Isabel Roman's Blog, page 52
April 9, 2011
Saturday Excerpt
Today's excerpt at Slip into Something Victorian is by Susan Macatee.
And stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway bonanza.
And stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway bonanza.
April 8, 2011
Friday Guest: Kay Jaybee
The most common question I'm asked as an erotica writer is 'Where do you get your ideas from?' (Closely followed by, 'Have you done all that kinky stuff then- but I ignore that half of the question!)
It is an intriguing question, and one I can only partly give any sort of sensible answer to. This is mostly because, in the main, ideas just come to me. They literally pop into my head, usually at highly inconvenient times. On the school run, in the middle of doing the ironing, when I'm out for a long walk in the middle of nowhere on the only day of the year I have forgotten to carry a pen and paper with me etc etc...
When I stop to think about it properly though, I admit there are trigger points, things that get the subconscious flowing and the creative urges juicing.
Number one for me inspiration wise has to be a great location. I prefer ordinary places in which to set my mini sagas of temptation; places that every reader can relate to and easily picture in their minds eye. Cafes, bookshops, storerooms, clubs, offices, hotels and so on. One of the most enjoyable things about going to a new place for me, is to decide what if (should I mentally will away all the occupants within the said space), could happen there, with one, two, three, or sometimes more invented individuals, and how I might take their clothes off- or not?
The second main starting point for my writing has to be overheard conversations. I like to think I'm observant rather than nosy- but you could argue either way!
It's amazing what an innocent sounding sentence can be turned into if it hits your imagination at the right time and in the right place. This is the major reason I write quietly in public places. I never know if someone nearby will say something that will add that little bit of extra spice to my work.
In fact the entirety of my linked anthology, The Collector (Austin & Macauley, 2008), was based on the premise that people talk about their most intimate secrets in public places. They think they are talking quietly- sometimes they are- did I mention I can lip read? As a result I have literally collected together notebooks full of scribbled ideas from overheard conversations; enough material of erotic interest to compile several anthologies, rather than just one.
Even something as simple as an aroma can set off the creative urges. For example, the smell of new paint wafting towards me as I walked through my local town a few days ago was enough to get me wondering if there are people out there who get their rocks off by painting each other with emulsion...and so a new short story was born (or will be when I've finished it!)
My latest novel, The Perfect Submissive , came to life as a short story called Seducing Laura. The first chapter of the novel is based almost entirely on this original story, and centres on the first kinky encounter between the dominatrix, Laura Peters, and handsome artist Samuel in the Fables Hotel where she manages an adult entertainment facility on the exclusive top floor.
The first spark for Seducing Laura came as I watched a friend drawing a picture. There is something very sensual about watching a pencil caress a page...I'll say no more on that, or it will ruin the novel for you...
By the time I'd developed the novel's central character, Miss Jess Sanders, I knew I had created a creature destined to endure an intense training schedule at the hands of Mrs Peters and her staff, before she ultimately becomes the perfect submissive...
So, where do I get my ideas from? From nowhere; from everywhere; from anything, and everything!
Thanks for your time today,
Kay *****If you need to find Kay on any weekday morning, then she's usually to be found in the far corner of her favourite cafe, with a large black coffee in one hand, and a ballpoint pen in the other.
After five years of compiling stories and poems, and reviewing other people's work, she says without doubt, that there is NO going back. Once writing has you in its power you are at its mercy for life. It doesn't pay well, it leads to constant disappointment, and it takes over every other thing you do - but when the publisher says "Yes," and the occasional unexpected royalty cheque arrives in the post, it suddenly all seems worthwhile, and I love it!!
You can find more information on Kay's website: . She's also on Facebook.
It is an intriguing question, and one I can only partly give any sort of sensible answer to. This is mostly because, in the main, ideas just come to me. They literally pop into my head, usually at highly inconvenient times. On the school run, in the middle of doing the ironing, when I'm out for a long walk in the middle of nowhere on the only day of the year I have forgotten to carry a pen and paper with me etc etc...
When I stop to think about it properly though, I admit there are trigger points, things that get the subconscious flowing and the creative urges juicing.
Number one for me inspiration wise has to be a great location. I prefer ordinary places in which to set my mini sagas of temptation; places that every reader can relate to and easily picture in their minds eye. Cafes, bookshops, storerooms, clubs, offices, hotels and so on. One of the most enjoyable things about going to a new place for me, is to decide what if (should I mentally will away all the occupants within the said space), could happen there, with one, two, three, or sometimes more invented individuals, and how I might take their clothes off- or not?
The second main starting point for my writing has to be overheard conversations. I like to think I'm observant rather than nosy- but you could argue either way!
It's amazing what an innocent sounding sentence can be turned into if it hits your imagination at the right time and in the right place. This is the major reason I write quietly in public places. I never know if someone nearby will say something that will add that little bit of extra spice to my work.
In fact the entirety of my linked anthology, The Collector (Austin & Macauley, 2008), was based on the premise that people talk about their most intimate secrets in public places. They think they are talking quietly- sometimes they are- did I mention I can lip read? As a result I have literally collected together notebooks full of scribbled ideas from overheard conversations; enough material of erotic interest to compile several anthologies, rather than just one.
Even something as simple as an aroma can set off the creative urges. For example, the smell of new paint wafting towards me as I walked through my local town a few days ago was enough to get me wondering if there are people out there who get their rocks off by painting each other with emulsion...and so a new short story was born (or will be when I've finished it!)My latest novel, The Perfect Submissive , came to life as a short story called Seducing Laura. The first chapter of the novel is based almost entirely on this original story, and centres on the first kinky encounter between the dominatrix, Laura Peters, and handsome artist Samuel in the Fables Hotel where she manages an adult entertainment facility on the exclusive top floor.
The first spark for Seducing Laura came as I watched a friend drawing a picture. There is something very sensual about watching a pencil caress a page...I'll say no more on that, or it will ruin the novel for you...
By the time I'd developed the novel's central character, Miss Jess Sanders, I knew I had created a creature destined to endure an intense training schedule at the hands of Mrs Peters and her staff, before she ultimately becomes the perfect submissive...
So, where do I get my ideas from? From nowhere; from everywhere; from anything, and everything!
Thanks for your time today,
Kay *****If you need to find Kay on any weekday morning, then she's usually to be found in the far corner of her favourite cafe, with a large black coffee in one hand, and a ballpoint pen in the other.
After five years of compiling stories and poems, and reviewing other people's work, she says without doubt, that there is NO going back. Once writing has you in its power you are at its mercy for life. It doesn't pay well, it leads to constant disappointment, and it takes over every other thing you do - but when the publisher says "Yes," and the occasional unexpected royalty cheque arrives in the post, it suddenly all seems worthwhile, and I love it!!
You can find more information on Kay's website: . She's also on Facebook.
April 7, 2011
Thursday Progress
Have you ever looked back at a story and wondered just why you went in direction A instead of B or where you made a wrong turn when you should have taken a left at Albuquerque?
Not saying the story's wrong, just that I seemed to have missed a twist somewhere. And this is why there are 1st drafts (2nd drafts, 3rd...etc.). And why we self-edit before sending a story in. Not only for plot, grammar, and characterization, but for intensity.
Dark Inheritance (the working title of my Dark Regency story) is an extremely shadowy story with murder, betrayal, suspicion, spies, and a romance that's ever so intense. But the romance has to fit the plot and vice versa. It all comes down to words. The correct choice of them and the correct placement of them.
That's what I'll start this weekend, the final read-through of the story, one act at a time, before sending it in. Wish me luck!
Not saying the story's wrong, just that I seemed to have missed a twist somewhere. And this is why there are 1st drafts (2nd drafts, 3rd...etc.). And why we self-edit before sending a story in. Not only for plot, grammar, and characterization, but for intensity.Dark Inheritance (the working title of my Dark Regency story) is an extremely shadowy story with murder, betrayal, suspicion, spies, and a romance that's ever so intense. But the romance has to fit the plot and vice versa. It all comes down to words. The correct choice of them and the correct placement of them.
That's what I'll start this weekend, the final read-through of the story, one act at a time, before sending it in. Wish me luck!
April 6, 2011
If you've ever wondered...
What it's like to work in a library, trust me when I say it's not all shush-ing and reading. These are from the excellent site
Unshelved.com
, a small sampling of what goes on in every public library in the country. I don't care where you live.
Not in any order, I chose my favorites from the last few months. We look at this site every day.
This is a library favorite.
You have no idea the various people who come itno the library on a regular basis.
Or how many don't understand the wide scope of what we offer. Where else can you read a book, a magazine, watch a movie or listen to CDs and audiobooks, anduse a computer for free?
Not in any order, I chose my favorites from the last few months. We look at this site every day.
This is a library favorite.
You have no idea the various people who come itno the library on a regular basis.
Or how many don't understand the wide scope of what we offer. Where else can you read a book, a magazine, watch a movie or listen to CDs and audiobooks, anduse a computer for free?
April 5, 2011
Guest: Alyssa Aaron
Today's guest is Alyssa Aaron talking about traveling, flying, and her release,
His Perfect Submissive
. Please join me in welcoming Alyssa!
Traveling With Alyssa Aaron
I'm not a huge traveler. I don't like to fly. So most of my travels are road trips and that suits me just fine. I love taking road trips.
I like to take my time and ponder the things I see along the way. I like to stop here and there to take pictures of flowers and trees and dilapidated buildings or a lonely stretch of road or a mailbox with an interesting planting of flowers around it.
I like to allow my writer's mind ample time to kick in and gather pieces for some future story that I'll write someday in the distant future when I've exhausted the hundred plus novel ideas already spinning in my mind.
When I travel I may be drawn to the house on the left which is gray with age, has a sagging porch, and missing windows. I'll notice the front porch with its turned columns that were once a cherry shade of white and I'll reflect that it was once someone's home. I'll think that generations may have been born there, matured there, perhaps even died there. I'll connect with the children playing in the yard that I conjure in my imagination. I'll wonder who they grew up to be…who they married…what troubled spots the marriages endured.
There is no telling what story will come out of my quiet ponderings as I wander around snapping photos, letting my muse run wild. My muse may dart after the little girl in the pink polka dot dress with the long blond tresses whose best friend disappeared from the school bus stop last week. I may think about the role that experience has on the little girl as she grows up, matures, has children of her own. Or the thoughts may take a different path and focus on the missing child…who took her…where is she now…will she survive her ordeal…how will it impact her life in the future? Or my thoughts could dart to the parents of the child. How will the kidnapping affect them? What strains will it put on their marriage?
Travels for me are wonderful times of slowing down physically and mentally so that my writers mind can kick in, play, and gather the bits and pieces that may someday form the foundation of another story…or perhaps just a piece of a story already coalescing in my mind.
I like to travel to areas where there is an interest in quilting. There are several Amish areas with that interest within driving distance of where we live in Indiana and I've enjoyed travels to several of them. Often Amish areas have restaurants in which the décor includes wonderful quilts hand-pieced and hand-quilted within the community. I love to dine at places like that as I like to see what other quilters have done with fabric, batting, and their own imaginations. It feeds my muse. It excites me. It makes me yearn to play with my own scraps of fabric and to gather more.
I love visiting new quilt shops on my travels as well. My quilting muse is perhaps not that different from my writing muse in that it too likes to run free darting here and yon looking for tidbits, snippets, scraps. My muse may find a perfect yellow solid to go with something I am working on at home…or it may find a series of things that form the inspiration for a whole new quilt which will be made either as a gift for a family member or friend or for a quilt that will be donated to a child in need somewhere in the world.
My travels are usually adventures in gathering…pieces for stories…pieces for quilts…interesting photographs that may one day find their way into a blog template, greeting card, calendar, or other project. The thing that I like most about traveling is the opportunity to allow things to freely associate. A child who flows into my imagination while I'm snapping pictures outside a dilapidated house may one day become the child version of the heroine in a book that's coalescing in my mind as happened with Kara in His Perfect Submissive . A yard of fabric with pictures of bunnies nibbling flowers may one day become the focus fabric for a quilt for a child recovering from surgery in a third world country.
As I travel I don't always know where the pieces that my muses gather will end up. This is true whether they are story ideas, fabrics, or interesting photographs, but I welcome them all because I believe that one day each tidbit will find its rightful place in a story, a quilt, or in a blog template, calendar, greeting card or some other project.
Kara was the victim of a brutal rape that occurred when she was seven. The event destroyed her family and left her fearful and distrustful of men.
When Kara's brother embezzles $30,000 from Slade's company, Kara goes to Slade's office determined to talk him out of going to the police.
Slade wants a peaceful, obedient, submissive with whom to share his life and in Kara he glimpses what he wants. He seizes the opportunity and makes Kara an offer she can't afford to refuse. The only way she can save her brother from certain prison is to accept Slade's marriage proposal and become his submissive.
Kara faces her wedding with anxiety. She can't tell Slade she can't submit sexually without risking her brother's freedom, yet she doubts she'll be able to keep her promise to be a submissive, obedient wife.
This romance explores the role of trust in even the most mismatched of partnerships and explores the complex connections between dominance and submission while it demonstrates the power of real love to heal even the deepest wounds.
Excerpt:
"Are you feeling better? Is talking helping?" he asked as he maneuvered the SUV off the exit ramp.
At the bottom of the ramp he turned right and followed the sign that advertised several restaurants in that direction.
"Yes it's helping. I don't feel quite as scared. I still feel—" he cast a sideways glance at her, mesmerized by the tangle of emotions that played over her expressive face as she searched for the right word.
"Uncertain?" he supplied. "Steak okay?" he asked as he turned the car onto the frontage road that served several fast food restaurants and a steak house.
"Steak sounds wonderful. No, not really uncertain, although that's part of it I guess."
He pulled the SUV into the Ned's Steakhouse parking lot and parked. "So, if it's not uncertain?"
"More like—lost—."
"Uhm—Lost huh?" He pondered her choice of words, wondering what she meant by lost, what she still needed from him that he hadn't given her. He killed the engine and turned in the seat so he could give her his full attention. "Talk to me about feeling lost Kara."
She sucked in a deep breath and dropped her gaze to her hand that was still enclosed in his. He stroked her with his thumb.
"I feel like I don't know anything." Her voice was earnest. "I don't know where I fit in this whole dominant submission thing. I don't know anything about being submissive or what that means to you." Her voice rose and caught and he thought for a moment she was going to cry. He longed to pull her against his chest and wrap her in his arms but she was too tense, her breathing too ragged and he knew that such a move would only make her pull away.
He knew she was used to knowing where she fit and that she was probably also used to feeling confident of her abilities. He hadn't meant to, but he had taken that away and left her feeling uncertain and inadequate.
He wished he had it to do over again, and could take the time to make things right between them instead of rushing her into the marriage as he had, but he didn't have that luxury.
"Dominance and submission is complex Kara. It's different for every couple that does it. I cannot explain what it will become for us, partly because it will depend some on what you want it to be too. It's the kind of thing you'll have to experience to really understand."
"Yes, but I'm afraid I'm going to mess everything up before I get there," she sighed.
Her voice was so solemn that it cut at him. He stroked her cheek. "There is nothing to mess up Kara. I know I dumped a lot in your lap the day I asked you to marry me but really all I want from you right now is to earn your trust and get to know you better. The rest of it will fall into place over time.
Okay?"
She didn't know how it happened or when she had stopped fearing him and had started trusting him, at least a little but his reassurance soothed her. He stroked her cheek and she nodded her understanding. Then his mouth pressed against hers. She tensed, anticipating the breathlessness and the terror as the memory of being held down, her breath cut off by someone larger and stronger teased the edges of her consciousness.
The kiss wasn't like the ones that she remembered. This one was a gentle caress that coaxed more than it demanded. Slade's mouth didn't hamper her ability to breathe, didn't cause her to feel dizzy or to black out.
She relaxed a little, bemused by the gentle stroke of Slade's tongue along her lip and the command to open her mouth that he whispered against her lip.
She opened her mouth, unprepared for the soft stroke of Slade's tongue as it teased her mouth. The unfamiliar intimacy sent a stab of heat to her center.
She was shocked by the warmth that filled her and by the lack of terror. There was no fear, no dizziness, no nausea, no panic attack. Only sweetness and the sense that she was okay, that Slade wasn't going to hurt her.
She lifted her hands to his broad shoulders, liking the solidness of him beneath her hands. She didn't protest as his tongue slid into her mouth, teasingnan intimate dance of liquid warmth in its wake.
Her mind raced. He'd been kind and gentle and matter of fact when he'd explained his feelings about dominance and submission and what he wanted from her. The whole day he'd treated her with kindness and respect. He hadn't belittled her when he could have. He'd remembered her headache and gotten her medicine, he'd cared that she preferred Mountain Dew from the fountain rather than a bottle. It all combined making her feel soft and warm, cared for, and taken care of in a way that was completely new to her.
She clung to him feeling grateful to him for helping her brother and for trying to make her feel comfortable in this new marriage. His kiss deepened, his mouth urging hers to open more as one large hand slid up her back and beneath the curtain
of her hair to caress the tight spot at the base of her neck.
She opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to find hers again. His hand kneaded her tight muscles, easing the strain that had overwhelmed her. His tongue explored her mouth engulfing her in unfamiliar pleasure that made her open to him, admitting him, like a flower opens to admit the sunshine.
She felt his hand move as it slipped beneath her sweater. She shifted slightly, moaning a protest that was swallowed up by his mouth. "Um—please. Slade—no—" she murmured, twisting to avoid the touch of his palm as it slid up her rib cage toward her breast.
"Shhh Kara, I just want to make you feel good," he whispered against her neck as his hand stilled. His other hand stroked her hair and her neck.
She heaved a sigh of relief, the knowledge that the hand beneath her sweater had paused that he was waiting for her permission to go forward eased her fear and made her feel more comfortable. The knowledge that he would stop if she insisted made her feel safe. His hand felt good where it rested against her rib cage. She both wanted him to touch her and wanted him to stop.
"Relax and let me make you feel good Kara," he whispered in her ear as his hand began to slip slowly up her rib cage toward her breast.
She wanted to protest but her breath caught in her throat as his large, warm hand closed over her breast.
Leave a comment for Alyssa, join in the chat!
Traveling With Alyssa Aaron
I'm not a huge traveler. I don't like to fly. So most of my travels are road trips and that suits me just fine. I love taking road trips. I like to take my time and ponder the things I see along the way. I like to stop here and there to take pictures of flowers and trees and dilapidated buildings or a lonely stretch of road or a mailbox with an interesting planting of flowers around it.
I like to allow my writer's mind ample time to kick in and gather pieces for some future story that I'll write someday in the distant future when I've exhausted the hundred plus novel ideas already spinning in my mind.
When I travel I may be drawn to the house on the left which is gray with age, has a sagging porch, and missing windows. I'll notice the front porch with its turned columns that were once a cherry shade of white and I'll reflect that it was once someone's home. I'll think that generations may have been born there, matured there, perhaps even died there. I'll connect with the children playing in the yard that I conjure in my imagination. I'll wonder who they grew up to be…who they married…what troubled spots the marriages endured.
There is no telling what story will come out of my quiet ponderings as I wander around snapping photos, letting my muse run wild. My muse may dart after the little girl in the pink polka dot dress with the long blond tresses whose best friend disappeared from the school bus stop last week. I may think about the role that experience has on the little girl as she grows up, matures, has children of her own. Or the thoughts may take a different path and focus on the missing child…who took her…where is she now…will she survive her ordeal…how will it impact her life in the future? Or my thoughts could dart to the parents of the child. How will the kidnapping affect them? What strains will it put on their marriage?
Travels for me are wonderful times of slowing down physically and mentally so that my writers mind can kick in, play, and gather the bits and pieces that may someday form the foundation of another story…or perhaps just a piece of a story already coalescing in my mind.
I like to travel to areas where there is an interest in quilting. There are several Amish areas with that interest within driving distance of where we live in Indiana and I've enjoyed travels to several of them. Often Amish areas have restaurants in which the décor includes wonderful quilts hand-pieced and hand-quilted within the community. I love to dine at places like that as I like to see what other quilters have done with fabric, batting, and their own imaginations. It feeds my muse. It excites me. It makes me yearn to play with my own scraps of fabric and to gather more.
I love visiting new quilt shops on my travels as well. My quilting muse is perhaps not that different from my writing muse in that it too likes to run free darting here and yon looking for tidbits, snippets, scraps. My muse may find a perfect yellow solid to go with something I am working on at home…or it may find a series of things that form the inspiration for a whole new quilt which will be made either as a gift for a family member or friend or for a quilt that will be donated to a child in need somewhere in the world.
My travels are usually adventures in gathering…pieces for stories…pieces for quilts…interesting photographs that may one day find their way into a blog template, greeting card, calendar, or other project. The thing that I like most about traveling is the opportunity to allow things to freely associate. A child who flows into my imagination while I'm snapping pictures outside a dilapidated house may one day become the child version of the heroine in a book that's coalescing in my mind as happened with Kara in His Perfect Submissive . A yard of fabric with pictures of bunnies nibbling flowers may one day become the focus fabric for a quilt for a child recovering from surgery in a third world country.
As I travel I don't always know where the pieces that my muses gather will end up. This is true whether they are story ideas, fabrics, or interesting photographs, but I welcome them all because I believe that one day each tidbit will find its rightful place in a story, a quilt, or in a blog template, calendar, greeting card or some other project. Kara was the victim of a brutal rape that occurred when she was seven. The event destroyed her family and left her fearful and distrustful of men.
When Kara's brother embezzles $30,000 from Slade's company, Kara goes to Slade's office determined to talk him out of going to the police.
Slade wants a peaceful, obedient, submissive with whom to share his life and in Kara he glimpses what he wants. He seizes the opportunity and makes Kara an offer she can't afford to refuse. The only way she can save her brother from certain prison is to accept Slade's marriage proposal and become his submissive.
Kara faces her wedding with anxiety. She can't tell Slade she can't submit sexually without risking her brother's freedom, yet she doubts she'll be able to keep her promise to be a submissive, obedient wife.
This romance explores the role of trust in even the most mismatched of partnerships and explores the complex connections between dominance and submission while it demonstrates the power of real love to heal even the deepest wounds.
Excerpt:
"Are you feeling better? Is talking helping?" he asked as he maneuvered the SUV off the exit ramp.
At the bottom of the ramp he turned right and followed the sign that advertised several restaurants in that direction.
"Yes it's helping. I don't feel quite as scared. I still feel—" he cast a sideways glance at her, mesmerized by the tangle of emotions that played over her expressive face as she searched for the right word.
"Uncertain?" he supplied. "Steak okay?" he asked as he turned the car onto the frontage road that served several fast food restaurants and a steak house.
"Steak sounds wonderful. No, not really uncertain, although that's part of it I guess."
He pulled the SUV into the Ned's Steakhouse parking lot and parked. "So, if it's not uncertain?"
"More like—lost—."
"Uhm—Lost huh?" He pondered her choice of words, wondering what she meant by lost, what she still needed from him that he hadn't given her. He killed the engine and turned in the seat so he could give her his full attention. "Talk to me about feeling lost Kara."
She sucked in a deep breath and dropped her gaze to her hand that was still enclosed in his. He stroked her with his thumb.
"I feel like I don't know anything." Her voice was earnest. "I don't know where I fit in this whole dominant submission thing. I don't know anything about being submissive or what that means to you." Her voice rose and caught and he thought for a moment she was going to cry. He longed to pull her against his chest and wrap her in his arms but she was too tense, her breathing too ragged and he knew that such a move would only make her pull away.
He knew she was used to knowing where she fit and that she was probably also used to feeling confident of her abilities. He hadn't meant to, but he had taken that away and left her feeling uncertain and inadequate.
He wished he had it to do over again, and could take the time to make things right between them instead of rushing her into the marriage as he had, but he didn't have that luxury.
"Dominance and submission is complex Kara. It's different for every couple that does it. I cannot explain what it will become for us, partly because it will depend some on what you want it to be too. It's the kind of thing you'll have to experience to really understand."
"Yes, but I'm afraid I'm going to mess everything up before I get there," she sighed.
Her voice was so solemn that it cut at him. He stroked her cheek. "There is nothing to mess up Kara. I know I dumped a lot in your lap the day I asked you to marry me but really all I want from you right now is to earn your trust and get to know you better. The rest of it will fall into place over time.
Okay?"
She didn't know how it happened or when she had stopped fearing him and had started trusting him, at least a little but his reassurance soothed her. He stroked her cheek and she nodded her understanding. Then his mouth pressed against hers. She tensed, anticipating the breathlessness and the terror as the memory of being held down, her breath cut off by someone larger and stronger teased the edges of her consciousness.
The kiss wasn't like the ones that she remembered. This one was a gentle caress that coaxed more than it demanded. Slade's mouth didn't hamper her ability to breathe, didn't cause her to feel dizzy or to black out.
She relaxed a little, bemused by the gentle stroke of Slade's tongue along her lip and the command to open her mouth that he whispered against her lip.
She opened her mouth, unprepared for the soft stroke of Slade's tongue as it teased her mouth. The unfamiliar intimacy sent a stab of heat to her center.
She was shocked by the warmth that filled her and by the lack of terror. There was no fear, no dizziness, no nausea, no panic attack. Only sweetness and the sense that she was okay, that Slade wasn't going to hurt her.
She lifted her hands to his broad shoulders, liking the solidness of him beneath her hands. She didn't protest as his tongue slid into her mouth, teasingnan intimate dance of liquid warmth in its wake.
Her mind raced. He'd been kind and gentle and matter of fact when he'd explained his feelings about dominance and submission and what he wanted from her. The whole day he'd treated her with kindness and respect. He hadn't belittled her when he could have. He'd remembered her headache and gotten her medicine, he'd cared that she preferred Mountain Dew from the fountain rather than a bottle. It all combined making her feel soft and warm, cared for, and taken care of in a way that was completely new to her.
She clung to him feeling grateful to him for helping her brother and for trying to make her feel comfortable in this new marriage. His kiss deepened, his mouth urging hers to open more as one large hand slid up her back and beneath the curtain
of her hair to caress the tight spot at the base of her neck.
She opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to find hers again. His hand kneaded her tight muscles, easing the strain that had overwhelmed her. His tongue explored her mouth engulfing her in unfamiliar pleasure that made her open to him, admitting him, like a flower opens to admit the sunshine.
She felt his hand move as it slipped beneath her sweater. She shifted slightly, moaning a protest that was swallowed up by his mouth. "Um—please. Slade—no—" she murmured, twisting to avoid the touch of his palm as it slid up her rib cage toward her breast.
"Shhh Kara, I just want to make you feel good," he whispered against her neck as his hand stilled. His other hand stroked her hair and her neck.
She heaved a sigh of relief, the knowledge that the hand beneath her sweater had paused that he was waiting for her permission to go forward eased her fear and made her feel more comfortable. The knowledge that he would stop if she insisted made her feel safe. His hand felt good where it rested against her rib cage. She both wanted him to touch her and wanted him to stop.
"Relax and let me make you feel good Kara," he whispered in her ear as his hand began to slip slowly up her rib cage toward her breast.
She wanted to protest but her breath caught in her throat as his large, warm hand closed over her breast.
Leave a comment for Alyssa, join in the chat!
April 4, 2011
Monday Musings
Weekends aren't long enough. I need more time! I need more sleep. I need to write more. I need a lot of these things that I seem to do only on the weekend. Why is that I wonder...
April 2, 2011
Saturday Excerpt
Today's excerpt at Slip into Something Victorian is by Denise Eagan
And stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway bonanza!
And stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway bonanza!
April 1, 2011
April Fool's Day
Because what else would I talk about other than the history April's Fool Day? This from History.com's This Day in History:On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other.In other news on April 1: Jane Austen declines royal writing advice (1816) and Marvin Gaye's father shoots and kills him (1984). I never knew and love his voice! General Hospital premiers (1963) and Hitler is sentenced to Landsberg jail (1924).
Although the day, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes. These included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as "poisson d'avril" (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Historians have also linked April Fools' Day to ancient festivals such as Hilaria, which was celebrated in Rome at the end of March and involved people dressing up in disguises. There's also speculation that April Fools' Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.
April Fools' Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with "hunting the gowk," in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks played on people's derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or "kick me" signs on them.
In modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April Fools' Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and Web sites have participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims that have fooled their audiences. In 1957, the BBC reported that Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of people harvesting noodles from trees; numerous viewers were fooled. In 1985, Sports Illustrated tricked many of its readers when it ran a made-up article about a rookie pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour. In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase Philadelphia's Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, after Burger King advertised a "Left-Handed Whopper," scores of clueless customers requested the fake sandwich.
March 31, 2011
March Goals
Maybe I should start keeping track of my monthly goals rather than story word counts? Something to think of, though in this they're one in the same.
This month I have:
Bemoaned the fact that another month has gone from the calendar.
Wondered if we'll ever have consistent warm weather.
Battled head colds and sinus/allergy problems every frakkin' day.
Enjoyed maybe 3 days of sun, warmth, and teasing spring-like weather.
Wrote. Don't get me wrong there, definitely wrote!
Planned out a workshop for the 2011 NJRW Conference
This month I have:
Bemoaned the fact that another month has gone from the calendar.
Wondered if we'll ever have consistent warm weather.
Battled head colds and sinus/allergy problems every frakkin' day.
Enjoyed maybe 3 days of sun, warmth, and teasing spring-like weather.
Wrote. Don't get me wrong there, definitely wrote!
Planned out a workshop for the 2011 NJRW Conference
March 30, 2011
Wednesday Review: One of Our Thursdays is Missing
If you haven't read Jasper Fforde's satirical bibliophile series, go out immediately and pick up
The Eyre Affair
(read my take on it here). Yes, you have to read the series in order, and yes it can be a tad confusing if you don't keep up, but it's funny, mind-bending, and well...deep.
No, seriously!
See, there's this BookWorld where characters from every book ever written live. Books that haven't been read in a while still populate the world, with their characters vying for attention in back alleys of the footnoterphone conduits. There's also time travel, cheese smuggling from The Welsh Republic, and an evil corporation bent on taking over both the real world and BookWorld.
Famous characters police the book world making sure that metaphors aren't sold from one piece of fiction to another. There's always a black market, especially since this world is based on fictional books, which are often based on the real world or the Outland.
I enjoyed this book, not as much as the first 4 ( Eyre Affair , Lost in a Good Book , The Well of Lost Plots , and Something Rotten ) but so so much more than the last one ( First Among Sequels ). I even enjoyed the audios, though haven't listened to Missing...grabbed it as soon as the library received it.
Recommended for those who enjoy alternite history, humor, satire, books, Shakespeare, books, history, and yes...books.
No, seriously!See, there's this BookWorld where characters from every book ever written live. Books that haven't been read in a while still populate the world, with their characters vying for attention in back alleys of the footnoterphone conduits. There's also time travel, cheese smuggling from The Welsh Republic, and an evil corporation bent on taking over both the real world and BookWorld.
Famous characters police the book world making sure that metaphors aren't sold from one piece of fiction to another. There's always a black market, especially since this world is based on fictional books, which are often based on the real world or the Outland.
I enjoyed this book, not as much as the first 4 ( Eyre Affair , Lost in a Good Book , The Well of Lost Plots , and Something Rotten ) but so so much more than the last one ( First Among Sequels ). I even enjoyed the audios, though haven't listened to Missing...grabbed it as soon as the library received it.
Recommended for those who enjoy alternite history, humor, satire, books, Shakespeare, books, history, and yes...books.
