Cate Ellink's Blog, page 59

Sunday Story

Oh, no, it's Sunday and I forgot to post. Sorry!

I've just opened the last book of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. Have you read these books? They're fabulous. And I gave this one to Mr E as a gift and have been eagerly waiting for him to finish it so I can find out what happens to Karou. Then when I finish it goes to my Dad so he can find out too.

I love that we can share books like that. It's special, and I love sitting and discussing them with my Dad (Mr E doesn't discuss books).

But last night I picked up Dreams of Gods and Monsters (which is the title of book 3, I think) when I got into bed and it was too heavy! It's a bit of a doorstop, maybe 600 pages, and I've become accustomed to reading on my mini iPad, so to heave this brick was difficult, and I was tired, so I put it down and read something else.

And isn't that the ultimate in laziness!?! But sometimes I can't read it as an e-book when I want to share it. And what a dilemma that brings to me. To share or to hold heavy books? Maybe I'm just getting lazy!

Phallic Friday - alcohol, footy players, social media, women

This week, in Sydney, another big news story was about a footy player in trouble for the harassment of a girl. It's a really touchy subject and I'm not entirely sure where I stand with these issues. You never hear the full story in the news, so I can't comment on what happened, but I'll air some general views about these kinds of incidents.

Usually these incidents occur with more than a dash of alcohol thrown into the situation. Alcohol and sex are a wicked combination and I've been around enough pubs and men to know that it's pretty easy picking up (and picking a fight) when it's late and people are pissed.

Footy players are elite athletes. The elite athletes I know play hard - at everything. So when they're drinking, they go hard. When they're picking up, they go hard. When they're picking a fight, they go hard. It seems the nature of their competitiveness.

When I was a teenager, my Mum had a friend whose husband coached an NRL team. I was a huge NRL fan (not of his team though) and she knew I was. She made me promise not to get involved with footy players. She told me that they had women throwing themselves at them all the time. They could pick a different woman every night - or more than one a night - so they didn't know the word 'no' and its association with women. And this is in the 80s, not now. Before camera phones, and the social media saturation of news. And rape then was something no one talked about, and very few would lay charges.

She never told me stories, she never said what happened, she just warned me off them. I listened because she was so intense and serious. She did let me meet her hubby and some of the players when their team played mine - got a few autographs that day. But she made sure I caught the train home too!!

So footy players, sex, alcohol and women can be a bad combination, and always has been. Add in social media, and it's rife for problems.

But there are some decent footy players around. You just have to know which ones to pick - and the pub may not house the best ones! I wrote one in Deep Diving, out in September, but he's imaginary - damn it!

Wildlife Wednesday - echidna

I've always been fascinated by Echidnas. I can't decide if it's the spikes, the squat body or the beaky nose that intrigues me the most.

Anyway, a while back, on a walk down to the beach, this echidna was poking around right next to the track, and then hid beside this tree when I heard him rustling and stopped to look. You can't tell in the photo but his feet are slowly shifting sand beneath him so he can burrow in and be protected - nifty huh?

Then a few days later, just down the road and round the corner from my house, I saw one in the trees around the school. He was strolling along minding his own business - but of course I didn't have a camera with me. Who expects to find an echidna across the street!?

The Australian museum website gives this information about it's life cycle.

Like the Platypus, the Short-beaked Echidna is an egg-laying mammal or monotreme and lays one egg at a time. The eggs hatch after about 10 days and the young, emerge blind and hairless. Clinging to hairs inside the mother's pouch, the young echidna suckles for two or three months. Once it develops spines and becomes too prickly, the mother removes it from her pouch and builds a burrow for it. It continues to suckle for the next six months.

Cats, dogs, foxes and goannas can eat the young. Cars are also added to the list for killing echidnas.

I've seen an echidna in every farm house I've lived in. They seemed to either roam through the yard or camp out for a few days. My dogs were never fond of their visits, but I always thought they were magical.

Sunday Story - Happy Mother's Day!

I found the best Mother's Day present for readers. It's here on Amazon -
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K1PM9US/r...

It's the Mother's Day Romance Bundle, available for only a couple of weeks at 99c (ends soon I think).

Titles include
Tempt Me, Cowboy by Megan Crane
Promise Me, Cowboy by C.J. Carmichael
The Sweetest Thing by Lilian Darcy
Christmas at Copper Mountain by Jane Porter
Home for Christmas by Melissa McClone
A Cowboy for Christmas by Katherine Garbera
What a Bride Wants by Kelly Hunter
Second Chance Bride by Trish Morey
Bet the House by Erika Marks
Sweet Home Carolina by Kim Boykin
A Mother's Day by Kaira Rouda
Sight Seeing by Jane Porter

I've read 8 of these titles already and they were great. These are all stories set in the town of Marietta, USA. The publisher is the Tule Publishing Group, which belongs to some of the authors.

A while back I remember seeing on Facebook these girls touring around Montana for a package of stories they were going to write together. They had some fun photos of their road trip and I was just a tiny bit jealous about a road trip with author gal pals :)

Anyway, not only did they create a series of books, but they started a publishing company, created a whole town, and have a BUNCH of stories all about Marietta... and I think I got addicted.

There's a cowboy series, a bride series, a rodeo series and I think more to come.

But these guys are special people who love, not only their writer friends, but also their readers, so they have these sweet 99c deals often. Keep a lookout - great books for a buck. I love it! And then to do a big bundle like this for the same price is amazing.

So Happy Mothers Day. I hope you snag yourself a Marietta bargain - and have some time to read!

Phallic Friday - prostitution

I could not let this news article slip by without bringing it to your attention. It's a gem.

Here's the link

The world's oldest prostitutes are twins, aged 71, living in Amsterdam, who retired last year. They say they've slept with more than 335 000 men over half a century of work.

Do you reckon that's 335 000 individuals? Or it's an estimate of the number of jobs they've had? Because that's a heck of a lot of individuals! And assuming some visit more than once, a lot of work!

They entered into prostitution in their 20s to escape from violent relationships.

Quite a few prostitutes seem to start in the business after that sort of a relationship (well, from the articles I've read anyway). I guess it gives control, and protection, during sex.

I've always had a fascination with prostitution. A couple of times in my life when I've needed money, I've contemplated the work, but I'm not sure I'm tolerant enough. I'm not cut out for retail, people and their demands drive me bats, so I think prostitution and I are probably not the best fit. I have considered phone sex as an employment strategy...but there's a heck of a lot of hurdles to jump through to set up that sort of business!

Anyway, back to the story - the twins say the best way to keep a man happy is to know what they want.

And I think that's excellent advice. The men I've enjoyed being with the most are men who I've known what they want, I know what they like, and it's been a blast. The men who I just don't really hit it off with, are those who I've no idea what they like/want...and when I ask, they don't know either. It's not so easy to have good sex when they have no idea what good sex is.

I was hoping they'd share more secrets!

They have a book out, The Ladies of Amsterdam, so maybe the secrets are in the book. I might have to buy it and see what it says. Do you reckon it's a tax deduction? Research?

Cover Reveal

Remember I said A Real Online Fantasy was being bundled and repackaged? (you can find it here)

Well...today is the day for the glorious cover reveals! DRUM ROLL please!

I think singly they look fabulous, but together they're out of this world! Classy, sexy, and I love the chest on my book bundle (Bundle Three). Although, I might have a thing about covers and chests :)

What do you think?

Sunday Story -The Embattled Road

A while back I read a book pack called Sealed With A Kiss, a bunch of books about SEALs. One story, about dogs, really struck a chord. So I had a look for other books by the same author and came across The Embattled Road, which is a prequel to a series.

Oh, oh, oh. It was so good. It's the story of three soldiers, injured during war, and their recovery...which sounds boring...but it's not at all. These men want to do something useful despite their injuries...but what is available to vets with amputated limbs, the inability to walk, PTSD?

So, while reading this, I started to really like these three blokes. One a grumpy bastard who should be unlikeable but who I've ended up liking the best.

Looks like more books by JM Madden will be hitting my TBR pile :)

[image error]

Phallic Friday - safe sex

OMG! I caught myself out with the safe sex stuff!

You know, the age old debate (well, not so age old, maybe only in recent years) - condom on, or off, or do we need it mentioned in fiction?

Well, I've been trying to be a good author and do the "on" thing after a discussion among the erotic authors.

I know Lily is in the "we don't need it mentioned in fiction" camp.

Well, I wrote myself into a hole (ah, yes, not that kind - the word kind!). Oral sex is low risk for HIV transfer. I knew that, so I had my character having condom-free oral sex. Then something nagged at the back of my mind and I thought I should check that it is was right. My character was so adamant that she was being safe.

Oh oh.

While you're generally safe against HIV transfer, not so with STDs. I was in a pickle - not so much as my character who'd been swallowing enough potentially germy seed to start some major illnesses.

So what do you do? How do you handle a character who needs to have condom-free head (this is part of the motivation for the character's sex life) but also needs to be safe? Should you worry?

So, that's been my week's dilemma. Thank goodness it's a writing one and not a real life issue where I'm waiting for my tests to come back!

How's your week been!?

Wildlife Wednesday - cocoon

He's fallen on the ground and hanging on when I try to move itI have a strange tale to tell today - and I'm afraid I don't look like much of an animal lover in it, but I should confess all.

And he's showing me he can move himself thanks!I saw a cocoon hanging from my verandah roof the other evening. I noted it. That was all. It was blowing a gale that night and next morning, the cocoon was on the ground (middle of the verandah). I just wasn't sure if it had blown off, or if Mr E had assisted it (he hates things like that on his territory), so I went to pick it up. But there was a bug inside who didn't take too kindly to my meddling. I left him.

A few hours later, he'd hiked across the verandah to my thongs (at the front door). So I helped him by placing my thong in the garden, in a shrub, so he could hook onto that and be happy...or so I thought.

What do I find the next day? He's hanging on my roof again!! And boy, he must have cursed me because he would have had to hike all across the verandah again to crawl up the wall, unless he went up a verandah post.

How bad did I feel!?

Can you see him hanging from the roof? And the journey from ground to thongs, to garden and then roof. Oops!


So...what is he?

Up closeA native Saunders' Case Moth, Metura elongatus. According to the ever trusty Google. Some sites are here and here.)

Case moths spin their cases out of silk and most species attach leaves, twigs, sand or soil to the outside for protection and camouflage. 

Case moths spend most of their lives in the caterpillar phase; this part of their life cycle can last 1-2 years. As caterpillars, they never leave their cases. However, they can be very mobile, dragging their large cocoons along as they move around. If they feel threatened they can seal off the end of the cocoon, cutting a new opening once the threat has passed. The females continue to live in their cases after they’ve pupated into adult moths, but the males leave their cases after pupation to fly off in search of females.

Sunday Story - repackaging and bundling

One month countdown...

My first little story, A Real Online Fantasy, is getting a new life. Momentum are bundling up the 14 Hot Down Under titles into 4 bundles and re-branding, re-packaging, and sending them out to the world again! Although the little story sells well for me, apparently it could sell better - and I'm keen to see that!

I'm bundled up with three incredible stories: Rhyll Biest's Australia Day cane toad race story, A Sporting Chance, Kylie Scott's zombie apocalyptic action story, Room With A View, and Keziah Hill's arty threesome, Business With Pleasure.

There are 3 other delicious bundles, all with really sexy covers, available from May 27.

I'll post the cover when I can...but I think you'll like it :)


This will be the start of drowning in Cate Ellink stories. I'll also have releases in July (Submission short story), September (Deep Diving) and November (a wicked story). Hope you won't be sick of me by then!