Lucy Felthouse's Blog, page 313

Guest Post: LK Rigel

Lucy, thanks so much for hosting Give Me, A Fairy Tale for its blog tour kickoff day. Piccadilly Woo is a story from the world of Give Me about the time Beverly ran away to London before she became Countess Dumnos. I'll be sharing scenes from the story over the course of the tour, beginning here.

***

Piccadilly Woo – scene 1

"It doesn't matter." Beverly Bratton leaned forward from the back of the black London cab. She wanted to go to Piccadilly Circus, but pedestrians jammed Regent Street and made it impossible for the taxi to go forward.

She needed to move her body. This morning at Tintagos Halt she'd caught the train as the sun was coming up, and after so many stops and delays she'd reached London at three o'clock. It felt like she'd been sitting her whole life.

Pretty ironic. The truth was she was running. Running away from Lord Dumnos. She shuddered, remembering his marriage proposal. Was it only yesterday? I don't pretend to love you, and I don't ask you to pretend to love me. How convenient!

Which was exactly what he was proposing, a marriage of convenience. The old man needed an heir. How Georgette Heyer of him!

"Just let me out here."

On the street she shifted the weight of her suitcase and stepped on the foot of a giant rabbit. He squeaked and said, "A treat for the sweet!" and handed her something from the wicker basket on his arm. The injured rabbit skipped away as well as he could.

As Beverly stuffed the delicious chocolate brownie into her mouth, a rather grownup-looking Alice came through the crowd crying, "Has anyone seen a white rabbit?"

London was wonderful! Beverly had forgotten today was Halloween.

Piccadilly Circus was even more crowded than Regent Street and lined with street vendors peddling used records, handmade clothes and jewelry, candles, and antiques. At one stall, she spotted a huge bag, a patchwork of silk, satin, and wool lined with cotton. Its greatest attraction was a wide cloth strap.

As she transferred her belongings to the bag, the vendor eyed her suitcase. "What are you going to do with this?" She was so tiny, when she stood the case on end it reached her hip.

"Good point," Beverly said. "I don't want to carry it around until I go back to Tintagos."

At the mention of the village, the vendor's eyes lit up. "A Dumnos girl, huh. Come to see the big city? How about we trade for something?"

"Your necklace?" Beverly immediately regretted the offer as the vendor's eyes widened and her hand shot protectively to her throat. As she fingered the choker woven of brown cord, the green of her irises seemed to deepen.

"Not for sale or trade, love." A smile, faintly wicked, curled the vendor's lips. "But you need a Halloween costume. I've got just the thing." She said her name was Cissa and that she was from Dumnos too. She dressed Beverly in white patent leather boots, fishnet stockings and a plaid miniskirt, and a fringed leather jacket.

"Take this, love." Cissa handed Beverly a lipstick, so pale pink it looked white. "It's the piece of resistance." She laughed at her own joke and held up a mirror.

"Is that a magic mirror?" Beverly said. "I look gorgeous." Cissa had loaded her up with eyeliner and mascara. With her straight black hair and thick bangs, Beverly was the image of a '60s go-go girl.

"It's not the mirror." A man on the street stepped behind Cissa's table and handed her a small paper sack. "I brought you one of the sticky buns you like. Who's your friend?"

"Beverly, meet my brother, Dan." Cissa said through a mouthful of sticky bun. "Watch out. He's a handful."

Dan was over a foot taller than Cissa, lean but muscular. He had ginger hair, and his green eyes were like hers but strangely brilliant, like jewels in the sun. His gaze traveled over Beverly, and the corners of his eyes crinkled when he reached the fishnet stockings. His hand moved to the Nikon camera that dangled from his neck. He wore a cord necklace like his sister's.

Beverly's body seemed to have a mind of its own. If spontaneous combustion were real, she'd burst into flame right there.

***

Catch Piccadilly Woo – scene 2 on the next stop of the Give Me book tour.

*****

Give Me: a fairy tale

Copyright 2011 L.K. Rigel

Published by LK Rigel

Edited by Debra L. Martin

Cover by Robin Ludwig Design

A young witch with a good heart. Two lovers in mortal danger. A spell that ends in disaster. 

Lilith Evergreen lives in the California desert, an ordinary woman until her fiancé returns from London with a ring he bought from a street vendor. When Lilith puts it on she dreams of a green land that's anything but desert, a tree at cliff's edge, a ruined castle, and a handsome prince.

Then she discovers that it's all real.

When Lilith visits the ruins of Tintagos Castle, she discovers a world of magic and love – and its dark side when she's entangled in the remnants of an ancient spell gone bad. From the moment Lilith sees Cade Bausiney, she's overwhelmed with desire for him. Cade is drawn to Lilith too – but their feelings might only be sparked by dark and dangerous magic.

Lilith and Cade must break the old spell or be forever possessed by spirits who've waited a millennium to consummate their love.

Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble Nook, and Smashwords.

*****

Author Bio:

LK Rigel lives in California with her television-watching cat, Coleridge. (His favorite show is Castle, but he was enthralled by Game of Thrones.) Rigel wrote songs for the 90′s band The Elements, scored the independent science fantasy karate movie Lucid Dreams, and was a reporter for the Sacramento Rock 'N Roll News. Her work has appeared in Literary Mama and Tattoo Highway.

Rigel writes the postapocapunk "Apocalypto" series about the end of the world and the new reality in which the gods return to save humanity from itself – and end up fighting with each other.

Her short story "Slurp" about an author with muse problems on Halloween is included in DEADLY TREATS, Anne Frasier's Halloween anthology published by Nodin Press.

Her latest book, GIVE ME, is an adult fairy tale about possession.

Website: http://www.lkrigel.com/

Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/LK-Rigel/e/B0043WEB06/

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Guest Blog: Jemima Valentino

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Excerpt from The House on Hundred Hill:

He hadn't wanted them to go, yet he most definitely had not wanted them to stay. His restlessness was evident, even to them, the friends he had chosen because of the dark obscurity he sensed within their souls. Of all humankind, their indifference angered him the least and provided him with something that passed for company. Whether or not they realised they had a choice, they indeed chose to harness their own internal darkness and were not afraid to step into the shadows of the night to satiate their hunger. They were brought together by the most powerful common denominator known to humankind.

Soon his solitude would be just a distant fading memory. That is, if his brother didn't fail him.

Draven rested a strong smooth hand on the bonnet on of his Jaguar. "Sorry old girl," he muttered as he patted the cool green metal of a car that he had loved for the last thirty years. To love something of manmade elements almost brought him comfort and reminded him of his own sense of fleeting humanity. The perfectly polished bonnet seemed to weep under his touch, and he was sure it knew it was soon to be replaced. His sights were set on a new prize; a great indulgence that he begun to think was impossible to capture. It was so close he could taste it, but it wasn't ready yet.

She needed to be polished.

Draven escaped to his memories as they flooded back to his early childhood when he had stood as a small boy, in this very spot, looking up at the old house and wondering what treasures where hidden within the large dusty rooms. The excitement he had felt all those years ago came rushing back like a raging river and wholly consumed him. He could smell it in the air, the scent of passing years and human failure.

To an energetic ten year old, even a half-breed like himself, the house was full of undiscovered mystery, much like the moon above him now. It had been sleeping for twenty years before they had moved there, gracefully resting atop the Hundred Hill, in the very depths of the English countryside, just waiting for the perfect family to swing open the wooden framed windows, pull up the blinds and allow the rays of warmth to gently caress it back to life.

But they were far from the perfect family.

*****

The House on Hundred Hill: The Nephilim Book One – Blurb

Jessica Rylan has spent her entire life trying to fit in, despite feeling deep down that she doesn't quite belong.  A slave to passions that she doesn't quite understand, she does her best to simply ignore her burgeoning sensuality. Little does Jessica realise that a seemingly chance encounter with the handsome Nate Black will turn her world upside down.

All it takes is one garden party invitation to pull her into an ancient struggle, one where she must place her trust in Nate and his mysterious brother Draven to survive.   As Jessica becomes seduced by the ancient and mystical world of the Nephilim, she finally begins to understand her own dark desires.  Because Draven Black is searching for something… Something only Jessica can provide.

Buy Links:

Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/House-Hundred-Hill-Nephilim-ebook/dp/B005ME377C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317456926&sr=8-1

Amazon.co.uk – http://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Hundred-Hill-Nephilim-ebook/dp/B005ME377C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317457013&sr=8-1

The House on Hundred Hill will also be available to purchase soon on:

Smashwords, Kobo, Diesel, All Romance Ebooks, and B&N Nook Book

*****

[image error]Author Bio – Jemima Valentino

Jemima Valentino is an English 30-something; married to an excessively patient man with two beautiful daughters and an excitable cross-bred mutt called Eddie. She is also a writer of dark paranormal romance, BDSM erotica and modern fiction.

Jemima fell in love with reading and writing as a child but it was only in 2009 that writing became an obsession. After months of procrastination and plucking up the courage, she published 'His Elle' in January 2011 and now has a full blown desire to continue writing.

Author Links:

Website – http://www.jemimavalentino.com

Blog - http://www.jemimavalentino.blogspot.com

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/JemimaValentino

Facebook Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jemima-Valentino-Author/232810170090039

*****

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Happy Release Day To Me!

Halloween is approaching, and you know what that means? Well, sweets, of course… but even better than that, hot f/f erotica! Summerhouse Publishing asked for Sapphic Halloween themed tales and it sounded like good fun, so I wrote them a naughty tale and the rest is history.

Weekend at Wilderhope Manor is available now! A spooky, sexy tale set in a British manor house, it has plenty of bumps and humps to keep the hairs standing up on the back of your neck (I got chills writing it!) and also get you hot under the collar!

Here's the blurb:

When Stephanie and Jenny go to a Murder Mystery Halloween weekend at Wilderhope Manor, they're expecting fun and games. But following creaky floorboards, spooky noises and an alarming encounter in the Manor's grounds, the girls begin to wonder if there's more to Wilderhope Manor than meets the eye. As they find frequent comfort in one another's arms – and their bed – will the girls discover what's causing the bumps in the night, or will they run scared?

Sound good? Check out the book page for an excerpt and some buy links, and an early review from the super Erotic Whispers, who gave it 5 out of 5! Also, this weekend only, you can enter this competition to win a copy! So, what are you waiting for?

Hot Reviews and Interviews

This morning brought some yummy goodness into my inbox – two reviews and an interview!

Firstly, the fab Kay Jaybee has been busy – she reviewed Seducing the Myth for the excellent Oysters & Chocolate website, then also interviewed me to find out more about the anthology and my work in general.

Here's a snippet from the review:

"…hot with a bit of extra sexy thrown in for good measure. From straight romance, to bi-sexual fun, with the occasional helping of girl on girl action, and a quick gorgeously gay threesome, there is something for every connoisseur of erotica in Lucy Felthouse's latest offering to the world of smut—bring on the next!"

You can read the entire review here. And also check out the interview on Kay's website.

Secondly, Romance Novel Junkies read and reviewed A Bit of Rough. I wouldn't say it's a romance, per se, but the reviewer certainly seemed to enjoy it!

Here's a snippet of the review:

"Fans of real erotica, will appreciate this quickie novella that packs a whole lot of heat. It was definitely a good form of erotica. It's a romance book, but if you are looking for a sweet romance, this is not for you. My only disappoint, is that I was enjoying the book and didn't want it to end so soon. I would have really loved to read more about Alison and Andrew; their chemistry was that amazing to me in this novella. I look forward to more books by the author." 4 out of 5

I'm going to wish you a good weekend now – I'm only working tomorrow morning, because then I'm off to good old London town to do some partying – it's the joint K D Grace and Maxim Jakubowski book launch at Sh! Hoxton! K D's launching The Pet Shop, and Maxim is launching Ekaterina and the Night. It promises to be a very good evening, and I can't wait. It also means a weekend spent exploring London's streets – good job my legs and feet have recovered from Paris!

Weekend at Wilderhope Manor Launch Contest!

My lesbian paranormal erotica 12k short story from Summerhouse Publishing, Weekend at Wilderhope Manor, is coming out on Friday! I am uber excited! It's a Halloween themed piece, so as well as seriously hot girl on girl action, there's spookiness galore. Prepare to be turned on and freaked out all at the same time

Here's the blurb:

When Stephanie and Jenny go to a Murder Mystery Halloween weekend at Wilderhope Manor, they're expecting fun and games. But following creaky floorboards, spooky noises and an alarming encounter in the Manor's grounds, the girls begin to wonder if there's more to Wilderhope Manor than meets the eye. As they find frequent comfort in one another's arms – and their bed – will the girls discover what's causing the bumps in the night, or will they run scared?

Fancy a chance at getting your hands on a PDF copy? Look no further!  To celebrate its release, I'm running this competition over the weekend, with a copy up for grabs. Just follow the instructions from the widget below to register your entry, or entries.

Can't wait? Pre-order your copy from All Romance eBooks or BookStrand now – it already has a best-seller star at All Romance – squee!

*****

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Totty Tuesday – Rik Makarem

As many of you know, I'm not much of a TV watcher (with the exception of series like Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Buffy, Angel, True Blood, etc…). However, one of my guilty pleasures is the UK soap Emmerdale. It's one of those things where if you stop watching for a while you don't miss it, but the more you watch, the more you're hooked. And this programme is normally on at the time we eat dinner in this house so that explains it!

More recently, they seem to have rather a lot of totty present in the soap, which makes viewing that  much more pleasant. You may remember my Totty Tuesday post a while ago with the lovely James Thornton (who inspired my story, Farm Hand in The Look of Lust). Well, another member of the cast who in my opinion is eye candy is the yummy Rik Makarem, who plays businessman Nikhil Sharma in the soap. He's also a bit of an arsehole in the show, but that doesn't stop him looking damn good in a suit. And those brown eyes… *swoon*. He doesn't smile nearly enough, but then you can't have it all, right?! Also, in my usual IMDB/Wikipedia scan for information, I discovered that this lush 29 year old was born in the very same town I was – Chesterfield, in Derbyshire. A Derbyshire lad – that makes him even better!

I thought this was a good pic to demonstrate the eyes. If you fancy seeing more pics, do a Google image search. You'll find photos of him in suits, skin tight running and cycling gear, and a rather fetching topless shot Don't say I don't spoil you!

Revisiting the Scene of the Crime – Paris

As most of you probably already know, I've just been to Paris on a research trip for the follow-up to my lesbian erotic romance short, Bite with Height. Naturally, as Paris is just so inspiring and beautiful, I have tons of ideas for my upcoming story, which is very likely to be novel length, eek!

Also, though, I took the opportunity to revisit the "scenes of the crime" from Bite with Height, i.e. places that appeared/were relevant in the story. So for those of you that have read it, I hope you'll enjoy seeing some of the places that you've read about in the flesh. If you haven't, then perhaps these will whet your appetite and send you scurrying to your preferred eBook retailer

Me posing with a Bite with Height postcard in front of the Sacre-Coeur basilica. This is where a great deal of the action takes place, mainly up inside that dome that you see right at the top. You know, the one you have to climb 300+ steps to reach. *phew*

A closer shot – not particularly flattering as it was a bit warm! The postcard is cute though, huh?

The view as you emerge from the first lot of steps. Though as it was a spiral staircase, my view was actually spinning a little, and I was gasping and pouring with sweat. Sexy, huh? No wonder Meg grabbed Grace and got her onto the roof the 'easy' way!

Finally up on the roof – the hat has been removed as it was uber-windy up there. Which is the only possible explanation for my insane hairstyle. I'm sitting on one of the stone benches inside the dome of the Sacre-Coeur – could this be where Meg and Grace got it on? Who knows…?

Plenty of room for two girls to get naughty there! They're only slight, after all

A rusty and somewhat mysterious-looking door. Could this be the entrance to Meg's lair? That's for me to know…

Sitting outside the Starbucks opposite the Moulin Rouge with a postcard. This is where Meg and Grace first met. It's not as busy as when they first met, mainly because it had been raining and no-one wanted to sit on the wet seats. I, however, in my infinite genius got some tissues out of my bag and wiped them down. Ta-da! Posing picture!

I'll probably do another post later in the week with some photos relating to the research for the follow-up to Bite with Height. In the meantime, if you haven't read it – check it out here.

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Home Sweet Home

After a lovely, lovely time away which went far too quickly – I'm home sweet home! I'm shattered and currently wading through my emails. I've had some goodies, too, including a story acceptance, a fab review (see below) and information on my appearances at Erotica, which I'll share when they're confirmed.

Once I have all my photos downloaded I'll be posting a couple of blog posts about my holiday/research trip. I had an awesome time, particularly when I revisited the settings of some of the scenes from Bite with Height. I am also jam packed with ideas for the follow up. So watch this space!

Anyway, here's a lovely review I had for my BDSM short, Naughty Delivery:

"Naughty Delivery is a quick but tantalizing read about a couple who try something new. The story is cute, sexy, and a very fun read. I enjoyed reading this novella, and I will be happy to read more by Lucy Felthouse in the future." 4 out of 5, Book Savvy Babe

You can see the review in its entirety here.

Bag yourself a copy of Naughty Delivery here.

 

Book Review: Bite Club by Rachel Caine

Article first published as Book Review: Bite Club by Rachel Caine on Blogcritics.

Bite Club is book ten in The Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine. I've read all the others and am still loving them, so was looking forward to reading this one. Happily, I wasn't disappointed.

I've got to be honest, if you haven't read the other titles, you're really going to struggle if you start here. Sure, Bite Club can sort of work as a standalone book, but you'll be missing so much background that you'll probably end up feeling quite confused at parts! So if it sounds like your sort of thing, I'd definitely recommend starting from the beginning of the series.

Bite Club starts in relative peace. The residents of Morganville are getting over the serious events which have taken place lately and are trying to return to normal, and get on with their lives. However, it seems like there's always someone around trying to disturb the peace, and it's working – big style.

There's a new sport in town. Bare-knuckle fights where vampires and pitted against one another, and humans. But this is no harmless sport, the organisers are out to earn as much money as they can, and they don't care who gets killed in the process. Unluckily for them, Claire Danvers does. And she won't stop until she's found out who's at the bottom of the scheme and puts a stop to it, before they drag Morganville into the chaos and carnage it's just escaped.

I thought Bite Club was a very good read. Rachel Caine's writing style is so easy to follow – even if there's lots going on in the book, you can still keep track and who's doing what. And in this book, the action never lets up. There's love, lust, betrayal, violence and redemption, all rolled into one rollercoaster ride of a book. So if you're looking for a new urban fantasy read and you haven't yet picked up The Morganville Vampires series, then I highly recommend you do so.

Available from:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Book Depository

Waterstone's

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Guest Blog: Laura Bickle

Seeding Dreams by Laura Bickle

Dreaming is a funny thing. Our subconscious uses its free time at night to be creative, solve problems, and just meander aimlessly. We often believe that we're at the mercy of our dreams, held hostage by the repressed portions of our psyches as they march us through odd landscapes and strange situations.

Often, that's true. The subconscious is determined to be heard, and we're stuck twiddling our thumbs, listening to it drone about our issues.

But it's much more productive to take one's subconscious by the scruff of the neck, give it a good shake, and put it to work. At least, that's the way I've always worked while writing.

Sometimes, I get stuck in the writing process. I get stuck on a character's motivations, stymied about a plot point, or vacillate on what should happen next in a story. I tend not to get much from brainstorming sessions. Sometimes, I pick up a random Tarot card or putter with my own perversion of bibliomancy – I open a book at random and see if I can find inspiration.

But, when all else fails, the only solution for me is to sleep on it. I keep a notebook beside the bed. Before I go to sleep, I write down what's bothering me about the story – I "seed" the dream with an idea or question. Usually, it's something like:

What's my antagonist's motivation?

Do I need an extra day in the timeline to smooth out my pacing?

What the hell does that fanged rabbit that keeps recurring in my story MEAN, dammit?

Before I go to sleep, I scribble my question down and leave it by my bedside. I set an alarm for a decently early hour of the morning, when I know I'll be interrupting my REM sleep cycle. I try to think of my problem as I'm going off to sleep.

And…more often than not, I wake up hip-deep in a dream that works out my problem. My subconscious has fiddled with the issue most of the night, and manages to spit out an answer about the rabbit, the motivation, or my missing day. I snatch up my notepad and write down whatever I recall about the dream.

Usually, I get pretty good results. Why waste waking time brainstorming when your brain is looking for something to do at night? Waking time is precious enough. Delegating to the subconscious can help. I used this a lot when I was testing software in my previous career. I'd awaken in the middle of the night, having conjured up a test scenario that I knew that the software was doomed to fail to address. I'd scribble it down and test it in the morning.

Seeding your dreams won't help, of course, if you don't often remember your dreams. You may have to time your REM cycles and set an artifical interruption, like an alarm, if you're a heavy sleeper. And it requires practice. But only you can pull your story from between your ears. May as well exploit all of the brain cells while doing it.

How about you? Have you had a dream that's helped you in your work (creative or not)?

*****

Laura Bickle has an MA in sociology-criminology (research interests: fear of crime and victimology) and a BA in criminology. She has worked in and around criminal justice since 1997. Although she does read Tarot cards, she's never used them in criminal profiling or to locate lost scientists. She recently took up astronomy, but for the most part her primary role in studying constellations and dark matter is to follow her amateur astronomer-husband around central Ohio toting the telescope tripod and various lenses.

Writing as Laura Bickle, she's the author of EMBERS and SPARKS for Pocket – Juno Books. Writing as Alayna Williams, she's the author of DARK ORACLE and ROGUE ORACLE.

More info on her urban fantasy and general nerdiness is here: http://www.salamanderstales.com/

Laura/ Alayna's blogs

http://www.salamanderstales.blogspot.com and http://delphisdaughters.blogspot.com

She's a proud member of Word Whores.

She's at Facebook, and Fangs, Fur, and Fey.