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A Snog for Sommer—Kisses for a Lovely Lady!

A Snog for Sommer BannerHi everyone,

You may recall the lovely Sommer Marsden joining me a few months back—she is both a fabulous writer and an all around sweetheart. I’ve had several amazing interactions with her myself, and over and over again, I’ve heard others say the same. She’s genuinely the nicest person around, and it’s impossible not to think of Sommer’s writing without knowing about the woman with a giant gold heart behind it all.

Unfortunately, Sommer’s family has been going through a very hard time. Her husband is currently fighting pancreatic cancer, so today, in honor of Sommer’s sweetness, several writers have gotten together to drum up some help for her family. Each author listed on the Snog for Sommer page will be posting an excerpt of a story involving a kiss, and we’re hoping that you will join us in helping Sommer’s family, too. How? On the official Snog page you’ll find a donation widget—so please, if you could, take a peek at all the authors participating and donate a little something for Sommer.Snog for Sommer Button

To provide more incentive, I’m offering up both a prize and an excerpt!

Updated: The previously offered prize of Violet Blue’s Kissing: A Field Guide has been claimed! However, if you are still able to donate, we would surely appreciate it. All you need to do is go to the Snog page and make a donation. Thank you!

To put you in a giving mood, I have a kissing excerpt for you! (Sommer writes the *best* kisses, so this is why there’s a kissing theme!) This excerpt comes from a story I wrote a couple years ago called “Marm,” which is currently hosted over at The Erotic Woman:

Angie backed against her kitchen counter and shifted her legs, the wool of her skirt itchy and grating, contradicting the silky moisture pooling at the apex of her thighs. Sometimes, she had to remind herself that Ms. Patrick did not exist beyond school walls. The dark-framed glasses, the long braid, the wool uniform that constantly aggravated her skin—that was not her.

That was who she channeled, day in and day out: the structured, successful, orderly English teacher she’d become after all these years, teaching at St. Sebastian’s since she’d graduated from college. Max had spent a mere three years there as the brazen Bio teacher, and already he’d inspired all the girls to write their names alongside his in cursive, with hearts and stars and endless swooning commentary. He was a lady killer, at school or at home, but what he was to her was something else—someone who understood that when Ms. Patrick climbed into her car at the end of the day, she became herself.

“Tell you what,” she said. “I’m going to unlock the front door. Give me three minutes, then come in and find me.”

She hung up the phone and unlocked the deadbolt, then ran back to the tile countertop. She hopped onto it and arranged herself just as she’d done this morning in the staff lounge, then resumed the undoing of her shirt until it exposed the top portion of her chest. Angie crossed her feet at the ankles and pitched forward, waiting. The hair stood up on her arms as she wondered what he’d do when he saw her, and the images running through her mind made the heat coil deep within her core.

Max’s three minutes was two, and when his count was up he nearly threw open the door. He pursed his lips and looked her over. Not a word came from his mouth as he inhaled so heavily through his nose she heard it across the kitchen.

Angie cocked her head and shifted her hips on the counter. “Hi there,” she said.

Max still didn’t say anything. He walked with measured steps across the room until he stood in front of her, then placed a hand on either side of her legs. He stared into her eyes. “Do you have a thing for countertops lately, Ms. Patrick?” Then he tilted his head toward her neck, pressing his lips to the edge of her jaw. He trailed his mouth down to her collar.

“I thought you were after Angie?”

Max nibbled at her skin, rolling it gently between his teeth. He cupped his hands around her ass and raised his mouth to her upper lip. “No.”

Cover of Kissing - A Field Guide

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“Oh?” Angie maintained her straight back but closed her eyes as his lips lingered over hers.

“I’m after the real Ms. Patrick. The one that exists beneath that rigid shell.”

She ducked her head. “She’s right here, you know.”

“Almost,” he said. He ran his finger along the flaps of her blouse, peering into her face. “She’s still breaking free.”

Angie slid off the counter and to the floor. Her pulse raced—he always said such things. He was thirty-four, and handsome, and though he was only a few years younger, his pushiness was not so different from that of their students. “Wine?” she muttered.

Max watched her while she poured the red liquid first into his glass and then her own. She raised it to her lips and he took a drink as well, then walked around the bar top. Before she finished her sip, he snatched her glass away and pushed her back against the tile.

“Whoa! What’s this?”

He planted his lips on hers, cutting off her words, her breath. Angie sucked air in through her nose and sank into the kiss, enjoying the probe of his tongue as his hands clawed their way across her lower back. He rubbed the contour that formed above her bottom and growled. He was most certainly not like the other men she’d dated.

“This is what I’m after,” he said between kisses. He fondled her buttons and tugged them open. Angie shivered—and when she teasingly pulled away, Max shoved his pelvis into hers, pinning her against the counter. “My sweet, sweet marm.”

***

Want to read more? Head on over to The Erotic Woman to read the full story for free. But before you do, please hop over to the Snog for Sommer page and make a contribution to help out her family.

Thanks so much for supporting the cause!

XX,
Jade

 

 

The Accidental Cougar Blog Tour!

While researching the adult industry one day, I discovered that—according to various escort classifications—I am a mere month away from being a cougar.

This was a little surprising to me as I’m about to turn 35, and while I expect I might end up part-cougar one day, I was sure I was still a puma (cougar in training) until at least 40!

Fortunately, I wasn’t fazed. I have always admired cougars, both on film and in print—and this is why I’m excited about my guest and her new book! The sweet and legendary Sommer Marsden is here, and today, she’s going to tell us about vulnerability, house parties, and one super sexy cougar and cub pairing.

So without further adieu…take it away, Sommer!

Cover of The Accidental Cougar by Sommer Marsden

Vulnerable is a scary word…

In The Accidental Cougar Abbey finds herself vulnerable in many ways. Some of them aren’t really under her control. For instance, how she’s beginning to feel about young, handsome Charlie despite how many reasons her racing mind can supply not to. Others, she finds herself submitting to willingly despite nervousness. She trusts Charlie so she makes herself vulnerable in situations that seem completely foreign to a forty-something woman who’s been with the same man for more than half her life.

Such as a house party.

The house party scene finds Abbey surrounded by people much younger than herself and trying hard to fit in without pretending to be someone she’s not. A difficult position that would leave even the most stoic of us struggling.

Ironically, this wasn’t a hard scene to write. When it comes to large parties with lots of people I don’t know I can give social anxiety a run for its money. When I wrote it, I’d also just watched one of my favorite 80’s movies Jennifer 8 and felt that Christmas Eve party scene served as good inspiration for how turned around and upside down Abbey was feeling.

XOXO

Sommer

From THE ACCIDENTAL COUGAR by Sommer Marsden

 

“Ladies, this is Charlie’s date, Abby. Abby, this is my girlfriend Beverly.” The long legged, brunet with startling blue eyes nodded. She was decked out in skinny jeans, ankle boots and a gray sweater that played up those eyes to perfection.

She smiled at me but the smile didn’t touch her eyes. “And this is Dan’s girl Angie. And here we have Shea, Kendall’s girlfriend.” The two blondes turned to eye me up. Both gave equally stiff smiles and they muttered “hi”.

“I’m taking Charlie boy down to bail first. Otherwise I won’t get a day’s work out of him,” Ken said.

Charlie had found us and he gave me a reassuring smile. “I’ll be right back.”

I could feel the three witches—I mean girls—watching me and I had to think fast. “Do you mind showing me to the powder room before you go?”

One of the girls slid her eyes my way and I held my breath when she said, “Oh, I can show her, Charlie.”

Charlie felt my arm go tense. I’d looped it through his just for the contact. I hated this.

Hated feeling out of place. Hated feeling desperate not to be alone with people. I’d conquered my mild social anxiety years ago. When you have young kids you can’t be shy. But this—this was worse than anything I’d ever encountered. I felt ready to bolt like a frightened horse.

“That’s okay, Bev. It’s on the way.” He maneuvered me through the candle and flashlight lit home. People banged into us, some laughing too hard, some caught in quiet conversation.

“Please don’t leave me,” I said. I felt my face grow hot and red with blush. Thank God he couldn’t see.

We stopped in front of the bathroom. Someone had thought to put a tall sconce with a candle inside on the sink. That way no one would drown in the toilet.

“It’s fine. I promise. I’ll go bail.” He waved his Solo cup and laughed. “Take my turn, do my duty and come rescue you. Then we can find a dark corner and make out. It’ll be really dirty and fun.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. That part of the scenario sounded nice. The part where he’d go bail and leave me up here, not so much. I sighed. “I’ll be fine. I’m being a baby.”

He hugged me, kissed me once on the lips while someone by the basement steps yelled, “Charlie! No escaping your man-duty, dude!”

“I’ll be right back, Ace. Promise.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said, lying full-on to his face.

I went to the bathroom, watched myself in the large vanity mirror as I washed my hands.

I looked younger in the candlelight. Maybe I could carry a candle around on all my dates with Charlie.

Tears pricked my eyes. “Stop the pity party, Ace,” I said to myself in the mirror. The crazy yellow-orange flickering glow matched how tumultuous I felt inside. “You’re a grown woman who should be able to stand with a handful of twenty-somethings and have a conversation. Even if you’re faking it.”

Instead of leaving, I sat on the edge of the tub and tried to let time pass. So what if they thought I’d died in here? So what if I’d told Charlie I’d try and have fun but instead had tucked myself away from the party? So what?

Someone banged on the door and I jumped. I glanced at my phone’s illuminated screen.

Only about ten minutes had passed but it was long enough that people were probably waiting to come in.

“Yo! Someone needs to get in there!” the mystery person called.

“Coming!” I yelled. I stood, inhaled deeply and opened the door.

A guy with his cap on backwards ushered a girl inside. She wasn’t looking too steady on her feet and judging by the way she lurched toward the toilet, she wasn’t feeling too steady either. I managed to slip out the door before the retching began.

Since it was dark and only lit by splashes of orange candle glow or stark white flashlight illumination, I seemed to ping-pong from cluster of people to cluster of people. I took a left thinking I’d find the girls again—not that I was in any hurry to see them, but instead I found myself by the front door. I overheard someone say, “…as old as my mom. At least.”

I turned on my heels and tried the opposite direction.

They’re not necessarily talking about you. I tried to talk myself down but I wasn’t buying it. Who else would they be talking about? I hadn’t seen any other forty-somethings here at this noisy house party. Just me and a bunch of kids.

Blurb:

What would be the harm in a little fling? What would be so bad about bedding a young man who could technically be my son? He wasn’t my son. He wasn’t my anything. But he could possibly, if I could unclench my ass long enough, be my lover.

My lover.

What was so bad?

 

Buy Links:

Excessica: http://www.excessica.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=42&products_id=697

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JX7KZ1U/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00JX7KZ1U&linkCode=as2&tag=sommmars-20

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-accidental-cougar-sommer-marsden/1119329616?ean=2940149318216

All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-theaccidentalcougar-1487017-149.html

 

Author Bio:

Professional dirty word writer, gluten free baker, sock addict, fat wiener dog walker, expert procrastinator. Called “one of the top storytellers in the erotic genre” by Violet Blue, Sommer Marsden writes for HarperCollins Mischief, Ellora’s Cave, Excessica, Xcite Books and Resplendence Publishing. She’s the author of numerous erotic novels including Lost in You, Restricted Release, Boys Next Door, Restless Spirit, and Learning to Drown. Visit http://sommermarsden.blogspot.com

*

Thanks so much for joining us, Sommer!

And oh, I can’t wait to get my hands on this one! (Or to potentially be a cougar, for that matter.)

XX,
Jade

 

 

Banner photo of eyes beneath veil

Finished Edits, Good Friends, and Delicious News!

Well, the craziest thing happened on Friday: I finished editing my book.

I wish I could tell you it was that simple, but it wasn’t. It was more like this:

Image from The Gif Garden on Tumblr

Image from The Gif Garden on Tumblr

Weird, right?

To be completely honest, I didn’t feel finished. I’ve refined this editing process that some might call garden-variety OCD, but it works for me with short stories. Naturally, I thought I’d apply the method to a whole damn book. I mean, I outlined and wrote the thing in less than six weeks, so eight weeks of hardcore editing sounded completely reasonable.

The problem was that along the way, a few other life things had me at my stress max. Like, for example, a breakup. Oh and then the breakup, part two. There was also a tremendous amount of insomnia, and then for bonus kicks, my day job imploded. Fine, fine, no big deal. Next, I had pre-tendonitis in a thumb (what?), followed by pre-tendonitis in a finger on my opposite hand (spiffy). Then, my cat got sick and needed to be coned, which resulted in my two cats having to be separated for two weeks. (Note: cats body slamming and clawing at doors to get at one another may sound cute, but it’s not helpful for any sort of sleep factor. Or editing factor, for that matter.)

So cut to Friday, when I’m about to launch the “final” edit—and there it was: the final meltdown. I threw myself on the floor and kicked my feet in overwhelmed agony. There were even a few tears.

Luckily for me, Malin James came to my rescue. If you don’t know her, here’s a summary: she’s fucking fabulous. We had a seriously lovely phone call in which she talked me down for a good twenty minutes and reminded me that I was too close and probably too thorough, and I’d be editing again after my beta babes read it, so why not just send the manuscript on now?

SO I DID. I mean, when brilliance speaks, you listen.

After I let the book go, I felt like a mama bird pushing her baby chick out of the nest—maybe a little too early, but okay. I’m sure I looked something like this:

Oh my word. Is it done? Can we really call it done? Wahhhh...<br />  (Image from Gifs for the Masses on Tumblr) 

Oh my word. Is it done? Can we really call it done? Wahhhh…
(Image from Gifs for the Masses on Tumblr)

Still, the proverbial weight was off my shoulders and I proceeded to enjoy my weekend. I finished a few things. I relaxed. I slept for two nights in a row. Oh my god. I SLEPT, guys. It was great.

Less than a week later, I’m slightly less insane more calm. I’ve dived into a couple new projects while my novel is in my beta babes’ hands. Hurray! After that, I might even ponder a sequel… 🙂

In the meantime, I have exciting news about a couple other people!

First, Alison Tyler is writing a sequel to Those Girls. Did you read Those Girls? If not, you’d better. Stat!

Also, next week, something awesome is happening. Look:

How cool is that? I can’t wait!

Okay. I think I’m finally calm now. Phew! And on top of that, I finished a book.

Which means…time for me to celebrate and write more!

XX,
Jade

P.S. Special thanks to my beta babes, who not only eagerly took the manuscript off my hands, but gave me further cheerful pep talks. Yeah, you know who you are. 😉