Author of the Week: Clair de Lune

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This week Clair de Lune visits the blog. I met Clair online when she contacted me through Siren Publishing to find out some promotional tricks. Clair has since written many books with the paranormal and BDSM flavors. Today I asked her one question about the art form of Kinbaku and how it came into her writing.

BBTF: You often post images of rope work in your FB page. How has that art form found its way into your writing?

Clair: When I first became interested in writing BDSM I listened to Gray Dancer's Ropecasts. On a few of them Master "K" spoke about Kinbaku and his books "The Art of Kinbaku." The interviews were very interesting and his voice was very easy to listen to. I bought his book and loved it.

By this time I was beginning to write "Catriona's Golden Angel," and I needed some information, in order to get the Kinbaku scenes right, so I emailed Master "K." He replied at once with all the information I needed. Since then we have become friends and he's kind enough not only to answer any questions I had but also to proof read my Kinbaku scenes.

His book was translated into Japanese, a singular, and well-deserved honour for a Westerner writing about such a very Japanese subject. He went to Japan for the book launch and was kind enough to write an article for my website on his return. You can find it on www.clairdelunebooks.co.uk. You are very welcome to leave comments.

That is a great honor, Clair! Congratulations.

You can find out more about Clair de Lune's books on her website. Be sure to buy a book and tell a friend. Happy reading! 

Author of the Week: Erzabet Bishop

Welcome back to Buy a Book, Tell a Friend!

This week Ezabet Bishop visits the blog. I met Ezabet online when we both realized we each had a book about Beltane published. Erzabet is far more diverse in her writing than I am and it shows in all the many genres where she finds stories. Today I asked her one question about which one is her favorite.

BBTF: You write in multiple genres and formats. What is your current favorite genre and format (short story, novel, CYOA, screenplay)?

Erzabet: Thanks for having me. That’s a tough one. Under my pen name (Erzabet) I write erotica and under my other nom de plume I write young adult, children’s literature and horror.

I can’t really list a favorite genre. They are all a part of me as a writer. The erotica side does give me a lot of freedom to explore things I wouldn’t normally get experience in my day to day world, so that is a lot of fun for me.

Young adult is something I have loved for years and am in the middle of two novels. Only recently have they begun to gel into something that is going to come to fruition. When I first started them ten years ago, I jumped into the act of novel writing completely blind and didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I got lost in the forest and couldn’t see the trees. Now after working on several shorter works of fiction, the process is less frightening and a lot more rewarding.

For children’s works, I have recently completed a CYOA for the Ghostsniffers group. They are run by Angels of Anarchy, who is the publisher of the series I write for. I really like the entire concept. Ghostsniffers takes kids with disabilities and makes them action heroes. They really are and getting the chance to take on the role for the CYOA novel was one I really enjoyed.

For the adult side of the house, I am working in several formats.

*Choose your own erotic adventure-Silkwords has a unique website where you can join and read all the stories you want. There’s a new one out every week and every one of them is a CYOA. Mine tend to be a little more on the erotic side and I just signed a contract for a new vacation style adventure that is sure to curl some toes.

*Serial fiction-Club Rook is a new series by Angels of Anarchy. It is centered on a lesbian night club with some paranormal influences. Think Buffy meets Lost Girl and you have it. I play two characters-Shanti (a witch) and Heather (dominatrix, musician). Every week for twelve weeks there is a new episode. The series is hot and full of intrigue and lots of witchery. Oh…and let’s not forget how hot it is. Just sayin. A new episode goes live with a video and MP3 every Monday.

*Novella-My new novella Sigil Fire will be out from Ylva on June 11. This story originally began as an entry for the Halloween anthology last year and has morphed into a much larger project. It will be a series and I am already at work on the next one. It features a succubus and a blood witch turned vampire fighting against an enemy as old as time. It is a sexy urban fantasy with cover art that will knock your socks off.

*Short fiction-This year finds me in several Cleis and Ladylit anthologies. I love short fiction for the burst of passion and opportunity to give a window into the lives of some pretty steamy characters. Slave Girls in particular has done very well so far. Bossy has just been released and with more to come in the summer months. Many of these feature BDSM style elements and a good many are f/f or m/f pairings depending on the theme of the anthology. I am also writing for the Unbound website and you can find some free m/f pairings that are sure to heat up your reading time.

*Self-publishing-I have begun a series with the authors of Rhavensfyre. It is called Elemental Passions and features a host of Goddess energy and mythology. The first book features two stories, one from each of us. Mine is called Pomegranate and will be the first in a grouping with twisted myths and a war with the Fae. They are both wonderful stories. Rhavensfyre has a knack for digging out deep emotional scenes and making you linger there. Mine are a little more on the sexy side and this one sort of morphed into an epic fantasy with a life of its own. Stay tuned for more in this line.

You can find out more about Erzabet Bishop's multitude of projects and genres on her website. Be sure to buy a book and tell a friend. Something for everyone here. Happy reading!

Author of the Week: Dianne Hartsock

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This week Dianne Hartsock visits the blog. I met Dianne online at Six Sentence Sunday and found her writing to be heartfelt (makes sense, doesn't it?) and endearing. I wanted to know more about the characters, what they did to succeed in their love, and where she would take them. Today I asked her one question about how her muse became in engaged in her genre.

BBTF: You write heartfelt M/M romance in different genres. What about M/M romance captured your heart and your muse?

Dianne: I read my first m/m erotic romance about four years ago, and oh my! I was enchanted. I read pretty much every genre under the sun, but there's just something about two men falling into each other's arms and hearts that fascinates me, makes my pulse pound in my veins.

But I never thought to write an erotic romance story of my own until I attended an online conference for writers several years ago hosted by Muse it Up Publishing. One of the writers there, Jamieson Wolf, held a series of lectures called 'Riding the Lightning'. Did I say lectures? Definitely not! More like a slow seduction, coaxing and teasing us with the delights of writing male on male love.

More than this, Jamieson literally challenged us to write an m/m romance. And a tiny voice inside me whispered, why not? Go ahead. Imagine that strong body shiver under your hand. Feel the texture of his skin, the contours of hard muscles. Write that down.

Now go that one step further, add that bit of naughtiness by having it be two men in this room. See! For whatever reason, this image makes my heart jump and race. Go on, says the impish voice in my head, slide your hand down that sexy body. And if you write it as if your character is another male doing this, wouldn't you feel that slide as if it were on your own body? You would know the delicious pleasure of being rubbed and squeezed, the slow lick of a tongue. You'd want to give that pleasure to your lover. Write that down.

And this is why I write m/m romance! I start with my two men undressing and touching and kissing, one thing leading to another in a hot sensual dance, leading to climax. I love stretching my writing skills, imagining their movements and capturing every touch and emotion and position on the page. Love is Love! And I love writing about it.

Thank you so much for having me as your guest today Siobhan!

Oh, you write so delicious, Dianne! :D

You can find out more about Dianne Hartsock's sexy, seductive, and very male characters on her website. Be sure to buy a book and tell a friend. Happy reading!

Author of the Week: Moira Keith

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This week Moira Keith visits the blog. I met Moira at my kids' school while she read something on a Kindle. When I asked her what she was reading (hoping to find a new fan), she said she was reading her own work, looking for formatting errors and typos. It was such a delight to find another romance author in town. Today I asked her one question about art and writing.

BBTF: In your bio it says you enjoy drawing. How has art influenced your writing?

Moira: I find myself giving my heroines a hobby that allows me to incorporate art. For example in Blood and Moonlight, me heroine, Kiara, draws it helps her focus her mind while she puzzles out problems, but she also paints, and owns an arts and antiquities business. In Anything but Safe, my heroine, Cheyenne, loved photography and painting until she let the ugliness she'd suffered in her life bleed out onto the canvas. I like being able to take something that I love and apply it to my characters in some way. It helps me feel more connected to them on some level.

You can find out more about Moira Keith's sexy and artsy characters on her website. Be sure to buy a book and tell a friend. Happy reading!

Siobhan 

Author of the Week: Nara Malone

Welcome back to Buy a Book, Tell a Friend!

This week Nara Malone visits the blog. I met Nara when I read her BDSM tale The Dungeon Gourmet and messaged her on Facebook to find out if there was another one coming. Mr. SM and I also tried out her Baked Peach Ice Cream recipe and it was divine. Nara eventually invited me to join her in her online community in OpenSim. Today I asked her one question about virtual worlds and writing.

BBTF: You have a strong connection to the virtual reality community. What is it about virtual worlds that appeals to you and how does that translate into your writing?

Nara: Virtual reality is fiction and nonfiction in three dimensions. It is a simulation. It can simulate a laboratory where theories and prototypes can be tested. It can simulate a work environment where participants scattered around the globe can come together and work on projects. But mostly it is a place where artists, musicians, writers, engineers, builders, programmers come to create what has never been created. I think a virtual community is a good look at the personalities you would find in an early colony--the explorers, rugged individualists, adventurers, scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and storytellers. These are the folks who always push boundaries and explore new frontiers. They were the ones that explored earth's continents, expanding the boundaries of civilization. They are the ones who launched the digital age and have started the colonization of inner space. They are the ones who'll be populating the first space colonies.

As an author, this is a crowd I love to hang with--they inspire a million ideas. As a lover of fiction, how can I resist exploring the fantastic simulations they build of fictional and real world settings?  Virtuality encourages you to be more and then gives you the tools to do it. And just like reading a book, I walk away from that experience a different person from the one who walked into it.

The best way to make a decision about the value of a new frontier is to go exploring. You can find instructions to get into the colony I've been building with authors, artists, and musicians here.

[Link for colony instructions]

If you'd rather do that through a book first, you might like to read Snatch Me, a story about a virtual world romance. My newest release, Make Me Wet is not about a virtual world but I built the setting from the story on my virtual world of Nara’s Nook and wrote the book while I sat at my virtual desk and typed at on a pixel computer. I loved the idea that I could sit down to work in a virtual world and make something real.

You can find out more about Nara Malone's magical and virtual worlds on her website. Be sure to buy a book and tell a friend. Happy reading!

Siobhan