.

Until one night he pushes one step too far—and comes hard up against the one boundary he never expected to find.

More from Miranda Baker:

www.mirandabaker.com
http://mirandabaker.wordpress.com

New Year’s Resolutions

by Ria Candro

First off, I’d like to thank Naughty in the Backseat for hosting me here on their blog. My name is Ria Candro, and I’m the author of erotic Sci-Fi romance. Today I’m blogging about New Year’s Resolutions.

I’ll admit, I always found the concept of New Year’s Resolutions to be a funny one. Why make just one time of year to list all the things you aim to accomplish? But in a way it makes sense. A new year is metaphorically a time for rebirth, a time to start anew with the hopes of accomplishing things you’ve never before been able to achieve. The key, I think, is to choose goals that are a bit of a stretch, but still attainable. If weight loss is your goal, is it really likely that you’ll be able to lose ten pounds in two months? Don’t make the goals so difficult that you are setting yourself up for failure, because that’s the quickest way to ensure your resolutions won’t be met.

So what are my resolutions? Well, the business of writing can be a difficult one. It’s a lot of work for potentially little pay, and there are many factors that are outside the writer’s control, such as the current state of the market. As much as I would like to resolve that I will get a certain number of book contracts this year, I know I cannot completely control that. So I’ll resolve to do the things within my own power:

1. To write at least 500 words a day, or 3500 words every week. This would work out to 2 full-length novels per year.

2. To attend one online learning course every two months (or at least 6 this year), so that I can ensure I’m still learning as I write.

3. To continue to exercise regularly, at least 4 days per week, because I know what a difference that makes to my health and emotional well-being.

So I’d really love to know, what resolutions will you be making this year?

Mated

by Ria Candro

My first novel, Mated, is an erotic Sci-Fi menage romance that has recently been released by Ellora’s Cave. If my heroine, Natalie, were to make a resolution, it would be to live life more fully, and to take more risks. In Mated, she decides to do just that.

Blurb: When Natalie awakens on a spaceship manned by three gorgeous and adoring hunks, she’s convinced she’s dreaming. It’s up to Andros, Leikos and Zafron to prove to her she’s not. And that she’s the perfect mate for all three of them.

Spygian alpha males travel far and wide in search of their perfect partner. And then share their mate in the most delicious, pleasurable ways they can imagine. But for Natalie, loving these red-hot aliens means leaving Earth. Is she willing to take a chance on a love that’s out of this world?

Ria Candro is an author of Sci-Fi and paranormal erotic romance. When not dreaming up hot love stories, she enjoys spending time with her family in their home state of Florida. Ria welcomes comments from readers. You can find her at www.riacandro.wordpress.com, or look for her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

Buy the book at Ellora’s Cave

Male-on-Male Romances in the Mainstream

No, you didn’t misread that title. M/M romances by small publishers have made it to the attention of the American Library Association. On December 16, 2010, the article “Bodice Rippers without the Bodice: Ten Male-on-Male Romances for the Core Collection” appeared in LibraryJournal.com (http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/newslettersnewsletterbucketbooksmack/888366-439/
bodice_rippers_without_the_bodice.html.csp) In that article, the author chronicles the rise of gay characters in other media outlets, citing Brokeback Mountain and Queer as Folk but also slash fanfiction, although she missed the Kirk/Spock fiction of the early 70s. She then went on to list ten titles she considered a good start for building a collection of m/m romances in a library.

I have to admit it. I squealed like a kid at Christmas when I saw the article. Yes, I’m a little biased since one of Dreamspinner’s titles was included on the list, but even if it hadn’t been, I still would have been excited. I remember as an adolescent the thrill of crossing into the “adult” section of the library for the first time and being allowed to check out books labeled “adult.” Now, for the record, adult in my library’s system dealt as much with the reading level of the books as it did with the content. Stephen King’s books were classified as adult right along with the Harlequin romances. My first paid job was working in the library shelving books. So I have a reverence for libraries that makes this article all the more special for me. Those hallowed halls have taken a look at the kind of books I write, the kind of books my employer publishes, and have approved.

I can hear the naysayers now pointing out that having books on a list in an online publication doesn’t change anything. The list is not a mandate; the American Library Association doesn’t work that way. Libraries are independent entities, and each library’s acquisitions director, or whatever title the person bears at each library, will have to decide for himself or herself whether to add any of these books to their collection. Some of them probably already have. Some of them may have even done so before this list came out. Others probably never will. The very fact of the article’s existence is a step in the right direction, though. Unlike a number of recent articles on m/m fiction, this one doesn’t question the
validity of the books because of the gender of their authors, and the list includes books by both men and women. The only caution it gives is the fact that much m/m romance is explicit and so librarians should consider their audience in selecting which books to purchase, but even that is a statement of fact, not a criticism.

Libraries’ collections reflect the directions of interest and acceptance from their patrons. Indeed libraries are often the first places to provide resources for special interest groups within a community because they have a mission to serve all areas of that community, unlike a bookstore which must worry constantly about what will sell. This article is proof that the American Library Association continues to follow the trend that began with such authors as Maupin, Warren, Forster, Renault, and others.

Change is never instantaneous, however much we would like it to be, but for me, and for a good many others, I hope, this article is proof of the changes that have occurred in publishing over the past few years and will continue to occur.

- Ariel Tachna

Dreamspinner Press… Where Dreams Come True …
Publishers of Quality M/M Romance Novels, Novellas, Short Stories, and Anthologies.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Happy Hogmanay!

By Kimberly Killion

You read it right…Happy Hogmanay!
Only one nation in the world celebrates the New Year or Hogmanay with such revelry and passion – the Scots!

It is believed that many of the traditional Hogmanay celebrations were originally brought to Scotland by the invading Vikings in the early 8th and 9th centuries. These Norsemen, or men from an even more northerly latitude than Scotland, paid particular attention to the arrival of the Winter Solstice or the shortest day, and fully intended to celebrate its passing with some serious partying.

When the clock strike midnight on 31st December, fireworks explode in Scotland. Crowds gather and the party begins to the tune of Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne.

Traditions and superstitions related to Hogmanay:

One should clean the house on December 31st (this includes taking out the ashes from the fire).

One should clear all your debts before “the bells” ring at midnight.

One should welcome friends and strangers with warm hospitality and a kiss and to wish everyone a Guid New Year. It is verra important to clear out the vestiges of the old year before you welcome in a young, New Year.

“First footing” is still common in Scotland. To ensure good luck, the first person to enter your home should be male, dark (believed to be a throwback to the Viking days when blond strangers arriving on your doorstep meant trouble) This male should bring coal, shortbread, salt, black buns and whisky.

“Handselling” is the custom of gift giving on the first Monday of the New Year. So be sure to present your loved ones with a Hogmanay gift this year.

Huzzah!
Kimberly Killion

We can’t let Kimberly get away without pimping her books… She has 3…yes 3…coming out!

His Magick Touch is a sensual novella set on the Isle of Barra in the 16th century Scotland. This story releases January 4th in paperback and ebook and will be part of the Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance. Read more about it here: http://kimberlykillion.com/hmtbooks.asp

http://kimberlykillion.com/eabooks.asp

Educating Aphrodite is a Victorian ménage a quatre novella set in London. This story releases January 5th in ebook from Ellora’s Cave. Read more about it here: http://kimberlykillion.com/eabooks.asp

Taming a Highland Devil is an erotic Scottish novella. The cover alone should hook you on this story. It’s just stunning! This story releases February 9th in ebook from Ellora’s Cave. Read more about it here:http://kimberlykillion.com/tahdbooks.asp

Find Kimberly online: www.kimberlykillion.com | Facebook | Twitter

Gift Ideas

by LaVerne Clark

Guardian of the Jewel

Buy Here

About the Author

Like the heroines in my stories, I married my own gorgeous hero and have been blessed with a school-aged son and a toddler-aged daughter. Before then, like any good romance, we had ups and downs before realizing life was so much better when we were together – and we’ve been together ever since. I’m passionately involved with the charitable organization, “Greyhounds as Pets” after falling in love and adopting my own ex-racing greyhound, and became the Area Coordinator for my region. In the back of my mind was the old adage of owners looking like their dogs, but sadly, my legs don’t seem to have got any longer and my waist hasn’t shrunk to minuscule proportions, but on a good note, at least my nose hasn’t gotten any longer! I’m a member of Romance Writers of New Zealand and live in the beautiful coastal town of Nelson at the top of the South Island, the sun capital of the country.

LaVerne Clark’s Blog

Terry Kate :   I am welcoming the Mistress of origami and author of Fortune, a new BDSM novel, to the Backseat.  Annabel Joseph is with us to share the details of Fortune.

Annabel Joseph:  Hi Terry! I like that. “Mistress of Origami.”

TK:  So what do hopping dollar frogs and folded paper cranes have to do with your book?

AJ:  Well, the hero of Fortune is a surgeon and he’s really physical. He likes to do things with his hands. So he is really into rope too, and he ties the heroine up in all these intricate ways trying to “tame” her. He also sets out to fold 1000 cranes since that is supposed to bring good fortune. But of course, things are never so simple as that. It’s a very emotional book…

TK: Wow, I know surgeons learn knots, but was he a Boy Scout or what?

AJ: Uh, no…definitely no boy scout. A little too naughty for that.

TK: Well we like them naughty here!  I am a practical person. What if your Dr. hero ties up your heroine and gets called in to work?

AJ: There is actually a scene in the book kind of like that, where he has to untie her pretty quickly. Of course, being so adept with his fingers…so dexterous…lol. This guy is just really good with his hands. His name is Ryan, and he was actually one of the secondary characters in my last book, Deep in the Woods. I loved him so much, I just knew he had to have his own book and his own story.

TK: Do we need to have read the first book to get into the series or is this a stand alone?

AJ:  No, you don’t have to read the first book, since Ryan just made a two chapter supporting appearance as Dave’s best friend in Deep in the Woods. But if you did read it, Ryan has a very sexy part in that book, so it might get you primed, so to speak, for this book. Also, Dave and Sophie, the characters from Deep in the Woods, show up in this book, which is fun. But this book takes place in Boston and the last one took place in Atlanta, and this is a totally new story and a new girl with Ryan, so you can read it without reading Deep in the Woods.

TK: Let’s get a little into your heroine. She has faced some demons. What inspired you, and drives her?

AJ: Almost all of my heroines are fighting demons. I suppose that says something about me. This newest heroine, Kat, really has everything…good health, loving family, good job…but she feels like she’s going nowhere. I think what she really craves is love and connection, but she’s too fearful to give up the control it takes to really fall in love. That’s where Ryan and his shibari ties come in. They are sort of a metaphor for connection and security–and giving up that control to someone. A lot of people I know who like rope and being tied talk about that feeling of care and security. But falling in love is never easy, especially if you’re afraid of failure or being hurt.

TK:  We often think that others have it easier, or everything a person could want, but everyone’s pain is as real as yours.

AJ:  Yes, and that’s a lot of her issue. She feels like…What is WRONG with me that I can’t get it together when I should be able to have my sh*t together? For me, as an author, I prefer to write people who are real like that, who aren’t perfect and totally together. I’m not like that, and I don’t know many who are. I like to write about people who are struggling with life, or emotions or relationships. People struggling with being honest and putting themselves out there and being vulnerable even when they don’t want to be. Those are all really interesting to me, because that’s reality for a lot of people.

TK: Have you always been interested in the art of origami or did the idea for knots come first and the origami followed?

AJ:  I actually became interested in both the knots and the origami only recently. I had heard a lot about rope and shibari from my BDSM friends, but I never really “got” it. Then my good friend became involved with a kinky play partner who was into both rope AND origami and actually integrated both into their BDSM play. That just sparked my author imagination and the story took off from there. When you think about it, both are very intricate and very detail oriented…and of course, both have a mystical/emotional component. There is the long tradition of “senbazuru” or 1000 origami cranes to bring good fortune and a wish, and with shibari you have the concept of “kinbaku” or the emotional interplay that goes on between the shibari rigger and the subject. They both began to seem very mystical and erotic to me over the course of writing this book. So I am fairly new to origami, but I’ve been folding a lot lately. I’d like to fold 1,000 cranes, but it takes a lot of dedication…

TK:   It would be an achievement to be proud of.  Also it might bring you luck – sales – and enough money to pay for all that origami paper!

AJ:  I hope so. I have been trolling Ebay for cheap origami paper lots. But sales would be spectacular.  I really feel like–besides the hot sex and BDSM–this book is very emotional and moving.  I think it will really make people feel something.  So I hope it’s a success.

You can find out more about Annabel Joseph and Fortune at http://annabeljoseph.wordpress.com/ Also check out our review of this title.

Fortune

By Annabel Joseph

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

Kat doesn’t know whether or how to end her six-night-a-week party habit, not to mention her unhealthy addiction to meaningless sex. Then an accident lands her in the hospital. She wakes to find a menagerie of origami figures—and a gorgeous neurosurgeon—beside her bed. The complexity of the paper creations is nothing compared to the complexity of dark-eyed, authoritative Ryan, who seems determined to give her life some direction. Trouble is, Kat’s just as determined to resist his efforts to tame her wild side.

With persistence, Ryan draws Kat into his world of dominance and submission, where quiet commands and lengths of rope awaken needs and desires she never knew she possessed. But Ryan’s intimate, erotic shibari sessions frighten Kat as much as they excite her, for each simple knot requires infinite trust and inspires complicated emotions.

Then a family crisis tests their love and threatens to snap the fragile ties that bind them. Will fortune ever smile on this unlikely couple, or will fate tear them apart?

Reader Advisory: For those who subscribe to a “more the merrier” philosophy (*cough* we do *cough*), this story contains a scintillating m/f/f/m scene.

Fortune By Annabel Joseph Review

Review By Jasmine

4.75/5 Whips from the Backseat

Fortune by Annabel Joseph is an emotional read.  Be prepared.   Ryan and Kat are two people making a journey to come together and it is no easy road.  Kat is complicated.  Kat is confused.  Kat is trapped by modern life, or maybe just trapped in her life.  Ryan is a sexual Dominant who steps in and forces Kat to look at herself, to evaluate where she is in her life.

The emotional development Annabel Joseph incorporates into this BDSM Romance raises the bar for other authors within the genre.  So why not a 5/5?  Ryan.  He is a sadist more then just a dominant and there is the element that detracted from the intimacy for me as a reader.  There is paddling, spanking, whipping, and more in a lot of BDSM books.  In previous reads the submisive partner may not have at first enjoyed a certain activity, but rarely was an item used that the one on the recieving end did not enjoy, or at least not hate.  The scenes in the book where it was just an enjoyment on the Dominant’s part of inflicting pain made me uncomfortable.  Nowhere near uncomfortable enough to stop reading.

Fortune by Annabel Joseph is a highly recomended read if you like BDSM and it ranks in the top 10.  There is a lot to say about this book and its approach to realistic characters.  That is the best compliment you can give a book these days.  A lot of them are good and enjoyable reads, but there is not much to say beyond that.  This is the type of book you tell others to buy so you can talk to them when they finish reading it.  So please comment if you have read it – there is so much to discuss.
- Jasmine

Find out about Annabel Joseph and her other titles at her website – http://annabeljoseph.wordpress.com/

Crush

By Lex Valentine

Do you remember having a crush on some hot rock or pop star when you were a teen? I’m dating myself but when I was a pre-teen it was all David Cassidy and Donny Osmond. Tiger Beat magazine always had one or both of them on the cover. I wasn’t much of a Donny fan but I loved David Cassidy! When I got into the heart of my teens I remember being infatuated with Eddie Van Halen, Sting, Tommy Shaw of Styx, Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, and Roger Taylor of Queen while the other girls in my school were drooling over Andy Gibb, Billy Joel, and Michael Jackson. Yeah, I was always more of a rocker than most of them.

I’m sure that all of you daydreamed about what it would be like to be the girlfriend of those rock stars you idolized. I don’t know of anyone who didn’t do that. They were nice, harmless fantasies, often more romantic and sweet than explicit. They centered on how this uber famous person who could have any girl he wants, but wanted you. They were fantasies that made you feel special and loved.

Now, fast forward. You’re an adult. You know what adults do together. Your fantasies aren’t sweet and chaste anymore. If you’re thinking about what you’d like to do to Jon Bon Jovi, Bruno Mars, Kenny Chesney, or Jared Leto, you’re thinking hot, naked, and heart pumping not a pursed lipped “Will you be my girl” kiss like in Thriller.

When I sat down to write Rock My World, I had to think about all those schoolgirl rock star crushes I had and what I would think and/or do if I met one of those men now under the sort of circumstances that might lead to some sort of physical encounter.  I had to take all of that and turn it around and stuff it inside the head of my budding rock star Sin Carstens.  Sin would have gazed at Gia Santora’s posters the way the boys in my generation stared at Nancy Wilson of Heart, Stevie Nicks, and Lita Ford.  At the same time, Sin needed to be an adult and figure out how to make a very adult move on a woman he’d fantasized about since his teens. He stumbles slightly, but makes a manful recovery and ends up in bed (and in a relationship) with rock goddess Gia Santora who is eight years older than him.

My book gives the reader a glimpse of the fish bowl a famous person’s life can be and how difficult it must be for them to meet someone who isn’t starstruck and likes them for who they are beneath the notoriety.  Gia and Sin fall in love because of a blazingly hot physical attraction coupled with emotional needs brought on by their isolation from the real world and a mutual love of music. They fit together like two puzzle pieces and the rightness of that fit gives them the will to make their relationship work no matter the obstacles.

I’m not sure if I met Jon Bon Jovi that I could pull off what Sin pulls off in Rock My World. (Actually, I know I couldn’t. I always liked Richie Sambora better than Jon and Nikki Sixx better than Ritchie and Jon put together. *wink*) But I like the idea that a man with a chance to bring a teenage fantasy to life does so while building on the very real adult attraction he has for the woman. Sin is an ultimate hero who puts his woman’s needs above his own and who cherishes her and protects her even as she blasts his fantasies into a mind blowing reality.

You can check out Gia and Sin at Ellora’s Cave or hop on over to my website to read an excerpt of Rock My World.

Multi-published, award-winning author Lex Valentine has been writing ever since she could hold a pencil. Making up stories and characters is as natural to her as breathing. She writes mostly erotic work in the contemporary, paranormal, urban fantasy, GLBT and historical genres. She’s best known for her sexy dragons and the high level of heat she brings to each story.

A native of California, Lex lives in Orange County with her daughter Nikki, a bunch of strangely named cats she calls “babies”, and Rott, her long-haired, tattooed significant other. She loves loud music, builds her own computers and works full-time at a cemetery/mortuary as the network administrator. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and EPIC, was a 2010 Rainbow Awards Finalist, and is a 2011 EPIC Awards Finalist.

The Earl’s Intriguing Impostor

by Paige Cameron

Publisher: Siren-Bookstand, Inc.

Damien Aldermann, the Earl of Royston, is requested to visit Lord Norton, Damien’s deceased father’s best friend, and meet his daughter. Damien is concerned for Lord Norton’s mental health. He has been ill and never quit grieving the loss of his wife and small daughter at sea, fifteen years ago.

Damien is certain this woman is an imposter. But when they meet he is uncomfortably attracted to the black haired, violet eyed beauty. Forcing himself to ignore the strong physical desire, he seeks to uncover her deviousness.

Annabelle has fled her home in Spain to seek out a father she recently discovered existed. She hoped he’d protect her from the man she fears, but he is ill and Damien is determined to prove she’s a fraud. She doesn’t understand the immediate attraction she feels for Damien. Can she ever trust him enough to share her secret and ask for help?

The Earl’s Intriguing Impostor by Paige Cameron

Review by Pepper

4.2 Whips/5 Whips

The Earl’s Intriguing Imposter by Paige Cameron is a good, solid erotic historical romance. The plot isn’t a new one, but Cameron manages to make it interesting and enjoyable enough that she can be forgiven for using a tired storyline. After all, as one of my author friends said, unless you’re lucky enough to come up with something like Harry Potter, there are very few, if any, really new plots out there. So what’s a writer to do?

Cameron’s characters are decently well developed, and her portrayal of life in nineteenth century England feels quite authentic. Her sex scenes are hot and steamy, even if they are a tad intense for a Spanish virgin and an English lord in the 1800s. But I never once got the feeling that she put them in just to meet the requirements of the erotic genre. When Annabelle and Damien had sex, they did it at a natural time and place for the story, so it didn’t strike me as awkward. (Of course, there’s hardly ever an unnatural time and place for sex. After all, without hot, steamy sex, what’s the point of living? At least, that’s my opinion. And if I can’t find a convenient time and place to have some myself, reading about it is the next best thing. Sigh.) Anyway, the sex in The Earl’s Intriguing Imposter moved the plot forward smoothly and naturally. Just like it’s supposed to do.

The only gripe I had with The Earl’s Intriguing Impostor is that the sexual tension seemed a bit forced. Annabelle and Damien tried just a touch too hard, for too long, to fight it, making it appear unnatural. Or maybe I just got tired of having Cameron point it out. I’d rather she had “shown, not told” about it. But that’s a only minor flaw and didn’t really dim my enjoyment of the story all that much.

The Earl’s Intriguing Impostor is definitely worth reading. Cameron’s voice is fresh and appealing, the story well-written, and the characters charming. The world she creates is a great place to spend a little time. And have some vicarious hot, steamy sex. That works for me.