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
This week I wandered back into my semi-normal schedule. What’s normal for each of us is always changing though, right? Normal for me isn’t what it used to look like, maybe because I’m not quiet back there yet. But, if I try and force my life back into the tight space it used to be I’m bound to find trouble. My mission has now become finding the new normal. Flexibility is important not just physically, but mentally too.
Speaking of changes, what do you think of my new theme? My little blog turns one tomorrow, so I thought I’d start year two off with a little change. Flexibility and change. I will use that theme and stay fresh, alert, and move my new normal right on into the future.
The Goals – week-3 results
Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done
Weekly progress in word count, editing, and/or plotting- done. Last Sunday I stated this goal needed to be a priority and boy did I ever. I found the foundation for the second half of a story I’m building, so much fun. AND I joined two critique groups. I even shared my first submission and critique with one of the groups. That is huge progress for me.
Finish reading current craft book- I spent no time with Margie this week. WEEK-4 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- Undulation: standing in Open Stance, wave the spine- from top to bottom and then bottom to top. Sense the spaces between your vertebrae. The mental focus will help release chi that may be blocked in the spine. Practice in all stances.
Finish the Nia Sanjana-routine bars and start the Nia Opal-routine bars (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- no progress WEEK-4 PRIORITY
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done. Tuition was due this week, busy times.
Organize something in the house each week- done. This week I did make my appointment at the resale shop, so those four-large boxes are out of the house. Yeah! I also organized one junk drawer. It’s a little drawer, but I did it. I need to make a habit of this, I have a bunch of junk drawers.
Would you just look at that cover, it’s beautiful. Lucky Victoria and lucky us. I have all kinds of treats for you today. Paranormal Romance author Victoria Danann is celebrating the release of book two in her series, The Order of the Black Swan: The Witch’s Dream. She’s holding a tour wide GIVEAWAY!! Victoria is offering one Autographed Print Copy of her book plus a mousepad!! Check out the mouse pad right here on the right. All you need to do is comment, right here on this blog post.
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
He was left behind when Elora Laiken made her choice. Now he’s had it with love, but a transplanted witch who happens to be the world’s best tracker hopes she can change his mind.
The Witch’s Dream begins with B Team on loan for temporary assignment to Black Swan headquarters in Edinburgh where they are supposed to fill in for stretched-thin resources and assist with a werewolf issue. They’ve been given permission to stop in Ireland for a few days and help Ram and Elora celebrate their handfasting at the palace in Derry.
When they reach Edinburgh, the afterglow of an elftale wedding quickly turns all business. A missing person report turns into a demon abduction. A simple werewolf sanction becomes a diplomatic issue requiring the one thing Elora is no longer willing to give – finesse. From New York to Ireland to Edinburgh to Siena to the Texas Hill Country to Napa Valley. From promises to rages to hunts to epiphanies.
This is a story that proves true love can find you when you’re least expecting it – even when you’re far, far from home.
Erotic quotient: A few steamy scenes. No menage. No BDSM.
EXCERPT:
When Kay’s bunch arrived it suddenly seemed as if the one hundred seventy five room palace on twelve thousand acres would not be nearly big enough. His family had migrated to South Texas in the nineteenth century and found it agreeably inhospitable. Berserkers enjoy a good challenge. So they founded an organization to clean up the mess, taking on rowdy itinerants who heartily embraced a get-it-done, no-rules philosophy and called it the Texas Rangers. Were it not for berserkers it seems unlikely that the frontier mix of Comanche, desperados, and javelina could have been subdued so relatively quickly and by so few.
Chaos Caelian, named such by his maternal grandmother as was her privilege in berserker society, was affectionately known as Kay. It was the nickname bestowed upon him by his teammate Rammel Hawking soon after they’d met. Ram had thought a knight named Kay – like the foster brother of King Arthur from Arthurian legend – was amusing. So Chaos became Sir Kay and it stuck. Even his own parents eventually began calling him Kay.
Yes. Everybody knew the near giant knight as Kay except for his three older sisters who refused to give up calling him Bubba, never letting him forget for a minute that he was the “baby” of the family. The four youngest Caelian children were close in age, only a year apart, and in familial ties. There was a much older brother, but he and their parents almost seemed to comprise a second family. The three preschool girls started out calling him “brother”, but the nickname quickly degenerated into Bubba and would not go away.
Their grandmother, sometimes called Evil Gran by those she had named, gave the girls similar hardships to bear. Having inherited the “sight” from her own grandmother, Evil Gran claimed she knew three girls were coming and set out to name them after the Norns; the three keepers of time according to Norse myth. Hence, they were named in order of linear time – past, present, and future: Urda, Verdandia, and Skulda. In a triumph of sibling camaraderie and conspiracy over custom, their names had morphed into something more suitable before they entered kindergarten. Urda became known as “Urz”, Verdandia as “Dandie” and Skulda did a triple twist into “Squoozie” which, odd as it was, seemed like a custom fit.
Elora had once heard Kay say that opening the door to his boyhood home was like going through the wardrobe to the land of “Nornia”.
The entire family resembled the popular perception of Vikings: tall, fair haired, fair skinned, with blue eyes, an abundance of athletic ability, and an indomitable desire to know where to plunder the best jewelry. Fortunately the family had accumulated multigenerational wealth in land, cattle, and oil in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century so the quest for jewelry did not require going a’viking as it was known in the old days. Kay’s sisters were content with the occasional plunder of Gump’s, Tiffany, and Cartier.
Author Bio:
For the past thirteen years, Victoria has illustrated and authored Seasons of the Witch calendars and planners.
Though works of fiction are a departure for her, she has had this series simmering on the back burner of her mind for years. In addition to authoring and illustrating Seasons of the Witch, she plays rock music and manages one of Houston’s premier R&B/Variety/Pop bands.
This series will eventually include some of my actual experience in the paranormal with fictionalized anecdotes from my journals during the years when I was a practicing “metaphysician”, but most of the material is fantasy – of course.
Happy Six Sunday. Thanks for visiting this week and I’d love to know what you think. I have another 6 from my latest Novella BDSM WIP. It’s a sequel to the WIP I have been sharing these past many weeks. Last Week: while in Chicago for a conference, Janna gets a chance to enter a BDSM club for the first time. She’s found her escort in Master Simon. Over the last couple of 6s she took on her first order, received after care, and lied to a Dom. What’s going to happen now? This Week: I’ve skipped a bit more, Simon has dismissed Janna from his service and now, let’s see what he’s up to.
He wanted to hit something. What was it with submissives and their lies? He thundered past the scene areas and kept walking, increasing his speed. Folks saved themselves and moved out of his way. Fury radiated down his arms curling his fingers into fists, almost there. A couple more steps and he entered the gym and saw the innocent bag hanging right where he needed it to be.
I feel bad for the bag. 🙂 And what about Janna? You’ll have to come back. Thank you so much for stopping by today!! 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. Lots of good stuff at Six Sunday and its days are now sadly numbered. I’m not crying. Try to find a new favorite today. happy hunting!
Finding a schedule that works for you mind, body, and soul is time consuming. Trial and error is a long process. Of course, once you find the right combination it’s also a battle to keep it going. With each round of 80-days I’ve tried different things and paid attention to the progress, the stress, and how each affected me. I like to think I’ve figured out a few things. So, did I stick with a plan that works or did I fall down in this second week of 80-days? Yes and no, unfortunately.
My evil day job, which has been working me FOUR TIMES my normal hours the last three weeks, is supposed to be getting back to normal this week, my fingers are crossed. So what will I do with all my newly freed time? Why write, edit, and plot of course. Here is my concern, when you suddenly find yourself with some free time what do you do with it? It will be really easy for the hours to disappear into no man’s land, I can NOT let that happen. I need to dig into the discipline bucket and lean on what I’ve learned over my three previous rounds of 80-days.
The Goals – week-2 results
Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters- done
Weekly progress in word count, editing, and/or plotting- I started out strong, three days of plotting or filling of holes and the rest of the week fell apart. WEEK-3 PRIORITY
Finish reading current craft book- I spent not time with Margie this week. WEEK-3 PRIORITY
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit- done and I wish I could say that I’d kept this going between rounds, but I did not. I completely fell off the healthy journey wagon and was a big part of why I felt like doggy poopy.
Study one of the Nia 52-moves each week- Shimmy: vibrate and shake your shoulders, standing upright or moving front and back, as if you’re shaking water off. Relaxing your lower jaw, so that the neck and shoulder girdle muscles naturally relax, will allow your arms to hang loosely. Make your movements continuous, instead of jerky.
Finish the Nia Sanjana-routine bars and start the Nia Opal-routine bars (i.e. studying the song/movement structure)- no progress WEEK-3 PRIORITY
Stay on top of my co-op preschool Treasurer responsibilities- done, I had a bunch of bills to pay this week and many more reports
Organize something in the house each week- done, I pulled all the clothes out of my boy’s closets that no longer fit. My oldest clothes I stored away for my youngest and my youngest’s clothes I’ve pilled together. Today I will finish folding and boxing for donation or resale.
Thanks for stopping. Another picture…another 100 words.
Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Her plan unraveled into a terrible mess. She played all she had and she couldn’t delay Mark anymore. His musk and charm confused her, he wasn’t the one she desired. His strong arms braced around her, trapping her in a puzzle she didn’t want to solve.
“I didn’t think you’d ever see through James, I’m glad I was wrong.” Mark kissed her neck.
She did see through James, but she didn’t want to give him up. Make him jealous, yes. Mark kissed her again. Pleasure spiked through her body and begged for her attention.
She looked back, waiting for James.
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.
BTS Tours and Wild Child Publishing are proud to present the Wicked and Wild Halloween Scavenger Hunt. 37 blogs have linked together to allow you to hunt for 37 different words that will be hidden in each post, so at the end of the hunt you will have 37 answers to plug into the rafflecopter. Please DO NOT leave your answers in the comment section. We want this to be fun for everyone, and not take the challenge out of the game. So this is how it works.
All the blogs listed below will post their game piece on their allotted date. You are looking for one word (related to Halloween) to plug into the rafflecopter as your answer.
For Example: If you are on Close Encounters with the Night Kind, and find your word (clues will be provided for you in the banner) you log into the rafflecopter form and place your answer in the box marked Close Encounters of the Night Kind. Follow along the entire Scavenger Hunt and collect all 37 clues. We will be drawing for 4 $25 dollar Gift Certificates to Wild Child Publishing. Happy Hunting!!!
RED TAIL HEARTis a sweeping romance for a new generation, telling a story of faith, family, hope, hardship, and most importantly, love, all through one man’s immense struggle to reunite with his soul mate. The book will take the reader on an emotional roller coaster, but will ultimately leave him with the same faith in and hope for love that Chris regains by the end of the novel.
EXCERPT:
“Game 3 series of the World: Yankees of New York 6, Cardinals of St. Louis, 2, no one ran home. Game 4 of the Series of the World: Yankees of New York 2, Cardinals of St. Louis 1, no one ran home,” Marie read.
I awoke from my long dream to a woman’s soft, gentle hand stroking my face. The warmth emanating from her hand against my anguished face brought more pleasure to me than I’d ever experienced. I felt wanted, watched over, cared for and loved for the first time in a very long time in my brief passage from the world of dreams back to consequential reality. I opened my eyes and stared into the tear-filled blue eyes of my French caretaker, Marie. Her long, flowing, black hair fell across her shoulders and hung just above me. Again I inhaled the scent of wild Oklahoma honeysuckle about her, one of my pleasant memories of home.
I looked at her with everything that made me who I was. My natural eyes saw a woman underdressed due to the harshness of war, barely fed, and tired from a long struggle against her nation’s invaders and against men who would invade her. The eyes of my heart, however, saw a soul mate, the other half of my unfinished self and every reason in the world to cling to life.
“I thought… I was losing…you,” Marie said in halting English.
“I have lost myself. Please help me find my way back,” I responded in a barely audible whisper. “Who won the series?” I asked.
She fumbled through some handwritten notes. “Game 5 of the Series of the World: Yankees of New York 2 and Cardinals of St. Louis 0. Dickey ran home for Yankee New Yorkers. Yankee New Yorkers are declared champions of the Series of the World!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kenneth W. Williams was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma and raised there by his illiterate and twice widowed grandmother. While nothing was guaranteed to them, at the urging of his grandmother, he managed to go on to earn two degrees at Cornell University. Williams now resides in Connecticut with his wife and three children and works as an attorney and insurance executive. RED TAIL HEART is his first book.
Happy Six Sunday. Thanks for visiting this week and I’d love to know what you think. I have another 6 from my latest Novella BDSM WIP. It’s a sequel to the WIP I have been sharing these past many weeks. Last Week: while in Chicago for a conference, Janna gets a chance to enter a BDSM club for the first time. She’s found her escort in Master Simon. Over the last couple of 6s she took on her first order and received yummy after care. This Week: I’ve skipped a bit more, including Janna’s moment of honesty. In today’s 6 we get Simon’s reaction.
“Why, why would you do this?” He pushed her away, in part to get some distance and to keep her safe from him. “Answer me.” When she still didn’t answer, “Now.”
“I wasn’t certain…”
“You lied to me.”
Uh-oh, not good. Is this the end for Janna and Simon? Well, were’re only on page-10 of the WIP, so I don’t think so. Gosh, I hope it’s not.
Thank you so much for stopping by today!! 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. Lots of good stuff at Six Sunday and its days are now sadly numbered. I’m not crying. Try to find a new favorite today. happy hunting!
The last quarter of the year has begun. Oh, boy. In preparing for my forth round of eighty days I asked a lot of questions. Like many things we love in life, writing is a labor of love. To some it comes easy, to others, like me, we have to work for it. As each round starts I find myself re-committing to my goals, it’s an honest exercise. This marathon will test you, will try to push you down, pick you up and then slam you down. It’s up to you to wipe off the dust, dry the tears, and get back to work.
These last few weeks I have not been the happiest<– there’s honesty for you. I could give you the whys, but I won’t bore you. Let’s talk solution. What makes me happy? Being creative makes me happy. Writing makes me happy. Even editing, as hard as it is, makes me happy. Anything that keeps me close to my characters, molding their lives, makes me happy.
In my third round of eighty days I pushed hard. I made a lot of progress in that round and I see that know. At the time I saw only the things I didn’t get done. Trying and failing allows us to learn, right? We could fail and sit down and give up. OR. We can see a new way and try again.
This forth round I’m going for the positive, I’m going for the happy. The end of the year is always crazy, but I don’t want to lose ground on my progress. I don’t want to lose my connection to my characters. I have three WIPs in various stages of life. WIP-1 is in beta testing, WIP-2 is at the end of first draft, and WIP-3 really wants to get going. I’m not going to commit to a word-count this round. Although I have an idea of the word count I want to see in weeks I’m full on writing. But here is the reality, some weeks are going to be spent in editsville and others in plotting.
The goal list is shorter this time and that makes me happy. 😀 But there will be no slacking, only necessary breaks to smell the roses. I got these roses from my in-laws this week. I married a prince and he learned his tricks from two of the sweetest people around. They know how hard I’ve been working. They reminded me: You have to stop and smell the roses.
What do I want this round? Regardless of the activity, I want to see progress every day. Everyday I will make time for the things I love. Everyday I will enjoy life, I will write…or edit, or plot.
The Goals
Spend at least 1-hour a day with my characters
Weekly progress in word count, editing, and/or plotting
Finish reading current craft book
Workout a minimum of three times a week and round it out with plenty of water, sleep and my calorie limit
Thanks for stopping. Another picture…another 100 words.
Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
No tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, the only sign of her restrained fury was the tiny twitch in her eye. The day would have been perfect, everything had been in place. She had it all, the perfect dress, the perfect setting, all their family and friends. Now it was spoiled, now there was no prince charming waiting for her at the end of the aisle.
Anger and revenge pushed through her veins, but she continued to sit and stare at the forest beyond. Her mind wouldn’t let go of all she’d lost when he walked away.
He’d pay.
Hope you enjoyed my flash today!! Oh, boy! I’d say he’s the beast, but the next 100 is yet to be written. Don’t forget to follow the link to get to the other FFF posts. Flasher Fiction Friday. Or click away on the links below.
Liv’s Journey: Book 1 in the Journey Family Series
by Patricia Green Publisher: Blushing Books Publications . Length: 115 pages Sub-Genres: Erotic, Spanking, Romance
I have a spanking good treat for you today. I’m bringing you all kinds of information on Patricia Green, author of several books including the Journey Family Series. Below you’ll find my review on the first in the series, the blurb, a trailer, an except and some details about Patricia.
PLUS there’s a tour wide GIVEAWAY!!! Patricia is giving away 3 gift cards to Blushing books. One for $30 and 2 for $10. It’s simply a comment to win.
My Review
This book caught by attention recently and I grabbed at the chance to review it. It captured my interest from the first sentence. Patricia doesn’t make you wait before she brings in some heat. It’s a quick read, but there is a story here. Liv has been a model for some time, but has recently given up the weight restrictions for the normalcy of plus sized modeling. Liv can eat like a normal person now, but the issues of weight linger everywhere. I could sympathize with Liz, she has a hard time feeling confident with her body. Trey doesn’t understand of course, her body’s beautiful, but he helps her with a delicious spanking. Trey is a wonderful leading man. He’s strong in his convictions and he doesn’t back down when Liv pushes his buttons.
There all kinds of spanking scenes, plenty of heat between Liv and Trey and a couple of side stories to fill out this book with intrigue. Trey and his brothers run a BDSM boot camp, but here you’ll find some good D/s and spankings. I mentioned that, right? Yes, some fabulous spankings. I frowned to see alcohol was allowed at the boot camp and it didn’t seem restrictive. But Liv is smart and puts the one-drink limit on herself, thank goodness.
I enjoyed this story and it was hard to put down. The majority of the scenes read very quickly. In looking at my rating system definitions I couldn’t decide between a 4 or 5, so this is a very solid 4.5. I recommend you read this book. I will most definitely be reading the next book in this series.
BLURB
Trey likes to spank and he makes that pretty clear early in their acquaintance by spanking Liv during a walk among the pecan trees. It turns out that Liv likes it, but he holds some back as a reward to be given at a more appropriate time. Not long after they meet, Liv finds out that spanking isn’t always fun—she gets mouthy and disrespectful in front of some of Trey’s friends, and he takes her out to his truck to teach her some manners. Unfortunately, while he’s spanking her, a paparazzo snaps a photo of her bare-bottomed and face turned toward the camera as she’s being spanked.
Liv is mortified and sure that her career will be over if that photo gets published. Trey feels guilty for putting her in that position, not to mention that his commanding officer is displeased with his behavior. They simply must get the rights to the picture so that it can’t be published.
BOOK TRAILER
EXCERPT
At first, there was a cool breeze on her bare bottom, as the pecan trees shielded her from the harsh sun. Birds chirped incessantly; it seemed like all the birds in the world came to Texas in the spring. Trey’s thighs under her belly were warm and hard and there was a growing lump against her left hip where his excited cock lay tucked into his jeans. As his hand passed over her bottom, Trey hummed softly. It was a sound of pleasure, a calm sound, a controlled sound. Liv’s heart beat faster, knowing what that sound presaged. The humiliation of being bare-assed and over his lap was nothing compared to what was to come.
The sharp retort of the strap on her butt cheeks silenced the birds entirely. Some flew away in fright. And it hurt, but Liv gasped not out of pain but surprise at the sudden smack. Even knowing that it was to come, the exact moment it fell was always one second before it was expected. The first blow was still echoing through her mind when there was a second, third, and fourth. Heat blossomed over her rear and a sharp sting became a bright bloom. She moaned as the count rose above ten, and she couldn’t help but squirm.
“Still, angel.” His free hand pressed down on her back to keep her steady. She couldn’t do it herself. Her body wanted to wriggle away from the pain. Or, parts of it did. Some parts, the parts that sometimes wouldn’t heed her better judgment, got wet and slick and very ready for the reward Trey would share with her.
As the count reached twenty-two, tears began to stream from Liv’s eyes and her moans became sobs. She wanted this spanking, she knew she both needed and deserved it. Tears would cleanse any lingering feelings of guilt over poor behavior and her reward for taking her punishment would be hot, hotter than her flaming ass.
Liv lost count after twenty-five blows from the strap. She knew her bottom would be striped and fiery red. She’d seen it in the mirror after times like this. Perversely, she wore those stripes like a badge for the day or two they lingered. She’d earned her pleasure. She’d paid for her transgressions. Conflict was over and only sweet contentment remained.
Crying freely, she sobbed and sniffled as the spanking stopped. Trey’s big, hot hand glided over her stinging behind reverently, and sometimes a finger would trace one of the welts left by the strap.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice thick and watery.
His fingers slipped between her legs and found her pool of excitement. Her hot face got hotter. “You gonna be a good girl now and mind when I’m tellin’ you to do what you know you should?”
“It’s a habit…”
“A habit we need to get you over or you’ll be miserable, Liv.”
His fingers dipped deeper into her pussy and explored a little. A wave of pure desire washed through Liv’s belly.
“Yeah,” she agreed, though her mind was on those fingers. They retreated slightly and slid toward her swollen clit. “Please. Trey. Please.”
She could hear the smile in his voice as he responded. “Please what?”
The last of her tears dripped onto the leaf-strewn ground. “Please, fuck me.”
He rolled her over on his lap and pressed her face against his broad chest. “You’ll have to wait until after.”
“After! But that’s hours from now!”
“Yup.”
She looked up into his face, hoping for a teasing look in his brown eyes. The crinkles at the corners told her that he was smiling, even before she noticed his grin. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“Trey!”
He slid his hand up her torso and cupped a full breast, his thumb flicking over her nipple as it pressed against her bra and thin cotton blouse.
“You’re being mean.”
“Maybe.”
She growled her frustration and squirmed, her bottom hot and itchy against his denim. One more try. “Please?”
“Nope. After.”
Trey did things in his own time, and in his own way. Liv was usually happy about that; she trusted him after all they’d been through. So she’d wait for her reward. After wasn’t so far away.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Having begun her writing career at the tender age of seven by publishing a poem in a children’s magazine, Ms. Green has spent many years at typewriter and keyboard. She’s the author of 14 published projects (13 ebooks; and one out-of-print traditional book).
Ms. Green resides in the Washington DC area, is married to her best friend, and is the mother of twin daughters.
S.J. Maylee 