Deanndra Hall's Blog, page 11

It's a giveaway like you've never seen before

We're having a giveaway today and tomorrow over at Mad in Wonderland Reviews! And boy, have I got a treat for you.

You'll get to get "up close and personal" with the two main characters from Adventurous Me, Trish Stinson and Clint Winstead! Mad in Wonderland's featuring an interview with each of them, one each day. If you fell in love with them in the book, you'll really like this. If you haven't read it yet, it'll make you wonder what's between the covers (and you can take that however you'd like). Hop on over there and check it out.

Mad in Wonderland Reviews
And while you're there, enter the drawings. Wondering what Babeland is? Just one of the coolest adult stores on the net, that's all! Been needing a supply of lube? Just about worn that rabbit vibrator out? Lost your Kegel balls wherever it is that odd socks go? Well, now's your chance. We're giving away a $50 gift card that can be used online for purchase from their cyberstore. Plus I'll be giving away two copies of Adventurous Me in whatever format you'd like - MOBI for Kindle, EPUB for virtually everything else, and paperback if you still love that smell of ink and glue, and they'll be signed by me. So if you enjoy the interviews but haven't read the book yet, well, here's your chance to get that opportunity for free! Just enter exactly the way the form says and you'll be all set.

And a special thanks to Felicity over at Mad in Wonderland Reviews for hosting the giveaway, so please, leave a comment and show her some love. And good luck!

This week is gonna be CRAZY!

Want a week full of fun, prizes, and great reads? Get your printer ready to print this screen, because it's a doozie.

MONDAY, MARCH 31:  First, I'm a guest over on the Smutmas blog today. Go over, check it out, and give them some love. They write and publish some awesome stuff over there "across the pond."

TUESDAY, APRIL 1:  Next, tomorrow is the inaugural day of the Pen & Kink blog, and I'm one of the authors who'll be in and out of there from now on. We decided to do the "A-Z Challenge" as our kick-off, so come on over. Check us out - we'll be publishing some of the best in erotica in the near future.

RELEASE DAY:  And tomorrow, it's the launch of . . .


Adventurous Me!
There's a launch party, blog tour, and blog takeover going on. Come and join the fun, win something, and generally have a good time. You'll hear more about the book, maybe even hear from one of the characters (wonder who it could be?), and find out more about me and the book. Want a rundown? Here we go . . .

LAUNCH PARTY:  Happy April Fool's Day! No foolin' around here. It's all business - the business of having a good time! Join me today for the launch party over at Romance Novel Promotions! And you can keep up with the goings-on all day by checking in over at the event on Facebook. Who knows - you might win something! Here's the day's schedule.

8:00 A.M. CST -   Deanndra Hall
9:00 A.M. CST -   Elizabeth Llewellyn
10:00 A.M. CST - Jenna Jacob
11:00 P.M. CST - Piper Malone
12:00 P.M. CST - Zoey Derrick
1:00 P.M. CST -   Indigo Sin
2:00 P.M. CST -   A T Weaver
3:00 P.M. CST -   Kitsy Clare
4:00 P.M. CST -   Alannah Lynne
5:00 P.M. CST -   Elaine Barris
6:00 P.M. CST -   final post with Deanndra Hall

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2 - SUNDAY APRIL 6:  Blog tour! Prizes! Fun Posts! Craziness and hilarity! (With me? Always.) Here's the tour schedule, so try to keep up, okay?
Wednesday, April 2:  Drue's Random Chatter
Thursday, April 3:  Kinky Book Reviews
Friday, April 4:  Mad in Wonderland Reviews (and see below too)
Saturday, April 5:  For the Love of Bookends
Sunday, April 6:  Harlie's Books

FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 6:30 P.M. CST:  Join me as I take over Mad in Wonderland Reviews! It's a blog takeover of the highest order with Felicity Nichols, the Mad Reviewer herself, acting as hostess for high tea with the queen of erotic romance - ME! (Okay, that's pretty funny, if I do say so myself!) There'll be prizes, contests, and all manner of fun, fun, fun! Visit the event page on Facebook and let us know you're coming so we can save you a seat. Don't miss it!

FRIDAY, APRIL 4:  Since my name starts with "D," today is my second day to post in the "A-Z Challenge" over at Pen & Kink. I'll do an introduction of myself, so you'll want to check it out. It's a little more indepth than any others I've done.

Whew! I've got a full week!!! So try to keep up, wouldja? LOL  And if you get lost, remember that I'll be posting daily on Facebook, so keep up with everything there too!

It's the last excerpt before release!

You know you wanted this excerpt which is from Adventurous Me, of course. It's almost here. Just three more days, and you can step into Trish's world as she sets out to make her life an adventure. My launch party is Tuesday starting bright and early over at Romance Novel Promotions, so come on over, meet new authors, and have some fun! And here's your excerpt - complete with a teaser custom-made from the book by Felicity Nichols over at Mad in Wonderland Reviews!
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     His hand strokes down my spine like a breath, and I sigh. “Feel okay?” he asks, his voice quiet.     “Yes, Sir. I do, Sir. Thank you, Sir,” I remember to say. That’s what I think I’m supposed to say anyway.     “You’re welcome. Straighten out and lie down here with me.” When I manage to roll onto my side and I’m facing him, I’m surprised to find him lying there looking at me with those deep, dark eyes, waiting for me to cuddle up against him.     I wiggle into his arms, and he wraps them around me. His lips move toward my forehead, and then he stops. It’s obvious he’s reconsidered the kissing thing. He lifts his head up and back, presses my face into his neck, then drops his chin onto the part in my hair. I lie there for a few minutes, wishing he’d say something to me, taking in his scent. He smells like cinnamon and the smoke from a fireplace, all warm and spicy. Even though I’m sure he doesn’t give a whit about me, something in his embrace is comfortable and familiar.     Finally, he says, “That was a good start,” and abruptly turns me loose. What the hell? I’m kind of bewildered. I guess he thinks that’s enough cuddling.     “I’m sorry, Sir. Did I do something wrong?”     He takes on a sheepish look, and I could almost swear his cheeks are pinking up. “No, no, you did quite well. But I’ve got to get home. I hope you got something out of this.”     “I did. I feel very confident, Sir. Thank you again, Sir.” It’s very sad. I thought maybe I’d get to know him a little better tonight. I mean, the guy just fucked me in the ass, for god’s sake. But he’s not going to open up to me at all. I almost think I hear him sigh as he’s getting dressed. When he’s ready to go, he turns back to me. I’m still on the bed, naked and waiting. I don’t know if it’s okay for me to get dressed or not.     “Sub, before you go, I want you to pleasure yourself. Then you may get dressed and leave.” He doesn’t even smile.     “Thank you, Sir,” is all I can manage.     To my surprise, he crosses the room and puts his fingers under my chin, lifting my face up to look at him. “You did quite well tonight, Trish. You’re going to make a good sub for some lucky Dom someday, I can tell.” With that, he turns and strides out of the room.     I slip my hand down between my legs and start to stroke my over-sensitized nub. It only takes me a few minutes to come, his face in my memory, and then I’m ready to leave. As I dress, I see something on the floor.     It’s a business card – Clint’s business card. He must’ve dropped it. The face of the card is a deep green, almost black, and in gold letters are the words, “Clinton Alexander Winstead, Corporate Training and Efficiency Consultant. Reasonable Hourly Rates. Specializing in the Small Business Community.” So that’s what he does for a living – he’s a consultant. I realize the only place I have to keep the card is in my bra, so that’s where it goes for the time being.     When I get back to the bar, Clint’s nowhere in sight, but Dave’s back. “What in the hell did you do to him in there?” he asks me, an weird look in his eyes.     I scrunch my face up and raise one eyebrow. “What do you mean?” To my knowledge, I didn’t do a damn thing to him.     “Something happened. He was almost running when he came back out here and barely spoke, just went rushing out the door.”     I shrug. “I didn’t do anything, I don’t think.” Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “He’s a strange one.”     “Not strange,” Dave says quietly, and almost so low that I can’t hear him, he adds, “He’s just got a lot of hurt.”     “Are you ever going to tell me what that means?” My frustration is mounting.
     “Nope.” Dave starts wiping down the bar. “Eventually he’ll have to tell you himself.”

The "My Writing Process" blog tour continues!

       When I was asked to participate in the “My Writing Process” blog tour, I got excited! I love doing this kind of thing. Right now, up front, I need to say a big “thank you” to my fellow MCRW member Jeanne Hardt for inviting me. See Jeanne’s entry on the “My Writing Process” blog tour from last Monday, March 17, right here. She was invited by Jody Wallace, yet another member of that same Romance Writers of America chapter. You can see Jody’s entry here. Just look for the March 10 entry. (She also did a “Bad Lib” entry for my newest book, Adventurous Me, and it’s pretty darn funny.)          Now, let’s get to it, shall we? Here we go with the questions.
What am I currently working on?         Let’s see . . . Adventurous Mereleases on April 1. Renovating a Heart, the third novel in the Love Under Construction series, releases on May 19. I have another of the Harper’s Cove novellas underway. The fourth Love Under Construction series novel, Planning an Addition, is well underway also and due out this fall. I have a new series I’ll be starting sometime this summer (actually, the first book has been started). There are more Harper’s Cove books already in the planning. There are two independent novels that I’m developing. And it was just decided that there will be a mini-series spun off of the Love Under Construction series; it’ll be called the Citadel series (for Steve’s security business). So I have plenty to keep me busy!
How does my work differ from others in its genre?         One of the main differences is the ages of the characters. Most of my main characters are well over forty; some are even close to sixty. I got tired of all of the so-called “sexual experts” in some of the well-known erotica and erotic romance novels. I wanted characters who were more realistic and easy to relate to. And unlike most of the authors in my genres, I’m comfortable writing from most any point of view. I like to mix it up!
Why do I write what I do?         Why not? I love it! It’s too much fun. I like to tell people that I’m the only person I know who gets to use purchases at the local adult store as tax deductions! And it’s true – research can be costly. But seriously, I love the complexity of the scenes when sex is added in, all of the emotion and gut-level sensation involved. I like the creativity of the Dominants. I like the inner turmoil off the submissives and the Dominants. I just love it all. Anything else would seem boring to me now.
How does my writing process work?         You might want to sit up and pay attention here. By the end of July, I will have published nine books in a year. That’s a lot. So my writing process is a pretty significant piece of who I am as a writer.         I typically start with an idea of some sort. The Celtic Fan was started from the idea of an author who wrote a bestselling book, but whose identity was unknown. Adventurous Me came from the very first scene in the book, when Trish’s husband announces that he’s leaving her and she starts throwing things. The new series I’ll be working on this summer is named after a story in the christian bible and a popular 60s sitcom (you’ll understand when you hear about it). But I pay attention when those ideas flit across my brain.         Then I try my best to get some notes down really fast before I forget what’s filtered through my mind. That’s crucial. It’s usually a brief overview of the primary points of the plot.         Once that’s done, I start writing. I don’t always write scenes in order. That means that as I go along, very often things have to be moved around, added to, or changed to make everything fit. It also means that sometimes scenes just don’t make the cut. I work, refine, work, refine, work, refine, until I have everything where it needs to be.         Then I employ a timeline in the form of calendar pages I print out from my computer. I go back through the book and enter all of the main events on the calendar pages to make sure what I’ve written is actually plausible and correctly ordered. If so, great; if not, changes need to be made. I make them and roll on.         But the most important aspect of my writing process is simply this: I never, never, sit down and wonder, “So . . . what am I going to write today?” Never. I always have at least a half-dozen things going and a really good idea exactly where they’re going, so I sit down and actually write. I’ve been known to write 11,000 words in one day. I wrote over 130K words during NaNoWriMo. I sat down in a writing sprint in late February and wrote 2,215 words in 15 minutes. Not sloppy. I mean that literally: They were not sloppy. They were well-organized, with spelling, grammar, and punctuation intact, and more than usable. They were the beginning for the newest Harper’s Cove novella, and I had to change one word – one word – when I went back to it. Not bad for 15 minutes, huh?
         Next week, I’ll be followed by Missy Lyons, an author friend of mine who actually got me interested in western-themed erotic romance. Be sure to go to her blog and check out her entry and her work here.          Missy Lyons has been writing from childhood, and is now a mom who still enjoys spinning a good tale. She was first published by Phaze Books in 2007 with the short story, Closing the Deal. Since then, she has written several novels and many more short stories. She is always coming up with new ideas to write about, and hopes she chooses subjects that will be emotionally moving to her readers. Living in Nashville with her family and a menagerie of animals, she has had many jobs over her lifetime, from an executive manager to freelance writing and graphic design, but her first love as a writer will always be her favorite career choice.  She loves to hear from fellow authors and readers alike.

I'd like this shopping trip

So it's excerpt/outtake day again. This time, it's from Adventurous Me, which will be out in a little over a week. I loved this scene, but it didn't make it into the book. See what you think.
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        It was shaping up to be a quiet afternoon. Clint had said that he had to go to the dentist for a cleaning and then to the dealership to have the car serviced before he traded it in. I’d insisted that I could clean up from lunch, so I’m doing exactly that. He’s been gone about twenty minutes.        My text tone goes off. When I look down, it’s him: You will take direction. Are you finished with lunch cleanup yet?        I text back, Yes, Sir. All finished.        Good. Go to the fetwear store. Pick out two outfits, try them on, and text me with a pic from the dressing room when you’re wearing the first one.        What the heck is this all about? I get dressed, snatch up my keys, and head out the door. It’s not too far to the store, and I’m there in just a few minutes. When I pull up, something makes me text to him, Aren’t you at the dentist, Sir?        I immediately get back a text that simply says, You will take direction.        Yes, Sir. Wrong question, apparently. Once inside, the girl I usually see there isn’t working. There’s another woman, this one not too much younger than me, and she’s stocking. “Can I help you with something?” she asks. She seems friendly enough.        “I need two new outfits. Any suggestions?” I’m prowling through the racks already, looking for something that will work.        “This is nice,” she says and whips out a leather dress. It’s black, but around the bottom, it’s red, and cut from the red is flames which go up the dress about ten inches, so it’s like the hem is on fire. Really cute. She finds a cute little red jacket to go with it.        “I like this. What about these?” I ask, holding up a pair of bright pink satin tap pants with rhumba ruffles across the butt.        “Oh, yeah. I liked those when we got them in. Here,” she says, handing me a black bra with bright pink polka-dots. “Whaddya think?”        “Very cute! Can I try these on?” I ask her, and she points to the dressing room.        I try on the dress, take a selfie, and text Clint: Here’s the first one, Sir.        I get back a terse, No. Try on the second.        When I’ve got the bra and shorts on, I text him again: What about this, Sir?        Again, just, No. Try again.        Now I’m kind of put out. I text back to him, Sir, maybe if you’d tell me what you’re thinking, I could do a little better job of picking something out.        Instead of a real answer, he replies, Play to your strengths, Vännan .        What the hell does that mean? I stump back out of the dressing room. “He says no; he says to play to my strengths. I don’t know what that means.”        The woman looks me up and down. “Hmmmm.” That’s all she says. She starts poking through the racks, so I do too. In a few minutes, she says, “Here.”        What she hands me is completely different from what I would’ve chosen. It’s a lace chemise, beautiful and delicate, in a pale turquoise trimmed with pearls, complete with underwire cups. There’s a little thong that matches it, plus it has its own pair of turquoise stockings to go with it. I’d spotted some brocade floral platforms and, sure enough, they have this particular shade of turquoise in their pattern. I retreat back into the dressing room, slip everything on, and forward a photo. What I get back shocks me.        Now THAT’S more like it. Find a second outfit.        I never would’ve picked something like this. It’s beautiful, but I thought fetwear was supposed to be leather. This is just sexy lingerie. I go back out to the floor, have the clerk help me pick out another outfit, and go back in. This one is a peachy colored lace bra and high-legged bikini panties trimmed with black satin. It’s very 40’s-looking. I put on black stockings and black stilettos and take another pic. This response is even more surprising.        You’re beautiful, Trish. Buy both outfits, go home, and wash them. Put them up to dry with the fan trained on them. Apparently he wants them dry so I can wear them later.        Well, I guess that’s that. I pay the clerk, with Ron’s credit card, of course, and head back to Clint’s. Once they’re washed and hung up, I text back, Mission accomplished, Sir. What next?        They’re calling me back to the chair. Take a nap, one hour. Shower. Dress in the black-trimmed outfit. Be in your place when I arrive.        I do exactly as I’m told. When I’m dressed in the new outfit, I take a proper assessment of myself. My hair is perfect, my makeup is nice but not overdone. I walk away and then, for some reason, I wheel around and look at myself in the mirror from across the room.        And I gasp. All of a sudden, it all makes sense. The outfit shows off my every curve in a very soft, feminine way, not all industrial like the leather looks. I look very sexy, very voluptuous, and sort of – sweet? With my fair skin, the peachy color makes me sort of glow. It’s actually fairly captivating, my appearance across the room. If I were a guy, I’d want to . . .        Fuck me. I’d want to fuck me. Now I see what he was trying to say. I look okay in leather, but I look very, very hot in something soft and feminine. It’s like something deep inside me has lit up and come to life. I take another look in the mirror and realize I’m smiling – at myself. And suddenly I can’t wait for Clint to get here so I can see his reaction. I know he saw the selfie I made, but that’s not the same as seeing the real thing.        So I kneel in my place and wait. I’m there for maybe twenty-five minutes when I hear the car alarm being set. Head down, palms up, I sit perfectly still. The door opens, the keys go into the bowl on the table, and I know he’s turned to look at me. There’s silence in the house, not a sound. Finally, he comes to me until I can see his shoes. “Sub, rise and face your master.” His voice is authoritative and final. I stand quickly and he says, “Look at me.”        My face finds his eyes and I see that they’re almost smiling. “Do you understand why I chose these things over the previous choices?” he asks me.        I nod. “Yes, Sir. They’re beautiful, Sir,” I whisper almost inaudibly.        “No. They’re not beautiful.” He reaches out and cups my breasts in his hands. “You’re beautiful in them.” My nipples instantly grow hard under the lace and satin, and he says, “On your knees in front of the couch, facing it. Torso on the cushions, arms extended out across them.” When I’ve assumed the position, I feel him move the crotch of the panties to the side and two fingers slip into my pussy. “God, you’re wet. I’ll take my pleasure now.” I hear his belt buckle clank as he unbuckles, then the sound of the zipper on his fly fills the room.        I was unprepared when his hand smacked my ass, first one cheek, then the other, but I feel juices gush between my pussy lips and my arms start to tremble. Five strikes on each ass cheek, and then I feel the head of his cock at the entrance to my sheath.        In one efficient movement, he’s buried in me. I groan out, louder than I had when he’d smacked me, and the sound stokes his fire. I love the feel of his fingers digging into my hips, holding me steady as he glides in and out of me, and I start to cry out. To my surprise, he grunts out, “Come whenever you’re ready, sub.”        It surprises me even more to hear the sob that bolts from my lips when my orgasm hits, and to my disbelief, he cries out and comes almost instantly after my orgasm starts. I’m overwhelmed with the sounds and sensations, the pinch of his fingers in my flesh, the tears rolling down my cheeks and my hair down and all around my face. He abruptly pulls me back and onto his cock as he kneels on the floor, me perched on him, my back to his chest. His arms wind around my waist,  holding me against him, and he whispers into my ear, “You’re so beautiful, so damn beautiful.”        I begin to weep openly. I’m unaccustomed to hearing those words – ever. I’ve never thought of myself as ugly exactly, but I’ve also never thought of myself as beautiful. “Sir, I . . .”        One of Clint’s hands wraps around my neck ever so lightly and he growls, “If you’re thinking of arguing with me, don’t. You’re beautiful, Trish.”        And that clinches it. I start to sob. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he whispers and kisses my cheek. Before I can answer, I’m standing, my panties are back in place, and he sits down on the sofa and pulls me onto his lap. “Talk to me, sub. That’s an order.”        I stammer and stutter, “I’m not beautiful.”        Something crosses his face. “Stand up.” When I’m standing, he barks, “Hands on the sofa.” I know what’s coming.        Thwack! His hand comes down hard across my ass, and then again and again. Ten strikes in, he sits back down and draws me back onto his lap. “You’re beautiful, Trish. And how do you respond?”        I smile through my tears. “Thank you, Sir.”        He pulls my head down onto his shoulder, my face against his collarbone, and he whispers back, “You’re welcome.”  

Ever wonder what they're doing?

Yeah, sometimes I do too. I wonder what the family members and friends in Louisville and Lexington are up to. So I thought I'd check in.

Steve's in the middle of drawing up documents for Tony, Clayton, Vic, and Bart. You'll have to read the next book to find out what that's about, but it's good for everyone.

Tony's busy on the new business project, and he's thinking about hiring someone to work for him who'll make his life a whole lot easier. He's also thinking about Nikki, about how he'd taken partial retirement to spend more time with her, and he's spending even less time working on the facility. He's hoping that putting more employees in place will give him some breathing room, because he'd rather be at home with her than standing in the middle of a construction site, even if it is his construction site.

Nikki's thinking ahead to Vic and Laura's wedding. She's been helping Laura put the guest list together, which is pretty easy, but Vic's insistent that Laura's mom and dad be involved, and Laura's balking. And poor Nikki's trying to keep them both happy. But she thinks she's got it figure out.

Vic's arranging for Laura's wedding gift. He's ordering her a custom-painted Volvo SUV like the one Nikki had before it was wrecked and burned. He wants her to be safe out on the highway, and if it comes in and is ready earlier, he won't wait until their wedding day to give it to her. He wants her to have it NOW. But the paint job's holding it up . . .

Laura's spending a awful lot of time with that Kindle Paperwhite that Vic gave her for Christmas. He hasn't really paid much attention but, if he had, he'd find out she's bought all kinds of books on BDSM and she's reading like crazy, not just "how-to" books, but fiction too. She's getting all kinds of ideas, but she's still a little shy about approaching him about all of it. She's also scared to death that he's going to get bored with her. That'll never happen, but she's not so sure.

José's sister is driving him crazy. He got a call from social services in Cook County about his youngest siblings. If he could get his fingers around Rosita's neck, no telling what he'd do to her.
Peyton's helping his mom and dad move - since he bought his house, they're moving to a smaller one. He hates to see them sell the home he grew up in, but they don't need a house that big anymore, especially with no grandkids on the horizon.
Clayton's making plans to take Brittany away on a little trip. Their sex life has really suffered since they adopted Anthony and Ella Jane, and he wants them to have some hot and heavy one-on-one time. Tony's assured him that they'll be glad to keep the kids for a weekend, even a four-day weekend. He's hoping Brittany will be excited when she finds out.
Katie's getting more miserable by the day. Being pregnant isn't her idea of fun. Sometimes she wishes Annabeth could understand why she's so short-tempered and tired. They have decided, though, that once the baby comes, Annabeth's going to carry the next one. The big question is, who'll be the sperm donor? They've got someone in mind if they can talk him into it.
Molly's going to her favorite deli to pick up some lunch for her and Vic, and then she's going to a reading circle this evening. She's decided her life is boring, but she doesn't know what to do to fix it.
And Kelly's worried. There are rumors that some of them at the agency are going to lose their jobs. She's identified a group of clients that they could help - people who are paying way too much for their insurance. She's putting together a spreadsheet to show to Ken, her boss, to see if he'll let her pursue some cost-saving measures for them and hopefully get them to refer others to their company. Maybe that would make her more valuable to the company.
They're all working hard. I am too, trying to get the next book out to you. It's almost here, so hang in there!

"Bad Libs" - just as bad as they get!

The ever-entertaining Meankitty and her human, Jody Wallace, have hosted my new book, Adventurous Me, over on their blog today (sorry, Meankitty, I know it's your blog, but I'm trying to be nice to Jody, okay?). It's too funny for words. Well, no, not for words, because words are what makes it so funny, but, well, so you get the picture. I love these. They're über clever, no? Go over, read it, and please leave Meankitty and her human a comment. Enjoy!

Meankitty's "Bad Libs" of Adventurous Me