Joey W. Hill's Blog: Author Joey W. Hill, page 6

Medusa's Heart Countdown Page is Live

I can’t remember the first time I read the story of Medusa. I think my first exposure to her may have been in the movies, the 1981 Harry Hamlin version of Clash of the Titans. She was depicted as an unsympathetic monster, so we felt no pity when he lopped off her head and used it to defeat the Kraken.

My love of romance is so much a part of me it drives a great deal of who I am or choose to be in this life. It certainly drives my writing, because I couldn’t imagine ever creating a story that didn’t revolve around a love story. Hence, mythology, legends and fairy tales that don’t end right really bug me. The Daughters of Arianne series, which started with A Mermaid’s Kiss, was initially driven by a lifelong dissatisfaction with the way The Little Mermaid fairy tale ended. I read the version where the prince chose another and the Little Mermaid ended up turning to stone out in the bay in front of his castle, where she gazed upon her unrequited love forever. Oh, and after she selflessly chose not to take his life to save her own. Really?

Anyhow, when I did finally stumble upon or seek out more information about Medusa, her story immediately resonated with me, just as the Little Mermaid’s had. A young priestess in the temple of Athena, raped by Poseidon, and then cursed by Athena for attracting the attentions of Poseidon. After which she went into isolation, was treated as a monster and eventually killed. That’s the nutshell version. I’ve left out a lot of detail and multiple accounts of the story in the interest of brevity, but also because I wanted to specifically highlight what elements of the tale that have stuck with me and inspired my current effort.

Over the years, I've thought about her story enough that I knew I wanted to give her a book where she could get a happy ending. Finally, that time has come. Medusa's Heart is a standalone full length novel that will be released October 31 (unless I do something to screw up that timeline).

We’re doing something new this time around, keeping a Countdown Page where I’ll offer periodic updates, inspirational pictures and other fun stuff to generate excitement about this title. I’m also offering a fabulous giveaway that will be awarded on release day. That Countdown Page is NOW live. Want to see what the prizes are? Click here to find this same post on the Countdown page, only with prize info AND a snippet teaser from the book at the end! Just drop down to the end so you don't have to read through this part twice - unless you want to do so, lol.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES: Soul Rest and Night's Templar both won Golden Flogger awards at the BDSM Writers' Con in NYC last week. Woohoo! Thank you, judges! Click here to see all the winners and add to your TBR pile for great BDSM reads...I love so many of these authors!

Life Lessons That Still Make Sense - 28 Years Later

So sorry I didn’t post last week! I was at the Authors After Dark conference and my plans to write the blog while I was there never came to pass. I always overestimate how much writing time I’ll have at conference events. It was a wonderful time, though. Many delightful readers and authors in attendance! But without further ado, here we go with this week’s post…

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I didn’t always intend to be a writer. However, in fifth grade, I was certain that’s what I would be. I wrote stories during class, passing chapters to my friends to read. I took writing courses, entered short story contests and wrote a wealth of novellas that have long ago been recycled (be thankful for that – lol). I even entered college as a creative writing major, an impractical decision I’m sure made my parents cringe. Note to all young aspiring authors out there: Choose a major in college that will support your writing habit!

I’m a big believer in major life changes happening for reasons that aren’t always clear to us at first. All during the years I was pursuing my writing dream, I was also very involved in animal welfare/rights causes. During my teen years and early college years, I worked in various capacities for a local humane society. Sometime during my sophomore year, a switch flipped, and my desire to pursue a career in animal welfare surpassed my writing interests. I switched to a business degree and obtained a BA in nonprofit management. For the next eight years or so, I worked in pay or volunteer positions in the animal welfare area. Then, in my late twenties, the writing light flipped back on and has held the upper hand to the present day. During the volunteer portion of my animal rights work, I supported myself as a secretary, which evolved into my “day job” career path for twenty years.

I’m forever grateful for taking that eight year detour, for two reasons. First, because animal rights/welfare is a cause that’s still near and dear to my heart. Second, the life experience I gained during those years was vital to the kind of writer I am now. Working with volunteers in my animal rights capacity or serving as a secretary during my day job put me in an excellent position to study people, and acquiring an intuitive understanding of human behavior became vital to character explorations in my books.

While learning about the art of management in all these capacities, I also internalized basic tenets that not only apply to working with volunteers in a cause-based organization, but also in interacting with publishers, authors, readers, friends, family and anyone else in life. Even more importantly, those tenets helped me do what I do every day when I sit down at the keyboard. Want to know how? These are the five tenets that have provided me the most guidance.

ONE: A personal attack is not personal. Anyone remember Patrick Swayze’s quote from Roadhouse? “If somebody gets in your face and calls you a cocksucker, I want you to be nice. Ask him to walk. Be nice. If he won't walk, walk him. But be nice. If you can't walk him, one of the others will help you, and you'll both be nice. I want you to remember that it's a job. It's nothing personal.” The point being, when Person A does something mean to Person B, no matter how personal it feels to Person B, it has very little to do with Person B. It has to do with Person A. It could be something as simple as their day started out in a crappy way and they’re cranky. Or if their negativity is an ongoing occurrence, then it could stem from deeper insecurities or a sense of helplessness about their own lives that causes them to strike at or drag down others.

When you’re a writer, you have to remain sensitive enough to be receptive to the creative process, but thick-skinned enough to endure a lot of not-so-pleasant stuff in the publishing business. Like mean-spirited reviews or unfair decisions about your work that can be driven by egos, insecurities or simple fear of change. You have to step back from all that, not take it personally, and keep on writing, writing, writing. Not allowing your perseverance to be destroyed by negativity is key!

TWO: Everyone is your customer. Your manager, your co-worker, anyone in your proximity who has a problem you can help solve, a need you can support, or a goal you can help them meet – they’re all your customers. You can probably figure out how that applies to interacting with authors, readers and others in the publishing business, but you may be wondering how it fits with writing. Fictional characters have goals and needs as well, and my job as a writer is to help sculpt out the pathways that get them there in a believable and effective way. If I don’t do a good job for them, I feel it, and I keep working at it until it feels right.

THREE: No matter what the job is, give 110% to it. You never know who’s watching. I’ve had several instances both as an author and as a secretary where the attention and care I paid to my job opened up further opportunities. But giving 110% provides more than better career opportunities. The more initiative, motivation and self-discipline you show toward the task before you, the more personally satisfied you’ll be with the result. Professional and emotional well-being lead to even better things. And giving your all to every job opportunity is a lot like training for a marathon. When you finally find the job that’s your true heart’s desire, you’ll have the discipline and right attitude to apply to it in order to succeed. Writing is hard work!

FOUR: Resist stagnation. No matter our age (though it gets even harder as we get older), stepping outside our comfort zone and learning new ways of doing things is something we often resist. We must always be ready to adapt and grow, and this is never so true as in publishing, where the business seems to be changing daily, for both marketing strategies and publishing platforms. But it’s also true for the writing itself. The next book can ALWAYS be better, and to make that happen, I listen carefully to feedback, and am always seeking ways to improve my craft. Even after 46 books! Maybe especially after 46 books, because it’s far too easy for an established writer to fall into lazy habits that result in formulaic and redundant storylines.

FIVE: Never lose sight of the kind of person you want to be. There’s a great saying from the movie Cool Runnings, and it’s very timely right now with the Olympics: “A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it.” The decision to dedicate my primary energy to writing did not happen without a lot of soul searching at different turning points in my life. First, letting it take priority over my animal welfare/rights pursuits was a very difficult decision, since writing is of course a more self-serving pursuit than a social justice cause. I felt like I’d accomplished what I’d intended with my animal welfare work and I wasn’t abandoning it entirely, and the muse was being VERY insistent about me returning to writing. Though all of those things pointed to it being the correct decision, it was a good decade before I didn’t suffer regular bouts of guilt over it.

Second, pursuing a full time writing career requires a great deal of time and energy, and relationships and other opportunities often suffer as a result. There are many ways I wish I could be/have been a better wife, friend, daughter, sister, neighbor…but I’ve often made conscious decisions that prioritized the writing over those efforts. I thank the people who love me for understanding, and am VERY grateful for the bonds they’ve kept with me despite my shortcomings. However, I’ve had to accept the loss of many good friends along the way who needed more from the relationship than I could give.

Third, when it comes to choosing who you want to be, there’s the writing itself to consider. I often refer to myself as a midlist author, which essentially means a person who earns a decent living as a writer but isn’t a big huge name you see regularly on the lists. I earn enough to pay my bills (grin) and, if ever I don’t, I’ll go back to being a secretary. While nothing is guaranteed in this business, there are paths and storylines I could have pursued that would have been more marketable, or could ride the coattails of current trends, but that was never the type of writer I wanted to be. I wanted to write the kind of stories a reader would want on their keeper shelf – the kind of story I would want on MY keeper shelf. If I can look back and feel like every story I wrote was a 110% effort to be that, then I am satisfied that I am the kind of writer I aspired to be—with or without the gold medal.

Five Major Differences Between Real Life BDSM and Erotic Romance

Since starting to write BDSM romance, I’ve had the opportunity to attend conferences, local demos and play parties and workshops and get to know a myriad group of people in the lifestyle, as well as those who write about it but don’t practice it. The pleasure of that is seeing BDSM from both inside and outside perspectives, as well as to keep constantly learning new stuff. I have no ego about BDSM practice. While I have a fairly good grasp of the psychology, being a submissive myself, I’m always having “Oh, that’s so cool” moments when I find out new things. For instance, I was in an erotica store just a couple weeks ago and saw this thing that looked like two rings locked together in a spherical shape. Since it was spherical, my first thought was “Hmm, must have something to do with the male genitalia, maybe some kind of chastity thing.” That kind of thinking is what proves I’m NOT a mechanically minded person, lol. It had nothing to do with that. It was a unique set of handcuffs (though to my way of thinking it had to be made for someone with bird wrists).

So there’s always the chance to learn more, which means more exciting directions in my writing. But often readers want to know what’s different and what’s the same when comparing real life BDSM and BDSM romance. Here’s what I think are five major differences:

1. Glitzy clubs – the joy of writing BDSM romance is you can choose ideal settings for your story. BDSM romance abounds with sophisticated, glitzy BDSM clubs, but the truth is a lot of BDSM play parties happen in people’s homes and/or rented hotel conference rooms. For the clubs that do exist, you find similar accommodations, like Spartan warehouse-style spaces, often in industrial areas. I’ve been to several of these, and they’ve run the gamut from feeling very homey/welcoming to feeling a tad seedy and unclean. But glamorous? No. I’m sure for the very wealthy, there are some exclusive clubs that look like what we have in our romance books, but they are not as abundant and common as what we portray. I have some of these glitzy clubs in my book (The Zone in the Nature of Desire series is an example), but the club I showcased in Unrestrained was actually closer to my direct experience (and a very cool place).

2. Intuitive understanding of a submissive’s needs – If we realistically laid out all the negotiation and discussion that can go on between a Dom and sub before they start doing any play, let alone advance play (like interrogation scenes), we’d put our readers to sleep! It’s a critical part of building the trust and success of a scene, but we tend to sacrifice a lot of that communication in our romances and substitute it with a fabulous level of intuition on the part of the Dom/me. Which is actually in keeping with the spirit of mainstream romance novels, because how many heroes have we read in mainstream romance who just “understand” the heroine’s needs and desires without her having to tell them? Get real. I have to tell my husband that the garbage needs to go out even when it’s flowing across the floor. However, that’s one of the reasons we love to read romance of any genre. We can escape from the more mundane daily stumbling blocks of a normal relationship and experience an uninterrupted flow of romantic/emotional moments, which ironically remind us just why we love the man who will step over garbage rather than take it out (grin).

3. More risks are taken in erotic romance – in a healthy BDSM environment, safety stays right up front all the time, with repeated checks and balances, especially between players less familiar with one another. In erotic romance, things can get far edgier, because good BDSM erotic romances play on the fantasy edge of the reality. This also keys into the negotiation issue noted above. If I hammered my readers with safety steps every other paragraph of a scene, they couldn’t get lost in the intensity of it. It’s a lot like the decisions romance authors have always had to make about mentioning birth control. Mention it the first couple scenes, and then allow the reader to assume the couple takes care of it in other scenes, so the readers aren’t pummeled with safe sex PSAs.

4. Sex often isn’t the point - Well, first off, sex isn’t usually allowed at a play party held in a rented “public” space environment, like a club, hotel ballroom, etc. That type of activity would be far more likely to happen at a play party held in a private home or a floor party in a hotel where the party is taking place in hotel rooms. Don’t get me wrong – a lot of very sexual stuff/vibes are happening; just not fluid exchanges. But, interestingly, even if it was allowed, many sessions do not involve actual sex. Though the scene is undeniably sexual in nature, the point often is not to have sex, but to experience an intense Dominant/submissive power exchange. Plus, there are a good number of people who play with a different partner in the BDSM setting but who are committed to a relationship with another. They aren’t seeking sex from the D/s power exchange.

5. Beautiful people in exotic fetish wear – While there are those who enjoy wearing the fetish clothing, I’ve seen plenty of people in jeans and T-shirts in play settings. But almost all of them are normal-looking folk like you and me. Yes, there’s the occasional stunning-looking individual (according to current societal standards), but it’s no more common in a BDSM setting than anywhere else in our daily lives. However, here’s the cool twist to that. There’s this thing that happens when you’re caught up in watching BDSM play. You no longer see someone who doesn’t fit society’s ideal of beauty. You see a helpless and begging soul, lost in a top’s demands, or a Dom/me completely in control of that journey, and something more captivating than a physical body takes over. As a result, there is a great deal of body image acceptance in the BDSM world (at least where I’ve experienced it), and it is a truly wonderful aspect of this lifestyle.

A professional Dominatrix is not always the same as a female Dominant because, as was said so aptly by Dr. Charley Ferrer (a sex educator and Domme herself) – “A ProDomme is a woman who is paid for her services and who is selling a fantasy. She’s paid to be a Dominant woman; she may not be a true Dominant but merely plays the role well.” However, a recent Huffington Post article about a 60-year-old ProDomme accurately detailed many of the feelings that exist between Dom/sub (particularly in the captions under the pictures). It also showed the body confidence image of a person in one of these roles, so I’m sharing it here. (WARNING! Some of the pictures they display aren’t appropriate for a work/public computer.)

So now that I’ve talked about five major differences between BDSM romance and real life, I want to close with two important ways they are the same:

1. When a power exchange is done right, it results in a connection that’s intense and hard to describe, but you recognize it when you watch it and/or experience it. The best romances have a foundation in real life love stories, and BDSM romance is no different.

2. Except with regard to safety, there is no “one way” to do BDSM or Dominance/submission relationships. For instance, there’s no mandated terminology, merely common terms people have fallen into using that can change over time, from setting to setting, or according to personal preference. Case in point - you’ll almost never see me use the word “subbie” for submissive characters, because I can’t stand the term. It sounds childish to me, like daycare baby talk, not romantic or sexy at all. But it’s a common term in the lifestyle. There’s also no mandate that a person who identifies primarily as a Dom gives up that orientation if they enjoy bottoming on occasion, or a sub with the same commitment to their orientation can’t enjoy topping. Some do, some don’t. Everyone feels their orientation in their own unique way, and the beauty of BDSM is the ability to express it many different ways without judgment, as long as it’s healthy, consensual play.

With BDSM practice and Dom/sub orientation becoming “somewhat” more mainstream these past few years, there’s a great variety of clubs and groups that meet regularly, and pretty much anything you can imagine happening in a healthy BDSM context can happen at these events. Just as BDSM continues to diversify and grow in real life, so it does in erotic romance as well, for the enjoyment of both practitioners and those who just enjoy reading about it!

Do you have questions about what you’ve seen in an erotic romance context in terms of how it compares to real life? I’ll be happy to try and answer those questions. Or I’ll go find out the answer if I don’t, because I’ll be curious to know, too!

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ADD’L NOTE - I’m very excited to have been listed in Mara White's Huffington Post article "15 BDSM Authors You Should Be Reading". Hope you’ll find some new TBR book suggestions here as well – I know I did!

So What Am I Working On?

I’ve been getting this question a lot, probably because summer is when so many of us get a chance to catch up on our reading lists as we take our well-deserved vacations, so let me give you a little sneak peek.

Right now, I’m working on a book called Medusa’s Heart, with a tentative release date of October 31. Here’s the informal blurb:

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"The point wasn’t to win a war that had been lost, or to stop a death that had long turned bones to dust. It was to heal a broken heart."

John Pierce has been a Navy SEAL all his adult life. He doesn’t know anything else but that and being a Dom, because that’s how he blows off steam and balances the nagging emptiness inside of him. Since he was a kid, he’s carried around an infatuation that’s grown into an embarrassing obsession. He’s in love with a myth—Medusa.

“Mad Merlin” Maddock doesn’t think that’s crazy. He believes in powers deeper and stronger than men or gods, a connecting energy like the oceans. To those powers, healing a broken heart could create a ripple effect in the universe impacting all, even if that heart lives in the alternate dimension of folklore and myth. JP is the first one Maddock plans to send across those lines to bond with the woman he’s always wanted.

JP agrees to be his first guinea pig for two reasons. One, Maddock is so damn convincing, and two, the need for her has tripled since he met the guy. If Maddock can send JP into her world, JP will let nothing stop him from claiming her for his own and healing her heart, because he’s sure as hell she’s the missing piece of his.

He just has to make sure she doesn’t turn him into lawn ornamentation first.

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This book isn’t connected to any of my existing series. For years I’ve had this story idea niggling at the back of my mind about the Medusa myth, and the muse decided it was time to write it. I wasn’t sure what to expect of the story direction and, in truth, I’m still figuring it out, since I’ve only written the first draft and just started the first round edit, where I often do a lot of reworking of the story direction and delve far deeper into the characters. But I know the Greek version has bugged me for quite awhile. A priestess in Athena’s temple is raped by Poseidon and then cursed by Athena for “allowing” herself to be raped. WTF? Yeah, I know, there are a lot of layers and versions to the story, but that’s the one my muse wants to address.

Now, while I said the book isn’t connected to any of my existing series, that doesn’t mean some familiar faces won’t show up. Two characters from the Daughters of Arianne series, Clara and Marcellus, will have key roles in Medusa’s story. Which is kind of appropriate, since the Daughters of Arianne series was spawned by my interest in giving the original and tragic Little Mermaid story a better ending, or at least that of her descendants.

BUT WHAT COMES NEXT? Once I complete Medusa’s Heart, I’ll have a dilemma. Usually after I write a paranormal, I write a contemporary. My creative process works better when I alternate. But the muse is pushing pretty hard for the next Vampire Queen series book as well, so we’ll have to see what happens in the September-October timeframe. Regardless, one of the following two books will come after Medusa’s Heart, and then the runner-up will come after that.

CONTEMPORARY: My next contemporary will be the tenth book of the Nature of Desire series and it will be Regina and Marius’s story. Marius has shown up in snippets throughout the series. Off the top of my head, I know he’s been mentioned or appeared in Natural Law, Branded Sanctuary and Divine Solace, but it was in Divine Solace I received the strong ping that told me a) he would have his own book and b) who his love interest would be. Regina appeared at the slave auction in Branded Sanctuary, a tall, beautiful Domme with an interest in a challenge. She reappeared in Divine Solace with a blatant interest in Marius, because he is a pain-in-the-ass, full-powered, top-from-the-bottom alpha sub with a lot of brat thrown in just to yank a Mistress’s chain. But there has to be a reason for that, right? Regina knows there is, and she’s going to get to the bottom of it. She'll probably lose her heart in the process, but that’ll be a two-way street.

Note: You can browse all the books I just mentioned at that Nature of Desire series link noted at the beginning of the above paragraph.

PARANORMAL: For a while this was a coin toss, because I have two sets of characters at the front of the line. Alistair and Nina have been waiting for their story since we met them in Vampire’s Claim. Nina’s sister was trained from childhood to be an Inherited Servant, the elite of the vampire servant ranks, and she was promised to a vampire of the Council’s choosing. But on the eve of that happening, the sister dies in a car wreck, and the contract with the family means the next born child must be offered up as the InhServ. So Nina, with no training and no apparent interest in being a vampire’s servant, finds herself in that role. Whereas Lord Alistair, who has very little interest in vampire politics or patience for the uptight BS formalities of the vampire world, finds himself saddled with a supposed InhServ. Sounds like a fun story, doesn’t it? Alas, though, there’s a competing vampire story trying to step in front of it. That’s the way the muse works sometimes. It’s not always easy to predict which story she’ll point toward next, which is often why I couch such discussions with lots of words like “maybe”, “hopefully” and “if all goes as planned.”

In Night’s Templar, a vampire and his wolf shifter servant made a very significant impression when they took the stage as secondary characters for a small part of the book. And there’s a backstory there. I’ve never felt a pull toward writing a wolf shifter. I can’t explain why; I just never have. Then a particular reader started urging me to write one, and she and a couple other readers threw out some ideas that pinged with me, big time. Next thing I know, Cai and Rand appear in Night’s Templar, and now they want their own book. So it’s likely they’ll get the next Vampire Queen series slot, but I haven’t given up on Alistair and Nina. They might get a future vignette or novella instead of a full length, but eventually their story will be told. Otherwise they wouldn't keep pushing at me to write about them!

FREE CHRISTMAS VIGNETTE: Like I’ve done for the past several years, I also plan to write a free short/novella around Christmas time as my annual thank you to my readers. These vignettes revisit existing characters or capitalize on a flashback scene or memory that has occurred in my books. The choice of story/characters is usually a surprise. I keep a running list of suggestions from readers and, when it’s time to choose, I go down the list and see what jumps out and grabs me. I’ll keep you posted on which of these eventually gets chosen.

If this is the first time you’ve heard about these free vignettes, well over a dozen of them are available at the JWH Connection fan forum, under the Vignette section. They're available in all the popular download formats for your e-reader. If you’ve never visited the forum, you can find access info here.

So that’s the plan for the next 12-18 months...unless the muse changes her mind! Let me know if anyone has questions.

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WHAT’S JOEY PLANNING TO WRITE NEXT? Anytime you want to know what I have “in the works”, you can visit the page of the same name on my website, under the MORE drop down menu. But here’s the direct link to it.

Conference Preparation...Not Always What You'd Think It Would Be

Okay, so here I am, very busy and important erotic romance author, getting ready to attend the Authors After Dark conference. What do you expect I’m doing? Preparing brilliant one-liners to say at workshops, having my many assistants packing books for the signing, telling the chauffeur to polish the limo for my grand entrance? Uh, yeah, right. Here are some things you might not expect that are on my conference to-do list:

ONE: Prepare “Clothing To Take” list: Do not laugh. Picking out what to wear for a con is one of my most dreaded tasks, though I used to have far more to pack when I could wear more than one type of shoe. Now I wear New Balance sneakers pretty much throughout the entire conference, regardless of the outfit. I buy a new pair each year ahead of time so even if they don’t match or go with any of my outfits, at least they don’t look like I’ve been mucking stalls with them. I’m an ethical vegetarian, so I don’t do leather. To punish me specifically for this, New Balance makes all of its non-leather shoes available in the most god-awful neon color combinations you’ve ever seen in your life. Though on the flip side, no one will have trouble finding me if the hotel has a power outage. In fact, I can lead people to safety without a flashlight. In recent years, I’ve heard people point me out as “Yeah, she’s the author wearing the sneakers.” So my bad feet have helped brand me at public appearances, lol – a plus!

Beyond shoes, I make a list of what I need to wear each day for panels and casual events, balanced against any parties or costume balls at night. Then there’s the headache of packing the right jewelry. I solved that one a few years ago. I carry it all in this nifty little jewelry holder with zipper pockets. Viola! I can choose my jewelry daily instead of figuring it out before I go. It makes the garment bag a little heavier, but it’s worth it.

TWO: Finish preparing swag: Most authors struggle with what kind of swag to bring. You want something cool and fun, but which will also inspire a reader to check out your website, your social media sites, your e-Harmony dating page, or hey, even do something crazy, like try out one of your BOOKS (lol). I always get a little ambitious, so as we’re coming down to the wire, here are several things I’ve been working on:

Crocheting Flowers – Yes, I crochet. My grandmother taught me, and I enjoy thread/filet crochet, so I’m attaching a crocheted flower to 80 candy bags with a black/silver printed ribbon that has my name and “brand” – BDSM Romance for the Heart & Soul. I’m up to about 50 flowers, with 30 to go, so I know what I’ll be doing while watching seasons of Blue Bloods and Hawaii Five-O on Netflix the next couple weeks. Then I’ll have to starch the flowers, stuff the bags with candy, run wire through the flowers to attach them to the bags, and tie the ribbon around the whole thing. All of which I’ll probably do the night before I drive to Savannah!

Decorating coffins – I have a handful of little wooden coffins I’ve been embellishing as a fun giveaway. I look through magazines, cut out pictures and glue them to the coffin with pretty sparkly stones, and then put Vampire Queen series on the back with promo material and candy inside. I have about three more to go. I wanted to do a bunch more of these, but Michael’s only offers them at a reasonable price once a year. Want to guess when? Yeah, selling cheap miniature coffins is apparently only a Halloween thing. Sheesh.

Putting tags on rubber ducks – A couple years back, when I was doing a promotion game with two other authors at a conference (Jayne Rylon/Carrie Ann Ryan), we were giving rubber ducks to the participants. I made the mistake of going to Oriental Trading for my ducks and there were so many adorable types, I got carried away and ordered about 500 of them. I’ve been giving away ducks ever since. Coming up with a way to make rubber ducks relevant to erotic romance is a challenge, but I finally found a cute option. I put bright yellow sales tags on the ducks with a sticker that has my brand and the quote “Erotic Romances are like Quack – you can’t read just one!” Yeah, totally silly, I know, but too fun to ignore. They went like hotcakes at the last con, so if Murphy’s Law is in place, they’ll be completely ignored this time (wink). I have cat ducks, hippie ducks, armed service ducks, breast cancer ducks…

Coming up with Erotic Trivia questions – Along with three other wonderful authors (Julie Morgan, Tilly Greene and TJ Michaels), I’m hosting our fourth annual Erotic Trivia game at Authors After Dark. Over the past several years, I have scoured every online erotic trivia quiz and questionnaire you can imagine, and this year I even resorted to watching sex documentaries to pick up some new questions there. In the process, I learned a lot of really interesting things, like how “supposedly”, there was a Greek courtesan named Clepsydra who devised a water clock to time her clients. Depending on what “menu” option they wanted, she’d put a certain size cup in a bowl of water. The cup would have a hole in it and, when it completely filled and sank, their time was up. Hence, water clocks are called clepsydras. I believe that’s actually total bunk, but it makes a cool story, right? Anyhow, if the fate of the universe rests on me knowing the answer to erotic trivia questions, we’re safe. Otherwise, we better call Bruce Willis, because we know THAT man can save pretty much anything that’s at risk.

So there’s a brief look at some of the things I’m doing to prep for the Authors After Dark conference. Hope you’re all having a wonderful week. If you’re joining us in Savannah, Georgia for the con on August 3-7, I look forward to seeing you! And if you are near Savannah and want to come to the public signing, that will be 2-4pm ET on Saturday the 6th at the Riverfront Marriott. You can find more details at the Authors After Dark site.

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Don’t forget my GoodReads Worth the Wait giveaway! Three signed copies of the book are being given away, as well as fun swag packets to the three winners. Contest open through July 20!

Let's NOT Talk Politics

Romances and politics, oil and water. Yep, they do not mix. Nothing will piss me off faster than a bout of what I call “author possession” in a book. This is when a character is suddenly seized by the author’s political agenda, spouts off a few lines of rhetoric that don’t fit that character’s personality, and then returns to the flow of the story. A few years back, there was a book about a woman’s spiritual journey that was extremely popular. I couldn’t get through the first third of the book, because the author kept throwing in snarky comments about political parties and controversial social justice issues that did not make any sense to me in the context of a true spiritual journey.

But there’s another, more important reason I don’t like to see politics happen in romances. A deeper message is buried in a good love story.

When we read romance, or any great genre story that’s filled with noble heroes/heroines facing personal challenges and striving to make closer connections with one another, we’re getting to the root of who we are and what’s most important to us. A long time ago, when a dear friend and I kept getting into terrible fights over politics, I stepped back and asked myself a question. “If either of us saw an injured dog on a busy highway, what would we do?” The answer was the same. Each would stop and try to do anything we could to help. That’s when it hit me. Politics don’t matter. Who people are, that’s what matters.

I bet if a bunch of people from all along the political spectrum sat down in a room and were asked the same question: “What’s most important to me?,” we’d find the same root answers. Family. Community. Caring for and protecting those we love, helping to make the world a better place and cultivating the best in ourselves. Our political differences merely express our different beliefs in how to make those SAME goals happen. The only time politics matter is when we let them polarize us, and make us forget to see one another as souls in this struggle together, trying to figure out the answers the best way we can.

I often hear readers say a good love story makes them feel better about life, makes them want to be better people. I think that’s because those books focus on the qualities we want to have, and the desires we all have, and brings them together in a life-affirming way.

It’s easy to hate and talk trash about politicians, celebrities or people we don’t know personally, whose motives are tried by sensationalism-driven media machines. But I’m a big fan of the saying, “The microcosm IS the macrocosm.” In short, who my neighbors and family are, how we reconcile our differences and learn to solve problems together, is no different than how it can work at any other level, if we don’t let the white noise distract us. It would be great if we’d just shut off that machine and start solving our problems at both the community and higher levels in the same way. Tolerance is a two-way street, and it requires eyes, ears and hearts to remain open, and true dialogue to happen.

Like in a romance, good communication, trust and patience are often the most successful way to a happily-ever-after.

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Want to know my favorite movie of all time about resolving differences? Friendly Persuasion, with Gary Cooper and Dorothy McGuire. Oh, and a very young and sexy/broody Anthony Perkins - pre-Psycho! Wonderful flick, set during the Civil War.

An Homage to Different Ways of Writing...

Today I want to tip my hat to other types of writing, which aren’t other types at all. Writing is writing. There’s good writing and bad writing, and those are the only two types. In our current age, we tend to be a bit snobbish, thinking stories told to us from the pages of a book (or ebook reader) are somehow “better” than stories told to us through other media – TV, song, movies, etc. Which is an ironic viewpoint, since the first story ever told was not in book form, but orally. Some guy sitting by the fire one night came up with a story to tell his fellow cavemen. To make it even more interesting (and to distract them from their survival-of-the-fittest, eat-or-be-eaten lifestyle), he used different voices and dramatic body language. He captivated them enough that they wanted more. Next thing you know, the “storyteller” became an important member of the clan. Advances and royalty shares came in the form of extra portions of mammoth meat.

Most of my readers who know far more than they want to know about me are aware I love movies and good TV dramas. That’s because I love storytelling in all its forms. While I am awestruck by a great story on the written page, great movies astound me no less. You take a great script, all the elements of acting, direction and production, couple it to an emotionally compelling score, and what started as one writer’s idea is brought to life in a way that’s nothing short of miraculous. I have trouble juggling all the variables in a book when I write a threesome relationship (you all have heard me whine and grumble about this). I can’t imagine organizing all the chaos that is a movie and turning it into something as enjoyable and wonderful as the experience we have with a great book.

But I digress a little bit. The issue is, whether it’s TV, movies, a song, or a book, the storytelling is the backbone. Other elements can sometimes mask a bad story. For instance, I’ve seen actors pull a crap story out of the fire with their charisma and skill, the same way great characterization can save a weak plotline in a book. However, for it really to work on all cylinders, the story has to be there. And to say that there’s not good writing in these mediums is to ignore some amazing work – and underscores what I’m saying above. It’s still all about the writing. Whether on the page, the screen, the stage, or in song, you have to have something worth saying, that touches the hearts of your audience.

Okay, I’ve beaten the point in narrative enough. Here are some snippets of great writing that have come from TV series and movies (not based on books, I think, lol). Why I love most of these quotes has as much to do with the specific story/episode as the great writing that’s evident here:

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“It matters, where the heart begins.” –Cold Case, “The Good Death” episode

“If life were suddenly to become fair, I doubt it would happen in high school.” –Sky High

“…we are bound by our choices, but we are more than our mistakes. For us, there is no victory. There are only battles. And in the end, the best we can hope for is a place to make our stand. And if you’re very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you.” –Castle, “Knockout” episode

“This isn’t what I want, but I’m going to take the high road. Maybe it’s because I look at everything as a lesson. Or because I don’t want to walk around angry. Maybe it’s because I finally understand there are things we don’t want to happen, but have to accept. That we don’t want to know, but have to learn. People we can’t live without that we have to let go.” –Criminal Minds, “JJ” episode

“Faith or fear, that’s your test.”
“That won’t change whether I die or not.”
“No. But it will change how you experience your death.” --House “Damned If You Do” Episode

“You can't allow the ones you love to determine how you love.” --Before We Go

“If I’ve learned anything, it’s that…we can never let the chaos and injustice make us so blind with anger that we become part of the problem. Understanding, compassion, kindness and love are the only revolutionary ideals. When we compromise those, we become what we despise and we lose our humanity.” --Bones, “Soccer Mom in the Mini-Van” episode

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Now, let’s talk music. While all songs don’t tell a story in the traditional sense (though Harry Chapin’s work remains my favorite in the songbook tradition), many address emotions in a way that speaks to us and makes them forever-keepers on our IPods. Some of these songs have guided my stories and characters to places they might not have gone if I didn’t have their inspiration.

For instance, Mandy Moore’s “Only Hope” seemed like a song straight from Marguerite’s soul to Tyler’s in Ice Queen and Mirror of My Soul. I must have played that song a million times while writing the more intense scenes between them. Here were a couple of the key lyrics that illustrated Marguerite’s state of mind so well:

There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
But you sing to me over and over and over again.

So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope.

Sing to me the song of the stars
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again.

In Vampire Mistress, Gideon Green is a vampire hunter who has lost his soul to blood and death. “Far From Home” by Five Fingered Death Punch spoke to his state of mind and helped me write the opening of the book, which not only set the tone for Gideon’s character, but helped me and other readers fall in love with him and invest in his happily-ever-after. Again, here are some of the key lyrics:

Another day in this carnival of souls
Another night settles in as quickly as it goes
The memories of shadows, ink on the page
And I can't seem to find my way home


And it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything
Your heaven's trying everything
To keep me out


All the places I've been and things I've seen
A million stories that made up a million shattered dreams
The faces of people I'll never see again
And I can't seem to find my way home

You can check out the Look Inside portion of the book on Amazon to read the prologue and see if you agree.

And there’s another section of the story here on my website.

Finally, a third example from one of my most popular titles, Hostile Takeover. Marcie is a submissive determined to win the heart of a hardcore Dom, Ben O’Callahan. She’s known him since she was 16 years old, and now that she’s 23, she’s going to make this happen. “As Long As You’re There” by Charice spoke to her determination about that. In a subsequent title (Soul Rest), it became the song played at her wedding. Oh please, no crying “Spoiler!” It’s a romance. Did you really think they wouldn’t end up together? Lol. Here are the relevant lyrics:

All my life I waited for the right
Moment to let you know
I don’t wanna let you go.
But now I realize there’s just no perfect time
To confess how I feel,
This much I know is real.
So I refuse to waste one more second
without you knowing my heart.


Baby, ‘cause I don’t need anything else but your love.
Nothing but you means a thing to me, I’m incomplete.
When you’re not there, holding me, touching me,
I swear all of the rest could just disappear.
And I wouldn’t even care, as long as you’re there.

And God/dess bless my readers, they’ve added their own entries for my inspirational playlists. Irene of Literary Gossip (yay, Irene!) set up a book trailer to “Demons” by Imagine Dragon, which became Ben’s complementary theme song:

When you feel my heat
Look into my eyes
It’s where my demons hide
Don’t get too close
It’s dark inside
It’s where my demons hide

And I'll let you all enjoy the rest through that fan created book trailer above. It's well worth it!

So in closing, I guess the rambling purpose of this blog post is to express my gratitude for these myriad ways of telling a story, because they inspire my own. Thank you to every writer, in whatever medium you choose to write, for giving us so many ways to experience life.

Running a Little Late...

Since I promised to post something to my GoodReads blog weekly, I wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten. My top priority - getting you all the next book - fell behind this week on word count and I've had to sacrifice a few things, like this week's blog post, to catch back up. By Monday I should be at 55,000 words on my newest project, an erotic telling of the Medusa tale, and will be back on track.

So stay tuned next week for a blog post on something informative, nonsensical, amusing or irritating (with me it could be any of those) when I'm back on track with it as well. And so sorry for having to skip this week.

In the meantime, I will leave you some pretty pictures to look at on my Pinterest board, "Pictures I Like". See if you like them, too! My favorite is the Beauty and the Beast tattoo pic.

You can also see all my Pinterest boards, which includes pics inspired by the latest book, Worth the Wait, here.

Thanks again and happy weekend!

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GIVEAWAY: Remember, I have a Goodreads giveaway happening! I had to take it down briefly this week to update it to permit international entries, but it's back up and running. Three winners will get a signed copy of Worth the Wait and a lovely bundle of swag!

What Brings a Romance Reader over to the "Dark Side" (BDSM Romance)?

I was mulling over a question this week and, since Chris Hemsworth was too busy to grant my request for a face-to-face Q&A (while wearing his Thor costume), I decided to inflict a different topic upon you. My deepest apologies, and Chris apologizes, too. He was simply swamped. Maybe next week.

Anyhow, a reader friend asked me (in paraphrase): “Why isn’t well-written BDSM romance more popular?”

If you’re reading my blog, you’ve likely read some of my stuff and/or are a BDSM romance reader. That also usually means you read (or have read) a wide variety of romance genres, not just erotic romance. You probably also read mainstream women’s fiction and literary titles. I bet I could go to your respective GoodReads booklists and see that proven over and over again. If you go to mine here, you’ll see the same thing.

So what does that make us? A very special subset of women’s fiction/mainstream romance readers who will ALSO read erotic romance, and not just any erotic romance – BDSM romance. So the question is, why don’t MORE readers of women’s fiction/mainstream romance read BDSM erotic romance (or any erotic romance at all)?

We read women’s fiction/romance because both these closely related/overlapping genres explore our interests about family, community, commitment, relationships and finding the love of our lives. These books also add a dash, spice or full dollop--depending on the genre--of fantasy/escapism by intertwining those empathetic/realistic elements with a handsome hero, or a dangerous-to-the-rescue situation we can experience from the safety of our favorite reading chair. Plus some spicy sex, sexual tension and/or romance.

[Side note: Sorry for all the slashes and em dashes. It’s a side effect of my mulling, lol.]

But that last one—spicy sex--is problematic, because when it crosses a line and becomes “BDSM erotic,” we lose a great many of those romance/fiction readers. They won’t cross that line. Why?

When Fifty Shades came out, my unscientific estimate was that authors in my genre would see a spike in sales on the front end. But I also believed over time that would level out to only about a 5-10% permanent increase in readership. That 5-10% was intrigued enough to go looking for more and, when they discovered the genre has been alive and thriving for the past decade, they started exploring deeper levels in erotic romance. And they liked what they found enough to start incorporating BDSM erotic romance titles into their overall reading selections.

But 90% withdrew back to their normal preferred genres. 50 Shades was just the popular talk-show book of the moment and they moved on to the next bookclub selection. Which might have answered it. Question: Why won’t most readers try an erotic romance? Answer: Most just aren’t interested in the genre except in a unique situation like that.

If I had no other evidence to the contrary, I wouldn’t be giving it this much thought. I have zero problem with women who genuinely feel that way: they’ve tried the genre, they liked the one book but the rest wasn’t their cup of tea, and they moved on. Like most readers, I’ve had that same experience. Cool beans.

However, the reason I can’t let it go is how many times I’ve seen an email from an “I don’t read erotic romance” reader who says, “My friend kept badgering me to read your work. Now I don’t know why I waited this long to give your books a try.” I hear from other erotic romance authors who’ve received this kind of email as well, so I know there are so many more women’s fiction/mainstream romance readers who would enjoy this genre if they found the right title and gave it a shot. Hell, a long time ago, I was one of them (though I didn’t have to be nagged – grin). When I found my first erotic romances (Exit to Eden by Anne Rice and Roarke’s Prisoner by Angela Knight I was delighted.

So let’s get down to brass tacks. Recap: No matter how well written it is, or whether it explores many of the same issues that have drawn them to other romances, many romance readers won’t try BDSM romance. Why?

Here are two theories I have –

ONE: We’re still holding onto the idea that if a book has too much sex, it can’t be well-written. When I started writing for publication years ago, I saw that theory regularly expounded by those in the industry. Sex is a lazy writer’s tool, blah blah blah.

Admittedly, there is a lot of crap out there in the erotic romance genre. You can put in “erotic romance” at Amazon and come up with a ton of short novellas that were obviously dashed off by people who hope to make a quick buck off one-handed read bathroom material targeted toward women. But every genre has its share of poorly written books. We don’t write off the whole genre because of it.

Well, let me qualify that. Romance as a whole has fought that same problem. So asking the question in a little different way, is it because romance has had such difficulty being taken seriously as a form of literature, that the women who dare to read it proudly now nevertheless won’t expose themselves to further ridicule or raised eyebrows by moving into erotic romance, a genre that explores women’s sexual natures far more deeply and makes it an integral part of the issues explored in the book?

TWO: Which leads me to my next theory of why so many readers won’t cross into erotic romance territory. Is it because so many women are still uncomfortable for so many social/personal reasons about exploring/embracing their sexuality, even in the pages of fiction? I’ve met a lot of women over the years who have found new levels of sexual expression opened up to them by reading erotic romance--which thrills me! But that has also underscored how many of us, even in this day and age, are still dealing with hang-ups about that very subject. Such that it would justifiably interfere with our enjoyment of a story where sex isn’t within traditional boundaries.

I’m making no arguments, judgments or definite conclusions about any of the above. I’m exploring it in my own head and giving you all a look at what I’m puzzling over. Because as an author, cultivating new readers is how my career keeps progressing. The complexity of my characters, what I write and how I write it, makes readers who read women’s fiction and mainstream romance, who demand strong emotional content, quality writing and a compelling storyline, my target audience. How do I reach them? How do I convince them to give an erotic romance, a BDSM erotic romance, a try? What obstacles am I facing?

Is it because there are too many crappy offerings out there? Is it an attitude, a misconception about the genre, a worry about what others might think, a morality issue, the fact that BDSM brings up the rear in the alternative sexuality tolerance line so it’s still considered freak flag behavior? (and hey, I love my freak flag, don’t get me wrong, but some people hesitate at the sight of one, lol). In which case, is it a patience/time issue, such that, as BDSM gets more accepted by the mainstream and more skilled writers turn their hands to it, BDSM erotic romance will become of greater interest to mainstream women’s fiction readers?

What are your thoughts? Again, I have no firm conclusions, only ponderings and theories, no opinions of the right or wrong thinking on it. I’m just trying to figure it out so I can draw in new readers and pay my light bill (lol).

And again, I apologize for sucking you into my brain. I am known to chew on a subject until it could be regurgitated and fed to a baby bird. But I’d love to know your theories!

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GOODREADS Giveaway! Starting June 20 and running to July 20. Three signed copies of Worth the Wait being given away (along with some cool swag!). Link goes live on June 20 here:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Worth the Wait


by Joey W. Hill

Giveaway ends July 20, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

How Can I Use My Own Fears?

Have you noticed the most persistent and irritating fears are the daily phobias, the ones that control us when we know they shouldn’t? I’ve often wished I was one of my characters when it came to dealing with those.

When I go to the doctor, I’d be Leland Keller of Soul Rest, because the Baton Rouge police sergeant is the type of guy who’d be joking with the nurses and not paying any attention to needles, tests or probing instruments. To him, those are nothing to get uptight about.

If I had to get on an airplane, I’d be Marguerite of Ice Queen, the Domme and tea room owner who loves the feeling of flying. She even does BASE jumping and Atmonauti parachuting.

When I go out to the grocery store, movies or other crowded places, I’d be Chloe (Branded Sanctuary) or Julie (Worth the Wait), who can strike up conversations with anyone and see nothing but a potential friend in every encounter, rather than a faceless mob waiting to attack.

For public speaking, I’d be Cassandra Adler of Controlled Response, a corporate negotiator who can think on her feet and never stammers or worries about the numbers of people she’s addressing.

When my time comes and I’m facing death, I’d choose to step into Lady Lyssa’s shoes, because the Vampire Queen (Vampire Queen’s Servant) would never waste time fearing something as inevitable as death. Actually, Lyssa isn’t afraid of much of anything, except losing her servant Jacob or their son Kane.

But that last one is a “real” fear. Pretty much all of us fear losing those we love. There’s not a lot we can do about that except value them every day and not hold them so tight we smother them or prevent them from being who they are. Even if they do things we know may take them from us sooner rather than later. Which takes me back to The River Runs Through It quote: “We can love completely without complete understanding.”

I’m a complete chicken, with a lot of weird phobias. My relationship to fear can be summarized by two different movie scenes/quotes:

In Goosebumps, one of the teenage characters declares he’s never had a teenager’s sense of immortality. He’s always been afraid of death. He exclaims: “When I was four and put on a swing, I thought, so this is how it ends."

In Nim’s Island, Jodie Foster’s author character is a recluse afraid to leave the house, but because a little girl is in trouble, she somehow manages to leave the house and get on a plane. When the plane goes through a storm, Jodie executes a brilliant panicked dialogue that went something like: “If I ever get through this, I will embrace my fears. I will never leave the house again.”

Yep, that’s me. I wish I had the ability to channel my characters’ personalities, don them like armor when I am facing a fear. But while my imagination is great for my stories, “fear monsters” have a way of growing and blotting out the light of any rational thought, as well as most strategies for keeping them at bay. The only successful way I’ve found for knocking them down to size is if they’re countered with a threat against someone I love, or a need to soothe another person’s fear. For instance, I have a friend who fears flying, but when she had to take her infant nephew home via plane, she found focusing on caring for him during the flight took her focus away from her own fears and neutralized them.

You’ve probably heard authors say there’s no human experience they can’t use in their stories, and that is true with fear management. I have characters who have been through terrible things, coming out on the other side of those things with serious physical and emotional scars to overcome. Through their stories, finding the right person (or persons) to love, they do. But they face a lot of fears to get there. While they are WAY braver than me any day of the week, I can use my fears – how they feel, how I manage them, how quickly I know that those fears can overwhelm and create irrational behavior – to flesh out a character’s reaction to a trigger. From there they can figure out how to overcome the situation, take control in a positive way and move forward.

Which is when I wave to them from the safety of my writing cave and wish them well. “Glad I could help! I’ll just be hanging out right back here.” (grin)

I’ve explored a lot of mental exercises to manage fear. None really work for me when I’m actually confronting one of my numerous phobias, but I’ve found they help flesh out great skills/traits for characters to internalize and use as they move forward in their stories and overcome fear. Like these two quotes, though I can’t find the authors at the moment:

Fear is a choice - If you think about it, fear IS a choice. It has a shape, edges. It is actually separate from what you fear. There’s a great scene in one of the Next Generation Star Trek movies where Data turns off his emotion chip so he doesn’t have to deal with fear while he and Picard face impossible odds. Picard gives him an odd look and says, “Sometimes, Data, I envy you.” The scene underscores that what you fear and fear itself are two different things. If you manage and compartmentalize the fear, set it aside, you handle the situation much differently. I have characters who regularly do that, like Dana in Honor Bound, where she dealt with her truck convoy being ambushed in Iraq. Or Celeste in Soul Rest, when she goes into dangerous situations to uncover a story (she's a news blogger). Janet of Willing Sacrifice can do this to a scary level; to the point she shuts herself down after rescuing Max, her former Navy SEAL boyfriend, from a life-threatening situation and he has to help her find her way back. So it’s best to show moderation in all things, even fear management (smile).

Keep your fears to yourself and show your courage to others – Well, my books are chock full of noble people who conceal their fears in order to help inspire and lead others. Guess that’s why they get to be called heroes and heroines. But that’s why for us normal folk I kind of like this last quote:

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow.” (Mary Anne Radmacher) Often, the aftereffect of being swamped by our fears is a miserable sense of failure and worthlessness. I’ve had characters who’ve had such bad moments, and that’s when it’s really handy to have that wonderful hero or heroine who says:“Hey, this is just a moment. You’ll do better next time.”

Actually, it’s pretty handy to have those people in our non-fictional lives as well. I owe my husband a great deal in that regard. Here’s hoping you all have those in your lives who help you deal with your day-to-day fear monsters and keep them to a manageable size.

Do any of you have ways to manage your fears that have been effective in dealing with phobias or scary situations? Do you think romances do a good job of realistically showing how characters manage fear and/or inspire us to manage our own?

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Find blurbs and free excerpts for all the books mentioned here at Joey's website under the drop down Book menu, www.storywitch.com.