Regina Cole's Blog, page 7
June 21, 2012
Tattoo Love
So I’ve never been a good artist. I always envied people who could say, “Hey, I’m going to draw a horse,” and then suddenly their notebook page was covered with an Arabian Thoroughbred. When I decide to draw a horse, it looks like a four-legged creature that had the misfortune of being too close to a nuclear reactor explosion.
Not good.
I think that’s partially why I’m so in love with body art. I’m fascinated by it. It’s like a mysterious form of magic to me. And to wear it, like a fabulous accessory every day? Too freaking cool.
When non-inked people ask in their nervous voices what tattoos feel like, I usually tell them it’s somewhere between non-anesthitized limb removal and a gunshot wound. Just kidding!!! Or am I??
It’s really a lot like rubbing a really rough towel over a bad sunburn. Tender, too sensitive, and burn-y. Depending on the place, the healing can be worse than the ink session!
I was SUPER excited when I saw that Ellora’s Cave, my phenomenal publisher, was doing a sub call for a tattoo themed line of stories, called “Pricked.” (Love the entendre!) So I jumped right into a story about a bad tattoo, an unlucky-in-love waitress, and a good-bad boy tattoo artist.
Here’s an excerpt for ya. It releases July 13th!
An Excerpt From: INDELIBLY INTIMATE
Copyright © REGINA COLE, 2012
All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.
He rolled a stool up beside her chair and straddled it, sitting much closer than a perfect stranger should.
Despite the way her body reacted, or maybe because of it, she leaned forward, crowding him a bit. He didn’t take the bait.
“I’m Quinn. Quinn LaBrea.” She stuck her hand out, nearly hitting his chest. He’d have to move back now.
“Hamilton Dean. You can call me Hammer.” Smooth as a milkshake, he shook her hand without budging his torso a bit. The awkward angle didn’t prohibit his touch from causing a flutter in her chest.
“What kind of a name is Hammer?” She didn’t pull away and he didn’t let her go.
“The kind of name people respect in this business. Try telling some of these customers that their tattoo artist is named Hamilton.”
Quinn laughed and pulled from his warm grip. “I guess you’re right.”
He smiled in the silence. She’d have to be an idiot not to notice the way his gaze lingered on her mouth. Despite her conscious brain saying no, her tongue darted out to dampen her lips.
“So,” he said, moving away abruptly. Quinn had to fight to keep from clutching her temples. He’d spun so quickly it made her dizzy. “What did you want to cover that bad boy with?”
Decision time. Why hadn’t she thought about this before? She blurted the first thing she could think of. “A dragon.”
She couldn’t blame him for the dubious expression he quickly hid. “A dragon.”
“No,” she sighed. “A rose?”
He didn’t say a word, only stared at her with raised brows.
“All right, fine.” She smacked the leather arms of her seat. “I have no freaking clue. I don’t want to see his damn initials every day.”
Hammer nodded sagely. “I thought it was something like that. What kind of crap artist did you get who would put a boyfriend’s initials on you?” He grabbed his sketchbook and a pencil from the cupboard.
Quinn was glad he looked away. The annoyance and frustration boiled away at her insides and she needed a second to control the venom. After all, she needed this shit covered tonight. Even if she had to survive on Ramen noodles for the next three months, she wasn’t going another night with the reminder of her loneliness emblazoned like a neon sign reading “pathetic loser” on her thigh.
“The so-called ‘artist’ was my boyfriend. I’m not an idiot and I won’t be doing anything like that again. So if you could save the lecture, Mom, I’d appreciate it.”
Hammer was not a stupid man. He kept his gaze glued to his sketchbook. He hadn’t meant to pluck a nerve with Quinn but that was obviously what had happened. He’d have to choose his words more carefully if he wanted to get to know her. And if the slow, deep throb in his groin was any indication, he really, really wanted to get to know her.
“I’d love to help you figure out what would be best to cover that spot with. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?” He glanced up in time to see her nod. “Great. Just relax and we’ll come up with something special. So your name is Quinn. And you’re a waitress.”
Her knuckles went white and Hammer began to be nervous for the leather chair arms. Surely she wasn’t digging her fingernails into them.
“So help me god, if you suggest a waitress-themed tattoo, I will kick your ass so hard…”
His laugh interrupted her. “No worries, Sparky, I wouldn’t do you like that.”
Her glare was murderous and it made him laugh harder. She was definitely a firecracker. The nickname was perfect.
“So nothing waitress-like.” He nodded down at the sketchpad’s blank page. An idea gripped him, something that would be the perfect combination of Quinn’s fire and his ability. He began sketching as he talked. “So what do you like? What’s your favorite hobby, color, animal? Talk to me, let me get to know you. I’m thinking we can get some good ideas for your cover-up that way.”
“I like to read, I guess. Um, I write poetry now and then. Red and orange are my favorite colors. Like a fiery sunset.” Her voice was a little husky when she wasn’t busting his balls. He liked it. “I have goldfish at my apartment. I love dogs and cats but I’m not home enough to take care of them, so I stick with fish.” It wasn’t hard to hear the little thread of regret in her words.
Hammer stopped sketching and looked at her. She stared across the room at nothing at all, the corners of her full lips downturned. Her bangs nearly covered her left eye, almost making her appear as if she was hiding from the world.
“Hey,” he said, reaching out to brush her cheek with a finger. “You okay?”
She nodded but drew back a little. His fingers went cold without the soft heat of her skin. Dipping his head, he went back to his sketch.
“Goldfish, huh? I’d have figured you were more into the aggressive aquarium life, Sparky.”
Her angry snort lightened the mood by a ton. “Why do you enjoy irritating me so much?”
“Because you’re cute when you’re pissed.” He didn’t pause, even though her outraged gasp covered most of his next sentence. “So where are you from? Where’d you grow up?”
Quinn scooted up to the edge of the chair, readying herself to jump down. She was apparently in such a mood she didn’t notice how her white skirt rode up indecently high on her thighs.
Hammer sucked in a breath and put down his sketchpad. Standing up, he straddled her legs. “Hey. Relax. This is business, okay Sparky?”
He’d stepped much closer than he intended to. But once he was there, he couldn’t stop. Leaning forward, he braced himself on the armrests of the tattoo chair. Her sweet mouth was only inches away now.
“Hammer?” Quinn’s eyes were wide and soft as she looked up at him.
“Yeah,” he whispered, halfway to her mouth already.
She nearly spat the words. “Back the fuck off.”
She didn’t hit him but her knee jerked upright enough to show him that she could have if she’d wanted. He backed up slowly.
“Business. That’s it. Nothing like that will happen again.” He turned back to his sketchpad. The “tonight” came out so softly he was sure she didn’t hear. He might not have won this battle but he was patient. And Quinn had something he desperately wanted.
“The only reason I’m not leaving is that deal you were going to cut me. I can’t afford another artist and I refuse to go one more day with Guy’s shit on my leg.” Quinn sat back in the chair. “It doesn’t matter a damn bit what you cover it with as long as it’s not his name.”
Hammer smiled down at the sketch he’d finished roughing in. “Are you sure?”
She crossed her arms tightly beneath her breasts. “Positive.”
“Well,” he said, holding the sketchbook toward her, “what about something like this?”
She was completely silent, not even breathing for a long while. Hammer’s gaze never left her, searching for some response to what he’d drawn. Did she like it? Hate it? Would it matter either way? He was afraid he knew the answer to that question, but he sure as hell didn’t know why.
June 20, 2012
June 18, 2012
No woman is an island
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that as writers, we aren’t alone. Writing is a somewhat solitary endeavor. You might be penning your opus in a coffee shop full of other people, but honestly, you’re not paying any attention to them, unless it’s to glare at someone whose loud cell phone convo is harshing your write-buzz. When we write, it’s us and our imaginary friends.
But what happens when the solitude is too much? Doubt, that’s what. Personally, that is my biggest production killer. When I’m too alone in my writer-ness, without feedback, encouragement, and the occasional “atta-girl”, I get muse deficient. She simply refuses to put out. She says, “whats the point? Nobody will read this or enjoy it anyway.”
That’s what lack of reviews do to authors. That’s what lack of feedback does to the artist, the creator, the story-spinner. That’s what starves us on the writer-island.
So, penslingers, grab some bamboo, vines, and coconuts, and let’s build a raft off of this place. CONNECT with authors. REACH OUT to your editor. BEG for feedback. If you’re starving, go get some muse food.
*drops the mic*
May 2, 2012
April 25, 2012
Author Interview - Regina Cole
Reblogged from Silken Sheets & Seduction:
Welcome Regina Cole! I am excited to have you join us at Silken Sheets today to talk about erotic romance and your latest release. Without further ado, let’s get to the good stuff…
What genres do you write besides Erotic Horror Romance?
Contemporary Erotic and paranormal erotic under Regina Cole and mainstream contemporary and paranormal romance under my other ego, Gina Lamm
…
I'm guest blogging at Silken Sheets and Seduction today! Woohoo!
April 23, 2012
Congratulations!
I’m pleased to announce that the winner of the SINFUL TRUTH giveaway is Savannah Chase! Check your email for goodies, Savannah.
I’ll be guest posting at a couple of places this week, so stay tuned for more! There will more than likely be some good chances to win, if this wasn’t your time!
Thanks for playing,
Regina
April 19, 2012
Last but Most – How I do Erotic Horror Part 5
Hello again, dear friends.
This is the final installment of the How I do Erotic Horror blog series! Did you enjoy all the other parts? Do you like the series thing? Were you bored? Is anyone reading this, anyone at all? I HOPE so, and I HOPE you’ll comment, because this is your last chance to enter for a free copy of Sinful Truth and a SCARY GOOD GIFT!!
Okay, so where were we? Oh yes! I’d figured out the who’s of it all. The heroine, Bryerly, the mysterious anti-hero, Verum, and the villain, Rafe. But was Rafe really the villain at all? Or was he part of something much larger?
I used to read a lot of Kristen Lamb’s blogs, and she had a great series on antagonists, or Big Bad Troublemakers, as she likes to call them. She used the Star Wars movies (the REAL ones, not those modern pieces of tripe) as an example.
In the first movie, Grand Moff Tarkin was the bad guy. In the second, Darth Vader. And then the third was the true and final BBT, Emperor Palpatine. See, Tarkin and Vader were antagonists, but the weren’t the true villain of the trilogy. They were like bad-guy puppets for Palpatine to do his dirty work through.
While Sinful Truth isn’t a trilogy, this is still a useful idea to keep in the back pocket. Rafe was A bad guy, I knew that, but was he THE bad guy? When you write someone, you get to know them. As Rafe came to life under my tippity-typing fingers, he showed me his character. Greedy. Petty. Full of fear and want. The kind of person that makes others feel small to puff himself up.
Was this the mastermind villain of my horror story? The more I wrote of him, the more I discovered that he wasn’t. There was someone else there, pulling the strings. Someone much more calculating, someone who was more confident and self-possessed. Someone who was willing to sacrifice anything to put himself at the top of the heap.
But serial killers aren’t exactly a new idea. And while I had brutal, bloody murders going on, the modern audience wouldn’t be impressed with such a simplistic display of violence. There was a cannibalistic element, yes, but why? Where’d it come from?
I despise it when you get to the end of a book and find out they were aliens all along, or something else out of left field. It irks the crap out of me. So I decided to tie another element in, an element that I’d already introduced via Verum. The Egyptian mythology element.
And THAT, my friends, is all I will say.
The women in Bryerly’s town are dying, one by one, their insides being eaten, not by wild dogs, but by men. The only chance Bryerly has to survive is Verum, the Truth Keeper. If you want to know how and why these horrific murders are occurring, then you’ll have to check out SINFUL TRUTH, releasing TOMORROW, April 20th, from Ellora’s Cave.
If you’d like to WIN a copy of ST, and a SCARILY GOOD GIFT, then you’ll post a comment below! I’ll announce the winner tomorrow. Good luck, and PLEASE let me know what you think of ST!
April 17, 2012
Come Together, Right Now- How I do Erotic Horror (part 4)
Welcome back, leiblings! Sorry for the gap between postings. Life gets in the way sometimes! If you’re just now joining us, here are parts One, Two, and Three of this series. I’m sharing how I wrote my first erotic horror, in hopes that someone will find this interesting. If not, well, just skip to the bottom, comment and tell me so, and you’ll still be entered to win stuff. Sound good? Thought so.
So when last I blathered on, I’d told you about building the ideas. I’ve got a half-formed hero, a mostly put together heroine, and a creepy giant question mark for the villain. But this is an EROTIC horror. By definition, there needs to be an erotic journey to go along with the horror journey. I’d spent all my time thus far on the horror, so it was time to focus on the erotic side.
I’d gotten Verum and Bryerly alone in the same room. In order for the bow-chicka-wow-wow to begin, something had to change pretty drastically, and fast. Bry has just witnessed the brutal killing of a woman. She’s not in the mood for love, if you know what I mean. BUT Verum has a weapon at his disposal, and I had zero problems utilizing it- the truth.
What if, I thought to myself, Verum’s presence had sort of a truth-uncovering-aura about it? What if Bryerly was more aware of things just by being near him? What if the physical attraction she felt when meeting Verum couldn’t be hidden? What if he reciprocated that attraction?
If a normal person cannot suppress how turned on they are, wouldn’t their inhibitions fly out the window? Why yes, I thought. Yes they would. So a girl like Bryerly, who isn’t the type to fall in bed with a man she just met, would have less of a problem following her instincts. Luckily for Verum (and me!) this technique worked. When she started focusing on the way she was feeling instead of the horrifying memories, the intimacy turned into a life-affirming self discovery.
Okay, love scene problem solved! We had a gory murder, and now a smexy bedroom scene. So let’s get back to the scary, eh? I still have Rafe to think about. Why is he such an asshole? Why did he and his friend kill a woman in the woods at night, and have blood on their faces? What could it have to do with Bryerly and Verum?
It’ll be tough to explain without spoilers, but I’ll give it my best shot in part 5, the final section of this series!
And don’t forget, be sure to leave a comment below! To show how much I appreciate each and every one of my blog commenters, I’ll be adding each of your names from now until SINFUL TRUTH releases into a hat. Comment on multiple blog posts? Receive multiple entries. The winner will be selected via Random.org, and will receive a Scarily Good Gift plus a free copy of SINFUL TRUTH! So comment below and share with your friends!
April 9, 2012
I’m a guest at Coffee Time Romance and More today!
Visit me on Coffee Thoughts, the Coffee Time Romance and More blog! I’m giving away a copy of Sinful Truth, so comment, comment, COMMENT!!
Tomorrow we’ll continue the “How I do Erotic Horror” series. In the meantime, grab a latte and head on over!
~R
I'm a guest at Coffee Time Romance and More today!
Visit me on Coffee Thoughts, the Coffee Time Romance and More blog! I'm giving away a copy of Sinful Truth, so comment, comment, COMMENT!!
Tomorrow we'll continue the "How I do Erotic Horror" series. In the meantime, grab a latte and head on over!
~R
