Showing posts with label Eroctic Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eroctic Romance. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2011

HARD ROCK: Sedrick Lionheart Interview

TWO COPIES OF ROCK HARD WILL BE GIVEN AWAY BY THE PUBLISHER TO  TWO READERS. US AND CANADA ONLY. Deadline to enter is Sunday at mid-night.


It’s my pleasure to have Olivia Cunning and lead sinner himself, Sed Lionheart, as guests. For those of you who have been on another planet the past few years, Sed is the lead vocalist for Sinners and has been nice enough to stop in to chat with us.

My impression of Sed: Tough, Charismatic and definitely sexy. His eyes are gorgeous as is his smile. Not a man to go unnoticed in a crowd. I can see where he could irritate people because he has a take-charge personality, strong opinions, and not particularly tactful. Sed is very intense, focused, and has little patience with stupid and foolish. For such a large man, 6’4, he moves with the grace of a lion and you have no doubt he’s used to being in charge. When he speaks of his love, Sinners, he’s very professional and proud of the band and it’s members. He’s a very protective person with those he cares about which implies a loving heart under his swagger. Myrna once said of him, “I know he pretends to be tough and all Don Juan Casanova, but he has the most delicate heart I’ve ever seen in a man.”


Sed, welcome to Over Coffee. Sinners are an awesome group and I can tell you’re very proud of both the success of Sinners and it’s members. Sort of like having a family, isn’t it?

Thanks, Sia. Glad to be here. The guys are like brothers to me. Which means most days they’re a pain in my ass.

You were not part of the band originally. How did you meet up with Brian, Trey and Eric?

Everyone always asks me this question. I went to a bar with a fake ID. It was the kind of bar that didn’t really care if you had the ID or not, they just wanted to be able to take the blame off themselves if the cops ever showed up. Anyway, some punk kids, and I do mean punk, Trey’s hair was vivid orange (not his color) and Brian had this three foot high mohawk, I kid you not, were playing. The two of them were amazing together. You’ve heard them play guitar together?


Yes and I agree, they are incredible musicians. They play off each other’s music and revamp it to a better piece.

It’s like they’re two parts of a whole. It’s always been that way between them. Anyway, I just stood there in awe and knew I had to become of part of what they had. I didn’t have anything to offer them but my voice, which at that point in time wasn’t that great.

But didn’t they already have a lead vocalist?

If you want to call him that. Eric Anderson, who now goes by Eric Sticks, was their singer at the time. The guy is still tall and lanky, but as a teenager he was a twig with giant feet. He could sing okay and is a decent bass player, but he had the stage presence of a comatose DMV employee.

A comatose DMV employee? Oh my God, I hope you didn’t tell him that.

Nah, I’m not that crass. I just told him he needed a new goal in life. The guy wasn’t meant to be a front man. He was meant to be a drummer. He has this incredible talent with percussion... He doesn’t just play rhythm. He makes music and melody by banging on stuff. There aren’t many drummers who do that. I know he thinks he got “stuck” playing drums, but he has a gift with them. It would be a tragedy if he gave them up.

Wow. You’re very proud of him. I hope he realizes that.

I digress. Anyway, by a stroke of luck (or temporary good sense), the guys agreed that I could become their singer. Eric switched to the drums permanently and we picked up a new bassist.

Brian mentioned you pretty much took over the band? Pretty highhanded of you, even though the band is quite famous now.

Hey, they could have refused. Or walked away. No one threatened to break their fingers.

Any hard feelings over that move? If so, how did you handle it?

Eric mopes about it sometimes, but it’s Eric. A few shots of tequila and he’s over it.

Lol! If you had to pick a band on today’s scene you respect for their songwriting or music ability, who would it be and why?

Any band that can make a living doing this has my complete respect. Hell, even if they can’t make a living at it, they deserve respect. Connecting with enough fans to turn a profit is a total crapshoot. We all do this out of love for music. That’s what’s important.

You had to cancel some of your tour due to Trey’s injury. He’s a real favorite of mine. How’s he doing these days? When will we see him back on stage?

I can’t speak for him. Last I checked he was getting some rest and relaxation by his parents’ pool.

You have quite a reputation for the ladies, Sed, and more fangirls than Las Vegas has lights. How do you handle that? And what’s this about your shirt. I’ll admit, one the guys mentioned I should ask you that.

Fangirls are easy to deal with. You tell them what to do. They do it. Unfortunately, they think my shirt is fair game. I lose about a shirt a week. Saves on laundry, I guess. I used to wear chains, but it frickin’ hurts when someone gets a hand wrapped around one of them. I’d rather them rip off my shirt if they insist on a souvenir.

You’ve been seen a lot in the company of Jessica Chase, especially in Las Vegas. Are you two back together?


Yes. She’s mine.

Well. That certainly sounds possessive of a known ladies man. Kind of risky considering it’s reported she broke your heart when she left you before. In fact Brian Sinclair doesn’t think you’re over her and he doesn’t understand what you see in her given she walked out on you. Seems like your fan girls agree.

Do I care what Brian or anyone else thinks about any of my relationships? No.

Is it true Jessica is working with Myrna Sinclair and touring with you guys too? How are you and the guys dealing with that?

Jessica needed a job. Myrna hired her. Without consulting anyone. Myrna will be finishing up her study this summer, so all the estrogen on the bus is just a temporary situation. We’re off tour right now, but when we get on the road, the bus is sure to be crowded. The partying will probably all but come to a standstill. I’m okay with that, but I’m sure that will make Trey cranky.


Moving on. Sed, I understand you have two younger sisters. I‘ve seen pictures of your sisters. They’re beautiful women. I’m sure they know all the guys in the band; I’m surprised they haven’t dated one of them, like Eric.


If any member of my band went anywhere near my baby sisters, they’d pay. The guys are not allowed to look at them, or talk to them, and especially not touch them. That goes double for Eric.


Lol! Sounds like a typical big brother.
I know you’ve always had an interest in music and I understand you played the violin in school. You have my curiosity piqued; did you play it as a fiddle as well as in a more traditional mode?



I played violin in a strictly classical sense. Mary Had A Little Lamb is classical, right? I’m no Charlie Daniels, that’s for sure. There’s no chance of me ever winning a golden fiddle from Satan... or even a third grader.


Are you planning on using the violin in any Sinners songs? Like Korn does with bagpipes and Skillet does with violins? Yellowcard does a fabulous job of incorporating violin in Breathing.


Uh, no. Why would I ever use a violin? Not Sinners style. Plus, my playing is a little rusty, to say the least.


Hmmm. Just curious, Sed. I want to thank you for stopping by. Before you go, I happen to have a T shirt with me. Has your Sinner’s logo on it which I got off the website.  Would you mind signing it for me?

No problem, babe. Anything for a fan.

Sed and Olivia will be checking back in around 3:30 this afternoon with a few of the other Sinners checking in too. Since they're not on tour presently, they'll also be around Saturday. If you have a question post it and one of them will get back to you.

~*~*~


Rock Hard blurb:
 
Sinner’s lead singer, Sed, had his heart shredded when Jessica left him to pursue her dreams, so when she dances her way back into his life, he's not sure he's ready for her brand of pain, or pleasure, again.  When she convinces Sed to engage in a benefits with benefits relationship, things seem to be going his way, until one of his fans catches their explicit public display of affection on film and posts it all over the internet.  Will Jessica ever trust Sed again?  And has Sed become the man of Jessica’s dreams or is he just posing to get what he wants? Excerpt
Sed and Jessica are reunited with a bang! Readers will love the characters and enjoy their scorching love scenes and passionate fights. 4 Stars RT Book Review.

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million, Chapters Indigo


My 5 Star Review of Rock Hard



Friday, March 25, 2011

ROCK HARD: Review

My blogger had to reschedule his blogging date so I decided to give you a treat by posting my review of Rock Hard, by Olivia Cunning. I loved this story!


I will be interviewing Sed Lionheart on April 1stno foolingand I'm expecting several of the Sinners to pop in as well. Sure to be a treat not to be missed. Be sure to mark your calendars and let everyone know. It's sure to be a fun time with all the ribbing from the rest of the band and groupies too.


Rock Hard

Book two of Sinners On Tour
Olivia Cunning
Sourcebooks
431 Pages
Release Date: April 1, 2011



Sinner’s lead singer, Sed, had his heart shredded when Jessica left him to pursue her dreams, so when she dances her way back into his life, he's not sure he's ready for her brand of pain, or pleasure, again. When she convinces Sed to engage in a benefits with benefits relationship, things seem to be going his way, until one of his fans catches their explicit public display of affection on film and posts it all over the internet. Will Jessica ever trust Sed again? And has Sed become the man of Jessica’s dreams or is he just posing to get what he wants?  Excerpts You can read chapter one and two.


My thoughts:

Love, Sex, and Rock and Roll. Any one of those items would make a good theme for an interesting story—or a very good one, as Olivia Cunning, demonstrated with her debut, Backstage Pass. But could she do it again? Ah the sixty-four dollar question and not always an easy thing with a second novel.

My answer? She has produced another winner. Rock Hard is not only an excellent read but also, in my opinion, it surpasses her debut novel both in writing depth and entertainment.

Why would I say that? Olivia has taken an arrogant and highhanded character that pretty much everyone wanted to dislike and shows Sed Lionheart as a sexy, loveable hero. Oh, he hasn’t lost his arrogance or dominating personality, but Olivia gives us insight into what makes him tick. His inner vulnerabilities and strengths, and shows us through his actions that he cares deeply for his Sinner family members. We clearly see his motivations for his highhanded ways.

“Isn’t it dangerous to drill a hole in someone’s head?” Sed asked.


“If they don’t, I’ll die.” Trey covered his eyes with one hand. His throat convulsed as he swallowed.


“You’re not going to die, Trey,” Brian said. “If you do, I’ll kill you.”


Trey chuckled. Sed realized he was probably making Trey feel worse, but he didn’t want to leave. He needed to see Trey moving, breathing, joking around. That way he could convince himself that Trey would be okay and that helpless feeling in Sed’s gut would ease…


“What can I do for you, Trey, Sed asked? “Anything. I’ll do anything.”


“Smile.”


Sed tried, but it made his chest constrict in agony.


Sed’s greatest weakness is Jessica, his feisty, very independent ex-fiancée. Jessica is a third year law student; smart, sexy, and gorgeous. She isn’t one to let anyone, much less Sed, control her and when he tried she walked.

Sed’s determined to make her fall in love with him again. Whatever it takes. If she needs hot sex to convince her he’ll give her the fires of hell in their sex.

“He’d always loved her. He’d never stopped loving her…he wouldn’t survive if he had to watch her walk away from him again.”

The dynamics between these two independent and stubborn characters makes for an exhilarating ride to happy ever after.

The sex between these two is on the yowza! I need a cold shower stat, scale. Inventive and hot, but never stuck in the story unnecessarily for the sake of having a sex scene. Just as Brian and Myrna Sinclair have a rich and satisfying sex life, which fits within their needs and fantasies, so do Sed and Jessica. And what better place to explore fantasies than Sin City—Las Vegas.

This is a full, well rounded romance, strong on story, yowza sex, two strong minded people who have to learn giving up control doesn’t mean losing, but winning the best reward of all—love, hard rock style.

Ms. Cunning gives us another dazzling story of Sinners, love, sex, and rock and roll!

5 stars

Friday, October 1, 2010

Interview: Sinners' On Tour, Backstage Pass





It’s my pleasure to have as my guest, Olivia Cunning, erotic romance author. Olivia has brought along lead guitarist of Sinners, the delectable, Brian Sinclair. Ladies he’s lookin’ hawt! (I’d still love to donate my body, in the name of ecology, of course, for him to use. Sigh, but one must be professional when conducting interviews.)


Brian, welcome to Over Coffee. It wonderful to have you and Olivia here and I’ve been so looking forward to this interview.

Since you're short on time, we'll get right to it.


Tell me a bit about Sinners. How did you guys come together?

Hard to believe, but Sinners has been together for ten years now. Well, most of us have. Jace Seymour took over for our previous bassist just two years ago. I’ve known Trey Mills, our rhythm guitarist, since before he grew pubes. Met Eric Sticks at a party in high school. Trey and I were playing a gig with our band, Crysys, and Eric thought we sucked. Actually, Eric and Trey got in a fistfight over it, which somehow ended with Eric joining the band. He was trying to decrease our suck. Did a pretty good job with that actually. Crysys did suck until Eric joined us.

The three of us played together for a couple years, then Sed Lionheart decided he wanted to be our lead singer, took over, and rearranged things. He’s the one who renamed the group Sinners.

So even though he wasn’t an original member, Sed just took over?

Yeah, Sed is like that. He told Eric that he was hurting the band by being lead singer and that he should play drums instead. Eric sings pretty good actually, but he doesn’t have much star quality. Sed’s got both the pipes and the stage presence. He’s a great front man. And Eric wails on the drums. So win/win for Sinners. Right?

I suppose so. As long as there were no hard feelings.

Now I didn’t say that.

Your father was also a famous lead guitarist in his day. Was he the one who encouraged you to pick up the guitar?

Not really. When I was a kid, he’d go out on tour and I’d sneak into his studio to play his guitars. I don’t know how he knew I was messing with them, but man, that made him mad. No one touches Malcolm O’Neil’s guitars. Eventually, Mom bought me my own guitar, so I’d stop upsetting Dad. And despite all my success in Sinners, I’m still not good enough to impress the old man.

Can we talk about something else?

Sure. Whose music influenced you, Master Sinclair, to become the iconic guitarist you are today?

I do have a few influences, but I tried to find my own sound early on. You can’t be a great musician if you copy others your whole career. I think Hendrix was my biggest influence. I started trying to copy his sound when I was eight. I also learned from fast-fingered soloists like Randy Rhodes and Eddie Van Halen, as well as, masters of the metal riff, like Metallica and Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell Abbot. You’ll hear bits of all of them in me. I guess my dad influenced me, too. People say I sound like him. I don’t hear it.

Hey, did you know Olivia Cunning dedicated her novel, Backstage Pass, to Dimebag?

Yes, I saw that. He was an awesome guitarist.

I suggested it to her. His loss was a terrible tragedy. Playing Cowboys from Hell helped me build up my speed. Great workout for the fingers. Sick song! Uh, sick meaning good.

I really like the song too, Brian. I think I’ll let anyone who wants hear it give it a play.




If you had to pick a band on today’s scene you respect for their songwriting or music ability, who would it be and why?

There are lots of great bands out there right now. I don’t think I can pick just one. I do respect bands who aren’t afraid to vary their song structures and sound. Variety is good as long as you don’t go overboard.

We’re going to try to add even more variety to Sinners’ next album. So says Eric Sticks.

As a popular band, what are some of the good things that have come your way? What are some of the not so great things?

Fans are great. Performing live is great. Getting paid to do what I love is amazing. Living on a tour bus with four other slobs sucks. Just kidding, the guys are great. Just don’t feed them chili. I beg you.

I read on your website that you had some problems this past year with losing your creative spark or your muse. That must have been hard. Was it burn out?

Sed has a big frickin’ mouth. I don’t know why he posted that on our website. I’m not sure what the problem was. We’ve been on the road for a long time, but that usually inspires me. Maybe it was the pressure. Everyone always being on my case to write something. I think I just needed to relax and let the music come. Not force it, you know? I’m over it now. I’ve written a lot of new stuff recently. Great stuff.

So how did you finally find a way to relax and let it come? Come? Ummm....
Why, Brian Sinclair, are you blushing?

Psssh, no.

If you say so, lol! So what exactly inspired your creative spark? You can tell us.

Might as well. It’s all being published in the novel, Backstage Pass, anyway. There’s this woman. This amazing, sexy, wonderful, brilliant, beautiful, intelligent woman. When we, uhhh... how do I put this, get it on, I hear music in my head. It’s as if we were destined to be together. I think I’m being rewarded for finding her. Now I just have to figure out how to keep her.

Speaking of getting it on, how does it feel to have your sex life made public in a novel?

Hey, it's not so bad. Olivia Cunning makes me look like a total stud in the book. Well, except that part on page 253. I was just too excited before I started, you know, and Myrna had me all worked up and I just got off stage and...

Brian, you're looking a little flushed again, would you like some ice water?

Actually, I'd appreciate it if everyone would just skip that part.

Myrna? She the one who revived your muse, right? Is she traveling with the band?

Yeah, Myrna’s doing this research project on our groupies. Trying to figure out why they keep ripping off Sed’s shirt or something. She’s a human sexuality professor. I think she got her degree in how to make me a very happy man.

How do the other band members get along with her?

Oh, they love her. She busts their balls on a regular basis and they get off on it. Not many chicks feel comfortable bossing around a bunch of famous rock stars, you know. Myrna tells it like it is, so they respect her. Even Sed, who has no respect for women.

Being the significant other of one of the hottest band members can’t be easy. How does she deal with all the women who come on to you?

Women come on to me? [laughing]

Actually, though Myrna is still researching everyone else’s groupies, she stopped interviewing mine. I think she might be jealous. She has absolutely nothing to worry about. I’m a one-woman kind of man.

Unlike Sinners’ lead vocalist, Sed Lionheart. Or so I’ve heard.

Never fails. No matter who interviews me, they bring up Sed’s rep.

That’s because he tends to boldly flaunt it, Brian.

Seriously, you’ve got cut the guy some slack. After his fiancée, Jessica, dumped him two years ago, he became a real a-hole. I say good riddance to that gold-digger, even though it meant I had to deal with a bunch of b.s. from Sed while he got over her. Actually, I still don’t think he’s over her. Not sure what’s so great about her. You’d think he’d hate her after what she did to him.

Crap, I gotta go. I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to get on the tour bus now and head out for our next show. I’ll try to stop by your blog later and answer any questions.

Brian, it’s been a pleasure talking with you. I really appreciate you and Olivia taking time out of your busy schedule for the interview.

Sia. You’re a real sweetheart for having me. Olivia said she’ll stop by sometime, too. And maybe the rest of Sinners. You never know.

Oh, that would be fun.
~*~*~*~ 


For him, life is all music and no play...
When Brian Sinclair, lead songwriter and guitarist of the hottest metal band on the scene, loses his creative spark, it will take nights of downright sinful passion to release his pent-up genius...

She's the one to call the tune...When sexy psychologist Myrna Evans goes on tour with the Sinners, every boy in the band tries to seduce her. But Brian is the only one she wants to get her hands on...

Then the two lovers' wildly shocking behavior sparks the whole band to new heights of glory...and sin... EXCERPT: Adult or PG-13 Read my review
Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million

COMMENT FOR A CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF TWO COPIES OF BACKTAGE PASS!


Combining her love for romantic fiction and rock ‘n roll, Olivia Cunning writes erotic romance centered around rock musicians.
 
You can find Olivia:
 
Website, Blog, Facebook Fan page

Sunday, February 14, 2010

To Tommy, With Love

My guest today is, Charlee Boyett-Compo, the creator of the Reapers™, badass Alpha male shapeshifters with black hair and amber eyes that turn blood red when they are angry. Handsome, deadly men with tortured souls and the only thing that can tame them is the female destined to be their mate. Only she can save her warrior from himself.



  • Reapers™ can be found in several series: DemonWind™ (futuristic assassins), WesternWind™ (whip-wielding, six-gun shooting lawmen of the Old West), WindVerse™ (intergalatic warriors), and BlackWind™ (contemporary fighters of evil). The WesternWind™ werewolf Reaper™ series has been Charlee's bestselling series since 2005.

Her stories are of love and passion and happy ever after endings--but the characters work hard for the HEA. In my opinion, to write believable love and passion, once must first experience it.

I'm honored Charlee was willing to share her own love story with me. This blog's Valentine's dedication is to Tommy, the love of her life.







I am the proud and humble owner of five large scrapbooks, the first of which was started in December of 1965. On the first page of that first scrapbook is a Christmas card from that year. Each page of those scrapbooks holds Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Birthday, Anniversary and Christmas cards. There are 252 such cards plus dozens of others. There was never a year missed. There was never an occasion missed. The other cards are Get Well, Congratulations, or simply a verse that was appropriate when the card was given. In all, there are over 300 colorful cards. The last card, however, can’t be placed in the scrapbook because it’s a musical card and it holds a very special place in my heart.

On April 18, 2009 I became a widow. My husband of 43 years…my most precious Tommy whom my readers knew as Buddha Belly…passed away quietly after a brief two month devastation caused by lung cancer. Not a smoker, the cause of his death was determined officially by the Veterans Administration as a direct result of exposure to Agent Orange when he served duty in Vietnam. No matter the cause, he was gone and with him my life changed with that one last breath he drew into his embattled lungs.

Out of the blue, the illness had struck. They doctors tell me he was dying before he even knew he was sick. That’s the brutality of cancer. He was diagnosed on February 18th. As I sat in our bedroom that afternoon…crying, terrified, numb…I looked at the Valentine’s Day card he’d given me a few days earlier. It would be the last gift he ever gave me.

It was a musical card. On the front is says: “If I had nothing else but our love”… On the inside, it finishes with “I would still have everything I need”. As you open the card, the song plays: “I would give you my heart until the end of time. You’re all I need: my love, my valentine”. He signed it as he had every card he’d ever given me: “With all my love, Tompe” and the date February 14, 2009. He had no way of knowing that his end of time was rushing out to take him.

Tom was a staunch supporter of my writing. He encouraged me from the very beginning. He had faith in me when I had no faith in myself. He cajoled me to query time after time after time…even when it seemed no one would ever take a chance on me. He was the first to read each and every thing I wrote. He bragged about me to anyone who would listen…and some who really didn’t want to. He carried my business cards, promotional postcards, and bookmarks with him everywhere he went. He handed them to his clients, to anyone he saw reading a book. He was there for me at every book signing I ever had. He went to every convention. He was my self-proclaimed agent and promoter. His pride in me could be seen in his beautiful hazel eyes…the corneas from which were the only things salvageable at his death. It makes me proud that those gleaming eyes now help others to see, to read.

Since his death, I have been in a state of flux. Depressed, moody, unable to concentrate for long at a time, I start a project but quickly lose interest. There’s no one to share it with now so it’s not as important as it once was. A new review holds no thrill because I can’t show it to the love of my life, my soul mate.

For the longest time I couldn’t make myself sit still long enough to put words to screen. I turned down requests to review my books. I turned down interview requests and opportunities to be on internet radio. I shrugged off promotion of any kind. Basically, I was shooting myself in the foot professionally but I really didn’t care.

How does a writer write with a broken heart? When there is only numbness and aching depression and the direction has gone from her life, what road looks interesting enough to venture down? From what well can she bring up the waters of creation when she fears her very soul has withered on the vine?

Having a pushy editor didn’t help. If anything, her goading only made me dig my heels deeper into the mud of my own disinterest. I know she meant well but her opinion in the grand scheme of things was nothing more than a single drop into that murky well of emotions I was experiencing. I ignored her as I ignored everything else around me.

So how do you deal with a tragic event that stops cold the ability with which you were graced? How do you go from apathy to engrossing interest when all you want to do is curl into a fetal position and whimper?

I can tell you it isn’t easy. It gives you an entirely different perception of the term writer’s block.

For years I’ve always answered the question of whether or not I believed in writer’s block by maintaining that it was nothing more than an interruption in the natural flow of creativity. Writer’s block is the ringing of the doorbell, the trill of the telephone, the dog wanting in/the cat wanting out, the demand of a significant other or a parent or a child to be cared for. Such interruptions take the writer out of the here and now of invention. It knocks them off course.

It took me eight months before I finally sat down at the computer and called up the book I’d been working on when Tommy got sick. I read through the 80+ pages, saw they needed a little extra oomph to them. So I took one chapter at a time and added a clarification here, a little dialogue there. I went back over that same chapter four or five more times until it ‘spoke’ to me in the voice I was so accustomed to hearing when I wrote. When I was satisfied that chapter was the best it could be, as well edited as was possible for me to make it, I moved on to the next chapter.

By the time I finished with the last chapter I had written, the fire was once again in my soul and the story was beginning to unfold in my mind’s eye. I felt the difference within me. I was writing again. I was doing what Tommy always said I was born to do. I was creating characters and dialogue, building onto the world I had created in the nine other books of that series. I was fleshing out my hero and adding depth to my villainess. I was making my heroine a strong, sexy woman who was not too stupid to live.

As my fingers flew over the keyboard, I swear to you I could hear Tommy cheering me on in the background. He is the reason I returned to writing. He would have expected no less of me and so for him….

I write.


Everything is for him.


















What do you do to get back on track with writing or with life after emotional upheavals?





Charlee Boyett-Comp is a prolific author of over 60 full length books in her Reapers series. The first Reaper™ novel, BLOODWIND, was written in 1996 and was released by Dark Star Publications in 1998. Prime Reaper Kamerone Cree, the black-clad warrior known as the Iceman, started a franchise for me and my Reapers™ can be found in several series: DemonWind™ (futuristic assassins), WesternWind™ (whip-wielding, six-gun shooting lawmen of the Old West), WindVerse™ (intergalatic warriors), and BlackWind™ (contemporary fighters of evil). The WesternWind™ werewolf Reaper™ series has been her bestselling series since 2005.


"I hope you'll try one of my signature Reaper™ novels soon."




You can visit with Charlee on her website. She has several background pages on each series.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Keeping the Balls In The Air

My guest is Cecilia Tan. Cecilia writes Erotic Romance and Sci-Fi, sometimes writing on more than one project at a time.

As writers, we have often have to juggle our life tasks to be able to write. Many authors work full time, others work part time and raise children, or taking care of parents, spouses receiving medical treatment, or jobs and college.

I've always been able to multi-task, but after reading what Cecilia does and how she does it, I know the men in the white coats would be coming to take me away, if I even tried to follow her schedule, lol!


I've always been a juggler, and by that I mean a multi-tasker, although I did learn to actually juggle when I was younger. I think my brain just likes lots of variety in stimulation. It's why I like tasting menus at restaurants better than just one big serving of something great. A little of this, and a little of that, and always more coming... but you never get bored or tired of any one thing that way.

I get the workaholic multi-tasking streak directly from my mom. When I was a kid she was always doing a million things, balancing shuttling me and my brother around with cleaning the house, working part time, running fundraisers, being band booster president, teaching classes for the Girl Scouts, being a quit-smoking counselor, and still getting dinner on the table every night so we could sit down as a family together.

But lately I haven't just been juggling my fiction writing with freelance editing, volunteer work, and a few other part-time jobs (teaching tae kwon do and doing massage therapy), but juggling multiple writing projects. It's exciting and a little scary at the same time.

I told a friend that I was writing two romance novels simultaneously, as well as an erotic serial, and a couple of short stories, all at once (not to mention my baseball blog, tea blog, et cetera...) and she told me her head would explode if she tried to do that. I pointed out, reasonably, that she did quite well in college while taking four classes per semester, and for me that's a lot of what it is like.

Some days I work more on one project, some on another. The real secret is that whenever I get blocked on one project, I can "procrastinate" writing it by writing one of the others! It is a lot of balls to keep in the air, and when Christmas came, all the balls hit the floor for a bit and it took me a few weeks to get them all back in the air again. Oops.

One character in particular was trying to hold me hostage. Kyle, the main character of my
Magic University paranormal romance series, just would not do what I wanted him to do. He reached a certain point in his book and then just dug in his heels and wouldn't go any farther.


Magic U is probably one of my most ambitious projects in 20 years of professional writing, because it is a four book series. It was a more intricate level of plotting than I've done before, and of course I can't go back and change things in the earlier books now that they are out. It was while writing book two,
The Tower and the Tears (which literally just launched last week! Excitement!) that I realized just how complicated a multi-book project really is, especially in terms of the kind of character development that can take place over multiple years/books.

Kyle's book, of course, was the one with the nearest deadline, but I had to just take a deep breath and let him stew on the back burner for a while. I concentrated on getting ahead in
The Prince's Boy instead, a serialized m/m romance I've been writing and posting as I go along. Doing a serial is kind of a high-wire act because I have to get a new chapter out every week. And what if Prince Kenet decided to dig in his heels like Kyle did? I'd really be up a creek. Fortunately for me, Kenet cooperated, and I wrote several chapters ahead on his story while I had the "free" time.

Kyle and I eventually came to an understanding about what was going on inside his head, and in his heart. I'm not giving anything away by saying that in the Magic University series, part of our hero's fantasy quest is the quest for true love. It being a quest, he isn't going to find it in the beginning of the story, but toward the end. As such, he ends the first book somewhat on the lonely side.

Well, actually, that is the problem. Some traumatic things happen to him in his freshman year of college, and I had planned that by the time I started book two, for his sophomore year, that he'd have gotten over them. As it turns out, he hadn't gotten over them at all. If anything, he was in denial about not having gotten over them, too, so with both him and me in denial... we had a lot of baggage that needed to be dealt with once it had dragged the story to a complete halt.

Of course, one of the things I like best about writing romance is I know my readership won't shy away from emotional highs and lows; they come to me for the rollercoaster ride, and so when a character has a lot of emotional baggage to deal with, ultimately it's like handing me more wool to weave. I can keep layering in more and more...

Until the deadline comes, anyway. And then I have to tear it free and hand it to the editor.

  • How do you multi-task your work or writing projects?


~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Cecilia Tan has been writing professionally since she was a teenager, which she definitely isn't, anymore. She is the author of several romances for Ravenous Romance, including her "Harry Potter for adults" the Magic University series and Mind Games, as well as the BDSM sci-fi adventure Royal Treatment just released from Torquere Press. Her literary erotica has been published nearly everywhere. She loves tea, baseball, cats, and books, and more of her thoughts on these and other subjects can be found at her blog: http://blog.ceciliatan.com/.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Getting *THE CALL*

I love stories on how authors reacted when they got THE CALL from a publisher offering a contract. They're fun because you can see their reactions to the whole thing. I'll admit, I like to collect them. I run them because it offers hope to many aspiring writer wishing for THE CALL.


My guest today is Olivia Cunning. I've known her for over two years and have read many of her stories and thoroughly enjoy reading work from such a talented writer. However, like many authors, Olivia didn't get a request on the first query she sent out. There is a lot of writing, sending off queries, waiting, getting rejections, repeating the cycle and getting more rejections. Sometimes an aspiring author thinks they will never get a nibble of interest much less a call like this.


But let Olivia tell you about her call.




I think every aspiring author dreams about how they will respond when they get “the call” – the call that converts them from aspiring author to debut author.


Well, after years and years of dreaming about it, it finally happened to me. I was not prepared. Nope.

How would I describe my reaction to “the call”? Stammering idiot comes to mind.


Let’s back up a few days.


I’d been querying my erotic romance series “Sinners on Tour” for a couple of months. Strangely, the publishers I queried kept making requests to review the full or partial manuscript, but I had absolutely no luck getting a literary agent interested. No luck. None. Zero.


So after a couple weeks of waiting to hear back from publishers (milliseconds in literary world time), I get an email from an editor at Sourcebooks. She told me she was taking my manuscript to an editorial meeting later that week. Meaning she wanted them to buy it. No guarantees that the publishing house would be on board with her decision, but I had a foot in the door. Maybe a whole leg.


After I got over the accompanying feeling of flattery (more precisely: OMG, an editor likes my manuscript! OMG! OMG! OMG!), the panic set in. I still didn’t have a literary agent, but I needed one if I did get an offer for publication. Business person, I’m not. And I don’t speak legal-ese. Time to face facts. I needed an expert.


This meant it was time to make a few calls of my own. Email correspondence would be too slow. Spam filters eat my emails for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I couldn't risk it. I had to pick up the phone.



I was a nervous wreck. (Is this where I mention my phone phobia?) How many times had I been told to NEVER cold call a literary agent or a publisher? Uh, many. Many, many, many. And I don’t recommend it unless your situation is as immediate as mine was. As I dial the numbers on my short list of potential agents, I’m expecting flames to shoot out of the phone and to be connected to that annoying fax-machine screech in retaliation. It turns out that literary agents are very nice people. Who knew?


Also agents are interested in reading your manuscript immediately when you have a potential sale in the pipes. If they don’t think they’re a good match for your work, they will still reject you. It isn’t just about making a quick and easy buck to them, as I had always assumed. They really want a strong connection with your work. My respect for literary agents grew three sizes that day.


Luckily, I found a match – the wonderful Jennifer Schober at Spencerhill Associates. I knew she was the right agent for me because a) she liked my work, b) she was easy to talk to, and c) she didn’t connect me to a fax machine after making me wait on hold for thirty minutes. I knew she was good luck, because while I was talking to her on the phone, I got an email from Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks. She'd just got out of the editorial meeting, and... they wanted to publish my manuscript. Well, my manuscripts. Five of them.


Five.


Yes, I’m still pinching myself. They bought the entire five book series.


SO after much enthusiastic screaming at poor Jenn (who shared my excitement), I hung up and less than a minute later my editor, Deb, called. This is when my stammering began. And my gulping. I don’t even know if I said a single coherent sentence. It’s all a total blur. When it was over, all I could think was: what a great first impression to make on your new editor.


So how did I respond when I got the call? With a complete lack of poise and grace. Maybe I should have rehearsed my reaction in advance.


If you’re an aspiring author, how do you think you’ll respond to “the call”? Or if you’ve already gotten “the call”, how did you react? It has to be better than I reacted.



Combining her love for romantic fiction and rock ‘n roll, Olivia Cunningwrites erotic romance centered around rock musicians.

Raised on hard rock music from the cradle, she attended her first Styx concert at age six and fell instantly in love with live music. She's been known to travel over a thousand miles just to see a favorite band in concert. As a teen, she discovered her second love, romantic fiction -- first, voraciously reading steamy romance novels and then penning her own. Sourcebooks will release Sinner’son Tour in Fall of 2010.

You can visit Olivia's Website and read the blurbs on the series. You can also visit her on her blog:



Brian’s Muse Book Blurb


Human Sexuality Professor, Myrna Evans, wants nothing but a weekend of hot, no-strings-attached sex with Sinners' sensual lead guitarist, but Brian Sinclair is looking for something more permanent than a one-night stand. Unable to compose music for months, when Brian makes love to uninhibited Myrna, he hears exquisite guitar riffs and finger-burning solos. In Myrna, he's found his muse.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Struggling With Validation

~Readers who loved the sly fun, humor, and romance, of Ripping the Bodice will be blown away by the sensuality and lushness of Champagne.~



My guest is Erotic Romance author, Inara LaVey.

I admit I have some interesting friends, and have met many fascinating authors Over Coffee, but not many with multiple personalities. When I asked Dana Fredsti if she’d like to be a guest Over Coffee, I wasn’t expecting her equally sexy alter ego to jump into the fray and demand her turn on my blog. Inara is saucy, sly, chocked full of humor. She can also be a demanding wench. I like that about her. :-)

Inara’s topic is one that many writers, published and unpublished, struggle with—validation. What does it take to make a writer feel validated? Is it when you finish a novel or two? When you start getting partial or full requests? Snag a good agent who believes in you? Getting a contract? Selling X number of books? All are forms of validation.


I have a friend, who has finished at least six novels that I know of, and she said, not long ago, So when does the validation come? Am I wasting my time? Do I need the huge advance check and the mansion?

We all struggle with validation on some level or another. We'll let Dana and Inara discuss their struggles:




The last two years have been busy for me as a writer. Both of me. See, I write under two different names: Inara LaVey for my spicy romances and my real name (Dana Fredsti) for almost everything else (I say ‘almost’ because, for several reasons I won’t go into here, I also co-wrote a non-fiction book called Secret Seductions under the one time pen name Roxanne Colville). My co-author and long time friend Cynthia Gentry also brought me in to co-write another non-fiction book, What Women Really Want In Bed, for which I got my first substantial advance. It was a ‘nice’ advance, as they say in the publishing biz. Certainly more than I’d gotten in the past.

What else? I promoted my mystery Murder for Hire: The Peruvian Pigeon with blog tours, book signings at stores and libraries, and a fun Northwest coastal Thelma and Louise type tour with fellow mystery writer Jess Lourey (Murder by the Month series). I published two short stories and two novels for Ravenous Romance (my latest RR novel, Champagne, was released this month, woot!) and I’m currently working on my third, as well as the sequel to Murder for Hire.

I have a multiple book contract with Ravenous, including a zombie novel (Dana and Inara both do love the zombies). One of my RR titles, Ripping the Bodice is part of the Escape to Romance package on Home Shopping Network and they’ve been selling really well. The recently released Hungry For Your Love, an anthology of zombie related romance in which I have a story, just had the print rights bought by St. Martin’s Press.

All of these things are good things and when I look at the list of what I’ve accomplished and/or been a part of, I can see I haven’t exactly been sitting back, waiting for the world to hand me my goals on a silver platter. And yet somehow I still wake up wondering when the world is going to discover I’m just a big old fake.

I’ve tried to figure out what my problem is. Why I haven’t been able to just enjoy my successes without constantly questioning my validity as a ‘real’ writer?

Logic and emotions definitely refuse to meet in the middle here. Maybe it’s because I don’t have an agent. Maybe it’s because, despite my best intentions, there are nights I sit with my laptop for the requisite two or three hours, but sometimes no real writing comes out of it. I dunno.

Maybe it’s because when I wrote Ripping the Bodice, I had epic writing sessions of three to four thousand words a day. Now the old goal of five hundred words a day seems paltry. And if you were to tell me you were writing a consistent five hundred words a day, I’d say you were doing a great job. And I’d be perfectly sincere. I’d also tell you it’s okay if some nights you just needed to take a break and watch, So You Think You Can Dance, instead of write. Everyone needs a break. I just can’t seem to cut myself the same slack. I’m constantly comparing myself to my fellow writers and always coming up short. And frankly, I’m irritating the hell out of myself. :-)

How about you? I’d love to hear about other writers and their own struggle with validation, be it from readers, authors, publishers, agents… or themselves.

By the way, if you have any suggestions to get one’s inner critic to just shut the hell up, I’d love to hear that too! Mine’s been a real whiny bitch lately and my muse is on strike until I treat her with the love and respect she says she deserves.


Blurb for Champagne:
  • Jeanette Wilson is an American girl on the trip of a lifetime to the wine regions of France. Unfortunately, she's trapped with her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend Darryl, a self-absorbed, self-aggrandizing, self-styled wine expert bent on swirling, sniffing, sipping, swishing, chewing, swallowing and occasionally spitting his way through the wineries of France. Between his endless lectures and insufferable putdowns, her insignificant other is quickly turning her dream vacation into a nightmare.

    But things change for Jeanette once they come to the zenith of their French road-trip, the Champagne house of Chateau Roux-Dubois. Their hosts, Amaury and Marie-Elise Roux-Dubois, turn out to be both charming and attractive, and go out of their way to extend a warm welcome to her. And they make it very clear that it is she, not Daryl, who is their special guest, particularly when the striking Marie-Elise takes Jeanette down to the wine cellar for a very personal tour, followed by an unusual French lesson from Amaury.


  • When she and Daryl are invited to stay and participate in the harvest festival, Jeanette finds herself caught up in a ménage a trios with the Roux-Dubois, both intent on teaching her many things…
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Inara LaVey is the erotica-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.

Along with her best friend, she created a mystery-oriented theatrical troupe in San Diego, which formed the basis for her Murder for Hire mysteries. She's written numerous published articles, essays and shorts, and is active in the Northern California chapter of Sisters in Crime.

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 beach-combing. 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 sword fighting with her Irish lover.
  • MURDER FOR HIRE: The Peruvian Pigeon (James A. Rock Inc, Yellowback Mysteries Imprint) RIPPING THE BODICE (Ravenous Romance, as Inara LaVey) www.danafredsti.com Member, Sisters in Crime (National & NorCal Chapters) Events Coordinator, SinC NorCal

    Vist with Inara/Dana: Zhadi's Den