Black Friday - Writing is Better Than Leaving Home to Shop

Black Friday. The one day of the year I refuse to leave home. I’ll just stay here in my cozy little extra bedroom turned office and write something. Plots, blogs, synopsis, AQP forms for the newest completed story, finish chapter two in the current work-in-progress, finish the corrections my beta reader gave me. Pry my laptop out of my hubby’s hands and get its virus protections updated. Reformat a jump drive gone bad, drat the thing.

I’ve burned up four of them now, backing up my work so often. That’s not a complaint. I’d rather buy a new memory key every year than lose one page of work. So yes, I have lots of things to keep me busy this day. If I want to shop, I’ll do it over the Internet. (It’s very likely, you know.)

What I won’t do is go see if Poseidon’s Pleasure is still number two at one of the online book sellers. I didn’t realize until earlier this week that the way the page loaded was the way the books were ranked by sales. To discover that Poseidon’s Pleasure was number two, Taming Triton was in the top ten, and Netting Neptune in the top twenty, floored me. I write the stories because I love doing it. Actually having them published is the frosting on top. No, I won’t go look because it’s majorly distracting to know they're ranked somewhere like that. It puts my focus where I do not want it. I want my focus on the current work,

The current work is the one I can make better. It’s the one that will have every new thing I’ve learned about how to write better incorporated in it. I can’t change one word in Netting Neptune, Taming Triton, and Poseidon’s Pleasure. They’re complete, and the new story needs my full attention.

The morning beckons. A four-day weekend is a luxury to this poor working schmuck. With family obligations out of the way, today I get to wear my writing hat all day. Such a treat!! So I won’t linger any longer. Let me leave you with a wish that your weekend be as enjoyable as I expect mine to be, and with a little promo (of course) for the Southern Cross series – Netting Neptune, Taming Triton, and Poseidon’s Pleasure.

KC Kendricks

NETTING NEPTUNE
Contemporary gay romance
#6 Best Seller, Amber Allure, September 2009
http://www.amberallure.com/NettingNeptune.html

Theron Bowman is in the throes of a mid-life crisis. At forty, he needs to make some serious decisions about his future. He splurges on a two-week vacation in the Caribbean, and like everything else in his life, things go horribly awry and he ends up working to pay for his room.

Forced by his father to break ties with his family, Colby Denton came to rest on St. Lucia, and opened an exclusive resort. To celebrate his tenth year on the island, and his birthday, Colby arranges for a series of festive beachside parties. When a sexy sea god swims out of the ocean in front of him, Colby has a brand new plan – netting Neptune.


To read an EXCERPT, please visit
http://www.amberallure.com/NettingNeptune.html
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-573-7- - - - - -

TAMING TRITON
Contemporary gay romance
#2 Best Seller, Amber Allure, October 2009
http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/TamingTriton.html

Austin Michaels accepts his brother’s standing invitation for a Caribbean vacation at his island resort. Some time in the sun is just what he needs to map out a plan for his future. He gets lucky and meets a handsome teacher willing to have a little vacation fling with, as long as they can keep things fun.

Steve Guthrie’s secret longings have haunted him all his life. It’s time to face his questions and find the truth of who he really is beyond a staid college professor. His love of the sea prompts him to take a vacation at a Caribbean hide-a-way for relaxation and reflection. A sexy stranger with a tattoo tempts Steve to abandon his plans, enticing him to share a vacation romp.

Now Steve’s the student in a high stakes class of one, and to pass the course, he has to tame his very own Triton.


To read an EXCERPT, please visit
http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/TamingTriton.html
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-586-7
* * * * *


POSEIDON'S PLEASURE
contemporary gay romance available at
released: November 8, 2009
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/PoseidonsPleasure.html

Brett Houston triumphed over his life. Raised by an abusive father, Brett sacrificed his personal happiness to keep the ones he loved safe. Ready to make big changes in his life, Brett treats himself to a Caribbean vacation. To his surprise, he ends up at a seaside ball, wearing a G-string and presiding over the festivities as Poseidon, the God of the Sea.

Mark Matthews left behind his hometown, and his first love, to put down roots in California. With vacation time to use, or lose, Mark books a holiday on the island of St. Lucia, unaware of the surprise reunion Fate has waiting for him.

Brett cautiously examines the fractured bonds of the past, while questioning the possibility of a future with Mark. It’s simpler for Mark. He won’t settle for anything less than a future tending to Poseidon’s pleasure.

To read an EXCERPT, please visit
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/PoseidonsPleasure.html
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-599-7
- - - - -

KC Kendricks
Visit my website at: http://www.kckendricks.com

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Join my mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys
Read my personal blog: http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com
Check out the MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/kckendricks

IS IT ALL ABOUT THE SEX?

AVAILABLE NOW AMBER QUILL PRESS/AMBER ALLURE

Because I work alone, there's only my editor to correct my mistakes or make suggestions. That's why I was fascinated when I visited a critique group not long ago.

I listened in amazement as a new writer, determined to write an erotic romance, said she'd written all the sex scenes first and then tried to tie them together. Somehow she'd gotten the idea an erotic romance was all about the sex. Her story wasn't going well. No surprise, with such an artificial approach.

In my view, it's erotica that's all about the sex. Erotic romance is about intriguing characters engaging in sex because they can't resist the dizzying pull of their emotions for each other. In works less than novel length, that attraction needs to be introduced early on. In a way, the sex is merely a vital subplot of the main story.

In selecting a title for my latest novella, which had to be song-inspired, the Jefferson Airplanes' version of SOMEBODY TO LOVE kept ringing in my head. I stumbled on a TV feature on helicopter logging and discovered a YouTube video on the perfect occupation for a closeted gay--a loner who needed somebody to love and somebody to love him in return. Because I live in the hinterlands of Los Angeles and have adult children who work in TV, it was easy to invision his also secretly gay counterpart.

Their relationship begins with two serious problems...

Kevin Connolly, star of The Detective and named TV’s “Sexiest Man of the Year,” works in Hollywood with frequent filming trips to various locations. Nate Marquette, Kevin’s new love, works part of the year as a fireman in a mountain range not far from Los Angeles, but most of the year he operates his business as a helicopter logger in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Complicating the logistics of getting together when they’re miles apart is the fact that it’s vital they keep their sexual preferences secret. Exposure as a gay man might ruin Kevin’s career, but it could mean death for Nate.

Yet in the end, it’s not these challenges that threaten to tear them apart, but deeper issues of trust and betrayal…

EXCERPT – ADULT M/M

Kevin sighed as Nate grabbed his butt and pulled him hard against his solid body. He loved feeling Nate’s cock locked against his as both dicks strained against their restricting pants, wanting to touch skin to skin as they had in the desert. Nate’s mouth closed on Kevin’s, and his lips were at first soft and sweet, but then they seduced deeper and fuller, building a hunger Kevin burned to satisfy. Nate rubbed his groin across Kevin’s, setting alight a tingling all over his body.

“I want you, Nate Marquette.”

“So I’ve noticed. The feeling’s mutual. The couch is softer,” Nate murmured against Kevin’s mouth.

They tore off their clothes and clung together, chest to chest, belly to belly, cock to cock. With trembling hands Kevin fumbled in the pocket of his khakis for two foil packets, at last pulling them free. He held them up. “Grape or strawberry?”

“I don’t care. Just hurry before I cover you with cum.”

Kevin knelt, and Nate groaned softly from low in his throat as Kevin’s breath bathed his swollen dick. The groan resonated in Kevin’s belly and desire coiled tight in his core. Kevin unrolled a purple condom over the damp cock jutting toward his face. He denied Nate the pleasure of suiting him up because he knew he’d blow the minute Nate’s hands were on him.

Standing, Kevin whispered against his lover’s ear just before he blew softly on it and then plunged his tongue deep inside. “I hope you like strawberry,”

“I want my mouth on you--any time, any flavor at all,” Nate responded.

The couch was too narrow and they didn’t make it to the bed. Half-way there, they dropped to the floor, and when Nate’s hot mouth closed over what filled the red condom, it was Kevin who groaned.

He stroked Nate first, wanting to feel the fullness as he remembered how velvety it had felt when latex wasn’t covering it. Then he savored grape as he nibbled at the head just beyond the loose purple tip and he took his time as he licked and sucked his way up until his mouth was filled with the essence of his lover. His hands roamed over the powerful body until he reached the soft, marbled sac and caressed it. As he felt Nate’s passion build, he closed his fingers around the base of his dick and squeezed firmly, just on the edge of hurting him.

Nate’s mouth released Kevin’s hard erection. “God, Kevin. Let me come.”

“Not until I’ve had all I want of you. . .

Download available now http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/SomebodyToLove.html

To download A SONG TO REMEMBER Volume 1 AMBERPAX, which includes four other M/M stories, go to http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure
Scroll down the left column and click on AmberPax, then hunt for the title.

More stories by Carolina Valdez
http://www.CarolinaValdez.com

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It's the content, not the format.

Writing When Life Throws A Curve

Stripped of everything else, writing romance is about faith and hope. As romance authors we have faith that “happy-ever-afters” can exist no matter what the odds and not just in fiction, and the hope that every person in the world can find the one other person to share that ending.

Earlier this month, Amber Quill Press released my latest Trixie Stilletto short story, Five Alarm Love. It is the first romance story I’ve been able to start and finish since the death of my husband, Tom, last November.

For some time after his death, I struggled to find the words. Even after they returned, I found getting my characters to that “happily-ever-after” part was impossible. I had lost the faith and hope necessary to write romance. My happy-ever-after ended before I was ready, so how can any other happy ending survive?

In the logical side of my brain, I knew I needed to take the time to let my heart and soul heal. Emotionally, I didn’t know if they will ever heal. To be honest, I still don’t know the answer to the emotional side of things. Friends and counselors advised me to fill my life with chores, go back to work. Keep busy, they advised, to keep from constantly thinking about what I lost.

It seemed every time I sat down to the computer to write, it was like ripping open a barely-healed wound. Finally, after many frustrating months, I was able to remember the love, laughter, faith and hope Tom and I shared each day we had together.

Thus Five Alarm Love was able to have a beginning and an end. I’m not foolish enough to believe that it will be smooth sailing forever. Maybe having made it to this first small step, the next one will be a little easier.

Deb Stover, another romance author who lost her soul mate too soon, told me a few months ago to focus on taking baby steps. It was good advice and I can’t thank her enough for opening her heart to me.

So taking Deb’s words to heart, Five Alarm Love is my first baby step on the way to future.

Trixie Stilletto

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM

I fall in love with all my male characters, but in THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM, my latest release from Amber Allure, Theo and Stef have something so special going on they even amazed me. They go together like strawberries and cream, or peanut butter and jelly, or…or… They are so in love, so much two halves of a whole, I can actually imagine one of them saying to the other that famous Robert Browning line, “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.”

Christiane France

Cool mysteries and hot romance - http://www.chrisgrover.ca
Latest Release: REINCARNATION - http://www.amberquill.com
http://www.myspace.com/185513895 http://twitter.com/chrisgrover2

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
By Christiane France
Contemporary m/m gay
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/ImpossibleDream.html

Theo Keen has always dreamed of strutting his stuff from behind the footlights, either as a high fashion model or an actor. He’s taken modeling courses and acting lessons, but a case of seemingly incurable stage fright has prevented Theo from realizing his dream. Until one cold, snowy February afternoon Theo is helping his brother, Lance, with the annual Mardi Gras Ball and Fashion Show and an emergency arises--both volunteer male models have cancelled at the last minute and this year’s designer is an up and coming celebrity. With show time only an hour or two away, it’s too late to find replacements, and Lance is in a panic. Theo is the only person who can save the night, so Lance tells him to forget the feeble excuses and just do it.

Yet Theo can’t just do it. He’s spent years of counseling and therapy trying to overcome his problem, but that hasn’t happened and he doubts it ever will. But then the designer, Stefano Spadifora, comes into the dressing room where Theo is working and suddenly Theo’s life does a complete one eighty. Suddenly the impossible becomes possible and Theo senses that after tonight, nothing about his life will ever be the same.

EXCERPT:
...Theo kicked off his shoes. He then locked and bolted the outer door, and hung his and Stef’s coats in the hall closet. Yes, he wanted Stef, but he felt nervous, unsure, and already he was beginning to think he’d made a huge mistake. He should have played it smart and left Stef to find himself a hotel for the night rather than offer himself up as some kind of sacrificial lamb. Stef was an up-and-coming celebrity, a real mover and shaker, the kind of person who thought it was his God-given right to take whatever he wanted. He was everything Theo was not. And just because Stef had found a way to give him a firsthand taste of his dream, it didn’t mean Theo owed Stef or that his life had suddenly changed, because it hadn’t. His life was the same as it was before the fashion show, and the same as it would be next week and the week after that.
He slid the closet door closed, and pressed his hot forehead against the cool wood for a moment. “Feel like a coffee?” he inquired. “Or would you prefer a real drink? I should know better than to drink champagne. It always makes my mouth feel as if it’s been sandblasted dry.”
His taste of stardom had been a one-off, nothing more and nothing less. Simply a case of Stef and Lance being desperate to save face and ensure the success of the show, and he’d been their very willing accomplice. He’d been a means to an end, period, full stop. They hadn’t cared about him, or how that one taste of the limelight might affect him. Tomorrow, they’d be off on their next big adventures, and he’d be back working at the beauty parlor, listening to everyone else bitching about their impossible dreams. And how, if only life had been a little kinder and given them this, that or the other to make those dreams come true, they’d all be happy as a bucketful of clams.
Stef’s arms closed around Theo’s body from behind, and Theo stiffened, a little surprised by the clear message conveyed by the intimate embrace. He’d expected the two of them would have sex at some point before the night was over, that had been implicit in the giving and accepting of his invitation, just not this fast. “Relax,” Stef murmured, kissing the area around Theo’s left ear and sending messages that made Theo’s cock stand up to attention. “We both know what we want, and it’s much more than something to drink.”
“I’m not sure what I want any more,” Theo said, knowing it to be true. Maybe he was confusing gratitude with lust and needed to back off before he got really hurt. “Tonight was a complete mind blower for me in many ways. Now, I need time to come down from the mountain and get myself back to reality.”
“You feel I used you, right? That I didn’t stop to think how something that could never amount to more than a temporary solution might affect you?”
“You’re saying I’m wrong?”
“No. But desperate situations often call for desperate measures. You were our only option and, to be honest, all I thought about was finding a way around your problem so you could solve ours.”
Theo felt a surge of white-hot anger. “Right. I can guess what you were thinking--sacrifice anything and anyone. Do whatever it takes, but just make sure you and Lance don’t come off looking like a pair of incompetents. Well, congrats, bro. You succeeded.”
“It was an emergency. I didn’t stop to think, I simply acted. Please, you must understand that.” He stroked Theo’s neck with his tongue and pressed another kiss just below his ear. “But isn’t it better to have loved and lost, than just to have dreamed about it?”
“You think?” Theo tried for a laugh that failed miserably. He wanted to push Stef off, show him the door, and tell him to get lost. However, he couldn’t do any of those things—didn’t want to do them. He knew Stef had acted in the exact same way anyone in the same position would have acted—in everyone’s best interests, but it didn’t make it any easier. “Tell that to a starving man when you show him a plate of food and then take it away.”

The Southern Cross series from KC Kendricks

When I had Netting Neptune, Taming Triton, and Poseidon's Pleasure in the planning stages, I didn't realize how much I would like the end results. But by the time I got to the end of Poseidon's Pleasure, I didn't want to say goodbye to the six characters. So, like any good author, I'll just say...maybe I haven't said a firm and final goodbye to them. Ideas abound. Stay tuned.

KC




NETTING NEPTUNE
Contemporary gay romance
available now at Amber Allure
http://www.amberallure.com/NettingNeptune.html

Theron Bowman is in the throes of a mid-life crisis. At forty, he needs to make some serious decisions about his future. He splurges on a two-week vacation in the Caribbean, and like everything else in his life, things go horribly awry and he ends up working to pay for his room.

Forced by his father to break ties with his family, Colby Denton came to rest on St. Lucia, and opened an exclusive resort. To celebrate his tenth year on the island, and his birthday, Colby arranges for a series of festive beachside parties. When a sexy sea god swims out of the ocean in front of him, Colby has a brand new plan – netting Neptune.


To read an EXCERPT, please visit
http://www.amberallure.com/NettingNeptune.html
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-573-7
- - - - - -


TAMING TRITON
Contemporary gay romance
available at Amber Allure


Austin Michaels accepts his brother’s standing invitation for a Caribbean vacation at his island resort. Some time in the sun is just what he needs to map out a plan for his future. He gets lucky and meets a handsome teacher willing to have a little vacation fling with, as long as they can keep things fun.

Steve Guthrie’s secret longings have haunted him all his life. It’s time to face his questions and find the truth of who he really is beyond a staid college professor. His love of the sea prompts him to take a vacation at a Caribbean hide-a-way for relaxation and reflection. A sexy stranger with a tattoo tempts Steve to abandon his plans, enticing him to share a vacation romp.

Now Steve’s the student in a high stakes class of one, and to pass the course, he has to tame his very own Triton.


To read an EXCERPT, please visit http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/TamingTriton.html
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-586-7
* * * * *



POSEIDON'S PLEASURE
contemporary gay romance
coming November 8, 2009
at Amber Allure.

Join the
Amber Allure mailing list at http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AA_newsletters.html
to be notified as soon as the Poseidon's Pleasure buy link goes active!

Brett Houston triumphed over his life. Raised by an abusive father, Brett sacrificed his personal happiness to keep the ones he loved safe. Ready to make big changes in his life, Brett treats himself to a Caribbean vacation. To his surprise, he ends up at a seaside ball, wearing a G-string and presiding over the festivities as Poseidon, the God of the Sea.

Mark Matthews left behind his hometown, and his first love, to put down roots in California. With vacation time to use, or lose, Mark books a holiday on the island of St. Lucia, unaware of the surprise reunion Fate has waiting for him.

Brett cautiously examines the fractured bonds of the past, while questioning the possibility of a future with Mark. It’s simpler for Mark. He won’t settle for anything less than a future tending to Poseidon’s pleasure.

To read an EXCERPT, please visit
http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/PoseidonsPleasure.html
ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-599-7
- - - - -

KC Kendricks
Visit my website at: http://www.kckendricks.com

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kckendricks
Join my mailing list at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/betweenthekeys
Read my personal blog: http://www.kckendricks.blogspot.com
Check out the MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/kckendricks

Sneak Peek At Maxie Briscoe, Werewolf

I am so excited for my January release, Maxie Briscoe, Werewolf, that I couldn't resist giving you a tiny sneak peek. I loved, loved writing this one, because it's all about a female werewolf, one who's not a four-legged wolf, but one who becomes a huge, hulking monster ala The Howling or Van Helsing. Bear in mind this is unedited so please forgive the mistakes, but I know you'll fall in love with her like I did. Enjoy!

Synopsis

The name's Maxie Briscoe and I am a werewolf. That's right, I'm a real live full moon loving Halloween icon. It's hard out here for girl like me. Besides the whole furry thing, I can bench press a car so the sex definitely has to be scaled back. You don't want to let go and accidentally kill your lover, it ruins the mood. So I muddle along as best I can until the night my neighbor is brutally murdered. Two hot as hell males wolves show up, claiming she was killed because someone thought she was me. Talk about getting your world rocked.

Sneak Peek
Maxie meets her two sexy wolves for the first time...

They materialize from the darkness, ancient hunters intent on their prey. Me. My breath hitches, the animal inside rippling beneath my skin. I’m nervous, but I refuse to let them see. This bitch rolls belly up for no one. I stride out onto my front porch, prepared to defend my territory. Dressed in loungewear, I am hardly the picture of a strong alpha female, but you go with what you got. I look them both dead on.

I fold my arms over my breasts. “What do you want?” I growl, my voice a low rumble.

“We’ve come for you, Little One.” His voice like muffled thunder, the taller of the two moves forward onto my lawn. Twisted steel with sex appeal about sums him up. His dark hair is pulled back in a tail, tee shirt molded to his cut frame. My nostrils flare, catching his scent, fresh like a mountain spring at first thaw.

Things down low quiver in anticipation, I want to coil myself around him like a python on a kapok tree, hugging every hard inch of flesh…I shove the urge down ruthlessly. It’s dangerous. Ulterior motives are written all over them and I just know one of them is to dominate me.

“It took us a long time to find you, Maxie.”

The whisky baritone draws my attention and I watch the other one emerge, lean and graceful, his muscles liquid precision. There was definitely hotness woven into the male half of the werewolf genetic code. His scent is warm and dark, like night in a jungle. My nipples bead with excitement as he lopes toward me, brushing past the larger wolf. He stops at the base of my stairs, conqueror etched in every line of his body. This was definitely the alpha of the pair.

I'll keep you posted as the release date draws closer. Have a great evening!

Melissa Bradley

Encore Performances is the title of my very first paperback book. I have been floating out near Jupiter since I got this beautiful cover a few weeks ago and now the time is nearly here. In a couple of short weeks, it will be on sale. I will finally be able to hold a physical book in my hands that contains my very own work. I cannot even begin to process. It means the absolute world to me, an attainment of a childhood dream that started at the small library on Chicago’s southeast side nearly thirty years ago.

Encore Performances contains two of my erotic novellas, Dream On and Love Haight. The title was inspired by the idea that the characters in these two stories came together for one night only and formed unlikely relationships. Here are the details…

One night… a heated glance and a seductive smile ignites a firestorm of ecstasy. Nothing matters except the pulse-pounding passion, the red-hot desire. What happens when one night is not enough to quench the searing flames? For two couples, it was only the beginning… Previously only available in electronic format, these steamy novellas of erotic romance have been combined in one paperback edition! Included are the tales…

Dream On

Nina Rozek has one big nightmare of a fortieth birthday. She’s overslept, is late for work and manages to get herself pulled over by the hottest young cop she's ever laid eyes on. Alex Torres feels the heat deep in his gut as soon as he locks eyes with the sexy speedster. But as a police officer, he knows using her info to get a date is oh-so-illegal... When the two unexpectedly cross paths at a rock concert later that evening, the intense attraction between them boils over into a night of scorching passion straight out of their wildest fantasies. In spite of their many differences, Nina and Alex forge an unlikely relationship that quickly changes everything…

Love Haight

It is 1967 and the Summer of Love has just begun to light up San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. Lily Roberts, a Vietnam nurse, has come here to lose herself in the psychedelic scene and forget the horrors of war. For Joe Sullivan, a rocker on the rise, the vibrant atmosphere is the perfect place to launch his band to the heights of success. One searing night and they would go their separate ways, but those few heated hours change everything. Lily starts to feel emotions long buried and Joe can’t get her out of his mind or his heart…

Enjoy your day,
Melissa