I’ve been publishing romance and erotica for more than fifteen years, but I’ve never had anything like a “best seller”. I shouldn’t complain—I have loyal readers and receive lots of five star reviews—but commercial success has eluded me.
I’m not alone. The majority of my author peers are in the same boat. We slave away at our computers, pouring our passions onto the page. We devote scarce cash and scarcer time to the uncomfortable task of blowing our own horns. We blog, tweet, facebook (is that a verb?), run tours and giveaways, make guest appearances (like this one), all in the hope that readers will notice us and buy our books.
Sometimes it feels like a pretty thankless effort. I’m willing to bet that most of my colleagues have fantasized about being the next FSOG. TV appearances. Movie deals. Parties with the elite. And of course cash, lots of cash, enough to pay the bills with plenty left over for luxuries. I’m certainly guilty of this sort of day dreaming. It’s a heady vision.
Rationality returns after a few minutes. I’d never want to give up my day job. If I were famous, I’d probably be forced to. Plus, given the heat level in my work, I’m not sure I want the whole world to know who I really am. Best selling authors have to be seen, and there’s some comfort in being invisible.
Still, fame and fortune sparkle, seemingly just out of reach, whenever I release a new book. And I can’t help wonder what it would be like if those fantasies came true.
Those imaginings were the genesis of my new BDSM erotic romance, DamnedIfYouDo. My heroine writes fabulously kinky romance novels, but for the most part labors in obscurity. Then one afternoon, a mysterious stranger offers her the success of which she dreams.
He keeps his part of the bargain. As her sales soar and her star rises, though, she discovers the down side of getting what you thought was your heart’s desire.
Here’s the blurb and an exclusive excerpt for you to enjoy.
Sometimesromancecanbehell
Wendy Dennison is tired of being a starving author. The royalties from her critically acclaimed romance novels barely pay her bills. Her devoted agent Daniel Rochester may be smart and sexy, but he can’t get her the sales she needs. Then a charismatic stranger appears at her coffee shop table, promising her fame and commercial success, as well as the chance to live out her dreams of erotic submission. But at what cost?
Nothing you can’t afford to lose, my dear.
Seduced by the enigmatic Mister B, she signs his infernal contract. He becomes both her Master and her coach, managing her suddenly flourishing career as well as encouraging her lusts. Under her mentor’s nefarious influence, she surrenders to temptation and has sex with Daniel. The casual encounter turns serious when she discovers her mild mannered agent has a dominant side. As the clock ticks down to her blockbuster release and Mister B prepares to claim her soul, Wendy must choose either celebrity and wealth, or obscurity and true love.
ExclusiveExcerpt(RatedR)
“Gwen, my dear! What are you doing out here?”
Mister B didn’t come from inside. She would have heard the party noise as he opened the door. He simply appeared beside her, as he had that first day in the coffee shop.
He wore a tuxedo with a purple brocade cummerbund, and shiny black shoes with pointed toes. His tourmaline eyes gleamed in the semi-darkness. When he strode closer to settle an arm around her shoulders, his movements had a taut, ferocious energy, like the tread of a panther. Despite her tiredness, arousal flickered through her, curling into a glowing knot in her pelvis.
“Too many people in there,” she replied, extricating herself from his companionable embrace. “And I’ve drunk too much as well. I wish I were at home, away from all this.”
“I’m afraid I can’t grant you that wish, not tonight. We have business to attend to—as I’m quite certain you recall.” His chuckle sent a chill down her spine. “You wanted fame, my dear. This sort of public performance is part of the price. However, I should think you’d find some consolation in your bank balance.”
He stepped behind her, slipped his arms around her waist, and pulled her buttocks toward his lean hips. He was hard. He was always hard. Wendy cursed her traitorous body as excitement flooded her pussy. She was like Pavlov’s dog, salivating in response to a meaningless stimulus.
He rubbed his erection against her satin-sheathed buttocks. She struggled not to squirm. Honestly, she didn’t want to encourage him. But then, what she wanted hardly mattered.
“So tonight…you’re going to take my soul?” she murmured as he sucked and nipped at the tender skin of her neck, just above his diamond-studded gift.
“Don’t think about that part, my sweet. Focus on the pleasure.” One of his hands crept up to cradle her breast. The other raised her skirt. He hooked the elastic of her lacy panties and dragged them down to bare her rear cheeks.
“No, don’t…” She struggled in his clutches as he exposed her. “Please, not here!” A finger slid down her rear crevice and tickled her sphincter. “No—wait…!”
“I’m going to consummate our agreement in the most appropriate manner, my dear. With my cock splitting your tight ass.”
“No!” Somehow she found the strength to wrench herself from his grip. She backed away, into the corner where the rail made a right angle. “Get away from me!”
Mister B put his hands on his hips and shook his head, his expression one of wounded disbelief. “I’m surprised at you. After all we’ve been through together, you reject me? Do you really want to give it all up? The adoring fans? The five star reviews? The fat advances and the hefty royalties?”
“Um…no, no, that’s not what I’m saying…” Panic swept through her. To lose everything she’d worked for? Unthinkable.
~~~
Get your own copy of DamnedIfYouDo at your favorite bookseller:
LISABET SARAI occasionally tackles other genres, but BDSM will always be her first love. Every one of her nine novels includes some element of power exchange, while her D/s short stories range from mildly kinky to intensely perverse.
You’ll find information and excerpts from all Lisabet’s books on her website, along with more than fifty free stories and lots more. At her blog Beyond Romance , she shares her philosophy and her news and hosts lots of other great authors. She’s also on Goodreads and finally, on Twitter.
So, I was listening to one of my favorite bands the other day on my iPod while I was doing some online research (er, I was surfing photo sites for bookcover hotties–tough job, I know). Anways… Train’s song “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” was playing, which always makes me smile because the video is so damn funny (David Hasselhoff makes an appearance, so yeah, guilty pleasure, I’m always there). I had to watch the video.
Then YouTube showed a list of Train songs, and I had to click on a nice feel-good tune called “Play That Song”. It struck me while I listened that my fingers knew that tune. Eons ago, I played piano, and that tune was one of the first I ever played. So, I Googled. Listen first to Train’s song. You’re here already so I know you don’t have anything better to do… 🙂
Sure enough, the song that sounds like Train’s “Play That Song” is Hoagy Carmichael’s “Heart and Soul” (I think it’s from the 40’s—and no, I’m not that old, but my piano teacher was!). Listen for a minute and you’ll see. And no, Train didn’t lift it. They scooped that tune and gave it new life. Now, another Train song is on my “Happy Songs” list…
I know I’ve asked this question before, but for a chance to win a small Amazon gift card, have you heard any tunes lately that made you happy?
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Last 5 people who had something to say: ButtonsMom2003 - Jen B. - Donel Gerrard - Mary Preston - Eileen -
Our Rules is out next Tuesday……Seeing that gives me a thrill like I can’t even tell you and it’s not just because it’s the first book in a new kink series!!
It’s because this series has been in the works for more than two years!
Because this series idea was born from a VERY DIRTY conversation I had with a customer of mine at my day job. (Psst which Book 4 will be based on!)
And because it makes me think of the rules I adhere to within my kink relationship.
Some of my rules just might show up in Our Rules…..*insert angelic smile here*
When the foundation of their marriage falters, Michael and Tabitha must rediscover what it means for her to be his hot wife.
Tabitha is a hot wife. Not just a sexy wife. A hot wife. A wife allowed to be with other men with the permission of her husband.
Michael couldn’t love his wife more. Which is exactly why he shares her with others. Because she’s his.
On the cusp of everything they’re worked for—years in the making—a shattered promise threatens the foundation of their marriage. A foundation Michael had thought unbreakable until he lets Tabitha down in more ways than one.
Taking her submission for granted could lose him everything he’s strived for, and winning back her trust is the only thing that matters.
The Giveaway
In honor of the above kinkilicious debauchery I’m going to have a HUGE giveaway! Three print books by some of my favorite peeps and lots and lots of other swag and kinky goodies!
**GIVEAWAY – US ONLY** – Just look at all the awesomeness you could win!! Tell me one kinky rule you’d LOVE to live by! And this can be anything you’d have to do or something someone else would have to do to/for you! (Give a blow job everyday….be naked when your man/woman got home every day…anything!)
I’ll pick a winner on Monday the 24th!! Good Luck!! PS –It’s always great to leave your email address in your comment so I can contact you! Hate not being able to give winners their goodies!!
Decadently Yours,
Jennifer Kacey
About the Author
Jennifer Kacey is a writer, mother, and business owner living with her miniman in Texas. She sings in the shower, plays piano in her dreams, and has to have a different color of nail polish every week. The best advice she’s ever been given? Find the real you and never settle for anything less.
I used this image for a recent cover. Solve the puzzle, then send me an email naming the title of the book, and you’ll be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! And no cheating! Have fun!
Send your answer to me privately at delilah@delilahdevlin.com!
So, have you read any of my Night Fall series? The 11th story in the series is set to release on April 25th! Woot! I promise if you start with that story, you won’t be lost, but wouldn’t you rather immerse yourself in the darkness? All the stories, except for Silent Knight and My Sweet Succubus are novellas. Those two are novelettes—slightly longer than short stories. So, you really do have time to blow through the books before Bad to the Bone arrives…
And it should go without my saying that ALL the stories are sexy as hell. Because I’m a tease, I’m letting you look inside the beginning of Bad to the Bone. Read all of chapter one below. See if you can resist ordering so you can have the rest of the story… 😉
For a chance to win your choice of one of my previously released
Night Fall series stories, answer me this!
Do you love paranormal romance? If so, what flavor of heroes
do you prefer—vampires, werewolves, other shifters, witches, fairies?
(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)
Bad to the Bone
One night of pleasure…
His name is Viper–a dark mysterious enigma who rules the seedy, dangerous vampiric underworld. For one night, he will escape his murky prison and tempt an innocent.
…can last a lifetime…
Beautiful Mariah haunts him. Lures him from his den with a glimpse of his past. One she doesn’t remember. This night, he’ll be her dream lover. He’ll seduce her, make her fall in love with him–then leave her. Again.
One night of pleasure is all they must know.
But Viper leaves her a clue. One he hopes deep down will lead her back to him although he dreads the consequences, because he’s not the same man he was. He’s not a man at all…
Pre-order your copy here!
Excerpt from Bad to the Bone…
One week ago…
Slim hips swished beneath a short, flirty skirt, drawing his gaze like iron filings to a magnet. The splash of large pink flowers on white stood out like a beacon in the darkness. Beneath the hem stretched a pair of nude legs, toned, and nicely curved at the ankles. Perfectly made to lightly clasp a man’s waist as he slid into moist heat…
He suppressed a low, rumbling growl from the beast rising inside. Something he rarely bothered to do in the squalid dens he roamed most nights. The creature lurking deep within was a sexual animal, a lustful, ravenous host who found partners only too willing to let him feast. But this woman was different. Her soul was pure. Her mind unawakened to the darkness.
He followed her as she left her apartment, sticking to the shadows, ducking into stairwells when she looked behind her as though checking whether someone followed. A frown marred her smooth brow, and her lips tightened. The clip of her heels on the pavement quickened.
Shoulder-length, flyaway brown hair bobbed across the tops of slender shoulders. The creamy skin of her exposed arms and legs swung in a rhythm that his heart picked up and matched, beat for stride.
Feeling more than ever like the true predator he was, he tamped down the shame that burned like battery acid in his stomach and continued stalking the woman who walked more briskly now along the darkened sidewalk.
When she turned onto a crowded walkway, her shoulders sank and her footsteps slowed as she relaxed.
Now, as she mingled with others strolling along the promenade, she believed herself safe. Little did she know, but her “spontaneous” decision to leave her apartment had been at his suggestion—a message telegraphed with tantalizing snippets of the smell of fresh salt air, the caress of a soft breeze, and a glimpse of sensual pleasure.
She hadn’t heeded her own natural inhibition. Hadn’t paused to check the clock and note the waning evening hours. Instead, she’d made her decision, wriggled into a sexy little skirt and snug pink tee, slid her feet into strapless sandals and bounded down the stairs, ready to kick off winter’s gloom in an unseasonably warm spring night.
He’d made sure she didn’t glance even once at the calendar resting on the bureau in her foyer. Nothing would trigger a fleeting memory. And while he’d provided himself the opportunity to see her, he’d decided days ago he wouldn’t use his persuasive gifts to bring her straight into his arms.
In romance novels, as readers, we quickly decide if we like the hero. More times than not, at first we may not find much to like. After all, the author needs to give him some serious issues to overcome before he can win the heroine and achieve a happily ever after.
Every woman in the world, at one time or another, may have fantasized about making a bad boy good. I know I have. But in reality, few of us want a certified bad boy. One who is self-centered and incapable of love. No, we want one who falls so hard, he’ll do anything to win the heroine’s (our) heart.
I say “our” because, I don’t know about you, but I actually become the female lead in every book I read (or write). I put myself right there in those uncomfortable situations. Those smoldering hot, tension gripping, heart stopping, tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth scenes where everything is humming and strumming like a honky-tonk country band on a Saturday night.
The deal is, maybe the heroine doesn’t know her hero is actually beginning to change because he doesn’t show her….yet. But as the reader, we get to know that before she does.
For example, in my latest book, Chirp, the hero, Rance shows up at the house his grandmother left him and finds a strange girl living there. He’s determined to make her leave but he’s met his match. He’s rude, messy, and gets rid of the four cats living in the house, (which belonged to his grandmother, not the girl). Yeah, and I’m sure when that happened, cat lover readers everywhere wanted to scratch his eyes out.
As time passes, he starts to change. Then, he gets her a puppy but doesn’t take credit for it. Just lets her think it’s a stray and agrees to let her keep it. Holy crap! When that happened, I wanted to rip his clothes off, throw him to the floor, and have my way with him.
For me, nothing makes a man hotter than showing an act of kindness expecting nothing in return.
So what makes you think a hero is hot? Is it a chiseled body? Gorgeous eyes? Money? Tight jeans?
Let me know in a comment. I’ll choose one answer in a random drawing* and send the winner a “Come Fly With me to Bluebird, Texas” tee-shirt. Just like the one Rance gave Blaze.
*Sorry, due to out of country postage rates, the contest is for US residents only. 🙁
However, if I have an out of country winner, I’ll send an audio of my best-selling book, Tell Me a Secret. 🙂
Be sure and go here to enter my Rafflecopter giveaway to celebrate the release of Chirp, April 4. Giveaway runs until April 15. Below is the code for your site.
Heiress to the largest steel company in America, twenty-year-old, socially awkward Blaze Bledsoe hides out at Dessie Bishop’s farm. For the last three years, Blaze has eluded one investigator after another, but just when she thinks she’s safe, a PI closes in. Her luck is about to run out in more ways than one.
A man running from his past….
Rance Keller, a tough, hard-living ex-con, fresh out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit, arrives to claim the house his grandmother left him. Finding a strange girl living there, his plans for a solitary life take a turn. Her lack of modesty, no filter, and word of the day fetish baffles him, but those big green eyes and sweet mouth have him losing sleep.
Welcome to Bluebird, Texas
Where two damaged people with secrets, discover trust can lead to passion.
Award winning and Amazon Best-Selling author, Ann Everett embraces her small town upbringing and thinks Texans are some of the funniest people on earth. When speaking at conferences and to writing groups, businesses, book clubs, and non-profit organizations, she incorporates her special brand of wit, making her programs on marketing, self-publishing, and the benefits of laughter, informative and fun.
Her short stories have appeared in The Green Silk Journal, Snag Today, and Story Teller Magazine.
A top reviewer on thenextbigwriter.com, she lives on a small lake in Northeast Texas where she writes, bakes, and fights her addiction to Diet Dr. Peppers.
She’s been featured on:
Proud of East Texas with Joan Hallmark, KLTV-TV, Tyler, Texas
East Texas Live and Mid-day, KETK-TV, Tyler, Texas
KTSS-TV, Hope, Arkansas
The Authors Show with Don McCauley, Internet radio show
The Chandler & Brownsboro Statesman, Chandler, Texas
The Daily Tribune, Mt. Pleasant, Texas
Tyler Morning Telegraph, Tyler, Texas
InMagazine, East Texas
Ten things you won’t know about Ann by reading her bio:
She’s been married to her high school sweetheart.
She loves shopping at thrift stores.
She doesn’t remember her first kiss.
She hates talking on the telephone.
A really sharp pencil makes her happy.
She secretly wants to get a tattoo.
A charter member of National Honor Society in high school remains one of her proudest moments.
She’s thankful wrinkles aren’t painful.
She sucks at math.
Ann’s Books:
Tizzy/Ridge romantic suspense trilogy
Laid Out and Candle Lit You’re Busting My Nuptials Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go
Contemporary romance companion books
Tell Me a Secret Two Wrongs Make a Right Say You’ll Never Love Me
Non-fiction
Strong Verbs Strong Voice: A quick reference to improve your writing and impress readers (Amazon best seller) Body Language: A quick reference for character action and description Sweet Thangs: Southern Sweets from Two Sassy Sisters
Kralj, the hero of Dark Thoughts, my latest release, EATS his enemies. Dark Thoughts IS a romance. That’s all I write. But it is a dark different romance with a dark different hero, an antihero.
What is an antihero?
Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antihero ) defines an antihero as “a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, or morality. These characters are usually considered ‘conspicuously contrary to an archetypal hero’.”
Romance antiheroes are almost always courageous. They usually have a code of honor also. It simply isn’t the code of honor that the average human in today’s world has.
Kralj is a futuristic hero and he’s not entirely human. That makes his antihero characteristics, to me, more understandable. Kralj is half Beta Taurian Shadow Beast, which is why it is natural for him to eat his prey. Beasts do that.
I find the antihero fascinating to read and to write because the antihero is such an individual. He has his own unique way of looking at the world, his own rules, his own motivations and rationale for being who he is. His backstory is often complex and shocking.
He is delightfully different and, as someone who reads, on average, a romance novel a day, I like that. It is a refreshing change from the noble Dukes, the justice-serving policemen, the hat-tilting cowboys, all of which I vastly enjoy reading about but sometimes appreciate taking a break from.
As a romance writer, I also love the challenge of finding the perfect love interest for the antihero. Anyone could love a nice guy. What type of being would love a flawed male, a male who devours his enemies? That being is tougher to find.
I paired many females with Kralj, my hero, off page. They didn’t work out. The females were too weak for him or they were too grim or they didn’t understand and would never understand why he was the way he was. Kralj isn’t going to change. He isn’t going to magically become a nice, cuddly male. His personality might soften but it wouldn’t shift that dramatically. I needed to find a female who would love him for who he is.
That female is Dita, a pint-sized assassin who is as different as Kralj is. She is a bit of an antiheroine. Kralj calls her a fellow monster. Again, she has her own code of honor and together, they are magical as a couple.
For a chance to win any one eBook from either my backlist or Delilah Devlin’s backlist, let me know in the comments who your favorite fictional antihero is!
Dark Thoughts
Can love redeem a monster?
The Refuge is home to some of the most violent beings in the universe. Kralj, its leader, reigns over the remote outpost with terrifying ease, ruthlessly squashing any rumors of rebellion, killing anyone who breaks his rules. Primitive, deadly, powerful, he’s a monster, scarred both on his face and his soul. He has never met a being he couldn’t control.
Until he meets her.
Dita has one mission—to kill the three targets claiming sanctuary within the Refuge. Or so she claims. For the first time in his long lifespan, Kralj isn’t certain of another being’s intentions. The tiny assassin is immune to his powers, her thoughts unreadable. He can’t predict her movements, can’t control her, can’t stop wanting her.
Dita is rare, as unique as he is, and, to keep the residents of the Refuge safe, Kralj will have to kill her. But first, he’ll touch her, taste her, show her how passionate the beast inside him can be.
Dark Thoughts is a STAND-ALONE SciFi Romance.
The hero might be tall, dark, and scarred but don’t be fooled by his appearance.
He’s truly a monster.
This story is not for readers with delicate sensibilities.
USA Today bestselling author Cynthia Sax writes SciFi, contemporary and paranormal erotic romances. Her stories have been featured in Star Magazine, Real Time With Bill Maher, and numerous best of erotic romance top ten lists.
LISABET SARAI occasionally tackles other genres, but BDSM will always be her first love. Every one of her nine novels includes some element of power exchange, while her D/s short stories range from mildly kinky to intensely perverse.
Award winning and Amazon Best-Selling author, Ann Everett embraces her small town upbringing and thinks Texans are some of the funniest people on earth. When speaking at conferences and to writing groups, businesses, book clubs, and non-profit organizations, she incorporates her special brand of wit, making her programs on marketing, self-publishing, and the benefits of laughter, informative and fun.
