Sommer Marsden's Blog, page 8

"The Smile Experiment" or "My Trip to the MVA for My Mug Shot"

                                                    Photo “Smile” ©Sommer Marsden



I know I’m not smiling a lot lately. Oh, I smile at my kids and I tend to smile back at people who smile at me. But that’s about it. I’ve always had RBF (Resting Bitch Face) but I smiled more readily back in the day. I’m not blind to the fact that even though our family has passed that supposedly-magic (it’s not) year point of grieving that my smile is often MIA.
Today was my trip to the MVA for drivers license renewal. I tried to renew it by mail but misunderstood the form and didn’t send an eye doctor note saying I wasn’t Mr. Magoo. So I had to go in and do it the old fashioned way, sitting there for a century waiting to be called.
Since I was killing time and I’ve been doing a lot of introspection (sounds super intense but it’s not really) I decided to try smiling. For no fucking reason other than to smile, to be honest. Maybe it would help my mood and my experience as the computer called out Now Serving B 33…and so on.
I smiled for no reason. I smiled at people. People are so frowny in the MVA and I’ve always been one of them too. A lot of people smiled back, a lot of them looked like I was insane…that’s cool. I just kept smiling.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t sit there grinning like the Joker for 45 minutes straight, but I made an effort to smile at others.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who plays this game. We watch the people who work there, evaluate them (hey, you’ve got time on your hands, right?) and pick the one you hope you get. Well, I got my guy and I walked up to him when my number (B45 in case you were wondering) was finally called.
First thing out of his mouth, “Well, hello, Miss Smiley, how are you today?”
Boom! Instant gratification. My experiment had worked. I was going into this with a person with a great attitude and it would be better than most scenarios at MVA where I get someone rude and I end up looking like one of America’s Most Wanted on my license.
So, I sat in the picture chair and smiled when he told me to. My signature tight little controlled close mouthed smile. He added as he was taking it, “Oh, I saw you smiling over there. A great smile.”
Then his forehead wrinkled and he said: “Well, that’s good but why don’t you smile showing your teeth?”
“I never have. I just don’t…like to.”
“You should. Great smile.”
“You sound like my daughter.”
“Well, she’s right.”
Then we do this and that and the other, pressing buttons, answering questions, and he says, “How old is your daughter?”
“Seventeen. I have a nineteen year old son, too.”
“Get out! You do not.”
“I do.”
“Well, good for you…You certainly don’t look like you could have kids that old.” (Bonus points for him for tossing my ego a nice meaty snack.)
This went on and on. My eye exam, chit-chatting, and then he guessed my occupation. “Health care?”I laughed. And for the first time in my entire life with a stranger I smiled (couldn’t help it at that point) and said very confidently, “I’m a writer.” But I wasn’t dreading the next question. There’s always that next question. Or in this case, a guess.
“Kids books?”
I laughed again. (and here’s the first >>>---->) “Oh, no, I write dirty books. Or you can call them erotic romance.”
Another more boisterous, “Good for you!!”
It goes on, but I really think that all that random fucking smiling dictated this exchange and my self-confidence to flat out say what I did to a stranger for the first time ever. I wasn’t worried about judgement, I wasn’t worried about shock or horror, I wasn’t worried about anything…because all that sporadic smiling had changed me on the inside and turned what could have been an hour in hell to a pretty damn fun encounter.
Then he says: “Are you sure I can’t convince you to smile showing your teeth?”
“It’ll be terrible,” I assured him.
He shrugged, “So we take it again.”
I caved. I was on board. I took it again. This time I smiled showing my teeth.
“There you go!” he said as I ran my card through to pay. Then he’s scrolling…”Do you know this is the first time you’ve ever smiled showing your teeth…ever?”
“You can see all that?”
“I can. Hey, look, we made history today.”
Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know that I learned something today. And I know that was the most fun I’ve ever had in an MVA in the history of ever. So maybe we did make history today, after all.
He ended with “You have a beautiful day.”
I told him that thanks to him it was definitely looking like it would be one. And then I smiled at him again. I couldn’t help it. ;)
XOXO Sommer

A Very Witchy Rant for Halloween

So, I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff online about allergens and trick or treating. And quite honestly, it’s all pissing me off.
First, we have a parent who apparently posted bright orange flyers all over calling people assholes (not verbatim—it was implied) for giving out treats that contain gluten, nuts, and dairy because his kid has a nut allergy. Then we had a shock jock respond to this…well, like a shock jock would. No real shock there. And then today I read a very angry blog by a woman about how she can’t be expected to treat all these kids special and as a parent it is YOUR (her caps, not mine) responsibility to raise your kids because you are raising ADULTS (see previous parens).
Okay, call me crazy but I’m just going to toss this out there. Given Halloween is a holiday that is very much for children—
*You put up flyers—if you must—asking people to consider having allergen friendly candy or non-food items for kids with allergies. That it would be appreciated to help Halloween be truly all-inclusive.*If you see these flyers instead of flapping your obnoxious yap on the radio, or in the other case, writing a very angry, ranty blog about all these special kids and how parents are raising adults…you just…NOT PARTICIPATE.
Seems pretty straightforward.
As an allergy sufferer myself, I have chosen, of my own accord, to have allergy friendly treats and non-food item treats at my door. And no, I don’t have a teal pumpkin on my porch (this was a major issue with this blogger—all the colored pumpkins and what they signify. She took great offense.)
Why am I doing it? Because I know how thrilled I am to walk into a restaurant and see Ask us about our gluten free menu. I have to do the I-have-gluten-peanut-issues cha-cha every time I sit down in a restaurant or go to a party. And by God, it is a pain in the ass. Especially with the uneducated wait staff/restaurants. So to walk in and see that makes me feel normalNOT special. There is a difference between the two. Seeing that sign in a restaurant makes me feel at ease. It makes me relax and enjoy my meal and feel more a part of the meal with my family. It makes me the girl who doesn’t have to go through her ‘spiel’ and decipher what she can eat.
So if having alternative treats for kids on Halloween who might have similar issues makes them feel more normal and more included, hell, I’m all for it.
As far as the whole “You are raising adults” thing, let me say this:
As an adult, if you have allergies and you walk into a party or a restaurant or a lunch meeting at work, you are expected to say, “I have issues with fill in the blank , do you know what’s in this? Can I see the list of ingredients?” (or similar) Speaking up and asking questions to protect yourself is being an adult. So by educating our kids on how to speak up and keep themselves safe, we are very much raising adults, thank you very much.
So instead of all the poo slinging back and forth about parents insisting on raising specialkids or how it’s not your job to protect children—how about we remember that it’s children we’re talking about. Who all want to be included and all want to feel “normal” (whatever the hell that is) on Halloween. How about everyone take a breath and remember that this is supposed to be a fun holiday, and being kind to kids who already have shit to deal with is a good thing. As simple as maybe making one or two choices as far as candy/treats so there’s something for everyone.
No, it’s not your jobbut it would make you a damn fine human being. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Oh, and one more point while I’m here. This one bloggers big argument was that her kid was diabetic and she took her trick or treating and there were no colored pumpkins to indicate who had sugar free candy, blah, blah, blah. Well, I’d like to thank her for making this point. Because next year in addition to ‘normal candy’, candy I know to be gluten and nut free (it’s normal fucking candy, it just doesn’t have those ingredients!), snack bars that are free of 8 major allergens, and Halloween bookmarks—I’ll make sure to have some sugar free candy on hand.
If my little sign that reads WE HAVE ALLERGY FRIENDLY TREATS. PLEASE TELL US IF YOU HAVE AN ALLERGYmakes me some modern day, special-kid-raising, bleeding heart…So be it. Because if a kid does knock on my door who tells me they have an allergy and I can give them a treat that makes them feel “normal” and included, I’m going to feel pretty damn good. Even without a teal colored pumpkin.

Happy Halloween,Dr. Johnny Fever

Sticky-Sweet Procrastination

So, I've discovered that when I'm procrastinating on writing (usually, this means I have to figure something out mentally so I don't tend to panic), I don't always do things that are necessarily unproductive. I sometimes, hallelujah, finish things I've been fiddling with for a while. For instance, this Sticky-Sweet Duo.

My new duo (I love that term) holds inside two stories previously only available through a pay site. Now they're available to anyone. Huzzah!

Why sticky-sweet? Well, I'll let my intro posted below explain that.

Happy Halloween, by the way! When you burn out on candy, maybe try something equally decadent with, hey, good news, no calories :)

Boo to you,
Sommer

Intro:

Sometimes we just want the good stuff. We want to skip the meal and head right to the sticky, sweet satisfaction of dessert. That’s what this Sticky-Sweet Duo is all about. The stories are erotic, straight forward, and definitely sticky-sweet.
 
In Project Melissa thinks she’s being subtle coveting her neighbor’s handyman. Turns out he’s on to her. Her request for a quote on some work leads him into her house, which leads them into an intense kitchen situation that’s anything but subtle.
 
In Up to No Good Bex gets a very special present from her husband Michael in honor of her recent promotion. The present’s name is Tom. And he’s an old friend of Michael’s, but a new intimate friend for Bex.
 
I hope you enjoy this indulgent duo. I know I always get excited about skipping right to dessert.
 
XOXO
Sommer Marsden
October 29, 2015

Amazon Buy Link: http://amzn.to/20iywVj

"Ruth is No Heroine" A Guest Post by Giselle Renarde

I'm baaa-aaack...another Monday another guest post pour vous. :) Today we have Giselle Renarde talking about her newest novel "The Other Side of Ruth". Before you read her post, let us all just take a moment to admire this lovely cover...Ahh...that's better. 
Carry on. Happy Monday. Look for more current stuff here probably starting November. You don't want to miss all my NaNoWriMo rants do you? And if you're doing NaNo, make sure to look me up and friend me. I'm Sommer Marsden (of course). Bring wine and gluten free cookies and possibly a cattle prod O_o
XOXOSommer  



Ruth is No HeroineA Guest Post by Giselle Renarde
I’ve always found it strange that the main characters in romance novels are called heroes and heroines.  My characters aren’t heroic.  They haven’t pulled a single person from a burning building in the entire 9+ years I’ve been writing.  If anything, I consider most of my characters anti-heroes and anti-heroines… and none more so than Ruth from my lesbian novel The Other Side of Ruth.
Her anti-heroicness might not be obvious from the start.  She’s a pretty ordinary person: middle-aged, middle class, neither bored nor enthused by her career as a high school guidance counsellor.  It’s not until she develops a mad crush on an eccentric young woman that some might cry foul. 
Ruth is married (not entirely happily and certainly not sexfully), but when Agnes, a girl who is thirty years her junior, goes in for a kiss… Ruth can’t resist.  In that moment, she awakens to a reality she’s denied her whole life: Ruth is desperately attracted to women.
So she tells her husband she’s a lesbian and he’s very understanding and they come to an amicable agreement.  The End.  Right?
Haha, no.  That’s not how it goes.
Ruth lies, cheats, sneaks around, conceals the truth.  She doesn’t feel great about her illicit actions, but it’s easier this way.  Maybe she’s prepared to be out in the privacy of her own bedroom (when Agnes crawls through her window and into her bed, that is), but not in the world at large.
And that’s not the worst of it—not by half.  When it’s revealed that Agnes is living with a mental illness that hasn’t been properly diagnosed or treated, do you think Guidance Counsellor Ruth goes to work accessing resources? She certainly knows how. It’s what she’d do for any student at school. But for the woman she loves?  Of course not! 
When Agnes needs help, Ruth can only think of herself, of how Agnes’s problems impact her.  Love might be selfless, but relationships?  Not so much.
The older partner isn’t necessarily the more mature one.  Ruth proves that point.
Here’s the thing:  I didn’t write Ruth as a hero.  I didn’t write The Other Side of Ruth as a romance, for that matter. Do I expect readers to necessarily fall in love with Ruth? Weirdly… they just might love her despite her failings. She’s definitely human, and even strangely relatable. 
It’s entirely possible that some of us have and some of us will take kindly to a flawed character, but in the end I don’t think it matters.  I don’t think readers need to view a character as the perfect pinnacle of saintliness to care what happens to them.I think you’ll care about Ruth’s journey. I think you’ll care about every side of Ruth.
The Other Side of Ruth is available as an ebook published by eXcessica, and also in print.
Get the paperback at http://amzn.to/1kHl9xEOr buy from https://www.createspace.com/5794017and use Coupon Code AN5EWZTX for $5.00 off!
Get the ebook at…Amazon: http://amzn.to/1kHl0KBAmazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B016P2CTL4
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-other-side-of-ruth-giselle-renarde/1122799015All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theothersideofruthalesbiannovel-1907042-149.htmlKobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/ebook/the-other-side-of-ruth-a-lesbian-novel
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/585628Excitica: http://www.excitica.com/index.php/the-other-side-of-ruth-a-lesbian-novel.html

Janine Ashbless, Fallen Angels, The Inside Scoop and...An Exclusive Excerpt!

I know it's been what, like...eons since I published on here. Forgive me. But I know you will because I'm back today with Janine Ashbless's Cover Him With Darkness . Below you'll find her visual answer to my question: "Who! Oh who? Tell me who inspired the mysterious, dark, and brooding men of CHWD?"

There's also an exclusive excerpt published nowhere else. (You're welcome).

Alllllll the way at the bottom you'll find my review of CHWD written in a frenzy of "when is the next book?" the moment I finished. Answer...2016. And since it's already end of October that is not too far off, my friends. (You're welcome again).

I'll stop my only slightly caffeinated ramblings and turn this over to Janine and her men...

"...in answer to your question about the inspirations behind my two main male characters, I picture Azazel as something like Aidan Turner when he played the vampire Mitchell  in 'Being Human' - convincingly scary and out-of-control a lot of the time! And suspiciously helpful, secretive Egan is based on Tom Wlaschiha (remember him from Game of Thrones? He's Jaqen H'ghar)"

Excerpt: “Cover Him with Darkness”
His forehead was pressed against mine, his breath burning my lips with each word. His fingers were relentless in their slow, teasing caress. “Don’t be frightened.” “I’m not frightened,” I lied. “Please don’t hurt me.” “Hurt you? Do I not give enough thought to your pleasure?” “You’re too much,” I whispered. “Too big for me. Too strong. Too fierce.” I wasn’t talking about his cock. Not entirely. “Oh my love.” His voice was coal and darkness and soot-black feathers. “I can’t promise that. Not to hurt you.” I kissed him, eyes closed, nodding. “But you will take it. And I will make pleasure from your pain. I will give it back to you as diamonds.” There wasn’t much light in here—a blue gloaming of a fading evening through grimy panes, that’s all. I could barely make out Azazel’s outlined form, pale against the deep shadows. I had to explore his torso by touch, running my hands over his ribs and his scar, up to the burr of hair on his chest and down to the hard V of his hips, over the vertical slit of his navel—yet he’d never been born, I reminded myself; never earned that umbilical mark—and the muscled planes of his flat stomach. I felt him shudder when I touched the ridged scar tissue, and I could not tell in this poor light whether it was in fear or pain or joy. “Milja.” There was a gloss of sweat on his skin. He was rigid with tension. Without a word I pulled at the buttons of his pants fly, releasing the thing I wanted, that I feared—the thing that had brought down angels and condemned mankind and drowned all the world in a Flood. Such a stupid, insignificant trigger for a war in Heaven, in the greater context. And yet…it seemed big enough in my hand. “Stroke it,” he told me. Hot and hard, like new-cast bronze. A weapon raised defiantly against God Himself.  “Kiss it,” he whispered, just as he had in my dream. I bent forward from my perch on the table-edge and nuzzled it into my mouth. You see, that is the difference between me and Azazel. I like to obey orders. “Yes,” he said softly, as made I my throat into a sheath and took his length as far down as I could. “Yes,” as he wound his hands in my hair and pulled me tight to him. “Oh…Milja.” At the corners of my eyes, light bloomed. Warm lamplight, point by point, swelling and filling the darkness. Candles, I realized, too busy with my task to look around me. He is lighting the dark. But when I had him at my mercy and the slabs of his thighs were quivering under my hands, he surprised me once more. With a firm grasp of his hand in my hair, he pulled me up—openmouthed—and in one ruthless motion pushed me over onto my back upon the table. Oh yes, his grip hurt, but it was a good, good pain. It gushed through me like a rushing storm. It sparkled like diamonds. Now Azazel loomed over me, both illuminated and shadowed by the flickering candle flames all around us. Tiny reflected flames danced in his mirror-eyes. He drew up my legs, wrapping them about him, and then he took hold of the front of my awful frock and in three jerks tore the cloth all the way down from neck to hem, to lay me bare. I was still gasping from the abrupt change of position, and from the sweet and utterly possessive pain of his grip in my hair. I did not stop gasping as he took himself in hand and guided hard male to soft female flesh, but I cried out as he entered me. And I arched my back as he laid one hand upon my mound and the other upon my breasts. He was keeping his distance— only his hands upon me, his length in me, body leaning over mine—and holding back. Gliding with slow, deliberate strokes as his thumb slithered across the nub of my clit and his hands played with my breasts. It was as if he were teetering on the brink of a great abyss, stopping himself from falling. The brace of his hands against me was the only thing holding him on high. White-hot delight shivered through me from the tugged points of my nipples, from the juncture of my thighs, from deep inside. I felt dizzy: tiny beneath him, huge as the world, all perspective gone. The candles hung around us like constellations. And as I looked up at his face above me, haloed with his unkempt hair, intent with concentration, golden and dark, light and shadow…I fell instead, blazing like a star wrenched from the firmament. But when the last tremors rippled through me and died away, he forgot mercy. He didn’t give me time to recover. He ran his hands over my slick and shuddering body and lodged one on my hip for a good grip. Then his weight came down over me like the slow press of a mountain on the spaces beneath the earth. I lifted my knees and wrapped my legs tight about him as he began to thrust. Every stroke was an earthquake. He beat the breath from my lungs. His hair hung in my eyes, and the surge of his breath was a growl in my ear. I couldn’t see his face anymore, but my blurred gaze took in the faces above me and over his shoulders: the sad eyes and the glimmering halos and the hands raised in blessing. And I knew them. I knew this place, those frescoes painted upon the arched and plastered ceiling. I knew Michael and the hidden key he guarded. I knew the smoke-darkened Pantocrator in bearded majesty. They were as familiar to me as family photos. He’d brought me home. We were in the tiny church my father had tended all my life. And Azazel was fucking me upon the church altar.
******Moment to catch  your breath******

The Deets, the Author Info, and the Praise:



Cover Him with Darkness: a romance
Cover Him with Darkness , the story of what happens when a young woman releases a fallen angel from centuries of imprisonment, is available at AmazonUS : Amazon UK“If you loved an angel, how far would you fall with him?”*****“Calling Cover Him with Darkness a romance is like calling a Lamborghini a cute little car. Janine Ashbless has broken every unwritten rule of writing romance and makes it work most spectacularly—it’s dark and gritty and so beautifully written that the words are pure poetry.”—Kate Douglas, author of the Wolf Tale series
“Janine Ashbless has long been a master at conjuring the erotic in myths and legends. Now she’s taking on religion and all I can say is wow. Just wow! What is evil? What is good? Could the faithful have completely missed the point? Sexy food for thought: Cover Him With Darkness is anintensely wild ride.” —D. L. King, editor of Seductressand The Sweetest Kiss
“This book was truly a fantastic read.”—Rose Caraway, editor of The Sexy Librarian’s Big Book of Erotica
"Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, only much better written and with much more sexiness involved. This is a roller coaster of a story, and one that will have you rooting for the very different and strong characters that choose to fight either good or evil, and there are times when it’s hard to tell whose side anyone is on." – Clitical
“Janine Ashbless writes erotica you can sink your teeth into, pulling liberally from mythology, folk and fairy tales, while crafting stories that are entirely modern, relevant, thought-provoking and really, really hot” -  Malin James
Blurb: “In a remote and mountainous part of Europe, a priest keeps a dark secret beneath his chapel—a prisoner. Even the holy man does not know how long he has been there—hundreds of years, or even longer. The priest's fear is that anyone in his parish would ever come in contact with his mysterious and unholy charge. But what happens is even worse than he could have ever imagined. His lovely young daughter Milja, whose innocence and devotion to God he prizes over all else, trails her father into the cavern and catches a glimpse of their unearthly prisoner. She looks into his eyes and sees pain and wisdom and eternity. Unable to keep away from this silent creature chained in the darkness, she is torn between family loyalty and her growing connection to their prisoner. One day her father discovers their forbidden intimacy and sends Milja off to America to be raised by her aunt in Boston – but nothing can keep her away forever. Cover Him in Darkness is a dark and thrilling story of a terrifying archangel banished from heaven and the human woman with whom he falls in love.”
Bio:Janine Ashbless is a writer of fantasy erotica and steamy romantic adventure – and that’s “fantasy” in the sense of swords ‘n’ sandals, contemporary paranormal, fairytale, and stories based on mythology and folklore.  She likes to write about magic and mystery, dangerous power dynamics, borderline terror, and the not-quite-human.
Janine has been seeing her books in print ever since 2000, and her novels and single-author collections now run into double figures. She’s also had numerous short stories published by Black Lace, Nexus, Cleis Press, Ravenous Romance, Harlequin Spice, Storm Moon, Xcite, Mischief Books, and Ellora’s Cave among others. She is co-editor of the nerd erotica anthology Geek Love. Her work has been described as: "hardcore and literate" (Madeline Moore) and "vivid and tempestuous and dangerous, and bursting with sacrifice, death and love."   (Portia Da Costa) 

www.janineashbless.blogspot.com Goodreads Janine Ashbless Facebook Amazon UK Author Page Amazon US Author Page
My review:

5.0 out of 5 stars Damn near perfectBySommer Marsdenon September 9, 2015Format: PaperbackI can’t tell you too much about this book because…spoilers! I can say this: It has two scorching heroes (one fallen, one a mystery), a smart and tenacious heroin, and a rocking good plot. And have I mentioned steamy with a capital HOT? The entire book speeds along, angels, watchers, intrigue. It’s like a Bond movie but with the supernatural and religious undermining replacing the explosions. I was hooked from the first page and rocketed through at a pretty fast pace given severely limited reading time. I found that my ‘internet breaks’ were replaced by Cover Him with Darkness breaks. I read any chance I got until I reached the end. And then I was sad. Very sad. I am utterly ready for the second installment of Janine Ashbless’s smart-smart erotic romance tale. It was damn near perfect. And I only say ‘damn near’ because I never label anything perfect. If you like fallen angels, well written plots, intelligent story lines, twists and turns, and a heroin that stands on her own as a bad ass…well, you’d better get reading.


 

Even Deeper...

If you've been following the breathtaking tale of Alison Tyler's characters Jack, Samantha, and Alex, you're going to be thrilled to know her novella Even Deeper is out now. Now! Check out her intro below for a sneak peek as to contents and check out the novella on Amazon. A stark-raving mad steal at $2.99

I first discovered Alison Tyler's world of BDSM in 2005 when I was just starting out writing erotica. She was my shelter in the storm. So many books I'd read didn't really work for me. Weren't my cup of hot, hot java. Then I found her anthologies and thought, "Oh yeah, this is what I've been looking for. This is where I belong." Her work is real and raw and honest, is it any wonder she's a go-to for so many BDSM fans? Um...no!

XOXO
Sommer

Intro to Even Deeper:

Welcome back to the story of Jack, Samantha, and Alex. Yes, Jack’s name goes first. That’s intentional. That’s what he’d expect. You’ve made it to Paris—or almost to Paris. You’ve arrived at the airport with your bags packed and passport in hand. Hold on. Let me lead you to your seat in first class. Would you care for champagne? A warm towel?  I’ll sit at your side and tell you everything. At least, I will tell you to the best of my abilities. Some of the past is a blur, of course. Even the clearest memories would have to be altered after all this time. I’m not so different from the average girl looking back through the years.  What do I have to help? Diaries and notebooks. Scraps of paper that I tucked into various books I was reading at the time. I’m a packrat in many ways. I’ve saved so much. But for some of the scenes, I simply have to close my eyes and I’m back. Like that. I can not only visualize a room, but also smell the smoke and the whiskey. Not only imagine the way my lovers looked, but touch them. Reach out and stroke their skin. Run my fingers over the fine lines of muscles, the hard bodies.  Yes, I’m gazing on all this from a distance. I’m not twenty-two anymore. There are images, though, that might as well be tattooed on my skin. They are so vibrant, so filled with endless rich color. Rubies and sapphire. Dark emerald and violent fuchsia. A photograph burned into me forever.  Sometimes I wish I could write for days. Sit down and explain everything. Take you to the future with me so that you could fully understand the past. Instead, I do my best. I try to give you the moment. I try to hand it over, glossy, wrapped, like a present to open. A dream to climb inside.  For me, looking back is hazy. As if I’m watching something filmed underwater. Or grainy, like a movie from fifty years ago. But a gorgeous movie. A movie with depth. With resonance.  Thank you for sitting in that dark theater with me.  The dark, X-rated theater of my mind.  XXX, Alison Tyler

Back from the land of the lost...

And by land of the lost I mean enjoying my summer. Something I swore I'd do once my most recent novel was sent off as a final. Lots of movies (Pitch Perfect 2, Jurassic World, Paper Towns, Spy and The Gift so far), lots of books (a whole slew of John D. MacDonald Travis McGee books dontcha know), swimming, places and things and Netflix with my mini me(s). But I'm back to say "hey" and to say "yay"!

The reboot of one of my first erotic romance novellas The Anniversary Party is live today. It got an overhaul when rights were returned to me and a new fancy cover. Bad ass edits were by Christine Allen-Riley, beautiful romantical new cover by Willsin Rowe. New life is with Excessica Publishing.

If you didn't read it originally, I hope you'll give Kiley and Wade and their story a shot. If you do, drop me a note and let me know what you think. And reviews are always appreciated and often include the funky chicken dance.

XOXO
Sommer


Kylie is cracking under the stress of hosting a thirtieth anniversary party for her parents and trying to keep up with her freelance writing deadlines. With a new house, a well-meaning but useless sister, and roughly forty people about to descend on her home, she doesn’t think it can get much worse. Until her mother’s friend, Mrs. Sinclair, calls to ask if they might bring one more person. Her son, Wade. The man who up and left Kylie eight years before.
Wade Sinclair has come back to town with one hope—to make things right with his high school sweetheart. Still hopelessly in love with Kylie, Wade knows he must come clean about why he left her all those years ago so he can finally set about reclaiming what he never should have let go of in the first place—her love.
Can they put their past behind them and look toward the future? Or will the anniversary party be the end of them altogether?

Write What You Know...sort of...

photo credit: lightning (3) via photopin (license)




Before I start, I want to make it clear: I’m writing this not as a bitching blog. More of a fist pump in the air—never surrender kind of blog. The name of this little site is Unapologetic Fiction and it’s called that for a reason. Well, two reasons. Alison Tyler said that to me one day. “You’re writing is unapologetic”…I loved that. But also, I refuse to apologize for certain things I write. Even when I get dinged for them. Tada!
I write what a lot of folks refer to as ‘insta-love’. Not always. But often. Why? I’ve lived it. More than once, but anyone who knows me knows that final love, that one that really ‘stuck’, if you will, was for almost 20 years and only ended because he passed away. I believe in insta-love because I’ve lived it. I’ve seen it work from the inside out. I believe in it and the possibility of it and I think when a connection is made on a certain level it can be instantaneous and life altering—like a lightning strike.
I was reading a few reviews of my recent novel Chasing Shade this a.m. Something I try not to do, but hey, I was bored. There are a lot of mentions of ‘insta-love’ in these reviews. Some pro, some con. And I’m totally cool with that. Getting a two or three star for it won’t keep me from writing it, just like getting four or five star reviews for it won’t make me focus solely on IL. It is what it is.
One of the stand out comments in a review was about the amount of ‘talking during sex’. This is another thing I get dinged for (or praised for, depends on the reviewer). And…this is another thing I ‘know’, another thing I’ve lived. Hey, we talked a lot during sex. Not always, but often. Why? Because sex is more than a physical act. It’s a connection. Spiritual, emotional, whatever squishy new age word you want to tape to it—it’s more than just insert tab A into slot B. At least for us it was. It was a chunk of time where the whole world fell away and nothing else mattered. Because we were together and it was as together as two people can be without being in a SciFi movie and actually melding into one human being. (Ew, I just grossed myself out).
So, I won’t apologize for chatty sex. Intense sex. Spiritual sex. Sex that transcends fucking. I heartily believe in it *fist pump*.
That particular reviewer also mention stamina (due to all the talking). I won’t go into detail but that’s also something I’ve lived and experienced. But I’ll just leave that comment there and won’t elaborate *ahem*
Another thing I’ve experienced first hand: a good man. A REALLY good man. Some readers seem to think my men are unrealistic. Too understanding. Too willing to help the female lead, love her, maybe even help her heal. Again, I know it, I’ve lived it, I won’t apologize for it. (not that anyone has asked me to, this is a rambling blog that has no point other than to highlight why I write some of what I write even if some people hate it.) The man I had the honor of spending almost two decades with was a good man. An almost unrealistically good man. I mean, I even thought that when we first started dating. When does this end? When does the other shoe drop? When do I see the asshole aspect of his personality? The answer…never!
There was a comment also that said I used a barrage of “ugly yellow descriptors”. To be honest, I have NO idea what that means. But I laughed out loud when I read it and said (to no one because I was alone), “Well, that can’t be good.” But instead of hurting my feelings, I just kind of shrugged. Why? Because everyone won’t love my style of writing (or yours…or yours over there…or hers…). And that’s totally fine.
In a lot of ways I think reading the good, the bad, and the ugly reviews is healthy for me. I am at a place where I appreciate them all. Two, three, four, five stars…once upon a time a three or below would have made weep. For a day or two! Now I just figure, everyone is different. Everyone is looking for a different thing from the book they’re reading at any given time and if my book didn’t happen to fulfill that need, then no harm, no foul. If it did…awesome!
I think I’m the Mary Higgins Clark of ER to some folks. People who don’t like insta-love, unrealistically good men, long intense sex with talking. Why MHC? LOL, well, that’s because back in the day when I would tell people I loved mysteries, most women (especially) would say, “Oh, don’t you just love Mary Higgins Clark?” And I’d say no. (Shock! Horror! Dismay!)
“But…why?”
“Because I always figure out who done it within the first or second chapter. I like to be surprised.” (HMC fans, this is my *personal* opinion. Please put down your torches and pitchforks.)
So, I might start putting labels on my novels. THIS WORK MAY CONTAIN INSTA-LOVE, A REALLY GOOD MAN, CHATTY SEX AND A HAPPY ENDING. BE WARNED!
That being said, I am thrilled the book is getting read and reviewed. I am grateful for every single person who took the time to read and weigh in, even the ones who don’t like what I do. They don’t have to like what I do. But I’m going to keep doing it because it’s what’s in my heart, my head, and my experience. I don’t always write what I know (how boring would that be?) but when it comes to the bones of a novel I do tend to stick to what I ‘know’…lightning strike love, long bouts of emotional sex, understanding men who know what it is to love a woman. And I think that’s not boring at all…
XOXOSommer 

Surprise! (for me)...It's release day!

Well, somehow I got the insane notion that when school let out things would be more relaxed. Ironically, I've been about 10x busier since it let out than I was when it was in. WTF is that about? I have no idea.

The point of mentioning that is this...I never have any idea what day it is. Just what's on my list for that day. So, imagine my surprise when I woke up to a tweet announcing my new book Chasing Shade is out today. Erm...it is? Turns out it is! For some reason I kept thinking it came out tomorrow (Friday) but um...no. Today! So, yay! Surprise release day for me :)

Chasing Shade has gotten some lovely reviews on Goodreads so if you're a goodreader (heh) go check them out. If you've picked up a copy or even are just considering it, thank you, thank you. I appreciate it. :)

XOXO
Sommer




If she was selfish, she’d let him love her. If she was more selfish, she’d tell him that she loved him too.

Betsey’s trying to recover from a violent past that’s still haunting her. Paying emotionally for something she’s never done. She’s created a small safe life.

Archie’s homeless, jobless, living on the road and clueless as to where he’s going. Until a hair piece and gas station directions leads him to her. Then he’s just trying to hold onto his emotions as he finds himself falling hopelessly fast for the girl in the yellow uniform.

Fate is not dealing them an easy happy ride, though. They’re trying to get through one day at a time. Making it work. Chasing shade…

I interrupt this long blogging break to show off something sexy!

You might have noticed I've been silent but for some promo posts. I'll explain below. But I'm interrupting my silence to say yay! Chasing Shade (due out June 25th from Mischief Book HarperCollins) has a cover! Woohoo! :)


If she was selfish, she’d let him love her. If she was more selfish, she’d tell him that she loved him too.

Betsey’s trying to recover from a violent past that’s still haunting her. Paying emotionally for something she’s never done. She’s created a small safe life.

Archie’s homeless, jobless, living on the road and clueless as to where he’s going. Until a hair piece 
and gas station directions leads him to her. Then he’s just trying to hold onto his emotions as he finds himself falling hopelessly fast for the girl in the yellow uniform.

Fate is not dealing them an easy happy ride, though. They’re trying to get through one day at a time. Making it work. Chasing shade…

CS is available for pre-order both in the UK and the US. The US link is HERE .

As for what I've been up to (see some photographic evidence below!)...A lot of writing trying to finish up another Mischief title, a lot of produce buying, a lot of juicing, a lot of learning, and a lot of reading. I'm firmly planted in real life at the moment and trying to move forward and heal what I can from the last two years. Which means I often have less to say on blogs. But the ones I do show up for are important. I hope you'll stick around and keep checking in. I haven't forsaken my blog, I'm just not online as much right now. But I always come across things, both personal and professional, I want to share. So I'm here! I hope you are too :)

XOXO
S

 *quite a haul of fruits and veg...eager to mash them into my magic machine!

 *swamp juice. Looks like ick, tastes like yum! 4 organic apples (seeds removed), 1 lb organic baby spinach, 2 organic carrots, 1 orange (peel removed)

*a recent fave read. After reading the Wayward Pines trilogy Black Crouch has picked up a mega fan in me. I read this one and just ordered the sequel book. It's on deck once I finish Saint Odd and then Stephen King's newest Lost and Found. #readingfiend