Hi all! Larissa here. It’s time to PIMP MY FRIENDS! (b/c if not them, who can you pimp?) I’m very happy to have as my first guest blogger, fellow Ellora’s Cave author Kristin Daniels whose Chasing Eden was released this week. So be thinking sexy, rockin’ bad boys and I’ll let Kristin have the floor…

Who doesn’t love a rock star? I do, I always have. There’s just something about a hot guy, a guitar, and a microphone stand.

My love for rocker guys started innocently enough. I grew up a child of the late 70’s/early 80’s (yeah, I admit it). As a teenager, we lived down the street from a very young and hip couple, and they had a little one I’d babysit for every so often. I LOVED going to their house, and not because they paid well or because the baby was just soooo cute. Nope, I loved going there because their record (dating myself again, aren’t I?) collection was way cooler than mine. I’d get the baby to bed, then head to the basement and put ELO’s ‘Out of the Blue’ album on the turntable and play ‘Turn to Stone’ over and over.

Then my sister brought home a poster of KISS. You could see Paul Stanley’s, well… Yeah, that. Clear as day, right up there on the wall. I thought to myself, wow. So much for innocence, huh? I was a goner!

The 80’s brought MTV and the advent of hair bands. Poison, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Skid Row… The list goes on and on. In certain circles, I’d never admit to listening to some of those guys, but when the videos would come on, I’d be glued to the TV. They were so sexy and simply oozed sensuality. The lead singers came across as naughty guys, dangerous almost. And it always seemed like they were singing right to me.

Heck of a fantasy, isn’t it? But let’s do that what-if. What if circumstances panned out just right? What if you actually got to meet your rock-star bad-boy? And what if he wanted you just as much as you ever wanted him? That’s the premise behind my new release with Ellora’s Cave, Chasing Eden. Here’s the blurb:

Graphic artist Eden Foster never expected a sexy game of hide-and-seek to turn into the hottest encounter of her life. The erotic dreams she’s had lately starring to-die-for rock star Shane Tolan are almost enough to make her forget how badly she wants to design his next CD cover. Almost, but not quite. And now here he is in the flesh, ready to chase after her.

Shane likes to play dirty, and he finally has Eden right where he wants her—outside on a balcony, tied to a chaise lounge and under his complete control. But he soon discovers it’s not just Eden’s body he wants, but the talented, business-savvy artist, too. Hell, he wants every luscious part of her.

Then naked paparazzi photos from that night show up on the internet. Eden is convinced her peers will believe she slept with the rock star just to design his CD cover. Shane knows nothing’s further from the truth. And in order to prove it to her, he going to have to show her his heart.

Click here for a sexy little excerpt: http://www.kristindaniels.com/chasingedenexcerpt.htm

View the book trailer:

And you can click here to get a copy of your very own: http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-7499-50-chasing-eden.aspx.

Thanks to Larissa for letting me be a guest today! I hope you enjoy reading about Shane and Eden as much as I loved creating them.

Stay sexy!

Kristin

www.kristindaniels.com

Sex and Seduction… With heart

Tags: Ellora's Cave, guest blogger

Time for another new word. I’m doing my part to find fun ones I actually think are pronounceable and can potentially work themselves into conversation. One of these days, I’ll post a crazy one or two and we’ll have a challenge to see who can use it the best.

I love today’s word, possibly even more than cacatory [my dictation software wanted to spell that "attack a Tory"] which I’m happy to report Mr. Lyons and I are still using as the occasion presents itself.

Scathefire is our new adopted word and you’ll see the definition on your left. I love the font they used (the folks over at savethe words.org).

This word lends itself to all manner of great usage and ought to be easy to adopt into current lexicon.

For my sentence today, I’m going with: Tragically, the scathefire destroyed the great Library at Alexandria and with it much of our world’s history, possibly even the truth about Atlantis…

Thanks to Sarah who commented on our last Adopt-the-Word post, teaching us homerkin [which dictated as Homer can]. Hey–a new way of describing liquid measures of beer? How cool is that?! Interestingly, I didn’t find the amount of liquid anywhere online, but many, many references to good ole Homer Simpson in relationship to this obsolete word. Larissa

Keep enjoying your remaining days of summer!

Tags: dictation errors, language

That’s what The Romance Studio says about Restrain Me in their 5 Heart review!

“Restrain Me is brimming with a reckless and heart-pounding need that is pure delight, non-stop electrifying action that results in a ride full of romantic heat.”

Read the full review here.

It’s been out a month, have YOU read it yet?

If not hightail your rear end over to Ellora’s Cave and click on that buy button, pardner!

Then SHOW YOUR LOVE and vote for Restrain Me as Your Favorite 5 Heart Review!

Vote Now! at The Romance Studio

Tags: book reviews, Restrain Me

Collaborative Writing, part 3 of ????

And now for our next installment on Plotting with a Partner. Just a reminder, I’m only sharing what Alyssa and I have found works for us. There are as many ways of writing with a partner as there are authors who write.

And we did not figure all this out at once. It took several attempts at co-writing before we developed a method that clicked with both of us and yielded results we were satisfied with. (okay, more than satisfied!)

Before I go any further, let me begin highlighting our strengths as individual writers. Alyssa is a whiz at telling a story. She can take our phone-plotted scene outline and turn it into a beautifully creative, cohesive story with very little deviation or sidetracks from what we discussed. She does this, adding in her own unique touches (such as a grandmother who bans TV and confiscates televisions*) and inventing all of the dialogue, and the detailed personalities of our characters. She brings them to life. She tells their story, scene by scene, just as we planned.

She writes, she reads over her work, does a bit of polishing…she finishes the story.

Then she sends it to me — and heh, heh, heh…I get to do my thing. Such as add a Jacuzzi in the middle of the living room* (hey, with no TV, it needed to be good for something!).

*Examples from Bottoms Up Book I, Restrain Me

What are my strengths as a writer? Just what do I bring to this collaborative partnership? After a brief intermission and a couple other posts, I’ll be back to explain, so stay tuned.

Currently Reading: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Tags: Alyssa, story planning, writing

A quick “Howdy do” and update on current writing project.

Very happy to report progress continues steadily on Jonah’s story, the second Contemporary Western in my co-authored Bottoms Up series. In the handy word meter tracker to the right, you’ll note nearly a 20,000 word increase since last month, which is mighty fine indeed. That will likely start slowing after the next couple of weeks as I start piecing together several scenes and plot-point additions, and doing judicious deleting where necessary, to form a fabulous, cohesive and fast-paced story. (I hope, I hope, I hope!)

Health-wise, my voice has been giving me trouble and not letting me dictate — or talk! — as much as I’d like. Friends are being super patient as I forgo phone calls in order to dedicate myself to studly, swaggering cowboys. (We all have to make some sacrifices…)

Keep enjoying the remaining days of summer, and I’ll be back later this week with the next installment on Collaborative Writing. Larissa

Tags: Bottoms Up, current project, writing