Storm Chase's Blog, page 87
January 27, 2014
Guest Bogger: Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar "Does Love Still Exist?"
Please welcome guest blogger Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar author of Love Comes Later
I had a great idea in 2009; I would write a book about how a modern person with traditional values would find love. I didn't think this would be so difficult. After all, I'd managed to resist the pressures of my own South Asian culture until the spinsterly age of 26, when, as my father put it, "to find a good man who would make a commitment to me" even if he wasn't Indian.
Fresh from an unlikely, whirlwind romance in the desert, I sat down to explore in fiction the difficult choices facing young Qatari men and women amongst the myriad dilemmas of love, choice, honor, and duty.
I put Abdulla and Sangita in a small London apartment and waited for sparks to fly.
But nothing was happening. There they were; young, attractive, in close proximity, and I couldn't believe that they were falling in love. All the elements were there but the emotions were missing.
I started asking everyone: "How do people fall in love?"
My older Indian friends were surprised.
"Didn't you have a love marriage?" They asked me, products of the arranged marriage system. "Don't you know?"
"Seems so long ago," I muttered, well out of earshot of my husband.
"I loved your book," another friend said. "I've never known what love is…" she said, with a dreamy look in her, having been arranged to her husband.
"It's all the same after a while," I said to her dryly, watching our husbands on their mobile phones while we mothers ran after our children.
"But how can they fall in love," I asked my Qatari friends, growing desperate for realism as the book entered a seemingly endless cycle of revisions.
"She has to be hot," one of my male beta readers said, in all honesty.
Chemistry. Right. I forgot that part, somehow, settling into comfortable domesticity.
Abdulla and Sangita did eventually find their way in the story. The sequel to the book is in progress and explores an equally murky area: what happens after the spark? Are the chances for survival of 'falling into' love greater?
I grew up with the idea that no, falling in love did not guarantee romantic success; making allegiances between well researched partners was stacking the cards in your favor. My parents' anti-falling in love argument was the 50% divorce rate in America.
What do you think? Do you fall in and out of love? Or do you choose to love?
Mohana is also on Facebook.
I had a great idea in 2009; I would write a book about how a modern person with traditional values would find love. I didn't think this would be so difficult. After all, I'd managed to resist the pressures of my own South Asian culture until the spinsterly age of 26, when, as my father put it, "to find a good man who would make a commitment to me" even if he wasn't Indian.
Fresh from an unlikely, whirlwind romance in the desert, I sat down to explore in fiction the difficult choices facing young Qatari men and women amongst the myriad dilemmas of love, choice, honor, and duty.
I put Abdulla and Sangita in a small London apartment and waited for sparks to fly.
But nothing was happening. There they were; young, attractive, in close proximity, and I couldn't believe that they were falling in love. All the elements were there but the emotions were missing.
I started asking everyone: "How do people fall in love?"
My older Indian friends were surprised.
"Didn't you have a love marriage?" They asked me, products of the arranged marriage system. "Don't you know?"
"Seems so long ago," I muttered, well out of earshot of my husband.
"I loved your book," another friend said. "I've never known what love is…" she said, with a dreamy look in her, having been arranged to her husband.
"It's all the same after a while," I said to her dryly, watching our husbands on their mobile phones while we mothers ran after our children.
"But how can they fall in love," I asked my Qatari friends, growing desperate for realism as the book entered a seemingly endless cycle of revisions.
"She has to be hot," one of my male beta readers said, in all honesty.
Chemistry. Right. I forgot that part, somehow, settling into comfortable domesticity.
Abdulla and Sangita did eventually find their way in the story. The sequel to the book is in progress and explores an equally murky area: what happens after the spark? Are the chances for survival of 'falling into' love greater?
I grew up with the idea that no, falling in love did not guarantee romantic success; making allegiances between well researched partners was stacking the cards in your favor. My parents' anti-falling in love argument was the 50% divorce rate in America.
What do you think? Do you fall in and out of love? Or do you choose to love?
Mohana is also on Facebook.
January 23, 2014
Burns Night giveaway extravaganza!
Robert BurnsIt's Burns Night tomorrow, a Scots holiday that celebrates the life of the poet Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759. My father's Scots and I grew up near Loch Lomond, so Burns is a bit special to me. Most people know him for writing "Auld Lang Syne" but for me his two best poems are Tam o'Shanter, the story of a drunk who stumbles onto a witches coven one dark night, and Ode to a Wee Mousie, that starts:
Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty
Wi bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murdering pattle.
I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
An' fellow mortal!
I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
For the rest of it, click on this link.
To celebrate our national poet, there's a Rafflecopter with prizes that includes my book, Blackmail Bride. The link's below.
If you don't win, or you don't like Rafflecopters, I'm offering a 50% discount on Blackmail Bride, a modern story set in the Loch Lomond area.
I'm afraid the men in my book don't wear kilts, nor do they go about saying things like, "Hoots mon" as my family and friends don't speak that way unless they're acting up for tourists.
However, there's a love story, as well as a mystery to solve and a properly evil bad man.
Here's the blurb:
Stalked by her abusive ex-husband, Lucy Grant is desperate for a protector. Lucy aims for the one man who is tough enough for the job, ex-convict Jack Welsh.
Found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit, Jack Welsh is convinced Lucy’s ex set him up. Jack will do anything to clear his name - even if it means marrying Lucy.A story of love and redemption with fully depicted love scenes.
To get the 50% discount, visit Blackmail Bride: An Erotic Romance In Scotland at Smashwords and use Coupon Code: HT47L at checkout to get the promotional price of $1.50. Coupon expires: February 14, 2014. The book is also available on Amazon US and Amazon UK but I can't offer a discount there.
For more goodies, prizes and Burns fun, take part in the blog hop.
Enjoy your Burns Night! I'll be raising a glass soon and wishing you the traditional Glasgow toast: Here's tae us. Wha's like us. Damn few, And they're a' deid. Mair's the pity!
Rafflecopter giveaway
1.Love, Lust and Lipstick Stains9.Inner Goddess17.Nina Mason2.Samantha Holt10.Hunter S. Jones18.Kate Robbins3.A Dirty Book Affair11.Christina Phillips19.Scenes from a Chaotic Mind4.Anne Conley12.Andrea Bellmont20.Sarah Bella5.Em Taylor13.Isobelle Cate21.Joanne Wadsworth6.Kirsten S. Blacketer14.Storm Chase22.Anne Stenhouse7.Willa Blair15.Ceci Giltenan
8.Nicole Hurley- Moore16.Tarah Scott
January 16, 2014
January 4, 2014
Charlotte and Byron Erotica Romances - and a Special Offer
I've started writing a series of short, stand alone erotica romance tales featuring Charlotte and Byron. I'm also running a special offer: if you buy and review The Maid at Amazon or Smashwords, you get The Knight for free. Just email me at stormchaseromance@gmail.com and tell me where you reviewed it.
The Maid In The Cupboard
A Charlotte and Byron Erotica Romance, Book 1.
When Master Byron makes a pass at Charlotte the housemaid, and some unexpected visitors turn up, the cupboard beckons. A sweet erotica romance short story.
Buy it on Smashwords.Buy it on AmazonBuy it on Amazon UK
The Knight and the Damsel in Distress
A Charlotte and Byron Erotica Romance, Book 2
Lady Charlotte, the only daughter of Henry de Maine, Count of Summerville, is a law onto herself.Unlike the other gently bred maidens of Plantagenet England, Lady Charlotte does exactly what she wants, when she wants. She also has a reputation for rejecting suitors. However, when Lady Charlotte meets Sir Byron, the gallant knight just returned from the Crusades, she may have met her match…
Buy this on SmashwordsBuy this on AmazonBuy this on Amazon UK
The Maid In The Cupboard
A Charlotte and Byron Erotica Romance, Book 1.
When Master Byron makes a pass at Charlotte the housemaid, and some unexpected visitors turn up, the cupboard beckons. A sweet erotica romance short story.
Buy it on Smashwords.Buy it on AmazonBuy it on Amazon UK
The Knight and the Damsel in Distress
A Charlotte and Byron Erotica Romance, Book 2
Lady Charlotte, the only daughter of Henry de Maine, Count of Summerville, is a law onto herself.Unlike the other gently bred maidens of Plantagenet England, Lady Charlotte does exactly what she wants, when she wants. She also has a reputation for rejecting suitors. However, when Lady Charlotte meets Sir Byron, the gallant knight just returned from the Crusades, she may have met her match…
Buy this on SmashwordsBuy this on AmazonBuy this on Amazon UK
January 2, 2014
Pygophiles Rule
The Ancient Greeks believed that a nice bum was the personal gift of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Proving the old phrase Mixed Blessings, two girls who had been personally blessed by the goddess, fell out when trying to decide who was the most callipygious. In order to avoid bloodshed, they asked the two sons of their wealthy neighbour to judge between them.
As it turned out the young men were pygophilians: sexually aroused by the sight of nicely shaped bottoms. Smitten, they immediately married their callipygian sweethearts, catapulting them into a lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams and bestowing on them an exalted social rank to boot. As they were never heard of again, we can only assume that the girls were too impressed with their new status to fight further.
Deciding the general epithet callipygian wasn't expressive enough, the Greeks went one step further. They decided on spheropygian derived from the word sphere to describe beautifully full and rounded bottoms. For extreme cases of posterior munificence, there is also steatopyga. This is normally used to describe Hottentot women who have the most amazing bottom: the fat that sits upon the buttocks gives them a characteristic "parcel shelf" look.
The next time you see your best enemy, you may drop the vulgar phrase fat-bum and use the much more accurate steatopygous, pronounced stay-toh-pie-goose. An elegant insult is always so satisfying, don't you think?
Given this sums up the number of descriptive words available in the English language for this subject, perhaps we should invent some new ones. For example, if the Greek prefix bromo means smelly, then wouldn't bromopygian mean smelly bottom? Along the same lines we could have micropygian for tiny bottoms and talantepygian for wobbly bottoms.
I wonder if pygmy is a corruption of short arse...
The Ancient Greeks believed that a nice bum was the personal gift of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Proving the old phrase Mixed Blessings, two girls who had been personally blessed by the goddess, fell out when trying to decide who was the most callipygious. In order to avoid bloodshed, they asked the two sons of their wealthy neighbour to judge between them.
As it turned out the young men were pygophilians: sexually aroused by the sight of nicely shaped bottoms. Smitten, they immediately married their callipygian sweethearts, catapulting them into a lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams and bestowing on them an exalted social rank to boot. As they were never heard of again, we can only assume that the girls were too impressed with their new status to fight further.
Deciding the general epithet callipygian wasn't expressive enough, the Greeks went one step further. They decided on spheropygian derived from the word sphere to describe beautifully full and rounded bottoms. For extreme cases of posterior munificence, there is also steatopyga. This is normally used to describe Hottentot women who have the most amazing bottom: the fat that sits upon the buttocks gives them a characteristic "parcel shelf" look.
The next time you see your best enemy, you may drop the vulgar phrase fat-bum and use the much more accurate steatopygous, pronounced stay-toh-pie-goose. An elegant insult is always so satisfying, don't you think?
Given this sums up the number of descriptive words available in the English language for this subject, perhaps we should invent some new ones. For example, if the Greek prefix bromo means smelly, then wouldn't bromopygian mean smelly bottom? Along the same lines we could have micropygian for tiny bottoms and talantepygian for wobbly bottoms.
I wonder if pygmy is a corruption of short arse...
As it turned out the young men were pygophilians: sexually aroused by the sight of nicely shaped bottoms. Smitten, they immediately married their callipygian sweethearts, catapulting them into a lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams and bestowing on them an exalted social rank to boot. As they were never heard of again, we can only assume that the girls were too impressed with their new status to fight further.
Deciding the general epithet callipygian wasn't expressive enough, the Greeks went one step further. They decided on spheropygian derived from the word sphere to describe beautifully full and rounded bottoms. For extreme cases of posterior munificence, there is also steatopyga. This is normally used to describe Hottentot women who have the most amazing bottom: the fat that sits upon the buttocks gives them a characteristic "parcel shelf" look.
The next time you see your best enemy, you may drop the vulgar phrase fat-bum and use the much more accurate steatopygous, pronounced stay-toh-pie-goose. An elegant insult is always so satisfying, don't you think?
Given this sums up the number of descriptive words available in the English language for this subject, perhaps we should invent some new ones. For example, if the Greek prefix bromo means smelly, then wouldn't bromopygian mean smelly bottom? Along the same lines we could have micropygian for tiny bottoms and talantepygian for wobbly bottoms.
I wonder if pygmy is a corruption of short arse...
The Ancient Greeks believed that a nice bum was the personal gift of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Proving the old phrase Mixed Blessings, two girls who had been personally blessed by the goddess, fell out when trying to decide who was the most callipygious. In order to avoid bloodshed, they asked the two sons of their wealthy neighbour to judge between them.
As it turned out the young men were pygophilians: sexually aroused by the sight of nicely shaped bottoms. Smitten, they immediately married their callipygian sweethearts, catapulting them into a lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams and bestowing on them an exalted social rank to boot. As they were never heard of again, we can only assume that the girls were too impressed with their new status to fight further.
Deciding the general epithet callipygian wasn't expressive enough, the Greeks went one step further. They decided on spheropygian derived from the word sphere to describe beautifully full and rounded bottoms. For extreme cases of posterior munificence, there is also steatopyga. This is normally used to describe Hottentot women who have the most amazing bottom: the fat that sits upon the buttocks gives them a characteristic "parcel shelf" look.
The next time you see your best enemy, you may drop the vulgar phrase fat-bum and use the much more accurate steatopygous, pronounced stay-toh-pie-goose. An elegant insult is always so satisfying, don't you think?
Given this sums up the number of descriptive words available in the English language for this subject, perhaps we should invent some new ones. For example, if the Greek prefix bromo means smelly, then wouldn't bromopygian mean smelly bottom? Along the same lines we could have micropygian for tiny bottoms and talantepygian for wobbly bottoms.
I wonder if pygmy is a corruption of short arse...
December 30, 2013
Inner Goddess TBR Starter Pack Giveaways!
Win hot romances from authors like Lori King, Rosanna Leo, and Michelle Graham (and me, Storm Chase!) by entering for the TBR starter pack giveaway that's being hosted by Pearls from Inner Goddess today, tomorrow and the day after. To keep it simple, I'll quote her:Each day of the hop, We will give away a Starter Kit to help you tackle your TBR pile.
To be entered post in the comments with the name of a book on your TBR pile (plus an email contact). At midnight each night we will pick a random name to win the day's Starter Kit. Your name stays in the drawing all three days, so the more times you comment with a title, the more chances to win. Be sure to come back each day to comment again.
Starter Kit 1 (Dec. 31) Laurie Roma - 3 IAD ebooks (Under Pressure, One Shot, & Deadly Target; Lori King - Winner's choice from backlist; Rosanna Leo - ecopy of Predator's Kiss; Storm Chase - winner choice from backlist
Starter Kit 2 (Jan. 1) Tara Rose - one e-book of each of the Passion Peak, Colorado books - Seducing Carma, Mastering Angela, Training Summer, Chasing Felicity, & Persuading Eve; Randi Alexander - ecopy from backlist; Storm Chase - winner choice from backlist
Starter Kit 3 (Jan. 2) Sable Hunter - ebooks Burning Love - Sweeter Version (Hell Yeah! Sweeter Version) & Hot on Her Trail - Sweeter Version (Hell Yeah! Sweeter Version); Corinne Davies - a pdf copy of Caress of Fur & Claiming Destiny; Michelle Graham - winner's choice of one of my backlist titles; Storm Chase - winner choice from backlist for all three days; Iyana Jenna - This Isn't Goodbye
Visit Pearls here and do enter the blog hop here too.
Good luck and Happy New Year!
To be entered post in the comments with the name of a book on your TBR pile (plus an email contact). At midnight each night we will pick a random name to win the day's Starter Kit. Your name stays in the drawing all three days, so the more times you comment with a title, the more chances to win. Be sure to come back each day to comment again.
Starter Kit 1 (Dec. 31) Laurie Roma - 3 IAD ebooks (Under Pressure, One Shot, & Deadly Target; Lori King - Winner's choice from backlist; Rosanna Leo - ecopy of Predator's Kiss; Storm Chase - winner choice from backlist
Starter Kit 2 (Jan. 1) Tara Rose - one e-book of each of the Passion Peak, Colorado books - Seducing Carma, Mastering Angela, Training Summer, Chasing Felicity, & Persuading Eve; Randi Alexander - ecopy from backlist; Storm Chase - winner choice from backlist
Starter Kit 3 (Jan. 2) Sable Hunter - ebooks Burning Love - Sweeter Version (Hell Yeah! Sweeter Version) & Hot on Her Trail - Sweeter Version (Hell Yeah! Sweeter Version); Corinne Davies - a pdf copy of Caress of Fur & Claiming Destiny; Michelle Graham - winner's choice of one of my backlist titles; Storm Chase - winner choice from backlist for all three days; Iyana Jenna - This Isn't Goodbye
Visit Pearls here and do enter the blog hop here too.
Good luck and Happy New Year!
December 23, 2013
Marat M'saev Daan: Writing about love and relationships
Today's guest post is by Marat M'saev Daan author of Moonchild's SmileLove, one of the oldest "things" in this world. I know that love isn't a thing but an emotion, it is just, are we always treating it as one or it really has become just a thing?
A lot of writers have tried to approach this topic from many different angles. Have you liked their words? Were they appealing to you in any way? Have you learned anything from it? If they were talking about mistakes that were made, have you learned them or just repeated them in your lives? There are a lot of questions that can be asked about love. Here, I want to talk about writing about it.
I have red about a lot of love stories, good and bad as well. Most of the time it felt like those words were forced out by the writers. I am not sure what they had in mind but I didn’t like it. Characters were a bit plastic. Sure, there were emotions, but that wasn’t convincing enough. I was thinking a lot about this and how to avoid commonly made mistake. Finally it has reached my thoughts. I said to me “Hey, put yourself in character’s position.” So I was imagining how it would be to go trough a terrible drama breaking of the relationship. Even in my imagination it hurts like hell. Then I said to me “Ok, now you know how it feels. Write about it!”
I believe that we have to feel that emotion if we want our readers to feel it too. In my last book I was writing about love and relationships while having mine as an example. Like for everything else in life, love as well has both sides of the same coin. We should not limit ourselves just on one side.
Find Marat at these places:
Goodreads
FB Page
Blog
Buying links:
CreateSpace
Smashwords
December 19, 2013
Love Lust and Lipstick Kisses Multi-author Event
Love, Lust and Lipstick Stains are hosting an amazing multi-author Facebook event. On the 22nd December from 1pm-5pm EST 24 authors (including me!) will joining together to spread some Christmas cheer and give away some amazing prizes, including a grand prize of a $50 gift card plus tons of swag, ebooks, paperbacks and more.So if you would like a break from the stresses of Christmas and fancy the chance to play games and chat with some of the hottest authors around, stop on by on Facebook.
Join the event here and enter to win Storm Chase novels too!
December 11, 2013
Blackmail Bride Giveaway
Don't you just love all these Christmas giveaways? I'll be tweeting about two more that start tomorrow, but in the meantime, here's one of mine to keep you busy:Blackmail Bride: An Erotic Romance In Scotland
Stalked by her abusive ex-husband, Lucy Grant is desperate for a protector. Lucy aims for the one man who is tough enough for the job, ex-convict Jack Welsh. Found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit, Jack Welsh is convinced Lucy’s ex set him up. Jack will do anything to clear his name - even if it means marrying Lucy.
Enter here to win!
December 4, 2013
TWO Rafflecopters!
'Tis the season to be merry... There are two Rafflecopters going on right now.
First, for Chocolate: An Erotic Romance In Siberia
The blurb:
Star is a top escort with a lucrative sideline in Bondage and Discipline. However, a wrong move lands her in Siberia as the unwilling leading light in a series of extreme S&M films.
Refusing to give in to fear, Star fights back, and finally drives her captors to present her as a gift to Alexei, a prison officer who is feared throughout the state.
Star quickly discovers Alexei has a penchant kinky sex, and a seemingly unending supply of chocolates he rewards her with. Star falls in love, unaware that Alexei is hiding a secret even darker than her own past.
Chocolate is a fun fast read with a feisty heroine and a hero with a soft center.
You can enter here: Rafflecopter giveaway
The other is a 13 author giveaway run at Hilary's. There's a huge swag bag of romance, fantasy, crime and other books up for grabs, including Lost Weekend and Wildcat in Moscow, so go check it out here.
First, for Chocolate: An Erotic Romance In Siberia
The blurb:
Star is a top escort with a lucrative sideline in Bondage and Discipline. However, a wrong move lands her in Siberia as the unwilling leading light in a series of extreme S&M films.
Refusing to give in to fear, Star fights back, and finally drives her captors to present her as a gift to Alexei, a prison officer who is feared throughout the state.
Star quickly discovers Alexei has a penchant kinky sex, and a seemingly unending supply of chocolates he rewards her with. Star falls in love, unaware that Alexei is hiding a secret even darker than her own past.
Chocolate is a fun fast read with a feisty heroine and a hero with a soft center.
You can enter here: Rafflecopter giveaway
The other is a 13 author giveaway run at Hilary's. There's a huge swag bag of romance, fantasy, crime and other books up for grabs, including Lost Weekend and Wildcat in Moscow, so go check it out here.
