Posts Tagged ‘Writing’

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Hello? Is this thing on?

I’ve somehow managed to be away for two years, so it’s a little dusty here. I’m trying to make sure that things are in working order!

My apologize for my unplanned absence. I wish I had a list of excellent reasons that I haven’t been writing, but we’re just going to have to go with…life. Yeah, life happens, right?

At any rate, I have been writing up a storm the last few months. I’ve sent one novella off to submission and have decided to self-publish a novel in the same world as Perfect Formation. It’s called Perfect Alignment (I know, not the sexiest title ever, but it goes with the theme, so…) and it is currently in production mode (beta reads, edits, formatting). This is my first attempt at self-publishing, so I’m not sure what the timeline will be like, but it will probably release in June. I’ll post a date as soon as I figure it out! In the meantime, I’m working on another Perfect Fit story, tentatively titled Perfect Addition (I know, I know, I need an official titles person). I’ll tell you all about these in some upcoming posts, but, as I said, first I wanted to dust things off and make sure everything was in proper working order.

I’ve missed you all (for reals!) and I’m excited to be back in the swing of things.

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Want to be an EC writer?

Announcing Tawny’s Taylor’s “Some Like It Hot” writing contest!
Starting October 25th, 2010, Tawny Taylor will be hosting a writing contest.
The final judge is an editor from Ellora’s Cave.

The Prizes? Read on!

All SubGenres of erotic romance accepted, including:
~Contemporary~Fantasy~Futuristic~ Shapeshifter/Vampire~BDSM~

*You may submit one chapter–not to exceed 5000 words. Stories must be complete and unpublished.

*Each Monday, two stories will be selected by an Ellora’s Cave editor who is actively acquiring. At the end, six weekly winning authors will submit a partial (first three chapters, last chapter and synopsis) to the final judge for ranking.

The first place winner will receive …

A critique of the full winning manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley!

The second place winner will receive…

A critique of the partial manuscript by EC editor Grace Bradley (first three chapters, last and synop).

The third place winner will receive…

A critique of the first chapter by EC editor Grace Bradley.

Details at: http://www.tawnytaylor.com/WritingContest.html

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Excerpt Monday

Excerpt Monday Logo

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.
Excerpt Monday Logo

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Accepted!

I’m very excited to announce that Bound by Sunlight has been accepted by Ellora’s Cave! It’s a BDSM paranormal. I’ve mentioned it a couple of times on the blog, and am thrilled it’s going to be published. This is the story that got me back to writing when I’d gotten a bit stuck in the head. Er, you know what I mean. I wasn’t even sure I’d ever send it out to anyone, I just wanted to get back to writing and get these characters down on paper. I really fell in love with the characters and their story, and was so happy with how it turned out. Of course, that didn’t make me less nervous about submitting it, but there ya go.

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.

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The End, Again, My Friend

This weekend I finished the first draft of Keeping Claire. I didn’t set up a reward for myself this time. What do you think, another massage? Or an extra nice dinner out? Must decide soon, or it doesn’t count! In the meantime, I’m excited not just for finishing, but because it means I get to go back and do the revisions for Bound by Sunlight. It’s been more than a month since I finished it, and lately I’ve been thinking about all the things I want to do with it, not to mention missing Connul and Kyr. I’ll let Ryan and Claire rest while I revise BbS. By the time that’s done, I should be itching to get back to them, lol. Now, another decision, this one for the upcoming Excerpt Monday. I have to decide if I want to do another excerpt from Keeping Claire, or introduce one from Bound by Sunlight. There’s a scene just a bit further along than the one I already did for Claire that I really love, so I’ll probably do that. Plus, I did a lot more versions of Claire than BbS, so the early pages are much more polished. BbS just sort of came out in one long effort, where I have about six versions of Claire.

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!

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Excerpt Monday

Excerpt Monday Logo
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.

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

The blurb:
perfectformation-smallFriends 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.
Excerpt Monday Logo

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Romance Divas Workshop

Romance Divas will be hosting a Romantic Suspense workshop, “Dark Secrets and Dead Bodies” October 22-24. Definitely something I could learn more about, I look forward to the workshop.

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A Hero Born

An interesting thing has happened with the release of Alpha Turned, something that didn’t happen with Perfect Formation. Readers have written to me asking if I will be writing more books in this world. Even more, they’ve actually been asking me to do so. How cool is that? Of course, I realize that Perfect Formation didn’t really have a lot of secondary characters, and no world building, so it’s not like I’m unhappy nobody responded that way to it, I’m just fascinated that people liked this world enough to ask for more. Also, it’s not like I hadn’t thought about it – of course I did. I didn’t specifically set anything up, except for the introduction of Alexis. I definitely wanted to write her story, but not for a while. She has some growing up to do. And I had a sneaking suspicion that the unnamed teacher who gets shot might want to have his say.

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!

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Excerpts

So, as you may have noticed, I have a new book coming out. (Just give me a second here to SQUEEEE. Ok, better now.) I got the release date for Alpha Turned, made the book page, and had to include an excerpt. Well, I suppose I don’t have to include one, but I believe very strongly that every book should have an excerpt on the authors website. Which should be easy, right? Well, no.

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. 😛

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Romance Divas Workshop

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.

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