Insta-Love, Virginity, and Other Wonders

Authors can't get away from reviews. Much as we try to avoid them, there are those times when you must go look at your book page, and there they are, staring you in the face. And I have to admit, readers come from varying backgrounds and interests and personal opinions and, therefore, have differing ideas about books they read -- as it should be. But I've noticed a disturbing trend that, for me, is a bit sad. Some readers can no longer suspend disbelief, even when it's necessary, while enjoying a book.

Suspension of disbelief is a concept we are most often taught in high school lit classes. There are a lot of readers who love romance out there, and many of them understand that the romance genre is not, for the most part, reality. Even so, when it comes to parts of the story that are realistic, they label it fantasy and claim it ruins the book for them. It's sad that, instead of widening our world as we claim over the past hundred years, we've actually narrowed it in many ways, seeing not the many possibilities of how people come to love, marry, live, and think, but how WE love, marry, live, and think -- and believe no one else's experience is valid. But it is. Our world is made up of many possibilities, including ones you might think are fantasy.

Like insta-love.

I kinda get a chuckle over this when I see it in reviews. "I hate that insta-love stuff. It's so fake!" Really? I have to admit, I didn't come to love in an instant; it took me a while to realize that my husband was "the one." But he knew the day he met me. I've seen posts on Facebook of readers commenting that not only did they fall in love immediately, but they married shortly after (like weeks), often to the dismay of those around them. And when someone trots that out, they most often end with "and we're still together today." Didn't happen to me that way, but it HAS HAPPENED. It's not only in fairy tales that you see someone or speak to someone and know in an instant they are the one for you. Love doesn't come with a strict timeline, thank you very much!

Here's the other reality of romance and "insta-love": readers say they don't want two characters to just fall instantly into love at first sight with each other, but no editor in their right mind is going to buy a book featuring a long, drawn-out courtship (except maybe a historical). Time is necessarily compressed in books, just like they are on TV. Do you think we can really get DNA results in real life as fast as they do on CSI? Heck, no! Do you want to follow the lab techs as they go about their daily business for the weeks it takes to get that info in -- and have the suspect disappear in the meantime? Uh, no, you don't want to see that. Time is compressed so that you, the watcher (or reader) will stick with the story. That's the reality of the entertainment industry today -- what we the entertainees have demanded. It's just how it is.

And then there's the dreaded virginity question...

I'm not sure what it is that people have against virginity. It's almost reverse peer pressure: "Your heroine MUST NOT be a virgin; it's unrealistic!" And God forbid your hero be a virgin, because, ya know, men cannot possibly control the urge to have sex, even if they're raised in monstrous conditions with severe psychological scars (the same goes for women). That's sarcasm, by the way -- I firmly believe virginity is a reality for everyone on the planet, and that the first time comes at its own pace for each and every person, not on a timeline. Jess, in Teach Me, is a virgin. So many reviewers complained about me "trotting out the virgin card." But there was a very good reason why Jess was a virgin, and here it is:

It fit who she was.

Why? Jess was and is incredibly shy; it's the very first thing Conlan notices about her aside from her eyes. That's why he equates her to a doe. Hesitant, beautiful, SHY. If you aren't shy, maybe you can't understand, but I AM SHY, and that attribute kept me from being very forward as a teen. I didn't get into a lot of parties and other situations that might've led to sex. When you have body issues or are unsure of yourself, you are often left in the background. That's reality. Does that mean shy people never lose their virginity in high school or college? No, but it can go either way.

But that's not all. Jess did meet and start to date in college. She met Brit, her very first "serious boyfriend." College isn't really that old, around age twenty, give or take, for most of us? Brit was helping Jess through a tough situation with her parents' death, and I don't know about you, but if my parents just died and I was in college and I was trying to figure out life from that point on, having sex for the first time might be a bit of a stretchy decision for me at the moment. Not only that, but though she was grieving and uncertain (and SHY, don't forget shy!), Jess felt that something was off about her feelings for Brit and the way he treated her. Given that we find out later he might've had something to do with her parents' deaths, we can intimate that his behavior at that time might've been a bit on the stalkerish side already. Lots of red flags there.

Now, we preach that women should listen to their instincts and not sleep with someone just because they feel it's expected, but I guess some people don't really believe that. They felt like surely in and amid all this turmoil, Jess should've had sex at some point, right? WRONG. She did what she was supposed to: she listened to what her mind and her heart and her body were telling her and said no. And almost died for it.

Surely then she had sex, right?

O.o

Yeah, I think if my first and only boyfriend beat me up because I wouldn't have sex with him, I'd run right out and find the next willing partner and... Well, you get the idea. Sarcasm aside, maybe some readers haven't been through a traumatic experience, but I know what it's like to face a terrible situation and then try to rebuild your life on the other side. It doesn't work that way. It takes time, and it takes trust, and Jess finally found that in Conlan. Why is that so hard to find realistic?

A fellow author (whom I love!), Sandra Owens, wrote the K2 series featuring a hero in Someone Like Her who was a virgin. That point of the story caused the biggest issue in reviews: no man who was a SEAL would still be a virgin! Not only that, but the reason he was still a virgin was flimsy at best -- his mother was a prostitute who abused him and his sister, and surely no such woman could ever be even slightly realistic. (Sarcasm again...) And yet that entire part of the story was based in a true life story, Sandra's father's story. That was his life she was writing about in many ways, and yes, it was true. But for whatever reasons, some reviewers felt it was "unrealistic."

I've written before about the writing advice "write what you know" and how we might not be able to experience dying of cancer, but we can relate to the emotions. As a reader, I might not have been a SEAL and decided to remain a virgin, but I can understand the reasoning. I can see the legitimate motivation. I can see someone else's experience -- that wasn't anything remotely like mine -- and empathize with it. That seems to be something some people have lost. I've never seen genocide, but I know it happens. I've never had sex before marriage, but I know it happens, and that it's a valid experience for many people. My own experience is different, for whatever reason, but no less valid. Maybe it's time to bring that tolerance we all talk about to the world of fiction, of romance, and start seeing each story as the adventure it is, the chance to step into someone else's shoes and experience something we ourselves haven't, not just a homogenized plot that reads as exciting as milk by the tenth incarnation.

What do you think? Do you feel some things are just too off-the-wall to believe? Can you suspend disbelief if the author motivates a character's choices well enough? I'd love to know which side of this idea you fall into!

What I've Been Reading: Hot Pursuit by Lynn Raye Harris

Hot special ops soldier. Woman in need. A past they'd both like to forget. A passion that makes it impossible. What more could you ask for? I'd put off starting this series because, like me, Lynn Raye Harris writes military/ex-military suspense with a Southern touch. It's hard to read in the same genre you are writing and not have bleed-through, so I waited until Trust Me was finished before starting this series...

And I'm glad I did, because I needed a free weekend to finish Hot Pursuit! This is book one in Harris's Hostile Operations Team series. Here's the blurb:

The last man she ever wanted to see…

Evie Baker’s luck just ran out. Thanks to an ex-partner with organized crime ties, she’s lost her restaurant, her money, and nearly all her self-respect. Forced to return to her hometown and work as a shampoo girl in her mother’s salon, she doesn’t think her luck can get any worse.

But then someone starts shooting at her, her sullen baby sister is suddenly missing, and the high school heartthrob who stole her heart—and her virginity—is the only man big enough and bad enough to help.

Might be the only one who can save her…

Captain Matt “Richie Rich” Girard can’t afford to get involved. He’s already on the verge of a court-martial after a Top Secret op gone wrong, and he’s been ordered to stay out of trouble while he’s home for his sister’s wedding.

But when Evie’s ex-partner turns up dead, staying out of trouble is the last thing on Matt’s mind. He failed Evie once before; he can’t fail her again. If he’s going to protect her from a killer, and find her sister before time runs out, he’ll have to risk his entire future—and both their lives—to do it.

Things are about to get HOT in the bayou!

Suspense can go one of two ways, easy on the romance and heavy on the suspense, or heavy on the romance and easy on the suspense. Harris straddles the fence very well. There's a strong mystery, figuring out why Evie is being targeted, why her ex-business partner winds up dead. Matt has his own worries and family obligations pulling at him, warring with his need to help Evie and, ultimately, to be in bed with her. Instead of Evie being the female in danger, it's her teenage sister who has been kidnapped, and together these two have to figure out what they need to rescue her.

The book moves at a fairly good pace despite the history between the two main characters that needs to be worked out and the cast of secondary characters that populates the small town of Rochambeau, Louisiana (and makes it come alive). That many people sticking their noses into this couple's business while they're trying to hide/solve a kidnapping might have made for a cluttered and confusing story, but Harris handles it well. I didn't feel that "I wish this would hurry up" feeling I sometimes get with contemporary romances; I just wanted myself to hurry to the next page!

The sexual tension between Matt and Evie is strong. I would've like a bit more on-screen "action," maybe, and certainly it would have taken me longer to get over the aftermath of Matt's leaving after taking her virginity than it did Evie (I might've wanted him to squirm on that hook a bit longer, or maybe for Evie to feel it a bit deeper), but then I tend to prefer a darker, more angsty read. This book is lighter but enjoyable, and overall their relationship works well.

I'll definitely be reading book two!

If you enjoy these inside looks into what is on my reading list each month, you might like a new venture I've started with Nice Girls Writing Naughty's reader group. The final Saturday of each month, I'll be hosting the Nice & Naughty Reading Club featuring a romance we all read, then discuss on the blog. For more information and to find out what book we are reading this month, check out my blog post on the site HERE.

What I've Been Reading: Azagoth by Larissa Ione

For those of you who don't know, paranormal is my first love. And also for those of you who don't know, I run terribly behind in reading! I buy books when they come out, but getting a chance to actually read them? Well, sometimes it takes me a while. So over Christmas, though I haven't read the later books in the series, I was jonesin' for some paranormal and opened Azagoth by Larissa Ione. Now, this is how far behind I am: I read the first of the four horsemen books. (Don't ask me how long ago that was! :) ) I actually own all the books in this series, but that's as far as I've read. I really want to read more, but see last week's post as to why I haven't yet. Anywho...

Azagoth.

Lordy.

Why did this book totally do it for me? I'll tell you: Even though it's a novella that relies somewhat on the history of the series (totally readable even if you haven't read the others, though), I LOVED the hero. Why? Because I'm a sucker for a bad boy who seems bad without remorse, but whom we discover, in the course of the story, is in fact the way he is for very good reason. When a hero seems unlovable but we get to go on the journey with the heroine to find out exactly why he is, that's my favorite kind of story! It's the kind of story I try to create in my paranormals, and Larissa does it magnificently here.

Want to read more? Here is the blurb from Larissa's website:

Even in the fathomless depths of the underworld and the bleak chambers of a damaged heart, the bonds of love can heal…or destroy.

He holds the ability to annihilate souls in the palm of his hand. He commands the respect of the most dangerous of demons and the most powerful of angels. He can seduce and dominate any female he wants with a mere look. But for all Azagoth’s power, he’s bound by shackles of his own making, and only an angel with a secret holds the key to his release.

She’s an angel with the extraordinary ability to travel through time and space. An angel with a tormented past she can’t escape. And when Lilliana is sent to Azagoth’s underworld realm, she finds that her past isn’t all she can’t escape. For the irresistibly sexy fallen angel known as Azagoth is also known as the Grim Reaper, and when he claims a soul, it’s forever…

Now, this story is a novella (part of the reason I picked it, so I could finish it in one or two sittings). As I said above, you don't have to read the previous books to understand this story; Larissa adds just enough detail that you can figure out what happened in the past and the various connections, the relevant ones. And Lilliana, the heroine, isn't a pansy -- I like that about her too. Strong men need strong women to stand up to -- and with -- them. The scene where she stands up to her ex was enjoyable too! :)

Azagoth is a must-read and will definitely stay on my Kindle! You can pick up your copy here:

Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, All Romance Ebooks

~ Ella

When Writers Don't Read

It's terrible when you have to schedule reading time so you can write a blog post. That's what has happened to me over the past few months. In order to write my monthly "What I've Been Reading" posts, I've had to schedule reading time -- not because I didn't want to read, but because I simply didn't have time. I hesitate to go into the "why" for fear of sounding, well, why-ney. :) But the truth is, life's been kicking my butt. Getting TRUST ME out by Christmas has been my number one priority, and unfortunately, my writer brain has not been cooperating. Of course, neither has my kids' sports and school and orthodontist schedules, my husband's work schedule, my work schedule (that's right; I work a day job in addition to writing)... You get the drift. In fact, for a little while I feared TRUST ME would not only be late releasing, but would not release at all. Everyone has those times when the avalanche descends and you wonder if you'll make it out alive.

Well, I have, but only because I made some tough decisions. And one of those was making time to read.

Last month in Birmingham I heard Sylvia Day speak. It was at a readers' luncheon, and of course she talked about reading. Or rather, her lack thereof. She discussed how, when she ended up in a crazy publishing schedule that took every ounce of time she had, she couldn't squeeze in the minutes and hours it took to read. And when it came time for a particular deadline, she realized that the book that was due just...wasn't going to happen. She was done, dried up. Her creativity was taking her nowhere with this story, and she didn't think it ever would. In fact, she didn't think she'd ever write another story. Ever.

So Sylvia contacted her editor and gave her the bad news. After much discussion and pushing off of deadlines, Sylvia said her editor finally asked one all-important question: When was the last time you read? (A book that wasn't yours was implied.) And Sylvia told her, I don't remember. So her editor gave her an assignment, not to finish writing, but to go read. It was the spark Sylvia needed to see the light on her own story and find her well of creativity again. She read other writers' novels, eventually finished her own book, and rediscovered a piece of herself in the process.

As a writer and a woman (mother, spouse, sibling...), I think I fell into the trap many women fall into: that something we find pleasure in is unimportant. My kids spend hours a day playing video games and reading books and watching TV/movies, and I WORK. Day in and day out, I work, because that's what a good mom and wife does, right? But my need to write was going nowhere. And then I heard Sylvia speak and realized, other than my scheduled monthly posts, I haven't read a book for pleasure in...I can't remember when.

For a writer, it simply isn't possible to sustain your creativity without nourishment. And for a woman, it isn't possible to sustain your supportive, positive, hard-working attitude without taking time for yourself as well as others. I knew that, but the tyranny of the urgent was louder than what I knew, until the urgent couldn't be taken care of because there was no fodder for the fire. TRUST ME wanted to be written, but I wasn't giving myself enough fuel to sustain the creative need. We have to feed ourselves, body and soul, if we hope to continue feeding others. I wasn't doing that, but now I am! And it is oh so sweet to find that place of comfort and pleasure again. :)

Reading again has made a huge difference in my life and in my writing. And next month, I'll share again some of What I've Been Reading -- without the whole scheduling thing. I hope you are nourishing yourself too, taking care of you so that you can take care of others. So tell me, what have YOU been reading? What else do you do to feed your soul? What difference does that make in your life?

~ Ella

FUN Cover Reveal: Tina Christopher's Dirigibles Are Forever!

Fellow Nice Girl Writing Naughty Tina Christopher has a new release coming, a fun book called DIRIGIBLES ARE FOREVER. Here's how she describes it: "Dirigibles Are Forever is a super-sexy Christmas novella set in an alternative Victorian London, filled with adventure, secrets and fun."

That sounds like something very different and very entertaining. The cover is too. Want to see?

I love it! Can't wait to pick this up when it releases on December 9th from Loose Id.

Working as an Aether Traffic Controller saved Holly Acklin after the death of her husband, but now she wants more—including a night of uninhibited passion with Jack Smith, whose very presence has kept her body tingling for months.

Special Agent Jack Smith kept his identity a secret when he came to the London Royal Port Authority with one assignment, one he cannot fail. It holds him back from following his attraction to Holly. But on the eve he must complete the mission, Holly asks for one night with no rules or boundaries, and his control snaps.

When London experiences an unexpectedly white Christmas, all dirigible traffic is grounded, leaving Holly and Jack free to act upon their stormy passions. Holly finds her determination to stay emotion-free crumbling unaware Jack is experiencing the same need. Each lover wishes for more, but fears it can’t be. Instead they focus their desires in mind-blowing passion.

But when Holly discovers that Jack isn’t who he claimed to be, everything is thrown into turmoil. Can she trust the man she thought she knew?

Sounds awesome, doesn't it? You can even download a free chapter just to whet your appetite before the book arrives. And don't forget to mark your calendars or friend Tina on Facebook for a reminder that Dirigibles Are Forever is out December 9th!

Funny Friday: Grumpy Cat Love

Ah, Grumpy Cat! :)

What I've Been Reading: Crazy For Her by Sandra Owens

Many of you know that I finalled in the RWA Golden Heart contest in 2013. While I didn't win, I did have the privilege of becoming part of a wonderful group of ladies (and fellow finalists) called the Lucky 13s. And one particular Lucky sister, Sandra Owens, has an awesome new contemporary romance with Montlake out that I just had to read: Crazy For Her. That he is in love with Dani Prescott, his best friend and SEAL teammate's wife, is a deep secret Logan Kincaid keeps close to his heart. On their last mission in Afghanistan, Evan Prescott is killed in battle. With his dying breath, Evan begs Logan to take care of his wife and child.

It's been close to two years since the death of her husband, and Dani Prescott is living in Asheville, North Carolina with her daughter Regan. When a stalker threatens, she turns to the most dangerous man she knows. Logan Kincaid.

There are many reasons why Logan believes he's not good enough for Dani. His secrets are as dark as the underside of a rock. The best thing he can do for her is catch the stalker and then get the hell out of her life.

Of course, when love is involved things have a way of not going as planned.

When I say Crazy For Her is awesome, I really mean, it was awesome!

That awesome starts with one word -- SEALs! As soon as I saw that Logan was a SEAL, I had to read this book. I mean, who doesn't love a SEAL hero? And Sandra doesn't disappoint. Logan is incredibly tough, surviving a horrendous childhood and watching the woman he loves marry his best friend, Evan. He lives through his friend's death and bears the burden of his guilt over the whole situation as only the strongest man could, with complete stoicism. And even though we're in Logan's thoughts and hear his tender side a bit, we never lose the feel that he is one tough you-know-what. ;)

Y'all know I'm totally hero focused when it comes to books, but Sandra's heroine is just right for Logan. Dani is strong in her own way. She's taken care of her baby by herself since her husband died in battle, she's gotten through horrific grief, but she's finally come up against an obstacle she can't overcome: a stalker who claims to be her dead husband. She needs Logan's help to keep her child safe. Even more important, she needs Logan for herself. The passion between the two sizzles with tension, and when they finally come together, it's not without a few surprises and the most satisfying use of an outdoor patio in the rain that I've ever encountered. ;)

But what's the absolute best part of Crazy for Her? The baby! Or more specifically, Logan with the baby. There's just something about a big, strong soldier cuddling a baby that just...melts your ovaries. :) And when we're in Logan's thoughts and he's watching Dani nurse her child? Gah! It's awesome. I also like that though Evan has died and some time has passed, there's not this sense that he's forgotten. When Dani sees Logan with her child, she can't help but grieve the fact that Evan will never get to hold their daughter. There is a good balance here between focusing on the relationship between Dani and Logan now and remembering the person both of them lost.

So, yes, I really did enjoy this book, and it's gotten some rave reviews as well (not just mine!). I would highly recommend checking it out here, and maybe some of Sandra's other books as well. She's pretty versatile, with historical romances alongside her contemporaries. Oh, and the sequel to Crazy For Her, coming out early next year. (Yay!)

~ Ella

Inside Scoop: Creating a Book Cover

Even before I became a writer, I was fascinated with how writers do things. I guess maybe it's like those behind-the-scenes features on DVDs, the ones that tell you how all the special effects were created, what the actors thought about their roles, the other actors, et cetera, what went into the making of the set and script and movie itself. I can't get enough of those "sneak peeks," and since I'm a lifelong reader, it makes sense that I'd feel the same way about books. Authors don't usually have much of a say in their book covers -- did you know that? But this year I got to do something very exciting; I got to help create my own book cover! Now, I didn't actually do the drawing or Photoshopping or whatever myself, though some authors have the skill to do so. I hired someone to help me create a cover for Teach Me, the first book in my new series, Southern Nights, which premieres October 28th. The entire process, though, was eye-opening, intimidating, and often just plain amazing! Want to hear about it?

No, no, you don't have to beg! I was gonna share with you anyway. ;)

There are several steps to creating a book cover, but two things are necessary from the outset: a book (of course!) and a cover artist. So I started there. Once the rough draft of Teach Me was complete, I began the hunt for someone to help me bring those characters and their story to life visually. And let me tell you, the process was not easy. What was the process? Here are a few of the stops I took:

1. I started by reading articles on creating book covers, what worked for different genres, what to look for in a cover artist. Have you ever compared the cover on a historical romance and a paranormal? They "feel" different, don't they? So I educated myself on how a romantic suspense novel was supposed to "feel" when you look at the cover.
2. I also visited the Amazon top 100 romantic suspense book list several times, making notes on which covers I liked and why. I did the same with my favorite RS authors' websites.
3. I visited cover artists' sites recommended to me by fellow authors, as well as some I saw in online forums, and many I found just by googling "romance book cover artist." Ultimately I went to over two hundred sites.

Sound tedious? That's because it was. :) What was I looking for? Ultimately I was looking for an artist whose covers drew me. If I went back to a cover again and again, if it caught my attention, I knew the artist had the potential to create the same effect with my cover. That's what I wanted, but as the saying goes, I had to kiss a lot of metaphorical frogs (or look at a lot of covers that didn't quite fit me) before I found a prince of an artist -- or princess, in this case. That's how I ended up with my fantastic cover artist, Kelli at Book Cover By Design.

The next thing I did after contacting Kelli was to fill out a questionnaire for her. This gave her the blurb for my book, info about my characters, the genre of the book, the "mood" or feeling I wanted to convey (remember that comparison we talked about?). When a reader looked at my cover, I wanted them to see dark, mysterious, steamy, sexy. Filling out a questionnaire helped her understand what I was going for. She even read an excerpt of the rough draft.

Of course, there was one more important piece to this puzzle: the cover model.

Finding the perfect representation of the character that has lived in your head for so long is NOT easy. :) In this case, Conlan had been with me for over four years, since Teach Me is the first book I completed (though it has been through many incarnations since). As with cover artists, I went through hundreds of stock photos looking for the perfect man to represent my hero. (For more on that search, see my awesome blog post Finding Hotties. ;) ) Conlan had to be dark, broody, masculine. Oh, and he couldn't look like he was seventeen years old. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find stock photos of a model who doesn't look like he hasn't been out of high school more than a few weeks? To represent a man who was ex-military, in his early thirties, who had seen combat and was now a bodyguard and security specialist, I couldn't settle on a baby face. I needed a strong, handsome man -- and I did eventually find one! Here he is, as a matter of fact:

Yummy, isn't he? Kelli looked at several different poses from the same model, combined them with her ideas for the background of the cover, added the title and author name in fonts that would enhance the mood we were going for, and then sent me a couple of examples to look at. These "mock-ups" weren't official, but were the first step toward what would be the finished product.

What happened next? Well, I responded to Kelli with the particular example I liked. There were some things I wanted tweaked, of course -- every author has particulars they want just right. We added a tagline, a single sentence that summed up the story for the reader (and hopefully makes them want to read the book. And no, I'm not telling you what it is yet! :) ). We added a cover quote from my good friend and fellow author, Gina L. Maxwell. We even created the spine and back cover, including the blurb for the book (or back-cover copy) and images, so that I can offer Teach Me in paperback as well as e-book format. And when it all was finally complete?

WOW!

I'm not ashamed to say that, once we got a final version settled on, I cried. This isn't my first book cover -- I have three published books already -- but this was the first one I had a hand in designing, the first one where I chose the model and could get what I considered the perfect representation of my character in front of my readers. It was an amazing feeling; it truly was. I cannot wait for you all to share it with me!

And where is the cover, you might ask?

Well...I can't show you yet. *ducks to avoid various objects flying at my head* I know; I know. I want so badly to share this with you, but I can't! Teach Me will go up for preorder -- get this! -- on September 28th, exactly one month before its release. And on that same day, I WILL REVEAL THE FINAL COVER. All that hard work, all the decisions and the searching and the angst (I do have a few bald spots now, lol) will finally be over, and I'll get to share with you the results.

SEPTEMBER 28th!

Will you be waiting? I know I am! I have the file in my hot little hands (metaphorically speaking), and I can't wait to let it out into the world. I hope you love it as much as I do. But I guess, like you, I'll have to wait a little over two weeks to find out. :)

~ Ella

A cover reveal isn't all I've got going on in the rush up to Teach Me's release! Want to find out what other fun we'll be having? Be sure and sign up for my newsletter and get first access to all the details!

What I've Been Reading: Tempting Her Best Friend by Gina Maxwell

Let's just say, this summer hasn't been the easiest for me. In fact sometimes I thought my to-do list was trying to drown me. :) So to say that I needed a little lightening up was a drastic understatement. And my good friend Gina L. Maxwell's new release, Tempting Her Best Friend, did just that!

If she had to dress like Nightclub Barbie for a few days to get Dillon to see her as a woman and not some asexual being, then that was what she'd do. Anything to ensure success for Operation: Damn, Aly's Hot and I Totally Want To Do Her.

I quoted this line on Facebook too, probably because it almost made Coke shoot out my nose. This is the kind of snarky humor Gina provides -- and that I love. I'm not your typical romantic comedy reader, and I admire those writers a great deal because humor is so hard to get across, but Gina just has the right wit for my funny bone. :) Putting the hero in a Tarzan costume and dumping him in the midst of a horde of ravenous romance readers is hilarious. There's just so much about this book that is fun that I spent most of the time sniggering behind my Kindle while I waited for my kids to finish all the activities I'd dropped them off for around town. Yes, I got a lot of sidelong, oddball looks, but who cares -- I was enjoying a book! I think you would enjoy it too.

And lest you think that humor is all this book has going for it, think again -- the sex is hot and steamy and intimately emotional. Gina is known for her intensely erotic love scenes, and Tempting Her Best Friend delivers on that front as well as it delivers on humor.

Her vision started to blur at the edges until all she could see was the ruggedly handsome face above her. So much like the friend she'd known her whole life, and yet so very different. As her brain struggled to reconcile the old and the new, her body shorted everything out that wasn't necessary for surviving a tactile flood of epic proportions.

She vaguely heard herself repeatedly begging for "more" sprinkled with the occasional commands for "faster" and "harder."

Alyssa had never been one to talk during sex. She'd always thought it was because she wasn't one to lose her composure, even in the bedroom. Apparently she'd just never been given the proper inspiration.

Tempting Her Best Friend is the first book in Entangled's new Lovestruck line, and while I'm the first to admit I don't usually enjoy "category" romance, this book doesn't read category to me any more than Gina's other books do. It's a fun, flirty read with characters I related to, and their journey into love was supremely satisfying to this reader. You can check the book out today (because it releases today -- woot!) at Amazon for only $0.99. The sale price is ONLY FOR THIS WEEK, so get it while you can!

Don't forget, if you’d like to keep up-to-date with all the exciting things I've got going on these days -- besides taking time out to read great books! -- be sure and sign up for my newsletter. I'm not quite as funny as Gina, but I do promise man candy that will make you smile. ;)

~ Ella

Cliffhangers Are the Pits

When I think of cliffhangers, I think of long-ago Friday and Saturday nights when the family all sat around watching TV. It would be the end of a season, and whatever show we were watching was sure to end on a cliffhanger. Who shot JR? Was Buffy really dead? Was Jack Bauer ever gonna have a good day? (No!) What I don't think about when I hear the word cliffhanger is a romance novel. The romance genre, by definition, contains books that end in one of two ways: Happily Ever After or at least a Happy For Now. I don't even really like HFNs, actually. I want a resolution to a relationship. That relationship might continue beyond the book, as with Christine Feehan's Dark series, Cherise Sinclair's Master of the Shadowlands series, and JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There might even be new books or novellas about the couple, but in their book, I want an HEA. It's what my heart longs for. I can't help it -- I NEED an HEA.

So, cliffhangers in romance? Not so much. My first encounter with such an animal was a very popular book that shall remain nameless. I literally got to the end, read the last paragraph, and turned the page expecting more. When it wasn't there, I turned the book over, looked at the cover, scratched my head... It took me a while to figure out that really was all there was to the story. If there had been some indication of a hook, a resolution to the original story arc, I wouldn't have been confused. But instead it felt as if the author had written one book, taken a cleaver, and literally chopped the story into thirds.

I hated it.

Now granted, there are series that take three (or more) books to resolve a relationship. But there's usually some indication that this will happen. There's usually a sense of "finishing," of resolution to the end of each book. There might still be questions, but the arc of the story, both within itself and within the overarching trilogy (or however many books), is evident. There's closure of some kind, even if the reader knows it is temporary.

This isn't even like those long-ago TV cliffhangers. There wasn't a buildup to a climactic event that we knew would get resolved in the beginning of the next book. No, there wasn't even that promise. The character's walked out on the street to go somewhere, stood for a minute talking (about nothing important), and that was the end. Done.

Uh-uh. No. If at all possible, I won't read a book like this. It drives me nuts -- and makes me never want to read anything by that author again. Period.

Can you tell I don't like this new romance version of cliffhangers?

So what about you? Do you like cliffhangers? The old TV kind or this new kind found in romances? Do you like romances that end, if not in an HEA, then in an HFN? Or are you a die-hard HEA junkie like me? Inquiring minds want to know! :)

~ Ella

*Photo courtesy of Duncan Hull.

What I've Been Reading: The Mackenzie Series

I'm a re-reader. As much as I love getting my hands on hot new books, I also re-read books on my keeper shelf again and again. One of my favorite oldies-but-goodies is the Mackenzies series by Linda Howard. Sometimes we think we invented the Special Forces/ex-military alpha-male hero. But no. Linda Howard's men are the epitome of the alpha male -- and they do it oh so well.

There are four books and a novella in this series. In reading order, they are:

Mackenzie's Mountain

Mackenzie's Mission

Mackenzie's Pleasure

Mackenzie's Magic (novella)

A Game of Chance

This family of alphas began with their patriarch, Wolf Mackenzie. He lives on Mackenzie's mountain, and only innocent schoolteacher Mary Potter can pull him away. As loving as he is rough, Wolf teaches Mary a few things not found in a classroom. His sons -- all of them -- are built on the same model. The lone daughter, Maris, is tough as nails and meets her hero head on. The entire family is a force to be reckoned with, individually and as a collective.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but I'd have to say Mackenzie's Pleasure probably tops the rest for me. First, the hero's name is Zane. I mean, really. His name alone is over-the-top sexy. He's a Navy SEAL. Check two. And he's turned on by watching his pregnant wife drink 7-Up. Who doesn't want their man finding them sexy when they're pregnant -- or when they're drinking a soft drink? ;) When Zane comes close to losing his life and is forcibly separated from Barrie, the emotion on the page is off the charts -- and when they come back together? So is the heat.

These stories are still available on Amazon in anthology form, and are worth every penny. If you like a cross between the bastard heroes of old and the not-afraid-of-emotion heroes of today, check out Howard's Amazon page here. She's a master at creating memorable stories you'll go back to read again and again -- just like I do!

Wow, What a Week!

It has been a pretty amazing week -- or three -- around Casa Sheridan. First and second round edits for Brad and Angel's story, Just a Little More (Secrets To Hide 3) are completed. Since the first round included adding three new scenes (one of which was an entire chapter!), this took up a good chunk of time, but the results are oh so wonderful! Just a Little More is off to lines, and hopefully we will have a release date very soon. Don't worry; I'll definitely keep you updated! In addition, my editor cap has been incredibly busy. I've edited six -- count them again...SIX -- full-length books in the last two and a half weeks. No wonder I was completely fuzzy on Friday! I turned in the last book late Thursday night (okay, early Friday morning), and that was it. My brain shut off. Ever have those days? The ones where work is so involved and you give it all you've got until your brain just won't function anymore? Yep, that was me. I spent Friday in a complete fog. But now Monday is here and I can get back on the bandwagon of work and writing -- mostly writing! -- and feel productive (instead of like I was run over by a steamroller!) once more. :)

So, what's the point of today's post then? Am I just whining about how busy I've been? Well, kinda. ;) But I also wanted to share a little bit about what I do on the other side of my life, my Day Job as a line editor. I get to work with some fantastic authors on a regular basis -- I think I figured last year that I edited somewhere around 60 books? This past week I got to work on a very special project for my sister, Dani Wade. I finally got the chance to edit her second Backstage Pass book, Settling the Score! This book features Daniel Korvello, front man for the rock band Solar Uprising, and his sexy publicist, Becca Buchanan. Here's Dani's description of their story:

Daniel Korvello isn’t your average Joe with a case of unrequited lust. He’s a hard rock front man who wonders if his publicist will ever see him as anything other than a job. Then they team up to hunt down a threat to Daniel’s family…and he seizes the chance to show her he’s up for more than just a one night stand.

Becca Buchanan already lived through one rock-star scandal with her reputation barely intact. She’s determined never to put herself, or her family, through that again. Only she can’t deny the desire she feels for Daniel. When he exposes the molten heat beneath her Ice Maiden exterior, she may never be able to freeze him out again.

Then their amateur investigation takes a dangerous turn that threatens the lives of those they both love. Can their newfound trust extend past the bedroom? Can Daniel let go of his guilt enough to embrace a future with Becca?

Dani's first Backstage Pass novel, Finding Her Rhythm, told the story of Michael Korvello, Daniel's brother and guitarist for the band, and his nanny. The story was HOT, HOT, HOT, and so were the glimpses of Daniel we got, which was why I asked Dani to let Daniel make a special guest appearance in my second book, Naughty Little Christmas. That's right, our books intertwined! The connection made it that much more special to help Dani get Daniel's story out to the world. So if you're interested in hot rock stars with a penchant for blindfolds and outdoor sex and growly, sexy song lyrics, check out Dani's new release. You won't be disappointed!

Settling the Score is available at Amazon here. And if you enjoy it, don't forget Michael's story, Finding Her Rhythm. Enjoy!

What I'm Reading: Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye

Tattoos. Special Forces. A damsel in distress. What could be hotter than that? In this first book in Kaye's Hard Ink series, absolutely nothing. Becca Merritt goes head to head with Nick Rixey when her brother disappears, leaving only Nick's name as a clue for help. I have to admit, shocking as it was, Nick's hard-ass attitude in the first scene was enough to wet panties, just because you knew all that badness would eventually be channeled into taking care of his woman. Yum! For me, Nick was the driving force behind enjoying this book, though his sexy, tortured teammates came a close second. And the dog. The bit about the dog was hilarious -- and I am not a dog person by any means.

Here's the blurb from Kaye's website:

Tall, dark, and lethal...

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey's tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome--pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He's left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander's daughter. Loyalty won't let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn't expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge...

Now, I have to admit, while I enjoyed this book and all its alpha-male abundance, I did not enjoy it as much as I did Hearts in Darkness, which is a stand-alone novella that got me interested in Kaye's writing. She has a way with wounded, tough-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside heroes that just works for me, and HiD was a phenomenal example of that -- I highly recommend it. Then again, I enjoyed HAIG, too. It took me less than a week to read, which is always an indicator of how much I'm enjoying something. I have so little time to read that, if you haven't hooked me early, I have to set the book aside. I kept going back to this one, even reading on my iPhone occasionally. And I definitely plan to read the rest of the series: The second book, Hard As You Can, featuring teammate Shane, has just come out. Book three, Hard To Hold On To, will be out in August.

There you have it! If you're looking for tough heroes with wounded bodies and hearts, look no further...or should I say, harder? ;) Oh, just go buy it already! And don't stop reading till you get to the scene where the guys sing on the stairs. You'll know it when you get to it -- and you'll probably roll on the floor laughing as hard as I did!

~ Ella

Funny Friday: Fabio!

This has to be the funniest "romance cover" commentary I've seen in a while. Hilarious! Check it out: 19 Things Fabio Is Actually Thinking on His Romance Novel Covers

;) Enjoy your weekend!

~ Ella

What I'm Reading: The Night Prince Series by Jeaniene Frost

I admit I'm just now starting on this series, which began in 2012, for one very good reason: I hate first-person point of view. I'd heard several people raving about Jeaniene Frost -- totally deserved, by the way, and thank you, thank you, thank you, M. V. Freeman! BUT...I wouldn't pick up her books because it takes a very good writer, with just the right touch, to allow me to enjoy first person. Kristina Douglas (a paranormal pseudonym for Anne Stuart) is one. And now Jeaniene Frost. Her prose is compelling. To be honest, I can't put my finger on why -- it's clean, almost feeling too concise and uncluttered, abrupt, though it isn't. Not normally what I enjoy; I admit to preferring a more descriptive voice. But I couldn't put it down. I've really enjoyed finishing it, and I'm looking forward to reading more. (Hurry, hurry, hurry! :) )

The Night Prince series centers around the vampire Vlad, who is the original Dracula, and a psychic named Leila who -- get this -- is a carnival performer. Yes. I didn't think it would work either, but it did! The first book in the series is Once Burned; here's the blurb from Frost's website:

She’s a mortal with dark powers…

After a tragic accident scarred  her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a  person’s darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of  solitude…until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out  with a telepathic distress call to the world’s most infamous vampire…

He’s the Prince of Night…

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest  vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don’t call him Dracula. Vlad’s ability to control fire makes him one of the most  feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against  him – a beautiful mortal with powers to  match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them,  threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop  an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

The book drew me so much I immediately bought book two, Twice Tempted. This book begins with Leila leaving the emotionally closed-off Vlad -- which is a good point about this series: Frost does a lot of those "Do Not Do This!" things most of us have been told is the death of a story. Vlad is no clean-cut alpha hero. No meditation for him when he's stressed; no, he tortures people. He's so emotionally constipated that Leila leaves him. Why doesn't he go after her? He says later he thought she was bluffing. Yeah, constipated. Leila's not your typical heroine either -- the torture she suffers in book one is pretty unpalatable. But her knowledge of '80s pop rock is a thing of beauty. :)

I cannot wait for the third and final book in this series to come out. I highly recommend the first two books in the meantime, so go check them out. Now!

Don't make me take a page from Vlad's book and impale you.

~ Ella

What I'm Reading: Kresley Cole's MacRieve

Wow! That's all I can say. I first read Kresley Cole years ago when A Hunger Like No Other, the first in the Immortals After Dark series, came to bookstores. I loved it, but I could never get into the whole "race" thing that took over the next few books. I could see how an Olympic quest would be interesting, but for me, I just couldn't get into it. Fast-forward to this past year when I saw Cole at RWA Nationals in Atlanta. She won her 2013 Rita Award and was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame. I admit I paid special attention because Unbroken, my paranormal romance, was nominated for the Golden Heart. I remember looking up at her on the stage after I'd lost in my category, wondering if I'd ever even publish, much less be nominated for a Rita.

Though Unbroken is still on hold, I have published--and, I'm happy to say, I've read a new Kresley Cole book. :) And it  has me blown away and shown me what I have to strive for. The book is MacRieve, about a damaged werewolf and his innocent half-Lorean mate. It is truly awesome. Knowing I was uncertain about the series, I picked up MacRieve reluctantly, but I couldn't resist the cover (isn't he yummy?!?!). And what was between the covers was far more pulse-pounding than the guy staring out at me from the front of the book! Here's the description from Cole's website:

A BEAST IN TORMENT

Uilleam MacRieve believed he’d laid to rest the ghosts of his boyhood. But when a brutal torture revives those ancient agonies and destroys his Lykae instinct, the proud Scot craves the oblivion of death. Until he finds her—a young human so full of spirit and courage that she pulls him ba ck from the brink.

A BEAUTY IN CHAINS

Seized for the auction block, Chloe Todd is forced to enter a terrifying new world of monsters and lore as a bound slave. When offered up to creatures of the dark, she fears she won’t last the night. Until she’s claimed by him—a wicked immortal with heartbreaking eyes, whose touch sets her blood on fire.

A FULL MOON ON THE RISE

With enemies circling, MacRieve spirits Chloe away to the isolated Highland keep of his youth. But once he takes her to his bed, his sensual mate becomes something more than human, evoking his savage past and testing his sanity. On the cusp of the full moon, can he conquer his worst nightmare to save Chloe . . . from himself?

You know me, I like dark and gritty and emotional. MacRieve was certainly a roller coaster ride in that respect. The characters felt and felt deeply. What woman wouldn't want to heal MacRieve's wounded soul? The things he has endured were horrific, but you can't heal what you don't know, and Chloe can't break down the walls her mate has put up between them. Cole has a talent for throwing together characters who are diametrically opposed, in the most believable ways, and then letting their differences wreak havoc on them. I thought MacRieve was as wounded as he could get at the beginning, but oh no, the worst was yet to come. His story touched my heart and made me cry. And though I typically focus more on the male character, Chloe tore at my heart too. I even enjoyed the soccer talk (Chloe's a pro soccer player), though I pretty much hate sports. :)

So, run, don't walk to pick up MacRieve. There's even an audio excerpt on Cole's site. This book has certainly turned my eye back toward this series. I guess now I'll have to see how long it will take me to read the other books. ;)

~ Ella

Zombies, Plagues, and Head Shots...Oh My!

Hello, my name is Ella and I'm a romance junkie. But that's not a romance picture over there on the left, is it? That's because recently I've been so focused on my own writing that reading romance has stressed me out more than it has helped me relax. One day, totally fed up with reading my old "keeper" romances for the billionth time, I pulled out my Kindle and did something I really don't like doing: I went shopping. And brought home zombies.

Really, I'm not kidding. I am a huge fan of World War Z (the book AND the movie), and so I started looking at zombie books. And ran across Jonathan Maberry's Dead of Night. I was hooked immediately. Being a romance writer, I wasn't sure I would like the commitment-phobic heroine, but hey, there were zombies, so I read it anyway -- and actually came to like her. :)

At the end of Dead of Night, there was a short introduction to Maberry's Joe Ledger series. The series begins with "Countdown," a short-story introduction. I immediately loved Joe Ledger's "voice." He is a hero both strong and fallible, horrified at what he has to do but doing it without flinching. He is human and, at times it seems, a superhero. I could identify with his pursuit of martial arts to gain control of his life after a tragedy nearly destroyed him as a teen. I could follow his thinking and relate to the fact that he didn't always "get" the science (which thankfully is explained in fairly simple terms!). He is gritty and raw and broken and heartbreakingly deadly (and makes more head shots than I think is probably realistic, lol). This was no romance, but I loved it!

The series begins with zombies, but it doesn't stop there. Plagues, secret societies, conspiracies out the wazoo. It's a smorgasbord of evil with Joe in the middle. And Joe deals with it all the best way he can, which is not to say he brushes all the death and dismemberment off. The man has a therapist on speed dial, for goodness sake! And for good reason. :)

Sometimes, we need a change. We need to step out of our comfort zone and broaden our horizons and feed our creativity with something different. I'm glad I did. And I'm glad there are six books in this series, because I'm hooked. For Christmas vacation I went through the first three, so thankfully there are still some Joe Ledger adventures to fill my downtime in the coming weeks.

What do you read outside of the romance genre? Anything else "float your boat"? I know a lot of writers who read YA novels for fun. Or maybe, like me, you enjoy dark and gritty. Which is it? For now, I'm off to spend my last night on vacation with Joe... ;)

~ Ella

Taking the Dread out of the Dreaded Book Review

I've been reading a lot of articles lately about releasing a new book (for obvious reasons). One of the biggest pieces of advice for readers that I've seen? Review books. Now, I have to admit to rarely reviewing books, so I felt a little hypocritical asking others if they like my new book, would they please leave a review. I mean, I'm a writer as well as reader, I know how all of this works, and yet I'm still intimidated by the prospect of posting a book review somewhere. So, in the interest of making the book review easier and a lot less intimidating for all of us, me included, let's look at some of the reasons readers might be afraid of the dreaded book review, and how we can maybe get past that to support our favorite authors:

1. Leaving a book review takes too much time.

This is probably the number one reason most people don't leave book reviews. I mean, who has the time to write out an "essay" about a book and then go through the process of posting it? I'm busy! I do think writing out long, detailed reviews with summaries of the plot and everything you liked, including examples, would be time-consuming. The truth is, though, that most people looking at reviews don't have time to read all that any more than you have time to write it. They want to know: is this book good and why. That's all. You can write a couple of sentences or a couple of paragraphs, but you don't have to summarize the book or even use examples if none come to mind. Let's face it, some other reviewer has already been detailed enough for ten reviews, more than likely, so including all that information isn't necessary. Just include the basics; that makes a review easy for you to write and easy for others to read.

2. What if it's not perfect?

So what? I know, I know, this is hard for me to accept as well. I'm a writer; I want everything I write to be perfect. But the truth is, even published books aren't always perfect. Books go through multiple rounds of edits, both with the author and through the publisher, and still they come out with mistakes. It happens. A published book is important. How important is it for a two-paragraph review not to contain a typo? It's not. Get your idea across, and stop worrying about being perfect (she says, pointing her finger at herself!). Which is more important: writing a pristine, literary-journal-worthy review, or supporting the author you want desperately to write more books? I lean toward the latter, and so letting go of my dreams of pristine literature posted in the Amazon review section must go by the wayside. Remember, we don't have time for that! (See point #1.)

3. What if I make the author feel bad?

It's okay not to like everything about a book. It is. As an author, I can tell you that I appreciate an honest review, even if you didn't like everything about my book. And that whole, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all?" Really, it's the nice that matters, and I don't mean in what you include; I mean in the language you use. If there's a criticism, saying it nicely is key. We are all entitled to our opinions, and they are as numerous and varied as belly buttons and, you know, other stuff I won't mention. It's how you say something that matters. We've all heard the horror stories about boards on review sites wanting authors dead and flamers targeting books with one-star reviews. Are you that person? No? (Good!) Then you have nothing to worry about. Be yourself; be nice; be honest. That's all that matters.

4. What if other reviewers "target" me?

Back to those flamers. I must admit, things like this scare me. It's a form of cyber bullying that has become so popular on the Internet today, as if the fact that you are safely behind a computer monitor and keyboard gives you the right to hurt the feelings and even the livelihoods of others any way you want. I don't believe that. But I also don't believe that the vast majority of readers target books and authors and other honest reviewers. That's why I finally decided to venture onto Goodreads. Because as much as there are those bullies out there in cyberspace, there are many more lovely readers who just want to get to know their favorite authors, or authors who could become favorites. I'm one of them, even though I have a book published--I'm a huge fan of certain authors. Reading about them and getting to know them makes me giddy! And I refuse to allow the worst of people to keep me from doing that.

So what can you do about the dreaded book review? Forget those essays you had to write in high school and college. Get familiar with various sites, and find one that you like, where you feel "safe." Read a book you love. Then go online and post a paragraph about what you liked. That's all. No worrying about doing it right or perfect or what others will think. Be honest. Be nice. And be supportive of your favorite authors. I know that's what I intend to do. :)

What I've Been Reading: Lexi Blake

I have a confession: I don't read a lot of new books. Not because I don't want to, but because I have so little time to read. I don't want to waste what little time I have to read trying a new book/new author I might or might not like. So I often go on recommendations before trying out a new-to-me author. And in this case, I'm so glad I did. Dani Wade, my sister, is responsible for my current obsession. Her "Oh my God, you have to read this!" came a couple of months ago after she tried out the first of Lexi Blake's Masters and Mercenaries series, The Dom Who Loved Me. I was fully sick of the books I'd reread fifty bazillion times, and so I gave in. I downloaded the book onto my Kindle...and I was hooked. Immediately.

The series currently has 4.5 books (four full books and a novella), with the fifth book, Ian's story (CAN'T WAIT!!!), due out in October. My favorite so far has been book three, A Dom Is Forever. Liam is just so deliciously lickable. ;) Not only does he have an Irish accent, but he loves curvy women (and we love him). His heroine, Avery, isn't physically perfect or flashy, but he can't get enough of her anyway -- and the way he instinctively takes care of her makes him even more sexy. Here's the description from Lexi's website:

A Dom Is Forever – Out Now!

A Man with a Past…

Liam O’Donnell fled his native Ireland years ago after one of his missions ended in tragedy and he was accused of killing several of his fellow agents. Shrouded in mystery, Liam can’t remember that fateful night. He came to the United States in disgrace, seeking redemption for crimes he may or may not have committed. But the hunt for an international terrorist leads him to London and right back into the world he left behind.

A Woman Looking for a Future…

Avery Charles followed her boss to London, eager to help the philanthropist with his many charities. When she meets a mysterious man who promises to show her London’s fetish scene, she can’t help but indulge in her darkest fantasies. Liam becomes her Dom, her protector, her lover. She opens her heart and her home to him, only to discover he’s a man on a mission and she’s just a means to an end.

When Avery’s boss leads them to the traitorous Mr. Black, Liam must put together the puzzle of his past or Avery might not have a future…

The thing that I love about this series -- and all of my favorite BDSM writers' books -- is the emotion that swamps every page. This is not erotica, not sex or "play" for sex's sake. This is pure erotic romance at its heart. Avery struggles with a past full of pain and sorrow and guilt. She has pushed herself to live when she'd rather die, and we see that struggle. We share her realization that she still holds herself back, and we take those first few steps of opening herself to Liam with her. Liam's past is full of secrets, and for a man who wants to be an untouchable island, the emotion he feels but doesn't want to acknowledge pulls us irrevocably toward him. He is truly the "strong, silent type" overcome by the love of the woman who is his match in every way -- in the bedroom and out.

I can't say enough about Lexi Blake's writing. If you want sexy, steamy, emotional, sometimes wrenching stories with plenty of twists and turns (oh, and handcuffs and rope :) ), you have to check out this series. I'm lucky enough that I get to hear Lexi speak this coming weekend at a nearby RWA workshop, and I can't wait to tell her in person exactly how much I enjoy her work. She's definitely on my keeper shelf!

Genre Talk - Urban Fantasy vs. Paranormal Romance

Genre Talk - Urban Fantasy vs. Paranormal Romance. I recently had an editor from a major urban fantasy house ask me about my book. I hated to tell her it wasn't urban fantasy (who wants to tell an editor their book isn't what she's looking for?), but I hate the love triangles and lack of HEAs in UF. I told her it was a gritty paranormal, since I didn't know how else to categorize it. :) Then I read this blog by Lisa Kessler over at Paranormal Unbound about this very issue. Think I just added a book to my TBR pile!!!