Sara Brookes's Blog, page 36

Guest Post: Why did you do that to your heroine? by Jessica Subject

I am psyched to have fellow sci-fi romance author Jessica Subject here at my site today. She's here telling us about the heroine in her newest book and she's got a giveaway for one luck commenter!

~*~

In Beneath the Starry Sky, the heroine, Tamara Johnston, has Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune skin disease. It is a disease which affects nearly 2 percent of Americans, regardless of sex, age, or ethnic background.

Often, Alopecia Areata begins in childhood, the effects of which are primarily socially and emotionally disturbing.  Being a tween and a teen is hard enough, but imagine going through that stage of your life with your hair falling out, or in extreme cases, without hair.

Currently there is neither a cure for Alopecia Areata, nor drugs approved for its treatment. And although medications approved for other purposes can help hair grow back, it may also fall out again.

So, not only did I want to tell Tamara and Josh's story, but I also wanted to bring awareness to this common, yet unfamiliar to most, autoimmune disease.

To learn more about Alopecia Areata and to help find a cure, visit the National Alopecia Areata Foundation http://www.naaf.org and the Canadian Alopecia Areata Foundation http://canaaf.org/

Giveaway

I will randomly draw a name from those leave a comment to WIN an ebook copy of Beneath the Starry Sky. Please leave your email address in the body of your comment so that I may contact you if you win. Contest will run until December 23rd.

Beneath the Starry Sky Blurb

Left at the altar with bald patches on her head and her self-confidence stripped away, Tamara Johnson must pick up the pieces of her life and face her Alopecia Areata, the autoimmune disease causing her hair to fall out. She is convinced no man will date a bald woman and arranges a one-night stand through Madame Evangeline's popular service, 1Night Stand. With her new wig held firmly in place, Tamara arrives at the Castillo Hotel in Las Vegas for a night of passion and pleasure. Anything more than one night would mean exposing her bald head, and she will never do that to any man again.  

Running into the Castillo Hotel, away from the paparazzi constantly at his heels, Josh Summers wants to spend his next few days locked away from the flashing lights and screaming fans. When he finds an incredibly sexy woman lying on his hotel room bed in nothing but lingerie, he thinks management has made a mistake. Leaving her behind, he heads for the lobby to get the situation rectified. But an unexpected text from Madame Evangeline sends him back to his room. Though unsure whether the woman on the bed is really his perfect match or just another fan believing him to be like his character on television, he knows he must find out, even if it means he must risk telling her his own secrets. If Tamara can handle his imperfections, she just might be his ideal woman.  

Available from Decadent Publishing and other ebook retailers.

Buy Link: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=7250

Bio:

Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from anyone who has enjoyed her stories.

Website/Blog: http://www.markofthestars.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jsubject

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-E-Subject-author/205759796126370

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4959083.Jessica_E_Subject

Google +: https://plus.google.com/100079570422204018357/posts

Six Sentence Sunday – 12/18

It's been quite a week for me, with double releases. ( I still have my hair for those wondering if I'd pulled it out yet ) So here are six sentences from one of those releases, Hard as Stone – available now from Ellora's Cave & Amazon.

"I…need to touch someone, give them something other than pain." Brady's hand was insistent against his hip, drawing Garrett closer with one goal in mind. His teeth tugged on his lips and Garrett found himself even more enamored with the man on his knees before him. "Please."

The single word, spoken in a soft whisper, made Garrett give in.

How could he deny them both?

For those new to this, the rules are simple:

1) pick a project – a current Work in Progress, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you're published

2) pick six sentences

3) post 'em on Sunday

See? Easy. Want to play? See the site for information on how to do just that: http://sixsunday.com

If you have a Twitter account, you can add the hashtag #sixsunday to your tweets when you tweet a link to your Six Sentence Sunday post. If you're a writer (regardless of published/unpublished status) come join us!

New Release: Slow Break

First off, hope you guys like the new digs! I've been looking around for a new website design and couldn't find just want I wanted. So, I pulled out my design geek skills and whipped up something myself. Hope you find it easy to navigate! There's still a few kinks to work out, so let me know if you find something that doesn't seem right.

~*~

It's release day for Slow Break, the 4th book in the Sypricon Master series–WooHoo! You can find it at these fine retailers:

Decadent Publishing

Amazon

All Romance eBooks

Bookstrand  

Jack Cotton thought he'd made the right choice to walk away from Tawse, the only BDSM club on Sypricon. But a life-altering tragedy has shown him the error of his ways. Now, he's ready to make amends and is more than prepared to kneel before the Dom he left so abruptly.

Denton is bound by the rules of Tawse, and he knows Jack's membership has been terminated. But Jack's return is all too personal and his actions can't simply be ignored. Forced to make a choice, Denton does the only thing his instincts as a Dom tell him. After all, some men, like rules, are meant to be broken.

~*~

Today is my very, very good friend Kacey Hammell's birthday and she's having a huge bash to celebrate. Every hour she'll have a new giveaway which is open all day until midnight. Swing by and be sure to enter, I've tossed in some goodies in there. http://kaceyhammellkreations.blogspot.com/

 

~*~

I'm over at The Romance Studio's Rainbow Blog (GLBT) today talking about how similar, and different, my two releases are this week. I believe I use the line: two books, three days, four men equal one very tired author.

I'd love to see you over there, so come on over and visit! http://therainbowstudio.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-to-do-with-two.html

 

Release Day: Hard as Stone

Today's the day – release day at Ellora's Cave for my male/male paranormal erotic romance novella, Hard as Stone!! Buy Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9796-hard-as-stone.aspx

Brady thrives on saving patients in his busy emergency room, but when things don't go according to plan, he's unprepared for a chance encounter. There's something familiar, and mysterious, about the downright sexy-as-hell stranger he encounters on a busy Chicago street.

In Garrett's world, there are no coincidences. He's been the doctor's secret guardian for years. Driven by a burning need unknowingly stirred by Brady more than a decade ago, Garrett finally breaks his silence. He steps in to show Brady there's more to life than rescuing those in need.

Roused by their desperate passion for one another, their desire reaches an explosive breaking point. Brady realizes one night isn't enough, but Garrett is bound by rules he can't change. Now Brady's healing touch may save more than just a life—it may just save Garrett's soul.

Holidays on Sypricon

The enigmatic bartender at Tawse on Sypricon shares his favorite drink for the holidays over at Jessica Subject's site today for the Light Up the Holidays Sci-Fi Romance event. Come check out the recipe for Umlon Reoil Fuck and read an excerpt from Slow Break, the 4th story in the Sypricon Masters series, which releases from Decadent Publishing this Friday, 12/16/11. Don't forget to comment for your chance to win the winner's choice of ebook for the one of the first three books in the Sypricon Master series.

http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?p=8400

 

Six Sentence Sunday – 12/11

It was very…odd not participating in Six Sentence Sunday last week, but family vacation is important. So now I'm back, from outer space….erm, oops–those are song lyrics. Sorry. I am back and I've got not one, but two releases this week. The first of which, available from Ellora's Cave on Wednesday 12/14/11 under their Spectrum line (GLBT), is Hard as Stone. Been a while since I've visited the paranormal genre. Enjoy!

Brady couldn't help but wonder what he'd gotten himself into. Maybe it was more than he could handle. It wouldn't be the first time he was in over his head. While he didn't mind expanding his horizons when it came to sex, he certainly didn't want to find himself caught up with some guy who only wanted to watch him play with himself.

"Do you…get off watching people do stuff like that?" he asked cautiously, afraid of what the answer would be.

"So far, only you."

For those new to this, the rules are simple:

1) pick a project – a current Work in Progress, contracted work or even something readers can buy if you're published

2) pick six sentences

3) post 'em on Sunday

See? Easy. Want to play? See the site for information on how to do just that: http://sixsunday.com

If you have a Twitter account, you can add the hashtag #sixsunday to your tweets when you tweet a link to your Six Sentence Sunday post. If you're a writer (regardless of published/unpublished status) come join us!

Holiday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Holiday Blog Hop. Its that time of year again where we're between holidays. Where everything is more magical and maybe just a little more stressful as we all work to get everything done on time. LOL  What are you looking forward to the most this time of year?

The Blog Hop runs (Pacific Time)  from 8am December 9th to midnight December 11th and all you have to do to be entered to win your choice of my backlist is leave a comment here. Looking for the participant list? Simply follow the pic below and you'll be taken to Carly Fall's site!

Excerpt – Hard as Stone

Interested in seeing a little more from Hard of Stone before it releases next week?  Once again, dropping you right in the middle of the action. One of the heroes, Brady, is having a tough go of things right out of the gate. Poor Brady.

~*~

"Get me O positive STAT. She's bleeding out."

Brady's hand pulsed around the small heart he cradled. He'd already tried the paddles twice, but the hole through the patient's heart wouldn't allow the much needed blood to remain in the lower chamber. The victim had to be stable enough in order to repair the hole.

At this point, it would take a miracle.

Unfortunately, Brady was certain he'd already used up his allotment of miracles. He'd been a doctor long enough to know how this was going to end—even as the patient had been wheeled into his emergency room.

Gunshot wounds and five-year-old little girls don't mix.

"Doctor?"

His gaze met the eyes of the trauma nurse who stood on the opposite side of the gurney. He recognized the despair in her expression and had seen it more times than he cared to count. She knew the same truth he did.

But tell that to the little girl who'd been brought in five minutes ago.

The very same one who had a tattered pink elephant next to her pudgy hand even as she lay with her chest cracked open.

Brady was used to this kind of disturbing image, and because of that, he'd stopped having nightmares. Most would assume he didn't care. The reality couldn't be further from the truth.

Lately, he'd cared far more than he was supposed to and he suspected it would be his ultimate downfall if the pattern continued.

It didn't help matters that the girl's eyes had been open when she'd first been brought in. Clear and bright, the crystal green color had looked alive, and full of energy despite her condition. This little girl had more courage than he could even hope to possess and he was going to do his damnedest to save her life.

The fighters always deserved a second chance.

Brady had always been stone—cold and smooth under pressure. The more intense the situation, the better he worked.

Some days were better than others.

Some, harder.

Tragedy had become a daily part of his life, and this very moment seemed to test the rock-solid exterior he was known for. Despite the fact he wanted to continue, he recognized the possibility was slim. He knew better than to torture himself—and the child—anymore than he already had.

He'd already lost her long before she'd been wheeled into the room.

With a weary sigh, he reached over to flip off the offensive beep that indicated a flatline. Even though he knew it was futile, he continued to massage the tiny organ in his palm.

The head nurse burst back through the door with her hands full of opaque bags of red fluid. Too little, too late.

Brady knew the cadence of life as it rose and fell. He'd fought his way through the peaks and valleys, and yet there was always a constant that couldn't be avoided—death.

Despite all Brady's effort, that last stage of life stole this little girl. It wasn't fair as her light had just begun to glow. The nurses across from him accepted it the moment he pulled his hand from the child's chest.

"Call it," the nurse stated quietly as she dumped the bags of blood on the counter beside her.

He stripped off his gloves and frowned at the large clock on the wall. The very one that taunted him each time he had to say the few words that would devastate a family. "TOD, six thirty-two."

The weight of the girl's death added to the moment and he suddenly couldn't catch his breath. The large room closed in around him and his heart raced. He threw open the swinging doors, clenched his jaw and pushed past two candy stripers gossiping in the hall.

The thin gauze over his scrubs felt heavy and thick, and he ripped it away. He chucked the blood-soaked fabric into the nearest bio-hazard bin, stepping through the doors of the waiting area. The everyday hustle and bustle of the waiting room slammed into him.

His vision started to go gray and his feet tripped over one another as he tried to move around an approaching nurse. He was dimly aware of the sound of a few people calling his name, concern heavy in all the voices, but he had to get out of there.

As he burst through the hospital entrance, the cold December air hit him in the face. The shock of it brought reality crashing around him.

He'd lost another patient.

Another in a long string of deaths he hadn't been able to stop. What the hell was wrong with him? He'd been trained on how to deal with this and he always knew how to funnel away the emotion in order to do his job.

So why the hell am I reacting this way?

His feet pounded against the pavement as he blindly wove his way through the bustling streets. He blocked the sounds around him, hearing only the rush of his heartbeat. Driven by memory rather than sight, he ran the few blocks between the sterile hospital and the building that always felt like home.

Tall columns of intricate stonework soared high overhead, ending abruptly where the flying buttresses took over. Their carving was just as ornate and detailed as the rest of the masonry around the soaring building. The idea of the graceful lines and sweeping curves went against the scientific formalities he'd spent years learning in medical school.

Why he came here time and time again remained a mystery.

He stared at everything and nothing while his heart pounded. With each beat, a fissure formed. A crack that couldn't be sealed and even seemed to expand as the seconds ticked by. The world around him went gray again, and he finally recognized the signs of what was happening.

Racing heart.

Shallow breaths.

Clammy palms.

He was in the throes of his first panic attack.

Things like this didn't happen to him. He was the calm, cool and collected one. The trauma doctor who kept everyone else from falling apart. That resolve propelled him quickly to the top, earning him head of the entire emergency room in just a few short years. The stalwart professional who brushed his personal feelings aside each time he walked through the curtains separating the patients.

His hands clutched the metal streetlight in front of him and he lowered his face so his forehead pressed against the back of his hands.

Breathe in.

Out.

He kept up the slow, measured breaths in order to steady frayed nerves. Why did he feel as if he was falling apart? He was a doctor, for Christ's sake. Surely he could talk himself through this. If he kept things clinical, sterile and not think about the utter fear and desperation he'd seen in that little girl's eyes, he'd be all right.

The girl had just barely begun her life and he'd gotten a sense—in just a few minutes with her—the she'd seen more than one child should ever experience.

The knowledge caused those small fissures in his heart to fracture, split apart and come undone.

Brady wasn't having a panic attack—his heart had broken. He'd spent so many years training to keep distance from his patients, and it all came at him in a rush.

Every cut.

Every broken bone.

Every moment he'd called time of death rushed into his soul.

Sorrow and anger swelled to burn through that icy exterior he'd worked so hard to erect. His head pounded from the sudden release of emotion and he gave himself over to it.

Garrett studied the distraught man using the streetlight to steady himself. Even as he watched from the warm comfort of the coffeehouse, the man's pain was tangible. Garrett's chest tightened with the knowledge that something had unsettled Brady this much.

He loathed seeing him this way as much as he hated knowing he couldn't help. Given the wrinkled appearance of his scrubs and the way they were dotted with drops of blood, Garrett knew it had finally happened.

The normally unflappable Dr. Brady McConnell had taken a patient's death to heart. His habit of working too hard and refusing to take enough time off had finally caught up with him. Not to mention, he never, ever did anything for himself. As most good doctors did, he put his patient's needs before his own.

Nothing had ever visibly shaken Brady to his core—until now.

At least he was around for this moment.

Garrett couldn't stand the sight of Brady suffering. He knew he had the power to take away Brady's pain. Since Brady had started medical school, Garrett had always been at the doctor's side. However, he hadn't made himself known before this moment because he'd always stood as a silent guardian.

He pushed through the coffeehouse doors and approached the man he'd always watched from afar.

"Beautiful architecture, isn't it?" Brady's head snapped up and Garrett saw the pain behind the elegant blue eyes. The harried and exhausted appearance of Brady's face worried Garrett further.

"What?"

Garrett offered a friendly smile to lessen some of Brady's instant skepticism. He gestured to the thirty-two story building across the street with the paper cup in his hand. "I saw you staring at the building earlier when I ducked into the coffee shop to grab a latte. Are you all right?"

"Yes." Brady nodded, a lock of his dark hair falling over his brow.

Garrett's fingers tightened against the cup as they itched to reach out and brush that hair out of the way. Maybe this would be harder than he thought. He'd had years to cultivate his feelings.

To Brady, he was a complete stranger.

Guest Post: Lucy Felthouse

Ooo, Lucy Felthouse is rocking the site today with an awesome post about one of my favorite subjects in erotic romance – menages! Please give her a warm welcome.

Ménage Crazy! By Lucy Felthouse

Thanks to Sara for letting me loose on her blog today! You rock!

Ménages seem to be like buses – there isn't one for ages, then three come along all at once! I'm talking about my writing, of course. What were you thinking, you filthy lot!

I was looking at the published works page of my website, as I so often do when I'm thinking of inspiration for guest blog posts, and I noticed something interesting. The three most recent single author releases I've had (at the time of writing this post) have all been ménages! I seemed to go a very long time without either writing or submitting one, then a strange coincidence meant three were launched on the world within a few short weeks of one another.

I'm certainly not complaining. I love being a writer, and each and every new release, whether it be a standalone title or in an anthology is still very exciting. But this strange coincidence shows how my writing has evolved. When I first started writing, I stuck very much with what I knew, i.e. m/f contemporary stuff. Then I got braver and more imaginative and started writing paranormals, f/f stuff and eventually ménage – with both two men and two women. One of my new releases even goes so far as to include a dogging ménage, so there are several people watching as well as those taking part. I've gone ménage crazy!

I haven't, really. Honest! The stories were written at different times, and the way I write means I often don't know what story I'm going to tell, or who's going to be involved until I actually sit down at the laptop and start typing. I don't write what's popular, or what I think is going to become popular, I just let my imagination run away with me and see what happens. By happy coincidence, ménage is pretty damn hot right now so I hope readers will enjoy my new tales of threesomes and moresomes. If it's not your bag, then I have plenty more stuff I hope will keep you entertained. But for the purposes of this blog post, I'd love to tell you a little more about the aforementioned ménage smut. Enjoy!

Will a weekend in a luxury hotel make Annette's deepest fantasies come true?

When Jed and Annette spend a weekend in a luxury hotel, they're planning to take full advantage of the hot tub and large bed – preferably with a third party. Annette's never been with another woman before, but she's eager to experience some Sapphic delight. When the couple meets waitress Tamara at the restaurant they're lunching at, they agree she's perfect in many ways; but is she on the menu?

Word count: 4,176

Excerpt & buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/a-menu-with-a-difference/

*****

There are chores to be done, but it's much more fun to stand at the window and watch the rippling muscles and sweaty torsos of the men paving her driveway- her window sill never got cleaned so thoroughly before!

But when sexy brothers Marcus and Jamie catch their customer looking, the action rapidly moves from the front of the house to the bedroom…

Word count: 2,430

Excerpt & buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/brick-dust-and-bedsprings/

*****

Police Constable David Beckett is just a normal guy, living a quiet life. His only excitement comes from his job – and even that's not exactly been a barrel of laughs just lately. That is until his colleagues burst into the office one morning, full of tales from the night shift. Tales that cause Dave's curiosity to get the better of him. Some idle surfing on the Internet opens up a whole world that Dave never knew existed – and he's fascinated. After watching an amateur video, things escalate quickly and Dave finds himself drawn into a kinky lifestyle that could cost him his reputation – and his job.

Word count: 10,554

Excerpt & buy links: http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/caught-in-the-act/

*****

Lucy is a graduate of the University of Derby, where she studied Creative Writing. During her first year, she was dared to write an erotic story – so she did. It went down a storm and she's never looked back. Lucy has had stories published by Cleis Press, Constable and Robinson, Noble Romance, Ravenous Romance, Summerhouse Publishing, Sweetmeats Press and Xcite Books. She is also the editor of Uniform Behaviour and Seducing the Myth. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Hard as Stone Blurb & Release Date!

Hard as Stone has a release date! December 14, 2011. The official page is here on Ellora's Cave site and here's the official blurb:

Brady thrives on saving patients in his busy emergency room, but when things don't go according to plan, nothing prepares him for a chance encounter. There's something familiar, and mysterious, about the downright sexy-as-hell stranger he encounters on a busy Chicago street.

In Garrett's world there are no coincidences. He's been standing as the doctor's secret guardian for years. Driven by a burning need Brady unknowingly awakened more than a decade ago, Garrett finally breaks his silence. He steps in to show Brady there's more to life than rescuing those in need.

Roused by their desperate passion for one another, their desire reaches an explosive breaking point. Brady realizes one night isn't enough, but Garrett is bound by rules he can't change. Now Brady's healing touch may save more than just a life—it may just save Garrett's soul.