Malin James Talks ROADHOUSE BLUES!

Posted on July 12, 2017July 10, 2017 by Jade A. Waters

Ladies and gentlemen, I am so excited to share a visit with a very special guest today. As you are likely aware, the lovely Malin James and I are the best of friends—which is why I’m pleased as punch to have her here! If you have been under a rock, and somehow aren’t aware of Malin’s work, then please know you are definitely missing something. Fortunately, I’m going to let you in on her amazingness right here and now. See, here’s Malin in a nutshell: her words are extraordinary, her style is exquisite, and most importantly, her mind is brilliant! Her stories range from erotic to literary, always exploring people, their place, culture, and, well, life and its many expressions, ins, and outs. No matter what Malin’s written, it often gives you pause to think and reflect, think and reflect… It’s fairly impossible for her work to not evoke something from deep within yourself. It’s just that good.

So, with all that in mind, today I am tickled to have her answering some questions about her writing as well as her brand new anthology, Roadhouse Blues! The book came out yesterday from Go Deeper Press, and I assure you, you’re not going to want to miss it.

Before you order up this anthology (if you haven’t already), please enjoy the clever mind of Malin James as she answers some burning questions I had about both Roadhouse Blues and her writing life…

An Interview with Malin James

Welcome Malin! I’m thrilled to have you here, so I’m going to dive right in… When you started Roadhouse Blues, did you have a particular vision in mind for where you wanted to go with it, or did it fall into place once you wrote a few stories?

The collection came together pretty organically. The first few stories set a tone, but the themes emerged slowly as the world developed. When I started, the only thing I knew for sure was that the stories would all be connected in some way. Having that relatively flexible structure as a foundation gave me a lot of room to explore.

What is your favorite story in the bunch and why?

That’s hard…. I’ve been sitting with a few of these stories for over a decade, while others were immediate emotional catalysts, so there’s a lot of feeling attached to all of them. That said, I think the two I feel closest to are “Krystal’s Revenge Fuck” and “Marlboro Man.” “Krystal” is audacious, angry and funny. It was so much fun to write. On the other side of the spectrum, “Marlboro Man” is the only story that has ever made me cry the keyboard. Both resonated with me in a very instinctual way. Writing them was like having a conversation with the characters.

Which story was the hardest for you to write? Can you give us a little insight into why you think this might be?

“Good Love” and “The Waitress” were definitely the hardest. “The Waitress” is about a woman confronting her abusive ex, and I drew on a lot of my own experiences for that. “Good Love” was even harder though—it’s about starting to heal after sexual trauma. It came from a very personal place, and it took a long time and a lot of drafts to get right.

Of all the characters in this anthology, who would you most want to hang out with in person? Why?

I think I’d want to hang out with Sam from “Good Love.” She has a deep well of compassion and quiet joy. I have a feeling that hanging out with her would be a really lovely experience. Also, Tom from “Marlboro Man.” He’s all kinds of tragic, but he has a really solid, good core. He strikes me as a great guy to grab a drink with. Plus, he’s sexy. Tragically sexy.

You’ve written numerous short stories over the years, so I’m not surprised that we now get the joy of an entire collection of your work. (Squee!) How was it putting together an entire anthology rather than a short for various different anthologies? What’s your preference? Was it challenging to keep them tonally and/or thematically connected?

I really enjoy contributing to anthologies—it’s a wonderful, collaborative experience. That said, putting together my own collection has been amazing. It’s given me a chance to following narrative threads and possibilities that you just can’t in a single story.

As for keeping them tonally and thematically connected, I was lucky in that the setting provided a contextual link that united the themes in a very natural way. Same with the narrative tone, which is very different from my own. It’s almost as if the Styx (the town the collection is set in) has its own voice, and that voice told each story.

What was your biggest challenge in writing this anthology?

Finding balance. Some of the stories are light and even funny, while others are darker and more serious, sometimes even challenging. It took me a while to balance the light and the dark so that each story stands on its own, while contributing to a larger whole. That’s something that I was really conscious of—portraying a wide spectrum of kinks, sexualities and emotional contexts in a way that felt right and honest for each individual story, but also knit the stories together, even when one is about joyful sex in the back of a Camaro, and others are about everything from mortality and revenge to finding unexpected love.

You and I have talked a bit about craft. Would you share a little with readers how you develop a character, and then how you go about writing their tale?

I love our conversations about craft! This won’t come as any kind of surprise, but, for me, it’s all about the characters. I was formally trained as an actor and spent the better part of my twenties on stage, so every story starts with a character and something the character needs. Whether they’re male or female, straight or gay, the characters I write generally come to me like big blobs of clay. I have a general idea about shape and size, but I find out more as they take me through the story, so the story and the characters form each other, and I refine them both through revision. For me, drafting is a necessary first step, but the real writing happens in revision when the characters start coming to life.

Say one of your stories is auctioned off for a movie deal. Which one do you pick, and who are your lead actors to carry the roles?

Oh…that’s a great question. Let me think…okay, I’m going to go with “Marlboro Man,” only because it’s the one I have the biggest soft spot for. There’s a lot that gets implied but never quite said in that story, and I’d love to see how a film director went about unpacking it. Plus, I’d kind of love to see a young Paul Newman or Matthew McConaughey play Tom, and an actress like Emily Blunt play Maybelline. There’s so much interiority to both of them. It would be amazing to watch good actors bring that interiority to life.

I have the privilege of knowing that a bonus story was added to this collection, late in your work. Can you explain more about this story and why it was important to you to add it in?

Absolutely. The story is called “Good Love” and it’s the one I struggled with the most. It’s about a woman named Leigh who experienced trauma in her childhood and her relationship to her childhood best friend (and first love) Sam. There were two challenging elements in this story. The first is that Sam is a trans woman, which took me out of my immediate experience, so it felt especially important that I get her right. Luckily, Lana Fox and Jake Traveres at Go Deeper were incredibly helpful and supportive as I worked through finding and portraying her.

The second challenge was far more personal. Leigh’s struggle draws on my own experiences with trauma and recovery, so writing her was, at times, incredibly painful. In fact, I stopped more than once because of that. In the end though, it felt too important to leave out, so I made one last big push. Luckily, it worked and was able to go in.

Pick a line, any line…yes, one line that you really love from any story. Please share what it is and why you picked it!

Agh! That’s hard! Not because I’m in love with my own prose (because gah), but because the stories have been whittled down to the point where each line feels like a little brick in a large wall…. Okay. Let’s see. One line…. All right, this is the one that popped into my head. It’s from “Love in the Time of War,” which is about two women grieving the same man. Carly tells Sarah, her boyfriend’s widow, that she was always the pretty one, and Sarah responds by saying,

“There’s no pretty one, honey. Not between us.” 

That line says everything I wanted to say about how lovely sex between two women can be. There’s a deep cultural emphasis on jealousy and possession in romantic relationships. Sarah’s response to Carly’s shy compliment subverts any notion of competition between them, and sets up the healing, comforting, meaningful sexual connection they then go on to make.

Any chance we’ll see an offshoot book and/or short in the future with any of these stories/characters involved?

There’s definitely a possibility. If nothing else, I love the setting so much that I could easily see writing something else set in that town. And just between you and me, I feel like Sam (from “Good Love”) and I still have quite a lot to do.

All right…inquiring minds want to know. What’s your favorite time of day to write and where?

My desk! I love my desk. I love my desk so much. As for my favorite time to write, it’s late at night, when the house is asleep, but having a 6-year-old makes being a night owl pretty impossible, so I write after I drop her off in the mornings, until I pick her up in the early afternoons.

What’s next for you?

It probably sounds boring, but the next thing for me is a little break. I put so much into writing this collection that it’ll feel good to rest a bit and do something completely different for a while. I’ll probably work on essays and stories in a different genre for a bit. Not that I’m closing the door on erotica. Erotica has been very good to me, and I’m definitely leaving that door open.

Wonderful! A giant thank you to Malin James for joining me today! Be sure to pick up your copy of Roadhouse Blues at one of the buy links below!

About Roadhouse Blues:

Welcome to Styx—a blue-collar, American town where people can do whatever they like, so long as they don’t advertise. From a 1950s diner to the back of a rocking Camaro, the stories in Roadhouse Blues reveal sex that is by turns romantic, raw, triumphant, and desperate. Meet two women grieving the same man, a bartender looking for anything but love, and a hot, brash newlywed who knows she married a cheat. The local garage is run by a kick-ass woman who gives as fierce as she gets, and the strip club is a place full of whiskey and smoke, where memories are exposed as easily as skin.

“In the end,” writes author Malin James, “sex is about people, and people have motivations, and sometimes those motivations surprise them.”

This is Roadhouse Blues. Surprise is just the beginning.

About Malin James:

Malin James is an essayist, blogger, and short story writer. Her work has appeared in Electric Literature, Bust, MUTHA, Queen Mob’s Tea House and Medium, as well as in podcasts and anthologies for Cleis Press, Sweetmeats Press and Stupid Fish Productions. Her first collection, Roadhouse Blues, releases this summer with Go Deeper Press.

Find a longer biography at malinjames.com.

Buy Roadhouse Blues at:

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Over to Visit!

Posted on December 13, 2016December 12, 2016 by Jade A. Waters

Hi everyone! Today is a special day—it’s the release day for Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 2…a fantastic anthology edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel! I have been fortunate to work with Rachel on a number of occasions, which is why I couldn’t be happier to have her over for an exclusive interview today. Yes!

Since I’ve long admired Rachel’s work in both editing and writing, I had a lot of fun picking her brain on the Best Women’s Erotica of the Year series and much, much more. The anthology itself is bound to be another hit, so you’ll definitely want to grab your copy on Amazon in either print or ebook form. You can also find out more about it on the Best Women’s Erotica of the Year site. And, bonus, we’ll be doing a reading to celebrate its release on January 31, 2017 at Skylight Books in L.A. I’ll be reading an excerpt from my story in BWE Volume 1 alongside some wonderful authors with stories in Volume 2—you won’t want to miss that, so be sure to check out the events page and mark your calendars!

For now, I hope you enjoy all the details I got from Rachel about her work, her books, and her style. I know I did!

Welcome Rachel! I’m so excited to have you here today, and to get to ask you a bunch of questions about your work. Thank you for joining me! I hope it’s okay—I’m going to dive right in with my first question…

What would you say is the main thing you look for when selecting stories for an anthology?

Variety. I consider each story individually and gravitate toward the ones that grab me, the ones that are different from others I’ve read, that I think my readers will like, and then I make sure they all work together to create a diverse, varied whole. Something I tell my erotica writing students is that I want to know why the people in the story are having sex, and why now. I want to feel that immediacy and urgency in every story. I never want to feel like the characters are just going through the motions; I want to get to know them, not just their sexual desires, but them as people and how their history informs their sexuality.

So it’s tough to point to any one aspect, but I like having a mix of settings, eras, writing styles and of course a wide range of characters when it comes to sexuality, sexual orientation, race, age, country of origin, location (I appreciate stories that aren’t all set in big cities, and where the action doesn’t always take place in a bedroom) etc. I also look for different points of views and tenses, because I think that makes for a more pleasant reading experience. So that’s a lot to balance and not something I can always control for as an editor, but I try my best. I’m planning a slight twist for the call for submissions for Volume 4, which I’ll be posting in 2017, which will have some sub-themes that I think could make for really interesting plotlines.

Ooh, that’s interesting. I can’t wait to hear more on that! Speaking of…now that you are editor of the Best Women’s Erotica of the Year series, what would you say is different about working on this series than other anthologies? How?

Knowing that I have several volumes behind me and right now two more ahead of me (Volumes 3 and 4) is a wonderful gift, because I know that each time I have the opportunity to reach more readers and more writers from around the world. Picking up a series that’s been edited incredibly well by two previous editors is a challenge but one I am honored to get to play a role in. I try to build a sense of community among all the BWE authors and also try to keep the books different so that readers who enjoyed one will also enjoy the others and never be bored. In general, I try to push myself with each anthology I edit to find new ways of reaching audiences and seeking out new writers, and I’ve been doing my best to do that with this series. I hope to publish work by authors from countries that haven’t previously been represented going forward. Otherwise, as an editor I often have to simply wait and see what kinds of stories arrive in my inbox and that helps dictate what kind of tone each anthology will have. I also can incorporate feedback from readers into how I shape and craft future volumes, which I can’t do with one-off anthologies.

You know, I love reading your stories in the anthologies you’ve curated. Do you usually write your piece at the time of posting the call, or after you see the selection of stories you have for the anthology?

In the past, I’ve done it both ways. Sometimes if I found I didn’t get a certain type of element, I would try to fill it in. Or in the case of Come Again: Sex Toy Erotica, where I wanted each story’s sex toy to be different, I wrote about a set of metal claws, since they have always fascinated me and nobody else had covered it. One thing I’ve changed with the Best Women’s Erotica of the Year series I’m editing is in order to make room for more authors’ voices, I’ve kept each book limited to those who weren’t published in the previous BWE of the Year books, which includes me, so Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 is the first anthology I’ve edited that doesn’t include my own fiction. I think that’s fitting and am very proud to be moving into more of a curatorial role. Any plotlines and scenarios I had wanted to include in a given volume but didn’t get to due to space or lack of story submissions, I try to make up for in the next volume.

That’s a clever approach. What is your favorite step or part of being an editor? Why?

For me the best part of being an editor is getting to work with hundreds of authors from around the world, all of whom are writing the kinds of pieces I could sit in front of my computer for thousands of hours and never come up with. I especially publishing writing by authors who are new to the genre because that’s where I was not that long ago and an editor taking a chance on my work was such a wonderful opportunity and I’m thrilled to be able to pay that forward.

And what about the hardest part?

Sending rejections. When I finally quit editing anthologies, it will be a huge relief to no longer have to send rejection letters, which, even though they are part of the job, always make me feel like a horrible monstrous person. I know I’m not and I know by the numbers, there simply isn’t any way to include all the stories that are submitted to any given anthology even if I loved each and every one, but it still is an awful feeling because I know everyone worked diligently on their stories. I’m heartened though by the fact that a writer who believes in their work will take a rejection as an opportunity to find another home for their words and so far I’ve been lucky enough to always have a new anthology to edit. I try to point to a new call for submissions of mine when I do send rejections to encourage authors to keep submitting.

That’s fair. And authors should keep submitting, too—rejection is just part of the deal. I’m curious about another thing I imagine is an editor woe: what is your least favorite grammatical error (or the most annoying one to you) to catch and/or fix in stories? Has this changed for you over time, aka are there grammatical things that have stopped “bugging” you over the years?

Probably the most challenging to fix is when the tense changes throughout the story. I’ve done it so I know how annoying it is to redo, and I also know that sometimes an author can see a story existing in multiple tenses, and eventually you just have to pick one.

Eek. I’ve done that myself in the past! Okay, another question—what is your most favorite story that you’ve put in an anthology, of all time? (Or, if you’d rather not specify a story, how about a theme or subject that came up in an anthology?)

It’s hard to say because I have so many to choose from but I especially love stories that surprise me. One story I have read at numerous readings and truly adore for its ingenuity is “Remote Control” by Logan Zachary from The Big Book of Orgasms. It’s the perfect combination of sexy and funny and makes any reader wonder just what they would do if they were handed the title object. That’s a lot to do in less than 1,200 words but he somehow did it. You can listen to it on The Kiss Me Quick’s Podcast, read by Rose Caraway, who narrated the audiobook. I also have a soft spot for “Daddy’s Girl” by Teresa Noelle Roberts in Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. It’s such a vivid and hot story about role-playing, and what I especially love is that it makes it perfectly clear that they are indeed engaging in beloved roles that turn them on. She manages to mix the fantasy and reality elements of the story so it doesn’t lose any of its hotness but makes that delineation clear. I’d love to publish more edgy stories like that in my anthologies.

One of the things I’ve long admired about you is your desire to include as many new authors as possible in your anthologies. (Heck, this is how my first published piece, “The Flogger,” happened in The Big Book of Orgasms, and I can’t say thank you enough!) What is something you’re looking for in a new author for future anthologies?

Mainly I’m just looking for fresh ideas or new insights into sexual desire, passion, love and lust, and how those all fit in with the rest of our lives and what’s going on in the world. There really isn’t any one specific thing, though I am always pleased when authors approach a subject, even if it’s one that’s been written about plenty, and finds a way to make it feel as if it’s brand new. I’m often far more interested in the psychological twists and turns sex can take than a recitation of the physical machinations of sex, so that’s something I’m always interested in. Beyond that, I just look for pieces I think my readers will marvel over and want to reread again and again.

That’s a good plan. Now, when you’re writing, do you find that your editor side kicks in and causes you to edit while you draft? Or, are you able to separate your two roles and write freely before you edit?

Usually if my editor side kicks in when I’m writing, it’s a sign that I’m approaching a given piece incorrectly. I do my best to let go and simply write until I feel I’m at a natural stopping point, and then go back and edit later.

Smart. Okay, here’s an off the cuff one: you are given the choice of editing or writing, for the rest of your life. Only one. Which do you choose? Why?

I’d have to say writer because I started writing (outside of erotica) far before I ever considered being an editor. But I would certainly miss the joy of working with other writers if I couldn’t do it anymore.

We would miss that, too! I wonder…some writers revisit themes, or particular scenes that keep coming back in their work. Do you have such a repeated element in yours (that you recognize)?

I’m probably the opposite in that the part of writing I like the most is creating a new piece, whether that’s fiction or non-fiction.

So then, would you ever write a sequel to one of your stories, and if so, which one? Why would you like to bring it back?

I’ve long wanted to write a sequel to my oral sex restaurant story “Secret Service” from Best Women’s Erotica 2010 edited by Violet Blue, looking at the fellatio equivalent to my cunnilingus restaurant. I think it would be a fun twist on a story that already took its origin from a real-life Brooklyn restaurant that sold cocaine in the back.

Sexy. I am looking forward to this sequel! But let’s say you weren’t in the word industry. What would your next career be?

Maybe a bingo caller, because I love playing bingo, but I’m not sure if that would ruin the fun for me.

I like it. That’s fun. 🙂 Which leads to a fun last question…you can go anywhere, free of charge, for as long as you want. What would be the most romantic and/or dream place for you to write?

I love hotels, so probably any really luxurious hotel where I could get anything I needed at the press of a button.

Fabulous. Thank you so much for being here, Rachel!

And there you have it! A peek inside the brilliant mind of Rachel Kramer Bussel. Don’t forget to pick up your copy of Best Women’s Erotica of the Year, Volume 2 on Amazon, and we hope to see you at the reading on January 31^st!

A giant thank you to Rachel for joining me today!

Show Yourself to Me – From the Fantastic Xan West!

Posted on October 24, 2015October 18, 2015 by Jade A. Waters

Hi everyone! I’m thrilled to welcome Xan West today, a writer who has long impressed me as one willing to take risks and walk the edge. Xan’s fiction is always transgressive and bold, and, having had the opportunity to listen to a live reading, I can tell you Xan’s words will make you sit up in your seat.

Xan’s Show Yourself to Me is now out from Go Deeper Press—and I’m honored to be part of the blog tour for this collection. Xan is a writer who empowers with words and emotions that stand out in our genre, and this anthology is full of queer kink that explores power dynamics, consent, play, and community. The tour has been going on for a bit, so please be sure to check out the entire lineup of stops here, as well as Xan’s thoughtful, informative postings at Kink Praxis.

For now, I’m going to turn the floor over to Xan to share not only an intense excerpt, but a musing on a kink involving one of my favorite things: boots.

Take it away, Xan!

For the Love of Boots
By Xan West

Boots are one of my core kinks, and have been since the beginning. Boots are one of those kinks that can be really baffling to people, and bootlicking in particular is one of those things that lots of folks find deeply distasteful. One of my early online screen names was “bootlicker”, and it consistently garnered me both puzzled and squicked reactions.

From the outside it can get immediately read as being about humiliation, and sometimes it is. But there are so many other flavors of bootlicking. It can be about worship, or sex, or begging, or love, or service, or fetish, or submission, or dedication, or stubborn will, or gender, or getting the best shine possible. Like most kink acts, what you bring to it is really where the juice is.

When I write boots into my stories, I attempt to illuminate boot play in its specificity, to give the reader a clear sense of why this character is doing it and what it means to them. In the story “My Will,” a dominant chooses to kneel for the first time in fifteen years. He gave up submission after an abusive D/s relationship, and moved to the other side of the whip. He is drawn to submit to a man he trusts, who has offered a scene for his birthday, and rationalizes that it’s not a forever choice, more like a vacation.

I’m going to share an excerpt with you, that shows what boots mean to him in this particular scene. As a heads up, this excerpt includes D/s, boot care, boot worship, cock torture, rough body play, face fucking, consensual non-consent, and humiliation play.

An Excerpt from “My Will”

When I knelt to do his boots, it was like coming home. I savored every second of it, taking my time brushing on the saddle soap, carefully cleaning every inch of them. I had not even done my own boots in many years, much less anyone else’s. It was too dangerous, I had found: I got too trancey and submissive. I could let that happen in this space and time. I could let myself go there with this man I trusted immensely.

Flaming the polish was a delight. Bootblacking is such a sensual experience, and I wanted to take my time with it, relish every aspect. The scent of the polish, the dancing flames, the warmth of it on my fingers. The ritual was sacred, I knew that, each step vital to the whole. I applied two full coats of polish, shining it vigorously with the brush, pulling off my A-line shirt, ripping it in front of him, and using a piece of it to buff his boot. I lifted my gaze to meet his and asked permission. He stroked my cheek gently as he answered, and I closed my eyes so I might feel every millimeter of his hand on my skin.

I lick boots the old fashioned way: belly on the floor, as low as I can be. As I placed myself on the floor at his feet, I shivered. It felt so good to be here, to be worshipping the boots of this man I deeply respected. I was in his care, and he would be careful with me—I knew that. When I touched my lips reverently to his boot, I felt so full I could burst. This was exactly where I wanted to be. Tears fell onto the leather, and his boots soaked in their due. I could taste salt with the polish as I licked, pressing hard with my tongue, wanting him to feel it.

I had made myself forget what this tasted like, felt like. I concentrated hard on all of it, imprinting the memory of this lest it be the only time I would do it. His other boot came to rest on the back of my neck, and he used it to press my mouth down hard, groaning. He held me there for a good long time, his hand reaching down to stroke my hair, his bootheel digging into my shoulder. I didn’t want it to end. Then he lifted his boot from my neck and pulled my head up, telling me not to forget that the other boot needed care, too.

As I cleaned and polished, his hand stayed on my neck, calmly stroking. At some point, his boot snaked between my thighs and dug into my cock. I held my breath, gritted my teeth, and did my damnedest to remain focused on polishing his boot, to give it just as much care as I had given its brother. It was hard. The heel digging into my cock felt amazingly delicious, flawlessly excruciating. It took all I had to finish, and I could not be quiet while doing it. Growling moans kept fighting their way past my lips.

I lay on the ground again, pressing my lips into his boot, and felt him resting the sole of the other one on my back, pressing it into my skin, my naked belly on the dirty floor. It was heaven, and I began to tremble. So much, so intense, so exactly what I had been yearning for.

He pulled me up to my knees, suddenly, by the hair, tugged out his cock, and thrust it down my throat. It was amazing. I went from fifteen years of nothing to a glorious cock deep in my throat. I was gagging on it, tears seeping from my eyes, aching for him to use my mouth in exactly the way he needed. His hands gripped the back of my neck, and he rammed his dick as deep as it could go, relentlessly, selfishly, purely focused on his own need, growling, until he came, forcing me to swallow it, holding my mouth on his cock as he thrust repeatedly, until every drop was gone.

He released my neck, and his boot pushed me into the floor until I had my head pressed down onto it, his boot kicking my ass, ramming between my legs, stomping my thighs. It was brutal and intense and completely unexpected. I began to shiver, to scream no, and all he said was that no was not a safe word, and I better take it for him. His boots flattened me, kept me in the place I desperately ached to be, the place I feared with all of my heart.

He showed me exactly how much I wanted to be under his boot, how much I loved it. He made me say it to him, tell him I loved being under his boot, repeatedly, as he kicked me, dug the heels into me, hurt me with his boots. When I finally said it the way he wanted to hear it, he rewarded me by forcing my mouth onto the filthy floor. He made me lick it, to show him how much I appreciated his attention, his dominion, his boots showing me exactly where I belonged and what I loved.

I sobbed as I licked that dirty cold floor, the taste bitter and perfect, and he groaned, telling me my tears turned him on, that the sight of me under his boots was making him hard again, that if I did a good job he just might fuck me. Soon, I was licking salty wetness along with the grime on the ground, and I knew that I wanted to please him more than anything in the world. He was good enough to see inside me and give me exactly what I desperately ached for, and all I wanted to do was bring him a small portion of ease or pleasure.

He lifted my head and inspected the section I had been cleaning with my tongue, saying gruffly that I had done a good job on the floor, and on his boots, and that he thought I had the makings of a good boy in me. The universe stopped for a moment. All I could hear was those words of praise, and they slithered their way inside a shriveled place in my chest and watered it, just a little.

***

About the Book:

In Show Yourself to Me: Queer Kink Erotica, Xan West introduces us to pretty boys and nervous boys, vulnerable tops and dominant sadists, good girls and fierce girls and scared little girls, mean Daddies and loving Daddies and Daddies that are terrifying in delicious ways.

Submissive queers go to alleys to suck cock, get bent over the bathroom sink by a handsome stranger, choose to face their fears, have their Daddy orchestrate a gang bang in the park, and get their dream gender-play scene—tied to a sling in an accessible dungeon.

Dominants find hope and take risks, fall hard and push edges, get fucked and devour the fear and tears that their sadist hearts desire.

Within these 24 stories, you will meet queers who build community together, who are careful about how they play with power, who care deeply about consent. You will meet trans and genderqueer folks who are hot for each other, who mentor each other, who do the kind of gender play that is only possible with other trans and genderqueer folks.

This is Show Yourself to Me. Get ready for a very wild ride.

Find Show Yourself to Me at…

Go Deeper Press

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

***

Please be sure to check out Xan’s next stop at Ashley Young‘s site tomorrow. And, don’t forget to pick up your copy of Show Yourself to Me today!

XX,
Jade

About Xan:

Xan West is the nom de plume of Corey Alexander, a recent transplant to Oakland from Brooklyn, who has been doing community kink education for over ten years. Xan has been published in over 35 erotica anthologies, including the Best S/M Erotica series, the Best Gay Erotica series, and the Best Lesbian Erotica series. Xan’s story “First Time Since,” won honorable mention for the 2008 National Leather Association John Preston Short Fiction Award. Xan’s work has been described by reviewers as “offering the erotica equivalent of happy ever after” and as “some of the best transgressive erotic fiction to come along in recent years.”

Xan refuses pronouns, twists barbed wire together with yearning, and tilts pain in many directions to catch the light. Xan adores vulnerable tops; strong, supportive bottoms; red meat; long winding conversations about power, privilege, and community; showtunes; and cool, dark, quiet rooms with comfortable beds. Find Xan’s thoughts about the praxis of sex, kink, queerness, power, and writing at xanwest.wordpress.com.

Peek Into the Mind of a Casanova—Quinn from Holding My Breath is Here!

Posted on October 22, 2014October 21, 2014 by Jade A. Waters

It’s official—all the hot people come to my site.

How do I know? Because today I have a very special guest—and he’s sexy. Plus, he’s a good speaker. He dresses well. He’s clever. And…well, he’s all sorts of things, really, but what you need to know is that many, many women pay good money for the pleasure of his company.

Here’s a brief introduction:

Uh-huh. That’s right—I’d like you to meet Quinn! This professional Casanova thrives in A.M. Hartnett’s most recent book, Holding My Breath, and today I asked if I might be able to book some time with Quinn (free of charge) to ask him a few questions.

Lucky you, he said yes. And as if his answers weren’t delightful enough, I’ve also got a sexy blurb and excerpt for you. So, please read on and enjoy your introduction to the super sexy Quinn…

Hello Quinn. I’m so glad you joined me. And I have to say, um, wow. You have a definitive look, and it’s smokin’. How did you create your “style”?

Simple and classic is what I’m going for. For all the trends that have come and gone, women still get wet when they see a man in a well-cut suit. They like playing with the cufflinks and the lapels, and they like watching it come apart a piece at a time — the tie comes loose and the top button undone, the jacket slung on the back of a chair and the shirt-sleeves rolled up. A woman loves seeing a $3000 suit tossed aside for fucking as much as a man likes to see a $3000 dress on the floor next to the bed.

Good point. Speaking of things to see…women love scars, and your knuckles have certainly been marked. Care to share more about that set of scars?

Would you believe I used to be trailer trash? Up until I turned 18, I was a nasty little shit. I used my fists to get what I wanted, and once I had it I used my fists to keep it. It landed me in hot water and I was forced to learn that I couldn’t always have what I want, when I wanted it. It helps now that I have the money. Anyway, I’ve learned that the scars are a nice addition to the total package. They show that I’m not just pretending to be a bad boy, that at some point in my life I was a bad boy.

Let’s be real—women are hiring you, but when they see you, they melt. How does that feel for you?

Honestly, why would I want to be someone’s dildo? There’s more money in selling the entire fantasy. I can be anything a woman wants. All she has to do is pay her money up front.

Oh, Quinn. So matter-of-fact. I love that about you. But…tell us about the first time you saw Molly. What was your instant reaction to her?

It wasn’t like a kick in the gut or love at first sight. I was sitting in the bar at the hotel when I saw an attractive woman pass by. I paid her a bit of attention, then went on with my business. The next time I saw her, the same. So on and so forth. She’s a knock-out and I wanted to fuck her. That’s it.

What about when you discovered Molly had “hired” you to kick you out of the hotel? What did you think upon entering the room?

It took me a few minutes to figure out where I knew her from, so when I entered the room I figured I was just meeting another client. Normally I meet them in the bar, but she rejected this, so on first sight I figured this was a married woman who didn’t want to be seen out with another man. Then I realized it was the front desk manager I’d been eyeballing. My first reaction after that was mixed. I was equal parts “oh goody, now I get to play with that” and “oh fuck, she’s about to tell me to piss off.”

That meeting was so good. So good… As was the first time you give Molly your name. It’s…well, people will have to read it, but let’s just say that moment is pretty damn hot. You totally got off on playing that power card, didn’t you? And that’s a lot of Molly’s attraction to you—what comes out of your mouth. Were you born this clever and sexy, or what?

My grandfather, who was one of those people who only spoke when it was necessary, mostly raised me. When he spoke there was a sort of music to it. He had a deep voice and a thick Newfoundland accent. Listening to him was like listening to Shakespeare, if that makes sense. I think I developed what’s been called a “silver tongue” from him, but I talk a lot more. I never shut up, probably because in Pa’s house I was the only one doing the talking most of the time. I like to talk.

And I like dirty talk, obviously. With Molly, it was more of a case of talking to tangle her up a little so I could do the unravelling. When I finally gave her my name — and as you’ve mentioned, I made a little production of it — was the beginning of me loosening the knots I’d made.

*Leans forward.* You say you’re able to “unlock” a woman. Tell us more about that. When did you first discover you had this ability? How did you hone it?

In another time I might have been the perfect scam artist. I can read people. I’m really good at reading people. I can use silence to work out what they want, and then fill in the holes by talking around them. I pay attention. I test out different tones. I throw out little nibbles, one at a time, until the women I’m with has had her fill. It’s different with every woman — Molly, for instance, will gorge herself on what I dish out and it’ll sometimes get away from me.

What is it about Molly that’s different from your normal clients and that’s drawing you in? You almost seem bewildered by how much you instantly like her—almost. What about her is drawing such a reaction out of you?

I’ll admit it, Molly had me twisted around her little finger the second she opened her mouth. She tells me she was a little nerved up when I walked in, but I didn’t get any of that. She played my game right from the start but kept up with me. She wasn’t taking any crap, that much was clear from the start, but there was a calm and softness about her that had quite the effect on me. I just wanted to sit back and negotiate with her. I remember thinking that this was a little like foreplay.

That’s another thing I liked about Molly. She didn’t look down at me. It would have been easy to just have security have a word with me but she treated me with respect, and when I made my case about sticking around until New Year, she listened.

And what was your reaction when Molly called you up to a hotel room—for the second time?

Another confession — I was worried she wouldn’t, so I blew out a sigh of relief when I got that text. I don’t become infatuated that often, but I couldn’t get her out of my head for the rest of the evening. The next day, thinking about meeting her again, I could barely concentrate. She made me ticklish.

Aww. All right, so you are threatening to quit your gig at 36. Why 36? Why not 40? What’s special about 18 years?

I started doing this when I was eighteen, so basically I had been doing this half my life. That seems long enough, don’t you think?

Fair enough. Say, if you could go back to 18-year-old you, what would you tell him?

I don’t think I’d tell him anything. It might knock some sense into his head and change things. Up until recently, I could make a list a mile long of things I’d change about the last eighteen years, but now I think I’m good. It took me longer than most to get where I need to be and I needed all the highs and the lows.

And good you are, Quinn. Thank you so much for joining us.

There you have it, everyone! Quinn is a delight of a man in this dirty new book from A.M. Hartnett. Holding My Breath is available on Amazon right now, and you can find out more in the blurb and excerpt below!

Read the blurb:

“It’s a skill not every man possesses, and it can’t be taught. That’s why I’m good at what I do.”

For half his life Quinn has been making his living as a professional Casanova. Challenged by Molly to take his business elsewhere, he strikes a bargain with her: give him until New Year’s Eve and she’ll never see him again, and in the meantime he’ll make it worth her while.

As their arrangement becomes a passionate affair, there’s no denying that Molly’s been waiting for him to come into her life for a very long time. She never imagined that a man like Quinn would be the one.

Read an excerpt:

Her phone rang just before noon, as she was pushing through the back door with her arms loaded with groceries.

It was Quinn. She knew it by the ringtone she had set a few days earlier: The Tragically Hip’s ‘Fireworks’. The lively tune was muffled in the pocket of her anorak, but she could hear the words in her head. He’d cooked her dinner one night, and when she told him she’d never heard the song he put it on repeat and told her about how he’d once dragged himself, barely lucid with the flu, to their concert when he was in his early twenties.

Not caring about whether she cracked her eggs or squashed her bread, Molly tossed the black fabric bags onto the counter and dug into her pocket for the phone.

‘Hey there,’ she answered.

‘It’s Saturday, isn’t it?’

‘A question like that just goes to show you’re not a man who works the nine-to-five, otherwise you’d know it in your bones that it was Saturday.’

‘Words cannot express how horny I was when I woke up a little while ago. I’m sitting here in my empty apartment with my hard-on in my hand thinking about how much better I’d feel if it was in your mouth.’

Molly shivered as she unzipped her coat. ‘And this call is to ask for assistance with this problem?’

A low laugh tickled in her ear. ‘I know exactly what you’re doing right now. You’re biting your lip and squeezing your legs together.’

‘Oh, you think you’re so smart,’ she replied, but he was right. Even over the phone he made her feel as though he was right behind her, lips close to her ear, what little space between them electric.

She was sure that if he were there with her, he’d already be undressing her. It made her wet just thinking about it.

‘I want you to drop what you’re doing and meet me in the park. I want to bring you to my place.’ He sucked in a quick breath, and then let out a low moan. ‘I’ve got one hell of a view from my sofa, and I want to make it better by putting you on your knees in front of me.’

Once she hung up, Molly felt electric. The commute was the same one she took to work and she could have been at his place in just over half an hour, but she had the sense that this was going to be an occasion, and she wanted to dress the part. She wanted to be a bombshell for him, for herself, and so she slipped into a black bra and thong set and accentuated it with a matching belt and stocking set. She covered it all up with a green bateau dress, then tucked herself back into her anorak.

Luckily, they were going through a mild spell and the wait by Lake Ontario didn’t leave her with pins and needles in her nearly bare thighs and ass. He appeared on the boardwalk, jogging towards her in navy-blue track pants with white stripes and a grey T-shirt patched with sweat stains.

For a moment he didn’t see her, which gave her the luxury of getting over the shock of viewing him in this element. She didn’t get to see it that often. When he came in from a run while at her place he bolted right to the shower and emerged brand new. The most she got was a blur.

The dirty sneakers and the reddish hair curling around the edges were such a far cry from the spit and polish of his trade. There was Quinn the smooth, the heartthrob women paid to spend a few hours with, and then there was Quinn who lounged, rumpled and gorgeous, in the bed she had slept alone in for so long.

She liked this incarnation, and rose to meet him. As his attention fell on her, he slowed down to a trot.

‘You must be frozen,’ she said as he slowed, a smile forming on his lips, and leaned into him when he was close enough. ‘What happened to your hard-on?’

‘I had a brief chat with my dick and told him if he was patient, he’d have something better than my hand to contend with.’ He slipped his arm around her, and she parted her lips for him, but he quickly pushed her away. ‘I stink, and I don’t want to sweat all over you – yet.’ He took her hand. ‘I’ll shower, and unless I come up with something better, I’m going to spread you out on my dining-room table and fuck you half-dressed.’

She glanced around to see if anyone had heard, and was strangely disappointed to discover that no one had. Other joggers, some alone and some in pairs, ran past them on the path, oblivious to the sexual negotiations that had opened up. The moment was so significant to her that it was almost insulting that no one noticed the earth shift a little under their feet.

Mmm hmm…that’s Quinn for you. Wow. You can find out more about all books in the Carried Away series right here. Don’t miss out on this series, it’s hot!

XX,
Jade

“I always look forward to what A.M. Hartnett is going to say next. This is the truth. Whether in an email, a blog post, on Twitter, or in one of her erotic stories, I am always curious to see what Hartnett will come up with. She’s got me on the edge of my seat (in more ways than one).” – Alison Tyler, author Dark Secret Love.

A.M. Hartnett began writing erotica upon receiving what, at the time, she considered very bad advice from a career counselor. Since 2006, her short stories have appeared on the web and in various anthologies, including Kristina Wright’s Best Erotic Romance series and Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Curvy Girls.

Find out more about A.M. Hartnett at http://www.thebewilderedwriter.com.

Kristina Lloyd’s Undone Tour is Here!

Posted on September 17, 2014September 16, 2014 by Jade A. Waters

Sometimes, there are authors who take you on twists and turns you don’t anticipate. For me, Kristina Lloyd is one such author. Clever and dazzling, Kristina writes intelligent erotica—as in, she doesn’t do the expected, the cookie cutter, or the mundane. She does real, she does hard, and she does damn sexy. The first book I read of hers was Thrill Seeker, and I had a lot of similar things to say about her writing when I reviewed that book and got hooked in for more.

Today she’s here to tell us all about her new book, Undone. I’m delighted to have been able to ask her all sorts of questions about the book as well her personal interests, and now I get to share the interview with you. So, please read on to hear from the talented and lovely Kristina Lloyd!

Hi Kristina! Thank you so much for joining us. I am so excited about Undone! It sounds positively divine. I’d like to start by asking some questions about the book. Tell us about your inspiration for the main character, Lana.

Somewhat prosaically, she was inspired by a friend of a remote friend on Facebook. I’m terribly nosy, as are most writers, and something about this woman caught my eye. When I checked out her profile, I found an intriguing and beautiful woman who looked to have an effortlessly great life. She didn’t have the conventional trappings of domestic bliss and wealth but instead owned a hip shop in London, had loads of friends, a couple of kids, excellent taste in clothes and so on. And I wondered what went on under the surface? If someone like that felt they were unraveling within, would their success and well-constructed lifestyle enable them to conceal it from those around them? And if so, for how long? When would the cracks start to show?

Nice. You always go so much deeper, which is what I love about your work! Speaking of, the plot of this book is classic dark, transgressive, edgy KL style: a naughty threesome goes horribly awry. (Or does it?) Where did you come up with this idea?

I had an idea to start with a dead body at a party and developed the storyline from there. I should stress: nobody dies during the threesome!

Phew! 🙂 So, without giving away too much, will you tell us a little about how this threesome sparks? One was a customer in the bar, right? What about the other man? And how did they end up jumping on this hot fantasy adventure?

Basically, Lana asks the two guys if they’d be up for it! She’s no shy, retiring violet. They’re at a weekend house party in the country. She’s briefly met Sol, and thinks he’s cute, and the other guy, Misha, the one who ends up dead, is a regular at her bar. She’s attracted to Sol, but he’s playing it cool, and Misha is hanging out with them that evening. Lana asks, “So what’s a girl got to go to get laid around here?” I wanted to establish her as someone who has ownership of her sexuality and is able to direct her desires accordingly. The men are surprised but they’re both kinky and open-minded, and so the three of them head off to the bedroom.

“Ownership of her sexuality”—this pleases me. As does Lana’s apparent vintage handcuff collection! Um, more deets on that, please. (Bonus if you have pics.)

Haha! Lana buys a cocktail bar and starts a vintage handcuff collection after getting divorced. I have a whole post about cuffs over at The Kinky Brits on Friday. And yes, there will be pics!

Grins. All right, can you tell us your favorite character to write in this story and why?

Oh, that’s a tricky one! The story is very much focused on Lana and Sol. They’re both quite complex characters, and there’s more to them than meets the eye. Probably Sol. I loved writing the part where we get to the heart of him.

If you could take any of them out to hang in Lana’s bar, who would you pick?

I’d happily drink a few tequilas with Sol. And the rest.

Speaking of the bar…what’s Lana’s drink of choice?

Martini. Her taste is for elegant classics.

Now, I know you’ve expressed some worry over the spoiler potential of this book. Did you want to say anything more on that here?

The book has a couple of twists. Sooner or later someone will reveal them in a review. I’m just hoping to stave off that moment for as long as possible so readers can enjoy the book as it’s meant to be enjoyed.

That’s fair—and I promise to keep my lips sealed! Okay, next I have a huge question for you, but… your work often showcases a woman with “darker” wants than what’s considered “normal” and/or “acceptable” in most erotic romance—thank you for always doing that. There seem to be the walls confining the genre, and then there is you punching your awesomely intelligent fist through them. How does it feel to write women who have realistic interests that contradict the expectation?

Thank you! I’m not the only writer doing this, thank God, and I think it’s important we keep on doing it, keep challenging the current notion that softcore romance typifies female desire. I write a lot about women who get off on humiliation, degradation, forced submission, rough sex and shame. I think these are valid kinks but it’s not an easy sell. I think most people, even if they’re not into BDSM, can appreciate why someone might enjoy handcuffs or a spanking; less so the psychological aspects.

Excellent points, and I 100% agree. Keep working your magic, Kristina! Now it’s time to move on to some more personal questions. I would describe your stories as erotic thrillers—did you always write erotica, or did you start in the thriller genre (or some other genre) first?

I started in erotica. I’ve dabbled in horror, and I’d love to try my hand at writing a suspense thriller one day.

So are you a plotter or do you fly wild when you write?

I plot, in part because I’m accustomed to presenting my publisher with a synopsis to secure a commission. I invariably deviate from the plot but don’t go wildly off track. I’m usually writing the opening scenes as I plot, and that’s the nearest I get to free fall.

Tell us about your writing process. Where do you do it? Do you work on one project at a time, or many?

My process changes with my personal circumstances. Undone was mainly written around a day job, at weekends, on early mornings and evenings. I write better in the morning when I’m still a little doozy, and before my head has been overtaken by more ordered thought processes. I’d sometimes get up at 5am to work on Undone. I find evenings are better for editing. I’m always at my desk and I work in silence. No cafes or music for me. Ideally, I’d work on single projects. I prefer to immerse myself in a story rather than juggle several.

What’s your favorite genre to read, and what are you reading now?

I’m currently hooked on female-penned suspense thrillers. I’ve just devoured Liane Moriarty’s The Husband’s Secret and next up is Elizabeth Haynes’ Revenge of the Tide.

I used to devour those myself—I was an Erica Spindler fiend! But back to your thrilling and sexy book—say Lana makes you a drink. What’s your pick?

Margarita! It’s my fave, and I know she’d make a great one. Sharp, sour and salty. Yum.

And last but not least—the inescapable question when you’re hanging with me—what’s your favorite candy?

I don’t do sweet stuff! Can I have a bag of salted cashews instead? Or can I lick fresh sweat from a hot, naked man? I’m quite partial to salt. And to hot, naked men.

Ha! Well, there you have it, folks! The wonderfully talented and brilliant Kristina Lloyd! I’m so happy she joined us today to talk about her interests as well as her delicious new book, Undone. Thanks, Kristina!

Want to know more about Undone?

Here’s the blurb:

When Lana Greenwood attends a glamorous house party she finds herself tempted into a ménage à trois. But the morning after brings more than just regrets over fulfilling a fantasy one night stand. One of the men she’s spent the night with is discovered dead in the swimming pool. Accident, suicide or murder, no one is sure and Lana doesn’t know where to turn. Can she trust Sol, the other man, an ex-New Yorker with a dirty smile and a deep desire to continue their kinky game?

Buy it at:

Amazon UK paperback :: Amazon UK Kindle :: Amazon US Kindle :: Amazon CA paperback :: Amazon CA Kindle

Don’t miss out, everyone! I’ve got this one already on my nightstand, teasing and taunting me to dig right in. It’s going to be so good!

Thanks for joining us!

XX,
Jade

Kristina Lloyd writes erotic fiction about sexually submissive women who like it on the dark, dirty and dangerous side. Her novels are published by Black Lace and her short stories have appeared in dozens of anthologies, including several ‘best of’ collection, in both the UK and US. She lives in Brighton, England.

Wrapped Up in Fantasies with Alison Tyler

Posted on September 7, 2014September 6, 2014 by Jade A. Waters

Got your attention, now, didn’t I? 😉 Well, good—because today I’m hosting the next stop on Alison Tyler’s Wrapped Around Your Finger tour!

Alison Tyler is a brilliant author of many stories, but her Submission series is simply unbeatable. In case you missed the first two books, Dark Secret Love and The Delicious Torment, I reviewed the pair of them right here. I’m bouncing off the walls to read the third, as I’m sure you are, too—and so it is with great pleasure that I turn the floor over to Ms. Tyler, so that she can tease us with her thoughts on fantasy as well as a seriously dirty, smokin’ hot excerpt. *Wipes brow.* It’s good, guys, so good!

Now there’s only one question—are you ready?

I sure hope so.

Here’s Alison!

***

Step into My Fantasy

The word “fantasy” appears in 1,192 files on my computer.

The word “fantasies” appears in 1117.

I don’t know why I like to check things like that, but I do. (“Bondage” appears in 892 files. “Spanking” appears in 1218. Just in case—like me—you were curious.)

But back to fantasies, daydreams, mental vacations—whatever you want to call the activity—I am a goner. I see a woman pass me on the street, and immediately I fantasize about who might be waiting for her at home. I entertain myself by describing what her bedroom looks like. Even the books she might have on her bedside table. All day long, I write little stories for so many people I pass in my life.

For strangers I run into on a regular basis, I continually build on the fantasy. There’s a vampire I watch at my favorite coffee shop, and a silver fox I’m writing a shifter tale about.

Fantasies are an important theme for the characters in my fiction, as well. How could this not be so? If I am a 24/7 walking fantasy-mill, then it goes to figure that the people I create would share this characteristic with me.

Here’s a snip from Wrapped Around Your Finger:

“I know you want to,” Jack said. “I’m only going to make your deepest, darkest fantasies come true.”

“What fantasies?” I had to ask. What did Jack think my fantasies were?

“We’ll have the big back room at the restaurant,” Jack said. “When we arrive, you’ll strip down and get on your knees. I want you to service each man there.”

“Service?”

“With your mouth, baby. With your mouth. I want you to suck them all until they’re rock hard and ready. Your mouth is so sublime. I feel guilty that I’ve been so greedy with you. I should have been sharing this whole time. When the men experience that wet heat on their Johnsons, well. There’s no saying what will happen. I’ll have to take charge, to make sure they go slow. Then we’ll really see what you’re good for.”

Was Jack fucking with me? I couldn’t find my voice, couldn’t figure out where to look. Jack’s eyes were giving me no clear message. I sensed no level of teasing now. I stared down at the plate.

“And then?” I managed to ask, directing my query more to my food than to Jack.

“You want me to spell out everything, don’t you?”

I nodded. I could feel the throb in my sex. My clit was swollen, my pussy sodden. I wouldn’t have thought that those words would have turned me on so much. But Jack was spelling out desires I had never confronted in the past.

“We’ll spread you out on the table, and we’ll go to work. One man will eat your cunt while you suck another cock. We’ll get you so you don’t know if you’re coming or going. You won’t know which way is up. By the end, Sam, you’ll be this mess of longing, and we’ll take you exactly where you need to go.”

Where? I wanted to cry out. Where do I need to go, Jack?

“You’ll have a man in your pussy, a man in your ass and one in your mouth. You can do that, can’t you, Sam? You can take three at a time. I’m sure you can. Ultimately, you should be able to take more. A cock in each fist, perhaps. But tomorrow, there will only be three. You’d do that for me, wouldn’t you?”

I didn’t know how to respond. Was this one more of Jack’s tests, the type that had no correct answer? If I said I’d do what he wanted, then I was as good as stamping the word HARLOT on my passport. If I declined, if I lied and said his story hadn’t turned me on, then I’d be denying one of Jack’s commands. Plus, all he’d have to do is touch me between my legs to know the truth.

“Look at you,” Jack said lovingly. “You’re a mess already.”

***

Oh. My. God. YES!

Was that not the hottest excerpt ever? I’m telling you, this third installment is going to be incredible! Be sure to grab your copy on Amazon right now!

As for me—off to read more! 🙂

XX,
Jade

Alison Tyler has been called “a trollop with a laptop” by the East Bay Express, “a literary siren” by Good Vibrations, and “a hell of a writer” by Violet Blue. She is the editor of more than seventy-five anthologies for publishers including Pretty Things Press, Cleis, Plume, and Harlequin. Her novels include Dark Secret Love, The Delicious Torment and Wrapped Around Your Finger, which is the third in the “Submission Series” published by Cleis Press. Visit her at alisontyler.blogspot.com and follow her at twitter.com/alisontyler.

The Sexy Mad Libs Finale—And the Winner is…

Posted on July 24, 2014July 20, 2016 by Jade A. Waters

All right everyone. It’s time. I crossed my fingers and toes for all the contestants who entered the Sexy Mad Libs contest hoping to win a copy of Violet Blue’s The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fantasy, and now it’s time to reveal a winner.

Here was the challenge: since I love games, and I was inspired by a round of sexy Mad Libs in my past (eh-hm), I wrote a 300-word flash piece and accidentally left out some words—which the contestants needed to supply for me. These are the phrases and words that were missing from my story:

[method of restraint, preferably as a past tense verb]
[type of furniture]
[color]
[small and light inanimate noun]
[type of cording or long strand]
[pet name]
[adverb to describe fucking]
[body part—um, ideally not a bony one]
[type of sound made by a person during sex]
[adverb]
[a verb bodies do]
[verb to describe crash, ending in –ed]
[verb requiring contact with something else]
[another sound made by a person during sex]

Fortunately, I had a few people help me out, and as promised, I am going to post the story here with the Mad Libs phrases in place!

So, are you ready?

The winner of Violet Blue’s The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fantasy is…

*Reaches into hat.* *Raises an eyebrow.* *Grins.*

WAIT!

(Yeah I see you over there. Calm yourself.)

Here’s the deal, folks. I had so much fun reading all of the entries, I’ve actually decided to post three versions just to give you a feel for how hilarious this was over on my end. Some parts of them made sense, some of them didn’t, and some of them…well, you’ll see. I fixed tenses where necessary, but otherwise, all entered phrases are intact.

The secret? One of these posted versions is the winner…so after all three versions (posted in no particular order), I’ll make the big announcement. Brace yourself! It’s good. Here we go:

Super Sexy Mad Libs Version #1, by Trix:

He had her cuffed, her body folded over the ottoman and her hands locked at her low back. The teal Lego minifigure dangled on a [strand of] silk above her face, and Beth stuck out her tongue, trying to reach—but David held her back enough that she’d have to work much, much harder for it.

“Ready, Ace?”

She nodded. This was the game tonight—to take him, forcefully deep and fast, while he kept her from the Lego minifigure. But if she reached it, he’d let her come.

David smacked her buttock. “Beth… You didn’t answer.”

“Fuck me,” she gasped.

His cock was quick to her warmth, slicking against the wet seam of her cunt as she moan[ed]. Beth stretched out her tongue, but the pressure of him yanking back on her wrists was too great. When he thrust inside her, his motion almost shoved her forward enough. Still, David managed to control her reach and Beth’s mind spun—it would take a good strong fucking, an intense pounding, something so enthusiastically deep and hard and sweet for her to reach that Lego minifigure—but she wanted it more than anything.

“Please,” she cried. “More!”

David’s breath grew heavier, his thrusts more frenzied. Her body grope[d] as his pace increased.

“David, fuck, yes!”

His force collided her hard against the ottoman. Beth’s eyes popped open just as her tongue [clung to] the tiny Lego minifigure.

“Yes! I win!” she gasped.

David slipped his fingers between the ottoman and her mound, swiping at her to make her come.

But the truth was Beth didn’t need it—the sweetest bliss coursed through her even before David touched her clit, and once she trembled around him, he collapsed over her body with a scream.

“New rules. We move the Lego minifigure farther next time,” he said.

Super Sexy Mad Libs Version #2, by Oleander:

He had her hog tied, her body folded over the broken down (and stained) futon and her hands locked at her low back. The red shot glass dangled on a [string of] nylon above her face, and Beth stuck out her tongue, trying to reach—but David held her back enough that she’d have to work much, much harder for it.

“Ready, Mr. Jingles?”

She nodded. This was the game tonight—to take him, riding the hobby horse deep and fast, while he kept her from the shot glass. But if she reached it, he’d let her come.

David smacked her penis. “Beth… You didn’t answer.”

“Fuck me,” she gasped.

His cock was quick to her warmth, slicking against the wet seam of her cunt as she [cried] “Uhhhhnnnnn!” Beth stretched out her tongue, but the pressure of him yanking back on her wrists was too great. When he thrust inside her, his motion almost shoved her forward enough. Still, David managed to control her reach and Beth’s mind spun—it would take a good strong fucking, an intense pounding, something so sloppily deep and hard and sweet for her to reach that shot glass—but she wanted it more than anything.

“Please,” she cried. “More!”

David’s breath grew heavier, his thrusts more frenzied. Her body hump[ed] as his pace increased.

“David, fuck, yes!”

His force excited her hard against the broken down (and stained) futon. Beth’s eyes popped open just as her tongue fondle[d] the tiny shot glass.

“Yes! I win!” she gasped.

David slipped his fingers between the broken down (and stained) futon and her mound, swiping at her to make her come.

But the truth was Beth didn’t need it—the sweetest bliss coursed through her even before David touched her clit, and once she trembled around him, he collapsed over her body with an “OhSweetJesus!”

“New rules. We move the shot glass farther next time,” he said.

Super Sexy Mad Libs Version #3, by F. Leonora:

He had her shackled, her body folded over the love seat and her hands locked at her low back. The vermillion spark dangled on a braided [cord] above her face, and Beth stuck out her tongue, trying to reach—but David held her back enough that she’d have to work much, much harder for it.

“Ready, miel?”

She nodded. This was the game tonight—to take him, roughly deep and fast, while he kept her from the spark. But if she reached it, he’d let her come.

David smacked her thigh. “Beth… You didn’t answer.”

“Fuck me,” she gasped.

His cock was quick to her warmth, slicking against the wet seam of her cunt as she grunt[ed]. Beth stretched out her tongue, but the pressure of him yanking back on her wrists was too great. When he thrust inside her, his motion almost shoved her forward enough. Still, David managed to control her reach and Beth’s mind spun—it would take a good strong fucking, an intense pounding, something so morbidly deep and hard and sweet for her to reach that spark—but she wanted it more than anything.

“Please,” she cried. “More!”

David’s breath grew heavier, his thrusts more frenzied. Her body waltz[ed] as his pace increased.

“David, fuck, yes!”

His force crescendoed her hard against the love seat. Beth’s eyes popped open just as her tongue bumped the tiny spark.

“Yes! I win!” she gasped.

David slipped his fingers between the love seat and her mound, swiping at her to make her come.

But the truth was Beth didn’t need it—the sweetest bliss coursed through her even before David touched her clit, and once she trembled around him, he collapsed over her body with a pant.

“New rules. We move the spark farther next time,” he said.

Okay, have you stopped giggling yet? I still can’t. This was just too fun!

But now it really is time for the big reveal…Drumroll please…

The winner of Violet Blue’s The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fantasy is…

F. Leonora!

Congratulations, F. Leonora! You won! *Throws confetti everywhere.* (And oh my god, the spark and the tongue! Yowsa!) 🙂 I’ll be contacting you today to coordinate your prize!

Now, in case anyone’s curious, I figured I should reveal my original version of the story. Here it is:

The Game
by
Jade A. Waters

He had her cuffed, her body folded over the counter and her hands locked at her low back. The gold bell dangled on a chain above her face, and Beth stuck out her tongue, trying to reach—but David held her back enough that she’d have to work much, much harder for it.

“Ready, love?”

She nodded. This was the game tonight—to take him, deep and fast, while he kept her from the bell. But if she reached it, he’d let her come.

David smacked her ass. “Beth… You didn’t answer.”

“Fuck me,” she gasped.

His cock was quick to her warmth, slicking against the wet seam of her cunt as she whimpered. Beth stretched out her tongue, but the pressure of him yanking back on her wrists was too great. When he thrust inside her, his motion almost shoved her forward enough. Still, David managed to control her reach and Beth’s mind spun—it would take a good strong fucking, an intense pounding, something so unbearably deep and hard and sweet for her to reach that bell—but she wanted it more than anything.

“Please,” she cried. “More!”

David’s breath grew heavier, his thrusts more frenzied. Her body shook as his pace increased.

“David, fuck, yes!”

His force slammed her hard against the counter. Beth’s eyes popped open just as her tongue tapped the tiny bell.

“Yes! I win!” she gasped.

David slipped his fingers between the counter and her mound, swiping at her to make her come.

But the truth was Beth didn’t need it—the sweetest bliss coursed through her even before David touched her clit, and once she trembled around him, he collapsed over her body with a groan.

“New rules. We move the bell farther next time,” he said.

Honestly, I’m tickled by every version of this story, and I hope you all enjoyed the contest.

A giant thank you to everyone who played along, and congratulations again to F. Leonora! I’ll be in touch shortly! 🙂

XX,
Jade

Last Call for Entries, and Other Delights…

Posted on July 23, 2014September 8, 2014 by Jade A. Waters

Holy smokes! Time is running out! Have you entered the Sexy Mad Libs game for your chance to win a copy of Violet Blue’s The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fantasy? If not, please do! The deadline is today at 4 pm PST. You can play right here, so consider this your last call…and since you haven’t missed out yet, I hope you’ll play!

Speaking of not missing out…there have been a lot of fireworks going on over here this month. If you missed anything, here was the streak of sizzling excitement that set this place on fire!

First, the fabulous Rose Caraway narrated my story, “Soundscapes,” for the Kiss Me Quick’s Erotica Podcast. It was such an honor and a treat to hear her read my story! You can check out the back story here and listen to the podcast for free right here.
Next, the second episode of Pillow Talk Secrets revealed our fondness for Alison Tyler’s beautifully written Dom, Sandy, from Those Boys. We also talked a bit about how we write Doms in general. Want to know more? Check out the episode right here.
The next day, endlessly awesome A.M. Hartnett came by to reveal all sorts of dirty details about her three books on tour, Uncover Me and the first two books of The Carried Away series. Catch up on that interview right here to learn about the books as well as some fun facts about A.M. herself!
And finally, the amazing Alison Tyler madness continued on Sunday, when she gave me the honor of an exclusive interview with Sandy, the vibrant and incredibly sexy Dom in her new novelette, Those Boys, from Go Deeper Press! Sandy makes me a little giddy, but somehow, I made it through the interview. Please check it out to hear me swoon learn more about this divine character. You will not regret it!

Okay, I think that’s it! Don’t forget to enter the Sexy Mad Libs contest by 4 pm PST today. I’m crossing my fingers and toes for you if you’ve entered, and will announce the winner first thing tomorrow! XX, Jade

Team Sandy and the Those Boys Blog Tour!

Posted on July 20, 2014September 8, 2014 by Jade A. Waters

Okay, everyone…I told you this month was packed full of fireworks, and today I’ve got some serious sizzle!

Why? Today is my lucky day—not only is it my stop on the Those Boys Blog Tour, but I have a very special guest. And no it’s not the brilliant author, the incredible Alison Tyler who wrote this delicious novelette. Nope, nope, nope. It’s someone else.

See, one of the main reasons Those Boys (and the novelette that preceded it, Those Girls) is so amazing is because of Alison Tyler’s authentic and rich portrayal of a true Dom. Did you catch us chattering about this on our Pillow Talk session on Tuesday? If not, here’s a recap—Tyler has made Sandy engaging, hot, and compassionate. She hasn’t made a two-dimensional stereotype of a Dom; instead she’s written someone who cares about his subs, and who is interested in exploring not just their bodies but their minds. Because of all of this, she’s done the number one most important thing that has made everyone stand up and take notice:

She’s made him real—so real in fact, that Sandy is who I have here today!

Yes, it’s true. And oh, am I excited to share this interview with you! So, please read on to hear Sandy’s thoughts on some very pressing questions…

The gorgeous Those Boys cover! Courtesy of Go Deeper Press

The Exclusive Sandy Interview

Oh, Sandy, Sandy, Sandy…thank you so much for joining me, and for answering all my questions. Let us begin…with where you started. How long have you been a Dom, and how did you get into the lifestyle?

That’s like asking a person how he or she got to be tall. Or blue eyed. Or Irish. I am a Dom because I’m a Dom. That said… there is a story to the beginning. At least, to the time when I decided to embrace what I knew lived inside me rather than try to fight those intense desires. I surrendered. Perhaps most Doms won’t admit this, but that’s how it was for me. I gave in.

You’ll hear all about my beginning in Those Days [the prequel]. It started with a girl—the way these stories often do. She slid me an opener. I grabbed it in my fist.

So tell me—what about the lifestyle most appeals to you?

Honesty is everything. Participants in the BDSM lifestyle are honest about what they want, need, crave, require. I demand honesty from my partners. That’s the foundation on which I build.

And when you meet a new sub that you know you must connect with, what’s the first thing that goes through your mind?

“What can I do for you?” Perhaps, that has a submissive sound to the cadence. But that is how I think. How can I help you? And of course: How can I hurt you?

[Catching my breath.] Um, Sandy, do you prefer a switch or a pure sub? Or does it even matter?

Doesn’t matter. I want truth. I want to know what turns you on, what makes you hard or wet. I want to know. If you must exert your strength, your stamina, your power every so often, then so be it. I will bend. I will bow. I will be yours however you need me.

Let’s say you could freeze a moment of your connection with your subs, Vanessa and Rem, in a photograph. What would it be? And would it be in black and white or color, and why?

A Polaroid. You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you? But not just one Polaroid. A series. A strip-tease. Each click of the camera capturing a step forward. A kiss. A caress. A peeling back. Until we are undone and undressed. Naked in every sense of the word.

Wow. Your words are one of your greatest, most entrancing traits. Of all the things you’ve said to Vanessa, Jake, and Rem (or any other sub over the years), what have you said that has elicited the strongest response (in your opinion)?

Trust me.

[Gulping.] So…what’s your favorite: paddle, belt, flogger, quirt, crop, or…?

The situation decides the weapon. Sometimes the feel of a paddle in my hand sings to me like nothing else. Other times, I know I can’t go wrong with a flogger. But if I had to choose only one, I’d choose my belt. Utilitarian. Deceptively simple. With me at almost all times. For those hard-to-reach situations.

All right. You can take Rem and Vanessa anywhere for as long as you want. Where do you go, and why?

Dive bar on the corner with the neon sign in the window. Eleven o’clock tonight. Jukebox. Leather booth. Top-shelf tequila. Until last call.

I’m a simple man.

You rarely blush. What would make you blush, if anything?

I’ll admit to making mistakes. Rarely happens, but I won’t hide. The flush you’ll occasionally see along my jaw is my anger at myself, not embarrassment for fucking up. Disappointment in myself. I’m far more lenient on others than I am when I turn my attention inward. Isn’t it always that way?

True. Now, Vanessa and Rem would do anything to please you because you care so much for them. If you were to come home to the sweetest surprise from them—they anticipated exactly what you’d want without you needing to articulate it—what would it be?

A new playmate. Wrapped up in a silver ribbon.

Oh Sandy…I’m sorry to say it’s time for our final question. What is your deepest desire—in ten words or less?

I want to live inside your head. Invite me in.

***

Oh my goodness…I don’t know about all of you, but that last answer—wow. Sandy is, in my opinion, one of the greatest characters I’ve ever read. So in case it needs to be stated, this is 100% me:

Need a little more convincing? Here’s the official blurb:

What are the chances? Bisexual dom Sandy meets Rem in his local horse-and-tack store while shopping for a quirt. He’s instantly taken by Rem’s shocking good looks and the way he struts around in an old Western-style shirt. “A preening peacock” Sandy calls him, before announcing, in the hottest of ways, what narcissists like Rem deserve.

Sandy brings Rem home to Vanessa (Those Girls) where all three enjoy intensely erotic BDSM sex, with Sandy pushing everyone’s boundaries in ways they want and he knows they need.

But Rem proves to be a mystery that even Sandy can’t quite crack. What does the boy really desire? And if it isn’t Sandy and Vanessa, what will the consequences be?

This novelette is divine, everyone. Be sure to pick up your copy as soon as you can. It officially comes out tomorrow, but you can get it from Go Deeper Press right now!

Do not miss out!

XX,
Jade

About Alison Tyler:

Called a “Trollop with a Laptop” by East Bay Express, Alison Tyler is naughty and she knows it. Her sultry short stories have appeared in more than 100 anthologies including Coupling edited by Sommer Marsden and Sex for America edited by Stephen Elliott. She is the author of more than 25 erotic novels, most recently Dark Secret Love and The Delicious Torment, and Wrapped Around Your Finger (soon to be released). She is also the editor of more than 75 explicit anthologies, including Alison’s Wonderland, Never Say Never, and 69. Visit www.alisontyler.com 24/7 as she’s a total insomniac.

A.M. Hartnett is Here!

Posted on July 16, 2014September 8, 2014 by Jade A. Waters

Exciting news, everyone! Today I have a special guest—the wonderful A.M. Hartnett!

A.M. Hartnett and I have been chattering for a few months now, and she’s someone I look up to in the erotica world—she’s cool, she’s clever, and she’s a damn good writer. She’s also sassy and funny as all hell, which basically wins me right over. 🙂

A.M. is on a wild tour right now for not one, but THREE books, and I’m delighted she’s here to talk with us about all of them. The first book is a standalone erotic romance called Uncover Me, for which she’s shared a smokin’ hot blurb, and the other books form the first two-thirds of her Carried Away series. Lucky for us, I managed to wrangle her into an interview to ask a few questions about the books, her process, and some other nifty facts about her.

Thanks for coming by today, A.M.!

So, let’s start with Uncover Me, which was just released last month. I love that the book has such a fun exhibitionist premise. Carrie Thorn is an exhibitionist with a capital E—she likes to take naughty photos and post them on a blog. What inspired her character?

One word: Tumblr. As I mentioned at my post over at Mischief, I had been alerted to the existence of Tumblr’s sex blog community by Rachel Kramer Bussel and became an instant fan. My favourites are the ones of real people showing off, and that’s where Carrie came from.

Tell us more about Carrie’s blog—is she no holds barred or constantly getting wilder with her pics? How did you come up with such an idea? (It’s fabulous.)

When we first meet Carrie, it’s a solo project. She likes frilly things and showing off her body, occasionally bringing toys into the mix. As the first line says, she doesn’t consider it porn. I wouldn’t say she’d consider it art or photography, either. That’s pretty reflective about my feeling about the sex blogs I follow. Yes, they’re visually stimulating, but oftentimes they’re more erotic than in-your-face and she’s doing it because it turns her on to do it. She likes the idea of her readers getting horny while they look at her pictures.

What is Carrie’s favorite photo posted on her blog?

I think if you were to ask Carrie, she would never be able to come up with one single picture, though after she meets Brendan she’d probably give the gold star to the picture that brought her to his blog

‘You weren’t completely naked. Your bra was pushed down to your ribs and your panties were twisted around your knees. You had your hand between your legs. It was like you were waiting for someone. I got so hard thinking about what came next I unzipped right there in my office and jerked off.’ He shook himself and looked at her. His smile turned mischievous. ‘You’re blushing.’

‘Of course.’

Hot. Brendan sounds like the perfect partner for Carrie’s kink. Can you tell us a little about the moment they meet (without giving it all away, of course)?

They have two meetings: the online meeting and then the face to face. Carrie indulges in her kink at work one day and accidentally gets a shot of a local landmark in the background. Oops. Brendan recognizes it immediately and sends her a hello, along with a naughty offering of his own, and manages to convince her to meet him somewhere public. It’s pretty unnerving for Carrie – she knows right from the start that Brendan is interested in being more than friends, and already knows her most intimate secret. As he points out after some back and forth, they’ve met for sex.

Now I’m curious…if Carrie met Brendan while speed dating, would she find him as intriguing as she does when he finds out her secret?

Probably not. Brendan is good looking, and she might take a second look, but as she puts it :

Close up, she could see the lines around his mouth and a few flecks of grey in his hair. He was about her age, maybe a couple of years older, and definitely someone she would have given a second glance if they had passed one another on the street.

She’s never look at him and think, ‘This is the man who will breathe life back into me,” because before Brendan, she refuses to think that way about any man.

Thanks for sharing about Uncover Me! But, I also want to know more about the Carried Away series. In the first book, the protagonist, Grace, is all about misbehaving around the office—until she finds out that her boss, Taureau, has been watching her on hidden cameras. He asks her to give him a show and she says yes—what about him makes her willing to do it?

She definitely likes to hear him talk lol. As soon as he makes his presence known, he uses the only thing in his arsenal, his voice, to twist her into knots. Aside from the sexy voice, he also manages to convey a potent amount of confidence for someone who has been scarred physically and emotionally, and at the same time Grace recognizes his loneliness: he’s reaching out not just because he liked to watch her but because he likes her and wants to get to know her at a safe distance.

‘You’re not married.’ It was a statement, not a question.

She shrugged. ‘I prefer my independence.’

‘As do I. Some people just don’t get it, do they? Like the mother you were talking to earlier. She doesn’t understand why someone would choose to be alone.’

‘I don’t –’ She caught herself before she could tell him she didn’t choose to be alone. She simply was alone, because that was the life she had made. She had very few regrets, and when she did they were fleeting.

‘I have people in my life like that,’ he said, and laughed. It was a cynical sound he seemed to cover up after a moment. ‘Though I suppose it would be absurd to compare our situations, wouldn’t it? There’s a big difference between thriving on constant activity like you do and . . . well, me. Still, there’s something to be said for solitude, isn’t there, Miss Neely?’

I’m a sucker for a good voice, so this is right up my alley. 🙂 I’m also tickled that Taureau sends a stand-in man while he’s away (Grace is one lucky girl). Can you tell us more about Simon? Has he always been such a great…um…assist for his boss?

Oh, Simon. Le sigh. He’s the guy who made the series a series. I couldn’t just let him get away. *I* wanted to know more. There’s so much going on with Simon that the reader won’t get more than a hint at until the final book when I tell his story. He’s Taureau’s oldest friend in addition to being his stand-in (in and out of Grace’s bed) and seems content to do so, but there’s so much more to him than I show in the first two books.

Love that! Also, I noticed this series has alternate POVs in each book—but at the same location. Did you plan this from the start? I remember seeing on Facebook that you weren’t originally planning a series—what made you choose this route rather than a progression?

The Deep End, the first book, was supposed to be a one-shot deal. Grace and Taureau’s story began and ended in that book, but as I was writing Quinn and Molly’s story next, guess who crashed the party? Simon Reeve. Rather than chase him off, I just let him in on the fun (and what fun it is …)

So, in short, I chased Simon through three books. I grabbed him and shook him and asked “WHO ARE YOOOOOUUU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH MEEEEE?” Apparently the answer is that he wanted his happy ending, too.

Apparently! So…what was the most exciting part of writing this series?

Definitely revisiting old characters. The thrill started when Simon appeared in Holding My Breath, and continued as I said hello to Taureau and Grace again in Breaking Through. The latter was quite special, as I was able to delve a little deeper into Taureau and Simon’s bromance and look at how they supported one another beyond what Grace observes in The Deep End. As well, readers get a glimpse of where Quinn and Molly ended up after their HEA.

Of all of these characters, who was your favorite to write, and why?

While Simon is my special little pet, Jacques was definitely my favourite to write. For one, I had no idea who he was when I started The Deep End, I only knew that I was writing a book and also the most alpha male I’d ever conceived. I discovered how strong he was and how sensitive he could be. It was so interesting to watch him through Grace’s eyes and watch him struggle and conquer over and over again, and coming back to him in Breaking Through to see how he’s doing was a treat for me.

**I heard you had awesome photos for real places in The Deep End. When can we see them?**

The Deep End takes place in the fictional Convent House, not far from Shediac, New Brunswick. Technically 😉 I picked this location primarily because I love driving through it, but as for the actual Convent House, it’s a few hours away in Avondale, Nova Scotia, and it’s really The Mission House. Check out this link to see the inspiration the hideaway Jacques brings to when their digital affair ends and things get physical between them.

That is gorgeous! Wow! Okay…now I think it’s time for everyone to learn a little more about you! Let’s talk process—do you tend to work on one story at a time, or do you have your hands dirtied (heh) with many projects all at once?

If I’m not contracted on anything, I’m usually plotting about five potential projects, but once I settle on something and it’s on, it’s on. I don’t write linear, but I wouldn’t say I’m all over the place, either. I kind of look upon my writing process as a jigsaw puzzle: I work in chunks until I get a tidy square to work in, and then I just put the picture together wherever I see a connection.

And the ever-important writer drink question: coffee or something stronger while you work?

No coffee while writing. The only time I do coffee these days is first thing in the morning (and you will pry my morning coffee from my cold, dead hands). While I’m writing, it’s going to be good old black tea.

You just won a ticket to fly wherever you want to write for a month, all expenses paid! Where do you go?

Nope, nope, nope, nope. No writing on vacation. This is one of my rules: if I go away, all work ceases. Why waste a perfectly good vacation on work? So give me your money and send me to the south of France, and damn well expect me to come back with a tan and a twenty year-old toy boy named Pascal.

**Please be sure to tell me all about that. In the meantime, what are you reading right now, and what do you prefer to read?**

I’m on a non-fiction kick right now, which is the first time this has happened in a long time. I’m reading all about the public enemies of the depression era South & Midwest – Bonnie and Clyde, Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, etc. I also just finished the absolutely wonderful Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen, about Captain Hook in Neverland. Highly recommended!

I never know what’s going to catch my eye, or what’s going to surprise me, so I’ll pretty much give anything a shot.

Fair enough. Now, final question—because I’m a fiend—what’s your favorite candy?

Reese’s Peanut Butter cups (do people actually pick something other than Reese when asked this question?). Actually, put peanut butter and chocolate together in any scenario and I’m happy. Ice cream? Bring it. Cheesecake? Oh yeah. Slathered all over Nick Youngquest’s naked body? Come to meeeee.

*Snort.* Okay, do you all see why I love A.M. Hartnett? I’m just so happy to have had her here. And now, she’s passed along a sexy excerpt and blurb for Uncover Me!

Excerpt

Fuckable, he’d said.

She felt fuckable. The insides of her thighs were slicker than ever and her clit throbbed with need. She wanted to bring the house down with him pounding her.

Once inside she led the way, following the orange glow to her bedroom where she had left the light on. He nudged her over the threshold and, as she shrugged out of her coat, she heard the click of the bedroom door locking.

Such a strange thing to do, she thought, and then she realised that the small sound represented her willing captivity. The closed door barred them from the outside world. In this room, in this tidy little box with its white walls and splashes of colour, with the imposing bed beckoning her, she was his fantasy and he was hers.

She turned and found Brendan leaning against the door. His dark eyes glittered beneath his heavy lids. ‘Take it all off. Slowly.’

‘No cameras?’

‘Maybe later. Right now I don’t particularly feel like sharing.’ He reached up and loosened his tie. ‘Strip.’

Carrie turned her back on him. The descent of her zipper from the middle of her back to her ass seemed to take for ever. Goose flesh rose as she wriggled out of it. Behind her came the sinful whisper of his clothes being peeled away from his body, then the crinkle of a condom wrapper.

The urge to turn around and look at him made her ache as she unhooked her bra. She tossed it aside and placed her hands on her hips, waiting.

He came up behind her and from the corner of her eye she saw the flash of red. He had her paddle in his hand. She suppressed a shudder.

‘I want you on the bench at the end of the bed. On your knees, grasping the footboard. Show me your ass.’

‘Brendan?’

He scraped his teeth against the curve of her shoulder. ‘Carrie.’

‘Remember what I said about pain.’

‘I remember.’ His fingertips dug in. ‘But you want a little, don’t you? You bought this. I won’t hurt you. Trust me. Go on.’

Trust me.

In her head, she heard his voice chant this over and over as she did what she had been told.

Blurb

There’s a heart inside every fantasy.

The photos are becoming a compulsion for Carrie. As soon as she wakes up, she feels the need to engage with the readers of her erotic website, Dirty Pictures. No matter how hard she tries to focus on her real life the need is always there. The high is knowing that men desire her.

One day a comment on her erotic website makes Carrie go cold: one of her readers, Brendan, has recognised a landmark in the window of one of her pictures. Brendan knows where to find her and has sent a tantalising private message. His invitation to play was so tempting in no time at all, in a variety of settings, their sensual adventures become wild. Her sexual and emotional reawakening reaches peaks she never imagined possible.

But Carrie finds it difficult to treat their relationship as casual. Terrified of heartbreak, she breaks off her affair with Brendan. Her previous relationship left her in tatters and she’s too scared to take such a chance again. Brendan endured a broken marriage so she’s not alone in her confusion and reticence. But can Carrie ever hope to be more than his fantasy girl?

Buy Links

Uncover Me

The Deep End (Book 1 of the Carried Away Series)

Holding My Breath ( Book 2 of the Carried Away Series)

Want to know more about AM Hartnett?

You can find her at : www.amhartnett.com

Thanks so much for joining us and sharing, Annemarie! I encourage everyone to check out all three of these books!

XX,
Jade

An Interview with Malin James

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For the Love of Boots By Xan West

An Excerpt from “My Will”

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Hi Kristina! Thank you so much for joining us. I am so excited about Undone! It sounds positively divine. I’d like to start by asking some questions about the book. Tell us about your inspiration for the main character, Lana.

Nice. You always go so much deeper, which is what I love about your work! Speaking of, the plot of this book is classic dark, transgressive, edgy KL style: a naughty threesome goes horribly awry. (Or does it?) Where did you come up with this idea?

Phew! 🙂 So, without giving away too much, will you tell us a little about how this threesome sparks? One was a customer in the bar, right? What about the other man? And how did they end up jumping on this hot fantasy adventure?

“Ownership of her sexuality”—this pleases me. As does Lana’s apparent vintage handcuff collection! Um, more deets on that, please. (Bonus if you have pics.)

*Grins.* All right, can you tell us your favorite character to write in this story and why?

If you could take any of them out to hang in Lana’s bar, who would you pick?

Speaking of the bar…what’s Lana’s drink of choice?

Now, I know you’ve expressed some worry over the spoiler potential of this book. Did you want to say anything more on that here?

Excellent points, and I 100% agree. Keep working your magic, Kristina! Now it’s time to move on to some more personal questions. I would describe your stories as erotic thrillers—did you always write erotica, or did you start in the thriller genre (or some other genre) first?

So are you a plotter or do you fly wild when you write?

Tell us about your writing process. Where do you do it? Do you work on one project at a time, or many?

What’s your favorite genre to read, and what are you reading now?

I used to devour those myself—I was an Erica Spindler fiend! But back to your thrilling and sexy book—say Lana makes you a drink. What’s your pick?

And last but not least—the inescapable question when you’re hanging with me—what’s your favorite candy?

Here’s the blurb:

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Step into My Fantasy

Here’s a snip from Wrapped Around Your Finger:

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The Exclusive Sandy Interview

Oh, Sandy, Sandy, Sandy…thank you so much for joining me, and for answering all my questions. Let us begin…with where you started. How long have you been a Dom, and how did you get into the lifestyle?

So tell me—what about the lifestyle most appeals to you?

And when you meet a new sub that you know you must connect with, what’s the first thing that goes through your mind?

[Catching my breath.] Um, Sandy, do you prefer a switch or a pure sub? Or does it even matter?

Let’s say you could freeze a moment of your connection with your subs, Vanessa and Rem, in a photograph. What would it be? And would it be in black and white or color, and why?

Wow. Your words are one of your greatest, most entrancing traits. Of all the things you’ve said to Vanessa, Jake, and Rem (or any other sub over the years), what have you said that has elicited the strongest response (in your opinion)?

[Gulping.] So…what’s your favorite: paddle, belt, flogger, quirt, crop, or…?

All right. You can take Rem and Vanessa anywhere for as long as you want. Where do you go, and why?

You rarely blush. What would make you blush, if anything?

True. Now, Vanessa and Rem would do anything to please you because you care so much for them. If you were to come home to the sweetest surprise from them—they anticipated exactly what you’d want without you needing to articulate it—what would it be?

Oh Sandy…I’m sorry to say it’s time for our final question. What is your deepest desire—in ten words or less?

About Alison Tyler:

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So, let’s start with Uncover Me, which was just released last month. I love that the book has such a fun exhibitionist premise. Carrie Thorn is an exhibitionist with a capital E—she likes to take naughty photos and post them on a blog. What inspired her character?

Tell us more about Carrie’s blog—is she no holds barred or constantly getting wilder with her pics? How did you come up with such an idea? (It’s fabulous.)

What is Carrie’s favorite photo posted on her blog?

Hot. Brendan sounds like the perfect partner for Carrie’s kink. Can you tell us a little about the moment they meet (without giving it all away, of course)?

Now I’m curious…if Carrie met Brendan while speed dating, would she find him as intriguing as she does when he finds out her secret?

I’m a sucker for a good voice, so this is right up my alley. 🙂 I’m also tickled that Taureau sends a stand-in man while he’s away (Grace is one lucky girl). Can you tell us more about Simon? Has he always been such a great…um…assist for his boss?

Love that! Also, I noticed this series has alternate POVs in each book—but at the same location. Did you plan this from the start? I remember seeing on Facebook that you weren’t originally planning a series—what made you choose this route rather than a progression?

Apparently! So…what was the most exciting part of writing this series?

Of all of these characters, who was your favorite to write, and why?

I heard you had awesome photos for real places in The Deep End. When can we see them?

That is gorgeous! Wow! Okay…now I think it’s time for everyone to learn a little more about you! Let’s talk process—do you tend to work on one story at a time, or do you have your hands dirtied (heh) with many projects all at once?

And the ever-important writer drink question: coffee or something stronger while you work?

You just won a ticket to fly wherever you want to write for a month, all expenses paid! Where do you go?

Please be sure to tell me all about that. In the meantime, what are you reading right now, and what do you prefer to read?

Fair enough. Now, final question—because I’m a fiend—what’s your favorite candy?

Excerpt

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For the Love of Boots
By Xan West

Grins. All right, can you tell us your favorite character to write in this story and why?

**I heard you had awesome photos for real places in The Deep End. When can we see them?**

**Please be sure to tell me all about that. In the meantime, what are you reading right now, and what do you prefer to read?**