Special Guest Isabel Roman!

I am delighted to open the Den back up with special guest Isabel Roman as part of her blog tour for her latest book in her Dark Desire of the Druids series: Sex and Subterfuge. You may already be familiar with Isabel and her work from Ravenous Romance or her frequent appearances on Un:Bound. If not, you’re in for a treat!

First, a little about Sex and Subterfuge:

A master magicker, Morgana Blackthorne has a tenuous hold on her following. When a strange Englishman arrives on her doorstep with news of other druidic magickers, and magicker problems, she’s intrigued but suspicious. There hasn’t been contact between the American and European druids in over a hundred years. Plus she has her own worries and doesn’t need the handsome earl adding to them.

Lucien, Earl of Granville, left England to seek out the Blackthorne Druid line and discover what they’ve been up to since contact was lost. Once he and Morgana meet, their mutual attraction distracts him from his purpose.

Embroiled in her problems, he finds himself more concerned with her welfare than is practical for a passing affair.

When I invited you into my bed, it never occurred to me I wouldn’t want you to leave.

There are darker forces at work and the hunger of a weak magicker desperate for power. Will Lucien convince Morgana of his true feelings before things spiral out of control? Or will the surrounding subterfuge tear them apart?

 And now, please welcome Isabel as she talks about why she writes historicals! 

Why do I write historicals? You bring up a good question. I could go with the easier and infinitely more boring: “I love history” answer, but it has more to it than that.You can do a lot with an historical you can’t with a contemporary. Morals and norms were different than today, stricter, harsher, what we might call more narrow minded but they considered enlightened. Plus there were the things that make us who we are today.

History is filled with fascinating things, and often it’s a war, a conflict, a decision that sparks an idea for a story. I say it all the time, but the History Channel really is filled with wonderful little tidbits. By taking the society and putting in something as modern-sounding as ‘romantic suspense’ or ‘paranormal’ or ‘mystery’ and making it historical adds a layer to the story.

Can’t pick up the phone and find out if your dear friend is really departed or not! Can’t check those bank cameras to see who accessed your ATM and cleaned out your account. Can’t call 911 but have to scream for help and hope someone who actually is going to help appears.

Instant access for them was days of travel or Morse Code over the telegraph. The telephone didn’t connect everywhere and even then those pesky operators could overhear everything.

Fastest mode of travel? Steam power-trains and ships went so much faster than they did even a decade before, but it still took days or even weeks to reach your destination. News? Again, think telegraph; but finding out what happened as it was unfolding only really worked if you were in the center of the action.

Mentality: there’s a reason the US spans the continent and it’s called Manifest Destiny. Sure, you can disagree with it all you want now, but when Americans were pushing west, they believed they had a right to do so. Same for any power: any European nation, Russia, China, Japan, India, Ottoman Empire. Might really did make right and whether or not you agree with the politics behind it, that thought process shaped the world we live in today. Spawned more than a few wars, too.

Rights and freedoms: Each right and freedom we enjoy now was won only through long hard fighting. Women didn’t get the right to vote until the 1920s, so writing about a strong and in-charge heroine in the 1820s requires tweaking. And limiting. She couldn’t really be in charge of the company-but the woman behind the power is always a great story!

Thank you, Isabel!  And everyone, please join the discussion!  One random commenter on Isabel’s tour will receive a Vice Versa beaded fashion purse, a summer shawl, and a box of Godiva chocolates!  

Read Dark Desires of the Druids: Sex & Subterfuge available now in bookstores! And be sure to check out Isabel’s free story!

4.5 Cherries from Whipped Cream Reviews: Isabel Roman has stepped up the action in this second book of her series. The characters are all well defined and multi-faceted. Morgana is a strong woman, but one who is willing to give all to those she cares deeply for….I also appreciated the research that must have gone into this book to make everything so true to the time period. I respect the author’s time taken to get it right.

4 Stars from Love Romance Passion: Do you like jealous heroes and love triangles? How about sizzling sexual encounters atop of dining room furniture? If you answered yes to either question, you’re going to love this novella. I’m also recommending it, if you enjoy reading paranormal romance, historical, or erotica.

Hungry For Your Love released today!

 

Looking for some romance?  A fan of zombies?  Interested in seeing how the two genres combine?  Check out Hungry For Your Love at Ravenous Romance!   This unique anthology includes stories by yours truly (that’s me, writing under my own name this time), Kilt Kilpatrick, Isabel Roman, Brian Keene, and John Skipp…er…I mean, Gina McQueen.  Who we think is John Skipp in drag!  And plenty of other authors whose work I can’t wait to devour…  

Sorry… I had to say it.   

News and Announcements!

Which I guess are sort of the same thing, but put together they look so…important!

Okay, first things first!  A relative and writing critique pal of mine, Lisa Brackmann, has sold her book Rock, Paper, Tiger, an ‘existential suspense’ novel, to Soho Press and it will be released in Spring/Summer 2010!  May I hear a WOOT and other assorted noises of celebration?  The book is set in China, a country that Lisa has spent a lot of time exploring.  Visit her blog, Paper Tiger, and read more about her adventures in China and her upcoming book! Lisa’s agent is Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown.  Who says agents don’t support and sell literary fiction? I’ve read the book in several incarnations, loved it the first time around and am happy to say it just got better and better with the subsequent drafts.  

Second, tomorrow (Wednesday the 15th) is Ravenous Romance Day on Unbound, featuring Isabel Roman, author of the historical paranormal series Dark Desires of the Druids.  Join us as Isabel talks about the suspension of disbelief!  

Other news can wait!    

Broken Bus (Now Repaired) on the Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven- LISA LANE

WHOO HOO!!!!  BUS IS FIXED!!!!   Post now up and running here as planned!  If you left a comment here or you leave a comment there, you are entered in our giveaway contest and for the grand prize of $25 at Ravenous Romance!!    Come on, get happy…..


 

Folks, our beloved bus broke down on the way to Unbound this morning – we suspect it had something to do with trying to cross the Atlantic.  Although it might also have been the incessant singing of ‘Come on, Get Happy!’  At any rate, until we finish pushing it over to Unbound, we will be holding the third stop of our tour back here at Zhadi’s Den.  So please spread the word!  Oh, and warning… this post holds some explicit sex, so if you see smoke coming off of the screen, keep the kids away!  Now take it away, Lisa!!!  

 

 

Hi!  I’m Lisa Lane, author of the Ravenous Romance erotic vampire series, The Darkness and the Night, and the romantic and kinky sci-fi space trek, Lust in Space.  I would like to thank the Unbound group for hosting today’s event, everyone who helped to make this blog tour possible, and all those who have taken the time to stop by.  I will be giving away a copy of Lust in Space to one visitor, so make sure to leave a comment before you go.  Today we’re going to be discussing my favorite subject: Writing. And with that, the question of the day is:

 

What is it about writing you enjoy so much?

 

Lisa Lane: Writing relaxes me.  There is not much that compares to watching a movie play in my mind, while the muses work and my fingers hit the keyboard.  I love knowing just enough about the story and the characters to know where it is going, while also being left just far enough in the dark to feel the surprise and delight of a new plot twist or literary device, as it comes.  I love getting to know my characters, learning from them, teaching with them, crying for them, and cheering them on.  I love the satisfaction that comes with finishing that last sentence to that last chapter, and the feeling that comes with knowing that others might take, and enjoy, the ride I just finished.  I love the anticipation I feel when the next story begins to develop in my head, and the ride begins all over again.

 

EM Lynley: I love creating the characters and getting to know them as I plan and write. It makes writing so much easier. It’s wonderful when I’m writing and suddenly one of them does something I wasn’t planning. Then I know I’ve created a well-rounded character who readers will enjoy and come to care about as much as I do.

 

Jamaica Layne: I enjoy the thrill of creating new characters and situations, and the knowledge that the world I am creating will provide hours of entertainment to people I’ve never even met.

 

Isabel Roman:  I love playing in the imagination sandbox.

 

Inara LaVey: It’s the ultimate power trip.  “I created you, I can destroy you!  BWAHAHAHAHAH!!!!”  J  Plus it’s just plain fun. 

 

C. Margery Kempe: I am a god! I make the world, cause people to fall in love (or lust) and create out of nothing. What could be better than that?

 

Savannah Chase: I love creating these stories and bringing characters to life. I get to express myself with the tales I created and let my imagination run free. I love when someone reads one of my books and loves my work. When you get amazing feedback from a reader it fuels the fire to work harder and push yourself even more to create other books they will love.

 

Angela Cameron:  I love everything about it really. Even the tough things are fun or make me bring more of myself to the job than I’d thought I could. It’s not only an art that I can share with others, but a craft that forces me to grow as an artist. The most fun, however, is talking to readers who know my fantasy worlds and have as much fun there as I do.

 

Elle Amery: This question makes me laugh! In what other industry can someone earn money by snuggling with a cat on their couch and daydreaming?

 

Sèphera Girón:  I’m not sure. I think it’s the ability to live in other worlds and to meet new characters. I enjoy the process of stringing words together and I like to entertain.

 

Neve Black:  Eroticism especially is a true freedom of expression.

 

 

Excerpt from Lust in Space:

Sleep came quickly. Nora dreamt she was back on Earth, moving along a warm
beach. She wore a long, flowing white dress that danced in the light, salty breeze. Nora walked along the shoreline, feeling the sand between her toes and the cool ocean water rushing up over her feet. Seagulls flew overhead, calling to one another and fighting over bits of fish and carrion.

“Hey,” a man’s voice said, startling Nora as he came up from behind.

Nora quickly turned, then smiled at the sight of a young, robust man standing before her. He had shoulder-length, sun-bleached hair, dark tan, and thick arms. His bare chest was firm and muscular, his stomach flat. Swimming trunks hanging loosely around his hips created a terrible tease.

“Hi,” Nora said nervously.

“So, this is Earth?” the man asked, taking in the stunning scenery.

“Yes,” Nora replied.

“It’s lovely,” he said. He gazed into Nora’s eyes. “The people are lovely, too.”

“This is a dream,” Nora said, working to make sense of the lucid scenario..

“In a way,” he corrected. “Your ship has entered Tantra space. I’m Jorre. I thought we might get to know one another.”

“You speak my Earth dialect?” she asked.

“I know everything you know. I’m inside your mind.”

“Oh. I feel at a slight disadvantage. I don’t know anything about you. Will we be able to meet, in person?”

“This is it,” Jorre said. “The Tantra have evolved past the need for physical bodies, but we’re still always eager to meet and learn from new life forms.”

Nora looked at Jorre skeptically.

“I can assure you that I’m very real,” he said. “You have something I need, just like I have something you need.”

“And what is that?”

Jorre took Nora into his arms and kissed her. His tongue was firm and sweet as it
danced through her mouth. The feel of his chest against Nora’s body was calming and arousing, sending her mind reeling as he lifted her dress and caressed her long legs. Nora went wet at his touch.

They lowered their bodies to the damp, compact sand. Cool, shallow water swirled around them as they kissed and held onto each other. Nora pulled off Jorre’s trunks and paused to admire his perfect, hard cock. Her body swelled at the thought of feeling him inside her, hot and thick.

Jorre moved against her, making Nora desperate for more. He put a hand between her legs and tore away her wet panties. The ocean whisked them away.
Nora swelled more as Jorre’s fingers penetrated her, rubbing and contorting within her. She grabbed his cock, marveled at its length and width, and stroked it with uncontrolled desire.

“Please, I need to feel you,” she begged.

Jorre continued to pleasure her with his fingers, seemingly amused. “You want me to fuck you?”

“Yes!”

“I want to hear you say it.”

“I need you to fuck me!” she bellowed, writhing desperately, spreading her legs and raking her fingers into the sand.

Nora lay on her discarded dress as Jorre rose between her legs, moving up against her and filling her forcefully. She thrust to meet him. Her breath shook as their bodies met. Nora wrapped her legs around Jorre’s firm body as he pumped into her, enthusiastically and fervently, each move taking her further toward blissful abandon. She rested her head against the sand, the water ebbing and flowing through her hair as it rushed over her. Jorre drilled into her with heavy, violent thrusts. Nora went limp, unable to keep up. She whimpered in blissful agony. He held her down as climax took her, her body going weak and her mind reeling. Nora moaned and wailed as Jorre continued to drive into her, taking her deep and hard.

“No more!” she cried, realizing that he had her by the arms. Her orgasm was
suddenly too much for her to bear.

But Jorre’s grip only grew tighter. He secured Nora tightly against the sand as he
reveled in her exasperation. He breathed heavily and his eyes rolled back as she
screamed.

 

***

 

For more on Lust in Space and my other works, be sure to visit my website or Ravenous Romance!

 

 

Remember to leave a comment; it automatically enters you to win a copy of my fast-paced, sexy sci-fi, Lust in Space.  We’ll also be giving away three $5.00 gift certificates for Ravenous on three random stops.  You won’t know which ones until the tour is over, so visit as many as you can!  And if you leave a comment on every stop in the RR Ornery Eleven BBT, you’re eligible to win a $25 gift certificate from Ravenous Romance!     

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks again, Unbound, for hosting us!  Please visit Talk About My Favorite Authors tomorrow, April 30th, for another question of the day and our featured author Angela Cameron! 

 

 

Kicking off Ravenous Romance’s “Ornery Eleven” Author Tour!

Zhadi’s Den is proud to present the Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven Author tour in their very first stop of the tour! The journey here was merry due to a variety of beverages smuggled onto the bus and the kind of behavior you’d expect from 11 rowdy writers ready to meet their public!  To kick off this event, we’ve got Holly Schmidt, co-founder and editor of Ravenous Romance to say a few words about the company and the tour!  Welcome, Holly, to Zhadi’s Den!

“Welcome to the Ravenous Romance author blog tour!  Ravenous Romance is an online publisher of erotic romance audiobooks and ebooks.  We publish novels and short stories by a number of best-selling and award-winning authors, and we feature a book a day at www.ravenousromance.com.  On our site, you can also download a FREE short story and FREE audiobook sampler.  And we’re so sure you’ll love our books that we offer the only money-back guarantee in this business. In the four month since we launched, Ravenous Romance has been featured in The New York Times, The Sunday Times of London , Publishers Weekly, Galleycat, and Romantic Times. We’ve had reviews in dozens of romance blogs and have also received a number of great customer reviews on our site and on affiliates like Audible, Fictionwise, and Amazon, where many of our books have been bestsellers in their category. We launched December 1, 2008 and we’ve published over 150 books.  

Ravenous Romance is a partnership between three longtime publishing executives who see digital publishing as the future and erotica and romance as the most exciting categories.  On this blog tour, our amazing authors will be chatting about their books, their inspiration, and their experiences with Ravenous. We hope you enjoy the conversation.  Please join our Yahoo group for more personal interaction with our authors, sneak previews from cover photo shoots, giveways and more!”    

 

Thank you, Holly!  Now we’d like to introduce our Ornery Eleven authors, 11 romance and erotica writers who all bring something unique and different to Ravenous Romance’s cornucopia of sexy delights!


 

Elle Amery writes contemporary romance with highly descriptive, erotic love scenes. She sets her stories in small towns where what goes on behind closed doors—and sometimes out in the open—will rock your world. Elle focuses on the complex nature of her character’s personalities and the dynamic interaction that builds as two people fall head over heels in love. She lives with a menagerie of animals, both adopted and wild, in northern California

 

Neve Black has been writing since she can remember and opted for a degree in English Literature. She mostly enjoys writing about subjects that scratch the under-belly of society; thus her love of erotica. Her stories can be read in the on-line magazine Oysters and Chocolate, various anthologies, like Swing and the e-book publisher, Ravenous Romance, to include her first novel, Sex through the Zodiac, which was published in January, 2009. 

Angela Cameron is the author of several published works that range from paranormal romance to erotica to suspense, such as the Italian vampire Blood & Sex series. Her worlds are full of diverse characters with plenty of action. Oh, and don’t forget the tie me, slap me, and kiss me sex. She’s a huge fan of both chocolate and peanut butter. And she listens to more rock music than anyone her age probably should. 

 

Savannah Chase writes erotica, and she writes romance. Whether you want sweaty sex or sweet romance, she’s written just the thing for you.  Savannah started putting pen to paper as a young schoolgirl. Music inspired her to write lyrics, which eventually turned into stories. Her stories have gotten better, longer and so much more erotic as the years passed. Savannah is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Toronto Romance Writers, and Erotic Authors Association. She currently resides in Canada. Her first Ravenous Romance release is Special Delivery featured in the Men In Shorts: An Erotic Anthology.  Sèphera Girón enjoys writing about the human condition. She loves and aches with her characters and eagerly explores where their adventures may next lead. Her current work with Ravenous Romance includes five erotic books from the Sexstrology series as well as others.   

 

 

C. Margery Kempe is the pseudonym for a medieval scholar who teaches at a small liberal arts college in upstate New York.  She writes erotic romance as well as horror and fantasy, while employed as a full time English professor, for which she publishes and lectures on medieval studies, film, popular culture and creative writing at conferences nationally and internationally.  Her first novel for Ravenous Romance is the thriller Chastity Flame.

 

 Lisa Lane lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their two cats.  She has authored over a dozen novels and screenplays, as well as numerous short stories and essays, and she prides herself in her ability to move between different genres and formats.  Her literary influences include Olaf Stapledon, Kurt Vonnegut, and Anne Rice.  Lisa likes to keep busy, often working on multiple projects at once, and recently finished a work for hire screen adaptation for a Hugo award-winning novelette.   Inara Lavey is the romance-writing nom de plume of a San Francisco mystery writer and former B-movie actress who has lived many of the experiences she writes about in her sensuous fiction. She has traveled throughout Europe, and worked in the uncharted wilds of Hollywood as a screenwriter, a script doctor, an award-winning documentary producer, a stunt woman (her background is in theatrical sword-fighting), and actress in more than one cult classic. She has a deep passion for all things feline, and for many years has worked with her beloved tigers, leopards, jaguars and other exotic cats at an exotic feline conservation center. Another love is the sea; she adores living by the beach, surfing, strolling the strand and beachcombing. Her many friends know she can always be tempted by bad movies or good wine, preferably combined. When she is not hard at work writing or preparing for the coming zombie apocalypse, she can be found doting on her cats or swordfighting with her Irish lover.  Jamaica Layne is a hot new rising star in the erotica market. Her critically acclaimed debut erotic romance novel, Market for Love (rated FOUR STARS by Romantic Times Magazine), was released in print in October 2008 from Virgin Cheek Books, and she also has many erotic books and short stories slated to appear from Ravenous Romance over the next year, including the five-book Vital Signs series, A Capitol Affair, and Knight Moves.  Ms. Layne has also edited two bestselling erotic short story anthologies for Ravenous—-Experimental and Power Plays.  In her “other” life, she is a playwright and journalist. Her plays have received productions and staged readings at thirty-plus small and medium-sized theater companies in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Boston, Phoenix, Ohio, Canada, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. She’s also written articles for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Cat Fancy magazine, and many other major publications. She lives near Chicago with her husband and son.  EM Lynley works in the wine industry, though she’d rather be writing hot, sexy man-on-man action. She spent 15 years as an economist and financial analyst, including a year as a White House Staff Economist, but only because all the intern positions were filled. Tired of boring herself and others with dry business reports and articles, her creative muse is back and naughtier than ever. She has lived and worked in London, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., but the San Francisco Bay Area is home for now.  

Isabel Roman has been writing fiction for several years. Her stories range all over, from Victorian Druids to 30s speakeasies to contemporaries, all with a lot of hot monkey sex. With a degree in American History, no time period is safe from her. Neither are werewolves, ghosts, or magickers as in her erotic historical paranormal series Dark Desire of the Druids. She is also an obsessive fan of the Sharpe series, science fiction, audiobooks, and her life’s blood, chocolate.

Join all of our marvelous authors and blog hosts on the tour!  Each stop will feature one author in particular, a question of the day to be answered in depth by said featured author, as well as shorter answers by the other 10 of our Ornery Eleven.  We’ll include an excerpt from one of the featured author’s books, as well as a giveaway.  Three stops will also have a surprise $5 gift certificate to Ravenous Romance, but you won’t know which stop until the tour is over.  And if you comment at all the stops, you will automatically be eligible to win a $25 gift certificate for Ravenous Romance.  That’s five e-books by your favorite authors!  Plus you’ll visit some great blogs and websites. And now the schedule for the rest of the tour!4/19 – Jennifer’s Random Musings Elle Amery
4/20 – UnboundLisa Lane
4/21 – Talk About My Favorite Authors Angela Cameron
4/22 – Kissa StarlingEm Lynley
4/23 – The CountessJamaica Layne
4/24 – PNR Inklings Blog at ParaNormal Romance –  Sèphera Girón
4/25 – Wicked Thorn and RosesIsabel Roman
4/27 – Sia McKaye’s Thoughts on…Neve Black
4/29 – Bryn GreenwoodC. Margery Kempe
4/30 – Bookwenches Savannah Chase
5/1 – Neve Black Inara LaVey
5/2 – Night Owl Romances The Fabulous Wrap Up Stop!

Remember to leave a comment; it automatically enters you to win a copy of the book of your choice from one of our Ornery Eleven!  We’ll also be giving away three $5.00 gift certificates for Ravenous on three random stops.  You won’t know which ones until the tour is over, so visit as many as you can!  And if you leave a comment on every stop in the RR Ornery Eleven BBT, you’re eligible to win a $25 gift certificate from Ravenous Romance!   And visit us on our new Ravenous author blog for the latest from Ravenous Romance’s growing number of authors!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Please visit Jennifer’s Random Musings tomorrow, April 18th, for another question of the day and our first featured author Elle Amery! 

     

Coming up on April 18th…

It’s the Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven Blog Tour!

That’s right!  After weeks of grumbling on the part of Yours Truly regarding the logistical black hole that sucked me away while putting together this tour, it’s nearly ready and will be starting in 9 days!  I think.  Math is not my strong suit.

Despite all my grebbling (it’s a word.  Don’t look it up.  Just trust me.) I am quite excited about the tour.  We have eleven lusty ladies from Ravenous Romance, the exciting new erotica and erotic romance e-publisher (recently mentioned in the New York Times) touring together on a cyber bus (think Partridge Family bus, but with humorous naughty drawings on the bus instead of big daisies), visiting different blogs and talking about all sorts of things related to writing and erotica.  There will be giveaways (books, interesting and unique items from several authors, three $5 gift certificates and, to one lucky person who comments on ALL the stops, a $25 gift certificate for Ravenous Romance.  That’s five books!), so make sure to follow the entire tour!   We’ve got 13 unique sites for our stops and it’s going to be a lot of fun. Plus I’ve worked very hard on this tour, so if you’re my friend or fan, you’ll follow it to avoid my baleful glare if you don’t!

The schedule, you ask?  Here ya go.

4/18 – Zhadi’s Den – Intro Stop

4/19 – Jennifer’s Random MusingsElle Amery
4/20 – UnboundLisa Lane
4/21 – Talk About My Favorite Authors Angela Cameron
4/22 – Kissa StarlingEm Lynley
4/23 – The CountessJamaica Layne
4/24 – PNR Inklings Blog at ParaNormal Romance –  Sèphera Girón
4/25 – Wicked Thorn and RosesIsabel Roman
4/27 – Sia McKaye’s Thoughts on…Neve Black
4/29 – Bryn GreenwoodC. Margery Kempe
4/30 – Bookwenches Savannah Chase
5/1 – Neve Black Inara LaVey
5/2 – Night Owl Romances – The Fabulous Wrap Up Stop!

And don’t forget to visit our brand new Ravenous Romance author blog, set up by the fabulous Phoebe of Talk About My Favorite Authors!  Speaking of which, I owe her a post there too…  D’oh!!!

Whew!  Now back to work on the posts!