Tina Christopher's Blog, page 17

Weekend Writing Warriors Snippet!

I hope you are enjoying the pre-Christmas days and having some fun!

Today I have the opening paragraphs from Rescue by Ruin, a Victorian steampunk story, for you. Click here for the rest of the amazing writers participating in the Weekend Writing Warriors.

“Miss Beatrice Viola Trevan tugged on her coat to ensure it covered her scandalous clothes. Glad her shimmering golden evening gloves hid her sweaty palms she tweaked the somewhat uncomfortable red and gold mask hiding the upper half of her face. She exhaled and walked toward one of the many gangplanks leading up to the Venia, the airship tethered in Hyde Park.

The airship was one of the new SkyCat models, meaning two pontoons ran the length of the passenger floor, making the airship appear like a resting cat from the front or the back.

Beatrice walked onto the gangplank, but then stopped at the edge, letting the traffic flow past her. The wooden plank vibrated under the other guests’ steps, their laughter and echo of their voices filled the air around her. The coaches stopping behind her to release more guests hissed and rumbled, their steam engines panting.

Beatrice’s heart pounded, her throat was dry.”

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and fabulous next week!

Forced to marry a violent man, Beatrice knows only one way out—ruin her reputation. She climbs aboard the Venia, a dirigible of ill repute, for a masquerade. Bea does not expect to run into Vaughn Kemple, the third Duke of Missenden, who eight months ago left her without an explanation. Feeling secure behind her mask, she decides Vaughn will be the one to ruin her. She may not get to spend forever with this man she still loves, but at least she can have one night of pleasure.

But a mask is not enough to hide her identity. Vaughn recognizes Bea, shocked to find her aboard an airship where sexual freedom isn’t just a thought, it’s celebrated. But her actions are far from innocent. Captivated, he’s determined to make her his.

The heat between them flares, but Vaughn is torn between desire and honor. Bea is afraid to risk her heart on a man she can’t trust. And when her future husband arrives on the scene, it’s more than their hearts in danger.

Buy it from Ellora’s Cave, Amazon or Kobo (BOOKRIOT50 gives you 50% off select titles on kobobooks).

Conflict! A Guest Blog by Anya Richards

I am very excited to welcome the fabulous Anya Richards for the very first guest blog on my site. She stopped by to celebrate the release of her latest book Jaguar in the Sun and talk a little bit about conflict. Let me just say that if you’re looking for a sexy story with a twist Anya is your girl. I have a weakness for a certain troll…

Take it away, Anya.

The other night hubby and I were watching the season finale of The Blacklist and, as it came close to the end he turned to me with a look of agonized annoyance on his face. “What is with you damn writers?” he asked, glaring at me. “Conflict! Always the blasted CONFLICT!”

I just laughed, but it’s a refrain I hear around the house quite a bit. He’s always asking me about whatever I’m working on and, as I try to explain the plot of the book, he starts shaking his head. “Why does there have to be so much CONFLICT?” Well, honey, because without it, there would be no book…

What’s the use of writing about boy meets girl, they fall in love and live happily ever after if there’s no tension, no question about whether they can actually achieve that end goal? Or, if it’s an established couple, writing about them living in bliss without any bumps in the road? *Yawn*

When I first started writing and submitting work, there were two comments I got from editors (along with rejections) that stuck with me. One was, “Too much plot for the length” and the other, “Not enough conflict to keep the reader interested.” I count myself as lucky to have gotten those comments, because they went along with compliments about other aspects of the stories and encouragement to keep writing. They also showed me the most important thing editors were looking for when they read submissions—a fully-realized plot, but one appropriate for the type of story, whether short story, novella or novel, and that includes (yes, Mr. Anya) conflict.

In my latest release, Jaguar in the Sun, book four in the Unveiled Seductions series, I pair a woman working through her bucket list with an immortal jaguar god. Cassie’s about to die. Xbal’s decided not to love again because, when he does, the women eventually die, leaving him devastated. When they discover their connection goes way beyond the physical, how do they each handle it on an emotional level? And how the hell can they have anything approximating a happily-ever-after?

You’ll have to read the book to see *grin* but, in the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy the following blurb and excerpt.

Anya Richards

Journeys Through Seduction

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Book four in the Unveiled Seductions series.

Cassandra Solinar has a bucket list and jaguar god Xbal Montegro is on it. About to undergo an essential rite she won’t survive, she wants to wring every ounce of pleasure out of the time left. Including discovering if Xbal’s sex magic technique is as good as rumored.

It’s no hardship for Xbal to accept Cassandra’s invitation for one erotic encounter, but far more difficult to let her go once he gets a taste of the explosive passion between them. Now he’s determined to hold on to her, no matter what.

Cassie can’t tell Xbal the truth about what she’s about to do. It’s illegal, but without her death the entire world will perish. It’s a job she’s been preparing for from birth, but the loss will be greater now. For in Xbal she finds a soul-deep connection she doesn’t want to lose, and the one thing she made a point of not putting on her bucket list—love.

A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Excerpt:

Cassie wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the turn her encounter with Xbal had taken. It was one of those situations where you go in thinking you know what’ll happen but the script you have in your head turns out to be completely wrong. She’d been envisioning an immediate response—either a polite “no, thank you” or a crazy, gotta-have-it-now fuck on his couch or desk. Nowhere in her imagined movie was there banal conversation on the way to a restaurant, the prospect of lunch as a build-up to the actual deed getting done. He’d turned her plan on its head, and she felt as though she was upside down with it.

If she weren’t so completely rattled, the entire situation would be hilarious.

But she was rattled. Not to mention frazzled. Oh, and throw in a wild, inescapable side order of horny.

Yeah.

Hard to laugh when the sensation of Xbal’s lips on hers wouldn’t go away, when she kept remembering the timbre of his voice as he said, “Foreplay.” Then there was the slow, careful, terribly controlled way he’d closed her dress and tied the sash as she stood there trying hard not to tremble each time his knuckles brushed her skin.

Yes, it was all so ridiculous.

Yes, he was amazingly sexy.

Of course she’d wanted to sleep with him for years.

But, in the final analysis, it was still just Xbal, her friend and occasional business associate, a man she admired and genuinely liked. Just because she’d opened the door to them sleeping together didn’t mean any of that had changed, did it?

She glanced up from the menu she’d been pretending to peruse and another wave of need flashed over her skin and through her veins at the sight of him across the table. As though sensing her stare, he looked up too and smiled. Just a small tilt of one side of that beautiful mouth and her insides melted, need sending a hot, hard signal to her clit, which throbbed in response. Refusing to let him see just how affected she was by the entire situation and knowing from experience just how good she was at hiding these things, she smiled brightly back.

“So. What about this foreplay you promised me?”

Good. Nothing in her tone to indicate anything but light amusement. It was all she was willing to reveal.

Xbal waved an expressive hand, as though subtly brushing the words aside, and tilted his head a little, his eyes never leaving her face.

“We’ll get there, but I have a couple of questions for you first.”

“Oh?” Cassie tilted her head too, mirroring him, giving back as good as she was getting. “Like what?”

“Why me?” Nothing but curiosity in the words, but his eyes had darkened, his gaze turning sharp and probing. Cassie suppressed a shiver. Somehow that predatory stare was just so damn hot. “Why now?”

The urge was to look away, sever the sense of intimacy suddenly binding them together, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She was about to lie to him, by omission if nothing else. Breaking eye contact would be too much an admission of…what? Insecurity? Dishonesty? Vulnerability? A mixture of all three?

She shrugged lightly, pushing those thoughts aside.

“Am I the only one to feel there’s a certain…” She lifted an eyebrow, drawing out the last word. “Chemistry between us? If I am—”

Again came that wave of his fingers, less subtle this time. “You know you’re not. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I set eyes on you, and you know it.”

No, she hadn’t really known it. She’d thought it, hoped it, even dreamed it, but he was such a cool customer she hadn’t been one-hundred percent sure. Hearing the words gave her an aching thrill she couldn’t—didn’t want to—fully suppress.

Arching both brows this time, she shook her head slowly. “Well, if that’s the case, what more is there to say?”

“A lot,” came the succinct reply. “Why me? Why now?”

By Sol, he wasn’t giving up, was he? What could she say to satisfy him that didn’t involve things like, “You’re on my bucket list” or “I couldn’t put it off any longer, lest I miss the chance”? The truth would lead to far more questions and admissions than she was prepared to allow. What could she say to fend that off and satisfy his curiosity? She settled on part of the truth.

“You’re a sexy man and I want to sleep with you.” There was some satisfaction in seeing eyes widen just enough to show surprise. “As for why now? It’s the right time for me, as I hope it is for you.”

His eyes still locked on her face, Xbal leaned back in the booth and, just from that motion, she knew he wasn’t satisfied with her answer. Mentally scrambling, she watched him for a second or two, waiting for him to start digging deeper, before inspiration struck.

“Of course, hearing you’re a master practitioner of sex magic doesn’t hurt.” She found herself licking her lips and didn’t stop the movement, knowing he’d seen the motion by the flicker of his gaze. When she continued she let her voice fall low, into a sexy whisper. “The combination of you and atraspa is too much for me to resist any longer.”

Now she had him.

Xbal’s stillness was complete, only his eyes flickering slightly, a big cat sighting his prey. Cassie suddenly realized she could hardly breathe, so caught up in the intensity of his gaze air seemed superfluous.

Foreplay. It occurred to her Xbal didn’t need to touch her, with hands or lips or magic, to turn her on. It was all in the eyes. The expression and concentrated focus.

Sol, he’s sexy.

There was a part of her wondering why she’d waited this long to initiate a sexual encounter with him, another urging her to run away. It was overwhelming, being the object of his attention in a way she hadn’t expected.

I didn’t expect any of this.

She’d thought it would have been over by now. The scenario seemed simple enough. He says yes, or no. They have sex, or she walks away. Now, mesmerized by the dark, compelling eyes, it all seemed a hell of a lot more complicated.

Weekend Writing Warriors Snippet 4

Happy Sunday, everyone. It is time for another Weekend Writing Warriors snippet. Check here to see all the other amazing authors.

This is the fourth snippet from my current, untitled WIP, Sexy Steampunk 2, the sequel to Rescue by Ruin. The book is not yet finished and has no blurb. Archer and Warren want Susan to be their third. London 1897 does not exactly have an open society, so they have to be very careful on how they approach her. Susan went to Archer, who she has a crush on, for help and ended up posing naked for Warren, who is a painter. They had just introduced her to their touch and she had responded with a proposal neither man had expected. Unfortunately it had thrown Archer into a tailspin, leaving Warren to do everything in his power to get them back on track to fulfilling their long-term goal. And if it means driving Archer wild so he finally gives up control and sees the bigger picture, then so be it.

“Archer was exquisite as he lounged on the bed, the tanned skin of his naked torso shimmering in the soft light. The narrow line of hair that disappeared behind the top of his trousers and the hard cock pushing against the cotton.

Warren swallowed. God, he loved Archer so much and he wanted nothing more than to see him happy. But this campaign for a third was hurting both of them on different levels. They had to find their balance again, their foundation, otherwise everything they did could be for naught.

“I don’t see you taking off your clothes,” Warren’s voice was rough, his desire too strong to appear unmoved.

And Archer knew it; he grinned like a cat that had swallowed the canary as he slowly, oh-so-slowly, rolled off the bed and to his feet.”

As always, this snippet has not yet been polished;). Have a great Sunday and a fabulous week.

Weekend Writing Warriors Sunday Snippet 3

Welcome to my Weekend Writing Warriors Sunday Snippet. Check out all the other awesome writers participating here.

This is the third snippet from my current, untitled WIP, Sexy Steampunk 2, the sequel to Rescue by Ruin. The book is not yet finished and has no blurb. Archer and Warren want Susan to be their third. London 1897 does not exactly have an open society, so they have to be very careful on how they approach her. Susan went to Archer, who she has a crush on, for help and ended up posing naked for Warren, who is a painter. She has just finished her first full session, which also involved getting physically closer to her two men, something that could cost her everything.

“Susan had never felt like this before.

Archer’s heat behind her, his strength holding her up. Warren’s gentle, yet so titillating touch before her.

When they’d stopped the session she had been mentally and physically exhausted. Far more than she had ever imagined from standing still. She’d been sweaty and sticky. When Warren had started to clean her she’d been relieved she didn’t have to do it herself.

Each touch was a caress and the support and tantalizing feel of Archer behind her pushed her further and further down a path she had planned to avoid.”

Please remember this story has not yet been edited or polished;). Have a wonderful week.

Writer Wednesday: Process

I call myself a plantser, meaning I outline in broad strokes like a planner and then make it up as I go along within those lines like a pantser. This has worked well for me. When I get a little lost I just drill down deeper and give myself more keywords to keep me on track.

My goal is to finish the first draft of Sexy Steampunk 2 by December 1st. Fellow writer Karla Doyle shared with me how she kept herself on track when she had a deadline for her last book. She would write every scene onto a post-it note and not leave her desk until that scene was done. So I went along and made this

This happened a week ago. Now I am here

You can see that I have only taken down 2 post-its. However for the second post-it I wrote nearly 6k from three different points of view. This tells me that I have to be more specific and not just transfer my plantser outline that says “have sex” or “Big Black Moment”;).

Still, I like this new process. It is visual and gives you a good idea as to where you are. It is very satisfying to tear down one of those notes, so I will probably continue doing this, just flesh it out a little bit more.

What about you? Do you keep track of progress through word count or do you have a visual component?

BTW, the notes look I’ve crumpled them up, but that is just the style the manufacturer made.

Weekend Writing Warriors Snippet

The Weekend Writing Warriors are at it again! Click the link to see the rest of the brigade;).

The eight sentences are from the sequel to Rescue by Ruin again. To save herself and her father Susan has agreed to pose for Warren, no idea if he can even paint. She got a little bit more than she bargained for;).

“He saw everything.

Nothing escaped his eyes. With just a few lines in charcoal he captured the essence of his subjects.

He hid none of it.

The good, the bad and the ugly. He brought everything out on paper.

And now he was about to use her as his subject.

Susan wasn’t sure if she could stand what his image would show of her.”

Thank you for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend.

Sentence Sunday with the Weekend Writing Warriors!

I have joined the Weekend Writing Warriors. Click on the link to find all participants.

I am sharing 8 sentences from my current untitled WIP Sexy Steampunk 2, the sequel to Rescue by Ruin. Warren has just met the young woman Archer has feelings for and would like to bring in as their third in late Victorian London.

“Archer leaned forward and kissed Warren. “She is the one for me.”

Warren nodded. “I know.”

Anxiety curled through Archer’s stomach. “And you?”

Warren cupped Archer’s cheek and kissed him softly. “She grabbed me by the throat the minute I saw her.” He stroked his finger across Archer’s cheek.”

Thanks for stepping by and join me next Sunday to find out more about how Archer and Warren deal with this change in their lives.

Darker Temptations

I am over at Darker Temptations, talking about what I am grateful about this autumn.

Geronimo!

It is my turn to talk about my favourite time period over at Darker Temptations.

Join me and find out where I would want to go. And more importantly, how I would get there;).

Edit: Apologies if you tried the link early Saturday. Unfortunately there were some WordPress issues with scheduling. Thanks for your patience.

Cute and Funny-What More Do You Need?

I was sent this video and nearly laughed my head off watching it. It is incredibly cute and absolutely hilarious. Enjoy!