Jennifer Bene's Blog, page 2

Hot, dirty, Omegaverse romance? With 7 Alphas? Yes, please!

RELEASE BLITZ
Title: Alpha’s Clarity
Series: Clarity #1
Author: Cassandra Faye
Genre: Dark Reverse Harem Omegaverse Romance
Release Date: March 14, 2022BLURB
  “A hot, fast-paced reverse harem that kicks off the Clarity series with a bang! Absolutely un-put-downable!”

There are always consequences.

In a universe filled with possibilities, Karissa always chose the safe route. She’s the smart one, the workaholic, the responsible one — but for her best friend’s birthday, she’d break her rules.

Just one night, one innocent decision…
and with one sip of Clarity everything goes wrong.

Seven massive males take her, claiming her for the pack. They call her ‘Omega.’ They promise to end the pain. They say they’ll give her what she needs, but what they need… is her.

And now that they’ve found her they will never let her go.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60510662

BOOKBUB LINK: https://www.bookbub.com/books/alpha-s-clarity-by-cassandra-faye

PURCHASE LINK: https://books2read.com/AlphasClarity
Free in Kindle Unlimited!

Black Light: Roulette Rematch is LIVE!

RELEASE BLITZ
Title: Black Light: Roulette Rematch
Series: Black Light Book One, Season Five
Authors: Jennifer Bene, Livia Grant, Renee Rose,
Measha Stone, Maggie Ryan, Ann Mayburn,
Shane Starrett, Sinistre Ange & Raisa Greywood
Publisher: Black Collar Press
Genre: BDSM Erotic Romance
Release Date: February 8, 2021BLURB
Three hours. Four hard limits. Nine naughty couples.

Black Light’s thrilling game of Valentine Roulette returns for the fifth year with nine very dirty — and very hot — NEW stories from your favorite BDSM authors.

It’s Valentine’s Night and time for a rematch, but the egos of two dominating Dungeon Masters aren’t the only things on the line. These couples are going to gamble their hearts with one spin of the wheel, and there’s only one guarantee in this year’s Roulette…

The East Coast may have won the battle last year, but Black Light West plans to win the war in this explosive, sexy collection!

Featuring stories from: Livia Grant, Jennifer Bene, Renee Rose, Measha Stone, Ann Mayburn, Maggie Ryan, Shane Starrett, Sinistre Ange, and Raisa Greywood!

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56605943-black-light

PURCHASE LINKS
US: https://amzn.to/3vVRdWB
UK: https://amzn.to/3jinrD8
CA: https://amzn.to/3rmqNrA
AU: https://amzn.to/3cCuTYa

Free in Kindle Unlimited!

Other Authors Aren’t Your Competition

So, I haven’t blogged in a while, but I feel like it’s something I’m finally mentally healthy enough to take on again, and I’m absolutely going to make an effort to start doing it more consistently with the old favorites like Music Monday and Thankful Thursday, etc. But, before I dive into the core topic of today’s ramble (with gifs!) I do have to say that without the support of so many amazing authors, readers, and local friends I know I wouldn’t have made it through the last year without losing my mind completely. So, thank you guys so much for lifting me up when I needed it most.

And, really, that’s the main thing I want to talk about today in my completely rambling way. When I worked at my day job there was a coworker I had that wasn’t exactly a friend, but we were amicable, and although we didn’t always see eye to eye, he did have this phrase hung up at his desk where he could see it, and all of us could also see it when we walked by. It always stuck in my mind because I feel it’s so true and so important. Since I don’t have his handy piece of paper, I slapped it on a pretty picture for you guys.

It’s pretty freaking simple.

Seriously… this concept shouldn’t be foreign to any of us in life, but it especially resonates within the author community. I’ve been publishing for over five years now and while I have met some incredible people who go above and beyond to help their peers, I’ve also seen people who treat this like some kind of competition — which, newsflash, it isn’t. There is not an author on the planet that can write books fast enough to keep up with these voracious readers who devour romance books at an impossible pace, and what does that mean for all of us?

We only succeed when we lift each other up.

When we share each other’s books with our readers while we’re updating them for the tenth time about our progress on our next book, we’re giving them the chance to fall in love with another author and fulfill their reading needs because we can’t at that moment. In return, that author will often share your new release, and the cycle continues, around and around, with lots of different authors across the landscape of authorlandia.

Mufasa laid it out when I was still a kid, and he’s right. We’re all connected in this great circle of “romance book” life. That’s the truth of it. So, when I see people insulting other authors, or tearing them down, or dragging their name through the mud all across social media over a disagreement or a personal issue… I honestly don’t get it. We’re not going to all be besties, and that’s just because people are people and we don’t have to like everyone — but making a public spectacle of a private matter? Tearing down another author’s opportunity for success because you don’t like what they write, or don’t like their cover, or don’t like something they said or did? That just doesn’t get us anywhere. All it does is hurt the reputations of everyone that gets involved or shows up on the periphery. When that happens, we all fall a little.

We all sink, together, in the eyes of our readers and the community.

And who wants that? Who wants to be seen as the “problem child” in the author community, or the “drama queen,” or the “gossipy one?” None of those are good labels to put next to your brand, and no matter what you think of authorlandia as a whole — your name is your brand. Every action we take in a public space reflects directly back on our brand, especially because most of us derive many of our new readers through advertising on social media, and many readers that find authors in other ways go to social media to see what that person is “really” like behind the pretty picture and author bio.

Ask yourself… when people look for you, who will they find?

It might be. I’m not here to answer that question for you. I’m only here to try and share the concept that all of us can succeed together. We can be kind, we can be generous, we can share knowledge, we can reach out, we can speak up, and we can see each other as partners in this crazy publishing world instead of “competition.”

Most importantly, we can lift each other up, and we can ascend together.

There are no limits to the number of books a reader will buy. I think the sheer number of memes revolving around our ever-growing TBR lists (mine could crush a small village easily) is a testament to that fact. Romance readers aren’t just voracious with their reading habits, they’re voracious with their buying habits. A book is an impulse buy because something about it spoke to them. An amazing cover, an intriguing blurb, a snippet that made them have to fan themselves, or a friend shoving the book into their virtual hands with an “omg this book destroyed me and you have to read it right now!”

It really doesn’t.

And even if you’re convinced that every reader is a coveted item to be hoarded like Gollum did the ring, then you still have to ask yourself what kind of world you want authorlandia to be. We’ve all chosen this path for ourselves, and it is hard on the best of days, and a nightmare on the worst, so why should we make it harder on each other? Why not use your reach and your voice and your brand to spread positivity in this community? Why not leave the world of authorlandia a little better than you left it each day?

Personally, I’m a big believer in karma, and I’ve experienced the way that the love you send out into the world comes back to you. When I was at my lowest points in the last year with the death of my grandfather, then my mother, my step-grandmother shutting me out of her life, and the trouble with my kiddo needing help at school and the journey of getting special education resources… it was this community that kept my head above water. Even when all I could do was lie in bed and wonder when things would get better, I never had to go farther than my phone to find someone reaching out to me, checking on me, telling me they loved me / my books / my whole weird personality. When my entire life was in tatters, karma paid me back for all the love and energy I’d sent out over the years ten-fold.

And the same will happen for you.

We get out of the world what we put into it, and even if you think karma is a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, at the end of the day it’s still better to be a positive influence. To choose love, not hate. Choose kindness, not malice. Choose being the person you want to see in others, not the person that continues the cycle of pain.

And while I’ve been speaking to authors for most of this, it all applies to readers too, because this community wouldn’t even exist without you in it. So, when negativity shows up on our feeds on social media, we have the choice to let it lie, or participate. All of us make that choice (unfortunately way too often) and those choices are going to continue shaping authorlandia and the world we choose to experience every day. So…

Let’s choose to treat each other like partners, or at the very least coworkers — not competition.

Let’s choose to lift each other up when we have the opportunity.

Let’s choose to leave the world a better place.

We all need it, even when there isn’t an apocalypse going on. all rise.

Thanks for reading, lovelies. Just remember, we’re #InThisTogether.

Ask Me Anything: What does a male escort do?

This is an article contributed to the website by Gentleman4hire.com and is meant to be informative.

Social Date-stancing: Having a Fun Date on Zoom

COVID-19 has forced a lot of us to put our dating lives on hold while we try to protect ourselves and our communities from a fate much worse than being single. But what are you supposed to do, grow old alone because of a little publicly mandated isolation? Now more than ever, singles need a little extra companionship.

Zoom isn’t just for the boring businessmen (unless they have a kinky side, too). Zoom dates are a hot trend in a few different senses of the word. Plus, with a little creativity, a Zoom date can give you even more flexibility than a real date to unwind, cut loose, and get to know each other with as many or as few restrictions as you want.

Zoom Leads to More Legal Fun

Gentlemen4Hire is a platonic escort service that brings you a fun, friendly companionship experience now when you need it most. However, even with escort services, there are some restrictions and guidelines to follow to keep things clean, safe, and, um– shall we say, from getting too risqué.

A Zoom date gives you more flexibility to explore your wild side with your partner in a completely safe space. If you take the right steps, your Zoom date environment can even be totally anonymous to protect yourself and your date. A pre-agreed upon strategy and plan for the perfect date is extra-important for a Zoom date, the extra freedom comes with a little extra ambiguity. Just like an in-person encounter, always be completely clear and sure about matters of consent, even on a remote date.

Hot Hookup Ideas for Your Remote Rendezvous

A remote date doesn’t have to be a boring conversation over a lonely glass of wine on your couch. In fact, you can let your imagination run wild with fun date ideas that you could never enjoy out on the town and yet might still be too boring for a face-to-face evening at home.

On a regular date, you often end the night at home. But on your Zoom date, you’re at home from the get-go. That is, unless, you can take your Zoom date to a safe outdoor space. There’s no reason you can’t have a romantic picnic, a night under the stars, or even a walk on the beach so long as you have a reliable unlimited data connection.

Even in a platonic setting, your Zoom date can have a little extra spiciness. Discuss your boundaries with your escort to find the appropriate limits, and find the perfect environment to have your Zoom call based on that.

Competitive activities like board games and card games become much more exciting over a Zoom date. Not only do you get to enjoy the company of your date, but you get to enjoy complete control over the environment. You don’t have to worry about providing accommodations for your date, and you don’t have to deal with the headaches of going out in public. A Zoom date puts you and your partner right into the action without the hassle of arranging a pickup, finding parking, standing in lines, paying cover charges, or paying for cab fare if you decide to indulge a little too much in the drink.

Think You’re Safe if You’ve Been Tested?

It’s possible, however unlikely, that you and your escort have both been tested for COVID-19 and come back clean. This might tempt you to test an in-person encounter. While some guidelines say that it’s safe to interact outdoors from a distance, the coronavirus presents some challenges as far as dating is concerned.

You’ll be tempted to flirt and interact physically just out of natural habit. Even a professional escort will have the same tendencies in mind; it’s just his job, after all. Beyond safety, imagine the awkward setting of a date where you’re making a conscientious effort to stay away from the other person.

A Zoom date takes care of that awkwardness. Both parties know the stakes, and as a result, they make every effort to get closer despite the distance rather than stay away despite the close proximity. Even if you have every reason to believe that you and your date are both safe and clean, your best bet is to keep your date to the internet until things calm down.

Teaser Thursday! ‘Bad Babygirl’ by Zoe Blake

Hi Lovelies. I totally meant to post this on Tuesday, but with everything going on it totally slipped my mind. I wanted to let you know that my mom is now in hospice. The cancer has spread a lot and she’s in so much pain. I know this will be a mercy to her, but I feel so lost right now. It’s just me and my step-grandmother handling all of this and I’ve never felt so alone. While that is going on...

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Music Monday – Pacific

This #MusicMonday is Pacific from ‘S’ and Jenn Champion. It’s no secret that I’ve had some serious struggles with depression over the past year, and this song showed up at some point during a low time and it made me cry so hard because it just… connected with me. It’s both sad and like a big hug at the same time. It’s not as light-hearted as some of my...

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Music Monday – Nightmare

I’m excited to get this #MusicMonday out to all of you, lovelies, because one of my awesome readers actually tagged me in a post about this song saying that it reminded her of me! Of course, I already love Halsey to death, but I agree that her new song ‘Nightmare’ has some badass lyrics too. Enjoy it, lovelies! Lyrics Now I lay me down to sleep… I pray the Lord...

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Ask Me Anything: Experiences and Advice for Aspiring Authors – Part I

Hey lovelies! It has been a seriously long time since I’ve done one of these AMAs… for real. This one has been sitting on my ‘to do’ list for a long time now (months and months) but I’m trying to get my inbox cleaned up and the lovely Shane Starrett sent me this list of questions after we spent a few days chatting about writing and my tips / experiences /

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Teaser Thursday! ‘Alpha’s Capture’ by Livia Bourne

I am so excited to share this with you, lovelies. One of my best friends, Livia Grant, has been having difficulties finishing her insanely complicated book, ‘Black Light: Scandalized’. So what can a good friend do but suggest they take a break and write something TOTALLY hot, naughty, and completely off-genre to help clear out the writers block bugs. Not only did she do it...

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Teaser Tuesday! ‘The Bratva’s Bride’ by Jane Henry

Look at me, I got a #MusicMonday AND a #TeaserTuesday up in the same week. If that isn’t winning on the authorlandia front, I don’t know what is. I am waiting for some really important news that will either be really good or really bad, so bear with me lovelies. Life may just throw me a curve ball yet again. But let’s focus on the good stuff! Jane Henry had a new release of

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