A Look at Nicola M. Cameron & 'Empress of Storms' @YesItsNicolaC #Fantasy #Erotic #Romance

Today we have author Nicola M. Cameron visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?
* Nicola Cameron is an expatriate Chicagoan who has lived in England, Canada, Holland, and Sweden, and keeps a confusing amalgamation of languages in her head as a result. Currently located in the clavicle of Texas, she has finally mastered the proper use of "y'all," much to her Chicago family's dismay.
* Despite a healthy interest in sex since puberty, it wasn't until 2012 that Nicola decided to try writing about it. As it turned out, the skills she picked up during her SF writing career transferred rather nicely to erotic romance. When not writing, she wrangles cats, smooches her husband, makes dolls of dubious and questionable identity, and thanks almighty Cthulhu that she doesn’t have to work for a major telecommunications company any more (because there’s BDSM, and then there’s just plain torture...).

What are you going to tell us about today?

* Thanks so much for having me on your blog today! My new novel Empress of Storms is an unusual book for me on a number of fronts. For one thing, it’s my first MF high fantasy erotic romance (and never did I think those words would be used in reference to me).
* Secondly, EoS was prompted by a challenge. Some of you may remember a certain author kicking off a kerfluffle in September by putting up a GoFundMe fund in order to write full-time. Which is totally cool, and I support the Patreon concept 100%.
* That being said, the writer demonstrated a, let us say, unrealistic worldview on professional writing. After receiving both even-tempered remonstrating and plain old ridicule, she lashed out at her critics with the following:
* “I’d like to challenge each and every one of these wonderful women to a writing contest. How about an 80K (that’s 80,000 words people, not dollars!) novel. It needs to be fully edited, proofed and a professional cover designed for it. Oh, and they have only 6 months to do all this. Ok, go.”
* Well, I can’t pass up a challenge. I announced that I would go one better and finish an 80K novel, have it fully edited, proofed, and provided with a professional cover in six weeks, and release it as an ebook and trade paperback in November.
* Let me take a moment to point out that every writer has his or her own speed. Some write fast, some write slow. Any speed you write at is fine. You do you, baby. But taking an 80K novel from zero to “Whoops, it’s on Amazon” within six m/o/n/t/h/s/ weeks is just not as impossible as some people seem to think. Part of this challenge was to show that it’s possible to do this without sacrificing quality, and while still maintaining something of a life.
* I will be perfectly transparent here and state that I did not make my original six-week deadline (due to a killer sinus infection and various stresses on the home front). I did it in seven weeks. Still not bad if I do say so myself.
* I’ve also been asked why I’m using Nicola M. Cameron on Empress of Storms. I lifted the idea from the late, brilliant Iain Banks who wrote mainstream fiction as Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M. Banks. It was a way of differentiating between the two genres without having to use a pseudonym, and I decided to use the same trick here. Nicola Cameron is pretty much associated with MM/MMM fiction by this point, so if you pick up a Nicola Cameron book that’s what you’ll get, whereas Nicola M. Cameron writes MF fiction with occasional forays into MMF. I like to make readers’ lives easier, you see. ~ Blurb ~ * A king who must offer himself as royal consort to fulfill a treaty. A young queen and mage, unexpectedly married to the man she’s loved since childhood. Two countries, divided by geography and united by a political marriage, are poised on the brink of a golden age. But will vicious magic and unexpected betrayal tear both the royal couple and their kingdoms apart?
* When King Matthias of Ypres has to fulfill a treaty and provide a royal consort for young Queen Danäe of Hellas, the only royal available for marriage is … him. Can he risk letting a blue-haired witch queen into his heart?
* From political necessity, Queen Danäe finds herself marrying the man she secretly loves. Now she must win the heart of a king, prove herself as a mage, and defeat the enemies that threaten them both. ~ Excerpt ~ * “You’re not what I expected, Danaë.”
* “So I gathered. You’re different as well. And I’m very pleased with that.” She reached out and tugged at a curl of his chest hair. “So, shall we try this again?”
* “I think we should.” He held up the taper. “With the light or without?”
* “With, if it’s all the same to you. I want to enjoy the sight of my new husband.”
* “I suspect I’m the one who will be doing the bulk of the enjoying, but as you wish.” Matthias put the candle back on the side table. He was now cast in shadow, but Danaë could still see him well enough. He slid down until he was on his side facing her. “I’m afraid I’m out of practice with bedroom matters. What would you like to do now?”
* She thought. He hadn’t kissed her yet, at least not above the collarbones. “I’d like a proper kiss. The one you gave me after the ceremony may have been acceptable for public consumption, but I hope it’s not how you kiss in private.”
* “It isn’t.” He moved closer, stroking her shoulder with a finger. “And my apologies for that. I suspect I’ll be apologizing for much of what happened this day.”
* “No apologies are needed if you kiss me.”
* He did, a sweet brush of lips that made her mouth tingle with anticipation. The next kiss caught her lower lip between his. He sucked gently on the plump flesh, letting it slide free with a soft pop. Their faces were too close to see him smile, but she could feel it somehow.
* “You have honey in your kisses, Danaë,” he murmured.
* “Only for you, Matthias.”
* “Flatterer.”
* She dimpled. “Kiss me again and find out.”
* This time his kiss was stronger, hungrier. She responded with an equal need, cupping his cheeks and immersing herself in the intoxicating taste of Matthias’s mouth. He tasted of wine and the roast from dinner, and some secret flavor that was unique to him, something dark and very male. It was perfect, sating a hunger she hadn’t known she possessed. She fell back against her pillows and he followed, their tongues sliding against each other in a twisting dance.
* He finally pulled back, gasping. “It’s a good thing I didn’t kiss you like that earlier today,” he said. “I would’ve taken you in front of the entire cathedral.”
* “Perhaps a bit more than the nobles of Ypres needed to see,” she agreed, breathless. “Not to mention my brother and Patriarch Reniel.”
* Matthias tilted her chin up, nuzzling the soft skin of her jaw. “He would’ve had me building shrines in atonement to the end of my days. And your brother would have run me through.”
* “Which would have caused an unpleasant international incident.” She arched when his mouth hit a sensitive spot on her neck. “Not to mention I would have to have him executed for killing my husband.”
* “It’s a good thing we avoided all that, then,” Matthias agreed, licking delicate spirals on her skin down towards her breast. He stopped at the point where the flesh began to mound and kissed his way to her nipple. Dragging the very tip of his tongue around the areola, he then flicked it across the stiff little nub. “Best we save such things for the privacy of our bed.” Buy Empress of Storms here... All Romance Books | Amazon - UK | Amazon - US | Smashwords Find Nicola M. Cameron here... Website/ Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter Thank you for joining us here today, Nicola M. Cameron! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

A Look At Erzabet Bishop & 'Club Beam' @Erzabet Bishop @decadentpub #UrbanFantasy

Today we have author Erzabet Bishop visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* Erzabet Bishop is the author of Club Beam, Sigil Fire, Written on Skin, Tethered, Pomegranate, Temptation Resorts Jess and Marnie interactive choose your own adventure romances and more. She is a contributing author to The Big Book of Submission, Slave Girls, Hungry for More and many other anthologies. She is a winner of two 2015 Goldie Awards for her work in anthologies and an active member of the Romance Writers of America. She lives in Texas with her husband, furry children and is often playing at local bookstores. Follow her posts on Twitter @ Erzabet Bishop.

Today Erzabet Bishop will be talking about how she handles balancing life and writing.
* Sometimes my life and writing don’t go hand in hand. I work a full time job as a bookstore manager and my schedule is anything but set. There are days I have to be at work at six in the morning and other times three in the afternoon. It’s a bouncing ball but I manage.
* I’ve heard a lot of writing advice over the years and have come to a single conclusion. The only thing you simply must do is not give up. #Don’t Quit. Things can get tough. Life gets in the way. All the time and every day. You steal time here and there and you make it happen. You. No one else.
* What does that mean? You think about plot lines when you’re folding laundry or making dinner. You write down notes so when you get in front of the computer you’re ready to rock. There is no time to stare at the screen and wonder what’s coming out of your fingertips today. Nope. You only have twenty minutes? Use it. Any word count is good word count as long as it points you in the right direction. And if not? You scrap it or save it and start again.
* Right now I’m on vacation and that means I have deadlines. Big ones and lots of them but I use my time as best I can. I’m getting faster at my hourly word count and I love my Pro Writing Aid for quick edits before the story goes out the door.
* Rejections? All the time. You get up, dust your pants off and send it out again. Learn from every one. You may not see it yet, but you will and then you’ll laugh and rework it. Happens. It’s a work of writing. They aren’t rejecting you.
* If you want to write, there are sacrifices that will be made. My hubby loves to watch movies and play games in the living room. I can maybe get twenty minutes of television in while I’m eating and then I’m back on task with a vengeance. Time is precious, so I snag it when I can. He helps me with trips to the grocery store and the occasional fast food run. And he knows after dinner-it’s my time and when the bedroom door shuts, I’m in at least until a quarter to one if I don’t have to be up at an ungodly hour the next morning.
* So life…writing. We tango. We weave around each other and hope to meet in the middle some days. And when we do…ah. It’s magic. A look into...

Inspiration and motivation * When I first contacted Decadent Publishing to inquire about their fairy tale line I was assigned a story called “The Beam.” I looked it up and found out it was about a wizard who is bested by a woman and he exacts his revenge. Whenever I encounter a new project like this, I have to sit down and think about what all the moving parts mean. In this case, how to turn a story like this into a modern romance that readers would find appealing. Since I tend to write urban fantasy slanted pieces, I immediately laser beamed in on the wizard and witch part. I mean, how cool is that to have a ready-made story ripe for the picking? I just had to add some modern twists. What would be more modern than a witchy karaoke event and fairy tale fetish night?
* The process of writing for me is an organic one. It begins with a legal pad and a series of colorful sticky notes and a foam board. I start thinking about the chapters and what needs to happen to make the story move and there you go-plot points on sticky notes I can adjust as needed. It works too. Sydney had lots of thoughts on where she wanted to go and believe me, she is still in there talking. The second book in the Shadow World series is already writing itself (think dragon shifters and a psychic) and I can see the fireworks shaping up nicely.

* Check out further adventures with Master Gideon and Sydney in Sci Spanks 2015 now available on Amazon. You might just get invited for a session behind the Red Door. Master Gideon has a paddle and he’s ready to play. There will be more where that came from, you can count on that… Amazon
* I hope you will enjoy the introduction to my Shadow World series and return to Club Beam for many more adventures. I am happy to share that the audio book is now in the works. ~ Blurb ~ * In the Shadow World, nothing is as it seems.
* Detective Sydney Marr is having a very bad day. Her boss is on the warpath, she’s being treated for a werewolf bite, and her current case has hit a dead end. When her friend Erika talks Syd into going with her to Club Beam, she jumps at the chance, even if it means spending an evening without her spell arsenal. A high-class vampire bar and fetish club, Club Beam is fantasy made real.
* Club owner and Dom Gideon Raines spies the red-haired beauty and is transfixed. A fight against a skillful murderer brings war for fae and vampire alike. Sometimes when you play with monsters, the monsters play back. ~ Excerpt ~ * “Once upon a time….” Erika sang and waggled her eyebrows. “Come on, Sydney. Live a little. This club is smoking hot, and you’ll love it.”
* Sydney grumbled under her breath and watched the club-goers parade past, each dressed like a fairy-tale character. The Little Mermaid trounced by in a see-through, diaphanous gown revealing too much in the way of personal attributes. Sleeping Beauty sashayed down the sidewalk with a leash around the neck of her Prince Charming. A woman in a way-too-short Red Riding Hood outfit approached. Her arm was wrapped around a seductress dressed in wolf ears, a tail, and a skimpy thong-style bikini. Red carried a basket full of what looked like pink fuzzy handcuffs and a can of whipped cream, which she swung into Syd.
* “Hey!”
* The red-cloaked vixen sent her a wink and traipsed on by, joined by a near-pornographic version of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. Any shorter and the skirt would show her naughty bits. Or maybe that was the plan.
* Syd had just gotten off her day shift as a detective, and the last thing she wanted to do was be around more people. Especially people with more skin showing than on late-night cable shows. Her head hurt from the lights and the pulse of the music, and her stupid witch costume was pinching her toes. Erika’s scant fairy costume hugged all her curves, her breasts bursting from the bodice. The skirt barely covered her backside, and the strappy silver sandals showed off her silver-glitter nail polish.
* The building loomed next to them. A giant warehouse-like structure, it was large enough to house all manner of mischief, and Syd was itching with the desire to get inside and find out just what was going on behind its doors. The sidewalk was flagged by trees lit up with twinkly white lights, adding an upscale ambiance to the area. What in the daylight looked like an industrial area gone to the dogs had been transformed into an attractive and well-attended venue.
* She didn’t have the heart to tell Erika she’d been here once already today for the case she was working on, but the entrance had been sealed up tighter than a drum. Sydney’s recourse was to infiltrate Club Beam by night as a patron. Her sergeant, Debra, would kill her if she realized Syd had even considered going in without backup. So would her partner, James. Erika had asked her to come so she wouldn’t be alone, and, despite herself, Syd couldn’t resist. To catch a vampire, you had to go out at night, and Club Beam was the hot spot. After last month’s fuckup, she had to do this and do it right, even if it killed her. James was on medical leave, and it remained up to her to get this guy before someone else got killed or turned furry.
* I will not think about becoming one of the terminally furry. It’s over. Move on. Take the pills the doctor gave you and freaking pray.
* “Oh look. I think I see Snow White.” Erika stood on her tiptoes and craned her head along the huge expanse of line they still had to navigate to get inside.
* Syd peered into the crowd and grimaced. Hairy legs. More makeup than a Mac commercial. “Nope. That was a guy in drag.”
* Erika narrowed her eyes. “God, Syd. You’re the world’s biggest wet blanket ever.”
* Sydney shifted her weight and moved another two steps toward the door as the line inched forward. “I told you, I’ve had a hard day. We had a homicide case come in, and I’ve been out beating the street. I want to go home and bury my head under my pillow. But, no. Out of the kindness of my heart, here I am standing in line at a vampire bar with a bunch of overgrown kids playing dress-up in fairy-tale fetish wear.” Buy Club Beam here... All Romance eBooks | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo

Find Erzabet Bishop here... Twitter | Website Thank you for joining us here today, Erzabet Bishop! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

A Look At London Saint James & 'Rise of the Lost Prince' @LSJRomance @evernightpub #erotic #fairytale

Today we have author London Saint James visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?
* *Waves* I’m London. My favorite flowers are orchids. I hate watching reruns on TV. My taste in music is eclectic. I like alpha males with scowls to die for. Wait. This isn’t a dating profile. *Smiles* Here’s what you really want to know. I’m a multi-published romance author, who tends to write more erotic romance than not, but I’ve been known to write a sweet story or two.
* My official bio is: London Saint James has lived in many places, but never felt “at home” until she met the real-life man of her dreams and settled down in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. London lives with her husband and their fat cat who thinks he owns them.
* As an award-winning, bestselling, multi-published author, London is living her childhood dream. She knew all the scribbling she did, that big imagination of hers, and all those clamoring characters running around in her head would pay off someday.

What book are you going to tell us about today? Is it part of a series? If so, what's the order the books should be read in?
* Today, I’m going to be chatting up my brand new release from Evernight Publishing, Rise of the Lost Prince, which is the first book in the Lost Boys series.

How'd you/your muse come up with this story?
* Well, I suppose my muse had been pondering a story based loosely on Peter Pan, only with sexy warrior types and a badass version of Peter, which is named Petúr. FYI, my muse is a bit crazy, because I was in the middle of writing another story, when the muse said stop and write about Neverland. (Neverland is an abandoned seaside amusement park) So, I listen to my muse, as I always do, sat the story I was writing aside for the moment, and brought Neverland and the Lost Boys to life. Problem was, the characters had much more to say. Maybe that’s not really a problem. *Smiles* But, we’ll see the rest of the cast of characters again, since Rise of the Lost Prince is the first in the Lost Boy series.

Describe the hero in five words.
* Sexy. Badass. Warrior. Loyal. Protective.

Describe the heroine in five words.
* Loving. Truthful. Trustworthy. Loyal. Caring.

Who's your favorite character in the book & why?
* Oh, gosh. I love them all. They are all different, but while I love my heroine, and my hero. I think spunky and sassy Bell, whose one of the integral cast of characters, is probably going to end up being my favorite.

What's your favorite line in the story?
* Here’s more than one line, but it’s probably one of my favorites. This is after Petúr has saved Wyndi from an evil darkling attack, and he notices more about her than he wants to notice about a human woman.
* Her sweet cotton candy scent assaulted his nose once more. His dick stirred beneath the leather of his D-ring jeans. Would she melt in his mouth like the candy would? His brow furrowed. What was wrong with him? He took in another deep breath, allowing her bouquet to linger. Maybe the ache would go away if he just tasted those full lips. No. He shook his head in an attempt to shake away the urge.

A look into the story

~ Blurb ~ * They fight to protect those who would never welcome them into the human world...
* Petúr always knew he and his brothers-in-arms were different. Something more. Something not human. Yet, he never expected to find out the truth of their origins, nor fall for a human woman whose father was set to destroy Neverland.
* Ever since she was a child, Wyndi dreamed of an angel with eyes of the purest gold, although she never really believed such a man existed until she met the hauntingly beautiful Petúr of the lost boys.
* With a prophecy to fulfill, a woman to protect, a portal to find, and evil darklings out for blood, will Petúr be strong enough to rise up and claim what’s rightfully his, or lose everything to a long-time nemesis, Grapple the Dark?
Be Warned: Voyeurism, Violence ~ Excerpt ~ * Petúr’s long coat flared out behind him, whipping in the wind—black raven wings. Above him, the moon danced in and out of existence and periodically hid behind the dreary clouds. He’d perched himself atop the rusted metal monstrosity which sat cold and derelict among the ruins of the abandoned seaside amusement park. From the top of the lifeless Ferris wheel he surveyed his realm, just as he did every night, waiting for the faint cries. They always came, those haunting cries, and called him and the lost boys into the darkness.
* Cables clacked and Petúr tilted his head in a bird-like gesture, listening to them echo into the rhythmic music of the tide coming ashore. As if on cue, an eerie underlying chorus chimed in from the direction of the closed ticket booth. He recognized the sound of the warped roof when it moaned and creaked. The red painted exterior walls had long since faded and peeled away from the briny wood in elongated streaks, reminiscent of morbid tears.
* He closed his eyes and attempted to picture this place he and the others called home, trying to imagine what it must have been during its glory days, but he couldn’t see anything. All he knew was the truth of his surroundings. And, the truth was, with every passing year more of his home crumbled. Even the entrance into this collapsing kingdom had joined the sea, snuffing out the arched sign which once upon a time blinked—Neverland—Mother Nature’s way of taking back her own when she’d claimed a major portion of the boardwalk.
* Everything ends.

Buy London's books here...
Evernight Publishing | Amazon | ARe | Barnes & Noble Author Page | BookStrand

Find London Saint James here...
Website | Blog | Twitter | FB Author Page | TSU | Google+ | Goodreads | She loves to hear from her readers. You can also e-mail London with any questions or comments at London@londonsaintjames.com | Would you like to know more? Join her mailing list for her monthly newsletter | Or, join her book group on Facebook Slip Between the Pages with London

Thank you for joining us here today, London Saint James! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.