Julie Kenner's Blog, page 69

New snippet from Wanted by J. Kenner on #MostWantedMonday

Welcome to another #MostWantedMonday excerpt as we countdown to the January 7 release of Wanted by J. Kenner, book one in the Most Wanted series of erotic romances that wilI be followed by Heated in May and Ignited in September!

Pre-order Wanted!

Amazon print

Amazon Kindle

Random House

Amazon UK print

Amazon UK Kindle

Barnes & Noble/Nook

iTunes

more retailers coming soon!

 

Here’s the snippet!  Enjoy!

 

“You called me Lina on the roof the other day,” I said softly. I felt suddenly, unreasonably exposed, and I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Did I? I suppose I thought it suited you.” He stroked his palms down my bare shoulders. “Do you like it?”

I hesitated. I should back off. I should say no; I should be Angie. “Yes,” I whispered as he closed his fingers over mine. “I liked it.”

“Me, too.” He stood up, then held out a hand for me. “Come here, Lina,” he said, gently pulling me to my feet. The robe hung open, and he pushed it off my arms, leaving me naked.

I fought the urge to bend down for the robe, but honestly, it didn’t take much effort. I wanted to be naked with this man. I wanted to be wild with him. I wanted to be Lina.

I could do this; I could take these three weeks. Because surely with Evan keeping me tethered, nothing would go horribly wrong.

“Come with me,” he said, then led me to the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed, then guided me on, as well.

I knelt on the mattress, sitting back on my ankles. Then I cocked my head and regarded him playfully. “I’m not sure Lina is quite as compliant as Angie.”

His smile was slow and held a touch of victory. “Is that a fact?”

“Mmm.”

“Well, what would Lina do?” he asked.

“She’d be bold,” I said, as I moved closer. “If she wanted something from a man, she’d just take it.” I reached down, and stroked his cock through his slacks, then sucked in air as I felt it turn to steel in response to my touch. “Or maybe she’d just drive him wild,” I said, as I slid my hand slowly up and down. “Take him to the edge and then push him over, knowing that she was the one who made him fall.”

“ Lina.”  He drew in a noisy breath. He reached out for me, but I shook my head.

“No. Lay back. Lina can be very bossy.”

Until next week,

 

Happy reading, y’all!

 

XXOO

JK

 

 

 

Where Do You Want To Go Next?

 

Hump Day books from Debra Holland, Erica Ridley, Kelly Boyce, Maggie Marr, Zoe York, Michele Drier, Tawny Weber, and Lisa Ann Verge!

For your pleasure: some sizzling Hump Day titles. Eight books to savor during the holidays, including three seasonal-themed romances!

Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology (Montana Sky Series)

New Christmas anthology!

See more at Debra Holland’s website!

Midwinter Magic (Nether-Netherland #1.5)

On sale for 99¢!

For more visit Erica Ridley’s website!

An Invitation to Scandal (The Sins & Scandals Series)

New Historical Romance from Kelly Boyce!

More at Kelly Boyce’s website!

Hollywood Hit (Hollywood Girls Club)

Just published! Hollywood Hit, the latest book in the much loved Hollywood Girls Club Series!

Connect with Maggie Marr at her website!

Where Their Hearts Collide (The Wardham Series)

New Contemp Romance, Latest in Series!

See more at Zoe York’s website!

SNAP: Happily Ever After? (The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles)

New vamp novel!

Don’t forget to visit Michele Drier’s website!

Naughty Christmas Nights (Harlequin Blaze)

A Hot, Sassy Holiday Read!

So much more at Tawny Weber’s website!

Twice Upon A Time (The Celtic Legends Series)

Just Released! The first book in the Celtic Legend Series!

More from Lisa Ann Verge at her website!

Where Do You Want To Go Next?

 

For the 5th day of Christmas, I’m giving a way a copy of Tainted at Francessca’s Romance Reviews today!

Hurry over to the Giveaways Page at Francessca’s Romance Reviews today and enter the giveaway to win a copy of Tainted by Julie Kenner, Book 1 of my urban fantasy trilogy featuring Lily Carlyle and Deacon, a sexy, tortured demon!

Be sure to scroll down to Day Five for instructions!

”A wonderful balance between urban fantasy and paranormal romance.  A casual, catchy first-person point of view peppered with slightly more four-letter-words than the genre usually bears, mingled with a kick-ass heroine and a dangerous, smoking-hot hero makes for an excellent read.”   The Discriminating Fangirl

Good luck!

Where Do You Want To Go Next?

 

From screenplay to novel: Aaron de Orive on the creation of Bladesinger.

I want to talk about three of my favorite works of fiction.

 

The first one is my favorite children’s book, The Wizard of Oz. Now like most kids, I saw the movie with Judy Garland before I read the book. It’s one of my favorite films as well. In fact, one of my earliest childhood memories is of me cowering in my grandmother’s lap watching the Wicked Witch of the West command her flying monkey into the air. It scared the bejesus out of me. Probably out of a lot of kids. In elementary school, I discovered the movie had been based on a series of books by L. Frank Baum. I read every one I could find in our school library. I love Oz.

 

The second is The Three Musketeers. Once again, my first exposure to this story was as a movie, the 1973 version with Michael York. The cast in that movie is amazing. Oliver Reed as Athos? Christopher Lee as Rochefort? Faye Dunaway as Milady? Wow! I’ve seen that movie so many times that I’ve memorized every line of dialogue. It instilled in me a love of all things swashbuckling. I was in high school when I finally got around to reading Alexandre Dumas’ amazing novel. To say that most film adaptations have only scratched the surface of that story is an understatement. It’s a must read.

 

 

And finally, there’s Oliver Twist. True to my pattern, my first experience with this classic was the 1968 musical Oliver. Now oddly enough, I’m not a fan of musicals at all. But there was something about that particular one that I found incredibly compelling. It was the characters and the story, of course. I didn’t get around to reading Charles Dickens’ novel until I was in college. What an amazing work of literature. It’s one of my favorites and, in my opinion, Dickens’ best novel.

 

Given that information, it’s not surprising that the first incarnation of my novel Blade Singer was as a screenplay. My background is in film production and screenwriting, which I studied at the University of Texas at Austin. (Julie and I share an alma mater.)

 

(The craft of screenwriting, btw, is invaluable to storytellers. If you’re a novelist who’s never written a screenplay, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s ideal for helping you think in terms of scenes and beats, for understanding the spine of a story and the flow of a narrative, and for achieving the maximum amount of drama with the fewest words possible.)

 

So anyway, I wrote Blade Singer after graduating from U.T. It got me my first Hollywood manager and my first professional writing gig in the video game industry. When I decided to try my hand at writing novels, I knew that would be the story I would tell. I was incredibly fortunate that one of my friends and favorite authors, Martha Wells, not only encouraged me in this endeavor, she also agreed to help me undertake the task. I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor or collaborator. Martha is amazing and I love her oodles.

 

When the novel was finished, I was very proud of what we had created and was determined to share it with an audience exactly as envisioned. In this case, that meant self-publishing. And so we decided to Kickstart the novel, to cover the many costs that would insure a professional level of quality.

 

Blade Singer is a middle-grade fantasy novel that features a young protagonist transplanted to a strange magical world filled with swashbuckling faeries, legendary monsters, a band of sinister thieves, and, of course, a terrifying wicked witch. It’s thrilling, suspenseful, scary, action-packed, and a whole lot of fun. I’m confident that if you check it out for yourselves, you’ll agree.

 

Who knows, maybe someday it’ll become some new writer’s favorite work of fiction. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

 

 

 

 

Aaron de Orive is a fantasist (he loves that word) who has helped create tabletop role-playing games and popular video games. He enjoys writing screenplays and fantasy novels with a variety of amazing collaborators. He lives in Austin with his wife, daughter, and two very spoiled dogs.

Connect with Aaron at Facebook and Twitter! Contribute to the campaign at Bladesinger’s Kickstarter page!

 

Thank you so much, Aaron! 

Aaron listed his three favorite works of fiction. What are yours! Let us know in the comments section!

Where Do You Want To Go Next?

 

Meet My Nikon

I spent some of this weekend playing with my new toy, a Nikon D7100 digital SLR camera.  (Merry Christmas to me!)

I’ve been wanting a new camera for a while, as I haven’t owned a “real” camera since college, a hundred million years ago. Back in the day (when my undergrad was film and I took photography classes on the side) I actually spoke the f-stop and shutter speed language. But I’ve managed to forget all of that.  So I feel like I’m starting fresh, especially since the only digital images I’ve ever taken have been with a point-and-shoot compact camera or an iPhone.

It was the iPhone that started all this.  The iPhone and my kids, that is.  It’s been on my mind for a while (I was having camera-lust while watching Veronica Mars.  Of course, that also involved the fantasy of being a private detective, but that isn’t going to happen) but what really kicked my desire into gear was realizing that I’m missing out on great family moments because I just can’t get the images I want with my phone (hello, crappy pics and video from Isabella’s first public school Christmas pageant!).

 

So off we went to the camera store.  And I’m in serious lust with this puppy!

Bear with me, as I’m going to blog about learning all this stuff.  So far, I’ve pretty much learned how to point-and-shoot.  Ahem.  But I plan to get better!

(Actually, as you can see from the gallery below, I’ve been playing with the 18-270 Tamron lens that I bought with the camera.  I really loved the folks at Precision Camera in Austin, and the guy who helped me was fabulous (thank you, Ian!).  I explained that I am doing a ton of traveling this year, including Europe, and I wanted a reasonably priced lens that would let me get both vacation pics and arty pics without having to do a lot of lens-schlepping or changing.  So far, I’m pleased!  And in addition to zooming and getting close in, I’ve played with the camera’s “scene” capability, setting it for pet portraits … and being pleasantly surprised that there was no red-eye effect!)

Here’s a gallery of some images I’ve done so far.  None of them are re-touched, though I did crop two of them to squares and add text because I figure if I have a camera I need to hang more on Pinterest and Instagram!

RSVP for J. Kenner & Tracy Wolff’s The Art of Writing Erotica Event, coming Wednesday!

 

 

The Art of Writing Erotica – A Conversation with Authors J. Kenner and Tracy Wolff
Wednesday, December 18 – 7–8pm EST


RSVP Now!


Join bestselling authors J. KENNER (RELEASE ME, The Stark Trilogy) and TRACY WOLFF (FULL EXPOSURE, TIE ME DOWN) LIVE as they discuss the art of writing erotic romance. Learn how to ramp up the emotional and sexual tension—from start to climax!–in your own writing, straight from the experts! Find out their favorite erotica stories, and discover how they fine-tuned their craft. Featuring exclusive readings and a live Q&A with the audience—be the first to hear the scoop on their next sexy projects!


Enter the chatroom 15 minutes  early to set the mood and listen to a sexy song playlist chosen by the authors! Stay through the end of the chat to see if you’ve won a sexy-themed swag pack! Prize details will be announced at the beginning of the chat. All attendees are entered to win, and the winner, chosen at random, must be present in the chatroom at time of announcement to claim prize. (US residents only, no purchase necessary.)



About J. Kenner
J.Kenner is the New York Times bestselling author of Release Me, Claim Me, and Complete Me. She spent more than ten years as a litigator in Southern California and central Texas, using her rare free time to indulge in her passion of writing. She lives in Texas with her husband and two daughters. Connect with Julie on Facebook and Twitter. The first book in her erotic romance series,  Wanted , goes on sale January 7.

 
About Tracy Wolff
Tracy Wolff lives in Texas and teaches writing at her local community college. She is married and the mother of three young sons. Connect with Tracy on Facebook and Twitter. Her next Loveswept novel,  Ruined: An Ethan Frost Novel , goes on sale January 7.


The Art of Writing Erotica is presented by Random House – Bantam & Loveswept. Discover romance at RomanceatRandom.com.

A Sensual Snippet from Wanted by J. Kenner for #MostWantedMonday

Welcome to another #MostWantedMonday excerpt as we countdown to the January 7 release of Wanted by J. Kenner, book one in the Most Wanted series of erotic romances that wilI be followed by Heated in May and Ignited in September!

Pre-order Wanted!

Amazon print

Amazon Kindle

Random House

Amazon UK print

Amazon UK Kindle

Barnes & Noble/Nook

iTunes

more retailers coming soon!

 

Here’s the snippet!  Enjoy!

 

“You see me,” I said simply. “I think you’ve always seen me.”

His smile was slow, gentle, and sweetly sexy. “Why would I want to look anywhere else?”

I felt my cheeks bloom with delight at the compliment. Then I followed him inside, feeling suddenly awkward. Like a teenager on a first date.

Evan, apparently, didn’t feel that way at all. He crossed the foyer toward the intercom panel as if he owned the place, then pressed the button to locate Peterson. “Ms. Raine and I would like the condo to ourselves for a while, Peterson. Take the rest of tonight and tomorrow off.”

“Certainly, sir.”

I gaped at Evan, not sure if I should be irritated that he was bossing around my butler or excited about the prospect of another twenty-four hours.

I settled on embarrassment when I realized that Evan had pretty much drawn Peterson a picture of what was going on up here. “Subtle, much?” I grumbled.

He only laughed. “Trust me, I can be very discreet when the occasion calls for it. Right now, though, you’re mine. And I don’t care who knows it.”

“Oh.” I swallowed, those first date nerves firing up again. “So, do you want a glass of wine?”

“No,” he said simply. “I already told you what I want. I want you naked.”

Beneath the red lace of my bra, my nipples tightened. “I—oh.”

He nodded toward the bedroom. “On the bed. On your back. I’ll be along soon. Unless you’d rather I leave,” he added, when I didn’t move.

Slowly, I shook my head. And then, in the thick silence, I turned and started toward the bedroom.

 

Until next week,

 

Happy reading, y’all!

 

XXOO

JK

 

 

 

Where Do You Want To Go Next?

 

Vote for Nikki and Damien Stark as Hottest Couple in GraveTells Readers Choice Awards!

Check it out!! Nikki and Damien Stark have been nominated as Hottest Couple in the Grave Tell Readers Choice Awards!

 

How cool is that?  Be sure to go vote - voting starts today!

Damien Stark – #StarkOnSaturday

#StarkOnSaturday

Take Me by J. Kenner on USA Today and NYT bestseller lists!

THANK YOU READERS!!

Take Me by J. Kenner (a Stark Trilogy epilogue novella) debuted at #7 on the New York Times list and #28 on USA Today.

Y’all rock!