Isabelle Drake's Blog, page 52

Invitations: Part Two Box Set~~out now

In Washington, D.C. USA, a city of glittering lights and all-night parties filled with beautiful socialites and powerful politicians, women can to go after what—and who—they want.
Waiting for invitations can get in the way, but smart, savvy women create their own opportunities for hot times and hook-ups.
Sometimes a woman who breaks the rules to go after what she wants can get in over her head, but if she's with the right man, the more rules broken, the better it gets.


Bold Moves
Orderly and predictable describes Eva Marie’s life, until she accepts the dare of a Brazilian soccer player with wicked moves and a notorious reputation.The last thing Eva Marie needs right now, just as her event planning business is getting off the ground, is a man. Especially a sought after bachelor with a reputation for no-strings-attached, serial dating.
Famous Brazilian soccer player Davi Ferreira likes his games and women fast and flashy. Handsome and fit, he’s never met a woman he couldn’t quickly and easily charm into his bed. Until Eva Marie. When the opportunity to participate in her event, ‘The Ultimate Bachelor’ promises to give him one final chance to escape the friend zone, he eagerly accepts.
Thanks to a popular DC blog, people in Washington are watching the live stream featuring Eva Marie’s event. Cameras cover everything, including Eva and Davi’s ultra-sexy kiss. The steamy exchange sparks a firestorm of tweets that force Eva and Davi to settle a question posed by web viewers—was the sizzling kiss a promotional stunt or the real thing?
Ambushing the Boss
A video camera, a too-short-to-ignore skirt and a come-get-me attitude—Jake Reed doesn’t stand a chance against Sabrina Weller.
Sabrina Weller has just moved to Washington DC and is ready to make the most of city life. When her cousin, Eva Marie, holds a welcome event, Sabrina meets Jake Reed. He’s awkward and abrupt but something about him makes her hot. The next time she sees him, he’s pretending to be Jay Allen, entry level new hire at Steelsmart, the same company she’s recently started working for.
Jake Reed, the socially inept new president of Steelsmart Corporation, has two problems on his hands. One, his newly acquired company has morale problems. Two, he wants to bed one of his employees. When his vice president arranges for the entire company to go on a retreat on a secluded island, Jake can’t avoid crossing paths with the sweet-talking, fast-living temp who continually teases and tempts him. He’s in over his head and she isn’t about to give up until she gets what she wants.
Risk It
Come to the Triple B Ranch and find your bliss! Gwen Baker has just been invited to participate in a new reality show, the Get Tied Down Challenge.
Couture dress-maker Gwen Baker says yes to spending a weekend at exclusive, singles-only The Triple B Ranch courtesy of the reality show, the Real DC. Recently dumped by a guy who insisted she wasn’t exciting or spontaneous, she’s eager for the chance to practice her man-hunting skills and take advantage of the live stream event to show off her custom cocktail dresses—even if the setting is a little bit rustic. Not one to be discouraged by setbacks like trying to look sexy in silk while roasting marshmallows over a campfire, Gwen arrives at the ranch ready to play along and pick one of the contestants. But the three guys from the city do nothing for her while the cook makes her ache for some serious sizzle.
As the head cook at the singles-only dude ranch, Connor Tate thinks he’s immune to the charms and temptations of the female guests. Long legs, curvy or cute…he can ignore them all. He doesn’t want any drama. He’s only at the ranch to earn cash for grad school. So when the cast and crew of the Get Tied Down Challenge arrive at the camp, he’s sure he’ll be able to keep to himself and avoid the raven haired-hottie roaming the trails. But an impromptu kiss with Gwen turns into a contest of domination that soon comes a test of wills—a test he’s glad to fail. He gives in to the sweet temptation she offers but he’s a long way from being satisfied.
Get your copy on Amazon and other ebook retailers.

Guilty Mom Horror Part 1: Dysfunctional? Yes, or she wouldn’t matter as character. But bad or guilty? That’s what matters.

Mama, Rosemary’s Baby, The Others—the maternal plotlines of these films make them stand out. Well-crafted horror film mothers are more than characters; they are women who drive the plot. Jeanine Basinger’s definition of the woman’s film as “a movie that places at the center of its universe a female who is trying to deal with emotional, social, and psychological problems that are specifically connected to the fact that she is a woman.” (59) applies to the consistently popular horror films featuring monstrous moms.  Mothers in these films are often given the generic label of dysfunctional, but this broad term is not sufficient. We can assume if a mother is a main character, she is flawed and conflicted. If her role of mother is highlighted by the storyline, it is necessary that the conflict be connected to that aspect of her character. A mother character who is not conflicted by her parenting responsibilities would not be conflict worthy. This is to say, if she were fully functioning, her impact on the story’s narrative tension would be quite different. She herself would not be a source of conflict and tension, she would be a reactant to conflict and tension. Wendy Torrance from The Shining, is an example of a ‘good’ horror movie mom. In her role as mother, Wendy Torrance is not inept or conflicted. She accepts the responsibility of protecting her son and takes steps to do so. She doesn’t reject the child’s needs for help or attempt to silence the child. As a character, she reacts to story tension rather than creating it.
The dysfunctional mom is one who is unable or unwilling to function in her normative social role. She may or may not be trying to function, and it is precisely here where our attention should be fixed. For simplicity sake, and discussion purposes, the so-called dysfunctional horror movie mom can be divided into two categories: bad, unable or callously unwilling to fulfill her role, and guilty, inconsistently able or begrudgingly willing.
The ‘bad’ mother is either uninterested in performing her role as mother or so flawed in her approach that she is toxic. She may be reacting to toxic shame, unresolved trauma from her own childhood, or may be inherently ‘evil’, but in all cases her own needs, explicit or repressed, are her primary motivators. Within the context of the story, she misjudges or disregards the needs of her child and either feels little or no judgment by society or she doesn’t care about the judgement. Typically, this mother is not a sympathetic character; viewers don’t identify with her and thus experience her as a source of external tension. She creates tension that an alternate character, typically her child, is responding to and attempting to resolve. Margaret White, Carrie’s mother in the film Carrie is an example of a ‘bad’ horror movie mom.
By comparison, the guilty mom is for the most part reasonably attuned to the needs of her child and does want to meet them. Or at least she understands that she should want to meet them. Her guilt comes from her understanding that she is not sufficiently assisting the child, from the resentment she feels toward the child whose behavior or existence is a source of judgment, or a combination of both factors. Her guilt is a response to the self-awareness that acts she has or hasn’t done have negatively impacted her child. She also understands and cares about the judgments of her community or society in general. This exclusion from belonging or judgment by the larger group is an additional source of guilt and contributes to the story tension.
As the child’s needs escalate, and the mother is excluded, judged, rejected or punished by the larger group, her sense of guilt escalates as she begins to resent the child or the child’s needs. Her inability to access the needed resources of the larger group confound her guilt, recrafting it into resentment. This in turn forces her to repress her own needs and struggle with the community’s rejection and society’s judgment. As the situation of horror intensifies, she doesn’t accept that the child’s needs are genuine or that the child is truly in danger, thus resenting the responsibility for resolving the issue. All this occurs while she is continually isolated, shunned, mocked or punished. The larger group pressures her to keep her troubled kid quiet and away from them, and she in turn wishes the troubled kid would be quiet. It is her wish to silence her own child that escalates her guilt. The viewer experiences the mother’s isolation and guilt and the child’s isolation and silencing, but why is any of this scary? 

Ready for Part 2? Guilty Mom Horror Part 2: Uncanny? Yes, of course. The mom’s tension and the situation. Two overlapping tensional circles. But how, why, and why does it matter?

Author’s Quick Guide to Decoding Social Media ‘Silence’

Authors dream of social media pages filled with comments and interaction. Likes are lovely, but writers long to stir up the chatter with their clever posts. They want noise, but often experience virtual silence. Interpreting that silence for audience disinterest is a mistake. Romance readers who consistently comment are more rare than might be expected.
Social media is about you—it isn’t actually you.

As an author, you want your social media to promote a representation of you and your work. This fragmented version isn’t your true self, but an intentional, crafted version of yourself. You aren’t self-promoting, you’re presenting and interacting in a public space in a consistent and participatory way.
You’re providing people with an understanding of who you are, what you do, and what you stand for, but you are also bringing others together. Its your party; you’re the host, so the event is bigger than you and again, its not about you. It’s about the common interests of those present. Just like a party it’s your task to bring people together and if its been a good time, they will talk about you and your work behind your back. 
That’s a good thing. Talking to you and talking about you (and your work) are different things.
Look Whose (not) Talking
Characteristics of non-commenters:Roughly 40% of all online users fall into the silent category.Are more likely to be introverts.Are more likely to be women.

Characteristics of commenters:Roughly 60% of social media users fall into this category.24 % of commenters prefer to debate issues. 21% prefer chatting.Spend on average 1 hour a day commenting.Are more likely to express ‘dark’ personality traits.Are more likely to be a troll than non-commenters.

Commenting is a slower, reflective, more cognitive process than liking, which is intuitive and reflexive. Additionally, commenting patterns will be influenced by the presence of other comments as well as the types of other comments. Therefore, commenting requires a decoding of the post but also a decoding of the contextual (other) comments. If your followers are too busy to read the comments of others, they are less likely to comment themselves.
Characteristics of all social media users:
Extraversion and openness to new situations are the most common of the personality traits among users.People who are emotionally stable use social media less frequently.

It’s significant to note that visible online interactions are performed by a specific group of people who express a specific set of personality traits. Thus, much of what occurs visibly is limited to and dominated by a specific group. For example, emotionally stable, introverted women are less likely to comment than extroverted men. And so, many of the people who are out there, reading and engaging with your brand, you won’t hear from and many of those you do hear from come from a probably smaller, specific group.

Keep in mind, your social media isn’t about you personally. It’s about the community you are creating. Your approach should be fun, sustainable and incorporate all your work or areas of interest. Do what you like, what seems right, not what people tell you. In fact, I’d say if someone tells you not to do it—do it. And if your virtual ‘people’ are on the quiet side, it probably means you’re being followed by hard-working, introverted women who are interested in what you’re about but don’t feel the need to debate things—probably because they’re busy reading a romance.

Invitations: Part One Box Set~~out now

In Washington, D.C. USA, a city of glittering lights and all-night parties filled with beautiful socialites and powerful politicians, women can to go after what—and who—they want.Waiting for invitations can get in the way, but smart, savvy women create their own opportunities for hot times and hook-ups.
Sometimes a woman who breaks the rules to go after what she wants can get in over her head, but if she's with the right man, the more rules broken, the better it gets.

Now or Never
Dressed as a sex slave and hiding behind a mask, Emily arrives at a costume party ready to make a former co-worker pay for not noticing her lush curves.
Emily grabs the opportunity to make a former co-worker she fantasised about before leaving for the US Peace Corps pay for not noticing her lush curves. Her goal—blow his mind with her sex slave seduction and leave him aching for more.
Wearing a borrowed costume and mask, Daniel accepts the offer of a woman eager to show him what she can do with the sheer scarves she's untying from her waist. His goal—make sure the woman undressing for him knows how incredible she is and understands that he isn't a one-night-only kind of man.
Dare Me
A hotel bed, two pairs of handcuffs, coils of rope and a body builder with a naughty plan—can Kitty Maar handle it all?
Kitty Maar's secret identity as Kelly M—the ultra-adventurous sexploitation blogger—is the result of Kitty's overactive imagination.
Her outrageous tales of hooking up with the hottest guys in DC, attending parties at the most exclusive addresses, and joining in on spontaneous ménages at political fundraisers are the talk of Washington. So when she makes plans with Damian Markos, he's expecting a true sexual wildcat.Damian's secret plan is to surprise Kitty with an evening so intense it will test even her sexual boundaries. It isn't easy coming up with something the city's most notorious man-hunter might not have already done, but he has connections that run deep in DC's inner circles.
Damian is determined to show Kitty that he's the only man she needs to satisfy her every need. Kitty is crazy about Damian, but will she be able to accept the sexual challenge he has planned for her?
Shameless
Pretending to be a tourist from England while at an exclusive penthouse party, Jenn steps into a trap set by a hot cop with cool-green eyes.
Jenn Davidsen knows the only way to get a guy is to go out and look for one. But what’s a woman to do when she has nowhere to go? Get creative, that’s what.
When an invitation to an exclusive penthouse party comes across the fax machine at the boutique hotel where Jenn works, she takes it for herself even though the invitation is meant for a guest. Once there, she takes the advice of a friend—she pretends to be someone else. Her fake accent and made-up personality make her the centre of attention.
Liam Wallace doesn’t like to make the same mistake twice. So when an actress he once worked with—a woman who’s been at the centre of his sizzling daydreams for months—shows up at a party, he puts a plan in motion. This time he isn’t going to stop until her gets Jenn right where he wants her—in his arms and in his bed.
Get your copy now.
Available on Amazon and other ebook retailers.

Battling Trolls and Cyberbullies, an Author's View

There are times when being ‘out there’ isn’t so great. Recently, I’ve been talking with fellow writers about their online experiences and repeatedly heard tales of two online creatures that are at minimum annoying and at worst traumatizing. What are these virtual animals? Trolls and cyberbullies.
These invisible beasts aren’t the same. They’re motivated by different goals and appear in the writer’s virtual life for different reasons. Unchecked, virtual attacks can do more than soak up chunks of time and patience. They can damage an author’s reputation, spirit, and creativity.
Troll attacks aren’t personal. The troll seeks to disrupt an online community or ongoing conversation. The more positive or meaningful the troll perceives the online environment to be; the more motivated they are to damage it. Ironically, it’s for this reason that the presence of a troll in an author’s online community is an indicator that the author has created a cohesive, vital online community.

Trolls
Most everyone agrees that trolls exist. Authors I spoke with were comfortable discussing trolls and the consequence of trolling behavior. Even the self-proclaimed trolls were willing to discuss their behavior. “I love to make people dance,” said one, laughing, when describing the enjoyment she got out of tormenting strangers online. “It’s hilarious how upset they get.”
When I asked another what she got out of disrupting people’s conversations, she told me about her fake profile, giggling as said she didn’t really know. “They don’t have to stay there (in the online community),” she reasoned. “Whatever I do to them is their own fault.”
Arguing with a troll is not likely to be successful. The committed troll operates under a cloak of deception and truth is irrelevant. In fact, truth and openness are contrary to the troll’s persona and goals. Arguing with a troll gives them additional satisfaction because the argument is proof of their success. What to do? Delete their comments and move on. Followers in your online community will recognize the troll for what they are and generally, the troll’s long-term effect is minimal.
Cyberbullies
For authors, trolls are a hassle, but not as harmful as cyberbullies. Cyberbully attacks are personal. The cyberbully engages in intentional, targeted harassment and seeks to cause direct psychological pain. Authors who’ve been cyberbullied don’t need to be told the emotional pain caused by virtual harassment is equal to ‘real life’ bullying. For the working writer, who must be online 24/7, it may be an even greater source of distress. The cyberbully can attack any time and through multiple channels.
Authors I spoke with told me about being anxious in the morning because they were afraid to see what chaos had been created overnight. Those with day jobs spoke about day-long anxiety as they worried about what they’d find when they logged in at lunch or during breaks.  Knowing that this constant damage was being done by someone they knew, a so-called friend or relative, complicated things. If they rebuffed them, asked for support from others who also knew the bully or blocked the disrupter, other so-called friends and relatives connected to the bully would minimize the victim’s pain and professional damage and step in to ‘resolve’ the ‘misunderstanding.’
Cyberbullying is one of those things that happens but nobody wants to talk about. Writers I spoke with were hesitant to admit it’d happened to them, and those who did share their experiences were reluctant to talk about the details. It became clear to me that the harm done to the writer’s reputation is easier to deal than the personal pain caused by toxic shame.
Toxic Shame
 ‘Toxic’ shame isn’t the same as guilt that comes from choosing to do something later regretted. Toxic shame occurs when a person has been exposed in a way they weren’t prepared for or in a way that’s too intimate. In this case, the so-called friend or relative has invaded an author’s public space in a way that intentionally humiliates and crosses boundaries. This isn’t the same as basic stress. Toxic shames creates feelings of inadequacy and lack of emotional and intellectual safety. This combination of mental wounds not only weakness confidence but also stunts creativity.
My sense, if it feels like bullying it probably is. Trust yourself. Don’t try to reason with the bully. They know they’re causing harm. Don’t waste time trying to figure why the person is doing it. Why they’re doing it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they’re intentionally hurting you. Talk about how the situation with one or two close friends and silently block the bully on all social media. Be patient with yourself and understand healing from the attack may take time.
These virtual beasts aren’t going to do anyone the favor of staying in their invisible liars. Acknowledging what these creatures are, understanding what they want, and having a plan of action for when battling with them can be a useful tool in an author’s kit.

Happy Anniversary to The Romance Reviews

The Romance Reviews

It's March!

Reviews - Servant of the Undead & Mistress of the Undead

Servant of the Undead

"You've seen slow zombies, and fast zombies. You've seen Haitian Voodoo zombies, Deadite zombies, and Vampire zombies. Hell, you've even seen radioactive mutant ghoul zombies. I'm willing to bet, however, you've never seen erotic sex zombies - and, if you have, never quite like this.
"Isabelle Drake doesn't spoon-feed the reader, and I like that. We're in the dark for much of the story, not understanding what Mattie really wants of Hayden, or what the rest of her tribe wants with Rachelle, Hayden's mortal girlfriend. Interwoven into the scenes of cold, sometimes cruel, erotica are themes of power, control, and consent that make this so compelling. While it's hard to form an emotional attachment to any of the characters, it's all too easy to be fascinated by their struggles, and excited by their angry sex. Yep. These books are something else.
Nope. These books aren't for everyone.
"Servant of the Undead wasn't quite what I expected, and it's better for it."
--Bob Milne, Beauty in Ruins
"It starts right from the beginning.  She did not miss a beat and leaves you holding your breath waiting. I think it was a well written book."

--Jessalee S, Reviewer, NetGalley
"I don’t think this book is going to be a book for everyone but if you like a little monster mixed in with your erotica it may just be the book for you."
--Barks Book Nonsense
Mistress of the Undead

"I enjoyed the magical and mystical aspect.  The zombies in charge are fantastic manipulators and eerily display an ability to use every bit of their sexuality and sensuality to get whatever they want. 
"Drake is a great writer, I can’t dispute that.  I thought the story itself was very thrilling and entertaining.  A good horror story."  
--Crypt Countess, The Horror Report

Happy Valentine's Day!

How *did* I get published?

A colleague asked me to write up my publishing story...this is what happened.