Hi, my name is Lavender Daye and I write BDSM.

Does it sound like I’m in one of those support groups where everyone shares?  Sometimes I feel like that when discussing my writing. Friends and relatives who aren’t readers give me raised brows and questioning looks.

But I’m tired of hiding what I write. I love my stories. To me, they’re modern fairy tales.

Picture this in your mind.

You are contentedly alone, fending for yourself in a job and a relationship with no spark. A man arrives in your life—a hot, handsome man with an attitude. He’s attracted to you and isn’t shy about explaining all the heated things he plans to do with you and to you.

Your face warms and somewhere lower, your body recognizes your soul mate, the man who will fulfill all your fantasies. No longer will you be required to make plans or decisions. Your personal Prince Charming will handle every detail of your life and satisfy all your needs while teaching you how to satisfy his. An erotic spanking here and there, handcuffs and a whip now and then, only make you crave more.

You allow him the pleasure of satisfying you in every way and he adores you.

Okay, so most women wouldn’t want to live in this lifestyle, but every now and then, it might be fun to completely turn over control to a trusted lover. The heroines in my books seem to enjoy it immensely and I enjoy writing the happily ever after. Really, now, shouldn’t every woman be the princess in her own fairy tale?

Find more about Lavender’s books at www.facebook.com/LavenderDaye or at https://www.bookstrand.com/lavender-daye

My “overnight success” took 18 years. I wrote my first novel at age 23, after a dose of reality in the brokerage business. This was the early ’80s, when executive-level women were virtually nonexistent in the world of finance. My first novel, largely autobiographical, as most first novels are, featured my heroine who made it to the top of a brokerage firm. It was continually rejected on the grounds that I had an axe to grind­ and of course I did.

After three more novels, which I consider practice at honing my craft, I wrote my first historical, The Jewels of Warwick, centered around Henry VIII and two fictional heroines. I have a strong spiritual connection with late medieval England, which is the basis for my enchantment with this place and time. Jewels took 2 years to research and write, with no internet. It came very close to publication with several romance houses, but missed the mark for containing too little romance.

When I finished Jewels, I scoured the history books for another legendary figure to write about. While I browsed the Cambridge Library stacks, a book snagged my eye. Lying, not standing, on the wrong shelf was Crown of Roses by Valerie Anand. It drew me like a magnet. Richard III is a central character in the story, and the author thanks the Richard III Society for helping her. Already hooked on Richard, his tragic death at 32 and his reputation as a usurper and a murderer of his little nephews, I joined this Richard III Society. As everyone else who has a story about how they “met” Richard, he fascinated me. I’d found the subject of my next novel! And it tied in perfectly as a prequel to The Jewels of Warwick. Titled Thy Name is Love, it made the same rounds of publishers, remaining homeless after several rewrites and seven years.

In 1999 with the Internet making my life so much easier, I queried the many E-publishers that had recently set up shop, and British publisher Domhan Books responded in March with an offer for my two historicals. Fortunately, Domhan also published print books. I then wrote a time travel, One Too Many Times, and a family saga set in New York City. I switched gears with the urban fantasy Fakin’ It, which won a Romantic Times Top Picks award, with a 4 1/2 star review.

I joined a local critique group and my work improved immensely with the critiques I received. My critiquing experience led the way to editing positions and publishing contracts with Eternal Press and Moongypsy Press. In 2009, I answered an ad in the Romance Writers of America magazine and signed with my agent, Jewelann Cone. My recent novels are currently being considered by the ‘big houses’ including St. Martin’s Press and Simon & Schuster.

Critiquing and editing gave me the ability to read my work as an editor, to tighten and polish, to add more emotion, to show instead of tell, and the opportunity to critique other authors’ work also made me a better writer.

Even though your first, second, third, or even fourth novel may never see print, not a word is wasted if it’s considered a learning experience. I also believe that you must write from the heart, and your passion will shine through in your work. I know there are many roads to success, but patience is the best way!

Abraham Lincoln has fascinated me since I was eight years old. I don’t know what got me started, but it might’ve been a book which I still have, titled The Life of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 1, written in 1895. When I was in 3^rd grade, in the mid-60s (which shows how long I’ve been a Lincoln nut), my teacher asked us to bring a book to school from home, for a show & tell. My mother suggested I bring this Lincoln book, which even in 1966 was in bad shape­—yellowed, stiffened strips of Scotch tape barely held the covers to the spine. With the wisdom of an 8-year-old that sadly, all of us outgrow, I demurred, saying, “This old book? She’ll think we’re poor!” My mother corrected me: “No, she’ll think we’re rich. Books like this are rare.” Then she proceeded to tape it up some more. Those 47-year-old Scotch tape fragments adhere to the book’s spine and pages to this day. The teacher, Miss Cohen, was duly impressed.

I still treasure that book to this day, and it’s one of many on my “Lincoln shelf” which holds books about our murdered president, his wife Mary, his assassin John Wilkes Booth and his family, the “Mad Booths of Maryland” and the conspirators who faced the gallows or years of hard labor because Booth, their charismatic leader, sucked these poor impressionable souls into his insane plot.

After writing 8 historicals set in England and New York City, I decided to indulge my passion for Lincoln-lore. I began researching in depth about Lincoln’s life, his presidency, his role in the Civil War, and Booth’s plans to first kidnap him, and then to assassinate him.

A NECESSARY END combined two genres I’m passionate about­—history and paranormal. I joined The Surratt Society, based in Maryland, and attended their conferences and tours. Through the Surratt Society, I met several Lincoln/Booth/Civil War experts.

One lady I’ll never forget meeting is Marjorie “Peg” Page, who by all accounts except definitive DNA testing, is John Wilkes Booth’s great-granddaughter. My trips to Lincoln’s home and tomb in Springfield, Illinois, Gettysburg, Ford’s Theater, and the house he died in, Petersen House, brought me close to Mr. Lincoln’s spirit.

My travels also acquainted me with Booth’s brother Edwin, the most famous actor of his time, and his unconventional family. A recording of Edwin’s voice reciting Shakespeare on one of Edison’s wax cylinders still exists at https://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/browse?browseId=248018

My paranormal experience includes investigations at several haunted homes, restaurants and graveyards. I investigate with a group from Merrimack, NH, led by CC Carole, www.ccthehuntress.com. I’ve never seen a ghost, but I’ve received responses to my questions with my dowsing rods. Wishing I had my recorder with me, I made a ghost laugh at the Jumel Mansion in Harlem, New York City, (see the story and photos on my blog, www.dianarubinoauthor.blogspot.com)

Tragically, we’ll never hear Abraham Lincoln’s voice. But his spirit lives on. In my book, which is fiction—but we all know that novels are fictionalized truths—I gave Booth what was coming to him. He got his justice in real life, but in A NECESSARY END, he also got the paranormal twist he deserves. And I enjoyed sticking it to him!

I paralleled the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar in this story because in the play, Caesar was known as a tyrant to the Senators, who feared losing their power, as Booth feared losing the Confederacy. Booth always considered Lincoln the tyrant, hence his proclamation ‘sic simper tyrannis’ (be it ever to tyrants) when he jumped to the stage after shooting Lincoln.

Caesar’s Senators, Brutus and Cassius among them, conspired to stab Caesar to death on an appointed day. Booth recruited a group of like-minded disciples to aid him in his insane plot, at first to kidnap Lincoln, then to kill him.

By day, Booth was a Confederate spy and courier, taking dangerous missions so that his beloved South could fight the North in the war that tore the nation in two. But in this story, an even darker secret plagues him—he believes he’s the reincarnation of Brutus, the man who slew the tyrant Caesar, and Booth’s destiny in this life is to murder the tyrant who’s ravaged the South­Abraham Lincoln. In obeying the spirit of Brutus, Booth devises a plot to assassinate the tyrant.

I wrote it as a paranormal instead of a straight historical novel because spirituality was extremely popular in 1865 and all throughout Victorian times. Mary Lincoln was a staunch spiritualist. So stricken with grief after the deaths of her boys Willie and Eddie, she hired mediums such as Nettie Maynard to visit the White House and hold séances in attempts to contact her boys from beyond the grave.

The extent of séances, table-tapping, Ouija boards, Tarot cards, and otherworldly activities in this era fit perfectly with the story I wanted to tell. We could never enter Booth’s head, but his insane behavior begs the question: was he truly haunted by a spirit who drove him to his heinous act that changed history forever?

You can contact me at :

www.DianaRubinoAuthor.blogspot.com
www.DianaRubino.com
https://www.facebook.com/#!/dianarubino
https://twitter.com/DianaLRubino

Feel It In Your Heart

With the upcoming winter release of my book ENDANGERED, the first in my Nights of Lust series, I thought I’d do some pre-release hype for the book and start talking about it.  I’ve seen some great reactions to the book so far, for those who have beta read it are loving it.

Let’s start with the premise of the book though.

Endangered is the story of a man searching for himself, finding salvation only in the love given by the woman who loves him, and her companion.  He slowly learns redemption comes at a price but is he willing to pay that price?

Desperate to get him off the suicide cycle he’s stuck in, Livía will do anything to save the one man who can return her soul. Following his essence over three centuries has brought her heartache until this lifetime when he’s the farthest from his self-destructive urges ever.  Seizing her opportunity, Livía kidnaps Joséf and convinces him to do the one thing she knows he’ll never abandon: save the life of an innocent child.

Can the love two women willingly offer give Joséf the peace he needs to become the man who can stop The Syndicate?

I’ve got a similar series dealing with the wolves and Faery courts represented by the Corvisiero Literary Agency but we’re going back and forth on edits because my level of emotion in the book Marisa picked up could be deeper.

With Joséf and ENDANGERED, the core of that book revolves around a LOT of anger I felt at the time of its conception.  What I wanted, what Joséf thought he wanted, turned out to be not what either of us needed. Yes, he mimics my actions, only taking them deeper and harder.  His health is only crappy due to bad habits, which can be fixed through proper diet, love and learning to deal with the wolf inside.  Oh and a healthy dose of Livía and Isabella.  I gave my hero two heroines in this book because honestly, the emotions Joséf feels are so deeply ingrained, so relatable to the readers (hopefully) that he needed someone to hold his heart and heal his mind at the same time and no one person can deal with the amount of damage in him with such a clear mind.  The one lover can calm certain aspects, but after a while, Joséf’s struggle with himself and the outer world around them wears on just the one person thinking emotionally.  Livía is his emotion, she is his love, his life.  Isabella in this story starts out as his rational side.

Love stories, romance novels in particular, are really about the heroine’s journey as I’ve learned from my mentor.  That being said, Livía must go through a transformation of her own, one she struggles with because of Joséf’s stubbornness.  She must rise above her own worries and weaknesses to conquer his world so he can help her defeat her outer worldly demons.

Forced to work in tandem, Joséf and Livía must correct her mistake, because the trick she used to get him to stay leads to Joséf learning to open his heart, something I needed desperately to do at the time I wrote the book.

They always say write what you know.  Well, romance novels are emotional and that’s how I roll!

For Joséf, there is more to the world than saving the big picture and more to life than anger and self-hatred.  He only has to look at the world in Livía’s eyes.

Look out for ENDANGERED, coming in Winter 2013 from Red Sage!

Sascha Illyvich

Going Deep

Recently I had a very interesting conversation. It was on my favorite subject—books. 🙂  My big sister and I were talking about books. We both love to read and many times read the same books then compare them. Our discussion was about a book we read and we were talking about the story, and then my sister said something I found interesting—that she felt the book hadn’t gone deep enough for her to feel a strong connection with the characters thus the story.

Whoa…her words were like she had taken then out of my head and said them out load. It was the exact same feeling that I had when I read the book. I even said it aloud when I was finished. I didn’t say it to my sister because I wanted her to read the book without any preconceptions. But now we were both finished with the book, and talking with her I found she had the same feeling I had. There have been many times my big sister and I have had the same impression about books, but this is the first time she stated exactly as I was thinking without me even saying it to her first. Don’t get me wrong. The book was a good one…but the feeling of the story not doing, as I like to call it “going deep,” made the book a good read but not one that would be on my keeper shelf.

When I read, I want more than just an entertaining story or likeable characters. I’m looking for characters, plot and story that will make me remember a line, moment or action from the book. I can remember this days, weeks, months, or years later, and when I recall something from the book it will make me go and find the book to read it again. Those are the books that are on my keeper shelf. They are books “going deep” and giving me a deep connection with the story. They made me feel like I know the characters and have walked a mile in their shoes. That I have lived each moment with them and felt each emotion as my own. The “going deep” goes hand in hand with what I’ve talked about before about “The Ah Hah Moment” in books.  As a reader I look for the “going deep” and/or “The Ah Hah Moment” in books I read. As a writer I work to give the reader either one or both of these things I mentioned so I can be on that keeper shelf. Reading is a journey and like any good journey, you want great memories that will last a lifetime.

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Taige Crenshaw is a multi-published author with books available at Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Loose Id, and Total-E-Bound. 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.

Dark Callings — When faced with your destined bond you either accept or face the consequences.

Buy here at Total-E-Bound.

What’s in a kiss?

Okay, I don’t know about you guys, but I always love, love, love a good first kiss! Kisses are magic, especially when the anticipation has been building and both the hero and heroine start craving it really badly –as a reader (or author), so do I! So let’s look at some types of sexy first kisses, and tell me what your favorite is. I’d love to know!

The urgent one: Where the hero and heroine have had it with all the sparks leaping between them, and by the time they go at it, the hero grabs her, or she grabs him back, or they both do (at the same time) and they just lose it and kiss like crazy. Mmm. Love this kiss.

The tentative one: Alright so here, the hero is usually the one who’s more tentative. He might brush her lips first, then he pulls back with a question in his eyes, and goes in for more. Tentative kisses are so sexy because they start building and building until you can’t take it anymore and want them to just LOCK LIPS ALREADY! Jajaja.

The exploratory one: This is delish, too. Who doesn’t want to be explored? And that’s precisely what happens in the exploratory kiss. They’re getting to know each other. They’re attracted. Curious. And even maybe a little hot. So they go for an exploratory kiss that usually begins slow, and ends up deep and consuming when they go wild about what they “find.” Which is passion and hunger to match theirs (usually.) Love these kinds of kisses, too!

There are other kinds, as well.

The angry, punishing kiss: where the hero is angry and means to chastise the heroine with a kiss (which is actually a prize, if you ask me!)

The dry, soft kiss:  this is usually a very tender, nonsexual kiss, which speaks volume about where their relationship is heading. For a guy to give a kiss that’s not meant to take a woman to bed, well, let’s just say: he likes you, girl!

What other kisses can you come up with that you like to read about? And can you think of a book or a movie with a really memorable kiss?

I’ll never forget the kiss in Catch and Release, oh my, I had to rewind that several times on my Apple TV because it just made my stomach drop (in a great way)! I love that the heroine is utterly furious and things have been building and building. If you haven’t seen this kiss, I beg you to see a clip here!

Now share your favorite kisses with me!

I truly LOVE Graves and Chloe’s first kiss in Claimed by Him – where she practically dares him to, and he draws it out to torture her a little. Oh, it’s delicious. I hope you’ll check it out! Visit my website to read more or for buying information!

The winner of Elle’s contest is Lisa Avila! Lisa, you have until Friday to contact Elle at ellejames@earthlink.net to arrange delivery of your prize or another winner will be selected.

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Sisters

I consider myself lucky to have two brothers and one sister. We were a family of four children growing up with one to two years between. This was a good thing since my father was in the military and we moved around a lot. We were our own friends, playmates and nemeses depending on the day. Our lives were never boring, often exciting and always filled with those love/hate relationships you get with siblings. But if anyone got in trouble, we went to bat for each other. I looked up to my sister, Delilah Devlin. She was always smarter, prettier and knew where to go to get into trouble or up the ante on the fun-factor. She was a tough act to follow in school, but I tried to live up to her academic standards.

As we grew older, she went into the army leaving me behind to finish school. We drifted apart and lived our own separate lives until she went to work for the same company I worked for in the same city. Then she discovered a local writing group and once again, she led me into an adventure that would change my life forever.

We set off on the writing journey together, challenging each other to start a book, encouraging one another to finish. As our passion for writing blossom, our relationship grew closer. Now, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of my sister and all that she means to me.  I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be with on this particular journey. I guess I just dedicated this blog to my sister. Love you, Delilah!

Elle’s Bio:

Elle James spent twenty years in South Central Texas, ranching horses, cattle, goats, ostriches and emus. A former IT professional, retired Army and Air Force Reservist, she’s proud to be writing full-time, penning intrigues and paranormal adventures that keep her readers on the edge of their seats or laughing out loud. Now, living in northwest Arkansas, she’s given up wrangling cattle and exotic birds to wrangle her muses, a malti-poo and a yorkie. When she’s not at her computer, she’s traveling, out snow skiing, boating, or riding her four-wheeler, dreaming up new stories.

Social Media:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Be careful what you wish for…

Determined to marry the most eligible bachelor in the parish to save her family, Lucie LeBieu turns a “love bug” loose to cast its Voodoo spell. What she doesn’t count on is hitting two targets—the golden boy congressional candidate, and her Cajun-hot ex. To set things right, she must undo the spell before she falls into bed—-and back in love—with a certain down and dirty heartbreakin’ cop.

Undercover investigator Ben Boyette is back in Louisiana on special assignment when he runs across his old flame, brewing up trouble as usual. But when hometown threats turn deadly, Lucie’s life is on the line. Determined to protect both her and his politician assignment from falling victim to a murderer, Ben finds that he’s the one who’s falling hard…for the irresistible bayou temptress.

Buy at Amazon
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The Contest

Post a comment today and you will be entered to win this fabulous prize package!

Guest Blog: How Effective is Your Author Website?

I think we can all agree that having a website is probably one of the most effective online promotional tools that any author can have. It allows you to list your books, tell readers a little bit about yourself and encourage some sort of interaction either with a contact form, or via a Twitter/Facebook/newsletter link, or maybe even a special reader’s section with freebies or giveaways.

To be an effective website, however, it must encourage visitors to stay, read, explore and most importantly—return.

Today I’d like to share a few tips on how to create an inviting website that visitors will enjoy so much they’ll look forward to coming back over and over again.

1.) Avoid any immediate visitor turns-offs such as music that plays automatically. Think of those poor fans who may want to sneak a peek at your site during work hours. Ack! Now they’ve just been busted by their boss because music on your site woke up the whole office. You don’t want to get someone fired, do you? 🙂 If you must include music on your website, and I’m the first to say that it can give a site “atmosphere” when used properly, make it optional. Give visitors a clear “play” button so they have the choice of listening or not.

2.) Avoid Flash intros, if you can. Sure they look cool and make your website super spiffy, but how many times can you sit through an animation of a door opening or boxes of content sliding into place in some dramatic way before you say, “Oh, the heck with it. I’m going somewhere else?” You see it once, it’s a novelty. You see it a dozen times, it’s a distraction bordering on annoyance. Usability studies show that visitors like to get to information quickly. Anything that delays that, no matter how “cool,” will soon lose its appeal if visitors must slog through it every time they visit your site. If you must use a Flash intro, always (and I mean always), include a clearly marked “Skip Intro” button to allow visitors to bypass it. Remember, it’s not all about you and what you think looks cool. It’s about the visitors you’re trying to attract, and you should give those visitors options to access your content in a way that’s most convenient for them, if you want the visitors to keep coming back.

3.) Update your home page regularly so that when visitors return they don’t feel like they’re seeing the same thing over and over. This doesn’t mean you need to update the entire page all the time, but something on the page needs to change so it feels “fresh” when visitors stop by. Many writers achieve this by having a “Latest News” block at the top of the page, or a simple Twitter or Blog feed that updates regularly in a column on the side. After all, one of the reasons you have a website is to keep your fans informed about what you’re up to. Don’t leave them with the impression that you haven’t moved a muscle in the last six months. 🙂

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I have lots more to share! If you’re interested in learning how to make your website more effective for promoting you and your work, please join me for the next session of my 2-week online workshop “Principles of Good Website Design for Writers” May 5-17, 2013 at the FF&P RWA chapter (https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=749). I hope to see you there!

SHORT BIO:

Catherine Chant is a Golden Heart® finalist and the author of the young adult time travel romance WISHING YOU WERE HERE (Book 1, Soul Mates) available in print and e-book at Amazon.com. She teaches multiple online writing classes each year for RWA chapters and other writing organizations. You can learn more about Catherine at her website: https://www.catherinechant.com

WISHING YOU WERE HERE by Catherine Chant

Young Adult Time Travel Romance

https://www.amazon.com/Wishing-Were-Here-Mates-ebook/dp/B00AG15MJC/

She’s out of place…

He’s out of time…

In 1956, clever spin doctoring and a string of pre-fab hits turn Joseph Temporelli into Joey Tempo, the biggest sensation to hit Memphis since Elvis Presley. Within twelve months he’s gone—killed in a transatlantic plane crash.

55 years later, Callie Reinard diligently plans for college and a career in radio. When she discovers Joey Tempo’s iconic first album, her desire to change his fate opens a doorway to 1957.

She stops Joey from boarding the plane that will take his life, but then finds herself trapped in a world where equal rights are as foreign a concept as missions to the moon. The future she so tirelessly worked toward now seems out of reach, and her liberated attitude jeopardizes the second chance she envisioned for Joey.

Worst of all, if Callie can’t find a way back to her own time soon, she may lose more than a college education and the career she’s always wanted. She may lose her heart to a boy destined to marry someone else.