Elise Hepner's Blog, page 4

Release Day: As Done by Gilmore Girls GIF's

Above is what waking up that first morning on release day feels like because mostly I just want to hide back under the covers and pretend it's not happening to me.



Then there is the inevitable shock of seeing my lovely tome online--with people buying it.


I watch them. I watch them like a hawk. Sometimes the rankings don't move so much, all of the panic ensues.

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Ah, the inevitable lunch meltdown where I realize I can't promo anymore or I'll stop making sense and start vibrating so quick I'll pop through time and space due to too much caffeine. This is a bad time.
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It's around this time that I convince myself that readers LOVE my book. They have to love it. Right...Right? A nice land of delusion blankets me in sweet warmth and song. This is a place where George R.R. Martin characters don't die.



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I have given up, I have fought the battle, I hope I have won. But mostly, I wrote a book. It's out there. There's no going back now.



As you may or may not know, today is the release day of Ex-Retreat, my first contemporary femdom erotic romance full length book! Getting this book out was a feat much like climbing Mount Everest which is why I'm currently holed up in my office playing Disney music as I type this and planning to color later, because, well, I have reasons. If you're interested in picking up my fun little book it's only 99 cents for a limited time at all retailers and here's the jist, in case you wanted a refresher:

Warning: This book contains a geeky, secretly insecure but overly cocky handy-man with a penchant for pleasing, a dominatrix in training who’s on the rebound, and enough smut to strip a couple layers off your soul. Plus there’s mac n’ cheese with a smattering of self-actualization for good measure.
After Chloe Barrons’ fiancé cheats on her via webcam, she begrudgingly accepts her Type-A mother’s offer of a spur of the moment luxury spa weekend. But things don’t play out quite from point A to point B when she arrives drunk and disoriented on the front porch of a deserted North Carolina beach house. From the very start she’s caught off guard by Noah Knightly, a sinfully sexy, self-proclaimed commitment-phobe who’s a handyman for his sister’s relationship rehabilitation center—a rehab where Chloe is the sole guest during off-season.
But faced with temptation, to stay guarded she’ll have to call the shots.
Noah shouldn’t have taken Chloe’s reservation. But in need of a second pair of hands to fix up the beach house, he throws all his sister’s rules out the window. Soon he worries that maybe he’s bitten off more than he can chew: each day Chloe cracks more of his cocky façade bringing down his guards to reveal a stuttering geek who has a hidden will to please her in any way possible.
With no way to ignore her pain, Noah sets himself up as a guniea pig to prove to Chloe that not all men are created equal—in or out of the bedroom. As Chloe comes into her own through every sexual session, Noah needs to decide if he’s man enough to accept the one thing he never thought he wanted—love.Buy links:AmazonB&NSmashwords

And You Get An ARC, And You Get An Arc...

Until midnight tonight you'll be able to signup for an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of my new femdom release Ex-Retreat which will be officially released on September 29th. What does that mean? It means you can read and review my book for free for the price of nothing before anyone else if you fill out this handy-dandy form. I will send you an e-book format of your choice and you have until the end of October to review my new release. 
Otherwise, you'll be able to pick Ex-Retreat up for the limited time price of .99 cents when it officially comes out to all etailers including Amazon, B&N, Kobo, etc. Choices, choices. Either way, I think it's a pretty good deal, but I'm biased.
Have a kickass day,Elise

Ex-Retreat Cover Reveal

Today is the day, sound the trumpets, ready the glitter canons, and run amok because my latest book will be out in the world September 29th! My latest self-pub release, Ex-Retreat will finally be making it's debut and here's a little more information to celebrate:


This is my lovely cover, it's so well done. Some of my friends are also making the rounds with it because they rock and they love me: Kerry Adrienne, Bronwyn Green, J.A. Howell! Thanks so much ladies! Below is my blurb and those signed up for my newsletter will be getting the first three chapters of my femdom naughtiness for free before the book comes out! As well as a chance to win several free copies.

Blurb:Warning: This book contains a geeky, secretly insecure but overly cocky handy-man with a penchant for pleasing, a dominatrix in training who’s on the rebound, and enough smut to strip a couple layers off your soul. Plus there’s mac n’ cheese with a smattering of self-actualization for good measure.
After Chloe Barrons’ fiancé cheats on her via webcam, she begrudgingly accepts her Type-A mother’s offer of a spur of the moment luxury spa weekend. But things don’t play out quite from point A to point B when she arrives drunk and disoriented on the front porch of a deserted North Carolina beach house. From the very start she’s caught off guard by Noah Knightly, a sinfully sexy, self-proclaimed commitment-phobe who’s a handyman for his sister’s relationship rehabilitation center—a rehab where Chloe is the sole guest during off-season.
But faced with temptation, to stay guarded she’ll have to call the shots.
Noah shouldn’t have taken Chloe’s reservation. But in need of a second pair of hands to fix up the beach house, he throws all his sister’s rules out the window. Soon he worries that maybe he’s bitten off more than he can chew: each day Chloe cracks more of his cocky façade bringing down his guards to reveal a stuttering geek who has a hidden will to please her in any way possible.

With no way to ignore her pain, Noah sets himself up as a guniea pig to prove to Chloe that not all men are created equal—in or out of the bedroom. As Chloe comes into her own through every sexual session, Noah needs to decide if he’s man enough to accept the one thing he never thought he wanted—love.

Summer May Be Over, But That's No Excuse...

Not to snag a copy of Summer Loving , an erotica anthology with 20 stories of sexual give and take while all proceeds go to Sommer Marsden who's husband is currently battling pancreatic cancer. Right now our little anthology is climbing the Amazon charts at #22 in Anthologies and it would thrill me if we got the word out more and pushed that baby high, high, higher!

I will also have a cover reveal soon for my contemporary erotic romance, Ex-Retreat, which I will be self-publishing in the near future. An excerpt from Ex-Retreat was published for the Snog for Sommer Blogtour and I will have a longer excerpt posted by the end of the month.

Ooo. I'm so excited for this book, guys and dolls! It's one of my all time favorites with a cocky geek hero with a stutter who gets taken down a peg by an unsure heroine who's finding herself one dominating order at a time. If you hadn't guessed, Ex-Retreat is fem-dom and takes place in Nags Head, North Carolina at a relationship rehab center at a beach house during the off season.

I'll keep you posted, have a kickass day,

Elise

Summer is Over, But it's Still Hot Here

Welcome ladies and gents to a post celebrating an amazing, caring, and fantastic writer,  Sommer Marsden, someone who I've considered both a friend and a mentor throughout my erotica and erotic romance career. I had the pleasure of being a part of an anthology that benefits Sommer's family while her husband goes through chemo for pancreatic cancer, Summer Loving , and now I get to share, share, share a smoking hot snog for this blog tour.

So here's a snippet from my contemporary erotic romance Ex-Retreat, which I will be self-publishing before the end of 2014, and please check out the other blogs on the hop with sexy scenes HERE. There's also an opportunity to donate directly to Sommer's family on the blog tour home page, obviously not required, but would be appreciated. Onward!

* * * *
With an invigorating deep breath, she popped up from her chair, and snagged his forearm in an iron grip. Slightly drunk and completely sloppy with her thoughts, Chloe’s fingers tightened around his smooth forearm. Beneath her grip his muscles tensed. His eyes widened. Before she could take back her mistake—he probably didn’t want to be touched after their near miss of a kiss—he yanked her down into his lap.“Cripes!” She tumbled to the side, half angled on and off his jean clad lap with both of her hands resting on his chest.Against her palms his heart catapulted beneath his muscles. As if someone had pressed pause, they lingered, his gaze half-lidded. His arms moved to curl her up closer into his body. Adrenaline twisted to the toes of her feet. Her stomach nearly bottomed out as awareness twitched through her nerve endings. The fantasy of his skin beneath her fingers became her sole focus as the rest of the world dropped away.Were there still complications? Always. But as her measured breaths brought in more oxygen to her lungs, she didn’t find herself getting any smarter.“What are you…” Almost touching lips. A small divide—but one she wasn’t willing to breach again.Their noses almost touched. A random image of Noah giving her an eskimo kiss flitted through her mind and she smiled while trying to measure his quiet, closed off silence. When his hand shifted up her spine and into her hair she gasped, taking in a quick drag of his citrus scent.Though her mind fed her questions, her mouth refused to work. She wouldn’t start it—but she couldn’t stop him. Not with his body heat flaring up through his jeans and their limbs snug together like they’d always belonged intertwined.Either way, when his lips tightened and resolve slipped over her. Chloe got ready to spring from his lap, tuck tail, and run to the phone to call a cab. Men only got one chance at rejection. There was no amount of groveling that would open her heart once she’d closed it. His thumb slipped across the side of her jaw. A shaky caress that left her throat tight and aching. This was—more. So much more.The last thing Chloe expected was for Noah to separate the last inch between them. From the tip of her toes she was poised to bolt. But he didn’t move so much as a muscle. He nodded once as if waiting for permission. Before he took the last inch between them and smashed it into oblivion by taking her mouth quick enough she didn’t have time to draw breath.An instant moan leapt from her lips. He matched the strokes of his thumb to the ease of his tongue along her bottom lip. She opened to him like she’d been longing to do for longer than she cared to admit. His whole body vibrated. Engulfed by his strength and anchored by his gentle slow, exploratory touch, she was lost to it all in a tide of contrasts.The soothing murmur of waves became a dull ringing in her ears. She kissed him, matching the slow, steady thrust of his tongue while her hands explored the firm planes of his chest and shoulders. Noah groaned low in his mouth, nibbling on her bottom lip. Beneath the back of her upper thigh she sensed his cock—hard and oh, so promising.  His hand smoothed into her hair, tilting her head back for a deeper kiss. She was…awakened.“I shouldn’t—but I couldn’t—I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered against her lips.How could her body be so tight and yet she remained mellow at her core? God, it’d been so long since she gave herself license to explore! Explore anyone. Explore herself and what she was feeling. If she’d stayed too long on any one aspect of her relationship she might have been confronted with the horrible truth that she hadn’t been happy in a long time.But wrapped in his firm embrace with the will being kissed out of her—she was bliss incarnate.He made a low, maddening noise in the back of his throat and his hips lifted against her ass. It was a feat that she managed to stay still. Her mind was screaming for her to react and grind back down on him while the rest of her loved the aching tease winding through her limbs. Noah’s lips eased away only a fraction and her eyes slit open to catch him watching her with a humbled, easy grin.As his hand dropped away from her head she curled back into the touch. For the moment, unafraid to meet him stride for stride in their weird little ditty of a romance dance. Noah’s pleased noise only encouraged her as she bent forward and kissed his cheek. When was the last time she’d used so shy a move? Not even in second grade had she displayed any kind of wariness toward boys.As her nipples hardened, a blush made her cheeks burn.“Why didn’t we do that before?” she ventured figuring she could always claim the question was asked under tipsy circumstances later and leave it at that. Already the moonlight on his face shimmered too brightly and the world tilted. She took her first big deep breath in a bit.“This is g-g-going to sound fucking psychotic  to put-put-put it lightly. Bu-but, I made a promise to my-myse-myself that I’d consider myself abstinent while I’m at my sister’s place out of respect. Earlier, I was worried that once we got going—I didn’t know if I could stop.”“There are other places to occupy ourselves than in the house, you know.”It slipped from her lips before she could shut her big, fat trap.“Good to know you’re thinking ahead.” He said with raised brows and a very masculine, very pleased with himself smile. “Shall we go get dinner?”“Sure, but, um…” Chloe looked in the direction of his lap.
“It’s a hard on, not debilitating. It’ll just make me walk a little gingerly and awkward for a bit,” he dryly remarked.

Taking Social Media By Storm

Last night I went to see the saddest movie in existence without actually knowing I would be ugly sobbing in public through the whole thing. If I Stay? Five stars--and now I need to read the book. Like now. Except I'm on a giant Sophie Kinsella/ Madeleine Wickham kick that won't go away until I read every single one.

This past week I was in a cabin in the woods of VA with barely any internet and I devoured books I've been meaning to read but haven't gotten to due to work getting in the way. The damage included the last Shopoholic Novel that's been released, since I'm gearing up for the new one this fall, as well as Sleeping Arrangements and Maya Banks Sweet Surrender . It was a good week, just what I needed.

I also made myself a nifty-neato Tumblr account which has become more than a little addicting and probably terrible for my work ethic. You can find me on Tumblr as Elise Hepner. I also got an Instagram account, click on the link to find me. Look at me, being all big and bad on the web. It's been a branching out adventure since I replaced my old phone from 2011 with a phone that has all the social media capabilities in the world. Cue me entering the digital age, better late than never, right?

That's enough for my social media update.

For my writing update, there will be a lot coming to all of my amazing readers very, very soon. My first cozy mystery, Deadlines: A Written to Death Mystery will be self-published at the end of October, just in time for Halloween. I have the cover and I've been dying to reveal it, but I'll wait until it draws closer to the release. I'm writing the second book in the series right now. I will also be self-publishing a book of mine I've been working on for a really long time, you might remember it being mentioned on this blog as Ex-House, renamed Ex-Retreat about a closed off, stuttering hero and a heroine who doesn't know what she wants who come together at a relationship retreat at the beach of North Carolina--spoiler alert: it's fem-dom. I love it with my whole heart, hopefully you will as well.

I'm also conquering edits for my first romantic suspense series in a three book deal with Entangled Publishing entitled A Fight For Shelter. You may remember that the original manuscript was a finalist in the Top Ten of Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write Contest in 2013. AFFS is different from what it was originally when I subbed it for SYTYCW, but it's much, much better and I can't wait to release it into the world this Spring 2015.

I think that's all of my boring ol' updates, how are you guys and dolls?

Have a kickass day,

Elise

Where The Hell Did My Summer Go?

Or my entire year, for that matter. After getting back from Authors After Dark in Charlotte, NC my life has been a constant scramble to catch up while balancing socialization with all the nifty, kick ass writers I met there this year. So. Many. Good. Times. Among them a trip to a BDSM play club, a fabulous book signing where yours truly kicked ass, and so many books. It was so amazing to meet all the readers there, so many hugs! Also many late night talks in the bar area, vigorous jazz hands, and games of Cards Against Humanity.

Some people really got to see a look into my twisted mind during Cards Against Humanity, it was fun to see the little short girl pull out some pretty creepy stuff. I enjoy being a surprise.

Right now I'm working on my second cozy mystery in the Written to Death series while watching the amazing Simpsons marathon going on for days and days and days. It's awesome and odd that I remember as much as I do of the early seasons, given that I was seven at the time of Season Five--where we are right now while I write this post. Some of my fav's from Season Four were when Lisa drinks the Duff Garden's water during the Duff Beer Ride, Bart getting a new Dad, and the one where Bart has a crush on the babysitter. I'm waiting with baited breath for the Treehouse of Horror episodes. God, the commercials are right. My life is going to revolve around this channel until the The Simpsons marathon is over...you know you have a problem when...

In other, more professional, news ALL OF THE BOOKS WILL BE COMING OUT SOON. Literally, so many of them. My first Written to Death cozy mystery, Dead Lines, focused around an alt woman who's forced to move back home after graduate school when the job market dries up to be the town obituary writer will be coming in the Fall. There should be a cover reveal coming soon. I love this book so much, there aren't words to describe how much fun I had writing it. Even if it is an insane departure from my usual.

I'll also be publishing my first Fem-Dom novel since Sex Tool with a geeky, stuttering hero and a heroine who is having trouble finding herself--but that all changes when she's shipped off to relationship rehab--and the place is closed for the off-season with one hot hero caretaker. Bum, bum, bum...

I think that's all the updates I have for now, but thanks for keeping up with me, and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter seen on the sidebar of my blog for giveaways, free books, secret excerpts, deleted scenes, and other goodies.

Have a kick ass day,

Elise

P.S. Now Mr. Burns is marrying Marge's Mom...Hehehehe

Yay, Cover Reveal for Eventide (Iron Falls 1)

This book looks badass and it will def be at the top of my To-Do List.--- Elise



Eventide (Iron Falls, #1)by ChristineAllen-Riley Release Date: 10/2014
Summary from Goodreads:The driver in a tragiccar accident that killed her best friend, Devon Greer is consumed by guilt.When powerful hallucinations convince her that she’s seeing Rachael everywhere,Devon thinks she’s going crazy. But her friend isn’t truly gone.
To save Rachael from the faeries who stole her, Devon must pit herself againstthe Court of the Sidhe. Once she witnesses the true form of the fey, Devon’slife is in danger—and so are the lives of everyone she loves.
Now, Devon must not only protect herself, but also Jonah Seafort, Rachael’scousin and the only person Devon can trust to help her. While the Sidhe walkamong them, no one is safe…

About the Author
Lover of books, nature, cats and shiny things. Active disliker ofcooking, cleaning and stress. Mom, freelance editor & YA author - also abit of a nerd.
Author Links:      



Cover Reveal Organized by:

A New Chapter And A Sale

Let's start off with more good news before you get to the even more good news, shall we? Well, it's all good, so it's relative. But I'm excited! Today all of my Ellora's Cave releases are on sale on Amazon. Like fairytales, multiple partners, or polyamory? What about fairytales and BDSM? Or M/M/F menage historical? I've got that, check it out HERE. I don't know how long the same lasts, so I'd pick them up soon as I know deals like this at EC are rare.

My next bit of news is that I've uploaded Chapter Four of Trapped With Sin to Wattpad last night so you have another free read, if you desire to read it. Here's a little snippet from Chapter Four:

“We hope you had a nice drive, Miss. Mason. Here’s your completed contract. We’ve already sent half of the contestant’s home in the last episode and your inclusion will be our main play and big reveal tonight to shake things up in the house. Please sign here, here, and here in the designated spots and we’ll get our car to drive you to the shoot.”Riley met the suited man’s steady gaze and blinked. His mouth turned down a bit and hers turned up. When he reached for the glass of nine dollar lemonade at his side, she glanced down at the thick sheaf of papers on the table and continued to read. There wasn’t one syllable she was going to miss—and he needed to understand he’d be sitting out in the oppressive sun for quite some time before she made her mark on the contract.“I assure you everything is as it should be. You must be eager to get out of this heat and get started—““I’m not going to sign my life away for the next two weeks without understanding all of this, Mr. Allen. If you want to wait for me inside you’re more than welcome. You don’t have to hover, wringing your hands. You’ll get my John Hancock when I get to the end.” She didn’t miss a beat wondering if he’d kick her off the show for her attitude, if anything her brashness would make for good television.She didn’t even bother looking up. Her no nonsense client voice had reinforced her decision to the pampered, svelte executive sitting across from her out by the palatial pool near the hotel. He had thought the tables around the pool were more “atmospheric”. A nice code word for they were trying to impress her, get her mind off the legal stuff, and get her on the show. And if someone offered her another fancy vegan sandwich she was going to blow the whole damn thing.Against the backdrop of fancy, slithering English, Riley was able to pick out most of the perks and pitfalls of the contract. She’d get two thousand dollars for every episode she remained and the number of remaining episodes before production was shut down was fourteen. Twenty-four thousand wasn’t anything to shake a stick at—but she had to be sure of everything. No media allowed in the house except for books and even those were checked before they were allowed on the premises.No firearms—which was a given. But she still mourned the loss of her gun tucked into her backpack in the car. The fine weapon had been a present for her sixteenth birthday from her father and she never left the house without it. Something like a screwed up security blanket. Her gaze skimmed over the expected non-disclosure clause until all the episodes aired over the following six months. Standard and expected.The man made a noise in the back of his throat. She didn’t rise to the bait and continued reading for another four, long pages. With a flourish she signed and looked up at the executive with a cheesy, wide smile as she pushed the contract across the hot glass table.“Here we are. I appreciate you allowing me to take my time.”“Of course,” he replied with another snide smile before he snapped his fingers and two men appeared, one who whisked the contract away, and one who pulled her chair back from the table. The screech of the curlicue wrought iron chair against the concrete pounded against her temples and she clung to the sides of the chair. They weren’t screwing around. With a weird niggling in the back of her brain, she warily glanced at the big pony-tailed man who motioned with one hand to follow him while he still had one beefy hand resting on the back of her chair.“I signed my life away,” she muttered, before reluctantly following behind the man who led her back through the sprawling stucco lobby of the hotel, back outside to a sleek, gray town car.“Here we are, Miss. I’ll be your driver, please let me know if you require anything else on our little excursion.” He opened the door with a little bow and she shot him a tentative smile with a murmured thanks.“What about my suitcase?” she quickly piped up before he could shut the door.“That’s all taken care of, your things will be waiting for you when you arrive at our destination.”Vague. Lovely.
Also, if you were ever interested in meeting me in person, I'll be at Author's After Dark in Charlotte from Tuesday to Sunday wearing my pink hat of power. So look for me and I will give you many hugs! See you there, hopefully!

A Packing Frenzy

This week my life is devolving into chaos as I prepare myself for the magic of Author's After Dark in Charlotte, NC. Are you going as well? Maybe we'll see each other! I'm taking the train, twelve blissful hours with my Kindle Fire and a laptop while I watch the scenery--I kind of can't wait. Not even a little bit.

In the meantime, I've been trying to pack everything into two very tiny bags. Two. Very. Tiny. Bags. Now, I may be small, but my clothes still take up room, so I'll be lucky if I don't hit someone on the train in the head with my two allowed carry-on items that are packed to the gills with my treasures.

Don't ask me where I'm going to put all the books I gather from the conference. I haven't figured that out yet.

Anyone from Charlotte, where be the good food, good haunts, and over all good times?

P.S. If you haven't checked out my free contemporary erotic romance, Trapped With Sin, on Wattpad, you should stumble on over there. It's good times.