Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published
books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t
have to be published to participate–just a writer with an excerpt you’d like to
share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday
site or click on the banner above.

Ok, this is the first excerpt of my next book, Bound by Sunlight. It’s going to be short, sorry. I couldn’t figure out a good break point after this.

A reminder that this is a contracted book that hasn’t been edited, so it’s entirely possible it will change before the release!

A shiver raced down Kyriana’s spine. She wanted to blame it on the cold, rather than nerves, but the study she waited in wasn’t really chilly. Still, she pulled her feet up to rest in front of her on the chair’s wide leather seat, her toes curling over its edge, her arms wrapping around her legs. She studied her bare feet. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. What had she been thinking to wear the simple sleep pants and tank top? She had an assortment of seductive outfits to choose from, all of them including four to five inch fuck me heels. But here she sat, feet bare, toes not even painted, sans makeup.

Despite her self-chastisement, she made no move to get up and go change. There was no question in her mind that if she left the room she wouldn’t be coming back. Breaking into the study had taken all of her meager skills as a mole and every bit of her courage. It was one thing to spy on a superior mage such as Connul Gracyn. It was another thing entirely to break into his private study and wait for him to find her. If he didn’t give her a chance to explain, or worse, didn’t agree to her plan, she was dead. At least, she hoped he’d kill her. Because there were worse things in life than death, and if he didn’t help her, and he didn’t kill her, chances were pretty strong she’d be able to catalog those worse things with intimate detail.

Another shiver raced through her. God, she was such a coward. Which was exactly how she’d gotten herself into this mess in the first place. Dropping her forehead to rest on her knees, she swallowed back the tears that threatened. It was good to remember, actually. Good to remember that her cowardice had gotten her into this mess, so playing it safe wasn’t always the smart option. Tonight was an excellent night to keep that in mind.

Links to other Excerpt Monday writers

Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and
be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

It’s set in a world that is basically the same as ours, except there are mages – those born with the natural ability to work magic. The hero, Connul, is a mage, but also a BDSM Master. An expert at wielding a whip, a paddle, or his bare hand. Whatever it takes to send his partner into ecstasy, which is how he draws in power. And conveniently (lol) is just what the heroine, Kyriana needs. She’s trying to get away from her boss, an evil mage who’s set his attentions on Connul, and has put a spell on her. She needs Connul to help her break the spell, and the fact that it’s best done while naked is just a bonus.

I’ll get a real blurb written one of these days and put it up. Also, I’m going to post something from BbS for Excerpt Monday next week.

While I’m here, I’ll pimp a new release from a fellow Romance Diva. I haven’t had a chance to check this one out, but it looks yummy.

Brush Strokes
Jax Cassidy

For Sage, attending the Parisian sex club, Plaisirs Sombres, was the ultimate fantasy. So when the conservative gallery assistant is cloaked behind the velvet mask, she never expected to be the object of the club owner’s desire. Spurred on by D.S. Gregoire’s erotic and sensual brush strokes of the exclusive club, she gives into a brief liaison that leaves her breathless and wanting.

For Damien, known to the art world as D.S. Gregoire, his art has always been an adrenaline rush. But when an exotic and mysteriously uninhibited ’sex club virgin’ enters his establishment, he is willing to break his club rules for another taste of the dark pleasures she brings him.

Enjoy!

This is an excerpt from my contemporary erotic romance (m/m/f), Perfect Formation, which was released in March 2009.

The blurb:
Friends for much longer than they’ve been lovers, Taryn and Richard enjoy each other’s company while looking for “Mr. Right”. When the darkly handsome Caleb walks into their lives, the sexual attraction is instant and mutual—for all three. Caleb wines and dines them then shows them how good it can be if they trust him to lead the way. One night is all it takes to prove that the three of them are a perfect match, at least in the bedroom.

 Taryn has to decide if explosive sex and the feelings quickly overtaking her are worth the risk of losing it all—again. Richard sees Caleb and Taryn as the perfect couple but isn’t so sure there will always be room for him in their ménage a trois. Sexual dominant Caleb has to suppress his urge to tie them to the bed until they understand that they both belong with him—forever. But if they don’t come around soon, he’ll be pulling those ropes out after all.

Enjoy!

Taryn had been planning on raiding the fridge for Mama’s leftovers but decided that drastic cooking measures were called for to get Richard’s mind off deranged fathers. She hopped up off the couch.

“Come on, let’s make dinner.”

“I think Caleb wanted us to eat up the leftovers.”

“Too bad. Let’s make him something extra yummy for having to work late.” She grabbed his hand and pulled with all her weight so that he was forced not only to stand, but catch her when the action nearly sent her to the ground. He didn’t smile but he did follow her instructions to go change clothes. Taryn went into the kitchen and made her own special preparation.

The look on Richard’s face when he walked in made being a bit uncomfortable totally worth it. She had taken off her jeans and t-shirt and was wearing only her bra, panties and an oversized apron that hung very low on her chest.

He came to her and squeezed her tight. “I’m so glad you’re a part of my life.”

“Yeah, whatever. What are you going to make me for dinner? I think it should involve dessert. Preferably, something with chocolate.”

He swatted her on the butt. “Let’s see what we have.”

They opted to make chicken picatta for dinner and strawberry shortcake with chocolate sauce for dessert, since Caleb actually had fresh strawberries in the fridge.

“Do you ever wonder if Caleb appreciates the fact that he now has a well-stocked kitchen?” Richard mused, pulling out the cutting board.

“Well, if he’s anything like me, mostly he appreciates that he has a well-stuffed chef.” Taryn started doing what she always did when cooking with Richard. Put together the salad then sat on the counter to entertain him. She had turned the radio on, deciding it was a rock kind of night and stopped on a station known for its eclectic mix. Aerosmith was playing and she turned it up.

“I can’t believe you just said that. You want to pound the chicken breasts?”

Abandoning the tomato she was chopping, Taryn bopped her way over to where Richard had put a chicken breast into a large Ziploc bag for her. She took the offered mallet and enjoyed pounding the breast until Richard made her stop and switch to the next piece.

“I’m sorry that as your best friend I never realized that you had a problem with the whole family thing. I hope I never made you feel too uncomfortable with mine.”

She paused mid-swing to look at him. “It wasn’t like that, I swear. They’re great, I didn’t mind being near them. I just didn’t want to be…well, part of them, I guess. I don’t know, it’s not like I was thinking, ‘hey, I really like Richard but I don’t want to be part of a family’. It was more unconscious, you know?”

“I still should have noticed.”

Resuming her strikes, Taryn shook her head. “Hell, Rick, I barely noticed. I should be apologizing to you, not the other way around.”

“Mmm-hmm, because it’s all about you.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

They worked in silence for a few minutes. Richard was shuffling around, doing things with flour that she didn’t pay much attention to. She switched to the last chicken breast then moved back to the tomatoes, humming along with Weezer on the radio.

The sizzling sounds of meat hitting the pan brought her to him. He angled so that she could lean in and smell the delicious scents, knowing that was one of her favorite parts of “helping” him cook. She moved back a bit so he had room to do his thing, but rested against his side.

“A lot has changed in four weeks. For both of us. For all of us, actually,” he said, using the tongs to peek at the underside of the chicken.

“I wonder what he was like, as a single guy.”

Richard cocked his head in thought. “That’s a good question. I don’t get the feeling he went out a lot, partying at least. Probably he spent a little more time at his brother’s house. It’s kind of weird that we never met him at the bar. I mean, we didn’t go all the time, but we must have been three or four times this year.”

“Maybe we weren’t ready for him.”

“Maybe not. I’m not sure we were ready for him four weeks ago.” Richard turned the meat.

“Good point,” she answered as he casually put his free arm around her before letting that hand roam her mostly naked backside. She let him play for a moment before spinning away, dancing to the Rolling Stones.

“Can’t let dinner burn,” she teased him.

She returned to the salad, putting the avocado pieces she had been cutting into the large bowl, then tossing everything together. When she turned back he had put the chicken on a plate and was once again working with the pan. She went to set the table and called Caleb to make sure he would be home soon. He assured her that he was on his way.

Taryn hopped up on the counter to watch Richard finish the meal. He was so sexy in the kitchen, masterful but relaxed, always enjoying himself. She had seen him in doctor mode a couple of times, and while that had a high hotness factor as well, it was different. In that situation he was supremely focused on the patient, his whole being centered on what he was seeing, hearing, learning. When he cooked, it was more instinctual, and much more relaxed.

“Caleb said he would be here soon, you can go ahead and plate his up, too,” she told him as he turned the flame off.

“I’m glad. I hate the idea of him working late to deal with this.”

“I think he enjoys it. Just like you enjoy cooking for us.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

They worked together to get everything on the table. When it was ready, Richard reached over and switched the stereo from FM to CD. Ella Fitzgerald came on and he pulled Taryn into his arms.

Neither of them were really dancers but they could sway with the best of them. Besides, it was hard to focus on what moves to make when his arms were full of nearly naked woman. His woman. When he had walked into the kitchen and seen her like that, his heart had skipped a beat. Not only at the sexy package she presented, but knowing that she was doing it to distract him and to lift his spirits. It had certainly worked.

He let one hand drift to her ass and the other played with the hair at the nape of her neck. She leaned into him, so trusting, and he vowed not to let his insecurities damage what he had. Because they were right, he had both of them, damn it, and he wasn’t going to let either one of them go.

He heard the front door open and waited until he was sure Caleb could see them before spinning around so that he was facing the hallway and Taryn’s backside was presented to the other man. Taryn burrowed her face into his shoulder but he could feel her smile.

“Well. That’s a lovely sight. Delicious dinner waiting on the table for a man when he gets home from a hard day at work.”

They all laughed and Taryn turned in his arms. Caleb came to them and kissed first Richard, then Taryn. They stayed that way, not moving, for a whole minute before Caleb cleared his throat.

“Let’s eat. Fast.”

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of Perfect Formation. For more information you can see the book page here, read some reviews, or the publisher’s page (including purchase and a different excerpt ) here. Take a look at the rest of the offerings for Excerpt Monday!

“Links to other Excerpt Monday writers
Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

I have a few other stories I’m working on, so I decided to wait and see who spoke up the loudest and demanded the most attention (I’m talking about in my head here, not the readers, just to be clear, lol). I wasn’t surprised when I got some tentative pulls from the teacher. What did surprise me was the lady who said, ok, he’s good, but he’s mine. Myra, the National Alpha. For some reason, she completely blindsided me. I love it when that happens. I’m still working on my other pieces, but I’ve started daydreaming about Myra and…hmm, it’s probably time to name the poor guy. Adam? That might be right. So far he’s mostly a lovely vision (it’s not my fault he happens to be naked in this very important scene!!), but I think I like Adam.

For now, I will jot down some notes and let my daydreams work things out a bit, while I play with my Fae (different story/world). This part of it is all normal for me (no laughing), it’s pretty much how all of my stories started. But the fact that readers asked is fantastically encouraging. So, thank you!

For some reason, I have a really hard time picking them out. I keep wanting to explain what the reader should already know, if they had started at page one. I cut and paste one section, then delete and try another. Seriously, it’s like a sickness. Of course, when I read other people’s excerpts, I completely understand that it’s just a taste and that I don’t need to understand everything that’s happened. But I have a hard time letting go, I think.

For Perfect Formation I just used the excerpt my fabulous editor picked out. Actually, she made a couple of suggestions and I just agreed with one of them. It was my first release and I had no idea what I was doing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s the same scene the publisher used on their website, and as a reader I like to have a couple of different ones to read. So I was determined to use a different choice on my site this time. I finally decided that since the one the publisher is using is in the heroine’s point of view, I would give my man Zach his chance, here. Maybe next time I’ll give out advanced copies with the expectation that the readers pick out a scene they think should be the excerpt? *Sigh* I’m pretty sure this is supposed to be the easy part.

Writing Historical Paranormal Romance with Some of The Hottest Authors in the Genre

March 20th & 21st at Romance Divas

Featuring:

Colleen Gleason

Melissa Mayhue

Jennifer Ashley

Sharon Page

Jennifer St. Giles

Want to know how to write romance that brings a mysterious and paranormal twist to history? Romance Divas is hosting a 2-day workshop with some of the hottest names in the Historical Paranormal genre. It will take place at the Romance Diva Forum. All are welcome. To get access to the forum you will need to register.

I had a great time with Taryn, Richard and Caleb, though, despite the fact that they were normal . They really had a way of keeping me on my toes - I was honestly never quite sure what was going to happen next. I remember going into work one day and having to suppress the news that they’d gotten into an awesome fight, because it had been so much fun to write and I couldn’t wait to get home and figure out how they were going to make up (I hadn’t yet told the coworkers what I was up to with this whole writing thing).

So, I loved writing it, I miss the three, and I’m really proud of Perfect Formation. But, yeah, none of that changes the fact that I’m terrified! Only three people have read this story. Charlotte who was kind enough to critique it for me – my first critique which taught me so much. Klara, who read it and gave me a couple of ideas that made some subtle changes that I loved and told me it was great and to send it out, and of course my fabulous editor who chose to take it on. None of them had any reason to lie to me. Right?! I’ll calm down by the end of the day, I’m sure (see, this is me, making up stories, ’cause that’s what I do). I’m sure none of this has anything to do with the fact that the book is not just naughty but downright kinky, and I’m supposed to be the sweet and innocent girl next door. I’ve made my coworkers promise not to tell me they’ve read it unless I’m drunk.

Those of you I don’t have to look in the eye and wonder what scene you’re imagining, however, are perfectly welcome to come here and tell me what you thought of it!

Which is why I love what I do for my day job. Underneath it all, my job is very formulaic. Do this, this, this and this and at the end of it, you have created this for your client. However, there is just enough personal input, exceptions to the rules, questions that arise or just plain problems that occur to keep that from getting boring. I could sit at my desk and not get up for hours at a time, but I rararely do. Instead, I’m able to get up constantly to go deal with issues and figure them out and see them for myself and then go back to my desk. It can be frustrating of course, when nothing seems to be going right or it feels like I can’t sit at my desk for more than five minutes without getting interrupted, but overall the balance works out. And that’s what I need, it’s how I allow myself to be both creative and logical, organized and spontaneous, etc.

Which brings me to writing. What could be more creative then writing a book? After I had written my first two manuscripts, I found writers. What a relief! I knew, of course, that there were other people out there doing it, but I had a difficult time finding those who were writing and wanted to talk about it online, until I found Romance Divas. So I started to learn that some people plot out their stories and some people just fly by the seat of their pants. I clearly fell into the latter category because I basically had the first scene of the first ms (manuscript) in my head and started writing, with no idea what I wanted the rest of the book to be about. The more I wrote the more I understood what my characters were doing. Sometimes I would have to stop and say, ok, what now? A lot of times I had to backtrack and fix things, or leave a note for myself that I had to go back and make some changes. At one point I had no clue what should happen next so I started writing something else. But my characters got antsy and called me back and I was able to finish the first ms.

Sounds good, right? Many writers are proud to be pansters and it works for them and they don’t want to have anything to do with plotting. Many writers can’t start writing until they have a complete outline, character studies, etc. And of course, there are those who have found a solution somewhere in between, the middle of the road that should be ideal for me, right? Create a simple outline of what I want to happen, but give myself permission to change it up however I want. So I tried to outline something I’d started working on. Yeah, didn’t work, not even a little bit. I could write down a basic idea of how I wanted things to start but had no idea what should happen next. Completely stumped. Ok, characters. I figured they’re the ones who usually get me going, telling me what should happen next, so if I examine my characters, really figure out who they are, I’ll know what should be happening to them and around them, and then I can make it happen. Yeah, no. Once again, total blank. Which would be fine if I was happy being a pantser, except I really believe I would be a better writer if I could do some basic plotting.

Now that I know how I think it should be (for me) – basic plot outline and some character development, then write whatever I want feeling free to change as I go – I can’t seem to go back to what worked before. So, I’m sort of stuck. I know what I want but it’s causing me to draw complete blanks. So, I haven’t been writing. I let myself get caught up in the details of the book that is coming out next week, rather than doing what I knew I should be doing, which is concentrating on the next book, and the next. And of course, once I got away from the habit of writing, the harder and harder it is to get back to it. And I let real life get in the way, too, sucking all my will and energy away from the discipline of just sitting down and writing, which is sort of funny to me because last year it was real life that drove me to start writing. See, contradictory. So, here I am, knowing exactly what I’ve been doing and knowing that the only way to fix it, the only way to figure out my personal balance between plotting and pantsing is to do it and do it a lot. Practice, practice, practice. And that’s what I’m going to do. Really. Soon.

After I read these books. Just kidding, but even though this post is already nearly book length, I can’t go without offering a couple of new releases.

Joshua’s Muse
Fae Sutherland

College student Alex is entirely out of his element, thrust from his safe circle of tightly knit family and friends into a world where he feels out of place and alone, until he meets the beautiful artist Joshua, who develops a swift and overwhelming obsession for Alex.

Still learning to deal with his own sexuality, Alex is confused but intrigued by the bold man who calls Alex his muse and finds himself falling under Joshua’s spell and into his arms. Alex wants true love without the sacrifice. Joshua wants his muse and everything else Alex has to offer. Can they find their balance and a lasting happiness?

This obviously hard working author has three releases right now. I’ll put the first one in the series up here, but be sure to check the links for books two and three.

Realm Immortal 1: King of the Unblessed
Realm Immortal 2: Faery Queen
Realm Immortal 3: Stone Queen
Michelle M. Pillow

Merrick, dark elfin King of Valdis, had once been heir to all that was good—happiness and pleasure his domain. Now, trapped as the ruler of mischief, king of necessary evil, he stands on a precipice of choice. On one side, his estranged brother, now ruler of what should have been Merrick’s and, on the other, King Lucien of the Damned. Both would sway him. Damnation is winning.

Lady Juliana of Bellemare is from a human family, protected by the Blessed, coveted by the Damned. Betrothed to an old friend of her father’s, Juliana is resigned to living out her days close to her childhood home, longing for an adventure, never dreaming she’d get what she wished for. When her fiancé is murdered and the children of Bellemare are stolen, Juliana is sent on a quest in a strange realm where appearances are deceiving.

Merrick brings more adventure and passion than any woman could want. Can she withstand the temptations of the Unblessed king? The spell she weaves over him is more than he can resist and, desperate to be the one to rule her, Merrick offers her a choice; either come with him until he tires of her…or die.