Giselle Renarde's Blog, page 142
October 3, 2011
Quick Six PRO with Jean Joachim (Part 2)
Quick Six PRO with Jean Joachim (Part 2)
Q: What do you look for in a publisher?
Flexbility, good covers, great editing, a caring attitude and respect for writers coupled with some savvy promoting and contacts I don't have. So far I have been quite lucky.
Q: What makes an editor great or...not so great?
A great editor cares almost as much about your book as you do. Loves what you're trying to say and wants to make sure your shortcomings don't get in the way of your fabulous story.
I have to trust that the editor feels this way about my book, then I am very open to changes. If I don't feel this, then the relationship is going nowhere.
Q: Do you have a preference for short stories of longer works?
I prefer longer works so I can have a more complex plot and I love side characters. I feel supporting characters and interesting settings add so much flavor and texture to a story. It's hard to capture all that in a short story, though there are many excellent short story writers who do. Not sure if I'm one of them, at least not yet! I am pursuing writing some shorter books for quick, cheap sales on amazon to promote my other books, but that is still in the planning stages.
Q: If you've ventured into self-publishing, what are the pros and cons?
I have self-published a children's book. I like the control I have over pricing and being able to read results of promotion quickly and accurately and, of course, over the story. However, I had to sacrifice professional editing, which always leaves me wondering if that is the best decision. If you have a story you are burning to tell and no one will publish it, then you must go ahead. I'd prefer to go through my publisher. Sometimes they can't get it out there for a long time, so then I might self-publish if I need to have it out sooner.
Q: Do you find yourself writing for the market and not for YOU, or
self-censoring in any way?
No. I wish I could write for the market. I've already had my book selected and put on a top ten list as a non-forulaic, non-cookie-cutter type of romance and that is true of all the books I write. Most of my books have a darker side to them. I can't write to a formula because then it would be forced. The stories come into my head and I write them down as they appear. I'd like to say I write for myself, the truth is I write for my characters who have stories they want told, as bizarre as that may sound!
Q: How have the people in your life reacted to your career as a writer?
My friends have been very supportive and my immediate family, too, although my 19-year-old son refuses to read my work! LOL. I'm fortunate to have good people around me and that has helped me to stay motivated. Those in my family who might have objected have all passed away.
Q: Any promo tips for fellow authors?
Don't worry about competition. Helping to promote other authors, sharing the limelight only reflects well back on you and will make you good, reliable friends. Don't overpromote, which can be hard to figure out when you're just starting out.
Jean Joachim
Author
Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights
Now and Forever 1, a Love Story
Blurb for: "Now and Forever 1, a Love Story"
Callie Richards was no stranger to heartache. Her parents were killed when she was sixteen. Left with her older sister, she fell into a romance with good-looking, Kyle Maine. They became engaged and Callie's future was set until he was killed in Iraq. Two years later, she pulls herself together to get her Master's degree and restart her life on her own.
Working and studying at Kensington State University, Callie meets Mac Caldwell, the handsome dean. Together they fight a deadly campus drug ring with heart-breaking results. This is an emotional story, not a cookie-cutter romance, that will make you laugh and cry as Callie struggles to make a new life, find love and her happy ending.
Buy link for amazon.com
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
October 1, 2011
Six Sentence Sunday - Breaking Up From Behind
Today I'm posting the first 6 sentences from some of my anal adultery erotica (or adulterous anal erotica?), a story called Breaking Up From Behind:Somehow, it was easy. We'd had our break-ups in the past, and they were always tortured, so I figured this one would be the same. It wasn't. I expected tears from him, tears from me, and then the shouting and the melodrama, but no. As I said, it was easy."We can't keep doing this," I said simply.
Breaking Up From Behind is available as a FREE READ at Every Night Erotica (read the whole darn story right here!) and also appears in my erotic adultery anthology Audrey & Lawrence.
Big Hugs!
Giselle
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Giselle Renarde Canada just got hotter!Visit me online
http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/erotica
http://twitter.com/GiselleRenarde
Giselle RenardeCanada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
September 29, 2011
6 Steps to FREE Publicity: A Book You Need To Read
While Donuts and Desires isn't a review site, I came across a book I absolutely needed to share with you. 6 Steps to FREE Publicity by Marcia Yudkin is a brilliant marketing tool that I highly recommend to absolutely anybody. Seriously. Anybody, any business, any market. Its applications are just that broad, and yet as I was reading this book I felt, every step of the way, that Yudkin was speaking directly to me. That's no mean feat!
Let me backtrack a bit, because I've left a few things out already. First off, what is 6 Steps to FREE Publicity ? Well, it's a book about marketing and promotions, at a base level, but when I was reading it, I found myself reflecting upon the little examples Yudkin provided. Although it's non-fiction, it was on my mind the way a novel would have been. I actually looked forward to coming home, making myself a nice cup of tea, and sitting down with Yudkin's book.
Another little detail I managed to omit is that it's the third edition of 6 Steps to FREE Publicity that I'm talking about. I haven't read the first two, but I gather the third deals more with internet promotion--score!
When I flipped through this lime green paperback in the library, it was Yudkin's approachable writing style that drew me in. This book contains information I needed to know, but its delivery is what most impressed me. A book about marketing could very easily be boring. 6 Steps to FREE Publicity is not. A book about marketing could be so general that the reader can't imagine how it might be applicable to her business. Not the case, here. Yudkin provides examples from a broad range of entrepreneurs and somehow, miraculously, even when she's describing a publicity method utilized by a pet care business, I could always see a way to apply those ideas in the promotion of my books and myself as a writer.
And, getting right down to it, most of the people reading my blog are probably writers. If you are an author, as I am, and you feel like you need a stronger foundation in promoting your work but you don't want to spend a fortune doing it, read 6 Steps to FREE Publicity. Yudkin cites many examples from authors, including writers of romance fiction, which are particularly applicable to our endeavours.
I honestly can't believe how much I learned from this book. Although I was taking notes all the way through, Yudkin's use of concrete examples and amusing anecdotes helped to cement various concepts in my mind. I can't over-emphasize how approachable her tone is. Yes, this is going to sounds super-flaky, but as I was reading this book I kept thinking, "She gets me! Marcia Yudkin really gets me!"
6 Steps to FREE Publicity is an invaluable resource for indie authors. I'm so glad I picked it up--and you will be, too!
Hugs,Giselle
-- Giselle Renarde Canada just got hotter!
Visit me online
http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/erotica
http://twitter.com/GiselleRenardeGiselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
September 28, 2011
Sapphic Signs: Seeking Light in the Shadows
Seeking Light in the Shadowsby Moondancer Drake
Solanaceae has been fighting this war for a long time, determined to save the Fae homelands from the sickness infecting her people. She had always been so certain who the real enemy was. Man. Certain, that is, until she meets Maven. The Magi woman is fascinating and beautiful, but the secrets she reveals challenge everything Solanaceae has ever known. Maven warns of dangers in the darkness, dangers that threaten to devour both Fae and human alike. Dangers, Solanaceae is told she is destined to face.
Together she and Maven are Creation's last hope for survival, but first Solanaceae must defeat her own hate before it consumes her. Will Maven's love be enough?
SampleI sat on the edge the bed, hugging myself around the waist. I wanted to believe she was right this time, that what he said didn't mean anything. I wanted to believe that there was no Void, no great destiny. I wanted to believe that things could go back to being the way they had always been. The trouble was as a child of the sign of Aries, a creature of battle, of vengeance, I'd never had any use for lies. Now, when I wished it most, I couldn't even lie to myself. "I don't know what to do. I've always been so sure of things, sure of the truth, sure that I knew my place in the order of things. Now I'm not sure of anything."
The bed jiggled as she sat next to me. "I can't imagine what that's like. I've always been one to question things, to doubt that what I knew was all I needed to know. Maybe I'm just more used to being in the dark about things, always seeking answers."
"Seeking answers? Yeah, that was always my brother's job, knowing things, researching, questioning." My brother. Wasn't he the one who said this was all crazy? "Now I don't even know how to find out what's true and what's not."
"You're shivering." Maven wrapped an arm around my shoulder and her warmth sent a deeper shiver through me. "I didn't think your people felt temperatures like hot and cold."
I looked up at her. Curiosity and worry mingled in her expression. My brother had been right about her kind. Those eyes, there was something not quite human there, something that called to me. I wish I knew the response. I wish I knew the right song, the proper chord, the magic thing that would make the perfect connection between my soul and the one that called to me from behind those eyes. "I'm an outcast, Maven. There always comes a loss of power with banishment. The price of disobeying the Courts. My people did not approve of my mission of vengeance. They demanded that I stop my visits to the surface, that I not fight the enemy I witnessed destroying the Fae. I refused. I knew what needed to be done. I knew who the real enemy was…" I looked down at my hands, hands that had been washed with blood more times than I could fully recall, and I found myself wondering. Had all the blood spilled by these hands been guilty? Could some have been that of the innocent tainted by the Void? Was there any way I'd ever know for sure?
Tender hands grazed my cheek, and then the other, wiping away tears as fast as they fell. I closed my eyes, allowing the grief this moment, giving myself permission to release what needed to fly free. I felt warm breath on my face, and before I could stop her, Maven kissed away a fresh tear. "No. Wait."
I opened my eyes, and I could still see the wetness glistening on her lips. "My tears. They… they can have a narcotic, even a hallucinogenic effect on humans. I'm not sure what they would do to a Magi."
Maven smiled. "A walking pharmaceutical. How convenient."
"Not always." I hesitated. Why did I care so much what she thought? Was I frightened she might turn away from me if I told her the truth? I had always been one to say what I thought, never holding back, never sugarcoating facts, so why did the words cling to my tongue now?
"What do you mean?"
I drew in a cleansing breath, to steady myself before speaking. "As it is well known the Fae are tied to the land, but what many people do not understand is that there are more different types of Fae than there are stars in the universe. We could be tied to a particular animal, plant, stone, element, emotion, anything… and we are not just similar to that but we are borne of the spirit of that thing. For me, I am born from the heart of the nightshade and have been blessed and nourished beneath the Aries sun. There is poison in my blood, as deadly as the most venomous snake, in my tears… they are the mind-altering toxins of the nightshade herself."
"I guess that makes you dangerous."
"No." I said. "That makes me deadly."
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
September 27, 2011
Everybody Wants Free Shower Sex
I pay attention to search terms. I obsess over web stats. These are the things I devour at 3 in the morning, when sane people are tucked safely into bed. That's how I know there are many, many people who arrive here at Donuts & Desires after searching: Free Shower Sex or free sex in the shower or erotica shower story or even freeshowersex, all one word, like they're so eager to find it they can't even bear to hit the space bar.Okay, I hear you, et voilà! Free Shower Sex: an excerpt from my story THIRD RAIL, which is available on its own as an ebook and also in my trans erotica anthology MY MISTRESS' THIGHS. For the lovers of erotic showers, here is some....free shower sex!
Excerpt from Third Rail
by Giselle Renarde
"Are you sure you're okay?"
He turned to look at her, one hand on the glass door. His hard gaze put her in her place.
"No, I'm not okay, I'm horny as hell!" he growled, grasping Kokoro around the waist.
"What?" Kokoro cried as he pulled her under the fall of steamy water and closed the shower door. How could Martin go from a state of collapse to…this? Not that she was complaining…
He spun her around so her face stopped inches from the beach-pebble shower wall, her hands and forearms pressed against the smooth rocks. "I can't go to work until I've fucked the life out of you."
The wet silk of her chemise clung to her flesh as Martin forced it up and over her ass. It's amazing how heavy silk can feel once it's waterlogged. Particularly when it's heaped on one's lower back while one stands on tiptoes.
Brief flashes of caring moments flickered before Kokoro's eyes as she tumbled into ritual submission.
"Are you a cock addict, Kokoro?" Martin grunted.
"Yes."
He was close behind her. His erection, slick with soap and warm water, rested against her ass cheek.
"You want cock?"
"Yes."
"You need it?"
"Hell, yes."
Teasing her, he brushed his hard cock gently between her cheeks. God, she just wanted to grab that thing and shove it inside her wet cunt, but it wasn't her place. She would speak when spoken to and do as instructed.
"Whose cock do you need?"
"Your cock."
Martin chuckled in that very domineering manner of his. "Oh, so I've got my own little cock addict, do I?"
Kokoro surged at that term, "cock addict," so filthy and raw. She had to speak those dirty words, feel them in her mouth. "Yes, I'm your cock addict, yes. I need your cock. I need it."
His knees were bending; she could see them when she looked down. His knees were bending and his cockhead was sitting at the entrance to her wet cunt.
"Do you love my cock?"
"Yes, I love it."
In a move of tremendous generosity, he thrust inside her all at once, all in one motion, and Kokoro was propelled forward. Her arms strained as she struggled to keep her face away from the beach-stone wall.
"What do you love?" he asked, plunging deep inside her cunt.
"I love your thick, hard cock," Kokoro gushed, immediately fearing she'd said too much. A one- word response was all that was required. Two words, perhaps.
"How much do you love it?"
"So much."
"How much?"
"So much…" She wasn't sure what kind of answer he was anticipating.
"How much?" he asked again, grasping her slippery hips and fucking her so hard it panged.
"So much I would crawl naked through brambles for just one lick of it."
That was too many words. He wouldn't like that response. Kokoro braced herself, squeezed her pussy muscles tight so he wouldn't go away. The worst, most sadistic thing Martin could do at this moment would be to pull out.
And that's precisely what he did.
If you want more, buy the book! (I know, I'm a tease.) Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
September 26, 2011
Quick Six PRO with Jean Joachim
Quick Six PROInterview with Jean Joachim
Q: What's hot on the market these days?
Paranormal seems to me to be cooling a little though it is still hot. Erotic romance is hot now, but there are always readers looking for contemporary and historical romances, too.
Q: What's the most time-consuming part of a writer's life?
It's a tossup between promotion and writing, though writing usually takes up the most time, as it should. That includes editing, re-writing and researching.
Q: On the topic of ebook piracy, hunter or head in the sand?
I tend to be head-in-the-sand because I am so busy writing new books right now. I'm too new to worry about that.
Q: What should a writer's priority be?
Writing, always. If you're not creating new books, you're not moving ahead. No one wants to be considered a one-book wonder. You'll have nothing to promote if you spend all your time promoting and not enough writing.
Q: How do you handle a bad review?
I stomp my feet. I cry, or at least tear up, call a friend, rant in a private Facebook group, have a glass of wine, reread the review to see if I agree with anything it says...then when I've convinced myself the reviewer doesn't know beans, I move on.
Q: What advice do you give aspiring authors?
Keep writing! Write every day and don't give up on your dream.
--
Jean Joachim
Author
Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights
Now and Forever 1, a Love Story
Blurb for: "Now and Forever 1, a Love Story"
Callie Richards was no stranger to heartache. Her parents were killed when she was sixteen. Left with her older sister, she fell into a romance with good-looking, Kyle Maine. They became engaged and Callie's future was set until he was killed in Iraq. Two years later, she pulls herself together to get her Master's degree and restart her life on her own.
Working and studying at Kensington State University, Callie meets Mac Caldwell, the handsome dean. Together they fight a deadly campus drug ring with heart-breaking results. This is an emotional story, not a cookie-cutter romance, that will make you laugh and cry as Callie struggles to make a new life, find love and her happy ending.
Buy link for amazon.com
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
September 25, 2011
Six Sentence Sunday - Callie and the Hipsters, Cougar MMF Menage
This Sunday's Six Sentences come from one of my new releases, Callie and the Hipsters. It's a funny little cougar MMF Menage ebook from the "Hot Flash" line at Secret Cravings Publishing.In this brief episode, our cougar Callie has woken up after a night of serious Kahlua drinking with her son's hipster friends. She needs to use the bathroom but the toilet is occupied by a young woman's head. Some of you may be more familiar with this type of hangover interaction than others. In fact, hey, it's Sunday morning--some of you may be enjoying such interactions right now:
"I really need to pee," Callie said to the girl with her head in the toilet.
The girl tried to point, but her hand fell back down at her side as she mumbled, "Use the shower."
"To pee?"
"Mmhhhuhmm…"
"Huh?"
"Meh."
There you have it! If you enjoy this type of incredibly stimulating dialogue, why not pick up a copy of Callie and the Hipsters? (There's some family drama and hot sex, too, but... you know, whatevs)
Hugs,Giselle Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
September 22, 2011
Call for Submissions: Holiday Short Stories
Untreed Reads is announcing an open call for short stories for our holiday season. Please note the following:
1. The holidays we are interested in are Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and New Year's. We are looking for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stories in particular.2. Short stories may be in any genre (except religious, erotica, children's or anything above a PG-13 romance), but must encompass one of the holidays listed above.3. The short stories will NOT be in an anthology, but rather published as stand-alone stories. All will receive our standard short story line covers.4. Previously published material is fine providing electronic rights have reverted to the author.5. Stories may not be shorter than 1500 words or longer than 5000.6. Deadline for Thanksgiving submissions is October 31, 2011. Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah is November 15th. New Year's is November 30th. Submissions received after these dates will not be considered.7. For this call, we can only accept works where we can be granted worldwide English rights.8. This is an open call, and may be reposted and resubmitted everywhere.
All submissions should be sent to Jay Hartman, Editor-in-Chief, at jhartman@untreedreads.com. Submissions should be in Times New Roman, 12pt and DOC format attachment. Submissions may NOT be submitted as either PDF or in the body of an email. Stories sent in that manner will not be considered. Please indicate the holiday in your subject line in the format: HOLIDAY: NAME OF STORY.
Once we have selected our stories for the season, all authors will be notified as to the final status of their submitted manuscript.
For any questions regarding this call, please direct them to Jay Hartman at jhartman@untreedreads.com.
Best,Jay HartmanEditor-in-ChiefUntreed Reads Publishinghttp://www.untreedreads.comhttp://store.untreedreads.com
Giselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
Sapphic Signs: Pisces by Adrianne Brennan
Pisces
by Adrianne Brennan
Marissa Balik would do anything to get away from her job on Jupiter Station, including transferring to another post on board the space vessel Ichthyes, whose destination and true objectives are not what they initially appear. Soon she's thrust into a world where alien technology, space exploration, and solving mysteries are every day events, and the new assignment proves to be complicated further by her increasing attraction to its captain, Victoria Van Maanen.
When a mission turns both strange and dangerous, Marissa must fight not just to keep from succumbing to her feelings for Victoria, but to stay alive. Can she rely both upon her wits and her captain to survive?
Sample
With great caution Marissa backed away from Dr. Naida, keeping her in her field of vision the entire time. "C-captain, what the hell is going on here?" She managed to speak just above a harsh whisper, her throat tight.
She heard a rumbling sound from somewhere behind her. Turning towards it, she saw a large machine rattling. Then it began to fall—right over where Captain Van Maanen stood.
"Victoria!" Adrenaline racing through her, Marissa sprinted and shoved the captain out of the way. The two collapsed onto the ground, Marissa falling onto Van Maanen. A great crunch and a thud, and the machine landed on the floor mere inches from where they were — in addition to blocking the door leading out.
The noise rang in Marissa's ears, and her breath came fast and hard. She looked down and realized with a start that the captain's body lay pinned beneath hers. She could hear the captain's own panting, feel her chest rising and falling. Warm and soft, but firm. The sensation was too familiar, way more pleasant than the circumstances called for. Now is really the wrong time to get turned on by the captain.
And Marissa had addressed her by her first name. Professional, gotta keep this professional....
Buy Now from Torquere Press: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3053
Giselle RenardeCanada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
September 20, 2011
Gorgeous Cover for The Finer Things
As soon as Melanie arrives home for summer break, she remembers why high school in her absentee parents' house was such a trial. Her parents' maid Sinta is her favorite person around...until Melanie meets Sinta's son Jansen. He's not at all what Melanie anticipates of someone in work clothes, and she's blown away when he mentions that they actually attend the same university. When Jansen offers Melanie a summer job at the factory of his employ, she surprises herself by accepting the position. She's amazed at how good it feels to work hard and go home exhausted -- and making out in the parking lot during their lunch hour is just the icing on the cake! Jansen is full still of surprises, though. He tells Melanie about his mother's early years as the daughter of wealthy parents in Indonesia, and she learns that their maid has led a more interesting life than anyone else she knows.The Finer Things by Giselle Renarde: Coming Soon from Secret Cravings PublishingGiselle Renarde
Canada just got hotter!
http://www.wix.com/gisellerenarde/ero...
