I love what I write, and I love all of you!

Wow! Hard times for smutty, delicious romance. Last week on Twitter I was venting about a post deriding the genre of erotic romance (I won’t link to it) and this week an author is upset because her wildly successful erotic novel is such “trash.” (I won’t link to her either. I try to avoid the interweb dramz.)

This is nothing new. Smut has always been in the closet, sex has always been icky and base, and romance has always been the genre of silly, uneducated ladies, amirite? So put sex and romance together and you have something really, realllly stupid and horrible. I mean, obviously.

GAH! I’m so tired of the snobs!!!

You guys, I just want to take a moment to assure you that I LOVE the genre of erotic romance. I love writing it, I love reading it, and I think it’s FUCKING AWESOME! I love writing stories about people falling in love while also enjoying avid, complex, and copious explicit sex. I love that you buy my stories and enjoy them. I love that you write to me telling me that my books have re-energized your sex life.

I love making you come. I DO!

Sorry for all the exclamation points. I don’t usually rant on the internet but I wanted all my readers to know that I’ve got your back. I don’t judge you for wanting to read erotic romance, and I’m not going to apologize for wanting to write it. I’m ecstatic that I get to spend my days writing dirty romance books and I’m thrilled that so many people want to read those kind of books. This is a reason to CELEBRATE, not wring our hands and shake our heads about readers’ tastes these days.

I have two pieces of big and exciting career news to share before the end of summer, I hope. I want to yell it out now, because I love you all and I want you to be excited with me, but I’m too superstitious to do so. HA! So I will announce when I can. I also have two books coming up, Waking Kiss in June and Fever Dream in August (Maybe. Don’t hold me to that, lol).

I hope you’ll love them. They’re beautiful and erotic and romantic, and I tried really hard to write a worthy story as well as hot sex.

I’ve also got three fun conferences I’m attending: Authors After Dark in August, and Eroticon and the Indie Romance Convention in October. I’m not doing all this because I want to sell cheap trash to all you losers. I’m doing it because I LOVE MY JOB, I LOVE MY GENRE, and I LOVE ALL OF YOU. I can’t wait to touch and hug and talk to my readers, because you all get me. You get what makes erotic romance a wonderful genre. And hey, everyone knows the biggest seller of the last few years by a MILLION JILLION DEGREES was Fifty Shades of Grey which was…wait for it…erotic and romantic.

So I know I’m not the only one who loves erotic romance. I’m pretty damn sure of it. And I’m pretty damn sure I love all of you for supporting what I write.

Now let’s all do a big group hug, ignore the haters, and go read some romantic, sexy smut!!

Beautiful Photo Sunday

I know, I know, my ballet kick has been ridiculous lately. I’m about to dive into final edits for Waking Kiss (expected release is still mid-June) but today instead of Snippet Sunday I wanted to share this amazing photo from Paul Tirado Photography that showed up in my Instagram feed this week.

Just…sigh. One of the characters in Waking Kiss and Fever Dream is a Brazilian dancer named Rubio and this man evokes him so much for me. (The model is Alexander Fost.) I always hesitate to put a face to characters but in this case it’s more the quality and composition of the photo that I love. Maybe you will stop by Mr. Tirado’s site to see some of his other work. It’s very beautiful.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by my blog.

Snippet Sunday: WAKING KISS

Hi everyone. Sorry I’ve been sketchy with sharing the snippets lately. I’ve been SO embroiled in writing this current duet of books, Waking Kiss and Fever Dream. I call it the “City Ballet” series since it’s set in the world of ballet, and yes, for once, I’m writing a series so they’ll come out one after the other. Both books are very sexy and emotional and I hope everyone loves them.

Today I’m sharing a snippet from Waking Kiss. I’m going to reveal more about the book as the release next month gets closer, but there is definitely a lot of teaching and “sex mentoring” that goes on. I find that incredibly hot. If you do too, you’ll love this book.

     “Okay.” My fingers slipped from hers to circle her wrist. “That first ‘B’ in BDSM stands for bondage. Being tied up or restrained is a common kinky fantasy. Do you think you’d like that?”

     “I don’t know. I thought the dominant decided everything in BDSM. I didn’t think you’d give me so many choices.”

     “Does that appeal to you? Not having choices?”

     She shook her head. “No. Yes. I don’t know.”

     “Let’s try it out and see.” It only took me a second to grab both her hands and trap them over her head. “Can you get away?”

     She pulled with her arms first. She was strong but she was no match for me. When she couldn’t escape my hands she used her body to try to wrench away. Before she started using her legs I cinched them under one of mine. She really started fighting then and while I let her squirm around a little, she couldn’t get very far. The more she struggled, the harder I got. “Okay, enough,” I said when I reached critical mass. “Be still now.”

     She was breathing fast and so was I. I leaned down and kissed her, and she smiled against my lips. “You’re strong,” she said when we parted.

     “So are you.” My eyes were used to the darkness now. My leg was still slung over hers and my erection was about two inches from her hip. I desperately wanted to jab it between her legs but she was jittery as hell and I doubted she’d welcome it yet. This seduction was turning out to be a marathon, not a sprint. I sighed and scooted back from her. “That’s physical bondage. Pretty exciting, right? Especially when you’re having other things done to you at the same time. There’s also mental bondage, which can get even more complex.”

     She rubbed her wrists where I’d held them. “Is that like, messing with people’s minds?”

     “In a way. It’s like saying, I’m going to touch you wherever I want and you’re not allowed to move a muscle. Or working your partner into a frenzy but not allowing her to come until you say she can. The only thing that’s holding them back is their own willpower. Their desire to submit. To obey.”

     She was silent a moment. “That’s really intense.”

     “Some people play really intensely. Dominant, submissives, masters, slaves, even ponies and toys and fucksluts. You name it. Other people just top and bottom for physical pleasure or adrenaline and call it a day.”

     “Like Rubio?”

     “Yes. He’s too impulsive and selfish to get into the lifestyle-role stuff. But he’s a responsible top. He finds like-minded people and makes sure they enjoy themselves.” I shrugged. “Different strokes.”

     “You’re not like that.” It wasn’t a question.

     I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “Yes, I’m different. I prefer to engage with my partners on a deeper level.”

So, you’ll have to wait for the release to see how deep he really goes.

If you’d like to read a blurb and add the book to your TBR list on Goodreads, just click the cover below and it will take you to the site. At the moment I’m estimating a mid-June release. I’ll let everyone know if that changes!

Snippet Sunday: CIRQUE DE MINUIT

If you follow me here or on social media you know that I love artistic circus almost as much as I love ballet. Aerial acts are my favorite, so when I set out to write a book in the world of cirque I wanted to write about aerial artists, and I happened to choose aerial silks. But there are tons of other awesome aerial acts out there, with hoops or variations of trapeze. Some of my favorite pics:

Then there is this photo that reminds me so much of the scene in Cirque de Minuit when Theo takes Kelsey out to the woods to practice for the first time with silks in the trees:

If you haven’t read the book, here’s a little snippet from the scene:

     He explained about climbs, wraps, and drops, about flying and balancing, about friction and contortion, about elegance and the pose. They were up and down off the silks. He demonstrated some tricks by himself way up high, fearlessly, and did other things near the ground with his hands on her, pushing and pulling at her body to show how it was done. His fingers traced her muscles, arranging her arms, pressing on her shoulder. He smelled like sweat and cologne, and fresh air. Kelsey started to resent the silk fabric between them, wishing to touch, unimpeded, the startling hardness of his body. The unexpected softness of his skin.

     You want?

     Oh, God, yes. I want.

     “You paying attention?”

     His sharp voice brought her fantasies into focus. She met his gaze, caught fixating on the pulse at the base of his neck. “Yes,” she lied. “I’m paying attention.” I want. I want.

     His gaze dissected her. He would have to be blind to not perceive how badly she craved him. His rough kiss, his body bearing down on hers. He stared at her, and she could see the animal wildness he usually kept in check, written right in the taut planes of his face. He guided her down off the silks, hurrying her with impatient hands. She leaned away from him as they stood, a self-protective movement.

     He drew her back, his fingers spread against her waist, then pushing at her waistband. He plunged one hand down the front of her leggings. She put a hand on his wrist but he didn’t stop, and she didn’t really want him to.

     “You said we can’t do this, no? Because we work together?” He mocked her, his fingers slipping through the evidence of her attraction, her need.

     “I didn’t say we c–can’t,” she stammered. “I said we shouldn’t.” She drew in a soft breath as he found her clit. He manipulated it expertly, lightly, giving her bursts of pleasure that teased but didn’t satisfy. She panted under his desultory gaze. The silks billowed free behind him. She watched them in a kind of trance as his fingers left her. He stripped off her shirt and bra, peeled down her fitted pants. He wasn’t gentle, or rough…just intent.

     Theo lifted one of her hands. “Take it. Hold the silk above your head.” She didn’t understand at first what he wanted. Impatiently, he wrapped her hand, locking one wrist in the white length. He took the other silk and this time Kelsey bound herself, gritting her teeth against chattering even though she was warm. Hot. She was burning up for him.

     “Hold on to the silk,” he ordered. Then, in one liquid motion, he went to his knees and lifted her legs over his shoulders.

     Oh Jesus fucking God!

Aaaand it goes on from there.

If you haven’t read Cirque de Minuit yet, it’s a really hot and often raunchy book–but you may want to wait until the end of this year or early next year when I have the next book in the series ready to release. OR you can just go read it now! Click the cover below to find a blurb and buy links. 

Just sharing a photo today…

I came across this photo in a Google search and I fell in love with it. (Would offer attribution but I don’t know the original source. Please let me know if you do.)

It reminds me very much of the two ballet-themed BDSM romances I’m working on right now… Waking Kiss and Fever Dream. I did set up a Waking Kiss page here where you can see the cover and read the blurb (click).

Hope you’ll check it out!

Snippet Sunday: LILY MINE

I have to start this with a huge THANK YOU to all my readers. Disciplining the Duchess has been out for over a month and to my complete surprise it stayed in the top 100-Erotica on Amazon for over a month (!) and was also a AllRomanceEbooks bestseller. Without your reviews, retweets, and recommendations, this never could have happened. As you probably know, I’m not out there tearing up the social media, organizing street armies or paying for the services of a public relations agent. I’m mostly just acting like a dumbass on Twitter. (If you follow me on there you know it’s true!) I’ve always counted on readers being kind enough to recommend my books when they enjoy them, and I think I have the best readers in the whole world.

Since Disciplining the Duchess was so well received, I thought I’d feature my other Regency-era historical book this week for Snippet Sunday. Lily Mine was a pleasure for me to write, partly because a wonderful friend inspired it, and partly because the story came to me so easily. Lord Ashbourne, Lily Mine‘s hero, was a tad less prickly than the stern Duke of Courtland, but no less alpha when push came to shove.

One of the most delicious things about Lily and Lord Ashbourne’s story is the horrible awkwardness when they first launch their scheme for Lily to play the part of his missing wife–even the servants are kept in the dark.

     Lily stifled a yawn and Mrs. Gertrude came to help her to bed. There was an awkward moment when the old woman stubbornly led her to Lord Ashbourne’s chamber despite Lily’s quiet protestations. She brought water for washing and laid out Lily’s nightclothes, although Lily would not have dreamed of undressing in his room.

     Instead she stood by the window for nearly half an hour, too afraid to leave and be beset upon by Mrs. Gertrude. She used the time to look around his chamber. There was a large bed with luxurious covers of blue and gold velvet, a good amount of ornate furniture, trunks and armoires she assumed were full of his clothing and things. When at last she decided she simply must creep away to another bedroom, the door swung open. Again Lily was caught in a place she did not belong.

     ”Mrs. Gertrude led me here,” she explained quickly, going to his bed to gather up the filmy, lacy nightclothes before he saw them.

     ”Yes. Lilliana slept here. While she was here with me, anyway, which was admittedly not very long.” He frowned. “It is a problem. There is no bed in Lilliana’s room. I was determined she and I would not have one of those marriages where we slept in separate rooms and I crept off to prostitutes every night.” He stopped. “Pardon me. What an uncouth subject to discuss.”

     ”I think that was most admirable of you,” Lily said. “It’s what I would have preferred if I had been a married lady. I think it is better for husbands and wives to be close. To be in love even. Not that I know anything about it,” she added, embarrassed. How droll of her to opine about the best way to be married when she was bound for certain spinsterhood.

     But he smiled at her, and it was not a mocking smile. “Are you a romantic, Lily?” His gaze was so warm and fond, it made something inside her react. She clasped her hands together to still their trembling. It was only natural that he should affect her, wasn’t it? They had spent the entire day together becoming familiar, becoming friends of a sort. He hadn’t gone out of his way to make her feel like a commoner either, not for one moment. She smiled back at him.

     ”I am a hopeless romantic.”

     By the soft light of the fire he regarded her, the flames illuminating the muted flecks of gold in his dark hair. “It is a shame I’ve spent the entire day telling you about Lilliana, and learned nothing of Lily in return.”

     He teased her now. Perhaps he even flirted, wonder of wonders. Because it wasn’t true. He had learned many things about her–that she couldn’t read and write, that she loved Lilyvale’s gardens, that she was not adept at chess. That she was not very convincing yet at playing the highborn lady. She had even confided in him about her family affairs. Well, about everything but that. She couldn’t tell him about that. But she was no longer afraid of the same coarse treatment at his hands. He’d treated her with nothing but kindness and respect. Even now, in his bedroom, she felt safe, but she knew it was terribly inappropriate for her to be here, pretend wife or not.

    She moved toward the door. “I should not disturb you further if you wish to retire, my lord.”

     ”You are not disturbing me. Well, aside from your habit of addressing me as ‘my lord.’ But I suppose we are still somewhat strangers in an intimate way.”

     A very intimate way…

If you liked Disciplining the Duchess, you might enjoy Lily Mine too. I hope you’ll check it out by clicking the book cover link below.

Snippet Sunday: DEEP IN THE WOODS

Ah, it’s spring. The rain is falling, the trees are flowering, and Annabel’s allergies are going insane.

Haha. Well, I’ll survive, I’m sure. I’m hard at work on Waking Kiss and the follow up novel, Fever Dream, but since spring is reminding me of woods and nature, I thought I’d post a snippet of Deep in the Woods for you on this Snippet Sunday.

Deep in the Woods deals with the eternal BDSM question, how far is too far? The heroine, Sophie, has been involved in a lengthy “consensual nonconsent” relationship that not only endangered her, but others in the Atlanta kink community. As a result, her and her partner were ostracized from the very support system that might have saved her from a lot of pain and suffering.

When she tries to return to the kink scene, Dave, the hero, learns that many in the community don’t have the kindest feelings toward her.

 “She’s just an attention-whore,” Madame M said. “Before Depraved, there was that other one, you remember?”

     “But he wasn’t as bad,” said Veronica.

     “Well, he was bad enough. Anyway,” M continued, “eventually Sophie and Depraved were not welcome at the munches and parties anymore. They were blacklisted from Studio Erotica. Lawrence and Marie had to do it, otherwise the police would have found a way to shut them down.”

     They all fell silent. Dave looked from one face to the other. “Then what? What happened?”

     “Well,” said M. “They disappeared. We didn’t know. None of us knew what was going on until it was too late. Sophie’s parents came sniffing around, saying their daughter hadn’t contacted them in weeks. Again, the cops were all over us. No one knew who this ‘Depraved’ character was, where he lived, where he worked. No one had seen them, but the cops were at every venue, at every event looking for Sophie. Sophie’s father is some high-placed local businessman or something—”

     “That wasn’t the point, that the cops were everywhere,” said Clark. “So you had to answer a few questions! What about her?” He turned to Dave. “They found Sophie when she turned up in the emergency room. She had been abused. Drugged.” He went silent, searching for words. “Broken. She was a mess. She might have died.” He scowled at M. “No one would have asked to be treated like that. So calling her a bitch—”

     “She was a bitch! She made trouble for a lot of people—”

     “I cried,” said Veronica. “I felt so guilty.”

     “Exactly.” Madame M frowned. “We all felt guilty, but it was none of our faults. And when she failed again and again to report him, she endangered every other submissive in Atlanta, because he didn’t go away. He hasn’t gone away. She never did bring any charges against him, although as far as I know, he’s gone to ground. He couldn’t come anywhere near any munch or club in Atlanta without getting beaten to a bloody pulp, that’s for sure.”

     Dave thought that sounded like a good time, beating to a bloody pulp a man who had put Sophie in the hospital. A man who had done it in the name of BDSM. A “sadist.” That’s probably what this “Depraved” imagined himself. A kinky sadist, just like Dave, only he hadn’t known when to stop. He remembered how Jerry, a “daddy dom”-type player, had scowled at him as he’d chatted Sophie up. Jerry had probably thought, oh, no, she can’t fall into the hands of another sadist. Not on my watch. But there were sadists, and then there were sociopaths.

     “So why do you think she came back?” Dave asked.

     “Lonely, maybe?” offered Veronica.

     “God, I can’t imagine why she would show her face here,” said M with a snort. “You saw the reception she got. Just needs more attention, I suppose.”

     Well, she had gotten Dave’s attention. She definitely had his attention now.

If you haven’t read Deep in the Woods and the follow up book, Fortune, now is the time to do it since Fortune is marked down to $2.99 on Amazon! (I checked and it’s not marked down at Barnes and Noble, unfortunately.)

Click the book cover below to read a blurb of Deep in the Woods and find buy links. And I hope you’re having a wonderful spring!