I’m late posting this today. I’m relaxing a bit. So far, I ate breakfast, went for a swim, took a shower… I’ve been looking through emails trying to catch up. I hope to write new words later today…
Conquests was a labor intensive effort to get produced. Now, it’s out there, and I can’t wait to see what people think. I’ve done collections before (see my Collections website), selecting the stories and doing the first round edits, but then I had the luxury of throwing it over the fence to the publisher to handle “the rest.” This time, I had to arrange the intensive editing, the promotion, the corralling of authors to help with getting the word out. They also helped with the art work, the blurb, etc. It was a true group effort! I hope all goes well, because I’d love to do more of them—be it for other publishers or on my own.
Next up will be the tentatively titled Rogue Hearts…
Conquests begs the question, is there a market still for erotic anthologies of short stories? I’d love to hear your opinions. From my perspective as a reader, I gravitate toward shorter fiction because 1) I have very limited reading time, and 2) I appreciate the skill it takes to condense a complete story into a shorter format. Of course, I’ve been doing the latter for several years now, so I know I’m biased! 🙂
I’d love to do more historical anthologies—medieval knights and Ancient warriors—and of course, more iconic contemporary heroes—more cowboys, Spec Ops dudes, etc. Is there anything you’re eager to see? I’d like to do one or two collections every year (it’s all I have time for given my writing schedule).
If you’d like to chat with the authors who contributed to this book, go like our Facebook page at: Conquests: Viking Romance. We’re busy planning events to tempt you to play. And again, there will be prizes involved, so I know you don’t want to miss that either.
And in the meantime, you can pre-order our book. Right now, it’s just $0.99—but that price won’t last! Here’s the link: Conquests
And if you’d like to read excerpts from the stories inside Conquests, head to our blog: Conquests Blog
You probably already know what inspired the title of my story, “How to Train Your Skjaldmaer.”
Yeah, I’m a big fan of the movie. I think I’ve watched it a dozen times with the kids. I never mind when they beg to see it one more time.
So, when I was trying to come up with a title for my story in Conquests, the phrase “how to train…” kept banging around. Add that to my love of stories about Viking shieldmaidens, who were female warriors who fought alongside the men, and there you have it.
I loved my story from the first scene when my hero, who has come to retrieve his bride, first sees his wife. Enjoy!
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How to Train Your Skjaldmaer
A Viking jarl tricked into marrying a shieldmaiden
sets out to tame his fiery bride
Norway, 924 AD
“That creature is a Jarl’s daughter?” Left unsaid in Lothar’s wide gaze was the fact she would also be Torvald’s wife.
Given the sight that beheld their eyes, Torvald might have felt it unfair to chastise his companion, but he couldn’t overlook the disrespect. So he jerked his elbow backward and up, neatly breaking Lothar’s nose. While the man groaned and bent at the waist to keep the blood streaming toward the rushes covering the rough dirt floor, Torvald stepped deeper into the taproom.
The brawl was well underway. His bride seemed to have things well in hand. Something that might have amused him in his younger days, but he had a position to uphold and ambitions beyond his own jarldom. Bringing back such a wife to his holdings could prove a hindrance to his plans.
Not that she wasn’t a handsome woman. Beneath the dirt on her cheeks and the blood smeared on her chin, her face was nicely formed and her eyes a direct and chilling blue. Her hair was such a pale shade as to be nearly white, and so thick it escaped her braids to fly about her back and buttocks like a wild mare’s mane. And she had surprising strength and stamina in her tall robust frame, which admittedly intrigued him.
As he watched, she turned sideways, gripped the edge of a table, and flipped over it, planting her feet in the center of a large, brutish man’s belly to topple him. The man went down with a roar then kicked out his feet, pulling himself to stand in a single, astonishingly graceful motion.
His bride glanced up the big man’s frame then planted both fists on her hips in a fearless stance. “I tipped a bull once. He thrashed a bit, but didn’t get back to his feet nearly as quickly as you.”
Her words were brusque but admiring, and her expression gave away her cheeky lack of contrition.
The red-headed brute glanced down at her, nostrils flaring, his cheeks so flushed Torvald feared he’d pop a vein—and then suddenly, he tossed back his head and laughed.
The sound was large and loud inside the small, ale-saturated room. He clamped his arm around the woman’s shoulders and turned her toward the bar. “Mead for the lady,” he roared.
The brawl ended in an instant. Laughter and loud claps to shoulders filled the room.
Lothar sidled up beside Torvald, a cloth pressed to his nose as he stared through bruised and swelling eyes. “Will you break something else if I say she’s not exactly the woman Hagar promised?”
Torvald blew out a breath and nodded. “It can’t be the same woman. A sister, perhaps.”
Hagar, the chieftain of the neighboring jarldom, had promised a girl so fair roses blushed in dismay. A woman as slender as a reed, as graceful as a soaring falcon, with hair as dark as midnight, skin as pale as snow.
This harridan’s tall angular frame and blonde hair were the exact opposite of what he’d been promised, and her ruddy complexion was berry brown from exposure to the sun and weather.
“Is it a trick to save his treasure for a higher bidder for the beauty’s hand? This one’s more skjaldmær—shieldmaiden—than bride.”
“I don’t know, but this…” Torvald said, pointing toward the sturdy figure dressed in a man’s breeches and kyrtill wasn’t an acceptable trade. “This will never do.” No matter that she appeared strong and would likely birth warriors full-grown. She’d never stand up to the scrutiny a future queen would face.
Taking a deep breath, he indicated to Lothar to watch the door and strode toward the woman who’d raised a full horn of mead and drank it like water. He tapped her shoulder.
Her gaze swung toward him, a scowl digging a crease between her cold blue eyes.
“Are you Solveig, Hagar’s daughter?”
She set down her empty horn with a thump. “And who is asking?”
The question will be: What is your favorite taboo theme in erotica?
Before I can run the poll, I’d like a better list than I can think up off the top of my head. I know stepbrother stories are pretty hot right now, but what else is out there that you’d like to see people vote on? And yeah, I’m hoping the list will provide me some inspiration for what I want to write in the future.
So, you have today’s question:
What would you like me to add to the poll list (which I will run on Saturday!)?
And in the meantime, I will be uploading the story below today, so it should release (hopefully) sometime tonight or tomorrow. Take a peak! This is one of the hottest things I’ve written in a while—and you know that’s saying a lot!
Oh! And I’ll be sending out a newsletter shortly. If you’re not a subscriber to my newsletter list—click on this link: Newsletter
Lily’s Last Stand
A wife gives her husband a sexy surprise…and then he ups the ante…
Note: This 7800-word short story was previously published in Strokes, Vol. 1, but has been revised and expanded to more than double its original length. It may be short in length, but it’s not short in passion!
She didn’t dare look at Brent. He’d see how tight her features were and guess just how turned on she was. Not just because he was watching. She couldn’t wait to get her mouth around Lou’s cock.
Reaching out a hand, she cupped his balls and fondled them, rolling them in her palm, then tugging them gently. His cock jerked, his breath hitched. When she leaned forward to lick his velvet sack, he groaned.
Lily opened her mouth and took both balls inside, lavishing them with strokes of her tongue while she sucked. When she released him, she made of show of licking her palms then gripped his shaft and began to pump.
Rising higher on her knees, she angled his cock and brought it to her lips. She kissed the head, leaving a smudge of red, then swirled her tongue over the arrow cap, pausing to tease the narrow slit before paying attention to the lipped edge.
When his hands settled on her head and began to grip her hair, she opened wider and slid her mouth over his cock, sinking on his shaft while she began to twist her hands on his length. Sucking harder and harder, she bobbed forward and back, sinking by inches and leaving paler and paler rings around his cock. When his dick butted the back her throat, she swallowed, liking the way his knees snapped to hug her. When she eased open her throat and went all the way to the root, he gave a muffled cry.
His fist pulled on her hair. “Ease off, Lily.”
She murmured, gave a slight shake of her head, and dove down again.
“Brent!” Lou said, his voice thick and tight.
“She’s worked for it,” Brent murmured. “Give her what she deserves.”
“Ah!”
Lou’s cock tightened and cum spurted down her throat, just once, and she came off him, milking his shaft and letting the thick, burbling cream stripe her chest and face. When she gripped him just below the head, she gave him one last squeeze, milking the last drop, which she used to paint her mouth.
A tsking sounded from her right. She turned her head to Brent, whose expression was hard. So was his cock, which he’d ringed at the base.
Seven is the Magic Number. Six, and I’m wanting a nap in the middle of the day. Eight, and I’m feeling groggy. What am I talking about?
Hours of sleep a night! I need seven! I got them last night and this morning I feel fabulous, and since today’s guest blogger bailed on me, I decided to talk about the thing that was at the top of my mind. Lucky you!
So what is your magic number?
Tell me, and you’ll be entered to win a free short story from the carousel below. I’ll choose two winners!
And if you didn’t know it, I published a new, very sexy shortie yesterday. Here’s a short excerpt…
Click to Buy
A New York commuter shares lustful daydreams with another subway passenger…
Excerpt:
When he rose again, he shifted her, urging her to the center of the bed. He cloaked himself then turned her and licked a hot trail down her spine. At her bottom, he bit each cheek. Just hard enough to make her quiver. He kissed her cunt and moved behind her, his cock prodding her then plunging into her.
Sophie screamed, unraveling in a moment. His girth stretched her, his length plundered. Moisture flooded her channel as she bounced back to greet his strokes.
A clap landed on one side of her ass. Loud, but not really hard. It surprised her, made her freeze.
He leaned over back and whispered in her ear. “Did you like that, Sophie? Do you want another?”
Her pussy flooded with moisture, as much from the silky texture of his voice as the warmth of her ass. “Please.”
He straightened and began to thrust into her again, smooth, deep glides that had her passion rising steeply again. A slap landed on the opposite cheek, sharper than the first one. Her pussy clenched his cock. She lowered her middle to lift her ass, begging silently for another.
Again and again, he placed slaps, some hollow-sounding and not too sharp, others flat and stinging. She sobbed, dropping her head to rest it on the cool sheet. This was pure bliss.
At last, he went still and bent, encircling her with an arm and raising her to sit, still impaled on his cock. His hands roamed her breasts, massaging then pinching her nipples. “Use your fingers to tug on them, pull them far and let them bounce back. I want to watch.”
These are all free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers and just $0.99 for everyone else!
To see more of my currently available short stories, check out this page: Short Stories
I love cowboys. And I’m guessing you do, too. I’ve been writing them as long as I’ve been writing contemporary stories. I’ve written them through a couple of series—Lone Star Loversand Triple Horn Brand. And I’ve written them into short stories—quick bites of yummy Texans. Have you tried them out?
My love of cowboys comes from nine years of living in the Texas Hill Country with a working ranch butted up against my back yard. From my vantage it wasn’t uncommon to see cowboys on horseback or motorized mules, rounding up cattle. And every one of them was exactly how’d you picture them in your fantasies—lean and dusty in Wranglers, straw cowboy hats and boots. Now that those days are over, I can let my mind drift back—and imagine some very sexy goin’s on…
Big Brass Buckle — Caught in a sudden thunderstorm on a lonely stretch of Texas highway, I pull into a dingy little diner to wait out the rain, never dreaming the cowboy of my dreams would follow me inside. Now I have a couple of choices, play it coy and safe? Or go for the big brass buckle…
One Track Cowboy — After tracking two lost hikers, a park ranger and a local rancher lose themselves to a wild passion…
The Runaway Bride — After leaving him at the altar, a headstrong bride is captured by her cowboy and taught the pleasure of sensual discipline…
Comment for a chance to win one of the cowboy shorties here or one of the short stories on this carousel!
UPDATE: The winner of the free download is…Kristie!
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Ménage can be kind of irresistible. To write or read. Why settle for one hot lover when you can have two or more? I enjoy the challenge of writing it—figuring out how to describe all those moving parts, trying to make the scene move quickly, and still let the reader know who’s saying/touching what. And I’ll admit it. When I’m writing it, I’m that character, closing my eyes and imagining every kiss.
I’ve written a few. 🙂 The book coming May 12th, Under a Blood Moon, features a foursome (a witch, two mermen and a sea draugr). To tide you over until then, take a peek inside Two Hot!
Comment for a chance to win Two Hot or one of the short stories on this carousel!
Do you like ménage stories? If so, what flavor of ménage do you prefer — m/m/f, m/f/m, f/m/f, f/f/m? More mm’s?
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Click to Buy
Afraid to spoil their friendship, Emily had been reluctant to act on her attraction to the two sexy men next door. However, when she’s caught spying on them, the men decide a little punishment is in order…
Beads of condensation, glittering jewel-like in the sputtering candlelight, ran in rivulets down the sides of Jason’s ice-cold beer.
Detail I shouldn’t have been able to note, given the fact I was thirty feet away.
As I lowered my nephew’s toy binoculars, I reflected that I had indeed sunk to a new low. You see, my bedroom window conveniently overlooked Jason and Robert’s backyard. A fact that probably never registered with the previous tenants, but one that proved too delicious to ignore after the arrival of the handsome duo. Privacy fencing, which ran down to the pier that jutted into the lake, separated the row of houses where we lived. It was high enough the neighbors on either side of ours couldn’t see into their yard, but lucky me—I had the perfect view.
Upon discovering this, I had began a furtive surveillance. One that had me cringing in embarrassment each time I greeted them in passing and feeling even more ashamed when we struck up a friendship.
We’d shared meals, drinks, late afternoon swims, watched football games together on their wide-screen TV. And still, I peeked into their backyard, waiting for those moments when they popped outside to mow the lawn or catch a few summer rays. Their bodies gleamed with sweat while raw lust warred inside me, along with the fear that I’d mess up our relationship if I let the guys know how I really felt.
My convenient perch on the windowsill afforded me a window into their private lives, and from the very beginning, I was hooked. They’d become an obsession, one frustrated by the fact they treated me like a kid sister, rather than a woman one of them might desire.
And therein lay another problem. I’d resisted the urge to seek a deeper relationship because then I’d have to choose. My libido was completely fickle, lusting after Jason’s muscled physique, then sighing over the possibilities of what Robert’s tall, bony frame and large feet hinted at. That their personalities were perfect bookends, fierce and funny, confused my heart as well.
Lucky, lucky me. I licked the sweat gathering on my upper lip while this night one of the handsome men living next door tilted his bottle and took several long sips. The look of pure bliss that softened his otherwise stern features made my chest ache.
I watched the movement of Jason’s throat as he worked it down, imagining him sipping at my overheated flesh. My skin began to tingle. My nipples beaded, crowding uncomfortably against my lace bra. My thighs clenched as a delicious wash of arousal seeped to wet the crotch of my plain panties.
The sigh he emitted as he set the bottle on the table was echoed by my own painful groan. Watching either of them had never caused my heart to skip a beat like that hint of a moan sliding on the tail of Jason’s long exhalation.
Sure, it was hotter than hell out there. I too felt the effects of the enervating heat. Record temperatures had strained the region’s resources and planned service interruptions began that night. But something about that sigh felt…un-subtle, exaggerated, maybe even dramatic. And Jason was too straightforward a man for that.
I blotted sweat from my forehead, asking myself again, What am I doing?
Only this time, my peeping hadn’t been deliberate. I’d rushed home from work and showered quickly to beat the scheduled brown-out. Then I’d stripped to my underwear, pulled back the curtains, and opened the window, hoping for a breeze to cool my skin. Sitting limply on the sill, I waited for the world to flicker into life again.
That’s when I’d noticed him, sitting in a lounge chair alone in the dark.
He wore his usual work “uniform”—khaki trousers, white shirt and a tie. Tonight, the tie hung loosened and askew, his collar opened beneath it.
Despite the lack of electricity, I could see it all. Moonlight silvered his dark hair and reflected bright as a beacon against the white shirt. The golden light from the large Citronella candle leant warmth to his skin and the amber bottle he held between his hands.
As always, he was lovely to watch, but tonight, his expression drew my attention more than his breath-stealing features. A sullen slanting of his brows, a bit of pout plumping his masculine lips, an edgy energy to his slight movements—he was either irritated or aroused.
Wanting an answer to the “either-or,” I watched. My forte is observation; my people-radar exquisitely tuned to body language and a voice’s tonal cues. My curiosity and my lust were caught. No way could I back away from my window now.
The bottle tapped the table as he set it aside. A long-fingered hand tugged the knot of his tie, dragging it from his neck.
When he began to undo the row of buttons down the front of his shirt, I settled deeper on the sill, leaning closer, but taking care to keep my pale body hidden behind the sheer curtain.
The edges of the shirt parted over a broad, nicely muscled chest. My gaze zeroed in on taut lean abs dusted with dense fur the same color as his close-cropped black hair that stretched nipple to nipple then ran along a thin dark line to slip beneath his zipper.
His hand stroked his chest, scratching through the hair, the faint crinkling sound causing my own chest to tighten, my nipples to surge.
A light sheen of sweat glimmered on his chest and belly. Again, my tongue swept my lips, tasting salt, and I imagined I lapped the dew right off his skin.
When a lazily roaming hand slid over his belly, I tensed, fascinated as he swept the flat plane. Would he be hard or desk-soft? His stomach looked firm. So, I enjoyed fantasizing that he was and touched my own stomach, following his path.
His hand slid down to the knot bulging behind his fly, and he cupped it. Squeezed.
My own hands itched to replace his and grew still, clenching against the fantasy of holding his burgeoning cock as it roused. My cheeks heated and my breaths shortened. No need to tease my own body into arousal, moisture already soaked my panties.
The buckle clanked open, and the belt slid sinuously from the loops as he lifted his hips and pulled it free. A flick of his thumb and the button at the waistband of his trousers opened. His zipper rasped as it slid down.
Dark fabric formed a vee-like shadow as his hand rooted beneath his waist, and then he slipped the long, gleaming column of his semi-aroused sex from the flap at the front of his boxers and wrapped his fingers around it.
I swallowed the liquid pooling in my mouth. I blinked to moisten eyes that had grown dry and scratchy as I stared, wide-eyed. My breaths grew ragged, a little choked, and I must have made a noise, because suddenly his head swung my way.
His gaze narrowed on my bedroom window.
Holding my breath, I froze, hoping his gaze couldn’t penetrate the darkness.
But a crooked smile slowly stretched his lips, and his hand tightened around himself and began to pump up and down the thickening rod. All the while, he stared at me.
Jason knew I watched but didn’t seem to mind. I let out a deep, trembling breath and continued to stare, my own body heating, growing increasingly aroused in tandem with his hardening cock.
His head turned away, and his hand dropped from his engorged cock. It fell against his belly with a soft, muffled thud. Heavy, hot, thick—I knew its girth would stretch my mouth.
Another sound intruded. The chime of my doorbell. I bit back a curse and drew away from the window, slung on my robe, then headed downstairs to the front door.
Robert stood on the stoop, a lazy grin on his face, a sweep of lank blonde hair covering one eye and two beers dangling from his fingers. He was shirtless. Low-riding, blue knee-length shorts encased slender hips and revealed long legs. His large feet were bare. “Thought you might like to join us.”
April was crazy-busy! My daughter was scheduled for surgery and I’ve been taking care of her, her house and kids for the tail-end of the month, but before that there were tons of April goodies! (Be sure to read to the bottom for contest details!)
There were new releases…
Three brand new short stories!
Free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers and just $0.99 for everyone else!
(Click on the covers to purchase!)
Johnny Blaze ~ A firefighter moonlighting as a male exotic dancer gives a librarian a birthday spanking she’ll never forget…
The Runaway Bride ~ After leaving him at the altar, a headstrong bride is captured by her cowboy and taught the pleasure of sensual discipline…
Tailgating at the Cedar Inn ~ Two construction workers come to the aid of one woman looking for a last taste of freedom…
One hot new box set!
SEVEN SINFUL STORIES
~The Second Collection~
Slip between the sheets with seven New York Times & USA Today bestselling authors in one anthology. These seven sizzling and sinful erotic stories are sure to burn up the pages!
~Available for a Limited Time~
FIND ME IN DARKNESS by Julie Kenner
A doomed woman. A dangerous and mysterious man. And an epic passion that cannot be denied…
BOND WITH ME by Anne Marsh
Fallen angel Brends Duranov offers Mischka Baran an unforgettable taste of sin and seduction when she visits his elite Moscow club, but she’s looking for her missing sister—and not an angel mate. But with a sadistic killer carving up his brethren, Brends is playing for keeps, hunting the one woman whose bloodline can end the mayhem, whose bond can restore his lost wings…and now he wants Mischka to bond with him.
PLANET MAIL by Kate Pearce
As far as job hazards go, Douglass Fraser didn’t think crash-landing on an alien planet and spending her recuperation being erotically pleasured by three gorgeous men was in the United Planetary Parcel Service’s courier handbook. There certainly wasn’t a section on what to do when a very sexy king wants you to have his baby and save his world.
UNMASQUED by Colette Gale
When not-as-proper-as-one-would-think Victorian woman Jane Clemons convinces her father to take her on a jungle expedition, her only goal is to find her lover, Jonathan, who disappeared three years earlier. But shortly after their party arrives in Madagascar, Jane finds herself enthralled not only by the freedom and beauty of the lush jungle, but a reclusive wild man who seems to be fascinated by her….
CORPORATE AFFAIRS by Nana Malone
Powerhouse project manager, Kyra Benson, loves her new job. If only her domineering boss wasn’t the bane of her existence & a boon to her fantasies. X2 Games CEO, Bryan Ross, has devoted his life to his company. The last thing he needs is to get sidetracked by a woman who thinks she knows more about his business than he does. Can the two adversaries negotiate a truce & find love?
ONE LAST NIGHT by Caridad Pineiro
An act of compassion leads to unexpected pleasure . . .
Thrown together, Trevor and Maggie can’t ignore the sexual heat between them. As they satisfy one set of needs, another slowly develops as passion breathes life into other emotions. Will Trevor and Maggie’s one last night together possibly lead to many other nights in the future?
WARLORD’S DESTINY by Delilah Devlin
Mora has no illusions she’s anything other than the sacrificial lamb to ensure peace between her peace-loving planet and the warlike world that demands a royal union with one of their own. However, when she meets the rugged warlord who will be her husband, she decides in that moment to win his heart—she’ll settle for nothing less.
What’s coming in May?
Two more sexy shorties! Details coming later!
And on May 12th, the sequel to Once in a Blue Moon releases! Have you pre-ordered your copy!?
