Ash Penn's Blog, page 2
July 5, 2013
Book Release Day
My paranormal romance is out today from Total E Bound. It's at the bargain price of $1 for a month. That's around 57p. Buy link here
February 19, 2013
100 years later...
Well, it feels about that long since I last updated this blog. I'm not great at keeping up to date with these things, plus I try to spend as much time writing as I can, That doesn't leave too much time over for blogging, but I do have a few updates to make.First, I just sold Book1 in a paranormal series to Total - E- Bound. Book 1 is entitled End of the Line. The novel involves vampires, but books 2 and 3 will include an incubus and an angel for good measure. Pre-orders are available from July 1st. I'm also 50k in to book 2, which is tentatively titled A Temptation too Far. Here a tinsy snippet
*~*~*~*~
“Do you think I might be made of ivory and rose leaves?” Eden asked some time later, when Sully returned with his afternoon snack.
Sully handed over the apple, and then resumed a seat in the chair at the foot of the bed. “No.”
“But I am rare and precious like ivory.” Eden’s fingers preened at his smooth cheek. “I’m as soft and delicate as rose leaves.”
“You’re as delicate as rose thorns.” Sully opened up the book once again. “And I have always found ivory distasteful.”
The incubus gave Sully a condescending glare through his lashes. “You did not find me so distasteful with your rigour-mortised prick up my backside, Mr Vampire.” He raised the apple to his lips and took a vicious bite.
Sully returned his attention to the page while Eden munched vigorously through crisp apple. The sharp tang of the boy’s arrogance flared to life between them once again. Sully had assumed the incubus’s relapse to spoiled brat mode would please him, or at least reassure him everything was back to how it was in the beginning. Yet for some unsettling reason, it did not.
He resumed reading the prose aloud, but whatever had captivated the incubus to silence had broken now. The grating crunch of the fruit’s flesh churning in Eden's mouth chaffed on Sully's nerves until he could bear the noise no longer. He closed the book, very carefully so as not give a hint of his exasperation.
“Why did you stop?” Eden wiped flecks of apple from his lips. He tossed the core at the corner of the room, leaving a splat of juice on the wall. The core thudded to the wooden floor missing the bin he’d evidently been aiming for. “Do Lord Henry and Dorian Gray ever get to fuck? Are you too embarrassed to go on?”
Sully gazed steadily at the incubus's smirk. “Pick that up.”
Eden opened his mouth as if to throw out an objection. Sully continued to stare at him and he seemed to decide silence and obedience might be the best way to proceed. He uncrossed his legs, left the bed and plucked the core from the floorboards. He dropped it delicately in the bin, then, rather than return to the bed, he approached the chair.
*~*~*~*~
Secondly, I've had some interest from readers wanting to know more about the novel I'm writing starring Tony and Laine from Trick of the Night (ER Authors anthology). At 102k, that book is done. Those guys were so easy to write, I managed to tell their story in 4 months, which is record-breaking for me. I'll sign off with a snippet from chapter 8.
*~*~*~*~
“He’s a stripper,” I told Helena when she charged at me with a fresh interrogation on my break. I’d escaped to the back room to fold some towels but she followed me in on the pretense of making tea.
“Really? Where?”
“Diamond Blue. Do you know it?”
“Isn’t that a –-”
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened. “No way! He doesn’t even look like a gay.”
“No? That’s odd. Because he fucks exactly like one.”
Helena’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. Have you and he?”
I lifted my shoulder as Tony does, with a casual flick. “Once.” Unlike Tony, I wasn’t ashamed of our night together. I was more ashamed of having had to pay for his time.
“What was he like?” Helena took a seat, both hands wrapped around her mug as though she was settling in for quite a story. Unfortunately for her I certainly wasn’t about to discuss my sex life at work, even if I had one to discuss. But she seems so enamored of the handsome man who’d dropped me off in the beautiful car that I hadn’t the heart to tell her the BMW was actually just borrowed from his huge Adonis of a boyfriend.
“Voracious,” I said. The word seemed oddly apt.
Helena’s brow furrowed. “That means good, right?”
“Definitely.” I hugged a freshly laundered towel to my chest and breathed in the faint trace of lavender fabric conditioner. “Tony has the stamina of a god.”
“Then why aren’t you seeing him?”
Good question. I dumped the towel back on the yet-to-fold pile. What were the reasons again? Oh yes, because I was just a helpless girl who needed looking after. Certainly no one he’d ever consider a potential lover. Perhaps that was my own fault, as I had rather cultivated a sense of feminine vulnerability in his company. But even if I let him know my male side, he still wouldn’t think of me as anything other than the mistake he made the night he hit rock bottom.
I turned away and picked up my mug of tea “We don’t have that sort of a relationship,” I said quietly. I didn’t mind chatting with her, usually. She was only nineteen, and sweet as a cupcake, but talking about Tony became painful after a while. It had always been clear to me that a relationship with him would only ever be a pipe dream,’ “Besides,” I added, drawing a line under the conversation. “Tony already has a boyfriend.”
A very big very scary boyfriend who hated me to the depths of his testosterone-fueled soul.
*~*~*~*~
“Do you think I might be made of ivory and rose leaves?” Eden asked some time later, when Sully returned with his afternoon snack.
Sully handed over the apple, and then resumed a seat in the chair at the foot of the bed. “No.”
“But I am rare and precious like ivory.” Eden’s fingers preened at his smooth cheek. “I’m as soft and delicate as rose leaves.”
“You’re as delicate as rose thorns.” Sully opened up the book once again. “And I have always found ivory distasteful.”
The incubus gave Sully a condescending glare through his lashes. “You did not find me so distasteful with your rigour-mortised prick up my backside, Mr Vampire.” He raised the apple to his lips and took a vicious bite.
Sully returned his attention to the page while Eden munched vigorously through crisp apple. The sharp tang of the boy’s arrogance flared to life between them once again. Sully had assumed the incubus’s relapse to spoiled brat mode would please him, or at least reassure him everything was back to how it was in the beginning. Yet for some unsettling reason, it did not.
He resumed reading the prose aloud, but whatever had captivated the incubus to silence had broken now. The grating crunch of the fruit’s flesh churning in Eden's mouth chaffed on Sully's nerves until he could bear the noise no longer. He closed the book, very carefully so as not give a hint of his exasperation.
“Why did you stop?” Eden wiped flecks of apple from his lips. He tossed the core at the corner of the room, leaving a splat of juice on the wall. The core thudded to the wooden floor missing the bin he’d evidently been aiming for. “Do Lord Henry and Dorian Gray ever get to fuck? Are you too embarrassed to go on?”
Sully gazed steadily at the incubus's smirk. “Pick that up.”
Eden opened his mouth as if to throw out an objection. Sully continued to stare at him and he seemed to decide silence and obedience might be the best way to proceed. He uncrossed his legs, left the bed and plucked the core from the floorboards. He dropped it delicately in the bin, then, rather than return to the bed, he approached the chair.
*~*~*~*~
Secondly, I've had some interest from readers wanting to know more about the novel I'm writing starring Tony and Laine from Trick of the Night (ER Authors anthology). At 102k, that book is done. Those guys were so easy to write, I managed to tell their story in 4 months, which is record-breaking for me. I'll sign off with a snippet from chapter 8.
*~*~*~*~
“He’s a stripper,” I told Helena when she charged at me with a fresh interrogation on my break. I’d escaped to the back room to fold some towels but she followed me in on the pretense of making tea.
“Really? Where?”
“Diamond Blue. Do you know it?”
“Isn’t that a –-”
“Yes.”
Her eyes widened. “No way! He doesn’t even look like a gay.”
“No? That’s odd. Because he fucks exactly like one.”
Helena’s mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. Have you and he?”
I lifted my shoulder as Tony does, with a casual flick. “Once.” Unlike Tony, I wasn’t ashamed of our night together. I was more ashamed of having had to pay for his time.
“What was he like?” Helena took a seat, both hands wrapped around her mug as though she was settling in for quite a story. Unfortunately for her I certainly wasn’t about to discuss my sex life at work, even if I had one to discuss. But she seems so enamored of the handsome man who’d dropped me off in the beautiful car that I hadn’t the heart to tell her the BMW was actually just borrowed from his huge Adonis of a boyfriend.
“Voracious,” I said. The word seemed oddly apt.
Helena’s brow furrowed. “That means good, right?”
“Definitely.” I hugged a freshly laundered towel to my chest and breathed in the faint trace of lavender fabric conditioner. “Tony has the stamina of a god.”
“Then why aren’t you seeing him?”
Good question. I dumped the towel back on the yet-to-fold pile. What were the reasons again? Oh yes, because I was just a helpless girl who needed looking after. Certainly no one he’d ever consider a potential lover. Perhaps that was my own fault, as I had rather cultivated a sense of feminine vulnerability in his company. But even if I let him know my male side, he still wouldn’t think of me as anything other than the mistake he made the night he hit rock bottom.
I turned away and picked up my mug of tea “We don’t have that sort of a relationship,” I said quietly. I didn’t mind chatting with her, usually. She was only nineteen, and sweet as a cupcake, but talking about Tony became painful after a while. It had always been clear to me that a relationship with him would only ever be a pipe dream,’ “Besides,” I added, drawing a line under the conversation. “Tony already has a boyfriend.”
A very big very scary boyfriend who hated me to the depths of his testosterone-fueled soul.
September 5, 2012
Update
Just a quick update to say my new book, Snowflake, from Loose Id is out next Tuesday, 11th September. I am awaiting the cover but as soon as I get it I will show it off here. A week after that on the 17th September, Loathing Leo (out now on pre-order from Total E Bound) goes on general release. Yay!
In other news, I'm busy with editing a novel starring the characters Tony and Laine from Trick of the Night which is my story featured in the Erotic Escapades anthology. I've also got a vampire novel written and ready to submit, plus the rough outline of a sequel. It has angels :D
I've been keeping myself busy this year in order to make up for a not so great output last year. I also hope to get around to writing a few deep and meaningful blog posts one of these days.
In other news, I'm busy with editing a novel starring the characters Tony and Laine from Trick of the Night which is my story featured in the Erotic Escapades anthology. I've also got a vampire novel written and ready to submit, plus the rough outline of a sequel. It has angels :D
I've been keeping myself busy this year in order to make up for a not so great output last year. I also hope to get around to writing a few deep and meaningful blog posts one of these days.
July 14, 2012
Erotic Escapades
Lorraine Pearl is over on our author blog here talking about our newly published anthology Erotic Escapades.July 4, 2012
Erotic Escapades
My crit group ERA (Erotic Romance Authors) has put together an anthology of stories available now on Smashwords entirely for free. Watch the trailer, then go get the book. Won't cost anything but a few of hours reading time. Click here. You'll be glad you did.
June 10, 2012
School's Out
Last Thursday I finished and submitted my last assignment for The Open University,
which made me realise that for the last eight years I have been studying in one
form or another. It all began with an English GCSE, then on to a English
Literature AS level (I would have done the full A Level but my college only did
the first year), then I embarked on part time study for an English language and
literature BA (hons) degree which took around six years to complete. I won’t
know if I managed to actually get the degree until August, but I am most
definitely relieved not to have any more exams looming or new boxfuls of text
books to pore over.
The main reason I took these courses was with the aim to improving my fiction. I’m
not sure how much of an effect all that studying has had on my writing, but I do
seem to have a lot more willpower when it comes to actually finishing something.
I have a ton of story fragments on my hard drive, but in the last couple of
years I have managed to finish near enough everything I started. Plus, I’ve
overhauled a few of those fragments and whipped those into shape, too.
I’m working on a sort of sequel to a novel fragment that never got
finished. The story works far better this way, and at the moment the words are
just flying from my fingertips. It’s about a couple of best friends who are
destined to be together, but for various reasons fight their attraction. Laine
is scared of relationships, and Tony is just plain scared of Laine. The prequel
should be released any day now as part of the anthology, Erotic Escapades, that my
crit group put together. More details when I get them.
which made me realise that for the last eight years I have been studying in one
form or another. It all began with an English GCSE, then on to a English
Literature AS level (I would have done the full A Level but my college only did
the first year), then I embarked on part time study for an English language and
literature BA (hons) degree which took around six years to complete. I won’t
know if I managed to actually get the degree until August, but I am most
definitely relieved not to have any more exams looming or new boxfuls of text
books to pore over.
The main reason I took these courses was with the aim to improving my fiction. I’m
not sure how much of an effect all that studying has had on my writing, but I do
seem to have a lot more willpower when it comes to actually finishing something.
I have a ton of story fragments on my hard drive, but in the last couple of
years I have managed to finish near enough everything I started. Plus, I’ve
overhauled a few of those fragments and whipped those into shape, too.
I’m working on a sort of sequel to a novel fragment that never got
finished. The story works far better this way, and at the moment the words are
just flying from my fingertips. It’s about a couple of best friends who are
destined to be together, but for various reasons fight their attraction. Laine
is scared of relationships, and Tony is just plain scared of Laine. The prequel
should be released any day now as part of the anthology, Erotic Escapades, that my
crit group put together. More details when I get them.
June 7, 2012
June 1, 2012
First Post
The main reason I changed from Blogger to Weebly is because my blogging skills are useless. I feel slightly less of a failure if I have an occassionally updated website, rather than a tumblewood blog. I'm still trying to get to grips with the way Weebly works, because I'm not the most techno savvy of people. I also hate having to faff about just to make a first post with a picutre attached. I'll either get used to it, or I won't. Maybe I'll' return to Blogger if this doesn't work out.
Anyway, now I've embarked on my first post, I suppose I should update with news. 2011 wasn't a overly productive year for me, writing-wise. A crisis of confidence and a good dose of laziness are the only excuses I have. I did redeem myself towards the end of the year with a book I sold to Total E Bound. It’s called Loathing Leo, and here’s the wonderful cover.
I’ve also sold a book to Loose Id, which, I’m led to believe may be out as soon as August. I’ve got an up and coming short story (I say short, when at around 15000 words it’s more of a novelette), Trick of the Night, which will featue in my crit group’s anthology. The book should release at the end of this month. Hopefully my mammoth short won’t hog too many e-pages. I’m already 10,000 words into a sequel.BTW, I have yet to locate the spell check here (if one exists) so I apologise for any typos that may feature in the post.
I'll end with a extract from Trick of the Night. I'll just add that Tony is a bit of a pig, and Laine is not all she seems.
* The waiter appeared, pushing a trolley loaded covered plates. Tony focused on the broad planes his black trouser-clad arse, but found the sight only a little more alluring than the slight swell of Laine’s breasts beneath her dress.
At least she’d ordered another bottle of champagne, which the waiter promptly opened. Good. If he remembered rightly, and he did, feigning sexual interest in a woman would prove thirsty work. Glass refilled, he downed the flurry of bubbles in a single mouthful. When he offered the glass for a refill, the waiter glanced at Laine as if in sympathy.
“Clearly,”Laine said, after the meals had been placed before them and the waiter tipped and dismissed, “you enjoy a drink. Doesn’t alcohol affect your fitness levels?”
“If, by ‘fitness levels’ you mean you’re worried about how it’ll affect my performance in bed, then don’t bother.” He swallowed the champagne in two gulps. “The champagne’s gonna be the least of our problems.” He belched, loud enough to blast a ripple of shockwaves through the chandelier above the bed.
Laine pressed her scarlet lips together, picked up her fork, and set about an exotic looking salad full of brightly-coloured and unappetising strips of fruit and vegetables. “We’re not in bed.”
“Yet,”Tony muttered, and reached for the champagne.
In one fluid movement, Laine leaned over the table and grabbed the bottle by the neck. She whipped it free of the ice bucket, rose, and stormed towards what Tony suspected might be the bathroom, in her crimson heels. She returned a moment later with an empty bottle, which she slammed between them on the table before resuming her seat. The she picked up a fork, and stabbed the wits from a cherry tomato. Juice spewed from the puncture wounds like miniature water cannons and almost doused the already feeble candle flame.
Tony cleared his throat. “You want me to leave?” He was already poised to hit the hall.
Laine lifted her gaze. A flicker of rage smouldered in the depths of her dark eyes.“No. Just eat.”
Fine. He could do that. He’d much rather eat than be talked down to anyway. He pushed his fingers into a blob of caviar set on a tiny slither of cracker, then touched the tip to his lips. Not bad. Tasted like cum. Nothing special. Did people honestly pay hundreds of pounds for this?
Why should he be so surprised? Wasn’t any less likely than a woman paying hundreds of pounds for a couple of hours in bed with him.
He pushed the cracker around the plate, and debated on whether he could bring himself to indulge a proper taste. Just as he'd made up his mind to give it a go, the plate was whipped cleanly away, quick as the champagne, by a red-taloned claw.
“Finished?”Laine dumped the plate on the trolley and banged another in front of him.
