Elise Hepner's Blog, page 22
November 12, 2011
Not So Pure now available for Nook
My fairytale novel with Ellora's Cave, Not So Pure, is now available for Nook at Barnes and Nobles.
November 11, 2011
Steampunk Tips from AAD 2011
Wonderful Steampunk tips from my AAD conference in August 2011 to inspire and ignite that Victorian flare.
Inevitably, any author who writes Steampunk will be rewriting history as part of the genre. In order to do that authors have to comb through history and dates in order to have a solid timeline to build their world. Readers want solid world-building and the confidence that comes with easy reading which is where knowing almost too much background, history, and general information can be a good thing.Pick a specific year or period and then go find some science books--what will they know in the next 100 years from that chosen time period that could possibly influence your world?For every machine added to a book, there has to be more science behind it. Don't make it dull like a textbook, but make sure there's a reason for the machine's existence that readers can relate to that has science to back it up.In regards to above, what are not just the benefits of having said machines, what are the repercussions? How does it affect different tiers of society? Be balanced and complete with world-building and it'll flesh out the people and places.How character's react to the nifty gadgets and do-dad's has a lot to do with showing it's relationship within the book and the world. It takes the Steampunk one step further into becoming real and inheriting a philosophy with the characters.
Inevitably, any author who writes Steampunk will be rewriting history as part of the genre. In order to do that authors have to comb through history and dates in order to have a solid timeline to build their world. Readers want solid world-building and the confidence that comes with easy reading which is where knowing almost too much background, history, and general information can be a good thing.Pick a specific year or period and then go find some science books--what will they know in the next 100 years from that chosen time period that could possibly influence your world?For every machine added to a book, there has to be more science behind it. Don't make it dull like a textbook, but make sure there's a reason for the machine's existence that readers can relate to that has science to back it up.In regards to above, what are not just the benefits of having said machines, what are the repercussions? How does it affect different tiers of society? Be balanced and complete with world-building and it'll flesh out the people and places.How character's react to the nifty gadgets and do-dad's has a lot to do with showing it's relationship within the book and the world. It takes the Steampunk one step further into becoming real and inheriting a philosophy with the characters.
November 10, 2011
A little Kink with Sommer
I'm joining Sommer Marsden over at her blog today talking kinky, sexy fairy tales. How to write them, how to love them, how to stroke them...hehe, you get the picture. I'm also giving away a copy of Roped Emotions to one lucky winner!
November 9, 2011
Simple Stories and Fairy Tales
I'm over at Sara Brookes Blog discussing my favorite fairy tale of all time so clicky, clicky and join in on the discussion.
November 8, 2011
Night Owl Reviews Reviews Roped Emotions
Today I had the awesome pleasure of getting a 4.5 out of 5 star Top Pick Review from Night Owl Reviews for Roped Emotions, my Ellora's Cave Novella. You can see the review HERE and the lovely things they said about my book. So Happy!
November 7, 2011
Newest Release News
My newest EC novel is now available from All Romance E-books and Amazon. Barnes and Nobles should be soon to come on the list.
November 6, 2011
World Building Tips from AAD 2011
Another belated post curtsey of my insane writing schedule lately, I give you World-building tips from the panel I sat at for AAD 2011 in August. This panel was a lot of fun and gave me a lot of good books I wanted to read.
When creating a world from scratch it has to be organic and interesting without sounding like an author's making a Frommer's Guide to a world. A reader doesn't want to read why things are cool and why the character is going to that place because of it's coolness--they have to feel it.Pepper in details of the world through the choices a character makes in regard to that world. So, say an author was making a world where there was an evil meat factory that processed people--what would the main character eat because of that factory? What factions or groups of people would come out with this factory in existence that split up the people? How does this meat factory change personal choice, the economy, social outreach, etc? Make sense?Get solid boundaries in order from the beginning with regards to consistency. If your character decides to start a vegetarian cult because of the meat factory they can't just leave the cult and decide to eat hamburgers one day without repercussions.Take notes on everything. Notes are key to a clean, healthy world and are a real nice thing to have when an author goes to make a World Bible.In order to get started, a good way to warm up the brain is by tweaking modern or historical mythos with facts that can back up every change. Those facts can be made up within your head, but they have to be consistent. Make sure every action has a reaction, but twisting is fun.Use the hierarchy of needs--water, shelter, food to shape a beginning world.Onenote is your best friend.
When creating a world from scratch it has to be organic and interesting without sounding like an author's making a Frommer's Guide to a world. A reader doesn't want to read why things are cool and why the character is going to that place because of it's coolness--they have to feel it.Pepper in details of the world through the choices a character makes in regard to that world. So, say an author was making a world where there was an evil meat factory that processed people--what would the main character eat because of that factory? What factions or groups of people would come out with this factory in existence that split up the people? How does this meat factory change personal choice, the economy, social outreach, etc? Make sense?Get solid boundaries in order from the beginning with regards to consistency. If your character decides to start a vegetarian cult because of the meat factory they can't just leave the cult and decide to eat hamburgers one day without repercussions.Take notes on everything. Notes are key to a clean, healthy world and are a real nice thing to have when an author goes to make a World Bible.In order to get started, a good way to warm up the brain is by tweaking modern or historical mythos with facts that can back up every change. Those facts can be made up within your head, but they have to be consistent. Make sure every action has a reaction, but twisting is fun.Use the hierarchy of needs--water, shelter, food to shape a beginning world.Onenote is your best friend.
Talking fairy tale retellings until the wee hours of the morning
Today I'm over at Lady Isabel's Blog talking about some of my favorite and most loved fairytale retelling's and discussing my new Ellora's Cave novel release, Not So Pure. Fairy tales have always caught my eye and been one of my favorite genre's to read. Come check it out!
November 5, 2011
Not So Pure is ready for Kindle
My erotic romance novel with Ellora's Cave, Not So Pure, is now available for Kindle purchase here. Yay! Thanks for all the support for this book!
November 4, 2011
My Erotic Novel Not So Pure is out from Ellora's Cave today!
Today is the new release of my erotic novel, Not So Pure, which has been three long years in the making. This book and I have a long history together starting when it was a simple short story I was writing in a college class because I was bored out of my mind. From there I put it aside because I hadn't written anything erotic yet, was still dabbling with non-fiction articles and freelancing for website content. There wasn't a single hint of where to start and my little spark of an idea didn't seem big enough to do anything with at all.
Cut to two years later when I found the little snippet of a blow-job scene scrawled before my Biology notes and found the missing spark that I needed to make the work bigger and better. Three months later and I had my second novel. But, Oh Lord, the plot holes! For some reason, Not So Pure kept evolving, shifting, and changing with my heroine who couldn't decide exactly why she wanted the things she wanted which was kind of important.
Eight reincarnations later--yeah, I didn't give up on this manuscript, I loved every character too much--and I signed my contract with Ellora's Cave for it with my editor, Brianna StJames. And here we are, on the release day of my little long-due offspring. Kind of makes me want to cry. Not to mention that it's my first novel to date that has been published. Take that erotic world!
BlurbWhite runs from her prison of a past and enters into a sexual deal with seven men that alters the course of her life for eternity. Caught between her need to take control and making up for her serious lack of good sex, she enters a wonderland of kinky possibilities with men who show her that Prince Charmings come in all shapes and sizes. For White and her men—once upon a time doesn't cut it—three or four times sound just about right.
With each partner—not always one at a time—White beats back her trust issues. But the shadow of her past comes back to haunt them all. Now she must introduce them to her personal battle, hoping they'll fight beside her as their sinful nights turn into hellish days. Happily ever after isn't by the books anymore.
Excerpt
Bright morning sunshine filtered through the trees, casting warmth all over her dirty body, and not bothering to look down at herself, she continued to pick her way through the forest. The light breeze blowing against her cheek was thick with scents from the night before—blooming night jasmine and sweat. She gritted her teeth against the nausea rooted in her stomach and noticed the fine shaking running up her bare thighs. How long could she go without food or water before she passed out? Her last meal had been yesterday afternoon, would that be enough? She didn't know.
A plan was paramount.
She heard stories of men out here. They all lived together outside of town, away from the glitz and glamour of the city. Would they help or not? Either she found the nearest path back to a main road or she searched for a random cottage. There was no way to tell which would be easier.
Why had she even gone with Huntsman! This train of thought would get her nowhere and at least she was out of the house. She quickly stopped questioning and made a choice.
She would try to find the infamous cottage in the woods.
The reasoning was simple enough. It was logically easier to persuade a few people to help her out than walking to town and relying on a larger group of people. With more people, the odds of them saying no went up. Townspeople had that "who me?" aspect to them that made ignorance bliss. So many people would probably glance out of the corner of their eye at her begging and hurry along because of the implications of helping street filth.
And that's what she looked like right now. With no money, no prospects and no work experience, so she had to start from scratch—there wasn't much else but pity to fall back on.This wasn't a fairytale where someone would slip money into her hand and offer her a warm bed for the night. Most people were too selfish. White was better off going one-on-one with a group of men who'd already shed society's rules by living in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, the trip was neither close nor easy.
Now she was caked in god-knows-what, looking toward the morning sky and waiting for a cottage to come in sight. What other option did she have? There was no indication of what awaited her there. But it had to be better than what was back in the woods—embracing destiny and all that jazz."Or running away from it," she mumbled.
All the same. But it was hard to ignore her survival instincts. They had at least gotten her out of that prison and from now on it was her own way or she could bolt if she wanted to. Yet, this was the first time she'd been out of the house in how long? For a second her whole world rotated a hundred and eighty degrees.The fresh air was joyous as it whipped around her half-naked body. It moved along the sensitive nape of her neck and brushed lightly against her shoulders and her spine. Inside her head it was peaceful and maddening all at once. Sure, she could do whatever she wanted now—that was a relief—but she couldn't do anything without a good meal. So technically, she still didn't have half as much independence as she would have liked.
When the sun came through the breaks at the top of the tree-line, the outline of a house was illuminated and she tried to hold back her curiosity. Her stomach plunged as nervous butterflies fluttered in her abdomen and she crossed her arms around her waist. This must be the place, they had an auto body shop and car parts were spread everywhere.
Everyone in town knew about the men who lived in the woods to get away from the catty glitz of the real world. People said the men lived in a fairytale. White believed it when she had the chance to examine the cottage up close. Aquamarine windows lined with chipped, coal black casings glistened with grease. There was a sloping roof with red tinted shingles, though some were missing in a weird pattern.No one did the place justice—because it was a complete mess
Why would they need a door with bars on the peep-hole window? Were there normally robberies in the middle of a forest?They topped it all off with a yard of rusted metal—which made sense because they were rumored to be mechanics. But motorcycle parts, engines, and tires laying out on the lawn without rhyme or reason? She supposed everyone had to have a hobby.
White gingerly sidestepped her way through the car parts. The scent of cooked meat beckoned her closer toward the door and her stomach twisted with hunger. Caught between the need to bang on the door or to let herself inside—damn the consequences—she settled for something in between both actions."Hey!" White shouted, throat burning with thirst. "Can I get a little help out here?"
She moved toward the door when she heard footsteps because moving backward was cowardly. A man, judging by his broad shoulders. He peered through the window. Barred rectangular shadows hollowed his face and forehead. He slightly opened the door to peek out at her with suspicion through the small crack.Maybe she had been expecting a deformity because they lived in the middle of nowhere. But when she searched his face for a pockmark or fake eye, all that she could see was the bone structure of a model with a little bit of scruff on his chin. His amber brown eyes narrowed. Wasn't she the one who should be suspicious?
A tiny tremor shot up her spine when he opened the door all the way and eased his toned, sculpted frame through the gap. No peg leg either. From what she could see, he was all there. A perfect specimen. She absently rubbed the fuzz on her head, wondering why men did it electively. Like the stranger in front of her with white blond hair buzzed to his scalp. She dropped her hand and tightened her jaw.
He squinted at her because the sun was directly in his eyes. It meant he stood somewhere in the range of six-feet-four-inches with a high metabolism as evidenced by his lithe, muscular build. He rolled his shoulders, hands ducking into the pockets of a pair of brown corduroys. The cotton shirt he had on exuded spicy, musky man smell and she shifted from foot to foot."Are you willing to help me?""It depends on what you want and why you're here." His voice came out in a guttural lullaby. "Not many people venture out here without a car."He gave her a cursory once over with his eyes."And you really don't have much of anything.""I just want some food and to get some sleep. It's been a long night." She crossed her arms, acting like his answer didn't define the next few minutes. "I'll be out of your house by morning if I can help it.""Where are your clothes?""Long story, but at least I have underwear, right?"
His gaze snapped up and down with heat flickering in his tawny pupils. That look was familiar, lust was easy to pinpoint. He wanted her even if he didn't know it yet. So, there was a foothold now and she was going to take advantage of it.
If this is what it took to get some food, then so be it. Weirder things had transpired at the mansion—and worse things had been traded for drugs. Besides, whoever got anything in life for free?
A simple flashing wouldn't do her any harm. She hadn't seen anyone react to her body who wasn't coked up or twice her age in awhile and deep inside she enjoyed knowing that he wanted her. A little thrill made her heart beat faster—no one else would see her half naked—they were in the middle of a forest. But the idea that someone could see turned her on more than she'd like to admit.
There was no getting around the fact that he was hot.
She uncrossed her arms and let them rest by her sides, giving him an eyeful of her breasts. Without pausing, he was by her side, offering his shirt with an outstretched hand."W—what?" she stammered, uncertain."I'd feel more comfortable talking to you if you were dressed."
Cut to two years later when I found the little snippet of a blow-job scene scrawled before my Biology notes and found the missing spark that I needed to make the work bigger and better. Three months later and I had my second novel. But, Oh Lord, the plot holes! For some reason, Not So Pure kept evolving, shifting, and changing with my heroine who couldn't decide exactly why she wanted the things she wanted which was kind of important.
Eight reincarnations later--yeah, I didn't give up on this manuscript, I loved every character too much--and I signed my contract with Ellora's Cave for it with my editor, Brianna StJames. And here we are, on the release day of my little long-due offspring. Kind of makes me want to cry. Not to mention that it's my first novel to date that has been published. Take that erotic world!
BlurbWhite runs from her prison of a past and enters into a sexual deal with seven men that alters the course of her life for eternity. Caught between her need to take control and making up for her serious lack of good sex, she enters a wonderland of kinky possibilities with men who show her that Prince Charmings come in all shapes and sizes. For White and her men—once upon a time doesn't cut it—three or four times sound just about right.
With each partner—not always one at a time—White beats back her trust issues. But the shadow of her past comes back to haunt them all. Now she must introduce them to her personal battle, hoping they'll fight beside her as their sinful nights turn into hellish days. Happily ever after isn't by the books anymore.
Excerpt
Bright morning sunshine filtered through the trees, casting warmth all over her dirty body, and not bothering to look down at herself, she continued to pick her way through the forest. The light breeze blowing against her cheek was thick with scents from the night before—blooming night jasmine and sweat. She gritted her teeth against the nausea rooted in her stomach and noticed the fine shaking running up her bare thighs. How long could she go without food or water before she passed out? Her last meal had been yesterday afternoon, would that be enough? She didn't know.
A plan was paramount.
She heard stories of men out here. They all lived together outside of town, away from the glitz and glamour of the city. Would they help or not? Either she found the nearest path back to a main road or she searched for a random cottage. There was no way to tell which would be easier.
Why had she even gone with Huntsman! This train of thought would get her nowhere and at least she was out of the house. She quickly stopped questioning and made a choice.
She would try to find the infamous cottage in the woods.
The reasoning was simple enough. It was logically easier to persuade a few people to help her out than walking to town and relying on a larger group of people. With more people, the odds of them saying no went up. Townspeople had that "who me?" aspect to them that made ignorance bliss. So many people would probably glance out of the corner of their eye at her begging and hurry along because of the implications of helping street filth.
And that's what she looked like right now. With no money, no prospects and no work experience, so she had to start from scratch—there wasn't much else but pity to fall back on.This wasn't a fairytale where someone would slip money into her hand and offer her a warm bed for the night. Most people were too selfish. White was better off going one-on-one with a group of men who'd already shed society's rules by living in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately, the trip was neither close nor easy.
Now she was caked in god-knows-what, looking toward the morning sky and waiting for a cottage to come in sight. What other option did she have? There was no indication of what awaited her there. But it had to be better than what was back in the woods—embracing destiny and all that jazz."Or running away from it," she mumbled.
All the same. But it was hard to ignore her survival instincts. They had at least gotten her out of that prison and from now on it was her own way or she could bolt if she wanted to. Yet, this was the first time she'd been out of the house in how long? For a second her whole world rotated a hundred and eighty degrees.The fresh air was joyous as it whipped around her half-naked body. It moved along the sensitive nape of her neck and brushed lightly against her shoulders and her spine. Inside her head it was peaceful and maddening all at once. Sure, she could do whatever she wanted now—that was a relief—but she couldn't do anything without a good meal. So technically, she still didn't have half as much independence as she would have liked.
When the sun came through the breaks at the top of the tree-line, the outline of a house was illuminated and she tried to hold back her curiosity. Her stomach plunged as nervous butterflies fluttered in her abdomen and she crossed her arms around her waist. This must be the place, they had an auto body shop and car parts were spread everywhere.
Everyone in town knew about the men who lived in the woods to get away from the catty glitz of the real world. People said the men lived in a fairytale. White believed it when she had the chance to examine the cottage up close. Aquamarine windows lined with chipped, coal black casings glistened with grease. There was a sloping roof with red tinted shingles, though some were missing in a weird pattern.No one did the place justice—because it was a complete mess
Why would they need a door with bars on the peep-hole window? Were there normally robberies in the middle of a forest?They topped it all off with a yard of rusted metal—which made sense because they were rumored to be mechanics. But motorcycle parts, engines, and tires laying out on the lawn without rhyme or reason? She supposed everyone had to have a hobby.
White gingerly sidestepped her way through the car parts. The scent of cooked meat beckoned her closer toward the door and her stomach twisted with hunger. Caught between the need to bang on the door or to let herself inside—damn the consequences—she settled for something in between both actions."Hey!" White shouted, throat burning with thirst. "Can I get a little help out here?"
She moved toward the door when she heard footsteps because moving backward was cowardly. A man, judging by his broad shoulders. He peered through the window. Barred rectangular shadows hollowed his face and forehead. He slightly opened the door to peek out at her with suspicion through the small crack.Maybe she had been expecting a deformity because they lived in the middle of nowhere. But when she searched his face for a pockmark or fake eye, all that she could see was the bone structure of a model with a little bit of scruff on his chin. His amber brown eyes narrowed. Wasn't she the one who should be suspicious?
A tiny tremor shot up her spine when he opened the door all the way and eased his toned, sculpted frame through the gap. No peg leg either. From what she could see, he was all there. A perfect specimen. She absently rubbed the fuzz on her head, wondering why men did it electively. Like the stranger in front of her with white blond hair buzzed to his scalp. She dropped her hand and tightened her jaw.
He squinted at her because the sun was directly in his eyes. It meant he stood somewhere in the range of six-feet-four-inches with a high metabolism as evidenced by his lithe, muscular build. He rolled his shoulders, hands ducking into the pockets of a pair of brown corduroys. The cotton shirt he had on exuded spicy, musky man smell and she shifted from foot to foot."Are you willing to help me?""It depends on what you want and why you're here." His voice came out in a guttural lullaby. "Not many people venture out here without a car."He gave her a cursory once over with his eyes."And you really don't have much of anything.""I just want some food and to get some sleep. It's been a long night." She crossed her arms, acting like his answer didn't define the next few minutes. "I'll be out of your house by morning if I can help it.""Where are your clothes?""Long story, but at least I have underwear, right?"
His gaze snapped up and down with heat flickering in his tawny pupils. That look was familiar, lust was easy to pinpoint. He wanted her even if he didn't know it yet. So, there was a foothold now and she was going to take advantage of it.
If this is what it took to get some food, then so be it. Weirder things had transpired at the mansion—and worse things had been traded for drugs. Besides, whoever got anything in life for free?
A simple flashing wouldn't do her any harm. She hadn't seen anyone react to her body who wasn't coked up or twice her age in awhile and deep inside she enjoyed knowing that he wanted her. A little thrill made her heart beat faster—no one else would see her half naked—they were in the middle of a forest. But the idea that someone could see turned her on more than she'd like to admit.
There was no getting around the fact that he was hot.
She uncrossed her arms and let them rest by her sides, giving him an eyeful of her breasts. Without pausing, he was by her side, offering his shirt with an outstretched hand."W—what?" she stammered, uncertain."I'd feel more comfortable talking to you if you were dressed."
