S.J. Maylee fell in love with storytelling at a young age and with it came a deep-seated desire for everyone to find their happily ever after. She’s finding the happy endings for her characters one steamy story at a time.
When she’s not reading or writing, you can find her caring for her garden, laughing with her two young sons, or dancing to her husband’s music. She’s a PMP (Project Management Professional), Nia instructor, and coffee addict.
As a writer she has a tendency to break hearts, but she always glues them back together
My emotions felt like a game of ping-pong this week. Back and forth, up and down. You’d think I was getting ready to hit send or something. 😉 I’ve been here before. My experience with the emotions didn’t make them an easier, but I knew not to pay them much attention and to keep pushing forward. Read on to find out if I succumbed to the madness or got it done and hit…
The Goals – week-10 results
Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
Weekly progress in word count, editing, and/or plotting- done. I was a good CP this week. I read through her latest MS and sent it back before I started on the new set of edits from her. The big news is that I did finish the edits, a read through, AND I sent the MS to the interested editor. I’m really proud of the current state of the MS and I hope she sees it too.
Finish reading current craft book- last week I said: Once I hit send, I really will not have an excuse anymore. So, this week I want NEED to see progress here. WEEK 11 PRIORITY.
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit- done. Except I had to give myself a pass on Tuesday night at the annual evil day job holiday party. A 5-star chef give us a cooking lesson. Oh yeah. I had fabulous soup, I had tiny parmesan cheese toasts, I had a tiny puffy pastry pouch with brie and jelly, I had melt in your mouth beef tenderloin, garlic mash potatoes, a fried leek, salad with raspberry vinaigrette and dried cherries, and finally creme brulee with crushed candy canes. I blew my calorie limit out of the water, but it was so worth it.
Study one of the Nia 52-moves each week- Touching. Use your hands simply to touch the things that are around you. Touch your own skin and the space around you. Benefits: excellent training for increasing your sensory IQ and for improving body awareness. It can also help self-heal physical trauma and naturally guide the body into relaxation.
Finish the Nia Sanjana-routine bars and start the Nia Opal-routine bars (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- OMG I am so close on this one. I almost have the last set of bars all drawn out, but I just didn’t finish it all yesterday. WEEK 11 PRIORITY.
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done. I had an easier week with this goal. One parent meeting and a couple of bills.
Organize something in the house each week- I didn’t actually do anything on this goal this week, but I know what needs to happen. I’m a work from home/stay at home mom which means a large portion of my day is spent in the dining room. We have a large table in here, but half of it is covered in papers, books, coloring books, flash cards, crayons… The mess stresses me out<–not something you want in a workspace. This space needs a face lift. It needs storage. It needs a new color, something that will inspire. I know what it needs, now I just need to figure out how to make it all happen.
Thanks for stopping. Another picture…another 100 words.
Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
“Come on, go out with me.”
“No.”
“Why not? We always have fun.” He pressed more of his weight into her.
“Matt, stop moving. Besides, I always say no.” She shifted her legs and he wedged his hips down and close to hers.
“No, you don’t.” He rocked his pelvis against her and nipped her ear. “We’ve been sleeping together for months. Come on, let me take you out.”
“Someone’s going to notice.” She worked to hold her smile in place as the photographer continued taking pictures. Matt’s hard cock pressed against her and her resolve liquefied. “Yes, okay, yes.”
Hope you enjoyed my flash today!! Don’t forget to follow the link to get to the other FFF posts. Flasher Fiction Friday. Or click away on the links below.
I have a Christmas treat for you today. I fell first for Gemma’s writing on Friday’s, through the naughty group I flash with each week, and then on Sunday’s, through Six Sunday. I’m so excited to have Gemma here today telling us all about her brand new release, Christmas Delights. Above you’ll find all kinds of Gemma links, also as always, the cover will take you to the book at Goodreads. Look below for a message from Gemma, the blurb, excerpt, bio, more books from Gemma, and the buy links for Christmas Delights. Take it away Gemma.
Hi Sidney,
Thank you for having me over today. I want to tell you about my new release ‘Christmas Delights’. As you know, l love to write Erotica and as Christmas is my favourite time of the year, it seemed a perfect opportunity to combine the two!
I have written five short stories with Christmas as a theme guaranteed to warm up the coldest of winter nights:
Synopsis:
Christmas is a time for giving. One of the most important things we can give is love, how we express that love is up to us. In this anthology, Christmas is expressed through erotic journeys of lust and discovery, making it a very special time of the year for all the characters within. Lie back and enjoy these five erotic tales of Christmas written from the naughty pen of Gemma Parkes:
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wear lingerie that really made you feel beautiful? Danielle is reluctant until she feels super sexy in her present from Michael. A story bound to warm even the most reluctant of lovers.
A Christmas shopping expedition to England’s capitol city ends up with a visit to a live sex show. An erotic author and her boyfriend are about to view the action from very close quarters. Will it be everything they expected, or more?
Leanne is bored with the commercialism Christmas invariably brings. Will new employee Mike encourage her to get into the spirit of things by allowing him to spend the season with her?
Adventurous couple Clare and Jake have wonderful imaginations that run riot around this time of year. Even the dullest of Christmas decorations can become erotic in the extreme. What else do they have hidden away in their ‘Naughty Box’?
Penny is listening to Christmas Carol singers outside her window, when Jack arrives to spend the night. A lazy preparation of finger food won’t be enough to satisfy either of these passionate lovers.
Excerpt:
Penny sat beside the fire and muted the sound from the TV. She could just make out the faint voices singing ‘Good King Wenceslas’.
Jack would be calling round at 6pm. She could hardly wait and closed her eyes to think delicious thoughts about what the evening might entail.
Penny had prepared a meal of sorts, finger food her mother would call it whilst her best friend Zoe called it ‘lazy’. There were chicken wings, spicy and plain, sausage rolls and three different quiches, some breadsticks and dips and a few other nibbles, crisps mainly.
Anyway Penny didn’t want to spend the evening eating, it had been a difficult week at work and her stress levels were higher than usual. She was planning on an evening of unbridled passion and had prepared the bedroom accordingly with warm red sheets and scented Ylang Ylang candles waiting patiently to be lit. All there was left to do was immerse herself in a deep bath of softening, sensuous bubbles that would guarantee velvety skin just begging to be stroked.
At 6pm Jack arrived wearing a huge grin and holding out a bottle of chilled chardonnay.
He gathered her into his arms almost immediately, placing the bottle down on the nearest surface so that his hands were free to roam over Penny’s warm body through the silken robe she was wearing. Her curves yielded to his touch as his mouth found hers covering it with his full, soft lips and drawing from her a low groan when he eased his tongue inside her receptive mouth.
“I’ve waited all day for your body.” Jack muttered against her lips as he started to ease the robe from one of her silken shoulders.
“Good.” Penny murmured in response and her fingers set about undoing the buttons on his pale blue shirt
They backed up into the room, their lips still searching and nibbling, Penny’s robe was left behind them in a pool on the floor as Jack’s hands explored every soft inch of her body with wide palms, stroking and squeezing her sensitized flesh.
Jack turned Penny around in one movement and bent her forward with her hands against the wall as he loosened his trousers, pulling them down to his knees along with his under shorts.
“I love your ass,” he breathed, “God I love your ass.”
Lady Jane wants Will, for her slave, and she’ll pay a high price to get him. Will dreams of a life under Jane’s spike heels, but in the future city-state of New York, it’s illegal to enslave a free man. Jane, once a notorious hacker, now a network security consultant, isn’t used to letting a little thing like the law keep her from getting what she wants. When a bound and naked Will is delivered to her kitchen door, she takes great pleasure in using leather cat and cuffs and cruel penetrating sex games to tame him. But Will must give up everything to prove his loyalty to her before he can take his rightful place forever kneeling at her perfect feet.
Picture your favorite place in the world. Now, can you tell us a little bit about the place you’ve pictured?
A tiny island off the coast of Belize. I’m wearing a snorkel, a mask, flippers and nothing else, kicking gently in the warm ocean over the most beautiful coral reef I’ve ever seen, with bright colorful fish watching me curiously.
Do you prefer salty or sweet?
Salty. I have a weakness for salt and pepper chips.
What’s your favorite drink?
Tea. I drink tea obsessively, several glasses a day, and rarely drink anything else. I like many different varieties, but Earl Gray de la crème is my favorite.
What was the first book to make a lasting impression on you?
That’s hard to say. I still have my Little Red Riding Hood book that my grandmother read to me when I was a toddler. Books were my best friends growing up. By the time I was 11, I was reading my mother’s bodice rippers and my brother’s Gor books, as well as every bit of science fiction and fantasy I could get my hands on.
I think possibly “The Hobbit” which I first read at 10 was the first book that I felt really changed me fundamentally. It gave me a sort of, “little guys can do amazing things” feeling. That book shaped me to believe that if I persevered, I could slay dragons and change the world.
What was the last book you read that made a lasting impression on you?
Jim Butcher’s “Ghost Story.” There’s something pretty amazing about killing off the hugely popular hero of your long running series, then writing another book, with him as a ghost, trying to solve his own murder. Loved it.
Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
My first book was a collection of my erotic vampire short stories, “Bare Throat, Naked Hunger.” It’s been recently re-published with a lovely new cover by Melange Books. I had a bit of challenge with it, in that the first publisher who wanted it, didn’t want to let me enter one of the stories in the “Best Erotic Fantasy and Science Fiction” contest anthology that Cecelia Tan does for Circlet Press. I thought it would be very good publicity for the book to do so, and didn’t want to be restricted from it, so I took the book to another publisher: MS Fiction which then became Melange. Wonderful folks to work with. I’ve been delighted with them, and the folks at Freya’s Bower and Circlet, more than any other publishers I’ve worked with. The ironic kicker was, I decided to enter a different story, a science fiction interrogation story, “Caught” in the “Best Erotic F & SF” anthology instead.
Can you tell us about a criticism you’ve received that pushed you into a better writing place?
My crit group is brilliant. My writing has improved by leap and bounds over the years, thanks to them. They have taught me a lot of my writing faults, and I have broken many bad habits because of them. One thing I tend to do is write in present tense. In very short stories, it can work, but the longer the story, the more uncomfortable it becomes for the reader. I had to hear that a lot of times from a lot of people before I could force myself to write in past tense. I still often slip from past to present when I’m drafting stories, and have to go back and fix the tenses. In my mind, the story is happening while I’m writing it.
I also tend to focus on the characters, dialog, and plot to the point where setting is almost totally lost at times. My characters hang in blank white space like Neo in the empty matrix if I’m not very careful. My crit group calls me on that every time.
How did you come up with your title?
Titles are very difficult for me normally. I tend to start with a very basic title and come up with something better later. “I Want That One” was the first line in the story, and MS Word saved it automatically as the name of the file. I intended to come up with a title later. Instead, I decided it WAS the perfect title, and made it the last line in the story, too.
Panster, plotter, or a little of both?
This is a difficult question for me to answer. If anyone watched me write, they would think I was a seat of the pants kind of writer, but honestly, I tend to have a story percolating in my brain, or at least a few basic plot points and scenes of the story and key elements of the main characters, for hours, days, even weeks or months, before I get a chance to sit down and write it. Finding time to sit in front of my keyboard for something other than my day job is a big challenge for me. By the time I get to actually write a story, I’ve often already imagined it from beginning to end in considerable detail. So, while it looks like I’m just making it up as I go along, I’m really describing the movie that I’ve already created in my head.
Tell us a bit about the projects you are working on now?
I’ve been doing a lot of mainstream stories lately under a different name. I have a couple of erotica stories in my head, though, that I’d like to write when I can find a little spare time. One story that has been hounding me to write it for ages is about a succubus demon who marries and eventually kills evil men: mobsters, corporate sharks and the like. She runs afoul of a handsome police detective, investigating the mysterious death of her latest husband. He thinks she’s just a human black widow murderer, not understanding that killing her lovers is essential to her nature, something she can’t always control. She chooses only to marry men that she hates, so she won’t regret it when making love to her one too many times kills them. She has a beautiful shimmering, iridescent wings tattoo that covers most of her back and runs down her thighs. When she needs to escape, she unfurls her very real, but delicate, diaphanous demon wings and flies away. I’ll write it one of these days.
My stories always have an element of the supernatural or the future. I’m really a science fiction and fantasy writer who adores sex in many forms, including the wilder side of kink. “I Want That One” is set in a future where New York is a city/state with a new nobility defended by hackers in cyberspace, and there are some intense kinks in the story, BDSM, female dominance, and such. But the true essence of the story is one woman, used to getting what she wants, who wants a man, not used to being wanted.
Paige E. Roberts has published a variety of sexy stories in the US and UK on the fringes of reality and beyond: fantasy, science fiction, superhero, vampire, and shape-shifter stories, with D/s, SM, GLBT, BDSM, and other alphabet soup elements. She lives in Round Rock with her husband and two kids and is active in the local kink community, co-founder of the Voyagers group. Her futuristic femdom story “I Want That One” just came out from www.freyasbower.com “Bare Throat, Naked Hunger,” her anthology of erotic vampire stories is available in e-book or print from www.midnightshowcase.com , Amazon, or Fictionwise. Her sci fi interrogation scene story, “Caught,” is in the new “Best Erotic Fantasy and Science Fiction” anthology from Circlet Press.
Happy Six Sunday and thanks for visiting this week. I have another 6 from my latest Novella BDSM WIP. It’s a sequel to the WIP I shared the first many months of 2012. Last Week: After Simon and Janna shared a scene together, Simon is taken aback when he learns of Janna’s deceit. The pair are thrown back together when Janna lands a new job, but Simon was not happy to see her. This Week: It’s still her first day on the job and she’s just walked into the boss’s office (you remember the mystery man, his name is Keller). She’s thanked the boss for taking a chance on her. The first line is Keller’s.
“Nonsense, you have an impressive record, the chance was yours to take and I’m glad you did, but you might want to save the thanks until you hear more about your first project. Yes, Simon, right on queue.”
She didn’t want to turn around, didn’t want to see the loathing in his eyes.
“What did you want, Keller, I have a mess on my hands today.”
“Yes, I know the extent of the situation, Simon, and I have just the thing here to help. I’d like you to meet your new Project Manager, Jenna.”
I’ve got them right where I want them. Now, are they going to make it easy on themselves and give in or am I going to have to push a little more?
Hope you enjoyed my six today, thank you for stopping by!! I’d like to know what you really think of my 6. I need the advice, I’m a newbie and have much to learn. Don’t forget to check out the other Six Sunday authors.Try to find a new favorite 6 today. happy hunting!
Weren’t we already trying to juggle the impossible, now we’re throwing holiday cards, parties, traveling for work parties (gosh, I really don’t want to go), buying stuff for everyone, baking, planning, etc. About the only thing I don’t mind squeezing into the schedule are the donations, I only wish I could do more. I love the holidays, don’t get me wrong. Once everything is done, I will enjoy them. BUT, I have a book I’m trying to finish, cant the holidays wait until I hit send?
No? Okay. Well with any luck, I’ll hit send this week and then I can get on with the next goal. Eyes forward, no looking back. Sure, we can always plan a little better, work a little harder, but we’re learning as we go, and each decision and result builds on our knowledge stores, and thus, it’s never wasted. This is most certainly the time of year to live in the moment. So, eyes forward, live, love, and enjoy these last four weeks of 2012.
The Goals – week-9 results
Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
Weekly progress in word count, editing, and/or plotting- done. I did finish a round of edits, a read through, sent the MS back to the CP, AND got it back. I love my CP 🙂 she told me my MS was (I’m quoting) 100% no, 200% better! She found a mess of comma errors, I know, you’re not surprised, lol, and there are two spots I want to make changes, but then…that’s it, hands off and I’ll hit send.
Finish reading current craft book- there is only 2 1/2 weeks left in this round. I won’t be finishing my Margie packet this round, bummer, I just can’t see it happening, but I do want to see progress. Once I hit send, I really will not have an excuse anymore. WEEK 10 PRIORITY.
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit- done.
Study one of the Nia 52-moves each week- Finger Flicks. Place your thumb over your four fingernails, pushing them against the thumb to create positive tension, and then flick your fingers out, as if you were flicking water off them. Change the direction of your palms and the position of your arms. Benefits: conditions your forearm muscles and hands, keeping the energy flowing into and out of the hands and keeping tension out of the neck and shoulders.
Finish the Nia Sanjana-routine bars and start the Nia Opal-routine bars (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- I may not have made progress on the last song in the routine, but I did a practice teach this week and it felt great. I want this goal done before that last full week check-in. The challenge is on. WEEK 10 PRIORITY.
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done. I finished collecting tuition, sent out the next round of invoices, and did the monthly reporting.
Organize something in the house each week- done. I have an abandoned collection of products in my bathroom from when I had time to pamper myself with body scrubs and baths. I went through the cabinet and trashed all the spoiled products. I did find a few things I can still use and I have a cleaned drawer, score.
Thanks for stopping. Another picture…another 100 words.
Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
She wouldn’t be safe much longer, he’d reach the top of the cliff soon. A sharp rock caught the edge of her dress as she hurried to distance herself. She ignored the rip, the painful scratch on her thigh and abandoned half her dress.
“Why do you keep running from me?”
“You’ll hurt me, like the others have my sisters. I’ve heard their screams.”
He climbed over the next rock. “I’d never hurt you. Your scent called to me across the ocean. I need to be near you.”
His gaze melted her fear, lust opened her thighs, he’d come. Finally.
Hope you enjoyed my flash today!! Don’t forget to follow the link to get to the other FFF posts. Flasher Fiction Friday. Or click away on the links below.
The battered survivor of an abusive marriage, Angela doesn’t mourn her husband’s death in a drug deal gone bad. But she’s not sure she can survive losing her heart to the handsome detective who assumes she’s a criminal, too.Tasked with Angela’s safety after she’s targeted by an unknown enemy, Jake discovers the beautiful widow is not what she seems. He soon realizes that trusting her goes hand-in-hand with desiring her, and passion and duty collide.Now it’s up to Jake to keep Angela—and their chance at happiness—alive.
Excerpt:
The kitchen scene I blogged on my site, and the recipe for Pear-Hazelnut Tarts — the link to the recipe can be found on my website.
What am I doing? Angela raced to the refrigerator and opened the door to test the firmness of the dough, taking time to clear her mind from the sensual daze induced by Jake’s kisses.
Heat scorched her cheeks. If the timer hadn’t gone off, would she have let him take her right there on the table? She sprinkled flour onto the counter and placed the dough on it, forming it into a square.
“Can I help?” Jake’s husky voice drifted over her sensitive nerves as he came up behind her and heat radiated from him as he positioned himself at her back.
She pushed hair from her face and reached for the rolling pin, not looking at him. She felt like a gazelle being stalked by a lion.
“No, I’ve got it, thanks.” She rolled the dough into a rectangle, before folding the short ends over the middle to make three layers. Turning the dough a quarter turn she rolled it away from her into another large rectangle.
“That looks complicated.” Jake placed an arm at each side of her, then gripped the counter and peered over her shoulder. Effectively caging her in, his warm, minty, breath feathered across her face. “Explain to me what you’re doing. I might like to make it for my son sometime.”
Her hands trembled when she folded the short ends over the middle again to make another three layers. Normally, she’d place the dough back in the refrigerator at this point for another twenty minutes, but if she worked fast enough she could skip that step. And she wanted to get this done as soon as possible and put some space between her and Jake. Afraid she would throw herself back into his arms.
She glanced over her shoulder and met his heated gaze. His eyes smoldered with banked lust. “Seriously?”
He nodded, watching her with a predatory gleam in his eyes.
She took another shaky breath and glanced back down. “Okay. It—it’s a simple recipe really. I’m making dough for Pear-Hazelnut Tarts. I’ll write it down for you.”
“That’d be great.” His body pressed up against her.
Angela gulped. “Well—well, first you prepare the dough, then you need to wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about half an hour.”
“Uh huh.” He leaned in and nuzzled her ear. “Refrigerate the dough. Got it.”
Her mind went into lockdown. Nothing but silence and sexual tension filled the room.
“I’m listening,” Jake brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Flour,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck.
“Oh.” Her body was wound tight and desire pooled in her belly, and her breasts felt heavy and aching with the need to be touched. A tremor ran through her.
She gave the dough another turn and again folded the ends over. “After you remove the dough from the refrigerator, you need to roll it flat, and shape it into a large rectangle, then fold the short ends over the middle so that it makes three layers.” She demonstrated it for him, although she didn’t really think he was paying attention.
“Right. Three layers,” he repeated. One hand slid to her stomach, tugging her closer.
Angela’s pulse raced. “Umm. Repeat this four times,” she managed to say. “The dough needs to remain firm, if not . . . if not, put it back in the refrigerator for another fifteen minutes before continuing.”
“Mmm, sounds like a lot of work.”
She gave her shoulders a little shrug to loosen his arms from around her. “Some space here, please,” she said, breathlessly.
About The Author:
Cheryl Yeko lives in Wisconsin with her husband Patrick. She loves to read, write, play piano and spend time with her grandchildren.
Although she has spent most of her professional life as a legal assistant, she can also include realtor, small business owner, and virtual assistant/mobile notary to her varied background. She is also a member of Romance Writers of America as well as the Wisconsin Chapter.
Cheryl is thrilled to be able to add author to her resume and would love to hear comments from readers.
Genre: Paranormal erotic-romance, vampire, historical, parallel worlds. Publisher: Loose Id LLC Date of Publication: September 25, 2012 ISBN: 978-1-61118-903-2
Number of pages: 286
I have not one but two authors for you today and they’re here talking about the music that inspired them to write Claimed By Dragons. As always, you can click on the pretty cover to see the book, Claimed By Dragons, on Goodreads. Don’t miss the Book Trailer and Excerpt below and at the very bottom you’ll find a bunch of buy links. Enjoy!
BLURB:
In an odd Wiccan shop in Salem, Jael pulls an unusual stone from a witch’s wish bag. Little does she know her wildest dreams of adventure and a torrid affair with two gorgeous co-workers are about to come true—in spades.
Jael’s dreamy boss, Roarke offers her the assignment of a lifetime: a photo safari to Mount Kilimanjaro. The African scenery is stunning but the unexpected arrival of her two office crushes, Roarke and Kypton ignites her passion. Just as the trio is getting steamy at a beautiful waterfall, danger intervenes forcing the men to reveal their secret. They’re dragons. And now, to save her life, they have no choice but to abduct a startled Jael to their mountain lair on Kilimanjaro.
In the dragons’ love nest, Jael learns the truth about their origins and explores all the erotic possibilities two eager lovers can offer. Love awakens, but the guys are being stalked by a covert group of dragon hunters and withholding a life or death secret that will push Jael’s courageous heart and commitment to the limits.
Note:This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices, menage (m/m/f).
BOOK TRAILER:
When we were writing Claimed By Dragons music played a big part and we want to share a few of favorites with you today.
Amber Skyze: Music and Writing Are One Since a child I’ve connected to music on many different levels. I love all different types, but lean more towards Rock/Heavy Metal. I listen to music more than I watch television. My CD collection is large and my iPod diverse.
Music plays a huge part in my writing too. I hear a song and picture a story. Not the full story, but a general theme. Sometimes it’s only the title that strikes an idea for a story, but normally it’s the lyrics.
Take for instance Dante’s Desire, published with Ellora’s Cave. I wrote this story after hearing the song I Get Off, by Halestorm. It’s about someone getting off watching another get off. I knew I had to write Dante’s Desire. The book starts with Addison, the heroine, performing sexual acts in her window for her sexy neighbor across the street.
Another Ellora’s Cave book – Spend The Night With Me, is loosely attached to a song. The song Need You Now, by Lady Antebellum starts off talking about scattered pictures. The image struck a chord with me (no pun intended). This book starts with my heroine Brooke looking at pictures of her now deceased fiancé. After hearing this song, I changed part of the scene to her sitting on the floor with pictures scattered around her. She’s packing them away to move forward with her life.
Sometimes my heroes are musicians like Reed Walker in Body Shots, available from Ellora’s Cave. He’s a singer and guitar player. His band plays at the heroines bar. Reed signs a song he’d written for the heroine many years prior, weakening her defenses.
Those are just a few examples of how I weave my love for music into my writing life. Is there anything that plays a big role in your life?
Katalina Leon: I have to listen to music when I write, it’ not an option, it’s a must! I prefer moody instrumental soundtracks when I’m actually writing, but I listen to and love all this stuff too, whenever I need a little break.
Best song to do a private Striptease to:
Nine Inch Nails “Sunspots”
(You’ll swear you were wearing clothes before the music started) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTt79FZYwsI
Best song to feel empowered by:
Kelly Clarkson “Stronger” (What Doesn’t Kill You)
Best song to make me wish I’d taken guitar lessons seriously:
Led Zeppelin’s ”Ten Years Gone”
EXCERPT:
(In this scene Jael has pulled a stone from Witch Casey’s wish bag and had her fortune told by a wriggly snake, now she has to sit still for a moment and reflect on her love life.)
Jael closed her fingers around the stone and thought of another man who worked with her—Kypton. Kypton was quiet and aloof with most everyone in the department, but his gaze followed her longingly every time she walked past.
When she told her friends she liked the manager of the IT department, they teased her relentlessly. They couldn’t picture her with a computer geek. Thing was, Kypton was the furthest thing from a computer geek. She understood why they immediately thought of someone with glasses, a shirt buttoned up tight to the neck, and a pocket protector sticking out of his shirt pocket. That wasn’t Kypton.
What her friends and others in her office seemed to miss was that beneath the subdued exterior, Kypton was smoking hot with pale blond hair and baby blue eyes. His voice carried the softest hint of northern Europe. He pronounced e’s as a’s, and she wondered if Kypton had gone to school in Switzerland or lived near there as a child.
Occasionally she was fortunate enough to peek down his collar and glimpse the silky blond hair on his chest. His broad shoulders and well-defined chest stood out in anything he wore. His arms looked like he frequented the gym, and those fitted khakis he favored as office wear gave her a view of a sexy, tight ass. A hint of smoldering physicality simmered just below the surface as if he were completely capable of picking her up, carrying her into a quiet storage room, and banging her senseless. At least that was what she hoped. She concluded the other women in her office must be blind or foolish not to notice Kypton’s potential. Kypton seemed thoughtful and sensitive too, which was a huge plus. He’d jumped in to help her on numerous occasions, often staying late at work to do so. He also avoided all office gossip or conflicts and went out of his way to help others before he was even asked, which she found pretty damn attractive.
All in all Kypton was a dreamy guy, even if he might appear a bit sedate.
Only problem was Roarke attracted her too.
Roarke was Kypton’s opposite. Roarke was outgoing and authoritative. When he entered the room, others stopped what they were doing to listen. Though he was a manager, he had an artistic, wild vibe about him that was exciting to be near. He dressed well in bold colors like earthy orange or rich purple. It was a treat to watch him walk past her desk and catch a whiff of his subtle citrusy aftershave—that was, if he ever really shaved. His square jaw seemed perpetually stubbled in a grainy, sexy sort of way.
Roarke had coppery skin and the swarthy good looks of a Barbary pirate chief. She half fantasized he was the son of some powerful khan and his mother was some delicate-boned beauty. Roarke was both puzzling and stunning to look at. His sleek nose and chiseled bone structure made his origins difficult to guess. She wondered if there was a tribe of exotically perfect people hiding somewhere on a long-forgotten island, who sneaked away from their hidden paradise now and then to work as office managers.
As a natural leader, Roarke drew people to his side with ease. He spoke passionately with his expressive hands and cognac-brown eyes as much as he did with words. Anything earthy and creative interested him—nature, movies, paintings, or books, he loved them all. His apartment contained a dazzling array of fine books and an impressive collection of beautiful artifacts displayed in lit niches.
A visit to his apartment was not only a physical thrill; it was mentally stimulating to the artist in her to look at the many things he’d collected over the years. Roarke seemed to live in such a different world from the average person, and she longed be to invited in.
Roarke worked as a manager in the human resource department of International Explorer magazine and network. He was well respected and very much in demand.
She’d foolishly told Roarke on the first date she had no intention of getting involved with a coworker, so maybe some of the distance between them was her fault. She wanted to take it back. What a dummy she was for saying that.
That wasn’t to say nothing had happened between them. It had. Twice after a dreamy museum date or trip to the movies on Roarke’s birthday, the date had ended with both of them unable to keep their hands off each other.
Roarke had picked her up, carried her into his bedroom, tossed her onto his amethyst sheets, and lavished her with the best oral she’d ever had. Roarke was a total sensualist and seemed to know exactly what she needed to come hard. She’d loved every second of writhing in his firm but loving grasp and was eager to reciprocate.
She just wasn’t sure where she stood with him. A date once in a while was for chumps. Maybe he was waiting for her to admit that she did want to get involved with a coworker before pursuing her a little harder.
“Never underestimate the power of love.” Witch Casey winked as she popped the captured snake back into the basket.
Jael turned her attention to the woman standing in front of her. Had she been reading Jael’s mind?
“Your dilemma will not be hard to decide. You already know exactly what you want, and you don’t have to choose.”
Jael’s eyes widened.
Dear God, she can read my mind. I wonder if she saw the naughty thoughts?
“I did, dear.” Witch Casey shrugged. “But your secrets are safe with me. Besides, no one believes me anyway.”
(Jael’s life gets crazy fast, when she returns to work to face Roarke and Kypton with the wish stone in her pocket.)
Thank you so much for having us as your guests!
“Claimed By Dragons” Amber Skyze & Katalina Leon
Book 2 in The Bag Of Tricks book series.
Loose Id Publishing: http://www.loose-id.com/authors/a-f/amber-skyze-katalina-leon.html
Look for Book 1 in The Bag Of Tricks series“ The Strix”.
Also available at ARe and Amazon.
Join Amber Skyze and Katalina Leon on facebook.
Author Bio Katalina Leon:
I’m an artist, an author, mother and wife. I write for Loose Id Publishing and Ellora’s Cave. I try to bring a touch of the mystical and a big sense of adventure to everything I write because I believe there’s a bold, kick-ass heroine inside all of us who wants to take a wild ride with a strong worthy hero.
From a very young age, Amber Skyze began making up stories–the only child syndrome. Telling tall tales to all her friends she never dreamed of putting words on paper. In fact if anyone asked her if she would write when she grew up, she’d have laughed.
It wasn’t until raising children and reading all those romances that she decided–hey, I can write these. HA! Easier said than done.
When not crafting hot, steamy tales, this New York transplant now resides in Rhode Island with her husband, four children (who force her to work a day job), and three dogs.
She currently writes for Ellora’s Cave, Loose Id and is self-published.
I’m not sharing 6-sentences this week, but I am posting my ROW80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days – the writing challenge that knows you have a life) update, which I also post each Sunday during the 80-day challenge. I’ll be back next Sunday with a new 6.
Disappointment can be caused by simply having your expectations too high. How much should I have expected out of a holiday week? Well, we didn’t travel this year, although I did cook quite a feast, and we did have company for two days. But. I’m just getting a handle on my new normal, so, yes, my expectations were a bit high, My goals needed a good week. I enjoyed my family, I enjoyed the holiday and for that alone I can’t be disappointed, but my results were a mixed bag.
I did make a change in my schedule that will help week-9. I didn’t sign-up for Six Sunday this week and instead I will spend several extra hours on goals today. Triple word score.
The Goals – week-8 results
Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done.
Weekly progress in word count, editing, and/or plotting- done. I made huge progress on edits this week. Today I expect to finish a round of edits and make a huge dent on the next read through. My CP is expecting my MS this week and I’m very much looking forward to sending it to her. Boo-ya!
Finish reading current craft book- here’s the first victim this week. I’m working through Margie’s Empowering Characters Emotions packet. I need to figure out a way to fit this in, I’ll keep at it. WEEK 9 PRIORITY.
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit- done.
Study one of the Nia 52-moves each week- Pumps. Squeeze and then relax the palm and fingers of your hand, as if you were milking a cow. Change the tension of the squeeze. Sense for an increasing sensation of relaxation in your hands after each pump. Benefits: reminds you to keep tension out of your neck and shoulders by keeping your hands active. Builds power in the forearms and fingers.
Finish the Nia Sanjana-routine bars and start the Nia Opal-routine bars (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- second victim and it’s even more painful because I’m so close to done on this whole goal. WEEK 9 PRIORITY.
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done. I handled tuition payments this week.
Organize something in the house each week- we have art work from our boys all over the house, but new stuff is constantly coming in and it’s a big job sorting and shifting through it all. Each piece needs time on the frig and in the gallery (in the basement hallway, at the bottom of the stairs, I have a tack strip made out of homasote that holds dozens of pieces for each boy). This week I updated the gallery. First, I took pictures of the works of art for the archives and then I got a new series up. I think I need to add curator to my list of titles, lol.
S.J. Maylee 