C. Margery Kempe's Blog: Lady Smut, page 151

Home Sweet Homes

The Dundee Dragon

by C. Margery Kempe

A quick note: I did a fun interview this week over at Lady Smut called “What’s Your Kind of Naughty?” Drop by and take a look.

New year, new home — or rather homes. You know Heather has Two Mommies? Well, I have two homes. No, I’m not some wealthy socialite, wintering in Barbados and summering in the Catskills — although I did watch the sun setting over the Catskills from my window today. The red light on the clouds made them look like a phoenix diving into the west.

If I didn’t have such a slender connection, I could upload the photo from my phone! >_<

I am just moving into a house with my brother in upstate New York. It’s a lovely 1810 eyebrow colonial in a village in Columbia County. It needs some work — Oscar Wilde would not approve of the wallpaper and neither do we. But it will take some time to get to all the changes we plan. Meanwhile I’m busy teaching and my brother is busy with his job and I’m counting down the days until I am back in my other home.

That one’s with my sweetie over in Scotland. I get a lot more writing done over there — partly because I’m not usually teaching or doing other work, so I can concentrate on it. But I think it’s also partly due to the magic tea that he brings me that encourages my muses to whisper excitedly in my ear.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

In between we keep in touch with our phones and Facebook and Twitter. Of course one of my present annoyances, which should be over Tuesday (fingers crossed) — no WiFi at the NY house! How can I live? Or so everyone taunts me. There’s the slimmest of phone signals. It’s enough to text my sweetie. That’s enough for now.

Not that I’m not champing at the bit! How quickly social media has become an inextricable part of life. Actually I regularly go without it when visiting my friend Mary’s remote home (I call it Brigadoon: often the mists do close behind you and you feel as if you have entered another world) which has no phone and no wifi at all.

How long can you go without the electronic tether?

Filed under: C. Margery Kempe, Kit Marlowe

What I Learned in 2012

A lot happened to all of us during 2012.  I’m not one for resolutions.  I’m more for making plans regardless of time of year.  But this past year was filled with diversity some tragic, some amazing, and some both.

What makes hero?  We talk about this a lot in writing, but some of the most amazing heroes are not found in fiction stories.  In Newtown, Connecticut, some adults did amazing things to try to protect as many as they could.  A teacher faced down a gunman in protecting her class.  I can’t imagine such a thing, but it happened, and the name Victoria Soto went around the world.

Okay, I’m going to cry now.  Let’s move on.  I just can’t talk about all the heroics that day.  I did learn that in our age of computers and distance learning, people are still brave.

This year, it seemed the East Coast wore a hit me sign.  New Jersey lost their boardwalk.  Connecticut saw a recently rebuilt community wash away, and Long Beach in Long Island was hit so badly, that as we speak people are freezing in their homes there.  They still don’t have heat.   I read how James Hodge, who is coordinating relief efforts in Long Beach, gave away his two personal heaters for his home.  He has been sleeping under multiple blankets to keep warm. The Martin Luther King Community Center ran out of heaters.  That’s in Long Beach, Long Island, New York, for those that can help.

We’ve had losses among our friends and in the family.  I’ve talked about that before so I won’t dwell on it.   We were gifted by those souls in that we knew them and they enriched our lives.

Not everything that year was hard.  Joy came into my life with the birth of my grand-daughter  Penelope.   I’ve learned many things from her so far.  Don’t put my hand too close to her mouth as she has a tooth coming in.  LOL  Everything seen from the right perspective can be funny.  Upside down is a good way to view life.   Dogs and cats are hilarious.  I will have to spend more time being upside down.

Pinterest is soothing.  I love clicking on photos and repinning.  If you have not tried Pinterest, Google search it and check it out.   From Pinterest, I’ve reposted a photo of the gate of Tintagel Castle.   This bit of what remains of castle clinging to a cliff is according to legend the birthplace of King Arthur.   It is also the associated with King Mark, whose nephew Tristan fell in love with Isolde.   Hidden in the cliffs and rocks beyond, Merlin’s Cave is supposed to be waiting.   There might still be some magic there.

Why did I post the photo of Tintagel’s gate?   What have I learned from 2012?  The gate is always open and leads to wonder.  There are still people who care, and there’s still joy to be found in the little things.

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Filed under: A Lesson in Love, Susan Hanniford Crowley, Writer's Life

Series, bibles or computers? by Marian Lanouette

A strange title isn’t it? Not if you’re writing a series. There are many ways to keep track of your information pertaining to your characters, location, quirks and anything else you think will repeat throughout your series.

I keep a character sketch file, which includes all the above on my computer in a folder named for the series. In that folder I have the fore mentioned character sketches, outlines for each story in series (even it is just an idea for down the line.) Did you cut a scene? Save it, you might use them down the line in another book for the series. Believe me they come in handy. The folder also includes scene sketches. I like to cut and paste pictures that remind me of the characters. I use flow charts to follow my murders and suspects. The visual posted to my wall really keeps me focused as I work. I also post on my wall the character flow chart which includes the descriptions and quirks of each character in front of me while I workje. I don’t want the character to hate jewelry in one book and wear it in the next. Readers call you on this sort of thing. I also keep chapter timelines. After I finish a chapter, I put that chapters synopsis in the file. I put down dates and time of day. I’d hate to have Lieutenant Carrington meet with a suspect at 8am on Monday and arrest him on Sunday (the day before)at noon. Very important fact tracking.

Once I have this altogether I put them in titled manila files and then put them in a manila folder. It can be time consuming to put your fingers on a certain items while writing. To some this might be confusing, to me I have a knack for putting my finger on just the exact paper I need.

Now for a more organized way to keep track of things. I came across a great book this week (and there are many books on the subject but I like this one.) I bought Devon Ellington’s The Series Bible: Creation and Maintenance. It’s an E-book and only 44 pages. It is packed with wonderful ideas. I am taking my manila files and folders and I’m going to put them in a binder to make them easier to find. And yes, I’m still going to maintain my computer file for when I’m on the road.

The Series Bible is pack with useful info even if you’ve written series for a while or are a novice. It’s a quick read and is reasonably priced.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/275031

Filed under: romance

New Releases by Gerri Brousseau

Today I want to tell you about two authors, one new to me and one I have read.

The author who is new to me is Tawny Weber. I first discovered Tawny when I was looking for Sexy Fairy Tales, but her newest release from Harlequin Blaze entitled, “A Seal’s Seduction” caught my attention.

Here is a little blurp about the book:

Navy SEAL Blake Landon (a.k.a. “Boy Scout”) knows the rule book inside and out. Checked. Rechecked. But when a mission ends badly, his entire team is ordered on leave. And that’s when Blake sees the tall redhead whose ark eyes suggest that the rules – especially those in bed – are made to be broken.

Scientist Alexia Lane has sex on the brain – partly for work, but mostly because she needs a man who makes her girly parts do the happy dance. Her only no-no? No military dudes. But Blake’s rockin’ bod promises delicious pleasures, and Alexia is halfway to sexual Nirvana before she can find out he’s actually a Navy SEAL.

Sound good? Well let me tell you … it is! I certainly will read more from this author. The good news, dear readers, is that she will be our guest here on Nights of Passion next month.

Now for the familiar author, Marian Lanouette, with her newest release, “Burn in Hell,” the second book in her Jake Carrington Series.  If you loved her first book, “If I Fail,” you’ll really like “Burn in Hell.”   I just started reading it, but right from the get go, my hands were sweating! Marian really knows how to draw the emotion out of a scene. I’m excited to tell you that Marian will be my guest here next Thursday.

Have you read anything new lately? Have you discovered a new author?

Filed under: romance

What Works for You?

So I know I’ve written a lot on this blog about being busy because let’s face it, in this day and age I feel like it is completely normal for many of us to take on more than we can handled and even multi-task. The world of writing is no different, which is why writers are absorbed by so much these days. Not only do we have to concern ourselves with the unspoken rule of 50/50 promotion of books and writing of books, but in order to build your brand you must keep writing consistently. I’m sure many of you have been victim of reading a series you love only to find out that the next book won’t be out for quite a while. Drove me nuts as a reader but as a writer, I have a much better appreciation for the time it takes to a get a book out to the public (at least if you want it to be a quality book).

So how do we writers resolve this? Many times, you’ll find that we are working on several manuscripts at the same time. I’m one of those people who choose to eat one thing on my plate at a time and the idea of writing multiple manuscripts was fairly daunting, but once you start, you learn (at least in my case) that many times it can actually help your mind plan out more. I have a tendency to avoid writer’s block as I’m working on so many different things and it helps stimulate my mind in different ways. Of course, there is always the other end of the spectrum, having way too much to do!

Anyways, those are my rambling thoughts for the day, happy writing this week to everyone!

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

Brats and Doms – Guest Post by Cari Silverwood

Brats, BDSM, and Books

by erotic author Cari Silverwood

What does a lion have to do with brats, you may well ask. A lot. Or at least it’s the best analogy I could think of.

One of the infuriating things about writing BDSM in fiction is that you often can’t quote sources or in some cases you can’t come out and say precisely who you are and what you do. This can result in some farcical situations. Some reviewers love to declare to one and all that this here book here has got the BDSM all wrong and that, the author clearly knows nothing.

It’s amusing in a way, but also annoying and ridiculous. But what makes it worse is when the criticism revolves around something that is truly just not the way the person criticizing the book likes their own BDSM scenes to roll.

My last book, The Dom with a Safeword, was written partly to throw some fun into the mix. There are so many edgy dark BDSM stories where the Dom is closer to robot or Sith ancestry than he is to a real man. Really, there should be a stamp somewhere that says,

Because they do. If you meet a Dom who has no sense of humor just check for a pulse. Sure while he’s playing he might go into super strict Dom mode, if that’s the dynamic of your relationship, but no one is like that all damn day. Even in a Master/ slave relationship there will be fun, or maybe you should be high-tailing it out of there…unless, of course, having no fun is your kink.

But, getting past the fun aspect, we also wanted to show brats in our story, because brats are much maligned and insulted. And yes, among my friends, there are two women who are brats who are very like the characters in my book. One is a bisexual collared switch with over ten years in the lifestyle. But that doesn’t stop people declaring that there is too much bratting in the story. Okay, I get it, if a reader doesn’t click with the dynamic of the BDSM in the story, okay. Move on. I don’t ‘get’ humiliation play either, like face-slapping or being a coffee table. I don’t ‘get’ dressing up as a pony either – it’s way out of my comfort zone, but I accept that others like this.

Where this all goes pear-shaped is when people say this is wrong, and it’s not BDSM.

Uh-uh. You may despise bratting in a D/s relationship and you may love obeying your Dom at a snap of his fingers and the growl of his voice but you are not everyone. Others prefer the challenge.

Here is where the lion comes in. Think of a Dom as a predator. If you’re a hunter and you have a choice between having the prey walk up to you and  roll over at your feet, you’d accept that possibly. But not all do. Some prefer to have to chase after that prey, and drag it down while it is running away. With the human element of taunting by said prey added to the mix the whole scene can be even more potent.

Submission can come easily or with obstacles in the way. The brat switch I know loves it when her Dom makes her submit by force and he loves doing it. He loves dares. If she tells him he hits like a mosquito, guess what, he wants to hit so hard she writhes and begs him to stop, and that gets her motor going too, and so the circle goes. Some brats are worse than others. Human relationships are not set in stone and do NOT have to abide by any rules except the ones made up by those in the relationship.

Some Doms can’t stand bratting but surprise, surprise, they don’t end up in relationships with brats, they find a submissive who likes their style of D/s.

Bottom line is, YOU may not like bratting in real life, or in stories, to you it may not be submission, but to others it is the color that heightens their kink life. Without it everything fades into black and white.

Take care that you respect what others do, as well as what you and your partner choose to do. There is no One Twu Way. There is only you and them. Make up your own rules. Be happy. Be safe.

I’ll leave you with a quote from a friend.

“One of the things that I embrace about the lifestyle I have chosen, is that there is the freedom to define our own relationships.”

Check out Cari’s new release, Steel Dominance (steampunk BDSM) now available for all e-readers!

A brilliant researcher, Sofia must unravel the ancient puzzle of the Clockwork Warrior or her career will be in tatters. Yet the tomb of the warrior is in the dangerous city of Byzantium, inside the harem of the Emperor. She knew she’d have to pose as a slave–but not that her “owner” would be the incredibly bossy, gorgeous bodyguard she’s been assigned.

A life of military duty has left Dankyo unprepared for Sophia. He’s never met a woman quite like this. She’s smart and beautiful, and she’s something that he’s finding almost irresistible–despite the way she fights against masquerading as his slave, she’s submissive right down to the bottom of her soul. And that’s bringing out every dominant instinct in his body.

But even as he realizes she’s captured his heart, the city explodes into madness. Surviving seems impossible. Can love and a Dom who will never give up overcome sheer bloody-minded evil?

Cari Silverwood writes the way the world should be – dangerous and sexy with bullets piercing the darkness and lovers wrenched close by ropes. When you need escape, when you need that rough lover to bring you to your knees, here you will find stories to singe your fingers. The taste of adventure, the tang of BDSM, the burn of fantasy run wild. Brace yourselves, if you dare to read.

And…in this real world, she has a lovely family in Australia, with the prerequisite teenager who dwells in the dark bedroom catacombs…a husband who raises eyebrows when he catches glimpses of what she writes, and a furry menagerie of other animals barking, meowing, and swimming about the place.

http://www.carisilverwood.net

http://www.facebook.com/carisilverwood

Twitter: @CariSilverwood

Filed under: romance

Weekly Paranormal-Scope

While I’m not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets, I am intimately linked with the paranormal in the world.  In many ways, so are you.

The week ahead for:

Aries

Elves are partying this week.  There’s good fortune coming your way.

Taurus

Beware zombies in sheep’s clothing.

Gemini

Ravens fly overhead.  Be cautious of what you say.  There are listeners.

Cancer

Werewolves love a good stomach rub.  Rub them the right way and they will do anything for you.

Leo

Shapeshifters love to cook.  Get a new cookbook and expand your skills.

Virgo

A maenad messes with your head.  Make sure your meat is thoroughly cooked and increase your intake of vegetables.

Libra

Hobbits are cuddly and very likely to make amazing companions.

Scorpio

A mermaid thinks you are wonderful.  Water will be energizing this week in a big way.

Sagittarius

Orcs are just misunderstood.  A large grumbly friend will need your help.

Capricorn

You have caught the eye of an elf of power.  Accept the gifts you receive.

Aquarius

The minotaur roars.  Life might look like a confusing labyrinth, but persist and you will be rewarded.

Pieces

You will be luckier than a leprechaun this week.  Enjoy!

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Filed under: Susan Hanniford Crowley, Weekly Paranormal-Scope

Mid-January Check In

Free at Smashwords, 99¢ at Amazon

by C. Margery Kempe

It’s the middle of January: how are you doing?

Specifically, how are those resolutions going? Experts say you can develop a habit after just a few weeks, so it’s not too soon to ask about them. The more you remain mindful of the process, the better you are likely to do. Don’t berate yourself if you miss a day, but reward yourself in some pleasurable way if you do keep up with your plans.

If you find yourself faltering a lot and feeling like a failure, don’t!

Chances are you tried to make too many changes all at once — or you made a lot of vague, self-flagellating promises that weren’t at all realistic. If you have a whole list of things that you wanted to change, put them in order.

What’s the most important one? Put that first. Then choose what will be next. Keep doing that with the rest, too. Better to focus on one at a time, and move on after success; it’s easier to build on success than to set up a recipe for failure.

If you’re flagging, make sure that you have defined your proposed change with clear outcomes and specific changes. If you told yourself I’m going to write a lot more! you’re making things more difficult. Consider how much you usually write in a day; now add another quarter or third to that. Push yourself a bit at a time, rather than overdo it and then allowing the project to languish.

Reward yourself; it doesn’t have to be a big reward. Consider something like telling yourself, I’m going to write for half an hour and then I get to read a book I’ve been saving up for another half hour. It doesn’t matter what the reward is, provided it’s something that makes you yearn to reach it — something that helps you reach your goal is that much better!

(I’m doing a series on “How to Keep Writing with a Full Time Job” over at my other name’s blog. If one of your resolutions is to write more, you may find it helpful.)

How do you reward yourself for sticking to resolutions?

Filed under: C. Margery Kempe, Kit Marlowe

The Art of Moderating from a Moderator at Arisia 2013 in Boston

Boston

One of my favorite things to do at a convention is moderating panels.  I like to ask the questions.  Moderating is a skill that can be improved by practicing your listening skills.  I ask the questions, but then I listen to what people are saying.  I create additional questions from their answers.

Watching the audience is key to moderating.  I am not one who waits until the end to take questions from the audience.  I call on them when I see them.  Usually nodding my head to them indicating I see them and they are next.   Making people wait too long usually makes them forget the important point they came to make.   The audience is key to the success of a panel.  They’ve come a long way to participate and be heard too.

Part of what a moderator does is verbal traffic control.  You facilitate the flow of the conversation, making sure all the panelists get to say something and add insights or more questions when there is a lull.   The moderator is responsible for keeping the group focus and bringing the group back to the topic at hand if they stray.  LOL  They always stray.   Even if a diversion is fun, enjoy the moment, but then bring them back to the topic everyone is there to discuss.

Tonight I moderated “Vampires: Fear of the Other, Fear of the Body.”  Yes, folks, another vampire panel.  I’ve literally done over 25 years of vampire panels.   I never tire of them and always learn something new.   I am not the resident expert on the subject.  I’m just happy to write about my sexy, romantic and adventurous vampires, and be the moderator.

Ah, night falls on Boston.  Listen to the children of the night!  It’s party time at Arisia!

Boston at night from my hotel

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

 

Filed under: paranormal, paranormal romance, Readers Conference, Readers Conferences, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, vampires, Writer's Life

Release day! Read an excerpt by Marian Lanouette

It’s Release day!

Boy, do I love saying that. Two books published within five months. What an incredible feeling. Today Burn in Hell, A Jake Carrington Mystery releases on Amazon and MuseItUp Publishing. I’m excited about its release. Burn in Hell, is the second book in the series and one close to my heart. It is a work of fiction, but I used to work in the field (cemetery/crematory)and it always intrigue me. My imagination would run wild with different scenarios as I worked. I’ve been planning this book unconsciously for years. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Before I give you an excerpt. I want to discuss the problems you encounter when you work on a series. Number one and foremost is your list of characters and locations. It’s important to make sure from book to book that your descriptions are fresh yet the same. You can’t have a character be six one in the first book and six three in the next. The strenght of the story and the characters are in the details. Next is the tone of your story. Your main characters need to grow yet stay the same. How do you do that? I think I can best explain it this way. If you have a family man (Louie Romanelli) who is a kind and loving man at home and tough on the job; you can’t have him being a tough man at home. Unless, there is an event or situation that cause a drastic change in that person. What is a drastic situation: death, drugs or a cheating spouse. You can’t just throw these things out there unless they make sense to the character and story.

My advise. When planning a series make sure when you plot out not only the main story but each repeating character’s arc and how it works through the series. Does it make the story stronger, more interesting and is it needed? If not, get rid of the character and seek a new one to replace them.

Kyra (pronounced Key-ra origin Gaelic)

Burn in Hell Excerpt:

“Son of a bitch,” Kyra whispered.

Life’s not fair. In the last two hours she’d dumped over three thousand dollars into the Goddamn machine. This bitch sits down right next to her and hits the jackpot on the first spin. I’ll never get my son back this way.

Kyra Russell wiped away the tears that rolled down her face. Why couldn’t she hit the jackpot? Ten grand—she only needed ten grand to pay her lawyer. Taking another hundred-dollar bill out of her purse, she stuffed it into the machine and hit the maximum-credit button, anticipating the results. Loving the rush, her stomach jumped with excitement. Each time, her mind cheered ‘this is it.’ As the wheels rolled into place, a cold chill raced through her veins. One by one, they landed. By the second symbol, she realized she’d lost again. Kyra’s heartbeat increased, pounding in her chest, beating in her ears like African tribal drums, causing her anger to spike. It’s the next one, she told herself, banging the maximum-credit button again. Lord, she needed to take a pee break, though didn’t dare leave her machine for fear someone else would hit the jackpot after she’d primed the machine.

Watching the attendant pay the woman, Kyra counted along with him. The bitch won seventy-five hundred dollars. After the woman received her payout, Kyra tried signaling the attendant.

“Excuse me,” she called.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I need to use the restroom. Can you watch my machine or lock it down?”

“I need to call a supervisor over. It’ll be a few minutes.” He pressed the button in his earpiece.

She watched him whisper into it. After ten minutes, the supervisor came over and locked down the machine for her, letting her know she needed to be back within the hour or they’d release the machine.

“Thank you.”

“Not a problem, Kyra,” the supervisor said.

He read her name off her reward card, addressing her like he knew her. Well, screw him.

She pushed off her seat, rushing to the ladies’ room. Kyra didn’t want to stay away too long, giving them a chance to re-program the machine against her or reset it. She hated the new system with the tickets. Since they’d installed it, she hadn’t won like she used to. How else could she lose constantly? Winning used to be the norm when she first started. It became addictive. She’d won twenty-five thousand dollars on one spin. On another night, she’d won eight thousand dollars.

Boy, the cash rolled in then. The feeling was indescribable when those wheels rolled into place and the bells went off. The noise the machine made when it hit a jackpot had crowds surrounding her. Though on that night she’d gone home with only twenty thousand dollars—she’d blown five grand trying to win more. Greed always took over. Winning excited her. It was the rush, the euphoria she got every time she pushed the spin button that kept her coming back.

The casino treated her like royalty, even gave her a host. He got her into the popular shows or restaurants anytime she wanted. Nothing was too good for Kyra, as long as she showed up and put her money into the machine. She became a regular at the players’ lounge—eat and drink for free. Yeah, free, her ass. The cost was extreme. Somewhere along the line, Kyra lost her self-respect—along with her marriage, her son, and her savings.

buy link:

MuseItUp Publishing: http://bit.ly/W7Q4QH

View the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX5Jms0Anbs&feature=youtu.be

Filed under: romance