Aussie Extravaganza
27 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Friday Fun Tags: Australia, life in general
It was Australia Day yesterday, the 26th of January. To celebrate the Divas are hosting an Australian extravaganza in the Samhain Cafe from 7-9pm US time tonight the 27th. Hope you can join us for some fun and maybe a few freebies too 
.
DID
YOU KNOW?
An Australian invented the notepad. For 500 years, paper had been supplied only in loose sheets. Then a stationer from Tasmania named J.A. Birchall decided that it would be a good idea to cut the sheets in half, back them with cardboard and glue them together at the top. And where would we writers be without notepads?
Australians eat 260 million meat PIES a year, around 13 per citizen. That sounds about right
Australia was the second country to grant women the right to vote. The first was New Zealand in 1893.
It has been reported that the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per head of population than any other community in the history of mankind.
Australia’s first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved convicts available.
The Australian Lyre Bird is the world’s best imitator; able to mimic the calls of 15 different species of birds in their locality and 
string the calls into a melody. Also been known to mimic the sound mobile phones.
In 1832, 300 female Convicts at the Cascade Female Factory mooned the Governor of Tasmania during a chapel service. It was said that in a “rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor’s party could not control their laughter.”
Rebels, the lot of us.
Hope to see you in the cafe later tonight!
Sami
How An Erotic Sci-fi Author Found Herself Writing Contemporary Romance
23 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
On the 31st of this month, my sixth contemporary romance is released by Samhain Publishing. I’m pretty excited about this, but getting here has been an interesting journey. Little bit of backstory before I tell you about Dare Me, if that’s okay?
I started my professional writing life with erotic sci-fi. I grew up watchingDr Who, Star Trek and Star Wars (and my first crush was on Han Solo) so naturally when I decided to write an erotic romance what better sub-genre to explore than sci-fi. Actually, it was’t even as planned as that. I opened a new Word doc and began writing with no real idea of what was going to come out of my brain. Pretty much all my books are written this way, which can be surprisingly fun or frustratingly annoying. My first ever erotic tale was definitely sci-fi. Shifting Lust is still my best seller at Changeling Press and I have to say, the hero–a brooding, menacing bounty hunter called Raiven a’Tor still has a very special place in my heart.
After that came more sci-fi with elements of paranormal. Then came paranormal all by itself (Savage Retribution,Captive Heat, Death, The Vamp and His Brother to name a few). Then I went back to visit sci-fi again, this time with fantasy elements (the infamous The Sun Sword is that book, my most hated book to date *grin*.) followed by some more sci-fi, this time with a foursome unlike any other (Spaceport: R&R) and a space dragon who is also a shapeshifter (Spaceport: Captured Rapture). Never in amongst all that did I dream I would ever write a contemporary erotic rom-com. But I did.
Mid 2009, Mari Carr asked me to be a part of Ellora’s Cave Tempt the Cougar series, a strictly non-paranormal, non-sci-fi series. I was as nervous as all hell, but love Mari sooo damn much I couldn’t say no.Copping A Feel was released August 2010 and, according to my EC editor (the most fabulous Kelli Collins) it was the best thing I’d ever subbed to her. “Freaking hilarious” I think was the words she used.
Of course, me being me, I didn’t believe her and before I knew it, I was submerged again in the paranormal worlds where wild horny sex happens between non-humans and the fate of the world hangs in the balance (Savage Transformation and Endless Lust). But then, somewhere in amongst all that paranormalness, my Samhain Editor, (the most wonderful Heidi Moore) threw down a challenge. Write her a menage contemporary erotic romance. And do it in 10 days.
So, I did. I opened a new Word doc, put my fingers on the keys and waited. And a few minutes later I wrote this line…
Joseph Hudson tossed his snowboard aside, threw his goggles over his shoulder and swung a fist at his best mate.
Nine days later, I subbed Triple Dare, a 25,000 word m/f/m erotic rom-com to Heidi. Here’s the blurb.
Joseph Hudson is serious, determined and phenomenally successful. He isn’t Australia’s Businessman of the year for nothing. So how does he find himself lost on the side of a mountain in the Colorado Rockies in the middle of winter with night fast approaching? Three simple words….I dare you.
Fear isn’t in Rob Thorton’s vocabulary, life is for the taking and Rob uses both hands. Daring his best mate into an impromptu snowboarding trip to the US is just the latest in a lifetime of dares. Besides, Rob has an ulterior motive for the trip. And a plan…
Anna McCarthy has seen plenty of trouble in her job as Park Ranger and nothing spells more trouble than the two Australians on her mountain. Even with all her skills Anna can’t stop her body responding to their smooth Aussie accents or the sexy muscles beneath their ski suits.
Finding themselves in a remote cabin, Anna knows keeping a close eye on them isn’t enough. With a storm raging outside, the temperature in the cabin continues to rise until all bets are off.
After all, who can say no to a dare? Especially a triple dare….
Turns out, Triple Dare was quite good. Good enough for Samhain to include it in their Red Hot Winter Anthologyreleased last January. The fact it was still totally blows me away. Me? Writing contemporaries? Surely Copping a Feel had been a fluke? Heidi however said it was the best thing I’d ever written (and she’d contracted four of my books at this stage–none of them contemporary) and demanded I write a sequel. So I did. And on the 31st of this month, Dare Me, that very sequel is being released as apart of Samhain Publishing’s Red Hot Weekend anthology (along with books by Jess Dee and Delilah Devlin). Yay!
Defying death is the ultimate dare. Defying love? Well, that’s just stupid.
A Red Hot Weekend story.
Back-to-back medical degrees took Emily Knox right where she planned to be: treating patients in an alternative cancer clinic. But nothing prepared her for a cocky, cheeky Aussie who strode into her life and dared her to cure him. She told herself it was his challenge she couldn’t resist—not his daredevil charm.
Eight months later, Rob’s out of danger…and Emily’s in trouble. She’s in deep, too deep. Worse, Rob has left the clinic against doctor’s orders. There’s nothing for it but to follow him across eleven thousand miles of land and sea to give him what for—as his doctor, of course.
Rob never expected to survive the brain tumor. Nor did he expect to fall head over heels for his very proper, very English oncologist. The problem? Her Hippocratic Oath hangs between them, keeping her just out of reach. Now, with “cured” on his medical chart and his duty as best man for his best mate calling, he takes off for home to start getting his old life back.
Trouble is, while the good doctor cured his cancer, she seems to have inflicted him with something else—desire he just can’t shake.
Product Warnings
Rob Thorton is addictive. Also, there’s scorching passion, undeniable lust, soul-shattering desire, heartbreaking angst, explosive sex and of course, Australian sarcasm. Did you really expect anything else?
Now, what is the point of all this rambling, Lexxie, I hear you say. The point is this. Just cause you think you’re a dyed-in-the-wool one thing, doesn’t mean you are. If you never challenge yourself, you’ll never know what you can do. I never everthought I’d one day be writing erotic rom-coms, but I’ve written four and have another four bubbling about in my brain. I’ve also written three emotionally-intense contemporaries and (*gasp*) one non-erotic romance. Can you believe it? And there’s still more to come.
Eight non-paranormal, non-sci-fi, non-the-world-is-threatened-and-everything-is-dire erotic contemporary romances that just won’t stay in the deep recessess of my mind. A mind I was to believe could only write weird, twisted and down-right disturbing. I love writing sci-fi. I love writing paranormals. I love writing romantic horrors, but I also love love love writing contempories. Love it.
So, don’t let the fear of not-knowing or the certainty of only knowing the safe stop you. If you want to do something you haven’t tried before–do it. Cause you never know where you’ll end up.
Truth or Dare by Rhian Cahill Release Day!
17 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in New Releases
It might be the 17th here in Oz but I still have to wait for the US to catch up to really celebrate the release of Truth or Dare. *sigh* As most of you would know, I wrote this series with Lexxie and I have to admit that it has been one of the best experiences of my life! She’s always been a great friend but writing Party Games together has made that friendship closer. Enough about how great my fellow Diva is, let’s get to the good stuff.
Daring to tell the truth will change the rules of this game forever.
Party Games, Book 2
When her friend deserts her at an exclusive Sydney house party, Miki Drummond retreats to a corner to observe the insanity. Watching life go by is something she does well, especially after the hell her marriage put her through.
She never dreamed she’d reconnect with not one but two blasts from her high school past. And she never expected their heated gazes to bring her body so easily back to life.
Grant Rogers and Dayne Pierce never forgot Miki. Ever. Past experience tells them to tread slowly and carefully, but that plan flies out the window when they’re all dragged into a game of Truth or Dare. Something’s up, because Miki repeatedly chooses to take a shot rather than reveal her obvious pain. Time after time.
Waking up hungover in a strange bedroom, Miki is caught in an electrically charged moment with two men who offer her unimaginable pleasure, who seem determined to keep her suspended in sweet torment—permanently.
One night of pure fantasy is all Miki dares to take, but come morning the hard truth is that walking away isn’t an option.
Product Warnings: The author cannot be held responsible for any truth you may tell or dare you make take after reading this story. And if you find yourself sandwiched between two hunky men…take the dare.
EXCERPT:
Copyright © 2012 Rhian Cahill
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication
Dayne wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and tell her it would all be okay. But he couldn’t make that promise when he had no idea if things would be fine. If there was any hope of that happening he had to come clean. Needed to tell her the truth of what he wanted—what they wanted. And when he did she just might dare to take a chance.
Dayne stood, dislodging Miki’s hand as he did. He took a step away and drew in a deep breath. This was it, do or die. Truth and dare.
“Miki, I’m on a short fuse where you’re concerned. I’ve always wanted you. I’ve never hidden that fact, but now the want is more potent, more adult, and if you touch me again I’m afraid I’ll snap and not be able to hold anything back.” Her eyes widened as he spoke and her hands shook as she twisted them together in her lap, but she didn’t run. “It’s time for our own game of Truth or Dare, Miki.”
She darted her gaze between him and Grant. He was relieved to see his friend just as tense. Dayne was rushing things, he knew that, but he couldn’t stop himself. Couldn’t deny the primal urge to claim her as his—theirs—even though moving this fast could cost them everything.
“A game?”
“Yes. We’re going to tell you the truth and then I’m going to dare you to do something with it.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“Just listen to him, Mikaila.”
She turned to Grant, but before she could speak he cut her off.
“Please.”
Dayne had never heard that tone in his friend’s voice before. The word was a desperate plea for her to give them what they asked for and he could only hope she did.
“Okay.”
Her answer was no more than a shaky whisper, but in the quite night it sounded like a gunshot going off. Dayne’s shoulders sagged with relief, but he knew this was only the first battle in what was rapidly turning into a fight for his life. Because he suddenly knew without a doubt that Miki was the woman for him and he couldn’t see any future without her and Grant in it.
“I, we, want you. In every way possible and more.”
He watched her chest rise as she sucked in a breath. Her gaze drifted away from his and he wanted to reach down and lift her face up until her eyes met his again, but he wouldn’t.
“You need to understand this isn’t about just one of us, Miki. We both want the same thing. You. Together.” Grant shifted in his chair so he could look at her.
Dayne crouched down beside her and took her hand. The move was guaranteed to set his nerves on edge but he couldn’t resist that small contact. “We need you to understand this isn’t only about sex either. Sure we want that and plenty of it, but we want more. How that’s going to work I don’t know, but I can’t imagine being with you without Grant being with you too.”
“So you two would…” she gestured with her free hand, “…you know.”
He shook his head.
“Oh.”
“It’s just you. Without you this need to share doesn’t exist.”
Grant’s words explained it perfectly, because without Miki the urge to share didn’t exist. Dayne stood, pulling her up with him. He let go of her hand and took a step back.
“The truth is we want you for more than one night, but if one night is all you’re willing to give us then we’ll take it.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“I dare you to take a chance, Mikaila. One night of guaranteed pleasure with no strings attached. If you want to walk away when it’s over we won’t stop you.” Dayne knew they were rushing things, knew they were pushing, but he couldn’t slow down now. Miki made him do and say things no one else did. Made him lose control.
“We won’t like it, but we’ll respect that it’s your choice to make just as doing anything is.” Grant stepped over to stand beside him. “What happens now is up to you.”
Rhian Cahill
I’m Seeing Double — Standards that is
13 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in LIfe in general Tags: life in general, reading
Warning: Opinionated ranting ahead
I was reading a book earlier this week and I came across something that hit my ick button. The hero, whilst in the midst of making love to the heroine, was thinking back to his first sexual experience which was when he was 14yrs old. Then he goes on to state the sex was with one of his mother’s friends who had initiated the encounter.
W. T. F?
Imagine the genders were reversed in this scenario. You have a heroine thinking back on her first sexual encounter and she
blithely remembers that it took place when she was 14, with one of her father’s male friends who seduced her. We’d be pretty disturbed, right? That’s rape after all, even if she consented. It’s a violation. So why in romance novels do we so often see heroes whose first sexual encounters were at some abnormally young age—and with a much older woman? Why is it okay for an older woman to seduce a teenage boy if when the genders are reversed we’re horrified? The answer at least from my perspective is that it’s not okay. Where’s the equality? I know there’s a perception that teenage boys are all dying to do it with an experienced woman (and yeah I laughed pretty loud when Finch finally landed Stiffler’s Mom), but at 14? Nope. Too young. Too gross. At least Finch was in his last year of high school and presumably 18 or near to it. A woman in her thirties seducing a 14 yr old is just wrong.
I don’t think it makes a hero seem more virile or skilful if I learn he was seduced by a much older woman when he was a teen. I think it makes him seem like a victim whose opinion of women in general might well have been warped by his experience. Just as you’d expect a heroine who had been molested as a teenager to have serious issues to work through. What do you think? Am I being too sensitive? Are there any similar double standards in romance novels that steam you up?
Sami
Have you met Beverley Oakley?
09 Jan 2012 10 Comments
in Aussie Author, Diva Couch, Guest blogger, Magnificent Monday
There are times in one’s life when you meet people who make a difference to your world. Bev is one of those people. She’s made a difference in my world. Bev has been there since the beginning of my writing career. She’s held my hand, cheered me through every book, mercilessly told me when my writing was rubbish, cried with me when my work’s been rejected, and handed me the cyber bubbly when it’s been accepted.
And I can only hope I have been the same for her. Bev and I are members of the same critique group, and we have been through a lot together. In fact, when it comes to writing, we’ve been through everything together. So you can imagine I am thrilled to have her here today, to talk about her brand new e-release, Rake’s Honor.
Bev is an extra special writer. You see, with her, you get two for the price of one. She writes historical romance under two names: Beverley Eikli and Beverley Oakley.
But let me not take up any more of your time. Let’s let Bev tell you all about herself and her stories. It just so happens, she has an erotic, historical romance releasing today at Total-E-Bound. Oh, and wait til you read about the most embarrassing moment of her life, which I happen to think is an all time classic. (Snort)
Jess
————————-
Hi Jess,
Thanks so much for having me here today.
Q. Tell us about Beverley Oakley
A. Well, I guess you could say Beverley Oakley’s my alter ego. I’d even go so far as to say that Fanny Brightwell, the irrepressible heroine of my debut erotic Regency Rake’s Honour, is the character responsible for my developing an alter ego in the first place.
Fanny spent eight years languishing in a drawer after she earned me first place in a Romance Writers of Australia Single Title competition. Unfortunately, when I wrote her full story it turned out this Regency “bad girl” was far too out of control to be confined to the pages of the traditional Regency Romances I wrote for Robert Hale under the name Beverley Eikli. That was when I turned to Total-E-Bound to give Fanny her day in the sun. I’ve since had two other novels and novellas accepted by TEB.
Q. Have you always written e-books?
A. No, but I’m having huge fun with the scope to make my characters as sinful and unconventional as I want in a way that would not have been possible with Hale for whom I continue to write Historical Romantic Intrigues.
Q. You seem to favour historical romance. Is there a reason for this?
A. My tag line is “Women Trapped by Convention in a Man’s World” which epitomises the sorts of set-ups that intrigue me: women struggling to find love and fulfilment in a world dominated by men.
Legally and financially, until relatively recently in the annals of history, women were terribly at the mercy of men. Therefore, when something important was at stake a woman might either have to play the wilting violet or be engaged in a struggle that might jeopardise her most precious asset: her reputation. A woman whose reputation was tarnished could be made to suffer in many dreadful ways – subtle and not so subtle. Her life could become so unbearable it was no longer worth living.
These sorts of situations make for great drama and conflict which I love to balance against the veneer of respectability required in the social context of the times. It’s that juxtaposition of the subtle surface propriety and the roiling undercurrents that I love to write about.
Q. You have a release coming up real soon. Tell us about it.
A. Thank you, I’d love to. Rake’s Honour is my first erotic Regency Historical and its heroine, Fanny Brightwell, has always been close to my heart. She reminds me of Thackeray’s Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair. No doubt many readers of the day abhorred this Regency “bad girl”.
Similarly, many of the editors to whom I sent the completed manuscript thought that desperate, designing Fanny Brightwell was too unsympathetic. So Fanny languished in a drawer, neglected but not forgotten.
Finally, I decided it was time to return to Fanny and make sure readers understood her perspective. After all, if your ambitious mama is all but forcing you to marry a loathsome old man covered in ulcerous sores to save the family from financial ruin, you’re going to take some big risks to snare a more desirable husband.
Unfortunately, Fanny’s plan backfires when Viscount Fenton, the man who turns her insides to jelly, wants her to be his mistress not his wife. This is when Fanny decides it’s time to take the reins and teach her viscount a lesson.
All in all, Rake’s Honour is a viperish little story of love, revenge and one-upmanship with a sting in its tail.
Here’s an excerpt:
She jerked up her head at his entrance and hope clawed a jagged journey from the soles of her feet to pound in her chest. Framed in the opening of the silken tent, the smile that hovered about Lord Fenton’s wide sensuous mouth echoed the salvation in his eyes.
Everything for which she could have hoped was reflected in their depths. Admiration, curiosity—and, above all, desire. Yet while it was his desire upon which she’d pinned her hopes, it was the kindness of his words that gave her the reassurance she needed.
“I’ve brought needle and thread,” he said, offering her the tools to restore her respectability, “which I snatched from the sewing room when I witnessed the unfortunate results of your fall.”
She managed to muffle the hysteria that tinged her laugh as she rose and took up the threaded needle.
“I’m not sure I’m in a position to play the seamstress.” With a wry look at her jutting bosom, which obscured the seam she must sew, her hand trembled as she handed the needle back to him. “Perhaps you, Lord Fenton, have hidden talents.” Her smile was as unsteady as her shaking hand. What was happening to the cool façade she’d cultivated to such a fine art? Her nipples ached and she was conscious of the sudden heat and moisture between her legs. She swallowed, barely able to force the words out through dry lips. “I cannot see to sew, but you will be my hero if you can stitch a straight seam.”
Lord Fenton took the needle, resting his other hand upon her shoulder. Whether that was to steady her or himself, Fanny wasn’t sure, but that was immaterial as her whole body seemed to come alive at his touch. A dull, needy ache started in the pit of her belly as his eyes, full of sympathetic understanding, bored into hers. The usual, calculating gleam of the rake was replaced with something deeper and more sincere that nearly took her breath away.
But it was his lack of skill with a needle that, in fact, did so.
At her exclamation of pain they jerked apart.
“My apologies!” he cried, reflexively clasping her wounded breast.
Each froze at the contact. With a soft gasp Fanny swayed and he caught her to him. Oh, Lord! His touch seared her soul, branded her his, melting her insides into a pool of heated longing. It was apparent he wanted something between them to happen as much as she did. She could feel his enormous erection pressed against her stomach. Lord Slyther had at least imparted some useful information on the mechanics of intimate relations between men and women. The thought burst into her head that, as God was her witness, she had no intention of allowing Lord Slyther to rend her asunder with his Magnificent Member when the man before her was just as willing to do so – and, oh, so damnably irresistible.
Suspended in an agony of waiting, she watched Lord Fenton’s sudden awareness combust into something far more primal, tensed for his response, then wilted as he gathered her in his arms with a low groan. She had wit only to be thankful for the fact that the needle was no longer between them before she responded—completely, and with every particle of body and soul.
Q. Have you published any other books?
Robert Hale has published three of my Beverley Eikli Regency Historicals in hardcover and Large print. Just a few days ago they e-published my favourite, Lady Farquhar’s Butterfly about a woman’s struggle to reclaim her son after her late husband falsely accuses her of adultery.
Okay, now let’s have some fun…
Q. Let’s assume for a moment that your husband was the open minded kind, and he’d let you have a night to remember with just one other man (or woman). Who would it be?
A. Hmmm, my husband is my ultimate hero, in bed and out, so, I wouldn’t want to – unless it was to go back in time in another persona and entertain the amoral rake, Vicomte de Valmont as played by John Malkovich in the 1988 film Dangerous Liaisons. I’d love to wield the same power over him as the virtuous Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer) and hoist him on his own petard. This was a brilliant story of manipulation, sex and revenge.
Q. Okay, let’s assume your hubby is really open minded, and he offered you a night with any two people of your choice. Who would they be? (And remember, this is an erotic romance writers’ blog. We’re not talking about a pleasant night spent chatting over dinner…)
A. Mulitplying my husband by two would be pretty exciting!
Q. So, you’ve just heard a most unpleasant report on the radio. There’s a cyclone coming and you have ten minutes to get out of your house, get in your car and drive as fast as you can. You just have time to take five items with you. What are they, and why have you chosen them?
1. My MacBook Air as it has so many half finished stories I intend to get back to and I’m not as conscientious with doing back-ups as I should be.
2. My “Important Documents” folder which has everything from all the family’s passports, birth certificates and graduation certificates to the odd baby tooth.
3. The folder of my kids’ special drawings.
4. The vase my mother gave me before she died.
5.The briefcase that contains the dozens of letters my handsome Norwegian husband and I wrote to each other after we’d met round a campfire in the Okavango Delta the night before I flew home to Adelaide. He was a bush pilot in the safari industry. We wrote endless 18-page letters -as there was no internet and he had no phone- for the next eight months until he pitched up in Adelaide to ask me to marry him. Naturally, I said yes and returned to Botswana to live with him in his thatched cottage in a mopane forest by the Thamalakane River. Those letters are very romantic and we read them every time we move to a new house or country.
(Note from Jess: I’ve been to Botswana, nearby to where Bev and her husband stayed, and believe me, if they could live there, and survive in a thatched cottage, together, they must be the most in love couple ever to exist!!!)
Q. Ooh, remember that time you’ve tried so hard to forget? That excruciatingly embarrassing moment, when you wished the floor would open up and swallow you. When you blushed fifteen different shades of scarlet. Go on then. Don’t be shy. Tell us all about it. (Insert Jess’s evil grin here.)
A. I’ll never forget it! I used to do the map trimming in the basement for the airborne geophysical survey company I worked for in Canada, then take coffee to the executives on the upper level. You can imagine my horror at the end of the day when my boss called me into his office and, very embarrassed, told me I had “something hanging out of my pants”.
Burning up and not knowing what I’d see, I looked down. It turned out I’d put on yesterday’s jeans and my pink knickers had worked their way down my leg and had been flapping around my ankle for I don’t know how long.
(Jess says: Oh, my God. I’m sorry. I think I just blushed 15 shades of scarlet for you.)
Q. Don’t think, just answer…
Ice cream or chocolate? Chocolate
George Clooney or Brad Pitt? George Clooney
Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston? Angelina Jolie
Steak or salmon? Steak
Heels or sandals? Heels
Harry Potter or Twilight? Harry Potter
Dogs or cats? Dogs
Snakes or Spiders? Spiders
Q. You are offered your final meal. You can have anything you want. What would it be?
Beef Wellington followed by a really sinful chocolate mousse.
Q. How can we found out more about your and your work?
A. by clicking on these links:
Thanks so much for this, Jess. That was great fun!
—————————
A Sneak Peek for the Weekend
07 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in Surprising Saturday, writing Tags: Samhain Publishing, sneak peek
I’ve now begun the process of working with my editor to tweak my next scheduled release. Erica’s Choice now has a release date of August 21. At the moment that seems like ages away but I know the time will be upon me before I know it. I’m thrilled this book is going to be published and thought I’d share a teeny-tiny sneak peek of the first chapter. NB: This has only been partially edited at this stage, the final version may vary slightly.
Chapter One
The beveled glass doors of the Sovereign Hotel swung back with a whoosh as Erica Shannon shoved them open. Stalking through the breach, she was assailed by noise and light, the typically boisterous ambiance of Friday night revelry at an inner-city Brisbane pub.
She halted in the foyer, taking a moment to catch her breath. Glancing around, she realized no one seemed to have noticed her theatrical entrance. The crowd of mostly men stood in groups talking and laughing, drinking beer from brown-tinted bottles and arguing jovially over a game of rugby being played out on a massive plasma screen in the corner. Nobody turned to look at her.
Perhaps her arrival hadn’t been dramatic at all. It simply felt that way because she’d never come to a pub by herself, and her agenda was pounding in her ears like the rush from some illicit drug, amplifying every sound, every smell and every sight.
Or at least that was how Erica imagined the rush from an illegal substance would affect her. She—sensible English teacher, loyal niece, staunch obeyer of road rules—had never done anything taboo in her life, chemical or otherwise.
That was about to change. Tonight.
Heart pounding impetuously in her chest, she weaved her way through the crowd, heading for the area at the back of the establishment that housed the pool tables, dart boards and juke box. This was the section of the Sovereign where her quarry tended to hang out, as though the tables were permanently reserved for the firefighters of Ashton Heights.
Through the throng, Erica easily spotted the familiar outline of Corey Wachawski’s wide shoulders and the dark swatch of silky hair on his head. His back was to her, but she knew his eyes were as warm and blue as the summer sky. She’d snagged his gaze once or twice in the past few months—or rather, Corey had caught her staring. If he’d detected the longing in her scrutiny, it had never prompted him to approach her.
Tonight, Erica was not in the mood to be dismissed. She would make a move on him, no matter the potential for embarrassment.
The very thought made her heart rate triple. Her palms grew slippery against the tweed fabric of her skirt. Tweed. Erica would have laughed if her lungs were capable of expelling air. She was the kind of woman who wore tweed and modest button-up blouses, who stayed home most nights rereading her favorite Jane Austen novels instead of venturing out to experience life. Was she out of her mind even to daydream a man like Corey Wachawski—local hero, calendar model, Adonis—would want to take her up on a sexual proposition?
Steeling her resolve, Erica relentlessly pushed forward. After all, she had little left to lose now.
A large hand clapped Corey’s back. The sound of the other man’s laughter moved through Erica like a fast flowing tide, the sight of his lean, muscle-packed body in a navy blue T-shirt and faded jeans made something wicked and needy pass through her erogenous zones.
Dale Griffin.
There were photos of him all over the pub walls. Some in which he wore his firefighter’s uniform, in others he was listed as a member of a local football team. One was a framed clipping from the newspaper which detailed his heroics in saving a local man from a fire. And on the ladies’ room wall, his picture from an old Queensland Firefighter’s Charity Calendar was pinned, right beside Corey’s more recent one.
Erica was both exhilarated and terrified to see Griff—whenever she’d heard one of his colleagues call out to him above the usual cacophony of pub noises, they always called him Griff—here as well.
There was nothing to stop her living out her ultimate fantasy.
Nothing except it required her to sexually proposition not just one man, but two.
A whole new adventure
05 Jan 2012 11 Comments
in New Releases, Thursday Thought, writing
I’m about to take the first step on a whole new adventure in my life.
Yep, I’ve bitten the bullet. I’m heading into the world of self publishing.
I confess, I’ve never done anything like this before, and it scares the bejeepers out of me. How can a book possibly succeed without the framework of a publisher behind it? Then again, is a publisher necessary for the success of a book?
Tricky questions indeed, especially when it comes to the book I have chosen to self publish. Many of you will be familiar with it. You see, it’s not a new one. It was the third story I ever wrote: Visiting Paradise.
Visiting Paradise was contracted first by Triskelion Publishing – which closed its doors a few years back with a resounding clang – and then by Aspen Mountain Press, which so far hasn’t actually clanged any doors shut, it’s just kind of whimpered into a deathly silence. Did the structure of belonging to two different publishers do the novella any good? I don’t think so. And if it did, well, those previous publishers neglected to tell me about it.
And then there was the pricing issue. Aspen Mountain Press took a 15 000 word novella, and sold it for $4 a copy. Hello? $4! Honestly, I would NEVER pay that much for a short story, especially in the age of digital publishing.
So perhaps the solution of self publishing this book is a good one. At the bargain price of 99c, you’re not paying too much for a story. And I can rest assured it won’t be contracted to yet another undesirable, unstable publisher.
And on the upside, I get another exquisite cover, compliments of Valerie Tibbs:
Visiting Paradise will release in the next few days at Amazon. I promise to keep you posted with dates and links.
In the meantime, please wish me luck. Hopefully third time is the charm when it comes to publishing this sweet, sexy novella.
VISITING PARADISE: The Blurb
Beth Brown needs a holiday. She’s burnt out, single and madly in love with the man who pays her salary, Joe Bastion. Much as she’d like to act on her feelings, Beth’s learned the hard way not to sleep with the men she works for. As far as she is concerned, Joe is off limits.
Sometimes, to get what you want, you have to chase hard. And Joe wants Beth He’s organized the trip of a lifetime for her. Beth’s about to set sail into paradise, and she has no idea Joe’s the one who’ll be taking her there.
Product warning: This book is filled with sunny blue skies, gorgeous tropical islands and a whole lot of scorching hot loving.
————-
Jess
A Naughty Aussie Christmas Winner!
30 Dec 2011 3 Comments
Well we’re a little late in making the announcement, but we have finally recovered from the Christmas craziness to draw the winner of our Naughty Aussie Christmas Contest.
A number between 1 and 20 was drawn out of a hat. Congratulations go to commenter number seven …
June M!
Well done June, I will email you privately as well.
Thanks to everyone for entering. Have a great weekend and a happy new year!
Sami
Stuffed full of…..
27 Dec 2011 18 Comments
in Contest
FOOD! Jeez, people get your minds out of the gutter.
So after the last two days of food, food and more food, I’ll never move again I’m sure. But while I’m being a sloth on the Diva Couch I’m going to load up my ereader using the GC’s I was fortunate to receive from Santa this year. But before I do I want some suggestions. What’s the one book you read this year that you would recommend? I’ve got 24hrs before I go away so I need all the help I can get to be prepared for lazy days under the hot summer sun.
And because it’s Christmas and I’m feeling generous I’ll pick one lucky commenter to win an advanced copy of my Jan 17 release, Truth Or Dare on Thursday morning Oz time.
Well come on, what should I read while on holidays?
Rhian
Lexxie Couper
Jess Dee
RC
Sami Lee
