Books-n-Kisses is pleased to welcome Amber Lin to the blog today to chat a little about her new book GIVING IT UP.

Amber, can you please share with us a little about yourself

Thanks so much for having me on Books-n-Kisses, Kelly! I’m Amber Lin, and my erotic romance, Giving It Up, debuted this summer. I married my high school sweetheart, birthed a kid who’s smarter than she is, and spend my nights writing down dirty thoughts. In other words, life is good.

Have you always wanted to be an author?

Contrary to most authors I know, nope! I have always loved to read, but I think when I was young I was too awed to even make an attempt. Authors were like gods to me. I would look at books like Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L’Engle or Jane Eyre and know for certain I could never come up with anything that good. These days… my standards are much lower. But also different, because I understand now that the story I have to tell is mine alone. Only my experiences, my dreams and desires, and my imagination were able to produce Giving It Up and that’s the part that still fills me with awe.

What is your most interesting writing quirk?

I know some people struggle to write sex scenes, maybe because they are so intimate or embarrassing or whatever. For me it was the opposite. The very first piece of fiction I ever wrote was a hardcore sex scene, and the next several after that. When I decided to flesh Giving It Up out into a book, it was a struggle to me to write anything that wasn’t either setup for a sex scene, actual sex, or the aftermath. As you can imagine.. .there’s lots of sex in the book J

Can you please tell us about your latest book(s)?

Giving It Up is an erotic romance that follows a woman’s journey of healing.. and smoking hot sex. Here’s the blurb:

Allie prowls the club for a man who will use her hard and then ditch her. Hey, it’s not rape if she wants it. Instead she finds Colin, who looks tough but treats her tenderly, despite her protests.

He tempts her, but kindness and a few mindblowing orgasms aren’t enough to put her back together again. Allie has no hope for a real relationship. Two years ago her best friend betrayed her in the worst possible way – she’d be stupid to trust a man again. Besides, she has her daughter to think of, the only good thing to have come from that dark night.

But when her rapist returns, threatening her sanity and custody of her daughter, Allie turns to Colin. Under his protection and patient touch, Allie begins to heal and learns to hope. Colin’s no saint, though, and his criminal past draws danger of its own. Allie must fight to protect her child and the man she loves, hoping her newfound power will be enough to save them all.

 “Giving It Up is original, affecting, emotionally draining, but well worth reading if you are brave enough to go along for the ride.”

—Annabel Joseph, author of Comfort Object

“A ballsy departure from romantic conventions. At once gritty and tender, stark and hopeful.”

—Cara McKenna, author of Willing Victim

“Giving It Up is an erotic, compelling story that takes us to the shadowy, lonely places but doesn’t leave us there. Amber Lin shows us that romance isn’t just for the rich and shiny. Love can find its way even into the dark corners of the most damaged hearts.”

—Tiffany Reisz, author of The Siren

“This is a book you MUST read if you like gritty, edgier romance that makes you think as well as turns you on.”

—Cari Quinn, USA Today Bestselling Author

“Dark and edgy…but don’t be fooled. There’s a wonderful love story running through this book. Sharp, intense writing, sexy as hell, and such a cool idea!”

—Charlotte Stein, author of Sheltered

“Every page is chock full of sexy, angsty must-read-moreness.”

—Karla Doyle, author of Game Plan

“Giving It Up is a gritty, real romance that deals in an honest way with what happens to sexuality in the aftermath of rape…. Read it. You won’t be sorry.”

—Ruthie Knox, author of About Last Night

How did you come with the idea for this story?

I read a lot of romance because I love this genre, but one thing I noticed was how innocence was favored in heroines. This makes sense in a historical, due to the social mores of the time, but less so in contemporaries. It seemed that even in contemporary erotic romances, heroines were either virgins, or had only had sex with one or two guys, and they didn’t really enjoy it, etc… until the hero comes along. So my idea was to write the very opposite of that. In the opening scene of Giving It Up, Allie is at a nightclub, looking for a man to have a one-night stand with. Almost immediately we learn that she has done this several times before, so it’s not like this is her first night to go wild or anything like that either. From there, her backstory was built to support her motivation for doing so, and Giving It Up was born J

Can you share with us your current work(s) in progress?

Right now I’m writing Shelly’s book. Allie is the heroine of Giving It Up, and Shelly is her best friend. Shelly also happens to be a high-class escort, so I’m sure you can see the potential for conflict there. Yes, it’s a romance. Yes, it’s erotic. So far I’m loving it and I’m really excited to share it with my readers who already love Shelly.

Who is the one author that you would love to meet someday and why?

You know, in reality I would probably be SO AWKWARD if I met an author I love so I’m not even sure this is something I would aspire to. I recently got back from RWA and I got to meet a lot of great authors there who I really look up to. Hmm, considering people I haven’t yet met, I would say Lisa Kleypas or Laura Kinsale. But again, I’m not sure I could come up with anything more interesting to say than “OH MY GOD YOUR BOOKS I LOVE THEM” I guess I haven’t completely shed my view of authors-as-gods, or in this case, goddesses J

What is the best piece of advice you would give to someone that wants to get into writing?

Write what you love. It’s really impossible to predict trends. If I had followed them when I started writing Giving It Up, I’d have a small town romance lacking any passion whatsoever (because I wasn’t inspired to write one). Instead I pushed forward with my urban setting, with my first-person POV, with my erotic romance dealing with damaged characters, and guess what? A few months before Giving It Up came out, 50 Shades and Sylvia Day’s Bared To You made it big and they share those traits. No one predicted that these things would have been popular. There’s no way to predict the future, all you can ever do is write what you love.

Can you share with us something off your bucket list.

I am really disgustingly happy with my simple life with my husband and kiddo, so I don’t have much of a bucket list. I always wanted to do the tourist thing in Egypt and Greece; unfortunately my husband (and my four year old) don’t share my fascination with ancient cultures, so we’ll see how that pans out.

What is in your To Read Pile that you are dying to start or upcoming release you can’t wait for?

It seems like serials are the next big thing. It’s a story broken down into parts and sold at regular intervals, like one a week, until the story is fine. I know that Cara McKenna has a few coming out like that as a sequel to her book Curio. Basically if you haven’t yet read Curio, GO READ IT NOW. And then Beth Kery has a big serial and I’ve always been a fan of hers.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thanks again for having me, Kelly! If you’re reading this and Giving It Up sounds intriguing, please check out the book trailer because it’s dark and sexy and awesome:

Youtube Link: http://youtu.be/5NQ7NTuzFFI

Want to learn more about Amber?

Find her here:

Author Website: http://authoramberlin.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/authoramberlin

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authoramberlin

 Giving It Up

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  All Romance Ebook

Fictionwise | Goodreads

Allie prowls the club for a man who will use her hard and then ditch her. Hey, it’s not rape if she wants it. Instead she finds Colin, who looks tough but treats her tenderly, despite her protests.

He tempts her, but kindness and a few mindblowing orgasms aren’t enough to put her back together again. Allie has no hope for a real relationship. Two years ago her best friend betrayed her in the worst possible way – she’d be stupid to trust a man again. Besides, she has her daughter to think of, the only good thing to have come from that dark night.

But when her rapist returns, threatening her sanity and custody of her daughter, Allie turns to Colin. Under his protection and patient touch, Allie begins to heal and learns to hope. Colin’s no saint, though, and his criminal past draws danger of its own. Allie must fight to protect her child and the man she loves, hoping her newfound power will be enough to save them all.

EXCERPT

We stripped at the same time, both eager. I wanted to see his body, to witness what he offered me, but it was dark in the room. Then he kissed me back onto the bed, and there was no more time to wonder. The cheap bedspread was rough and cool against my skin. His hands stroked over my breasts and then played gently with my nipples.

My body responded, turning liquid, but something was wrong.

I’d had this problem before. Not everyone wanted to play rough, but I was surprised that I’d misread him. His muscles were hard, the pads of his fingers were calloused. I didn’t know how he could touch me so softly. Everything about him screamed that he could hurt me, so why didn’t he?

I wanted him to have his nasty way with me, but every sweet caress destroyed the illusion. My fantasy was to let him do whatever he wanted with me, but not this.

“Harder,” I said. “I need it harder.”

Instead his hands gentled. The one that had been holding my breast traced the curve around and under.

I groaned in frustration. “What’s wrong?”

He reached down, still breathing heavily, and pressed a finger lightly to my cunt, then stroked upward through the moisture. I gasped, rocking my hips to follow his finger.

“You like this,” he said.

Yes, I liked it. I was undeniably aroused but too aware. I needed the emptiness of being taken. “I like it better rough.”

Colin frowned. My eyes widened at the ferocity of his expression.

In one smooth motion he flipped me onto my stomach. I lost my breath from the surprise and impact. His left hand slid under my body between my legs and cupped me. His right hand fisted in my hair, pulling my head back. His erection throbbed beside my ass in promise. I wanted to beg him to fuck me, but all I could do was gasp. He didn’t need to be told, though, and ground against me, using my hair as a handle.

That small pain on my scalp was perfection, sharp and sweet. Numbness spread through me, as did relief.

The pain dimmed. My arousal did too, but that was okay. I was only vaguely aware of him continuing to work my body from behind.

I went somewhere else in my mind. I’d stay that way all night.

At least that’s what usually happened.

Giveaway Time: 

GIVEAWAY

Amber Lin is giving away a Kindle Fire along with 10 erotic books, as well as either a custom erotic story or a 30-page critique of a romance manuscript. There are many ways to enter, for both those who have and haven’t yet read Giving It Up.

a Rafflecopter giveaway