Sexy Romance StoriesSexy Stories from today's Hottest Romance Authors!

Hello, y’all. This is Kiru, one of the newbies here at Sexy Romance Stories. It’s great to be part of this wonderful group of authors. I was introduced to the rest of the group via Jennifer Lynne whom I met online last year through our mutual book publisher Breathless Press.

Source: GlobalTV.com

As this is my first post here as a team member, I thought I’d do a quick get-to-know-Kiru post and share some of the TV shows I love watching. So here goes.

I’m the first in a family of five siblings. Although I was born in Nigeria, I currently live in the United Kingdom. I’m married with three kids—my youngest is just 9 weeks old. Yep, there’s a new baby in this house. 

So you should already know, I write sexy romance. My stories always have an African link, either set in Africa and/or with African characters. You can check out my website to find out more about my books.

It goes without saying that I love reading. Mostly romance novels. But I also read most other fiction, fantasy, historical and thrillers especially.

One genre I don’t enjoy reading is Horror fiction. I read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Anne Rice in my early 20s. I don’t read similar stuff anymore. Neither do I watch the movies. Scaring myself to death with nightmares isn’t fun. LOL

Talking about movies, I generally don’t watch a lot these days. In fact, I haven’t been to a cinema to see an adult movie for almost ten years, although, I take the kids to watch children’s films.

Source: CBS.com

The only time I get to watch TV is when I’m feeding baby, so I use it to catch up on my favourite movies or shows. For movies I watch action/thrillers (all action heroes/heroines kicking ass and blowing things up? Yeah! ), sci-fi and of course, romance.

These are my favourite TV shows at the moment:

NCIS Los Angeles (LL Cool J is hot as ex-Navy SEAL Sam Hanna.)

Hawaii 5-0 (Alex O’Loughlin plays sexy Lt Commander Steve McGarrett.)

Justified (Timothy Olyphant plays tough but softly spoke deputy US marshal Raylan Givens. He makes a Stetson look cool.)

Jacob’s Cross is a TV drama series about powerful oil magnates battling for Africa’s rich off-shore oil resources. Set in both South Africa and Nigeria, the story centres around businessman Jacob Makhubu Abayomi and his quest to build the next great African empire. Click the link below to watch the trailer.

Jacob’s Cross trailer

Source: AdamsApplesMovie.com

And last but not least, Adams Apples is a mini-series set in the hustle and bustle of the city of Accra and its suburbs with glimpses of the exciting metropolis of London. It follows the lives of the four “Adams” Ghanaian women as they work through domestic struggles, family life and personal battles to achieve success and happiness in a fast changing 21st century Ghana.

So tell me what do you like to watch on TV or at the movies?

I’ve just returned from the RT Booklovers Convention in Kansas City. The annual event attracts around two-thousand romance readers, writers, bloggers, reviewers, and industry professionals, throwing them all together in one place with plenty of opportunity for them all to interact. There are workshops and events for everyone, but not exclusive to anyone. There are learning opportunities, games, social events, and parties galore, all under one roof.

It’s not unusual to find yourself in the elevator with a couple of NYT Bestselling authors or a group of fans dressed in their finest Steampunk regalia. Friends are made instantly over a common love of the romance genre. Standing in line at the one small restaurant in the hotel, having misplaced my roomie, I was on my own. No problem. The next person in line turned out to be the lovely Lynnette Austin. We shared a table and conversation over lunch, a brief moment of quiet in our hectic day. One morning at breakfast, Larry Kirshbaum, the chief of Amazon Publishing, was at the table next to myself and my roomie, Felice Fox.

Felice Fox

It was wonderful to reconnect with some author friends I rarely get to see, Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin, Jennifer Probst, and Tara Lain, to name a few.

Roz Lee & Tara Lain

Roz Lee & Jennifer Probst

*********************************************************************************************************

Roz Lee & Eden Bradley

Then there are the wonderful readers who devour everything we writers can come up with. A few of my favorites were Gloria from Oklahoma City, Mary, Linda and Anne from Rhode Island and Susan from Pennsylvania.

Post-conference, my vocal chords are strained and my smile muscles and feet aching, but I’m already looking forward to next year when I get to do it all over again. If you haven’t experienced one of these conventions, you’re truly missing out on a special experience. Next year the RT Booklovers convention will be held in New Orleans. I look forward to seeing you there. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

I was lonely growing up…  I think many people are.  But I fixed that all right!

"Woman Loneliness" by savit keawtavee: freedigitalphotos.net

The loneliness seemed most acute when we traveled. My parents liked to take us on lots of vacations, by car and sometimes by plane,and we had lots of good adventures. But by the time I was 12 or 13 years old, sitting by myself, looking out the window on those long journeys, I felt so alone.

Back then, I blamed it on being the odd one out–my younger brothers had each other and my parents did too. But I think it was mostly that I had become a teenager, and was longing to leave my parents and have my own adventures. And I was a young woman, yearning for love and romance.

Soon I was dating, going from new love to heartbreak, and back again. I fell in love easily, perhaps more in love with the idea of it than with the young objects of my affection. Then I found him–the one I’d never leave and who’d never leave me. My dream came true.

We started a family, and I built a home business to be with my children. I hired two full-time employees who work in an office in my home. Because of their ages and needs, my three boys go to three different schools. With people coming and going all day for work, and three teenage boys coming and going evenings and weekends, it seems I never get a minute to myself. At times it drives me crazy. But… I’m never lonely!

Be careful what you wish for!

Sometimes I find myself wishing for wishing for time off, alone time. But now I am more careful with my wishes! I am so grateful for my beautiful family, and wouldn’t want them to leave, so now I wish for some nice quiet time to recharge myself so I can be there for my guys.

And when I’m all finished wishing, I go take a yoga class. Wishing is good, but then you’ve gotta go do something to make those dreams come true!

Life gets busy sometimes, even for a writer. Even though I claim to write full-time, the truth is most of the time I squeeze writing in between all my other responsibilities. Sure, I don’t punch a time clock, but believe me—my day planner is full.

When all of you were stressing over the holidays last year, I was trying to finish edits on my latest release, Lost Melody, write the first draft of Bases Loaded—the third book in the Mustangs baseball series, organize for a cruise/writers conference to be followed by a cross-country move, and plan a destination wedding for my oldest daughter. Yeah, nothing to do, huh?

February is almost over and I’m just now recovering from the last quarter of 2012! The good news is, we are snuggled into our New Jersey home now and that massive list above has dwindled down to one thing—completing Bases Loaded. Now that things are settling into a routine, I think it’s time to share some of my experiences with you.

Taking things in the order they occurred…first—the wedding. It turned out beautifully, and my daughter said if she had it to do over, she wouldn’t change a thing. High praise from a bride!

A beautiful day!

Next up was the Caribbean cruise with the Florida Romance Writers. I was still going rounds with my editor over Lost Melody and packing boxes for the move so I really needed a vacation, even if it was a working one. The good news is, we were not on the one that became stranded in the Gulf of Mexico!

Cozumel

We returned to California after the cruise, packed up the U-Haul (the DH’s idea, not mine) and left for New Jersey a whole thirty-six hours after stepping off the cruise ship. The drive was long, me with the dog in my car, the DH pulling the U-Haul behind his company truck. It took us eight days to make the drive, stopping to spend a bit of time with both our daughters along the way. Just in case you think the drive was totally boring…

It had its moments!

We arrived in New Jersey slightly ahead of this –

Home, sweet home.

The timing was perfect for me. I still had a round of edits to do on Lost Melody and the crunch was on to get it done for a Valentine’s Day release. Good news! I left all the boxes sealed and set to work on the edits and revisions, and voila! Lost Melody released as planned.

A contemporary romance.

 Blurb - 

Out of sight, out of mind. That’s what Melody Ravenswood was counting on when she invented a new life for herself as Mel Harper in the small farming community of Willowbrook, Texas. She could be herself, whoever that was. Having long since lost her identity to being the only child and sole beneficiary of a legendary rock and roller, she was finally going to live the normal life she craved – a job, a house, friends and no paparazzi.

Hank Travis is the last thing Mel needs in her new life. The local boy turned rock and roll star’s sexy, won’t take no for an answer pursuit makes her long for a life she has only dreamed of. Before Mel can have the future she wants with Hank, she must confront her past and find the Melody she lost along the way.

Read more here.

Learn more about my other persona, Dolores W. Maroney here.

So…what have you been up to??

I recently had the opportunity to see Thunder From Down Under at the Excalibur in Las Vegas. It’s a real-life Magic Mike kind of male revue – only all the performers are from Australia. At least that’s what they claim. I personally don’t care where they’re from. That’s not the reason I bought a ticket. With bodies like those, they could have claimed to be from Mars and I would have bought a ticket.

I was actually there as part of my daughter’s Bachelorette outing. I have to thank her for including me in the festivities. She knows how much I enjoy my research so she said I could come along. Isn’t that sweet?

In the interest of educating my readers, here’s my review of the revue.

Music – LOUD – supposedly so it can be heard over the hundreds of females screaming their heads off. At least, that’s my theory.

Dancing – Lousy – Clearly, these folks have no professional training in that area. No one. Repeat – NO ONE was concerned with their lack of dancing ability.

They ‘danced’ as firemen, cowboys, pirates, gangsters and gladiators. Women shouted and vied for the honor of being brought up on stage. A few made the cut, my daughter, the bride, being one of them. That in itself was something I would have paid money to see, and did! Anyway, back to the review. This is where the cynic in me comes out.

There were several bachelorettes in the audience – as to be expected. Not all of them were ‘honored’ on stage. I suspect the ones that were had been singled out before the show began according to the number of guests they had in their party. We were a dozen strong, and we had reserved seating so they knew where we were. It was clear to me that the performer who sought out our bride knew exactly what section of the audience to go to in order to find her.

Other ‘random’ audience members were brought on stage for various things including a fake orgasm contest. If these women were plants, they were good. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the show. Each of the three had a different take on the fake-it sounds – all believable based on their varied ages, and I imagine, experience. The oldest in the bunch, a woman around my advanced age, won, and rightfully so.

The ‘random’ selection from the audience that has me using quotation marks was a 72-year-old grandmother who made the stage twice. Both times, she interacted with the performer in a way that had me wondering how many times she did this each week, and if it paid well. Hey, if this writing gig doesn’t work out I could be looking for alternative employment!

Anyway, she knew the moves too well, and played the part of the dirty little old lady a bit too well to be believable for me. Even the younger crowd I was with commented on this, so it wasn’t just me.

Last – I didn’t expect to see any men in the audience, especially unaccompanied ones. However, there was at least one and he was seated next to me with nothing but an eighteen-inch bar table between us. Remember, this was assigned seating. There were open seats all around him and several between him and the group of young women occupying the rest of that block of seats. There were other men in attendance. Most were cozied up to their female dates, or at the very least, clearly ‘with’ a female. The guy next to me wasn’t. I’d say he was a bit older than me, and if I had to guess at his occupation, I’d say pimp. Yeah, did I say he was creepy? LOL I scooted my chair as far away as possible and tried to ignore him, but my gaze was drawn in his direction on occasion. Unlike everyone else in the place, he was a non-participant. He didn’t clap, laugh, scream or so much as smile that I could see. What was he doing there? I haven’t got a clue, nor do I want one. I was just glad he was sitting beside me and not one of the young women in our party.

Did I say I had a good time? I know this is a rather cynical review, but all things said, I had a fabulous time. I laughed until I cried at my daughters embarrassment and horror at having a stranger’s butt sweat on her hands! Yeah, that was worth the price of admission.

Would I go again? You bet! Next time I’m taking earplugs though, and maybe opera glasses – my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. <grin> And maybe I’ll stop in and see if they’re hiring. Dirty old lady in a male revue sounds a lot better than Wal-Mart greeter!

That’s me on the far left with my daughters.

We are so happy to have the fabulous Tara Lain visiting with us today. If you haven’t discovered her books yet, you’re in for a treat. Help us welcome her by leaving a comment. We want her to come back, and you could win a free book, too! What could be better than that?

Thank you so much to Roz, Chellesie, and Jennifer for inviting me here today to celebrate the release of my new MM contemporary called Snow Balls. I’m delighted to be among the first guests on this beautiful blog. My new release, Snow Balls, is a MM opposites attract story and the latest in the very popular Balls to the Wall series.  I was having a conversation recently with a friend who doesn’t read romance. In fact, he doesn’t really read fiction. I was explaining the twists and turns of the plot of a new book I’m writing and I found myself telling him how very complex good romance is. I listened to myself saying it and thought, son of a gun, it’s true. Now I will be the first to admit that most people don’t think of our genre this way. They think of romance as the simplest of fiction. Boy meets girl, boys loses girl, boys finds girl again and they live happily ever after. Of course, in my case it’s boy meets boy, but the principal is the same. They call it a formula.

But think about it. Virtually all fiction has some formula. Certainly mystery has a lot of rules and suspense is riddled with them. I guess you could argue that Joyce’s Ulysses had no formula, but maybe breaking the rules was a formula of its own. Now, think about romance. We not only have to create an interesting plot with three-dimensional characters who have problems of their own — we also have to make them fall in love! They have to fall in love somewhat believably, have obstacles that keep them apart and make it appear at least for a time that they won’t get together, and then, in spite of it all, they end up together. I thought about my MMM romantic suspense novel, Golden Dancer. Holy cow, I had a theft of an art treasure, a nasty, villain, a ballet dancer, an investigative journalist, and a billionaire technologist I somehow had to get together while never losing touch with the mystery. In my new book, Snow Balls, I tell the story of two complex men struggling with demons from their past who both pretend to be something they’re not. Finding a way to bring them together  without compromising who they are is no small challenge.

It’s been many a century since “romance” was a tight formula plot with two-dimensional characters that always ended in a wedding. In fact, we might argue, that today ours is one of the most complex genres to write. But maybe we better just keep it between us!  LOL

Contest details -

Would you like to win a Balls book? Leave me a comment WITH YOUR EMAIL and you may win your choice of Volley Balls (Aussie sandwich), Fire Balls (the feisty artist and the firefighter), or Beach Balls (enemies to lovers–underwater). Three people this week will win books. And someone who comments on one of my blog stops this week will win a $10 GC as well. I’ll be choosing winners as I go so if you want to comment on more than one blog come on over to Beautiful Boys Books and check out the schedule.

And here is an excerpt from Snow Balls. I hope you enjoy it!

 Excerpt - 

Big, handsome and hunky, JJ LaRousse looks like an alpha male but acts like an interior decorator. And he’s trying to be happy about it — until a robbery at the famous Laguna Winter Fantasy brings JJ face-to-face with tough cop, Ryan Star. JJ hears Ryan likes guys who are manly men, so he drops his voice an octave, colors over his pink hair, and tries to pass as a football fan. Ryan Star may be tough but he hides in the closet at work since he learned in New York that being a gay cop can cost you your life. His attraction to that big, handsome kid threatens his anonymity, but he can’t seem to resist. JJ is just his type. But then JJ goes skiing and comes face to face with his greatest nemesis– and all the secrets come out of the closet. Can Ryan love JJ for who he really is? More important, can JJ?

“David. David. Oh my God, oh my God.” JJ grabbed the smoothly muscled arm of his friend and boss.

David trapped JJ’s other waving hand between his. “OK, calm down. What is it? Did one of the exhibitors wear pink and orange together again?” David grinned. Nobody knew better how overreactive JJ was. Thank God, David loved him anyway.

He needed air. He took a deep breath. “The cop. The one I told you about. Oh my God of CSI, he wants me to come to the police station and look at mug shots.” JJ retrieved his hand. He needed it for fanning.

David looked up at JJ. It wasn’t far up since the handsome gallery owner stood a slim six foot one to JJ’s six four. “OK. That’s not hard. The police station is only a ten-minute walk away and I’m here to finish setting up the booth. Perfect timing.”

“Oh God.” JJ collapsed onto a packing crate.

“That’s the hand blown glass you’re sitting on, darling.”

JJ jumped up. “He’s just so…”

“Intimidating, overbearing?”

“Delicious.”

David laughed. “That’s a different kind of problem.”

“I’ve got to go to the men’s room.”

“Oh, OK.”

JJ took off at a run to the men’s room at the center of the festival grounds. Inside, he stuck his carefully spiked head under the faucet, pulled out his comb, and flattened the do. Of course, the pink streaks still stood out like candy canes in his light brown hair. Nothing to be done about it now. He washed his hands and headed back to the booth.

David glanced up from the last packing box. “What happened to your hair?”

“Rod says the cop likes guy’s guys.” David tucked in his T-shirt with the What Would Anna Do? logo, his homage to Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue. He pulled on his Windbreaker and zipped it up. He did a twirl. “With a cap, can I pass as Daniel Craig?”

David put his hands on his hips. “First off, how does Rod know who or what the cop likes? And even if he’s right, it’s never a good idea to try to be something you’re not. You know that. Pretend at the beginning and you have to keep living your lies. That’s a drag.”

JJ stuck out his lip. “It’s not exactly a lie. Hell, look at me.”

David frowned. “JJ, you’re gorgeous. And you’re a catch just the way you are.”

“But I’m such a…” he waved his hands “…fruit!”

“Strawberries and cream. Any man would be lucky to get you.”

JJ sighed. “Thanks. But I need to be more, you know, masculine.”

David smoothed the crease between his own brows with two fingers. “Who said that?”

JJ frowned. “You mean besides my father?”

“Ancient history. You have a life now with people who love you as you are. Don’t go looking for appreciation from those without the discrimination to give it.”

About the Author-

Tara Lain’s first erotic romance novel was published in January of 2011. She’s now on book 16. Her novels have garnered awards for Best Series of 2011, Best Contemporary Romance, and Tara has been named Best Writer of the Year in the LRC Awards. In her other job, Tara owns an advertising and public relations firm, and she carries her promotional instincts into her writing career as well. She lives  with her soul-mate husband in Laguna Beach, California, a pretty seaside town where she sets a lot of her books.  Passionate about diversity,  justice, and new experiences , Tara says on her tombstone it will say “Yes”!

 Connect with Tara - 

Website:              http://www.taralain.com

Author blog:       http://taralain.blogspot.com

Don’t forget to leave a comment and you could win a copy of one of Tara’s Beautiful Boys books!

Time is relative. When you’re a kid, the days and years seem like they are moving slower than a slug. Then when you finally reach the magic age that marks adulthood time speeds up until you suddenly find your kids are old and so are you.

It happens to us all. I swear yesterday was January 1^st, and now I’m looking at frozen turkeys and glittery decorations in all the stores. How did that happen? Anyway, this is the season to reflect on the previous months and the trends that caught everyone’s attention.

In the publishing world, there couldn’t possibly any doubt as to what book has had the greatest influence on the industry this year. I wish I could report that it was one of mine, but alas, that isn’t the case. The Fifty Shades of Gray trilogy has not only whipped the publishing world into a frenzy (Pardon the pun), but has extended its reach into all areas of our lives.

It’s the Fifty Phenomenon. There’s no need to voice the entire title. Just say fifty, and everyone knows what you’re talking about. We’ve added the term BDSM to our lexicon. Businesses selling everything from hardware to lingerie have benefitted from the popularity of the books and women all over the world have been inspired to spank some life back into their lackluster sex lives – even if their partners aren’t so inclined.

Recently, one British woman thought to do the same. According to news reports, she read the books then went out and bought some ‘marital aids’ (My words, not hers) and asked her husband to use them – on her. Her hubby was not inclined to that sort of sexual activity and declined to participate. So she divorced him, citing unreasonable behavior as her reason.

It’s tales like that one that will cement two-thousand and twelve in pop culture history as two-thousand fifty and twelve.

But long before that story made the news, I wrote a similar scenario into the second book of my Mustangs Baseball series, GOING DEEP. Only in my version, it’s the guy who wants to give the kinky sex a try and the woman who safe words out of the relationship.

So…how has the Fifty Phenomenon touched your life?

Here’s a short excerpt from GOING DEEP.

Jason’s girlfriend has left him and his teammate has coaxed the story out of him.

“What are you, some kind of shrink?”

“No, but I do want to win. And the Mustangs need you to start hitting. If I have to listen to your sad tale, then I’ll take it for the team.”

“Okay, but if you tell another soul I’ll use your head for batting practice and smile while I do it.”

Todd raised both hands in surrender. “I don’t doubt that for a minute. My lips are sealed, compadre. Now, tell me what happened.”

Jason glanced around the cavernous basement below the stadium to make sure none of the other team members were around. Assured they were alone, Jason began, “You know that book, the one everyone’s talking about? The one all the women are reading and saying it’s making them horny?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“Well, Stacey bought a copy. We’d had some awesome morning sex, and I didn’t have to be at the field for a few hours, so we were just chillin’, you know?”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, after breakfast, she picked the book up again — man, she couldn’t put it down. I swear, every time I saw her for days she had that book in her hands.”

Todd nodded, and Jason continued. “I asked her what was so interesting about it, and she started reading me some of the sexy parts. We laughed about a couple of them, and then she read this one where the guy handcuffed the woman and did some kinky stuff to her. It was hot, I’m telling you. Anyway, I said I wouldn’t mind doing some of those things to her.”

“And?”

“She looked at me like I’d turned into some kind of monster. She couldn’t believe I’d even think of doing those things to a woman, much less her.”

“What did you do?”

“I told her I wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want to do, and she should have known that.” Jason shook his head. Stacey’s behavior still didn’t make any sense to him. “Anyway, the next thing I know, I get a Dear Jason text. A text. We were in Atlanta and went from there to Cincinnati.”

“I remember that trip,” Todd said. “I didn’t have a single hit against the Braves.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t much better,” Jason said with a sneer. “By the time I got home, she’d cleared out of our place.”

“Had you ever asked her to try any of the things in the book, or done any of them without her permission?”

“No! I’d never force a woman to do anything she didn’t want to do. And honestly, I’ve never had to.”

“Your charisma aside, was there anything else she said?”

“Just that I was too demanding. That it’s always my way in bed, never her way. Shit! I asked her all the time to tell me what she liked.” He raked his fingers through his hair. Now that he’d started talking, he couldn’t stop. His frustration poured out faster than fans scurrying from the stadium when the home team was losing by a dozen runs.

“She said she didn’t like the way I tried to take care of her, as though she couldn’t take care of herself. It sounded like a bunch of women’s lib shit to me. You know. She said she could pump her own gas, and she didn’t want me ordering for her at restaurants. I’d call to check on her when I was out of town, just to make sure she was okay. I thought I was being considerate, but she said I was smothering her. And then the kinky sex thing…she said that scared her.”

When he finally wound down, it was as though the concrete walls had absorbed all the sound. The silence was deafening. Aware that Todd hadn’t said anything, Jason dared to look at his confessor. He didn’t like the way his friend eyed him.

“What?” Jason asked.

“Do you want to do those things to a woman? Really, want to do those things, or was it just some fantasy?”

Jason nodded. “Yeah, I think I’d like that. You know, calling all the shots, having a woman at my mercy. Willingly. I’d only do it if they wanted it, too. Stacey had to know that.”

Todd stood. “You have plans tonight?”

The abrupt change of subject caught him off guard. “No. Just gonna watch some TV, maybe have a few beers. Why?”

“I want to show you something.” He pulled a team notebook out of the bag he’d crammed underneath the bench. He scribbled something, tore out the page, and folded it in half before handing it to Jason. “Meet me at that address around nine. Dress casual.”

Damn, he didn’t feel like going out. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” Todd grabbed his duffel and left.

He hoped Todd wasn’t going to try to fix him up with some bimbo. The last thing he needed right now was a woman messing with his head — it was plenty messed up already.

Read more here.

Going Deep is available from these retailers-

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As I write this post, I’ve just watched Green Moon race home to a win in this year’s Melbourne Cup. I am sitting at my sister’s house in an outer suburb of the city, surrounded by family, and the grey heavens have opened in a heavy spring downpour, but despite the clouds everyone is still hyped up from cheering home their “pick” in the only horse race I know that comes with its very own Public Holiday.

Here in Australia we call it the race that stops a nation. The Cup has everyone breathless at race time on the first Tuesday in November, when 24 of the world’s finest horses thunder around the extra-long 3,200 meter track.

In Melbourne our family gathers for a barbeque and to watch the famous race on our television screen. This is something duplicated in many houses across the city and indeed, around the whole state. And just for this one day of the year, we all become “experts” at judging the horses, the jockeys, and of course, the track, to figure out who’s going to win!

For those lucky enough to attend the actual event at Flemington – the highlight of our spring racing carnival – it is not just about the horses, of course. It is equally about fun, fashion and fascinators. Especially the fascinators!

The first “Fashions on the Field” event was held back in 1962, as a PR initiative to encourage more women to attend the races. Since then, fashions at the spring racing carnival have captured the imagination of the public and are now firmly entrenched for all, not just for the ladies. The Melbourne Cup has become a spectator sport for fashion-watchers – and now even celebrity-spotters – as much as for the actual racing itself.

What does this have to do with sexy romance, you ask? Not much, I admit! But I thought it might be fun for a change to offer a little snapshot into a writer’s life outside the pages of her erotic books, on that one day of the year when the locals have an excuse to dress up in our finest.

Of course, I now have a story simmering in the back of my mind that will use as its backdrop all the color, vibrancy and cheeky yet elegant fun of the racetrack on Cup Day. Stay tuned!

Jennifer Lynne writes sensual and erotic romance including the popular GODS OF LOVE series. MMF menage a trois romance, PLATINUM PASSION, was a Best Book of 2011 nominee in GLBT Fantasy Romance at The Romance Reviews. The recently released transsexual romance, APHRODITE CALLING, was a Book of the Month nominee at LASR and is garnering great reviews at Amazon and Goodreads.

Here’s an ADULT (18+) rated taste of APHRODITE CALLING:

Without sight she could only imagine what he would look like, the tip of his tongue sliding along her flesh that was already swollen with need, that wayward hair flopping down over his brow, his gaze intense, probably flecked with the shade of green that for some reason reminded her of the sea, looking back up her body as he teased around and over her mound. When the graze of something hard—presumably his teeth—nipped at her clitoris through the material she yelped, then pressed upward to enhance that exquisite pressure. Hot lips met her thrust and played with her, moistening the material. Lips, tongue, and teeth worked in unison to torment her core while his fingers slipped beneath her G and went exploring along her slit.

A gasp escaped as she felt one of his digits slide into her. The first person other than her surgeon or herself ever to breach her pussy. She didn’t have the creamy moistness of a biological woman, but somehow, with Himeros, it didn’t seem to matter. She rocked back and forth against his face, adjusting to the feel of having someone inside her, even if it was only his finger.

“Yes,” she managed on a shaky exhale of breath. “That feels fucking fantastic.”

He chuckled against her clit. “So tight, Gina. I look forward to entering you properly.”

She felt the words and the laugh as a welcome vibration and it escalated her senses into overdrive. She moaned. Having her cock sucked in the past had never felt like this.

Buy APHRODITE CALLING at Amazon, Apple iTunes or Barnes & Noble.

Find out more at Jennifer’s website.

We’re all familiar with the terminology. A starter is something you begin with. It’s a first step – a trial of sorts to see if you like something. Years ago, I thought painting might be a way I could express myself, so I bought a starter kit. A few years later, having used the contents of the kit a time or two, I came to the conclusion that I was never going to be a painter, so I threw the slightly used, and now dried up, paints away.

That’s what you do with a starter. You use it and throw it away. Sometimes, however, once you’ve used the starter, you go back and buy an improved version. The starter got you going. You tried it – you liked it. You ate the appetizer and you want more.

There are all kinds of starters. Your first pair of high heels – your first husband – your first… well, you get the idea. We all have our list of starters – some we used and discarded, some we kept, but the one thing all firsts have in common – we learned from them. Sometimes the lessons are hard ones. I admit to a twinge of disappointment when I found out I had zero talent for painting, but it was a lesson I needed to learn in case I had delusions of quitting my day job in order to paint. The starter kit provided the insight I needed and saved me from making a huge mistake. Well, not really. No way was I quitting a paying job to paint, but you get the idea. Sometimes we’re drawn to do things that sound good at the time, but in reality aren’t so wonderful. Starters can save us from making mistakes.

But what about that other option? What happens when you get the starter and you discover something new about yourself? Wow! Whole new worlds can open up for you if you’re brave enough to explore your new-found depths. I should know. It happened to me. Not with the paint kit, but with what I like to call my starter book.

My starter book is/was a romantic suspense. I learned several things from writing that book. First and foremost, I learned that I could tell a story from beginning to end. Okay, so that one was a really poorly told story, but I did it. I started with a story in my head and I wrote it – all the way to my favorite two words – the end.

Believe me, this was a monumental revelation. After decades of searching for a way to express myself, I’d finally found the one I knew I wanted to be good at. Unlike painting, crafting and Lord only knows how many other failed starts, this was one I wanted to put in the necessary work to excel at. It felt right. Even I could see the starter wasn’t a masterpiece, but the fact that I finished it encouraged me.

I also learned how little I knew about actually writing a book. This led me to educate myself on the process and seek out other people like myself. I found them – a whole bunch of them – in Romance Writers of America. After joining the national organization, I found a ground level chapter – Los Angeles Romance Writers. There, I discovered published and pre-published writers who understood exactly what I was going through, and were willing to help me.

One of the greatest lessons I learned was – romantic suspense is not my thing. Loving to read it and writing it are two different things. This didn’t mean I had to give up writing – I just had to shift to something more suited to me. I tried all kinds of things, including romantic comedy. I really thought that was something I would be good at, but I was wrong. A crazy idea came to me one day, so I gave it a try. Who knew I could write erotic romance? I have to admit – it took me by surprise. But once I’d done it, and sold my first book, The Lust Boat, I was hooked on writing the genre.

My current work in progress, Going Deep, is the second book in my Mustangs baseball series. Remember I said there are all kinds of starters? Well… when a friend takes Jason to a local BDSM club, he’s intrigued. Something clicks for him, and it feels right, but he knows nothing about being a Dom. But Jason knows what he likes – and he likes to be in control. Carrie is everything he ever dreamed of in a woman. She’s beautiful, submissive and she trusts him – sight unseen. Unwilling to risk his public reputation if things don’t work out with his starter sub, Jason insists Carrie be blindfolded whenever they’re together.

Here’s a short excerpt from Going Deep.

“There aren’t any locks on the doors – a safety measure, just in case emergency services are needed,” Todd explained. “No one will enter unless invited, so no worries. The window is a two-way mirror,” he said, pulling back the curtain Jason hadn’t noticed to reveal a mirror. “If you want to invite people to watch, just pull the curtain open. Keep it closed for privacy.” Jason nodded and Todd continued. “As you can see, the room is equipped for just about anything you could want.”

Jason looked around, swallowing hard. Various apparatus he’d seen in the public rooms filled the space. The lighting was subtle, bathing the dark walls and a large platform bed in cool tones. His heart pounded against his ribs and his hands were as clammy as a teenager on prom night, but despite it all, a calm settled over him. This was where he belonged. These were his people. This was what he wanted with Stacey, and she’d seen just enough of his desires to be scared away.

For weeks, he’d harbored thoughts that scared him too. Maybe he was too kinky, wanted to do things a sane, healthy man shouldn’t want to do. But now, he saw he wasn’t…

“You aren’t a perv, Jason, if you want to do some of the things you’ve seen here tonight,” Todd said, as if he’d read Jason’s mind. “This is normal for a lot of folks. Most of society doesn’t see it that way, so we try to keep it to ourselves, but once you walk inside the door here, you’re considered normal.”

“How did you know?” Jason asked.

“About you?” Jason nodded and Todd continued. “Because when I was your age, I was in exactly the same place you are. A friend showed me the way, and I’ve been happy ever since. I’ve been a member of this club for ten years. I’ve had plenty of subs in that time, but Brooke has been with me now for over a year. We’re thinking of taking our relationship outside the club – becoming a couple in public, maybe even making this a permanent arrangement.”

“People do that?” Jason asked.

Todd shrugged. “A few. We wouldn’t be the first.”

“You’re exclusive? You don’t mess around?” Jason asked.

“If you’re asking if I do this in every city we go to, the answer is no, I don’t. There are clubs everywhere, and I’ve been to a few, but I’ve always played here.”

“I see.”

“Want to give it a try?” Todd asked.

If you’re ready to give it a try, get started with the first book in the series, Inside Heat. Going Deep will be available in October.

Inside Heat is available from these retailers -

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Right now I’m on my honeymoon, and hopefully relaxing on a tropical beach in far north Queensland – and yes, for those who’ve read PLATINUM PASSION, it is that beach! It was my turn to post at Sexy Romance this week, but as I’m far from a computer, I thought I’d leave you with an article I wrote for my own blog 18 months ago, about our marriage proposal:

This post equally could have been titled, “How the romance author got a lesson in romance”.

I consider myself a realist. I write about romance and the bigger-than-real-life heroes who sweep my heroines off their feet and into the best damn relationship of their lives because, for me, that is escapism from real life. Not a reflection of it.

But romance and real life are not mutually exclusive, and I, of all people, should have remembered that. So what does happen to someone like me when your own imperfect real life hero (you know, the one who snores REALLY LOUDLY, or the one who changes the TV channel 25 times a minute, or the one who walks over your just mopped floor with muddy shoes – and doesn’t even notice what he’s done!) bowls you over with so much romance that the situation might well have come straight from the pages of a romance novel?

You get speechless, is what happens! Me, a writer, lost for words? Yep. And I almost ruined the moment.

He wanted to go into town for the weekend. Right before Christmas. Are you joking? I kept asking. There’s too much to do.

Nope. He wasn’t joking.

He booked us in to a five star hotel – a room on the 23rd floor with the most magnificent panoramic views of the city. From the Melbourne Cricket Ground, up the winding Yarra River to the Arts Centre spire, and beyond, to the bay sparkling in the summer sun. It took my breath away. But that was only the beginning.

He whisked me off on a riverboat cruise, from Southbank over to Williamstown and back, then to Collins Street to buy me a fancy dress, then off to a French restaurant for dinner (wearing the fancy new dress!). I kept grabbing at his hand all the time – why did he keep reaching into his pocket instead of entwining his fingers in mine? Why did he seem so nervous?

I discovered why when we were finally back in the room with the city lights spread out before us in all their Christmas glory, and he got down on one knee and pulled a ring out of the aforementioned pocket. He proposed in such a romantic way, and with such amazing views as a floor to ceiling backdrop, that I became speechless. Literally. I was so shocked I couldn’t speak for five minutes.

His smile faltered towards the end, and he finally asked, “Well? Is it a yes?”

Yes! Of course it was a yes! He brought all the romance to the moment that I could possibly wish for or imagine, and I, the romance author, brought nothing but silence and big, goggly eyes.

But I’ve tried to make up for it since then, and hopefully he knows how much I appreciate the whole experience, and that for me his proposal will be one of “those” moments that are remembered always.

I love the romance genre, not least because the possibility of romance and real life colliding is always there in the back of my mind. For me, it is about living in hope that one day, such happiness could possibly be mine. I have been reminded in the most wonderful way that being a realist and being a romantic can, indeed, go hand in hand. And when real life and romance do collide… let the fireworks really begin.

Jennifer Lynne writes sensual and erotic romance including the popular GODS OF LOVE series. PLATINUM PASSION (GODS OF LOVE #1) was a Best Book of 2011 nominee in GLBT Fantasy Romance at The Romance Reviews. The recently released APHRODITE CALLING (GODS OF LOVE #2) is garnering great reviews at Amazon and Goodreads. Find out more at Jennifer’s website.