Skye Callahan's Blog, page 31
April 2, 2014
Who do I please? #IWSG
I missed last month’s post, and I’ve been off and on with social media networking in general. It’s tough enough to write and publish a book, then we have to market and survive the criticism.
I’m resolved to the fact that some people will hate my books, they won’t be for everyone. I’m also resolved to the fact that I can’t possibly write for everyone, and while I look at publishing my work as my business, I have to write for me and me alone.
I understand that writers want to give their readers what they want to buy, but where do we as writers lose ourselves in this process?
Do we give up the projects that make us giddy with excitement to write the book we have to drag ourselves to the computer to write just because the fans demand it?
I’ve seen my friends go through this. I’ve seen them become miserable and disheartened with the process while their dream projects sit on the back burner. It’s all a struggle to balance our passions and our bank accounts.
I write for me, and I make it the best quality I can. I don’t fit into the usual categories–my first paranormal book took flack because there was no heated romance. I even had a beta reader who hounded me through the entire process to add more sexual tension, but I stuck by my decision and I still don’t regret it.
While I still struggle with this balance with every project–and writing in multiple genres only adds to the uncertainty–I tell myself that as long as I’m happy with what I’m doing and the end product is something that I enjoy, I’m on the right track.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt
Brush it off! Pervertables #atozchallenge (Adult)
I’m taking the fun route for this A-Z Challenge! In Bound and Unbroken, Eric and Lena use clothespins for a scene in a BDSM club–it’s actually one of my favorite scenes, so I’m using a month to look at all of the other ordinary objects that could have a pervertable side.
The object of the day is a ”Brush“. Flip over your nice paddle brush and it doesn’t take too much imagination to figure out what could be done with it. ;)
But the “brush” possibilities don’t end there. Pastry brushes and paint brushes are great for sensory play–and since paint brushes come in all sizes and textures, there are almost limitless possibilities.
What other “B” items do we have?
Blankets are also useful, and can help prevent rug burn if you’re into some floor play. Plus, a soft cozy blanket is great for aftercare.
Belt–great for a light spanking (or not-so-light if that’s what you prefer.
Can you come up with anything I’m missing?
Remember, these posts are for fun. Be safe, sane, and consensual always! Communication and education are very important if you’re planning to start out in any BDSM relationship, so don’t jump into anything without asking questions and doing research.
April 1, 2014
Anything Goes! Pervertables #atozchallenge (Adult)
I’m taking the fun route for this A-Z Challenge and anything goes! In Bound and Unbroken, Eric and Lena use clothespins for a scene in a BDSM club–it’s actually one of my favorite scenes, so I’m using a month to look at all of the other ordinary objects that could have a pervertable side.
While anything goes this month, there are a few limitations on that statement–anything safe, sane, and consensual goes.
I tried for a few weeks to come up with some great pervertables that start with “A”, and I didn’t think that would be one of the most difficult letters.
Armchair–oh, let me count the ways.
Apron–if you have a cute little one to dress up in ;)
Can you come up with anything I’m missing?
Remember, these posts are for fun. Be safe, sane, and consensual always! Communication and education are very important if you’re planning to start out in any BDSM relationship, so don’t jump into anything without asking questions and doing research.
March 25, 2014
Bound and Unbroken~Dungeon Crawl: March 12 #BDSM
Welcome to the Dungeon Crawl!
The DUNGEON CRAWL blog hop is brought to you by Romancing the Kink.
An excerpt from Bound and Unbroken where Lena joins Eric on their first real date.
—
“You okay?” He asked between kisses, taking a step away to slide the card through the reader. The door beeped and fell away from Lena’s back.
“Last chance?” She asked, probably an octave higher than she meant.
“No.” Eric leaned forward until she met his eyes. “You can leave at any time.”
Her eyes dilated, breaths coming even quicker as he held her against his chest. He released her slowly, not wanting her to step away, but at the same time, wanting her to take the next step on her own. He held open the door for her to pass, and she stepped backward, keeping her eyes on him as she entered the room.
Pressing her back against the wall, she bit her lip as she scanned the room then looked back to him. He brushed his finger against her trapped lip as he walked by, dropping his bag onto the desk, then turning to pull the blankets down into a neat pile at the foot of the bed.
He turned and sat against the bed corner. “Come here.”
She paused as long as it took for her chest to rise and fall once, then pushed off the wall, and edged toward him.
—
Lena is about to discover pleasure in the things she can’t control.
To get even with her roommate for dragging her to a sports bar on a Friday night, Lena begins flirting with the handsome stranger who sits at the bar next to her. Their anonymous conversation leads to a shared cab ride, but Lena’s conscience puts a damper on the evening—leaving the near-fling to become a memory. Until she finds him roaming the halls of the school where she teaches.
Will she submit to his desires?
Eric’s only reason for returning to his hometown is to care for his recently orphaned nephew. He knew the return would involve dredging up his past with family and friends, but he didn’t expect a lone girl to capture his interest and offer an escape within his new life.
Will his binds be enough to keep her?
Note: This book contains explicit sexual content (including BDSM themes), graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: M/f anal play, bondage, spanking, exhibitionism.
Goodreads | Smashwords| Amazon US, UK, CA | Barnes & Noble
Thanks for stopping by! Check out the other posts.
March 15, 2014
How do you manage to balance everything?
I get asked this question in almost every other interview, but I never have any more insight into how to answer it. The truth is, I have no idea how I manage to balance everything–and most of the time, I don’t.
There are always sacrifices to be made, and for the last few weeks the sacrifice has been blogging. I hated to do it, but at the same time, I was so busy that by the time I found time to sit down and write a blog article, it would have been nothing but grumbling snark. There’s a time and place for that, but not every blog post.
I have a lot of respect for people who have kids and jobs and still manage to blog and write–you all are amazing!! I lack the kids, but I have ferrets and a husband to care for, along with a laundry list of other things biting into my time.
I’ll try to keep it short, but here’s the gist of it:
I published Bound and Unbroken, and had a book tour for which I had to provide info, interviews, etc. and tend to giveaways.
I work a day job in an office and we’re getting ready for our annual conference next month, so I have ads to coordinate with about 40 companies, a newsletter to edit/format, tons of promotional material to design and mail, and a 40 page conference program to organize. All while answering phones, ordering supplies, managing the website and social media accounts, and making sure that member directories are up to date. It’s like 3 full-time jobs rolled into one (in fact it is, since I’m now in charge of my original responsibilities, as well as the responsibilities of 1 full-time and 2 part-time staff who left)–and thanks to bureaucracy and budget cuts, I have to do it all in less than 28 hours a week.
I also have my own business with Jamberry Nails to coordinate and market, and I’ve run parties for most of the last 4 weeks.
I’m a grad student, and all of my 15 week classes are condensed into 10 weeks, so everything tends to get piled in the last few weeks of the semester (2 weeks left!!!).
I have a Hubby and ferrets to care for–speaking of which, the carpet sharks need food.
Sorry I haven’t been around to comment or converse, but it’s not always feasible. I do tend to long onto Facebook or Twitter at least once a day but I don’t even chat there as much as I used to. There’s too much to do, and too little time, but if it all pans out, the work now should mean that in a few months things will be more stable and I’ll have more time for the things I want to do.
That is the plan anyway. We’ll see how it goes.
March 11, 2014
Dungeon Crawl: March 12 #BDSM
Welcome to my first Dungeon Crawl!
The DUNGEON CRAWL blog hop is brought to you by Romancing the Kink.The next RTK Dungeon Crawl sign-up opens for new entries at noon on Thursday, March 13, and closes at 10 pm (EDT) on Tuesday, March 18.
An excerpt from Bound and Unbroken where Lena joins Eric on their first real date.
—
“I like you, Lena. And, I suspect there’s far more to you than you’re willing to accept.”
She folded her arms across her chest, making sure he wouldn’t have the opportunity to grab her again. “I’m sure you say that to all the girls you pick up at sports bars.”
His eyes widened, but he still didn’t move his hand from where it stretched across the table toward her in an invitation. “Now that you mention it, I do.”
Lena’s jaw dropped. It wasn’t that she expected him to deny it, but an outright admission was even more disturbing.
“You’re the first,” he clarified.
“I don’t buy that.”
Eric shrugged, “Believe it or not, I don’t usually pick up girls at bars.”
“Then where do you usually pick them up?”
Eric’s smile widened, and he rubbed his lips together. “Most of the girls I’ve dated I either met through mutual friends or at BDSM clubs.”
Lena’s breath echoed in her ears, and she wondered if she heard him wrong. The roar drowned out any thought to move or respond.
“I didn’t expect it to freak you out that much,” Eric said, cocking his head.
—
Lena is about to discover pleasure in the things she can’t control.
To get even with her roommate for dragging her to a sports bar on a Friday night, Lena begins flirting with the handsome stranger who sits at the bar next to her. Their anonymous conversation leads to a shared cab ride, but Lena’s conscience puts a damper on the evening—leaving the near-fling to become a memory. Until she finds him roaming the halls of the school where she teaches.
Will she submit to his desires?
Eric’s only reason for returning to his hometown is to care for his recently orphaned nephew. He knew the return would involve dredging up his past with family and friends, but he didn’t expect a lone girl to capture his interest and offer an escape within his new life.
Will his binds be enough to keep her?
Note: This book contains explicit sexual content (including BDSM themes), graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: M/f anal play, bondage, spanking, exhibitionism.
Goodreads | Smashwords| Amazon US, UK, CA | Barnes & Noble
Thanks for stopping by! Check out the other posts.
March 3, 2014
Cover Reveal: Throttle Me by Chelle Bliss
Release Date: March 31, 2014
Series: Book 1 in the Men of Inked Series
Click Here to Add Throttle Me to your Goodreads
TBR
Synopsis:
Suzy’s a control freak and has her life mapped out – work hard, find a man with a stable job, and live
happily ever after. She’s content with the status quo, but her plan comes to a screeching halt when he
enters her life and turns it upside down.
City gave up on love when his heart was crushed in college, preferring to be the typical bachelor. He spends his nights hopping from one bed to another and his days working at his family tattoo shop, Inked. A chance encounter on a dark road makes him question what he had sworn off forever – a relationship.
A night of passion and lust causes them to question everything. Is City the knight in shining armor to the damsel in distress? Can their relationship survive when a fantasy falls apart and a secret comes out that changes everything?
Stalk Chelle Bliss:
View More Teasers at www.chellebliss.com
Facebook ~ www.facebook.com/authorchellebliss1
Twitter: @ChelleBliss1
Click Here to Add Throttle Me to your Goodreads
TBR
March 1, 2014
Organizing a 3K Likes Giveaway!
I’m organizing my 3000 likes giveaway!
If you’d like to take part and have your Facebook and/or Twitter links added to the Rafflecopter, see the form below.
February 24, 2014
Bound and Unbroken Early Release
Lena is about to discover pleasure in the things she can’t control.
To get even with her roommate for dragging her to a sports bar on a Friday night, Lena begins flirting with the handsome stranger who sits at the bar next to her. Their anonymous conversation leads to a shared cab ride, but Lena’s conscience puts a damper on the evening—leaving the near-fling to become a memory. Until she finds him roaming the halls of the school where she teaches.
Will she submit to his desires?
Eric’s only reason for returning to his hometown is to care for his recently orphaned nephew. He knew the return would involve dredging up his past with family and friends, but he didn’t expect a lone girl to capture his interest and offer an escape within his new life.
Will his binds be enough to keep her?
Note: This book contains explicit sexual content (including BDSM themes), graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: M/f anal play, bondage, spanking, exhibitionism.
Goodreads | Signed Paperback| Amazon US, UK, CA | Barnes & Noble
Want to win some Swag?
Join us at the Facebook Party tonight (February 24) 7-10pm EST
**Excerpt**
This was the last place Lena wanted to be on a Friday night. The smell of beer stung her nose, while some sports game blared on the screen over the bar. At least the bar wasn’t completely packed, Diggers was one of those edge-of-the-town sports bars that usually only drew in a few loyal locals. All of whom were paying more attention to the game than the lone young woman sitting at the bar with a black cherry mojito.
And as far as Lena was concerned that was fine. She wouldn’t have come in the first place if her roommate, Jeremiah, hadn’t insisted that she needed to get out of the house and have some fun. And now he was off at the other end of the room striking it up with some old friend.
Swirling her drink around, she wished she had dug in her heels and refused to leave the house. To which, Jeremiah would have probably responded by swinging her over his shoulder and throwing her onto his bike.
He wanted her to let go and move on, and that was fine, but Lena in a sports bar wasn’t moving anywhere. Crowds, noise, and the smell of booze didn’t spell a good time; it just forced her further into her own head.
“Tall Smithwicks,” said a male voice.
She looked up to see a tall, dark-haired man taking the bar stool next to her. He glanced in her direction once, but turned his attention to the beer as soon as the bartender slid it across the wooden bar. The bartender nodded, then moved back to the other side of the bar where a couple of college students were getting rowdy over empty shot glasses.
She tried not to stare at the new guy sitting just inches away, but he was invading the small bit of territory she’d laid claim to. Although, it could have been worse. At least he wasn’t a member of the loud and rowdy college crowd.
You’re such an old lady, she told herself. Always more interested in curling up on the couch to watch old movies or read than join in with people her age.
But she still couldn’t manage to keep her eyes to herself, and to give him his well-deserved credit, he was handsome. He wore a black T-shirt with faded sports cars splashed across the front, and dark jeans. Both just tight enough to leave no doubt that there was a well-built man underneath the layers of material. As he downed half of his drink in a few gulps, Lena wondered how anyone could be that fond of beer. She always thought it tasted like mildewed wood, but as she watched him, she felt strangely tempted to give it another shot.
He glanced in her direction again, and she turned her gaze to the sports game, hoping that he hadn’t noticed her watching him. But there was no passing off the excess of blood warming her face as casual.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him turn slightly on his stool to face her. Busted.
“You always hang out at the bar alone?”
She kept her eyes on the TV. “That all you got for an opening line?”
“I’m rusty.” He took another long swig of beer, but his eyes remained trained on her.
“Rusty, eh? Nice name.”
He chuckled, sliding the empty glass to the back of the bar. “Unless you want to know my real name.”
Lena pursed her lips to keep back a smile. “Let’s stick with Rusty, for now.” Straightening her back, she met his gaze—she could play this game.
Goodreads | Signed Paperback| Amazon US, UK, CA | Barnes & Noble
February 23, 2014
Gone Living #Row80
I need a “Gone Living” sign–like those “Gone Fishing” signs.
It’s not that writing and being around social media isn’t an important part of my life, but when things are already crashing into what is always a busy time of the year for me, things have insane, and I had to step away from some things for a while.
Why have I been MIA for the last 10ish days?
The weather here has been insane, and I had already hurt my back shoveling snow, then I fell down a flight of stairs. So, sitting in front of my computer hasn’t been exactly enjoyable.
The weather has also resulted in crazy-fluctuating-weather related illnesses, and particularly for me migraines.
I had to take the proofread version of Bound and Unbroken and format it for Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Createspace.
Upcoming release also means release party planning and tour planning, so I haven’t much made it past my inbox when logging onto the internet.
I decided to start a business out of the blue and I’m into week 2 of my big launch (on top of still working my old office job).
Conclusion–Yes! I’m very far behind in the areas of blogging & social media, but I’m only getting about 15 minutes a day to log on and take care of those things right now.
Book 1: Beyond the Divide (Paranormal, Urban Fantasy) 9959 words
Book 2: Bound and Unbroken (BDSM Romance) 73k(ish) words
February Goals
Writing
Finish the final polish on Bound and Unbroken
Final editing fixes by Feb 3
Send it off for a fresh critique
Proofreading by Feb 8 – in progress at the moment
Finish eARC formatting by Feb 10 & send ARCs out by Feb 11 to prepare for Book Blitz & Tours
Incorporate final Proofread & prepare to click publish on February 24!
Beyond the Divide–I’ve actually been working a little here and there on Beyond the Divide and Wild Guardian. I pulled up my last draft of Wild Guardian, which I haven’t touched in about 8 months and I’ve been working through it, and making notes for some changes. With Beyond the Divide, I’m sitting down and adding to the Reference spreadsheet I created for the series and collecting all of the additional details from Fractured Legacy, so I’ll be good to go again.
Non-Writing Goals
Live Healthier
Fresh Juice at least once per day (hit or miss)
30 minutes of exercise each day (since it has been nice, I’ve been making it to the cemetery to walk again!)
Drink 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water twice a day. (Yep!)
Become more active in my regular blogging activities and in visiting other blogs. (That’s all a big NO!)
Visit & comment on at least 3 blogs per day
Reply to blog comments & make more return visits.
At least 1 meaningful interaction on Google+/Twitter/Facebook per day
Connect with someone new on Google+/Twitter/Facebook each day
Do at least 1 marketing task each day
Launch my business with Jamberry!
My launch party ends at the end of the month and my goal is to do $400 in sales, I’m about 1/3 of the way there. Next month it will be all about finishing my first fast start and adding someone to my team.
Now I’m off to catch up on a few blog visits before I have to cook dinner.
A Round of Words in 80 Days is the writing challenge that knows you have a life.
We are all different and we all have different demands on our time. Why should we all have the same goal? The simple answer is that we shouldn’t. If you want to be a writer, then you have to be able to roll with the punches and adapt to your changing circumstances. If that means changing your goals when your life blows up, so be it. ROW80 is the challenge that champions the marriage of writing and real life.
