Winner of Dianne Hartsock’s book is
Amy S.
Winner of Cynthia Selwyn is:
Jacki C
Winner of 200+ Followers Choice is
Heather Roesberry
All winners chosen by Random.org
Winner have 72 hours to respond to email.
Guest Blog & Giveaway with Ava Delany
Hello and welcome to the first day of my Beginnings series blog tour. Please feel free to comment because I will pick one lucky commenter from the commenters on my blog tour and they will win a copy of the soon to be released A Soldier’s Woman.
Let’s start out this tour hot. Let’s talk about the most popular types of heroes in romance today. Mmm, my favorite topic, sexy, luscious, handsome heroes.
A popular hero right now is the vamp. So what makes a vamp sexy? Superhuman powers and an alpha personality. So yummy. Plus, I love the fact that, all through the centuries, he’s chosen only the heroine. No one else will do.
The shifter is another popular hero. He has the superhuman and alpha things going for him too, and I love the feral quality of a beast barely contained.
Who could forget the bad boy? He’s cocky, sexy, and doesn’t play by the rules—especially when it comes to the woman he wants. That’s a seriously hot combo. I love the wildness of a bad boy. You never know what he’ll do.
The alpha (he can be a prince, a duke, rich, or just a plain old alpha, but he’s powerful by human standards) is another fabulous hero. He’s handsome, well dressed, and sexy, and I love the power he wields more comfortably than if it were his own skin. He knows what he wants and is willing to do what he must to get it. Just thinking about it gives me a little thrill.
The cowboy is a hero that has many women drooling. Washboard abs and manners, that’s a great combo. I love that little bit of cocky a cowboy exudes, and how well he can protect the woman he loves.
Last, but not least, the funny, charming guy. He’s funny, disarming, and hot. I love this kind of hero because he’d never intentionally hurt the heroine, but if he or anyone else does, he steps up and fixes it.
A number of my heroes fall into the funny, charming category or the alpha category, but never completely. Though in Dark Daze—the paranormal romantic suspense I hope to release this year—my hero has paranormal powers, most of my heroes are human. In A Librarian’s Desire, the hero is a sexy and cool frat boy, but he’s got that cowboy style protective streak in him. In Dominated, my hero is an alpha dom, but has a quiet desire for a strong sub. In The Wedding Night and it’s prequel A Surprising Day, my two hero-centered stories, the hero is a bad boy with tats and a wild streak, who also is sincere and sweet in many ways.
Did I miss your favorite hero type?
Even if I didn’t, feel free to list your favorite type of hero and tell us why you love him. And don’ t forget to tell us if there’s some sort of juxtaposition you love. (The alpha that’s soft only with the woman he loves, etc…) I love to talk about sexy heroes!
GIVEAWAY TIME:
We are giving away one e-copy of A Librarian’s Desire
Please leave a comment
your EMAIL (VERY IMPORTANT, no email no entry)
Giveaway will be open until Aug 19th
Winner announced Aug 22nd
My Website: www.avadelany.webs.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/avadelany
Guest blog with Lynda Fishman
Repairing Rainbows
A True Story of Family, Tragedy and Choices
This is a remarkable true story of a thirteen year old faced with horrific tragedy, and the journey she took from disaster to life fulfillment.
Rita and Saul had a fairy tale life. Rita, a woman with a heart of gold, was a caring, kind and generous wife to the jolly and friendly Saul, who loved to giggle at his own jokes. Their three adorable daughters, Lynda, Carla and Wendy knew the perfect family life that many children can only dream of having – a very close-knit family in a home filled with riches – not rich with money, but with priceless love and happiness which they shared with extended family.
Sweet tunes of music from the big brown radio in the kitchen echoed through the bustling household that was often filled with laughter and celebrations with relatives. The aroma of delicious dinners permeated from the kitchen, and the entertaining piano playing and dance steps of little feet in the living room was performed with joy.
The three sisters have never flown and are looking forward to the plane ride and the family Bar Mitzvah in California. Young Lynda convinces her parents to let her fly a week ahead with the grandparents to help get everything prepared for their month long stay in California. A week later, Carla (11), Wendy (8) and the mom, Rita (39), board a flight from Montreal bound for LA, with a stop-over in Toronto.
Their Air Canada flight 621, with 109 people on board, crashes seven miles from the Toronto airport. There are no survivors. It was pilot error.
Saul receives a horrific phone call with tragic, shocking news that changed everything. His family has been extinguished in an instant. Inconceivable.
In a state of complete horror and despair, Saul is completely emotionally paralyzed. Unable to move past that terrible day, Saul withdrew into himself, struggling and distraught, leaving thirteen year old Lynda alone in her grief.
Never again the father she knew, Saul, too broken to recover, was so immersed in his own grief that he simply continued to exist, in a state devoid of life or hope.
Lynda, at the young age of thirteen was basically orphaned. She officially lost her mother and two younger sisters and unofficially lost her father too. Teetering on that tender brink between childhood and adolescence, Lynda faces profound loss, the responsibility of a father in a complete state of shock, a house to take care of, and complicated decisions about how to proceed with their shattered lives.
Their home is transformed from comfort and joy, to despair and deafening silence. Terrifying sounds of crying shatter the silence in the house – sounds of sadness and misery emitting from a broken man and a terrified young teen.
Saul and Lynda are unwillingly assigned to a new category of heartbreaking loss, one that not many people will ever experience. Faced with agonizing memories of funerals, nightmares, sorrow and hardship, a young teen and her dad are left to cope with immense grief and loneliness.
Pursued by ambulance-chasing lawyers, Saul becomes involved in an overwhelming and intimidating legal battle with Air Canada. What happened behind the headlines was different than what the public was told. Shockingly, Air Canada’s ruthless, insensitive legal team handled the aftermath of the plane crash and the subsequent law suit in a callous and heartless manner. With complete lack of sensitivity, the family was subjected to hours and hours of depositions as they itemized the dollar value of a mother and two little girls. Saul was essentially bullied into settling for what was obviously a ridiculously low settlement.
Unable to face the reality of this colossal tragedy, Saul is stuck in a state of emotional denial, pushing his daughter further and further away.
Pursued by a pretty widow, Saul quickly marries Sonia who personifies the evil stepmother stereotype in all the darker senses of the word. Controlling and self-absorbed, Sonia wedges herself between Lynda and Saul, constantly forcing Saul to choose between them.
For years to come, Lynda is hurt, frustrated and angry at her father.
At age seventeen, Lynda meets and falls in love with Barry, her soul mate. Barry has also suffered tremendous loss – his mother died when he was an infant, and his father died when Barry was seventeen, just a few months before meeting Lynda. To make matters even more interesting and challenging, Barry has a developmentally delayed brother, a few years older than him. Barry and Lynda are left with the responsibility of Mitchell.
The shared bond of pain allows them to form a deep, mutual understanding of each other.
You root for them as they build their relationship, get married, start a family and balance each other perfectly. Their lives flourish together. They are dedicated to each other and to helping others.
The final part of the story deals with life-changing and comforting visits to a Psychic Medium. Lynda and Barry receive specific, detailed messages and information from their family members on the other side that validates their on-going connection – illustrating without question that while they can’t be with them physically, they have stayed with them. It warms your heart to learn that Lynda and Barry’s family members are “alive and happy” in another realm, and that they have stayed among them as angels, guiding and protecting them.
Choices
It is obvious throughout the story that “we always have choices” and that it is possible with perseverance, courage and patience to be able to live life once again. Lynda made the choice to do everything she could to escape the cloud of despair. She chose to bounce back after such a monumental tragedy, to pick up the tragic pieces of her life and move on. She chose school, growth, positivity, career, family. She chose to stay super busy with school, volunteer work at hospitals, cooking, baking, gardening. She chose to fight the obstacles of pity. She chose hope over despair. She chose to survive and to thrive.
Both Lynda and Barry were determined to live – they chose to create a happy future and to live a happy life. They have strength, will and courage. They were determined not to succumb to sorrow and despair – to use whatever tools they could find, including considerable grit, to build a life together – to fashion the life they wanted. Together, they had and still have indomitable will to focus on the positive.
Repairing Rainbows is a Powerful Story
Prepare yourself for an emotional roller-coaster ride through gut-wrenching trauma, incomprehensible loss, terror, anger, hope, tenacity and triumph. It is powerful not only in regard to the tragedy, but in the messages delivered throughout the story. This is a story of victory – of rebuilding – of the immense power of positivity.
Repairing Rainbows is a story for everyone who delights in true-life accounts of triumph over tragedy. Repairing Rainbows resonates long after you finish the book – it is an unforgettable story of courage, strength and hope.
Repairing Rainbows is described as compelling, captivating, honest, brave, and inspirational. It is a truly special story about choices – a story that reminds you that you should never give up, keep on trying, and that every storm ends with a rainbow.
There’s no template to follow that will determine the course of any tragedy and the effect it has on ones life. But the toughest decision a person has to make is whether or not they are choosing life. Whether or not you respond to a crisis with hope, is a choice. It’s a choice about whether you want to live or die. Lynda chose life.
If you would like to learn more about Linda or her book please check out her website: http://www.repairingrainbows.com/index.php
Facebook Page Switched
To all my wonderful followers…
My Facebook Page Switched…
Please click the little FB link off to the left and find the new page.
Old page will be closing down this week.
Thank you
Guest Blog with DC Juris
Hi folks! ::waves:: DC Juris here. I’ll be your blog hijacker for the day! ::grins::
A question I get asked a lot is “are there any of your real-life elements in your stories?” Usually, the answer is yes and no, more along the no side. But with my latest Breathless Press release, “Buried Treasure,” I drew on something I’d never used before – my husband’s childhood.
Hubby’s father died when Hubby was just thirteen years old. For that, and a lot of other reasons I won’t go into, Hubby ended up spending his summers with his cousin’s grandmother, Grandma M, who ran a retirement home.
Hubby recounts Grandma M as a hard-working, caring individual. She ran the retirement home out of her actual home – back in the day when things like that just went on and people were simply happy they had a place to be. Some of her residents needed minimal care, but some needed more, and Grandma M happily did whatever needed to be done, no matter what. She had a friendly demeanor with those in her care, often joking with them and had special nicknames for some.
Sharp-witted and dedicated, Grandma M ran the nursing home right up until she passed away at the age of eighty-three. Even her death, though, was remarkable – the car she was in got stopped on train tracks, and the driver didn’t move fast enough. Seriously.
So when the character Mark popped into my head, and told me about the retirement home where his dad lived, I knew immediately that it had to be based – loosely, of course – on the real retirement home. Though I never got to meet Grandma M, I know from the stories Hubby tells that she’s proud of the man he turned into, and I hope she’d be touched by my little tribute.
Buried Treasures
After his last long-term relationship ended because of his nightmares, Mark closed his heart to the possibility of finding love again. He’s certainly never considered Gabe, the orderly who works at Miller’s Retirement Home where his father lives. But there’s more to Gabe than meets the eye, and if Mark is willing to let Gabe in, he might just discover the most important buried treasure of all.
Read an excerpt HERE
Learn more about DC Juris HERE.
Darynda Jones’s Charley Davidson Series
First Grave on the Right
Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.
Second Grave on the Left
***WARNING: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!***
*If you have not read book one, stop now!*
When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously?
After dragging Charley out the door and trying unsuccessfully to stuff her into a trunk—mostly ‘cause Charley pitches a fit—Cookie finally explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. After a brief investigation, Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. They head to the parking lot only to be accosted by a frantic husband with a gun. After some soothing words and a few deep breathing exercises, the husband, aka Warren Jacobs, hires Charley to find his wife. He explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.
Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?
Third Grave Dead Ahead
***WARNING: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!***
*If you have not read book one, stop now!*
Charley Davidson—grim reaper extraordinaire, private investigator . . . meh—is practicing her profession under the influence, caffeine and copious amounts of it, due to an extreme desire to induce insomnia. Every time she closes her eyes, Reyes Farrow, the part-human, part-supermodel son of Satan, is there. Only thing is, he’s a tad peeved. She did bind for all eternity, so it’s hard blame him. But 13 days without a wink is bound to bring out the crazy in a girl. So, when a man hires her to find his wife, Charley accepts the job with one goal in mind: Put the man behind bars, and not the wet kind. She can sense the guilt waft off him and vows to find the woman’s body and prove he’s a murderer.
In the meantime, Reyes is back in prison and none too happy about it . . . so Charley thinks, until she is carjacked by the dark-haired rake, who swears the very man he went to prison for killing is not only alive, but close by. And he wants Charley to find him.
While a visit to her old friend Rocket sheds no light on Reyes’s situation, Charley finds out the man’s wife is still alive and time is running out. Finding her before she dies would be a miracle, but she has to try. Together with the help of a fashion-impaired receptionist named Cookie, Charley sets out to bring the bad guys to justice. She just hopes Reyes is not one of them. And that she’s not hallucinating from her self-induced bout with insomnia.
Helping a pal get to 1,000 followers
If head over to Fiction Vixen and become a follower.
Come back and tell me… When she reaches 1,000
I will pick one or maybe two people who went over followed then came back here and commented.
You HAVE to go FOLLOW Fiction Vixen (I will be checking)
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Leave a comment that you followed and your EMAIL (VERY, VERY IMPORTANT)
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Not telling you what just yet…
My review of Masters at Arms by Kallypso Masters
Book 1
Ebook By Kallypso Masters
Published: Aug. 09, 2011
Category:Fiction » Erotica » BDSM
Words: 58082 (approximate)
Language: English
Master at Arms begins the journey of three men whose paths cross at one of the darkest points in their lives. Two will rescue the women destined to love them in this story. All will come to terms with who they are. The three Doms will pursue or be pursued by their lady loves, and reunite with each other at their Masters at Arms BDSM club, in the next three novels in the “Rescue Me” series.
Published: Aug. 09, 2011
Category:Fiction » Erotica » BDSM
Words: 58082 (approximate)
Language: English
Master at Arms begins the journey of three men whose paths cross at one of the darkest points in their lives. Two will rescue the women destined to love them in this story. All will come to terms with who they are. The three Doms will pursue or be pursued by their lady loves, and reunite with each other at their Masters at Arms BDSM club, in the next three novels in the “Rescue Me” series.
My Review:
Masters at Arms is Kallypso Masters (Kally) first book in her Rescue Me series. In Masters at Arms, Kally introduces us to three men: Master Adam, Master Marc and Master Damian. The first book is broken into five sections. Each of the first three sections focuses on one of the Masters and gives us a brief look into their lives and possibly their future. In the final sections we learn how the Masters befriend each other and help each other heal both physically and mentally to form an unbreakable bond.
Kally takes you on a roller coaster of emotions in Masters at Arms. You will laugh, cry and shake your head asking why, all the while leaving you wanting more. And OH you will want MORE!!!
I will say that there are a few very powerful scenes in this book that on my first read I had a hard time with. But after my second read I understand that certain things have to happen in order for the characters to grow and change.
I want to say a special THANK YOU to Kally for letting me read and review Masters at Arms. Kally, I have enjoyed the journey that you have taken me on with the Masters in this first book (Masters at Arms) and I hoped that in some small way I helped. I can’t wait to jump in to Nobody’s Angel (Marc’s story), Nobody’s Hero (Adam’s Story), and Nobody’s Perfect Damian’s story) .
Winner
Winner of Em Petrova’s Trios is
Cardinol…..
Interview & Giveaway with Kallypso Masters
Books-n-Kisses is pleased to Welcome Kallypso Masters to our blog.
Kally, Thank you so very much for stopping by Books-n-Kisses to talk about your Rescue Me series. I am so excited to have you here *squeeekkk*. I have to say a huge thank you for allowing me to advance read Master at Arms, the first novel in the series.
Kally: I’m thrilled to be here, Kelly! You were the first reviewer to ask to interview me for a blog. Such a honor! Thanks so much!
Kelly : *looks around* Looks like it is just me and you today. Shall we get started?
Kally: Wait! Let me see if I can tear the guys away from the Masters at Arms club playroom so they can join us. Hopefully, they won’t dominate the interview. You know how much they command attention. *Kally calls Masters Adam, Marc, and Damián in. Master Adam stands with hands on hips (same pose he’s in on the cover of MASTERS AT ARMS); Master Marc flicks his riding crop against his thigh; and Master Damián glares, hoping to intimidate Kelly. Kally leans over to whisper to Kelly, “Deep down, Master Damián’s really a pussycat. Just don’t tell him I said so.” Oh, now Master Damián turns his glare to Kally.*
Kelly: *Leans over to Kally* they don’t scare me…. *wink, wink*
Q1) Tell us a little about yourself.
Kally: I’m 53 and have been writing off and one for more than 35 years (since high school). My background is in journalism and technical writing/editing, but this is my first novel. I’m happily married (28 years) and have two adult children. This past spring, I decided to quit my day job and try a one-year experiment to see if I can make a living writing full-time. I pulled out my Nobody’s Angel manuscript, which I’d drafted in May 2009, and started editing. Then I realized it was part of a series—and I started writing Masters at Arms to discover how the three masters came to be together and such good friends.
Q2) Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Kally: in 8th grade, I wanted to be a journalist. But I was so shy (I kid you not!) that, when my first assignment for the high school newspaper was to interview the principal, I froze and quit working for the school paper. But I wrote romances for fun. I had a rough childhood and being able to read a romances and watch characters go through all kinds of hell, but still have a happily ever after, gave me hope for my own life. I wanted to write stories like that, too!
I joined Romance Writers of America in the early 1990s, but could never finish a novel. Still don’t know what that was about. Then I went to college, earned a degree in journalism in 2001 (at 44), and went to work as an editorial assistant. That was the job I quit in April after almost 10 years. I had just attended an Artist’s Way workshop and realized this was a shadow-artist job—and a crazymaker to boot. (That’s Artist’s Way jargon.) I was so drained after work that I hadn’t written anything creative in two years. Now when I see people who knew me from that time, they tell me “You’re alive again!” Writing erotic romance is good for my soul!
Q3) How did you get into writing BDSM?
Kally: I attended the annual Kentucky Romance Writers workshop in March 2009 and met a lot of local writers who were writing erotic romances. This was my first foray back into RWA in about 15 years. (We didn’t have erotic romances when I left the association!) I’ll admit, the first thing that caught my attention was how much they were making writing them. Maybe I could make a living writing fiction! So, I went home and wrote one without even reading anyone else’s. (It’s not to be published—at least not without a LOT of work!)
Then I downloaded my first erotic romance—Cherise Sinclair’s CLUB SHADOWLANDS. (I didn’t even have an e-reader yet and read it on my desktop computer in PDF.) Oh.my.God! Amazing! I wanted to write stories like that with strong, loveable Doms! Within a month, I drafted NOBODY’S ANGEL. It was the second novel I finished, in as many months, so I seemed to have gotten beyond that mental block about finishing. But life and work intruded and I wasn’t able to write any others or revised that one until after I quit the “evil day job.”
Q4) Do you see yourself writing in any other genres?
Kally: I think I’ll always have some element of bondage and discipline in whatever I write. For instance, after I finish the RESCUE ME series (with the February 2012 release of NOBODY’S PERFECT), I’ll probably work on a Western historical I plotted it one morning in my Artist’s Way “Morning Pages.” It looks like it will be a ménage, like NOBODY’S ANGEL. In historical novels, it’s socially acceptable for a man to turn a woman over his knee and spank her at the drop of a cowboy hat. And think of those delicious beds with the headboards that just beg to have a woman restrained to them. Whips and ropes were easy to come by, too (pun intended). Oh, and what if there’s a lawman involved and he brings his handcuffs? Anyway, you get the picture. I’ll definitely have bondage and discipline in that one, set in 1883 Deadwood, S.D.
By the way, the other books in the RESCUE ME series are basically m/f—although I don’t always know what the Masters are going to come up with, so we’ll see. For instance, I’m not sure how far Master Damián will go when Karla comes to him for advice on how to become the perfect subbie for Master Adam. (Master Damián’s got a wicked smile on his face—and now Master Adam’s the one who is glaring.) Oh, I can’t wait until I start writing Karla and Master Adam’s story, due out in December! I just put them on the page and see where the story goes.
Q5) Briefly tell us about the Rescue Me series.
Kally: Masters at Arms begins the journey of three men, each on a quest for honor, acceptance, and to ease his unspoken pain. Their paths cross at one of the darkest points in their lives. As they try to come to terms with the aftermath—forging an unbreakable bond—will they ever truly become masters of their own fates? Or would fate become masters of them? (Book One in the Rescue Me series.)
Q6) What is your favorite line or scene in Masters at Arms?
Kally: That’s like asking me which of my children I love most. There are too many favorites. I often put them in my “Six Sentence Sunday” blogs (http://kallypsomasters.blogspot.com), though. Here’s one, though, but actually several consecutive lines that I just can’t break up. This is Master Sergeant (Adam) Montague giving Damián a wake-up call and inviting him to work at the BDSM club he plans to start now that he’s retired:
“Well, last time I checked, most of the ladies at BDSM clubs are more interested in a firm hand and a stiff cock. You still seem to have both of those in your inventory. Sure, there may be some chicks with a foot fetish, but you still have a good one, don’t you?”
Q7) What gave you the idea to write the Rescue Me Series?
Kally: I love stories where the hero and heroine rescue each other. While one might rescue the other physically, there always has to be the emotional rescue, as well. I write about redemption, reunions, and overcoming unspeakable horrors in life to find true love.
Q8) Out of all the Masters who has been the most difficult to work with?
Kally: Oh, that’s a tough one, they’re all a pain in the…. *Kally glances over at Master Marc, flicking the crop again* Um, they like to hold their personal pain inside, so it’s been quite a feat getting them to reveal their secrets. Each time I think one is the worst, then another ’fesses up about something and floors me. But, I’d have to say, it’s Master Marc.
I know, he seems like the most easy-going one. His sense of humor and love of women. Then a beta reader pointed out that he hadn’t grown at all in Nobody’s Angel. Well, HE was really holding secrets from me, one that has really has affected every relationship he’s had since his early 20s. That one is revealed in Masters at Arms, but who knows what else he’s going to reveal as I do the major rewrite of ANGEL?
Kelly: *rolls eyes* I should have guessed… *winks at Master Marc*
Q9) So, now that we know who is the most difficult who has been the most pleasurable to work with?
Kally: Oh, Master Adam. I think I’m a little in love with him myself. *OMG, as Karla would say, did he just wink at me? *MELT* He’s gritty, tells it like it is, but has such a big heart. I call him my guardian of lost souls. I love how he watches over Marc in the hospital, chases away Damián’s night terrors, and keeps watch over the hurting Karla, despite his wayward…thoughts. He seems to have his head on the straightest, too (well, until Karla starts pursuing him in earnest in NOBODY’S HERO). As you know, he’s clueless when it comes to Karla. I think he’s finally met the woman who can help him find his lost soul, even if she is 25 years younger.
Kelly *sigh* Oh Adam, Adam, Adam…. What ever will I do with you? OH I have an idea……..
Q10) What kind of research did you have to do for these books? i.e. the sex scenes?
Kally: My, Kelly, do you have sex on the brain?
Kelly: Who Me? Proceed…. Please….
Kally: I actually had to do a lot more research on things like the Marines, the Second Battle of Fallujah, and the treatment of amputees and casualties. And the places where the story is set. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Surviving incest and being an unwilling sex slave.
The sex scenes just come naturally to me. (Why is it every time I say “come” Master Marc grins wickedly?) *Kally returns her attention to Kelly.* Um, where were we? Oh, yes! Sex scenes. I love to write them. My editor, Jeri Smith, says I write the most awesome sex scenes, too—very hot, but tender. Of course, I do research on some of the BDSM aspects for those scenes in NOBODY’S ANGEL and for MASTERS AT ARMS where Savannah is being tortured. *Kally notices that Master Damián has a very sad look in his eye.* (Kally whispers to Kelly: He’s always wondered what happened to Savannah, but when he looked for her after his discharge and rehab, it was as if she vanished from the face of the earth. So sad. He never got over her.)
Um, I also got quite an education reading Cherise Sinclair’s MASTERS OF THE SHADOWLANDS series. (Highly recommended!) I also found a lot of photos of BDSM equipment and implements in Wikipedia and Google searches. Most recently, I’ve joined the fetlife.com, an online community of BDSM enthusiasts, to read discussions and learn more about the lifestyle, and especially the emotions relating to the lifestyle. As you know, my books are all about the emotions.
Q11) Do you feel that you have learned anything from your characters? If so what?
Kally: Sex should be fun! Get playful with it! Once you’ve established trust, then anything goes—as long as it’s safe, sane, and consensual.
Q12) Any deep dark secrets about the Masters you want to share with me? I won’t tell a soul. *fingers crossed*
Kally: Well, most of the secrets even *I* don’t know yet—until the characters show up on the page when I’m writing. I am not a plotter, although I jot down ideas for scenes and conflicts in my writing journals. They just reveal the most amazing things as I write and journal.
Okay, you will recall the scene where Master Adam is having his fight wounds dealt with by Karla’s mom in her kitchen. (The famous “Karla sees Adam without his shirt” scene from my blog.) Well, Adam’s back is not only scarred from the ambush in Afghanistan that killed Marc’s brother and another man, but he also has made it a memorial to all under his command who have died as a result of the battles he’s led them into. And you’ll have to wait for NOBODY’S HERO to learn how he memorialized them. *Master Adam growls* Well, I hope he’s going to let me reveal that to you!
Kelly: *snickers* I can’t wait to learn more…….
Q13) If you could spend one day doing anything you wanted with any of your Masters, who would it be, why, and what would you do? *leans forward, puts elbow on knees and chin in hands* Details please. *wiggles eyebrows*
Kally: Okay, I did establish earlier that I’m happily married, right? And my beta man is so the antithesis of any of the masters (although some of the sweeter things they do are reflections of my dear hubby).
You know, I’ve given this one a lot of thought. And, truth be told, I think I would go riding through the mountains of Colorado on the back of Master Damián’s Harley. I’ve never been on a Harley and have really been wanting to experience that. I hear it’s quite exhilarating—and sensual. My hubby gave up his motorcycle (a Honda) before I met him. So, this will probably remain a fantasy. *Master Damián smiles wickedly and gives Kally a virtual tip of the hat.*
Kelly: *winks at Damián *
Q14) Tell me the one book you think everyone should read.
Kally: The one that has changed my life most recently—for anyone wanting to recover his or her creativity—THE ARTIST’S WAY, by Julia Cameron. It was a workshop for that book in late March, and the resulting “Morning Pages” and “Artist’s Dates” (two of the tools taught in that book), that I was able to recover my own creativity. The result is MASTERS AT ARMS and my new career as a writer. But this book isn’t just for writers—it’s for anyone wanting to reconnect with that inner child who doesn’t care what anyone thinks about what she or he creates. Anyone who just wants to create for the sheer joy of it all. I know I write first and foremost for myself. If what I write moves me, then maybe it will move someone else. But, that book opened new doors for me, just at a time in my life when another one was closing.
Q15) Tell me what is up next in the Rescue Me series?
Kally: In September, NOBODY’S ANGEL, Master Marc’s story. He’ll meet his lady love while pulling Dungeon Monitor Supervisor duties at the Masters at Arms Club. But she gets away and when he finds her again, she seems more interested in his non-Dom Search-and-Rescue partner, Luke.
In December, NOBODY’S HERO will share Karla and Master Adam’s romance. Karla fell in love with Adam that Thanksgiving morning nine years earlier. Then, in the depths of her own grief, the person she runs to is Adam, who made her feel so safe before. Karla is not at all into BDSM, but she solicits the club’s subbie trainer, Master Damián, to teach her in private how to be the perfect sub for Adam. Master Adam, of course, is tortured by his attraction to her, trying not to give in to his baser needs and take advantage of the innocent Karla. But when he sees her with Master Damián, he suddenly feels the need to protect her from his surrogate son, the sadist. So, she’s definitely going to test the bond between Adam and Damián, just as Karla’s limits are tested and explored in the BDSM lifestyle!
Then, in February, Master Damián and Savannah (now Savi), will find each other yet again in NOBODY’S PERFECT. Secrets will be revealed and they will be thrown together in a desperate situation. Master Damián will try to break through Savi’s stronger-than-ever fortress walls and get her to experience what they did on that perfect day at the beach cave all those years earlier. But they’ll soon see that neither of them is the same as the 19-year-old they had been then, and will have to find ways to adjust their needs and sexual appetites, as well as deal with trust issues resulting from too many secrets in the past, and so much guilt.
Q16) Is there anything else you would like to share with me and my blog followers?
Kally: If you enjoy reading full-length erotic romance novels with lots of emotion (you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and sometimes you’ll scream), then I think you’ll enjoy the Rescue Me series. And, if there’s a secondary character you meet along the way who you think should have his or her own romance, just e-mail me at kallypsomasters@gmail.com and let me know! I can see this series continuing beyond these first four books. You can follow along at my blog with excerpts on WIPs and other craziness at http://kallypsomasters.blogspot.com. And feel free to friend me on Facebook (Kallypso Masters) or follow me on Twitter (@KallypsoMasters)!
Books-n-Kisses: Thank you, Kally, for stopping by my blog and sharing your Masters and the Rescue Me series with me and my followers. I hope to have you back when each of the romances in the series is released. I would love to interview each of the Masters before his book comes out, if they’re feeling up to it…. *wink, wink*
Kally: Well, they were a little quiet today, but I can just see the wheels turning in their heads. I think they’d like that very much. *Kally hears someone growl and wonders which one is balking at the idea.*
Kelly: I think they are afraid I might top them or something… *snickers, hehe* I girl can dream right…. *winks & blows a kiss at the 3 Masters*
Q17) Oh, one last question Kally. Do you think we should give away a copy of Masters at Arms to one of my followers?
Kally: I thought you’d never ask! I’d love to! Please comment below, including your e-mail address and we’ll select a lucky winner on August 15th.
Giveaway Time
You heard the Girl…
Leave a comment along with your email (VERYIMPORTANT PART)
We will pick a winner on Monday August 15th
if my new Facebook Page Books-n-kisses makes it to 100 likes by Monday morning I will giveaway a second copy of Masters at Arms
if my new Facebook Page Books-n-kisses makes it to 100 likes by Monday morning I will giveaway a second copy of Masters at Arms
Guest Blog & Giveaway with Cynthia Selwyn
For the Love of Dogs (in books and beyond)…by Cynthia Selwyn
A lot of interviewers have asked me about the dog in my recent release, Dog-Gone But Not Forgotten. Pictured on the cover, Ellie is an Irish Wolfhound on a mission to get Jack Radigan, the town dog officer, and Carrie Moore, a journalist together—for good. Interviewers ask what inspired her, or just how did you get the idea for her?
The answer is simple. I have dogs and they channel their thoughts through me. (Okay, yes, I know that sounds crazy. It’s something I started doing for my children when they were small and it became a habit; every animal talks now, even though my oldest is thirteen. But we still laugh about our dogs’ comments and adventures.)
Most of the adventures of Duffy (a Cairn Terrier—think, “Toto”) and Rosie (a black and white mutt with many hunting hounds in her genes) revolve around the quest for food. Especially the kind you have to catch. Rosie, for example, loves to chase squirrels. And within the past week, the nuts on the beech trees in our backyard have ripened so the trees are loaded with the little rodents. Loads of them. Like…a million.
For the past two mornings, I’ve opened the door to the back yard for Rosie. She pauses in the doorway, freezes as she spots those squirrels thirty feet in the air—and bolts. “I’m going to eat you!” she yells as she tries to climb the tree. “Get down here, you bad squirrrls!” (As Duffy says, “Rosie has a speech pedalment”, so the word “squirrels” is hard for her to say. Especially when she’s salivating with the need to kill. But I digress.)
Squirrels bolt; the tree is alive with racing gray streaks, swirling leaves, and falling beechnuts. “Come on squirrrls! Get in my mouth! Right now! Get in my mooooouuuuth!”
And the squirrels say, “No! Go away!” and hurl sticks at her. (Okay…maybe the sticks fall naturally, but isn’t it more fun to imagine the squirrels throwing them at her, distainful sneers on their little faces?)
Meanwhile, Duffy, who prefers not to go out first thing in the morning (because he likes to sleep in) will stand there with me at the door, watching. He mutters to himself. “Stupid puppy.” Then he flops down in the morning sunshine patch on the dining room floor, able to claim it in Rosie’s absence. Later in the day, when he’s awake, he will tremble with delight and tell me, “Look at her! She runs like the wind. She is a grand hunter.”
That’s not to say Duffy doesn’t hunt, himself. He, too, is a busy hunter for the mice which have recently taken up residence in our home. (Note: the problem with giving animals dialogue is that when you probably should exterminate them, you can’t. You think of them in the trap, screaming, “Help me!” and start to cry instead.) But Duffy spends his time staring at places mice might be or have been, like under the drawer of the stove. “Come out, Mouse,” he says. “If you get in my mouth, you will be delicious and nutritious.”
Needless to say, it hasn’t happened, yet. The mice stay under the stove and say, “No. Go away.” And Rosie sometimes chimes in. “Duffles, those mice are for poop. We need to chase squiirrrls.”
The dogs provide a running commentary about what’s going on in the house, too. “Daddy is home!” they yell. “We must celebrate! The return of the alpha! I’m so excited! I will drink water!” Or, they look at my four-year-old and say, “The little person is very annoying. He has a sandwich. Let’s follow him.”
In Dog-Gone But Not Forgotten, Ellie the dog doesn’t appear to be as food motivated as Duffy and Rosie, but by the strong, almost human-like drive to get Jack and Carrie to resolve their differences and be together as they should have been had they not been driven apart by an immature lack of communication and distance. She somehow ensures that they are thrown together again and again. And she has her reasons…but you’ll have to read the book to find out what they are and why she finally succeeds. As Duffy and Rosie have told me, it’s “…a five biscuit experience. Now give me a cookie.”
Dog Gone but Not Forgotten
by Cynthia Selwyn
She needs to get out of there, fast.
Eighteen years ago, Jack Radigan took Carrie Moore’s virginity—and then broke her heart by marrying her best friend. Now Carrie’s Nana has died, forcing her back to Rhode Island, where she’s trying to sell off Nana’s estate before she runs into him. But Nana had a dog not even her lawyer knew about and it appears Carrie’s plan is doomed. Because the Irish wolfhound seems to have an agenda all her own, and it involves making Carrie deal with Jack—the town’s animal control officer— on a daily basis. The havoc the beast wreaks is costing Carrie a fortune. Hopefully, it won’t cost the last whole bits of her heart, too.
Jack married Becky…but he didn’t love her.
She was pregnant and he needed to be a father to the child. Now, Becky’s gone, and Carrie’s back home. So when her dog runs amok in their town of Narragansett , it’s his job to get the animal under control. But first, he has to control his desire to kiss Carrie, the woman he was meant to marry many years before.
GIVEAWAY TIME:
Please leave a comment
with EMAIL (VERY IMPORTANT)
one lucky commenter will get Dog Gone but Not Forgotten (in ebook form)
Giveaway will stay open until August 12th
Winner announce August 15th.
Cover Love for Lisa Renee Jones
Damion will be here May 2012…
Hope you are ready for him……..