Author Archives: Nicola Cameron
Marvelous Monday Reads: Bedroom Bully
Welcome to Marvelous Monday Reads, and today I’ll be featuring the newest Romance on the Go story from the prolific Avril Ashton, Bedroom Bully. Here’s what Avril has to say about this unique line of stories:
Romance on the Go is a multi-author series unique to Evernight Publishing. Our readers have busy lives. Sometimes there just isn’t enough time to engage in a novel but an escape into romance is still desired. We offer our readers a collection of short stories that can be read during work breaks, on the bus, in the waiting room, or before bed.
Sometimes a woman needs more than a gentle touch…
El Lively needs to be punished and after more than a few auditions, she’s found the perfect man for the job. Her body is up for grabs. Not her heart, and definitely not her secrets, but Jud has other ideas.
Jud Kincaid agrees to El’s more-than-indecent proposal, but he’s after more than the physical. He wants an explanation for her sexual kinks, and a way into her heart. El’s being stubborn, but lucky for Jud, he’s just signed on to be her own personal Bedroom Bully.
Story Excerpt
“Why choking?”
Her throat worked. It took a while, but she finally answered in a voice so low, he had to lean forward to catch the words. “It’s the only way I can get aroused. The way I can reach climax.” Wringing her wrists, she looked away.
Jud stared at her, at the forlorn expression on her face. He recalled the shame and pain in her eyes when she’d made her proposal. “Remove the scarf.” He made his voice hard, harsh, issuing the command that brooked nothing other than immediate compliance.
She obeyed, but didn’t look at him. Despite her skin color, he had no problem seeing the thick dark bruise that wrapped all the way around her neck like a collar. He got to his feet and went to her, dropping on his knees when she made room for him.
“What made this?” He touched her skin with the pad of a hesitant finger.
She inhaled sharply. “Leather belt.” She shook violently. “He buckled it around me and pulled.” Her voice dropped to a thin thread of sound, shuddering. “He pulled on it as I sucked him, as he fucked me.”
He cursed viciously.
“No. I wanted it. It’s what I want, Jud. It’s what I need.”
“Fuck.” He palmed her throat lightly. She trembled for him, wide eyes holding him in place. He applied a little pressure. “This, Elliot? This is what you want?”
“Yes.” She hissed and shifted, legs falling open. He got a whiff of it, her arousal, wafting to him from her parted thighs. “Jud.”
He squeezed her again, harder this time. Her pupils dilated. “I’ve decided to take you up on your proposal, Elliot.”
The pulse under his palm galloped. Her scent grew deeper, sharper. He leaned forward and nuzzled her cheek, ignoring his own hard dick pressing against his zipper. There’d be some marks on his flesh later, no doubt.
“I’ll give you what you need,” he whispered to her, loving the way she shuddered. “Only me,” he growled, “no one else.”
Where to Buy
Evernight Publishing
All Romance Ebooks
Amazon.com
About Avril Ashton
A Caribbean transplant, Avril now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a tolerant spousal equivalent. Together they raise an eccentric daughter who loves reading and school (not so much school anymore). Avril’s earliest memories of reading revolve around discussing the plot points of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys with an equally book-minded mother.
Always in love with the written word, Avril finally decided to do the writing in August of ’09 and never looked back. Spicy love scenes, delicious heroes, and wicked women burn up the pages of Avril’s stories, but there’ll always be a happy ending; Av remains a believer of love in all its forms.
Addicted to cake, the ID Channel and the UFC, Avril writes Erotic and GLBT Romance for Ellora’s Cave, Evernight Publishing, eXtasy Books, Secret Cravings Publishing and Total-e-Bound.
Where to find Avril Ashton
Evernight Publishing at the Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up Conference
BOOYAH! I just found out that Evernight Publishing will be advertising new or recent GLBT titles at the Gay Romance Northwest Meet-up Conference, and one of the titles will be HIS: Manlove Edition with my story “In His Name.”
So if you’re in the Seattle area and enjoy gay romance, you may be interested in attending this shindig, to be help at the Seattle Central Public Library. I wish there was some way I could attend and help promote the antho, but barring a sudden Lotto win I can only say go, it’ll be nifty!
Houston, We Have Cover Art!
COMING AUGUST 15th
Strength. Power. Experience. There’s nothing like a man who knows how to get what he wants, both in and out of the bedroom. And these dominant alphas want nothing more than to please and possess the men they love. No kink is too risqué as these men ensure their lovers never want to be anywhere but under their command.
Come and find out how good it feels to be HIS.
HIS: Manlove Edition includes my short story “In His Name.”
After his late-blooming sexuality prompts a crisis of faith, Father Sean Halloran is placed on sabbatical to reconsider his vocation. Taking a job at a homeless shelter, Sean is determined to rededicate himself to celibacy and return to the priesthood.
There’s only one problem: Matt McCormick, the authoritative shelter manager who has begun to haunt Sean’s dreams and challenge his ideas of what it means to serve God. Now, Sean must choose between a life of celibate service, or the possibility of love with another man.
Fabulous Friday Reads: Dark Hunter
Welcome to the weekend, and let’s kick it off with the new paranormal erotic romance Dark Hunter from Shannan Albright, now available from Evernight Publishing and other purveyors of fine erotic romance.
Vampire Mari Ankamunan struggles to pick up the pieces of her life after her bar The Asp becomes a war zone between the Enforcers and members of the Preservation Society, who want all dark breeds wiped out. The sudden appearance of the only man she ever loved brings her world to a crashing halt, for she witnessed his brutal murder two thousand years ago.
Navar’s spoken oaths to his Sire cost him Mari. Torn from her side by the sidhe queen, he is her Hunter, delivering justice for crimes against the breeds. Now freed he returns to his lovers side only to be caught in a dark plot where Mari is targeted for death.
The stakes are high, can they uncover a deadly plot against the Enforcers or will Navar lose Mari, forever by an assassin’s hand?
Story Excerpt
“I will do everything in my power to protect her, even lay down my life if it comes to that.” Navar’s words rang in the still air, spoken as an oath.
“Marcus will be relieved to find out Mari is well protected. I know after the incident with the Preservation Society, he has been concerned for her safety. Someday you must tell me how you secured your release.”
Mari blinked at the two men, feeling left out of the loop in the XY-chromosome chat. Males. Can’t live without them and can’t kill them. Irritation spiked into the red zone, her patience threadbare for the bullshit. Placing her diminutive self between the two towering males, she gave them both a fearless glare and fisted her hands on her hips.
All conversation stopped as they stared down at her with surprise. Good, now she had their attention. “I’ve been alive since the time of Cleopatra. I didn’t survive all those centuries by being a fucking weak female. I can fight, strategize, and I damn well have enough intellect in this ‘girly’ brain to figure out what I need to do to save my own hide, thank you very much. Now, if you don’t mind talking to me, not about me, it would be appreciated and might save your ball sacs from relocating somewhere north on your body. Are we clear, boys?”
Adrian threw his head back and roared a large rolling laugh that reverberated throughout the room. She blinked in surprise. She’d never once seen any enforcer laugh. Sure, they smiled, chuckled, and even smirked, but never laughed. She found it…disconcerting.
“Point taken. You will have your hands full with this little hellion, hunter. I don’t envy you.”
“Little hellion indeed. Yet well worth the extra trouble,” Navar agreed, his pale eyes darkening with hunger.
Where to Buy
Evrnight Publishing
Amazon
All Romance Ebooks
Bookstrand
About Shannan Albright
Growing up I was called the dreamer of the family, something not always thought of as a positive thing. As a child, I would draw and build stories around my pictures, so writing was a natural extension for me. Recently a family member told me that from now on she would encourage those dreamers she knew. Stating “with hard work and focus dreams can come true. Shannan Albright is proof that dreaming can be a positive thing.”
When not writing I spend my time between oil painting and reading. I love writing paranormal, urban fantasy, historical and fantasy romances because of the world building and rich characters I feel a connection to. I’m drawn to dark, edgy heroes and heroines overcoming impossible odds internal and external.
I’m a “hopeful” Romantic who believes a healthy relationship built on respect and a strong partnership is the key to a happy ever after.
Where to Find Shannan Albright
Nicola’s Sunday Shoutout: Tamsin Baker
Today’s Sunday Shoutout goes to Aussie Tamsin Baker, whose sexy new book Healed Hearts (Third Bite, Book 3) is now available from Evernight Publishing and other retailers of fine erotic romance. Lovers of ménage stories and sexy vampires, you are in for a treat!
Lucas and Thomas believed themselves unusually blessed to have found their third mate within only three hundred years of being a vampire. Unfortunately, once they turned Piers, that empty, lonely feeling is still there, within all of them.
Ten years of strained relations lead them to a ball where an old friend helps them track down a woman they have all dreamt of.
Maryanne has been thrown out of London in punishment for allowing her fiancé into her bed. She is traveling to meet her new horrid husband-to-be, when she is accosted by three male vampires, all claiming to want to love her.
What is a shamed lady meant to do? Her duty? To marry the horrible old lord, or risk loving three men who are the answer to her prayers?
Story Excerpt
“Tommy, I want you to drain me. I like your bite better.”
Thomas smiled, his eyes, an identical brown to Lucas’s, lighting up at the thought.
Lucas pinched him gently in reprimand.
“And what about me? You don’t love my bite?”
Piers reached out both of his hands, and his mates took one each. A bolt shot through him, pure pleasure. Nothing felt as good to him in this world as being connected to his two men, but it was still there. A loneliness, an ache. Something that did not feel quite right, but tonight they were going to change that.
“I want to drink your blood, Luc. Perhaps I will get some of your strength.” He joked, though they all knew he was partly serious. He hated being so much weaker than his mates.
Lucas leaned forward and dropped the sweetest kiss on his lips, and Piers felt his cock swell. These men aroused him like no others ever had.
“You don’t need some of my strength. You have all of it, Piers. I will love and protect you forever.”
Piers gripped the two hands he held tighter. He was ready.
“Tommy, I love you. Bite me.”
He tilted his head away and waited for the sweet pinch.
Thomas bit gently into Piers’s neck, and his heart sang with happiness. He moaned as Thomas continued to drink, far past the usual stopping point.
Death was nearing. Piers could feel a cold hand gripping his heart.
Lucas pressed his warm wrist to Piers’s open mouth.
“Drink, my love.”
Piers felt the pull of death dragging him down, but the hands that held him, anchored him in the real world. He extended his tongue and tasted sweet, thick blood. Slightly metallic, yet so addictive. He moaned as his body began to regain its strength. He attached more firmly onto Luc’s wrist and drank as much of the blood as he could swallow.
Heat flames licked along his legs and arms, and his chest swelled with power and blood.
He opened his eyes and saw his mates. They looked exactly the same. Well that was all right, he supposed. He gripped their hands tighter and smiled as he searched his feelings.
Oh my God!
“It’s still there!” He jumped off the bed and glared at his mates.
“We don’t understand … how?” Lucas looked at Thomas, who looked equally perplexed.
Anger, pure and unforgiving, poured through Piers. How could they do this to him?
“I will never forgive you for this.”
Where To Buy
Evernight Publishing
Amazon
Bookstrand
All Romance Books
About Tamsin Baker
Tamsin Baker is an Aussie girl who only found erotic romance about ten months ago. Before that she read sexy romance, skipping the plot looking for the ‘good bits.’ Since then she have written and obtained 14 contracts of varying lengths with erotic romance and erotica. She absolutely LOVES reading and writing it! She have two other jobs, kids and a hubby too, but writing is a passion that she has to indulge, for fear of insanity.
M/M is a passion of hers so even in her menage stories, there is always M/M. Female domme is a fun one to write too, but she is open to all genres. One step at a time she is learning to read more and write more. Soon she’ll have stories published in every sub genre of erotic romance – or that is her aim anyway.
Where To Find Tamsin Baker
Fabulous Friday Reads: A Secret Love
We’re kicking off this weekend with the sexy new Romance on the Go story A Secret Love from Douglas Black. Douglas was kind enough to send along some backstory on his new book, as well as three things that nobody knows about him — until now!
Thank you so much for having me over to talk about my new release, ‘A Secret Love’. ‘A Secret Love’ is a short, steamy M/M tale and is a story I just had to tell. I completed a first draft in just one day, but it took me months before I looked back over the manuscript and got it ready to submit to a publisher. To my delight, Evernight Publishing quickly picked up my story, and released it as part of their Romance On The Go Range on the 11th of July.
- After being forced by his grandfather to eat a fistful of the stuff straight out of the ground as a child, Douglas Black avoided flat-leaf parsley for over ten years. He continues to look on the herb with a lingering sense of dread.
- At the tender (perhaps not to some!) age of thirteen Douglas Black had his first ever encounter with a bottle of vodka. Ten years later, after a long evening in a Polish vodka bar, Douglas decided that he had had his last.
- Douglas Black is firmly of the opinion that, if Hell does exist, there will be a special place reserved there for whichever fool decided to cancel ‘Deadwood’.
James is nervous when he pulls into the car park of the secluded and conservative Caledonian Hotel. He slips off his wedding ring, gives a false name at reception and checks into his room.
When Mark finally arrives James expects their time together to conform to the usual pattern, but Mark surprises him. Mark wants candlelit dinners and walks on the beach. James, well, James just wants to make up for lost time. More importantly, he doesn’t want to get caught. They have six months left before they can leave behind everything they know and start a new life together and James is desperate to be discreet. Unfortunately, he never could control himself around Mark. Throw in an interfering old couple and some very public displays of affection and Mark and James’s short hotel stay might just be about to destroy not only the secrecy that has always shrouded their relationship, but also their plans for a future together.
Story Excerpt
Mark returned the kiss passionately. James trembled in his arms. Tension coursed through his body and he could feel it mirrored in Mark’s. He could almost taste the other man’s nerves in his kiss. James savoured Mark’s strong arms around him. He pushed his hands inside Mark’s suit jacket and clung to the warm, toned body underneath. The body was so familiar despite the amount of time that had passed since their last meeting.
“God I’ve missed you,” James said when he finally pulled away. Mark was breathless and didn’t respond at first, but the sexy, playful smile on his lips told James everything he needed to know. James took his hands and led him further into the room.
It was a large suite with living area and a huge bathroom. Mark swung a new sports bag, bright orange and emblazoned with sponsorship logos, off his shoulder and dumped it onto one of the two couches. He paused momentarily, reaching into his suit pocket.
James watched as Mark pulled out his phone and turned it off without checking for messages. He waited patiently until Mark had tucked it safely into his bag and smiled at him when he had finished. “Difficult getting away this time?” he asked.
Mark nodded. “I left as soon as I could. I was so scared I was going to miss the flight. I’m sorry it had to be mid-week this time. Will you get in trouble at work?”
“I have the flu.”
Mark smirked. “You look perfectly healthy to me.”
“It came on all of a sudden,” James said, closing the space between them. “Unexpected. Probably be gone in a few days. You know how these things are.” Mark nodded and James slipped into his arms once more. With his head on Mark’s shoulder, he turned to whisper against the other man’s neck. “I wouldn’t have been able to stand it if you had missed the flight, if you had cancelled. It’s been so long. It’s always so long.”
Where to Buy
Evernight Publishing
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Bookstrand
All Romance Ebooks
About Douglas Black
Douglas Black was born and raised in bonnie Scotland. He started writing erotica as a means of paying the bills when he was a student at university, but after graduation he found he no longer had the time to write. Over the summer of 2012, Black picked up a pen once more. After a brief, successful flirtation with self-publishing, Black’s novella ‘Business or Pleasure’ was picked up and released in April 2013. It quickly made the publisher’s best-sellers list. Douglas Black’s short story, ‘A Secret Love’, was published in July 2013 by Evernight Publishing.
Where to Find Douglas Black
Fabulous Friday Reads: Taming Dru
We’re kicking off this weekend with the fabulous new erotic romance Taming Dru from Nikki Prince. Here’s Nikki!
First of all thanks so much for having me here. I had so much fun writing this story. Taming Dru is my first foray into a female/female experience and I’m quite pleased with it. The story at first was supposed to be a male/female story and then the next thing I know the characters were calling out for it to be different. I’m glad it was. I don’t think it could have been written any other way in fact I know it couldn’t be. Drusilla is a character that needed a softer hand to take her to task and Flora was that for her. You’ll see what I mean in the excerpt…now by softer I don’t mean necessarily that she’s gentler than a guy would be when being a Domme…but I mean by beaning that feminine touch that Drusilla craves even when Drusilla doesn’t realize it.
Once Upon a Dream, 4
Drusilla Trumane has been a naughty girl. Flora LeBeau knows just what to do to tame the beast.
When beauties Drusilla Trumane and Flora LeBeau meet, the only thing beastly is Dru’s behavior. But Domme Flora has just the cure for that.
Drusilla’s ghastly attitude may have alienated her from her sisters, but Flora sees beneath the façade to the hurt woman beneath. Refusing to be turned away by her snide comments and bitchy attitude, Flora continues to bring the haughty woman to her knees, showing her at every turn she knows what she needs.
Desperate to retreat to the safety her walls provide, Dru agrees to allow Flora one night. Will twenty-four hours be enough to get the other woman out of her mind and her heart?
Story Excerpt
“I get it. You’re in denial.”
Flora was twirling the ball gag around in her fingers, all the while the expression on her face was one of extreme contentment and confidence.
“In denial about what?” Drusilla frowned.
“What you desire, my girl.”
“And just what would that be? You’ve known me all of what, ten minutes?”
“Oh I know exactly what you want and what you need. Hell, anyone within a few feet of you could tell what you want and smell what you’re thinking.” The grin that Flora shot Drusilla pissed her off.
“You don’t know me, nor do you know what I want or even need.”
“When’s the last time you came to an image of a man, if you ever have.”
She gasped. “What kind of fucking question is that?”
“An honest one that I want the answer to, petite amie.”
“That’s none of your fucking business.”
“We’re back to that?”
“Yes, we’re back to that, and you better not try to use that shit on me.”
“Oh, I love a challenge. You’re going to find that out rather quickly.”
Before Drusilla could react, Flora was in her lap, straddling her in the chair. She pressed against her, tangling her fingers into Drusilla’s hair and tugging.
In shock Drusilla just stared at Flora. Flora pulled her head close with a tug of her hair. Like a deer stuck in the headlights, Drusilla could only watch as Flora pressed their mouths together, and then she was lost. Oh fuck.
She moaned softly into Flora’s mouth as the other woman nibbled at her bottom lip, then licked it, teasing her tongue into her mouth. Flora tasted of warmth and cinnamon. Spicy and sweet. Her scent was just as delicious. She smelled of freshly cut roses. She was fragrant and delectable. Drusilla’s head fell back against the chair, and she gasped for breath. She was breathing just as crazy as Flora had said. That brought her back to her senses, and she started struggling.
In a split second, her hands were wrapped up in the bondage tape and pulled up above her head and held against the wall that the chair rested against. She struggled and found that she couldn’t free herself.
Flora had fucking put her hands up against the wall on some sort of hook that held her snuggly in place, and she was unable to free herself. Shit, who knew that the petite woman was strong. Looks were definitely deceiving. God, why did she like what she was doing to her. She’d soaked her panties.
“Now if you’re going to be a good girl, I won’t tie you the rest of the way up.”
“Get off of me and let me fucking go.”
“Wrong answer, kitten.”
She couldn’t kick out because the other woman was sitting in her lap. She was arched in a way that even if the other woman got off of her, there wasn’t much she could do to free herself. The only thing she could do was rock back and forth trying to get her off her lap. It didn’t work.
Flora snickered and pulled on her hair, arching her head back.
“Still think I can’t subdue you, kitten? I suggest you put away your claws and play nice, or I’m going to gag you.”
Drusilla glared at her. “You wouldn’t fucking dare.”
“You’ve already seen what I would dare. That should tell you I’d dare so much more.”
Flora got off her lap with a chuckle and grabbed one of her legs, locking it into the cuff that was at the bottom of the chair. A cuff Dru hadn’t seen until now. Fuck. Flora gave the other leg the same attention.
Standing back to her full height, Flora had her hands on her hips, the ball gag still hanging from one hand.
“So tell me what wouldn’t I dare to do again?”
“I—” her words were cut off as the ball gag was shoved into her mouth and the strap placed over her head.
“I like it much better when you’re quiet, kitten. You roar so fiercely but inside you’re a cuddly little cat needing to be stroked.” Flora stroked her finger against her cheek, and Drusilla tried to flinch away.
“That’s okay, kitty cat. I’m going to enjoy taming you.”
Flora turned towards the door that had opened, and Drusilla saw Anastasia enter. Shit. This was all she needed, her sister seeing her tied up like a trussed-up goose.
Where to Buy
Evernight Publishing
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Bookstrand
All Romance Ebooks
About Nikki Prince
Nikki Prince is a mother of two, who’s always had a dream to be a published author in the romance genre. Her passion lies in raising her children as readers, gaming, cooking, reading and her writing. Her mother can now breathe easy about the child who used to get in trouble because she was hiding books everywhere and reading when it wasn’t appropriate.
Nikki’s a multi-published author with several epublishing houses. She loves to write Interracial romances in all genres, but wants to let everyone know to not box her in, because there is always room for growth.
Nikki’s also a member of Romance Writers of America National chapter (http://www.rwa.org) and OCC/RWA local chapter (http://www.occrwa.org) and is a member of the board as Co-Programs Director. She is also a member of the online chapter Passionate Ink RWA.
Where to Find Nikki Prince
Wicked Wednesday Reads: Release Me
It’s time once again to help you over your Hump Day and spice up your week with a tasty Romance on the Go entry from Evernight Publishing. This week, Iyana Jenna’s Release Me finds unexpected love on the waves — and with love, comes danger. Check out the excerpt below for a teaser!
Thank you so much, Nicola, for the chance to visit your blog. I’m so excited that my first ever Romance on the Go book will come out on June 28 from Evernight Publishing.
Taking a break from dealing with his father’s clients on legal matters, Nicholas Haynes went out to the sea on his yacht—only to find a man floating in the water. The man was still alive, much to Nicholas’s relief.
Gregory Phillip was a private investigator and his last job almost turned him into fish food if not for Nicholas. Little did he know that the main suspect in his case was one of Nicholas’ father’s clients. When Nicholas insisted on taking care of Gregory after the incident that almost killed him, can he trust Nicholas enough with his life?
Story Excerpt
Stanley Haynes threw the newspaper, and it landed with a slap on Nicholas’s plate. The headlines blared at Nicholas as though his father had shouted at him.
Heir to US Banking Chain Wedded?
“You ever plan to tell us about this, Nicholas?”
Nicholas glanced briefly at his mother sitting across from him, but she kept stirring the cooling coffee in her cup. Nicholas could see a smile flicker in her eyes. He shrugged.
“Come on, Dad. You know it was impossible for me to talk about it before everything was done.”
“Are you saying you don’t trust me, or your mom—” Stanley threw a glance at his wife, and his eyes widened. “You knew about this?”
She threw her hands up.
“God, no, honey. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“All right, all right.” Stanley took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Is it that Phillips guy?”
“Of course. Who else?” Nicholas grinned.
His mother went back to stirring her coffee. Her voice was calm when she asked, “When was it, Nicholas? How come both of us didn’t know anything about it?”
“A moment after Greg was released from the hospital.”
“Wow. That fast?”
Nicholas chuckled. “Yeah. Now you can’t accuse me of being a playboy anymore.”
“That’s good, dear.” His mother took his hand, and Nicholas squeezed hers gently. “So those journalists—they just found out the other day?”
“They’ve just seen this ring, that’s all.” Nicholas lifted his left hand and eyed the simple platinum band around his ring finger. Gregory had exactly the same kind of ring around his finger.
****
A month earlier
It was the lulling sounds of the waves and the gentle breeze above the vast, boundless ocean that Nicholas loved most. He could spend days, even weeks, drifting seemingly without any course and purpose on his boat, all by himself. After months dealing with his father’s clients about legal matters, he was always desperate for some time alone. Sometimes he just couldn’t understand why he had to work twice as hard as the other employees in his father’s bank when he was his only son. However, most of the time, he just couldn’t see it any other way. His father was not the type to want to spoil his family. Everyone had to earn what life had given to them. Nobody was allowed to simply ask and receive.
Today, though, he ended up not alone.
Where to Buy
About Iyana Jenna
Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.
Iyana loves kitties. Right now she has five of them. Their names are Larva, Nyil, Cil, Mermood, and Horus. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.
Iyana laughs teaching. She teaches English and her students range from elementary school kids to college students to employees. She enjoys working with them all. Teaching is so much fun for her.
Where to Find Iyana Jenna
Nicola’s Sunday Shoutout: London Saint James
Today’s Sunday Shoutout goes to London Saint James, whose second volume of deliciously sexy tales is now available in Dark Tales Diaries: Volume 2 from Evernight Publishing. Make sure you check out Dark Tales Diaries: Volume One as well!
Blackthorn Printing made a splash in the publishing world with the introduction of Dark Tales Diaries, yet despite his efforts, Tristan Blackthorn isn’t any closer to finding the woman he seeks. Unwilling to give up on his lost love, his search for Keira continues in Volume Two.
A voyeuristic moment leads an astronomy professor and his assistant to a steamy endeavor on The Observation Deck.
An invitation for cocktails has the reclusive woman who lives in 204-B pondering why the handsome, wealthy owner of her building would invite her to anything. Does she have enough guts to go to The Top Floor?
And a Maestro strikes the right cord with a young and talented cellist who is trying to find her passion.
Story Excerpt
“Come on, Tristan,” Keira said, giggling playfully as she shut her diary.
“What new story have you added? One of love? Intrigue? A tale of the forbidden?” I inquired while eyeing the leather bound book.
Keira laid it aside, and rose to her feet. “I’ll read them to you, someday.”
She slipped out of her white cotton dress, leaving her sandals in the wake of snow-colored material at my feet. I leaned my back against the trunk of the tree, pretending to rest, but in truth, rest was the furthest thing from my mind.
Keira twirled on the ball of her foot, more graceful than any dancer.
“Do that again,” I said.
The sun broke through the leaves on the trees, and set her long raven tresses into brilliant highlights that shimmered in deepened shades of blue-black. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She alone encapsulated perfection, with her small, pert breasts slightly covered by her long hair, and when she moved, the gumdrop point of a pale-pink nipple peeked through some of the strands. She raised her arms above her head, giving me a full view of her extended frame, and did something of a provocative pirouette before turning to face the pond.
Her slender waist gave way to rounded hips that swayed seductively as she tiptoed, nude, toward the edge of the water. She stuck one toe in, and looked at me over her slender shoulder. Her jewel-green eyes penetrated my soul.
Keira twisted her long hair up, and used the dark pieces that fell from her fingers to weave her tresses into a tied-off knot, freeing the canvas of her back. The dappled shade that fell from one of the overhanging branches caressed the curve of her spine like a long lost lover, and in that instant I wanted to kiss the dimples above her heart-shaped ass. The thought stirred up something much more primal.
“Are you coming?” she asked.
When Keira licked the plumpness of her lips, my cock ached for her.
“Definitely,” I said, and stood from my shaded spot under the oak, toeing off my shoes in a hurry, before ridding myself of my shirt and pants.
Once free of my clothing, I bounded toward her. She grinned and jumped before my hand made contact with her arm. I wasted no time, and followed in behind her. Our heads popped to the surface in unison, with her joyous laughter filling the air.
“I bet you can’t catch me,” she taunted in a cutesy voice before diving beneath the murky pool.
I studied the trail of bubbles and waves she made, guessing where she might come up, then made my way onto the grassy bank, crossed over the plank bridge, and hopped into the water off the south bank. When she resurfaced, I snatched her up.
“Got you,” I said, and placed a kiss to her lips.
She wiggled. Her moist mouth left mine. “No fair, Tristan. You were supposed to swim and catch me, not cheat, and wait until I ran out of air.”
“You never outlined the rules. And besides, I play to win.”
Keira, shook her head. Water rolled along her nose, over her parted lips, and down her chin before the wandering drop found its home in the pond.
“I know you do,” she said, rubbing her nose against mine. “That’s one of the things I love about you.”
“What else do you love about me?”
“I’m not telling.”
I placed my lips to her tempting neck, traced a line with the tip of my nose to the end of her ear, and sucked her lobe into my mouth. “What if I persuade you to tell me?”
She moaned my name, and draped her arms around my neck. “Don’t stop doing that, and I might be persuaded.”
Keira wrapped her long legs around my waist. The head of my hard cock slipped between our two intertwined bodies. She pressed herself against me, tighter. Warmth worked its way through my essence as I slid my manhood in-between her parted lower lips. I wanted to explore all of her with my hands, my dick, and my mouth. One hand remained on the back of her slim neck while the other left her lower back to discover the wonder of her ass. Flames, not water lapped at my skin with a desire beyond words.
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About London Saint James
London wrote her first short story in the second grade. Her teacher informed her parents London had a big imagination, but having a big imagination wasn’t necessarily a good thing as far as he was concerned. Without watering that seed of imagination, London placed her vivid characters, her childhood stories, along with her imagination on the shelf, where they would wither for a while. At the urging of her eighth grade English teacher, London pulled her imagination off that shelf, and wrote her second short story. To no surprise, it was a love story inspired by a song. Then as life does, it moves on, so yet again London placed her imagination on the shelf to wither for a while. She needed to do the “sensible thing.”
The sensible thing earned London a degree in Psychology, but while in college she traversed into writing once more, and was encouraged by a couple of professors to pursue that endeavor. She took on the world of written word, and has never looked back.
London writes erotic romance from sweet to downright naughty. She is an author for Evernight Publishing, a member of the Romance Writers of America, and a member of Passionate Ink.
Where to find London Saint James
Why are there no good slang terms for vagina?
One of the fun things about being an erotic romance writer is that you get to write smoldering, pyroclastic sex scenes (if you don’t enjoy writing sex scenes, you probably shouldn’t be writing erotic romance, but that’s a post for another day). And if you lean towards the hotter end of the scale, as I do, you tend to get very descriptive during your smoldering, pyroclastic sex scenes, which means you find yourself using popular slang terms for body parts such as penis, vagina, clitoris, and anus. This is because very few people gets turned on by, “He thrust his penis into her vagina, stimulating her clitoris while she returned the favor by fingering his anus.” (If you do get turned on by this, you might want to check out medical fetish erotica, just a suggestion.)
Luckily, there are a plethora of good slang terms for penis. “Cock” is one of my favorites — it’s hard, punchy, and practically onomatopoeic in its descriptiveness of the male reproductive organ, particularly in an erect state. “Dick” and “prick” are also excellent slang terms for much the same reason. “Balls” are very descriptive of the male gonads, and “sack” an appropriate slang term for the scrotum. All well and good.
But then we turn our questioning gaze to the female reproductive anatomy, and find that acceptable (as in “don’t make you wince”) slang terms for that body part are, well, rather thin on the ground. And in case you think I’m just being picky, it’s not just me who feels this way. Tiffany Reisz, creator of dominatrix extraordinaire Nora Sutherlin and the white-hot Original Sinners series, rarely refers to a character’s vagina in any of her works. When I asked her why, she said the commonly used slang terms for vagina tend to make her cringe.
And she has a most salient point. Let’s look at some of the classic slang terms for the hoo-hoo, shall we? There’s the old standard “pussy,” which frankly sounds ootsy-cue and painfully twee (do we call a penis a bow-wow? I think not). “Cunt” is a perfectly good Anglo-Saxon term, but to me it sounds way too harsh for something that’s supposed to be soft and warm. “Slit” — actually not all that accurate, as the vagina takes on a barrel shape during sexual arousal, plus there’s also the unpleasant connotations of slitting something open. More recent entrants to the fray include “punany/punani,” which is sometimes attributed to Caribbean patois and may derive from pudenda, a Latin synonym for genitalia from pudēre, meaning “to cause shame”, or from “poontang,” which is believed to derive from the French putain, meaning ‘whore.” Great. More power to the Punany Poets for trying to take back this word, but it’s always going to come off as dodgy to me.
As for meaningless circumlocutions such as “sex,” “core,” and “center” — no. Just no. At lunch today, my friend Theresa opined that “core” sounded like something explosive that needed to be defused. I immediately came up with an image of Jack Bauer sitting in the OBGYN chair, staring intently between a panicking woman’s thighs as he hefts a pair of wire cutters, muttering “Trust me, I’m a professional.” Which might do something for you if, like Theresa, you are a fan of Keifer Sutherland, but for me it just makes me want to slam my thighs shut and wrap stout chain and a padlock around them for safekeeping.
Oddly enough, I don’t have a problem with “clit.” It’s short and sweet, much like the organ it describes, and works well as a slang term. Now we just have to come up with a decent term for what lies beneath this wonderful nubbin of happiness.
So far, the only vaginal slang term I personally like is “quim” (thank you, Joss Whedon, for bringing it back into modern consciousness). Quim has that nice onomatopoeic ring — it sounds warm, soft and enveloping. Granted, Loki used it as a female-specific insult in The Avengers, but if Whedon had been slightly less stylish the word “cunt” could have been substituted and maintained the same context (at least for American audiences — apparently cunt is not a female-specific insult in England. The more you know…). Unfortunately, “quim” hasn’t been used as common slang since the Victorian era, which explains why the phrase “what is a mewling quim” shows up as a popular search on Google.
But what the hell, it’s the best of a bad lot, so I’m going to start using it in my own work. Maybe if enough erotic romance writers like the term, it’ll regain its old popularity. And if not, at least I’ll sound hella period when I finally start that MMF Victorian paranormal.
Nicola Cameron Writes 