Barbara Elsborg's Blog: https://www.barbaraelsborg.com/blog, page 13

An exciting, excellent, extraordinary read!

I've just read the box set of Boreal and John Grey by my friend Chrystalla Thoma. If you like fantasy, paranormal stories, elves, strange creatures, lots of action and a touch of romance, you really need to give this a try.

During the 13th century In Iceland, epic poems and tales called Edda spoke of the aelfar – the elves. Tall and pale – their name means ‘white’ – these trickster beings brought misfortune and illness, and exchanged healthy children with sickly changelings.Now the Gates are opening once more between worlds and the elves are back.Ella Benson, Paranormal Bureau agent, fights all that comes through the Veil – dangerous Shades crossing into our world. But increasingly dangerous creatures are slipping into her city, her work partner has just gone missing, and a mysterious – and, frankly, quite hot — guy saves her life. His name is Finn and, as it turns out, he’s a natural when it comes to fighting the Shades.
When after centuries of peace the Gates between the worlds start opening and our old enemies, the elves, make a comeback, Ella needs a new, temporary partner. Enlisting the mysterious Finn is a no-brainer, until she realizes he is guarding dangerous secrets of his own.
Together with Finn, and the fate of the world on her shoulders, what’s Ella to do but grab her weapons and figure it all out, one way or another.

Read the complete First Season of the series Boreal and John Grey, books 1-5 (The Encounter, The Gate, The Dragon, The Dream and The Truth) at a special price with an Author’s Note at the end.
This is urban fantasy verging on paranormal romance. A sexy love story set against a backdrop of dragons, trolls and magical portals, fast-paced action scenes and suspense. Once I started reading - I couldn't stop!

Cover reveal for Perfect Trouble.

This is my next story out with TotaleBound but not until November.

Unwilling to forgo final respects even from a distance, Jinx sneaks to the funeral of a mother she hasn’t seen for fifteen years, and lands in the worst trouble of her life. The alpha of the Washburn Valley pack never stopped searching for her and now he has Jinx, he’s not going to let her go. She’s extraordinary breeding material—a super wolf in every way; fast, smart and an exceptional shifter—but she’d rather eat her own eyeballs than mate with him. She just needs to figure out a way to escape.
Jonah’s been in trouble all his life. The faery is currently under an indenture punishment for theft, but the idea of doing an extraction from the Washburn Valley pack fills him with dread. The wolves know his face, know he stole their gold and if they catch him, they’ll eat his guts, with or without ketchup. But saying no when he’s ordered north isn’t an option. His plan to get into the compound works, but that’s the only thing that does. He’s staked and wrapped in iron without even getting a glimpse of his target.

For a pair born to trouble, a shifter and a fairy could be perfect for each other, if only they survive long enough to do more than run. 

Creation

Why oh why do I struggle so much with the first few chapters of my books. I suspect it's because I don't plot. So by the time I work out who's who and roughly what might happen, I have to backtrack and fill in details to make it all make sense.
Current WIP - called - oh yes, I have a title! Er - no, it's not called that. It's called - Winter Boy, Summer Girl - or it might be Summer Girl, Winter Boy. The hero is Jai Winter twin brother of the dastardly Dickhead Richard from Strangers. The heroine is Summer - not sure of her surname but possibly Dey. Jai is a male model for a BIG company like Hugo Boss or Calvin Klein. Summer is a meteorologist - a research scientist - a cloud spotter.
Of course, I know nothing about the modelling business, nor about meteorology so I'm having to go on Google every few minutes to look stuff up. But that's what makes writing fun, for me at least.
Eight chapters in - about a third of the way through and I have no idea - bar one - what is going to happen. That's fun too because I take the journey with my characters.
I can only write productively in the morning and early afternoon. After that, I'm useless. So I'm also revamping my suspense story - Crossing the Line. I'm trying out an idea suggested by a FB pal, Shelley, who suggested I try and create an anti-hero. Ten chapters into that with my revisions and okay so far but the hard bit is to come. Can I really make a repellent character one that the heroine will end up with?
Watch this space - well not literally.

Me and the BBC!

Filming finished today for my section of a BBC program being made for the Inside Out series to be aired in the autumn. It's a look at the link between DH Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, the rise of erotic romance and me! I come from very close to where Lawrence was born and raised.

I was filmed at the London Book Fair, and again last Tuesday in Eastwood, Lawrence's birthplace where we walked through the wood where the author imagined the meeting to take place of Lady Chatterley and Mellors, the gamekeeper. Professor John Worthen, Lawrence's esteemed biographer was at High Park Wood with me and gulp - he'd read my book Strangers. He was very kind and great fun.
Today the BBC crew came to my home and filmed me working at my desk and then answering a few questions. It was really exciting. But I have a new regard for those who work in front of the camera with no autocue. It's hard to just speak normally!

Cover Reveal!!!

This is for my next MM - With Or Without Him - out in November with Samhain!
Take one troubled music student and add one cool guy from Saudi and what do you get? A fantastic cover by Kanaxa.



The blurb.....


Everyone has at least one deep-seated fear. For Tyler, it’s being in debt. He’s so desperate to get out and stay out of it, he’ll do almost anything—including selling his body at Saturday night sex parties.
But he refuses to open his mind to anyone, especially the men paying to use him however they want. The only time he’s truly happy is during the week at college, when he can escape into his music.
The moment Haris sees Tyler playing piano at a concert, he falls hard, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make the guy his. Even if it means—for the first time in his life—opening his wallet as wide and desperate as his heart.
£20,000 to live with a good-looking guy for four months? How can Tyler resist the chance to ditch the sex party scene for good? But neither man realizes how much they’re risking. And when outside forces close in, ready to destroy them, the trickiest part about the next four months could be just surviving.

My favourite things

I'm blue - so I'm cheering myself up by posting a few of my favourite things.

OUT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every Move He Makes is out today!!
http://store.samhainpublishing.com/every-move-makes-p-7392.html?osCsid=cb690d78ed7a1c33cd6cb97b2925c604

Logan's family live in Chilham

Which happens to be where my daughter got married.
Logan drank at this pub. So did son in law before he walked down to the church!


Logan works for the British Secret Service whose headquarters are here in London. 
And Zak and Logan end up here in Scotland. 
And then make their way south via Bamburgh

Every Move He Makes - out 7th May

Keeping an eye on his charge isn’t easy. Keeping his hands off? Impossible…
It took attending his own funeral to force Logan to accept a new life as an undercover MI6 agent. That doesn’t make his latest assignment any less aggravating. Babysitting a Russian pop star with delusions that someone’s trying to kill him.

Other than an inexplicable attraction Logan ruthlessly suppresses, he couldn’t have less in common with the irritating, arrogant rich kid. He’s even prepared to walk away—until very real bullets start flying.

After his mother’s death, Zak Kochenkov’s life unravels in an impenetrable haze of grief, drugs and alcohol—until one bodyguard candidate stands out. Except his hopes of having some fun with that guard’s body evaporate when he realizes Logan is buttoned up tighter than a clam.

The first thing Logan learns is that his charge won’t do as he’s told. And there’s some secret behind his haunted eyes that shakes Logan’s resolve to keep him at arm’s length. Because he knows if he lets passion close his eyes, that’s when danger will find them both…

Product WarningsContains a sexy bodyguard with a tortured past, and a spoiled rock star with a tortured conscience. Stir (don’t shake), and prepare for spontaneous combustion.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed writing this book!!http://store.samhainpublishing.com/every-move-makes-p-7392.html

London Book Fair

I had a very exciting day yesterday at the London Book Fair, meeting up with fellow authors, and people from Ellora's Cave, Samhain and TotaleBound publishers, and Ethan Ellenberg a NY Agent (not mine!) and best of all, being filmed by the BBC by super cameraman Mark and interviewed by the very kind Marie. Amazing how tiring it was to just walk around and talk on camera. I have new respect for those who have to do it all the time. I think the worse moment was when Marie said - talk naturally to Raelene from Ellora's Cave and my mind went blank. Well, my mind is always going blank but it was really hard to chat. Raelene, of course, was a pro. It was me who was the dweeb. The best bit was walking through the crowds with the cameraman walking backwards in front of me.  DON'T LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!! I felt for just a fraction of a second like a film star.

50 Shades of green - oops Gray.

I've avoided reading FSOG - largely on the premise that I'm not a huge fan of BDSM books, plus I tend not to go for hyped books either, plus I'm perverse - tell me to do something and I won't -  so I gave these three a miss. But I wondered how I could call myself a writer of erotic romance if I hadn't read THE books of the decade in this genre, so reader - I read them. One after the other over four nights.
I'd heard they were badly written, boring etc etc and also heard they were riveting, fantastic etc etc. I'm not sure what I expected to find but the books weren't as I'd anticipated.
For a start - they're not really BDSM books. My issue about women subjugating themselves for a guy's pleasure, enduring pain for a guy's pleasure and yes - their own - wasn't true of this book. It's very light on the BDSM - in one way, Christian has no idea what he's doing and certainly no real understanding of WHY he's doing it. When he said he was a sadist - I was almost yelling at him - no, you idiot, you're not - luckily Ana told him the same a few pages later.
What these books are about are a very damaged young man and how the love of an innocent woman pulls him back to dry land. I can see now why FSOG was linked so much with my book Strangers - Charlie Storm is another damaged young man who is helped by the love of a woman. The difference being that Kate, my heroine, is as damaged as Charlie and their journey to enlightenment is somewhat different.
Yes, there was a lot of sex in FSOG but not the extremely steamy graphic sex of many erotic romances. But it was all pervasive. Christian and Ana could barely keep their hands off one another and as a consequence, not much happens. The characters ARE the plot, whereas in Strangers - there is a plot. Yes, I know FSOG has a villain but that element felt very weak to me.
So did I like the books? Do I think they deserve their success?
I'm probably going to damn with faint praise. I didn't dislike them - is the best I can do. I certainly didn't hate them, nor did I love them. I'd have liked a different POV, to hear equally from Christian, more happening, more motivation, deeper characterization, more fun, more bounce to the prose but that's just me. It worked for millions so who am I to say it doesn't deserve it. Yes, I expect there are lots of other better written books out there but that's life. FSOG fit a gap in the market, entertained millions of woman and best of all for me, encouraged them to try others in the genre. Of course I think Strangers is
better - but sales tell me different. I can only dream of emulating her success and good for her - she wrote a winner.