Begging for It has been accumulating some very good reviews lately, plus inclusion in the “5 Heart Sweetheart of the Week” list at The Romance Studio—which could use your vote to win!

Here’s the link: Vote for Sweetheart

If you haven’t read the book, take a look at the following raves to see whether this might be a book you’d be interested in…

“…I absolutely loved this book and mostly because of TJ. TJ’s character was very complex and very realistic… With these two dynamic characters, the emotional pull of this story was outstanding… As TJ dealt with her nightmares, the horror came across and the reality of war slammed out. Emotions ran the gamut and reached out to draw you in.” ~5 Stars and Top Pick, Night Owl Reviews

“…Delilah Devlin is at her finest with BEGGING FOR IT! BEGGING FOR IT is a steamy stirring novella that shreds the confines of societal norms to give us a beautifully real story… It is heartbreaking but real. Yes, this is a very hot erotic novella but the story really spoke to me… BEGGING FOR IT is outrageous and perfectly delicious!” ~Joyfully Reviewed

“…This story is an emotional rollercoaster that will make you laugh, cry, and overheat… Devlin weaves an enthralling tale around these two main characters, and that’s before taking into account the scorching and erotic sex scenes that’ll have you squirming in your seat. It’s a novella that’s impossible to put down, a definite gem worth reading again and again.” ~5 Hearts, The Romance Reviews

Still not sure? Read an excerpt!

Yes, contest winners and pictures from the trip are still coming…

First, thanks to everyone who posted a “Happy Birthday” wish yesterday, both here and on my FB wall! I was overwhelmed. Really. Humor aside, I really appreciated the thoughts.

Next. Sorry, y’all. I’m still trying to dig through all the work that piled up while I was gone. Give me another day and I’ll be back with pics and a bright shiny attitude. I’m a bit grumpy this morning because I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon until 2 AM trying to get the After Midnight Authors newsletter out the door, but the stupid program (it can’t be me!) kept hosing at the last moment when I was getting ready to send a test message. If there hadn’t been people sleeping in the house I would have screamed and kicked something really, really hard!

Anyway, I’ll just post a saying. Something I hope will inspire me to keep a positive attitude today. Perhaps it will help you too.

Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except
what you’re going to do now and do it.
~William Durant

I’m back from my road trip, but pretty buried now.

It’s my birthday, and my family seems to have settled on a THOR theme. My parents gave me a Thor statuette for my bookshelves. My daughter gave me a special framed, limited edition snippet of film from the movie that’s accompanied by a Marvel comic picture. I’m thrilled with both! And lord, I’m afraid to start answering all the B-day messages waiting for me on Facebook—but thank you, EVERYONE, who left a note!

Yes, the two contests have ended. But I have a good 3000 emails to get through to see whether I missed any entries. So give me a day or two to catch up.

I still have to unpack and get my laundry done, but that has to wait. When I checked my telephone messages this morning, I discovered I missed a summons for jury duty, so I’m trying to get that sorted out so I don’t get arrested! AND I am working with friends of mine today to get a website up for a special contest that will benefit the fund for L.A. Banks’s medical bills.

Give me a day or two to catch up and I’ll announce winners and post pics of my trip. In the meantime, I can’t wait to catch up with you all! Thanks to my guests and to everyone who sent me their good wishes!

Just a quick note. I’m heading this morning for home. Last leg of the trip. Yesterday, we spent the night at one of the most haunted places in America—and I do have a couple of stories to tell—but that will wait until I’m home.

In the meantime, answer a question.

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever had a spooky, unexplainable experience?

Remember, the Promo Ho and Cabbage Rose Fairy contests continue!

Reader Gold – Series/Serials

I’ve been reading a lot lately and I love series/serials so I have been rereading my favs. I’ve written on my own blog about my love of series and serials. What they are and how I feel about them. Almost monthly there are so many books coming that are part of a series/serial.

First here are my definitions of them both:

Series ~ Taige Crenshaw Definition:
Novels that has a related story theme but each one is complete in and of itself.

Serial ~ Taige Crenshaw Definition:
Novels that feature/follows the same main character/s yet are still a fresh story each time.

No matter which way you slice it I find whether it is a serial or series I enjoy writing stories like this. It gives me room to stretch my mind, push my characters to give me more and wallow in there adventure even more. Although I enjoy these stories I don’t usually start writing with the intention of it being a series/serial sometimes it just happens to evolve that way.

I write what I love to read and I’m one of those readers that wondered what is next for such and such main character. Or what happened to this sub – character that I liked in this or that novel. I go hunting to find more and when I find it I feel like I’ve struck READER’S GOLD. I jump up and down and shout in glee. LOL.
I’ve been known to search for years to get that book to complete a series/serial I was reading. Hey I’m a dedicated reader and I want the complete set of my series/serial.

That is what I want my novels to be to my current and future readers ~ Reader’s Gold. No I don’t want you the reader to wait a long time for my books but I want you to be so drawn into the worlds that I create you can’t wait to see what happens next.

This is what Reader’s Gold is all about. As my thoughts of Reader’s Gold evolved I thought of all the author’s who have some wonderful series/serials that I feel are Reader’s Gold. They line my bookshelf’s (online and print) and I go looking for them when they are released.

I’m sure most of you have a little Reader’s Gold on your bookshelf so come on and share. Give me some new Reader’s Gold to find.

Taige Crenshaw is a multi-published author with books available at Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id, Total-E-Bound and Summerhouse Publishing. Taige has been enthralled with the written word from time she picked up her first book. It wasn’t long before she started to make up her own tales of romance. With novels set in today, in alternate dimensions, or in the future she writes with adventure, fun sassy heroine’s, and sexy hero’s.

Always hard at work creating new and exciting places Taige can be found curled up with a hot novel with exciting characters when she is not creating her own. Join her in the fun, frolic, interesting people and far reaches of the world in her novels. You can find out more about Taige at her website: https://www.taigecrenshaw.com or blog: https://www.taigecrenshaw.com/blog.

Silken Inferno – When the past comes calling it brings unexpected revelations that must be faced. Buy Here at Summerhouse Publishing.

One and Done? I can’t do it.

I keep telling myself that I’m done. When I started Small Town Siren, I knew it was going to be one book and then I was going to move on. I had a single story to tell, right? That what stories do. They end. In a romance, all stories end happily. Until those damn characters keep whispering to me.

I never meant to write more than one story set in Willow Fork, Texas. This week my fourth Texas Sirens book, Siren Beloved was released. Where did I go wrong? Well, I listened to those damn characters who kept telling me the story of this little family wasn’t finished. First, Sam Fleetwood had a few things to work out. Julian Lodge was only mentioned in the first book, but by the time I was done with Siren in the City, Julian simply had to settle down. And by the time I was finished with Siren Enslaved, I knew that Lucas and Lexi would need a story. Even as I was writing the second book of this series, I told myself that I would take a little break from Willow Fork and write a one off about a weird little Colorado town. Yeah – that worked out for me. Book four of that series comes out in August.

Why do I go back to the same well? I fall in love. I fall in love with the worlds I create and the people in my mind. Some of my readers might have noticed that I even cross over series characters. In Two to Love (a Bliss, CO book), Callie has a wild night in an unnamed Dallas BDSM club and Stef meets two of his old friends. Of course it’s The Club and Stef is having a drink with Jack and Sam. In Siren Beloved, I make it plain that my charming Dom Leo was raised close to a town called Bliss, and his mother is the girlfriend of Bliss’s notorious alien hunter. I can’t even leave my actual stand alone novellas out it. At the end of Siren Beloved, Dani is opening a spa in Willow Fork complete with a new manager who knows a thing or two about running a BDSM resort. Yep. If anyone’s read it, Gaby and Cal from Away From Me are back in Texas with two kids in tow.

I guess I do it because it’s my world. I see it so clearly in my brain. It’s vivid and alive to me. It’s a place I want to live in and people I want to know. I can’t leave them behind because each one is a piece of me.

But Texas Sirens is done. I’ve finished off that little family.

Except for Leo. And the Dawson twins. And maybe Bo…Damn it.

Sophie Oak writes erotic romance for Siren Publishing. You can read all the first chapters of her books at www.sophieoak.com.

Aural Sex

In my stories, sex is a vital component and sometimes tricky to pull off effectively. So many things go into writing a sex scene, and using all five senses is crucial. Touch, taste, sight, and smell are all important, but sometimes dialogue is overlooked. The physicality of the encounter might seem paramount, but without the emotion and intimacy of dialogue, it all becomes mechanical and the scene falls flat.

Good dialogue during lovemaking can make a sexy scene even hotter. If the characters are making love for the first time, their dialogue can reveal a turning point in their relationship, a time of new understanding or greater intimacy.

Whatever they say has to be consistent with their personalities. How would they express themselves in bed? Are they shy about talking dirty? How graphic would they be with each other? Would they use explicit language or sensual words?

How the words are spoken can be just as important as what is said. If a character is bilingual, he or she will often revert to their native tongue during sex. Using a few foreign phrases can bring a lot of emotion into a scene. In my short story, Love Bytes, Rhys, a Welshman, whispers to Ben in his mother tongue when they make love. Ben has no idea what Rhys is saying, but it sounds romantic and makes him feel sexy.

Sometimes less is more. Words aren’t always needed. A gasp, a moan, or a growl can be enough to show what the characters are feeling. And using inner dialogue can reveal feelings and emotions that a character can’t vocalize. In the end, it’s all about the characters, and making sure the reader will connect and care about them.

Thanks for reading and a big thanks to Delilah for having me today.

Gale

Erotic Romance Author, Gale Stanley writes for SirenBookstrand and Silver Publishing. She lives in the City of Brotherly Love, with hubby and two talkative Tonkinese cats, Buffy and Spike. Her kids are grown and the grandkids are waiting for a book they can read. Her latest book One Night in Bangkok was released June 4 from Silver Publishing.

The temperature in Bangkok is a humid ninety degrees but things are about to get a lot hotter. David Elliot is in Thailand on business but when he meets Kai, the younger man turns his world upside down. It was never meant to be anything more than a pleasant diversion but can he walk away when it’s over?

https://silverpublishing.info/index/book_authors_id/48/typefilter/book_authors
https://galestanley.net/
https://www.facebook.com/gale.stanley.author

Remember, the Promo Ho and Cabbage Rose Fairy contests continue!

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