I love it that you came by to see what’s happenin’ here today, but you’re one click away from the fun! Today, I’m blogging at Wild & Wicked Cowboys and have a very important question for you all! And of course, there’s a prize involved. My dd says I’m an impulsive giver. 😕

And remember, the Bored Fairy and a Signed Book contest continues! Post a comment here to win! ~DD

Psst! Remember, the Bored Fairy and a Signed Book contest continues!
Post a comment to win! ~DD

One Reviewer’s Take

I want to thank Delilah for having me on her blog today. It’s really an honor. Most people don’t want a reviewer on their blog much less having them talk about reviews.

Okay, right to it…a little background about myself. I live in East Texas, raised in Dallas, married with one son in 1st grade and I work an EDJ. I review for Night Owl Reviews, The Romance Studio and The Forbidden Bookshelf. I also have a review blog that I update semi-regularly. Why the information about me? To let you know, that I’m a real person, with a real life and real everyday issues. I’m not a god, a fairy, or an ogre. I bleed just like you do. Why the dramatics about me? I have some things that I want to talk to you about reviewing and what goes through my mind when I’m reading a book for review.

1. I get to pick the books that I review. Bet you didn’t know that? Well, I do and I choose books/authors/publishers that I normally don’t read or know much about. I pick books that are way out of my comfort zone. When I decided to review, I decided that I wouldn’t read books or authors that I was comfortable with. In the year that I began reviewing, I have found authors, genres and publishers that I seek out on a regular basis. I have been given books to review from authors for my blog and again, I follow the same guidelines if I was reviewing it for one of the sites that I review for.

2. When I review a book, I look for the following: plot (does it hold my interest?), characters (do I even like them?), flow (am I having to start and stop all the time?) and lastly, did the characters connect emotionally and was it believable?

3. When writing a review, I don’t give out spoilers, the ending, the conflict, nor do I give out plot points. I will however, talk about what I did like about the book and what I didn’t. I hate when book review blogs from individuals give you a dissertation on the book. I mean, why buy the book in the first place? The blog already told you everything that you needed to now and more. This is becoming more and more commonplace with so many people reviewing books on their blogs and it really pisses me off. I have books on my Nook that I bought that sadly, I’ll probably never read because of it. Grrr…

4. Also, if you get a bad review, just remember, its only ONE reviewer’s opinion. Some people are going to love your stuff and some won’t love it. Reviewing is subjective and therefore, should be taken with a grain of salt. That said, if the review is snarky and/or down right rude and mean, please, please let the review coordinator/owner know. That should not be tolerated at all. That does happen and it puts all reviewers in a bad light.

5. Lastly, why do I review? I review because I love to read. Period. Some reviewers crave the power they have over an author but for me that’s the wrong reason to review. I review for the simple pleasure of reading and then telling people why I liked it.

If you’re an author, tell me some of your experiences good or bad with reviewers. No names, please. If you’re a reader, what do you look for in a review? I’ve listed below links to where I review to check me out. I look forward to hearing from you.

https://harliebooks.blogspot.com—personal review blog
www.nightowlreviews.com—Marika is my review name
www.theromancestudio.com—Marika is my review name
www.theforbiddenbookshelf.com—Kate is my review name

One last thing, contest…to one commentator a GC of $10 to either B&N or Amazon. And you thought reviewers were stuffy and not human?

You voted! I have the prerogative to change up the contest prize list a little, but I don’t think you’ll mind!

What can you win?
* An autographed book, your choice, so long as I have it in stock. And I do have copies of most of my print books.
* A pretty Bored Fairy with a Mask journal. I purchased this from my favorite curio shop, Christi’s Gifts & Consignment (870-230-1877).

What do you have to do?
Post comments on my blog or my Facebook page. Every comment you make over the next two weeks will count as one entry. Could I make it any easier?

The contest ends September 12th!

Psst! Be sure to enter your vote in the poll at the bottom of this post!

I’m back from the land of cowboys! I still have to unpack, wash laundry, download pics and catch up on email, but I’m not going anywhere for a while! Thanks to all my wonderful guests who kept this blog hoppin’ with fun excerpts, contests and snippets of their wisdom.

I have a contest winner to announce today. I’ll do so at the bottom of this post, but just a reminder to you all— Be sure to check tomorrow’s post for the new contest details I’ll post. And if you don’t have a long attention span, I have a one-day-only giveaway happenin’ on the Girls Who Bite website. Be sure to jump over there AFTER you’ve read through the rest of this post!

September will be an extremely busy month for me. I have books coming! Girls Who Bite and A Four-Gone Conclusion. Amazon’s already shipping GWB—so you can order it today! A Four-Gone Conclusion is available for pre-order. Just click on the covers to place your orders.

I also have a story coming from Ellora’s Cave, a vamp story set in New Orleans that’s one part of a two-person anthology with Paisley Smith. I’ll have more details to share later. But Bitten in the Big Easy is the start to a very hot new series!

There will be tons of shiny new excerpts, prizes, etc., because you know I can’t talk about new stories without wanting to make a party of it!

In the meantime, my Little Lizard Boy has found a new master. The winner is…June M! June, congrats, and send me an email with your snail mail address!

So finally, here’s the poll. Place your vote for what you might like to win. This is your contest and I aim to please. It’s in my DNA to please. Ahem.

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The oddest, most random things can inspire a story. In the case of my upcoming release, Go Deep, the spark came from a rejected cover for an earlier book. The cover was absolutely stunning, but wrong for the book—it suggested BDSM, which would have been misleading. We went with a different, equally stunning cover, but the first one kept haunting me. It was based on a striking black and white photo of a woman, her hands cuffed behind her back, a collar fastened around her neck. I’ve actually seen the photo used for other covers, which doesn’t surprise me.

A well-done photograph can be so powerful. It draws you into another world and makes you wonder. What’s going on in this scene? What’s going to happen next? Who are these people and how did they come to be here? What’s it like to be them?

I love the photo of this couple because it feels so intimate. But a more “posed” photo can be fun too.

Photographs don’t have to be graphic to pull you in. Some are more about the mood the artist creates with lighting and exposure and little details such as how she’s resting her head on the wall.

I’ve seen so many photos that I wished had a story attached because I wanted to know more. If only all great photographs were actually book covers! If only you could open them up and read about what happened before that frozen moment and after it.

Maybe that’s why my almost-cover photo popped into my mind when I wanted to write about a married couple hiding their true sexual desires from each other. What if the wife came across a photo that haunted her, and the husband saw her reaction? What if that provided the vehicle for them to start really talking to each other and sharing their most intimate needs and desires…

Of course, I had to change the photo to suit my characters. I added a man, then a second one. I changed a few other little details. But the mood of the photo—mysterious, erotic—stayed with me and the story reflects it. Amazingly, the cover artist, Dar Albert, captured a similar mood in her cover—with no prompting from me.

Go Deep is coming out September 7 from Ellora’s Cave. Here’s the final cover and the blurb. You can read an excerpt here.

In honor of my Go Deep release, I’m offering a $5 Amazon gift certificate.
All you have to do is tell me which of the above photos is your favorite!

A standalone sequel to Go Wild.

Beth is the shy, dreamy type. No one guesses at the wild sexual thoughts she hides behind that quiet façade. She doesn’t even share her secret longings with her husband.

Gavin loves his wife, but he’s tired of living in a marriage in which neither he nor Beth reveal their true desires. When Gavin sees Beth’s response to an erotic bondage photo in her framing shop, he jumps at the opportunity to break through her barriers.

He accepts an invitation to a showcase match for the amateur hockey team he coaches during Wild Nights, the infamous winter festival during which “anything goes, nothing counts.” But he’s opened a sensual Pandora’s box—Beth has some surprises of her own. When she meets Eagle, a free-spirited Wild resident, she knows he’s the perfect man to help enact her erotic fantasies. And once they go deep, there’s no going back.

You know, I look far and wide for special things to bring you! While I was at the Authors After Dark conference in Philadelphia last weekend, there was a vendor with dolls I couldn’t resist. Here’s one I bought especially with my wicked little devils in mind!

If you love it and want to see what else the dollmaker has to offer, follow this link:
Mistress Rae’s Decadent Designs

What do you have to do to win this precious little bottle doll? Post comments on my blog or my Facebook page. Every comment you make over the next two weeks will count as one entry.

The contest ends August 30th!

Researching Sin in Sin City

When I had the idea for my “Dr. Ally Skye, Sex Therapist” R-rated, comic romantic mystery series, I knew the perfect setting for the books was Las Vegas. The town is known for its sexual excesses, although the 25+ legal Nevada brothels are actually located in twelve rural counties—not in Sin City itself. Still there are plenty of carnal delights in Vegas to keep my sex therapist amateur sleuth busy with both her patients and her new hobby: helping her police detective lover solve sexual crimes. In addition to plotting the perfect murder, I enjoyed creating two fictional casino hotels as part of the setting: one pirate-themed and the other an Arabian Nights fantasy.

As most people know, sex is big business in Vegas.

There are “gentleman’s clubs” like Cheetahs, as well as low-class strip clubs, topless female revues and Chippendales male strippers. Even Cirque du Soleil has a titillating live show.

While prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, those looking for sex can easily find paid companionship. There are plenty of free newspapers (sometimes called “bachelor guides”) and fliers touting paid “models” and “escorts”. Of course, if you hire one of them and get ripped off—left high and dry, so to speak—who are you going to complain to? So it’s “buyer beware” for those looking for sex in Sin City. Sometimes it’s even murder, which inspired my “Dr. Ally Skye, Sex Therapist” series.

Researching these books has led me to some very interesting websites. In addition to solving sex-related murders, Ally has her therapy patients with their own issues. Several are interested in trying things beyond their “vanilla” lifestyles, such as BDSM and role-playing, while others just want to bring the spark back to their intimate relationships. My heroine isn’t shocked by anything sexual between consenting adults, so as the author, I also keep an open mind while researching kink.

We first meet Dr. Ally Skye in Sex & the Single Therapist, when one of her patients is killed and a good friend is the main suspect. Before Ally and her Vegas insider friends can solve the crime, her investigations take her through a maze of lies, rampant adultery, steroid abuse, child pornography, and another murder. Of course, she also falls for police detective Zack Crawford, so the benefits definitely outweigh the risks of her sleuthing.

I’m currently researching the second book in the series, which features a serial killer who targets phone sex customers.

My research led me to an organization for sex workers (or “adult industry workers”) in Vegas called SCAPA, which is associated with the national Sex Workers Outreach Project. The SCAPA site has resources and information for escorts, prostitutes, dancers, erotic masseuses, phone sex operators, and more.

The third book will open with the murders of a ménage of swinger club devotees.

Two of the most infamous swinger clubs in Vegas are the Red Roster and the Green Door. Each has a long list of rules, such as BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) and No Means No. The Green Door appears to offer more BDSM props, along with the standard group rooms, hot tubs, and couples only areas. The victims in my third book are murdered in my fictional swinger club’s pool.

The fourth in the series will explore the world of the human pony fetish. And I have ideas for working plushies and furries into future books. I admit I find the research fascinating.

What erotic fantasies or kinks do you enjoy reading about? I’ll give away an e-book of my comic romantic suspense, At Her Command, to a randomly chosen commenter on this blog post.

Here’s the book blurb for Sex & the Single Therapist:

A crime of passion…

To clear an innocent friend, sex therapist Dr. Ally Skye investigates a patient’s murder. Soon she’s trading heated words and hot kisses with a sexy cop. Can this free-spirited amateur sleuth and her posse of Vegas insiders solve the crime before the killer targets her?

A sexy complication…

Cynical homicide detective Zack Crawford has the murder to solve. The last thing he needs is a red-hot sex therapist who haunts his dreams. Ally is trouble and, given her job and his luck, she’d probably grade his performance in bed.

A dynamic duo…

Zack and Ally form an uneasy and sexually charged alliance. Murderers, extortionists and psychos are no match for these reluctant partners. Crime-solving was never this sexy or this fun!

For an excerpt from Sex & the Single Therapist, click on this link: Sex and the Single Therapist

And please visit my website to sign up for my e-newsletter and enter my monthly contest!

Thank you, Delilah, for inviting me to guest-blog!
— Marcia 😉