Lucy Felthouse's Blog, page 302
February 2, 2012
Guest Blog: Michael Mandrake
Longing for a Story of Love with What? by Michael Mandrake
*Has a seat on the couch*
Good morning to all at my good friend Lucy Felthouse's blog. I'm excited to be here to talk about a story I'm very fond of called Vertigo. The book is the long version of a short I did called Longing for a Normal State of Vertigo for the Riding the Rocket anthology through Sizzler Editions.
When I looked at the submission call by Sascha Illyvich, the editor of the collection, my first thought was to write a story of my main character receiving blinding love and passion from an immortal, something other than a vampire. *shudder*
At that time, I was very new to the genre and wanted to get a shot at being in this anthology by creating something totally new and different from any of the others he might have seen.
When I started writing, my first thought was to make it a historical since my main character Hayden Curry was a scientist from the 1900's in Britain. Then I thought of the secondary character, David. He had to be someone strong and unique. Could he be a shifter, a chimera as Sascha offered that he might be? Who knows! Honestly, in the beginning, I had absolutely no idea what kind of being he actually was. Just as Hayden was clueless, so was I.
Then, I contacted Sascha later on after the anthology was released to ask him about doing a longer version. When I pulled the story back out of the WIP file, I looked it over and got more of a sense from David almost immediately. What I came up with without giving all the details is an immortal, some kind of angel or demon with powers to read minds, change forms, as well as an endless amount of sexual energy that Hayden takes a lot of pleasure in. *snicker*
So my story really has no mythological basis. It's a complete fantasy story with the only factual things being the setting of that time period, the clothing of the characters, and the speech. The other thing I truly enjoy about my tale is the love and chemistry between my two men. How they communicate, get through trials and shortcomings during the early parts of their relationship, all the way to the ultimate test at the end which to this day I am astounded by what they asked me to write.
And to think, the basis was really, nothing! What did Hayden fall in love with? An angel or a demon? You'll have to read Vertigo to find out.
I'd like to thank Lucy for hosting me on day 3 of my blog tour.
Please comment and you could win a copy of the book or my last book, ironically, the vampire short, and be entered into the drawing for an Amazon GC worth $25 dollars.
After losing his lover to mental disorder, Dr. Hayden Curry throws himself into work, silently wishing he could experience something extraordinary in love. He finds his match in David, a creature Hayden revives after discovering him and hauling him back to his lab. Upon awakening, David asks Dr. Hayden's help in discovering more about himself. Hayden agrees but senses secrets in David. Will he get to the bottom of things and be able to continue the special relationship he and David have, or will the secrets that come forward tear them apart?
Before I went to my haven, I glanced outside my window. Outside, the rainfall reduced to a drizzle, coupled by slow moving clouds over the moonlight. The trees blew after only a few gusts of winds, ripped the leaves off and made quite a mess on the grass underneath.
These would be the nights I would cherish with him most. After relishing in the afterglows of new inventions and glasses of wine, there were mind blowing affections to follow.
Such a good lover…
Once I got to my place of work, I immediately began searching for the vials I had for the latest concoction. When I did not see them, I lost my head rather quickly.
"Where on God's green earth," I screamed and walked from one end of my laboratory to the other. "Where are those samples I just had? Libertina!"
Immediately, the pale and slim maiden with dark hair ran to my aid.
"Yes sir, have you lost something again, sir?"
"I have Libertina. The tubes I examined the night before. They seemed to…oh."
Within moments, my dearest uncovered the missing necessities I searched for, right underneath my novel, The Bounded Scientist.
I shrunk back and smiled wryly. "Thank you Libertina, ahem, that will be all my sweet."
"Yes sir, if there is anything you need, I'll be tending to your clothes, sir." Quickly, she curtsied and scurried off, closing the door behind her.
Ah, what a fine young maiden I have. If I were more attracted to the ladies, then I might give her go, but only gentlemen tickled my fancy these days.
I could not be that upset even in this pitiful state. Not that many people understood me when they came to know me. Throughout the years, many thought they should have thrown me in the local mental ward because of the ideas I'd had.
Nevertheless, my determination and visions had made me one of the most recognizable names in London, apart from the fact I inherited my father's large fortune.
Still, even with all the money and notoriety, I had always felt something was missing from my life. I longed for something new to happen. Whether it was a new discovery or invention it had to be different from what I had already seen.
I looked at the experiment I had been working on for seemingly weeks in disgust. Things hadn't been the same anyway since Lawrence departed but I was determined to move on with my life's work despite what happened to him. I had to hold on to the hope he would return.
After around the fifteenth trial of not receiving my desired result, I retreated to my bedroom to sleep. Unlike times before, I decided not to read before bed but instead lay there until my eyes got too heavy.
I hoped the nightmares would not start again since after they occurred I stayed awake staring at the ceilings of my room, often needing a drink of the alcoholic variety to put me to rest. I felt myself becoming rather dependent on the beverages. Certainly, doing this sort of thing would cloud my senses and not allow me to function properly. Many men of science I knew had become like this and I refused to become one of them.
I'll never.
I always reassured myself that I wouldn't continue to down this dangerous path, however, everyday, being alone with only yourself to talk with could be a detriment to one's mental state.
Although fully capable of doing everyday things, I'd come to accept that I was different. After all, for one, I wasn't attracted to women. Two, I enjoyed reading more than being outside playing in games.
In fact my mom would frequently say that she wished I'd be like "normal" boys and go play ball instead of reading. This from the same woman who didn't know how to read until after she birthed me. With the help of my caregiver, I taught myself how to read the written word thus showed my mum in the process. Still, even afterwards, she didn't consider it as an important skill. "I've always had people to do things like read for me," she said, giving illiteracy credence. Totally absurd but true.
If I wasn't able to read and learn I might die.
Such is true of me, Doctor Hayden Curry. I preferred to have my mind stimulated before anything else. This isn't saying that I didn't enjoy the sins of the flesh because I did, but, books were like gold to me, more important than any penny I owned. I'd inherited most of it which allowed me to live the lavish lifestyle and work on experiments instead of seeing patients to cure their ailments. I wasn't interested in short term solutions anyway. I wanted results that could change the world and mankind forever.
*****
BIO: Michael Mandrake is a BRIT!
A 39 year old Brummie who loves to write tales of love and romance between two men that aren't afraid to show their sexuality. At least that's what this 39 year old mom from the US thinks he is. They talk on a regular basis, Sharita and her muse.
Now for the truth, Sharita, who also writes under Rawiya and BLMorticia is a happily married mom of 2 who loves everything about British culture and hopes to visit someday.
Michael M is her most successful pseudonym. To date, he is the only muse with 3 sole author books, 2 more coming before the end of 2012. He's contracted through XOXO publishing, Sizzler Editions, No Boundaries Press, and does shorts through STARbooks Press. Michael shares Sharita's love for writing tales where the characters are comfortable with their sexuality and the plots are more of a mainstream romance as opposed to m/m. They aren't perfect and cross into new territory, resolving their struggles through communication coupled with mind blowing sex.
At the moment, Mandrake's books are only small steps into what's to come. Look for longer works from Sharita and the muse, Michael very soon.
The Literary Triad – http://www.thelitriad.com/#!
The Literary Triad on FB – https://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad
Michael Mandrake - http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSharitaLira
***
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Love Through Time is a Top Pick!
[image error]Wow, I have certainly been blessed this week! First, Bite with Height bags an award for Book of 2011, and now Love Through Time has bagged a fabulous review from Miz Love Loves Books – a Top Pick, no less!
Here's what they had to say about my paranormal erotic romance:
"This was a clever story, a good length and great characters. Westbury Manor was a wonderful setting for this supernatural tale and I really enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the location. A layered story that makes you feel as though you've been on both a spooky, haunted house weekend and a down-and-dirty, get-your-kit-off fun weekend. Highly recommended as a one-stop read."
Yay! 
Read an excerpt and grab yourself a copy of the book here.
In other news, my lesbian shapeshifter story, The Cottage in the Woods is now being released a week earlier than originally scheduled, so it'll be available on the 22nd February, woohoo!
January 31, 2012
Bite with Height Awarded Book of 2011!
Yep, you read it right – my lesbian paranormal story set in my beloved city of Paris was awarded Book of 2011 by SexyReads.co.uk!
The site reviewed the book some time ago, with lovely comments such as:
"Lucy Felthouse does short but sweet to perfection, a true mistress of the erotic word in it's most dramatic and dare I pun climatic form."
and
"Definitely one with extra bite for the heart and loin warming pile!"
Which naturally made me dance around the room, but to have been given an award, too, well… let's just say I'm now catapulting around the room!
So, um, yeah! That's me walking on air then 
Wanna see what the fuss is about? Check it out here.
News: K D Grace Book Launch, Sh! Hoxton, 25th February 2012
Where: Sh! Hoxton
When: Saturday 25th February 6:30 pm
No charge
A magical encounter on the Lakeland fells ends in sex with a charming ghost for American transplant, Marie Warren, who discovers she her ability to unleash demons and ghosts.
Her powers bring her to a coven of witches who practice rare sex magic that allows ghosts access to pleasures of the flesh.
Ancient grudges unfold, and Deacon, the demon inadvertently unleashed, will stop at nothing to destroy everything the coven's high priestess holds dear including Marie and young farmer, Tim Meriwether.
Only powers unleashed by Marie and Tim's lust can stop Deacon's bloody rampage before the coven is torn apart and innocent people die. But is lust enough?
***
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January 30, 2012
Sneaking All Over the Web
Wow, while I've been having a very busy weekend offline, it would seem I've also had an incredibly busy weekend online. I have lots of links to share:
Part two of my kinky story, Double Vision, went live on Every Night Erotica. Have a read, and I'd love your votes, too! http://www.everynighterotica.com/double-vision-part-two-lucy-felthouse/
I was interviewed over at Kindle Romance Authors about the Seducing the Myth anthology: http://www.kindleromanceauthors.com/2012/01/interview-with-lucy-felthouse.html
Susie White and the Right Hand Man was featured at This is From My Heart: http://janieraeldridge.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-feature-susie-white-and-right-hand.html
Another of my naughty free short stories appeared at Everett Coles' website: http://everettcoles.blogspot.com/2012/01/sunshine-on-naked-skin-by-lucy.html
I was interviewed at SexyReads.co.uk: http://sexyreads.co.uk/interviews/a-special-past-present-and-future-interview-with-lucy-felthouse/
Bite with Height was named SexyReads.co.uk Best Book of 2011: http://sexyreads.co.uk/reviews/lesbian/bite-with-height-by-lucy-felthouse/
And finally, I'm pimping out my new release, Punish Me Good, over at the Dirty Birdies blog: http://www.dirtybirdiesauthors.com/2012/01/30/monday-pimp-from-lucy-felthouse-punish-me-good/
So… that should keep you busy for a while, right?
January 29, 2012
Six Sentence Sunday – 29/1/12
More from fairy tale retelling Susie White and the Right Hand Man.
I'd been eager to get on with the woman, knowing it would please my father. "Everyone does."
Another tight-lipped smile. I'd tried hard to make conversation with her and make her feel comfortable in our home. But I never felt like I was succeeding. At first, I put it down to her being nervous or shy, but as weeks and months passed, I still never felt as though Louise warmed to me.
Want to know more about Six Sentence Sunday and see all the other delicious entries? Click the logo below:
January 28, 2012
Reading Slam Fund Raiser, 24 February 2012 at Sh! Portobello
To help celebrate the launch of her new novel, Body Temperature and Rising, K D Grace, with her fabulous co-sponsor, the Fannies Rule Group headed up by amazing Sarah Berry present the More Bang Reading Slam (That's short for more bang for your buck).
This evening of hot reading is very special because all proceeds will go to the Sexual Advice Association. There'll be a charge of £5 for guests and participants, all for a good cause!
There'll also be raffles and giveaways. There'll be fizz and cupcakes. But mostly there'll be lots of fun and lots of sexy readings from lots of sexy readers strutting their stuff and making the audience squirm deliciously in their seats.
Wanna read? Come prepared with five minutes worth of filth and fun. Warning, any attempt to read longer will result in a good spanking.
Wanna just listen and sip fizz? Come prepared for a good time. Warning, those not prepared for a good time may also be spanked at the digression of the management.
Fun for a good cause is the yummiest kind of fun. Come celebrate with us!
Friday 24th February at 6:30 at Sh! Portobello. Contact details are at that link to book your place.
Cost £5
January 27, 2012
Guest Blog: Elizabeth Kyne
IF ONLY I DIDN'T HAVE A LOVE AFFAIR WITH SLEEP
Author Elizabeth Kyne dreams about what life might have been like
if she'd been blessed with more hours in the day
One night a couple of years ago, I was just getting ready for bed when the phone rang. "Who the hell's calling at this hour?" was the general reaction in the house. It turned out to be Ian. The conversation went something like this:
"Oh hi Ian, I was just going to bed."
"Bed? But it's ten o'clock. Why are you going to bed now?"
"Because it's bed time."
He had no concept of a person wanting to go to bed at ten o'clock. To him, it was the middle of the evening and there were four hours until his bedtime.
I wish I were like Ian.
To clarify, I'm actually glad I am not like Ian in many ways (I'm not sure how I'd cope with being a teacher in Scotland, for example), but in the sleep department, I envy him. On the day he'd rung me, he'd spent eight hours at work, earned some lovely money, then come home, had some dinner and relaxed for a bit, and was just settling down to work on a script for a play he was writing and wanted to chat to me about it.
As for me, I'd spent all day writing and doing assorted things, earned very little money, had dinner, spent a precious hour relaxing in front of the telly and was about done for the day. If only I'd been able to stay up until two in the morning doing stuff, then I could have achieved so much more.
There is a piece of advice dished out to writers which, in many ways, is excellent advice. It goes something like this: Set your alarm for an hour earlier, get up and write for an hour, then go to work. Pretty soon, you will have written the first draft of a novel and – what's more – you haven't had to sacrifice any salaried time to do it. Which, if you want to eat and have a roof over your head, is a pretty good idea.
I've tried this. Really, I've tried it. Maybe it worked on the Monday, maybe I even managed to struggle out of bed on the Tuesday, but by Wednesday I was just beat. The other problem was – and this is the biggest problem, to my mind – is that by the time you get into work, you're too tired to put your all energies into your job. That's the job which is paying for life's little essentials like food and housing. To put it at risk by coming in exhausted every day is probably not the best plan for continued employment.
Add to that the additional complication of the day job I foolishly decided to take on. My background is in radio journalism and, in radio, the most important time of the day is breakfast time. So, often my shift would start at 5am. I was already getting up at 4.30am. The prospect of getting up at 3.30am to write… well, let's just say that wasn't going to happen.
One advantage of shifts like this, you might think, is because you start early, you finish early too. Although this is the case, my ability to function in the afternoon when I've been up at 4.30am and worked the equivalent of a full day, is vastly reduced. Exhaustion is total. I've tried using this time to write or to exercise and it's generally been a failure. It's hard enough just staying awake in the afternoon to make sure that when I go to bed at night I actually sleep.
I'm such a wimp at sleep, that after a week doing shifts like that, my stamina for going out at the weekend was very low indeed. So much so that I got a bit of a reputation for going to bed early at parties. There was one party I remember in which I was so sleepy by the time I got there at 8pm that I decided to nip upstairs for a quick lay down on the spare bed. I had fully intended to get back up and do some partying, but fell asleep instead and only emerged some twelve hours later to find a handful of people downstairs nursing their hangovers. Yep, I'd slept through the whole party.
If only I wasn't a slave to sleep. If only I had the stamina to write at either end of the day and still earn a crust at a regular job. But that's just not me. In the end, I've had to accept that if I want to write, I have to sacrifice a regular salary. For me, that has meant going part time at my radio job so I work weekends and write during the week. It still means I can't go to parties without going to bed early, but at least I'm writing.
I have great admiration for the authors of this world who get up and write before going to work, or burn the midnight oil to get that manuscript finished. They are amazing people. Some of them even manage it with a young family or a baby in the house. They are truly heroic; I wish I were more like them.
My point is, I guess, that we all have limitations to what we can do. For me, it's sleep; for others it maybe family or business commitments. But, in our heart of hearts, if we want to write, then we will find a way. Because a writer who doesn't write is no writer at all.
*****
Rachel re-invents herself when she moves back to her home town of Aylesbury; with a new job, a new house and a new haircut. But people's eyes glaze over when she tells them about her life as a forty-something singleton who works in accounts. So why not spice things up a bit? Why not tell her new hairdresser and her new friends about her fantastic husband? Everyone wants to hear about Darren, the man who cooks her amazing meals, cleans the house and takes her to bed for orgasmic sex three times a night! What a shame he doesn't exist…
…Until she comes home one night and finds Darren sitting in her lounge. And everything she said becomes true: from his sensuous food to his skill in bed. So real, that she believes it.
Not as if living with a perfect is man is… well, perfect…
She can't find anything because every time she puts something down, he tidies it away. Then there's the shock of the credit card bill from buying all that gourmet food. Not to mention the sex! Three times a night is great at first, but sometimes all she wants at the end of the day is a sandwich and some sleep.
Then Rachel decides that Darren has to go – and that's when her troubles really begin.
Elizabeth Kyne takes the absurdities of the modern woman's quest for love and turns them into an enjoyable romp. She finds the comic in everyday situations, from buying a dress to experimenting with hair dye at home. While, underneath, she comments on the pressure to find the perfect husband and how that quest is doomed for us all.
PAPERBACK
EBOOK
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92446
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/if-wishes-were-husbands/id475075856?mt=11
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/if-wishes-were-husbands/id475075856?mt=11
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-wishes-were-husbands-elizabeth-kyne/1106913246
http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-ifwisheswerehusbands-606059-150.html
*****
Elizabeth Kyne trained to be a radio journalist and spent her early working years reading news bulletins and writing for magazines. Later, after learning the meaning of "mortgage" and "gas bill", she decided to do the sensible thing and drop the freelance lifestyle to get a proper job. The job, however, all went horribly wrong and she returned to her first love of writing, and worked on several novels before finding success with "If Wishes Were Husbands".
http://www.elizabethkyne.co.uk
http://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.kyne1
Call for Submissions: Smut by the Sea
A Photo I Took At Scarborough Castle
I was very excited to be asked to co-edit an anthology with my buddy, Victoria Blisse. So naturally I said YES! The anthology is linked in with an event that Victoria and her fab hubby are planning in Scarborough (north east coast of England) in 2013 – more details will be available on the Smut by the Sea website, so bookmark it so you don't miss out!
So, without further ado, here is the call for submissions:
Smut by the Sea: The Anthology will be a collection of Stories, Pictures and Poetry with a Saucy Seaside feel edited by The Northern Birds Lucy Felthouse and Victoria Blisse.
The Smut By The Sea Anthology will feature stories from a variety of genres, but they must have that overall "Seaside" feel, either in location or style. If you'd like some clarification before submitting your story then please Contact Us.
Length: 4,000 to 6,000 words
Genres: Any
Heat Levels: Any
Ending: Any
Orientation: Any
Submissions Due: June 1st, 2012
We'll also be accepting Poetry submissions of any length.
Royalties will be split 50% of the net profits with contributing authors, exact values will be given once we know how many stories will be in the final anthology.
You can submit your story/poem by emailing it as an attachment to victoria[at]victoriablisse.co.uk. (Please include Pen Name, Author Bio, Genre, Wordcount)
January 26, 2012
New Release: Punish Me Good
Yay! I have a new release!
Hot off the digital presses over at House of Erotica, Punish Me Good is a mini-anthology which contains two hot fem-dom stories.
Here's the blurb:
Punish Me Good
Gorgeous, sexually talented and above all, completely obedient, Malachi loves to please his beautiful mistress. Humiliation, spanking, switching; he'll take it all and more, for the heady taste of Avery is something he literally cannot live without.
Trophy Boyfriend
Ethan is what most would call eye candy. He looks good, and is dynamite in the sack. Sadly, he's also as dumb as a box of rocks, a fact that his girlfriend can no longer overlook. Deciding to end things with the minimum of fuss, she plans for their relationship to go out with a bang.
Trophy Boyfriend has been previously published in Cleis Press anthology, Best Bondage Erotica 2012.
Want to read an excerpt? Check out the book page here. You'll also find the buy links there – which I'll update as I get more.
Also, here's a hint. If you're a fan of Alexander Skarsgard – the sexy sub in the title story is based on him. Yum!
