Thanks for having be back, Delilah! I love visiting your blog to talk about the inspiration for my latest story. This one is the second in my Eden series titled Unexpected Eden.

I write erotic romance inspired by the classics. I know, sounds strange, but it so works. Believe it or not, the Eden series started when I read an Emily Dickinson poem. Yup. Instead of the typical death, nature, or religious subject matter, the poem “Wild Nights. Wild Nights!” was very passionate and that caught my attention because she was known as a recluse and a spinster. What fascinated me was a reference to Eden in a nontraditional way and so I created the planet Eden. There are some basics for every reader to know about Eden.

On Eden only males are born.

No one wears clothes as that would be an insult.

It’s a minimum of two men to every woman.

And each Edenist is born with an ability related to his Kindred which is obvious by his birthmark.

Unexpected Eden was actually inspired by a Dickinson poem titled “Come slowly Eden.” This is another passionate poem that focuses on a bee and a flower but in a rather sexual context. So in my story, the flower is Serena, a pyrotechnic expert who works on sci-fi movies, and the bees are a couple of Edenists, Jahl and Khaos. Though the men would like to go slowly when it comes to convincing Serena to stay and be their beloved, they only have a week, so slow can’t be in their plan. However, Serena is a pretty confident woman with strong ties to her family, so staying on Eden for a vacation is fine but more than that is a problem.

Will there be more to the series? Oh yeah. Dickinson wrote over 2,000 poems, so I’m guessing there’s a good dozen that reveal this inner passion that is so at odds with what we know about the poet. I may just have to explore every one of those particular poems through Eden!

Always, Lexi

For a chance to win the first book in the series, Cruise into Eden, enter the rafflecopter below.

Unexpected Eden Blurb (Coming April 24 – up for pre-order):

Serena Upton wonders if she’s been transported into one of the science fiction movies she works on with her pyrotechnics skill. It certainly seems so when she’s rescued by three hot, naked men from another planet. She’s whisked away to Loraleaf, their home in the jungle of Eden, with the expectation that she will become their beloved. As they cater to her in every way, she begins to understand what it means to be their chosen one.

Jahl and Khaos risked everything, even the brother of their heart, to bring Serena home, but grief and self-doubt, etched in stone by their own families, seems insurmountable. Their only hope is that she can fill the void in their lives. They succeed in sweeping her up in their erotic passion, but they are unable to capture her heart.

Though Serena cares for Jahl and Khaos, she’s convinced she’s not the answer to their damaged souls. It’s better that she return to her family on Earth before she cares too much. That is, if she doesn’t already.

Pre-order Link

Unexpected Eden Excerpt:

Jahl stood there, his face and body hard but his heart a scarred mess. She wanted to comfort him, tell him he was worth so much more, but his pain was so old. What made her think she could make a difference. “I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say. It’s history. You are the future.”

“Me, why me?” She backed up another step, Jahl’s gaze too focused on her.

He moved covering the space between them in two strides. His hands grasped her shoulders, but not roughly. “Because you are our chosen one. We want you for our beloved.”

It was too much, too fast. “But why me? Why am I your chosen one. Why not another woman, why not Toni for example?”

He titled his head in confusion. “You are not Toni. You are Serena, caring, curious, helpful, interested in other planetary life. We have watched you and waited until we could make Loraleaf safe for you and others who would follow you.”

“Others?” She started to feel like she was in a sci-fi horror movie. Would cloning be next? Is that why all these men had such amazing physiques and got along so well? Suddenly, she wished Sandale was here to help her calm down.

Jahl’s face softened as if he sensed her rising panic. “Yes, other women. Many filoz have been waiting to woo their woman to Eden. Some have already begun. They waited for us to bring you, so that you could help others understand, transition to our life here at Loraleaf.”

Her heart went out to him. But understanding what he wanted for his people and being sympathetic toward his cause did not convince her to give up her own life. She stared into his dark blue eyes. They begged her to stay though the word “please” had yet to cross his lips. She didn’t want to hear that word from him…ever.

She lifted her hand to his face. Unlike Khaos, he didn’t hesitate, he grasped it in his own and kissed her palm.

“I think I need to learn more about Eden and Loraleaf.”

He nodded. “You will.”

“You have had six years to learn about me, but I just met you a couple nights ago. I need get to know you as well.”

His gaze left hers and in the silence, she thought he would refuse to share himself. But he finally focused on her again. “If that is important to you, I will tell you what you wish to know.”

Her heartbeat sped at his concession.

“But make sure it is necessary because some parts of my life are not pretty.”

She swallowed. “I understand.”

“Good. Now I must go and attend to other concerns. Do not leave the house until I return.” He leaned down and gave her a kiss. It started as a quick good-bye kiss, but after he’d brushed her lips, his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close. “Serena.” He breathed her name against her lips before his tongue invaded her mouth and the kiss turned erotic.

Heat flared in her belly and she welcomed his taste. His hand tilted her head to better his access to her mouth, and she held onto his shoulders as her world tipped.

He pulled away, looking bemused by his own actions. Without a word, he turned on his heel and strode out of the room.

She sank to the floor, her knees too weak to support her, her mind too jumbled to think and her heart torn in a million directions. What the hell was she doing?

About Lexi:

Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of erotic romance. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she’s read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi’s first love is romance novels. In an effort to marry her two first loves, she started writing erotic romance inspired by the classics and found she loved it. Lexi believes there is no end to the romantic inspiration she can find in great literature. Her books are known as “erotic romance with a whole lot of story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her cat in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you will never see her without a hat.

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