Introducing TB Bond

From your regular author: TB is one of those friends I met because I simply cannot act like a civilized human being.

If I see someone reading a book that I've read and that I like, even though I know, deep down in my soul, that it is completely wrong of me to do this; I interrupt their reading to express delight that they're reading a book that I like. 

(I also met Elizabeth L. Brooks this way, so honestly, it's not going to discourage me from this reprehensible behavior...)

I don't even remember what she was reading, but we ended up chatting for a while and exchanging contact information. We've been to the movies a few times together, and done some social stuff, and then I find out to my delight, that she's also a writer. So, of course, when I started work on Coming Together: Among the Stars, I send her a "hey, look what I'm doing, want to submit something?"

I'll tell ya something, too. She wrote one of the best hate-sex pieces I've ever read. Great, great stuff and you should totally check it out, if you haven't already.

What are your greatest challenges in your writing career?

I have so many stories in my head. It’s a challenge getting them into a media where other people can enjoy them. I have a strange brain in that I am very analytical and whimsical. It makes it hard for me to communicate ideas sometimes because it’s either too in the “clouds” or it’s too complex. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and I make the oddest grammar mistakes. There are days when I wonder if English is my third language and if someone can create telepaths–because talking to people is so hard. Then there are others where it’s “boom, I nailed it”.

When did you find out that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to put pen to paper?

When I wrote my first ‘long’ story at twelve years old. I had watched the classic movie, The Bad Seed, and immediately set pen to paper when my ideas started to flow. The story was thirty pages and was about a teenage serial killer. I applaud my mom for not freaking out and for encouraging me to keep writing. So my inspiration started with movie murders and my mom.

Of your published works, do you have a favorite? Why?

It’s a toss up between Shenanigans and The Sweetest Thing. Shenanigans was my first novel, so it has a special place in my heart. The Sweetest Thing has a funny memory attached to it. I had a fellow author accidently use my male lead’s name in her story in the middle of a love scene. Talk about your Freudian slips. I immediately thought of lyrics to an Alanis Morsette’s song– “…and are you thinking of me when you…” I’m sure you can figure out the rest

How do you decide on character names?

I select most of my names from people I’ve encountered (I use that term loosely). I’ve  also been known to also create names from my surroundings. I have a unusual name so I don’t mind my characters having one. I do have to make sure there’s a story or some sort of ‘response’ when other characters ask about the name in a story. The craziest name I’ve made to date is York Mint, the male lead in Love in a Space Elevator. His parents were space hippies– enough said.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

I would say about a third of my life since I started writing professionally. I take elements of situation or a person and meld it with my characters. So an event in my book might be several things mashed into one or it may be someone else’s experience. I try to make sure someone I know can’t say, “Hey, that happened to me. Why did you do that?”

Plus, I am a fan of learning from other’s experiences, especially the bad ones.

What projects are you currently working on? Are you willing to share a small excerpt from a work in progress?

I have a side series about a supernatural dating agency called Paris in Springtime (PST). It’s a series of one-shots about various couples paired by the PST matchmakers. It’s set in the world of the Love, Sex, and Magic series, but the characters from that series do not necessarily appear in Paris in Springtime. The fun thing about PST is that some couples don’t realize they are being set up due to the means PST uses.  One or both characters sign up with the agency, which boasts a 100% success rate, and then actions take place to get them together. Part of the magic of PST is they set up elaborate situations that make the couple fall in love on their own then send a bill.
In one of the stories I’m working on, Hunter’s Creed, the heroine is a vampire hunter and she believes she researching her next mark when in fact she’s falling for one of PST’s matches. You can check out an excerpt of Hunter’s Creed on my site

http://www.bondgirlblue.com/excerpts/hcSample.pdf

I’m having fun with the concept overall. There are three stories in the hopper for the series. I’m even working on a Christmas story where Santa meets his mate when she moves into the house next door to him.

What's your writing routine?

Honestly, I’m still trying to pin it to something consistent. Typically I run the scene in my head like a movie and then write a scene. Once, I tried listening to seductive music while blowing bubbles. I wrote two sexy, short stories using that method. I tried doing the same thing again and no dice.

What writers or novels do you consider “must reads”?

My taste in books is all over the place. I’ll read just about anything if the concept is interesting. I tend to read mostly romance, though when I was kid I only read murder mysteries and romance. I’m a bit tapped out in mysteries since I usually solve them early in book.

Jim Butcher is one my fave authors, I have almost the entire Dresden series and I have all of the Codex Alera series. I love his take on the supernatural. The writing is smart, amusing, and imaginative all things I strive for in my writing. I highly recommend him for lovers of paranormal and adventure.
For romance adventure, I recommend Larisa Ione’s Demonica/Lords of Deliverance series or Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series. These series are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but very good reads and I love the world building.

Introducing Delilah Night: Author of Love is a Virus

One of the best things to come out of working on an anthology like Coming Together (aside from the feeling of doing awesome things for charity) is the friendships that I've gained through the process. Delilah has become one of my darling Facebook Friends (she lives in Asia, so it's not like we can get together for coffee, although that would be cool...) and I'm really pleased to be able to introduce you to her today. 

What are your greatest challenges in your writing career?

The biggest challenge to my writing career is struggling to balance writing and parenting.  Do I go grocery shopping while they’re both at school, or do I write and accept the karma that comes from making that choice (two children both fighting over who gets to sit where in the grocery cart and then complaining when I put groceries in there with them). When my three year old won’t stay in bed, I can easily lose an hour of writing time putting her back down. Sometimes after a day of parenting, I’m exhausted and my brain can’t do anything more complex than stare at Netflix.


Of your published works, do you have a favorite? Why?

Of my published stories, I’d have to say my favorite is “Love is a Virus,” and not just because it’s in Among the Stars.  I really like the eroticism of playing with power dynamics, and I love Saanvi and Lily. I love the kind of ending that changes part or all of what you think you know about the story.


Do you ever want to go back and edit an older story?

I can’t read “Renewal,” which was my first professional sale. While it’s a story that means a lot to me emotionally—a couple trying to find the spark again after becoming parents drew heavily from my own experiences—my writing style has evolved a lot in the past four years. When I recently tried to read it, I desperately wanted to pick up a red pen.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

A lot of my experiences have ended up in stories. Not necessarily the sex, but the little details. In an upcoming story “Petticoats and Push-Up Bras” my main characters work at the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum, which I did in college. I’m in an interracial marriage, and you’ll notice that increasingly my characters are too. A scary encounter with a monkey in Cambodia has been written into my WIP set in Siem Reap.

What projects are you currently working on? Are you willing to share a small excerpt from a work in progress?

My current major project is a novella set in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  RJ and Meg are ex-lovers who broke up six years ago. She thinks they’re having one last fling. He wants to win her back. Will he succeed, or are the wounds from the break-up too deep to overcome?

Since I just mentioned it, here’s part of the scene with the monkey. It’s a first draft section I haven’t edited yet, so please excuse the rough edges.

The man on the motorbike offered Meg a grape to give to the baby, who had now hopped from the bike back to the ground. She thanked him and gently held it out to the tiny monkey just as the motorbike rider had.

“That’s not a good idea. You should warn your lady,” Darany said. “Miss—”

A large monkey bared massive fangs, hissed, and reached for Meg’s grape. She shrieked and dropped it, stumbling back and away from the far less adorable adult.

“Weren’t you the one who handed me that book? No touch monkey and other travel lessons learned too late?” RJ forced his tone to remain calm even as adrenaline pumped through his body.

“Thanks for the reminder.” Warily, she looked at the large monkey. It had devoured the grape she’d dropped and was now scavenging for other food. She swallowed, squared her shoulders, and lifted her camera again. Meg gave the big monkey a dirty look, turned, and began to shoot the baby once more.

After a few minutes she spoke again. “I would’ve been fine. Probably.”

Delilah Night  is an American expat who doesn’t miss shoveling snow now that she lives near the equator.  She does, however, miss Target and Panda Express (and of course her friends and family). While her love of science fiction was inspired by “The Trouble With Tribbles,” it was Wesley Crusher of TNG who inspired her to begin writing erotica.  You can find her stories in Coming Together:Among the Stars, Other Days, Summer Loving, and Nine-to-Five Fantasies among others.

Introducing Elliot DeLocke

I still have a few more of the Coming Together writers around... sorry this one's late but I was out of town all weekend at a convention and I didn't get his interview stuff until Saturday, when I was already there... the hotel's wireless was erratic (put 3,000 geeks in the same building and we're all trying to run our devices... not so good...) enough that I didn't bother trying to post it.

So, before I let Elliot take it away, let me tell you a bit about my first interaction with him...

I'm still a relatively fresh editor; this is the first time I've completely run an editing process from concept to final product (any errors remaining in the printed version are mine!) and I'm getting submissions in... I'm trying to be all professional and stuff, but you all know me by now, it ain't working. I glance at Sense-Think-Act and read the cover letter attached. Elliot DeLocke. Hmmm. 

When I write back to inform him that I've gotten his submission, I say this:

(oh, please tell me your pen name / legal name is a play on words for Elliot Ness, because that's just awesome.)

Which turns out to be the case... so, I'm already in love with this writer and I haven't even read the story yet... (I have a stuffed Loch Ness Monster whose name is "Elliot") I was really, really hoping his story would be wonderful, because his name is wonderful... and I think you'll agree that Think-Sense-Act is just a lovely little piece of smut... so, without further running of my mouth, let me turn this over to Elliot.

What are your greatest challenges in your writing career?


One of my writing goals is to publish a collection of short stories. I've written quite a few short pieces, but not really enough to fill out a whole collection. And my stories tend to be in a variety of genres and styles, so I'm not sure how thematically cohesive or interesting a collection would be with what I've got.

My greatest challenge, then, is to find a consistent voice in my writing and apply it across enough written short pieces to fill out a collection. I still feel like I'm finding my distinct voice, and working towards finding the style and themes that are interesting enough for me to want to stick with them across multiple stories.

contains my post-apocalyptic short “Valentine’s Day”

What's the worst thing that ever happened to you that you've incorporated into a story?

I've spent many years in difficult, painful and very unsatisfying relationships, and elements of this tend to creep into my writing (sometimes even when I'd prefer they didn't). In erotica, the most important character interactions are sexual. Having experience with damaged or dysfunctional relationships - full of misunderstandings, bad intentions, secrets and lies - can show you how those issues influence physical/sexual interactions, is actually great fodder for a smut writer who wants something resonant and plausble. Cliché it may be, but sometimes suffering really does lead to better art.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

A fair bit. I tend to write from ideas or scenes - I get a picture in my head, and work the story and characters backwards from there.  Some of the scenes come directly from my life, and as such, tend to be populated by characters that are amalgamations of friends or acquaintances. Even when I'm writing fantasy or sci-fi, I usually base characters from how people I know might act in that situation. My day job takes me to some interesting places and lets me meet a variety of people, so that gives  me quite a bit of fodder.

What's your writing routine?

At the moment, mine would be the "all over the place" routine. My life is fairly hectic with family, work and extra-curricular obligations, so I write whenever I can: during my lunch break at work, in the evening (if it's free), on weekends. It's not the most productive routine, but I'm still getting stuff done.

The routine that has worked best for me in the past is to write first thing in the morning, every morning. I woke up, rolled out of bed and got straight into it,  before coffee, breakfast or a shower. Sometimes I'd oversleep and only get about fifteen minutes done, but that was still fifteen minutes more than the day before.

The best thing about doing it first thing in the morning is that I felt like I'd already achieved something creative that day. There was no nagging sense of "when will I find time to write today?" and I could have the evenings to relax instead of feeling obligated to write. When life settles down again, I'll be aiming to get back into this routine.

What writers or novels do you consider “must reads”?

I think it's essential to read something completely different every now and then - a different genre, a new writer, something in some medium or style that's nothing like what you are usually into. Making the effort to read outside of your preferred tastes, to experience something that's new or different, is a great way to get new ideas and learn new writing tricks. So I'd consider a "must read" to be anything that you might not normally put on your "must read" list - try a different genre, some literary fiction, some YA, a comic or gamebook.

The next out-of-the-box novel on my list is "Angela's Ashes". I prefer genre fiction - sci-fi, fantasy, noir and the erotica equivalents - so a door-stopper memoir about growing up poor and Irish is about as far out of my wheelhouse as I could imagine. But enough well-read people have recommended it to me that I'm really looking forward to it.

Elizabeth L. Brooks (again!)

Happily, I still have some more writers for you to meet from my Coming Together: Among the Stars anthology... today, Elizabeth L. Brooks is back to talk about her latest work and to remind us all of how very freaking old I am... because what are best friends for?

Hello, Lynn's readers!

I have known Lynn for a long time. A really long time.

No, longer than that.

(a note from your writer: A Long Time, No, really... I don't always remember to tag her when she's on the blog, but she shows up more than anyone else, except maybe me... maybe.)

Lynn and I have been friends through college and boyfriends and girlfriends and breakups and post-college poverty. Through moves and marriages and pregnancies and children. Through one bad accident and several terrifying hospitalizations and more diets than I can shake a stick at and one divorce that wasn't as bad as it could have been but still wasn't anything like easy. We've been each other's beta readers and co-authors and editors and will always be each other's biggest fans.

Once, when we were hanging out with a bunch of friends, she happened to mention that we'd known each other for over ten years. I nearly did a spittake -- it couldn't have been that long, could it? -- and then added it all up, and sure enough: over ten years. Holy crap. That made me feel kind of old.
The near-spittake reaction was kind of funny, though, so after that, once a year or so Lynn would casually drop into a conversation how long we've known each other, and I would gasp and flail about how it couldn't possibly have been that long and oh god how old we were getting. (Mostly how old I was getting, because when I look at Lynn, I still see the same girl I roomed with in college.)

A few years back, it occurred to me that Lynn and I have been friends for literally more than half my life. And once I got over that shock, the actual number of years stopped surprising and horrifying me. (It's closing in on 25 years now, if you're curious.) I still act shocked sometimes when Lynn brings it up, though, because there's something comforting about having an in-joke that is literally decades old.
I understand about the bonds of a long-standing relationship, is what I'm saying.

In (Why Don't You) Come Between Us, my most recent story from Hot Ink Press, Treyvon thinks he understands those bonds. He's part of a threesome with Mike and Joey, but Mike and Joey were together for a long time before they invited Treyvon into the mix. The two of them have history, and Treyvon doesn't want to intrude on that. But what Joey and Mike need him to understand is that he can't come between them the way he fears, and that they need him as much as they need each other.


Buy Link Amazon

Blessings in Disguise

Coming Together: Among the Stars was released yesterday, and I hope you've had a chance to pick up a copy. If not, please do...

So... Blissemas is still the thing, of course... John (Bawdy Bloke) has a blog thing for you, so go check that out and don't forget to comment every day for your chance to win a kindle paperwhite full of smut.

And Torquere is still giving away one or two books per day, so let me lay those out here for you...

Jumping into Things by Julia Talbot

What are the odds that two different brothers will find the man of their dreams in one summer?

What are the odds that those two brothers will both like men?

The Thatcher brothers will make you forget the odds. In this double novella, each brother tells his own tale. There’s Jed, pilot and all around good old boy, gets more than the one night stand he bargained for with an adrenaline pumped smoke jumper who makes him as horny as he does crazy. And Ross, Airborne jump instructor and man’s man, finds a sweet young thing he can’t resist, and follows in his big brother’s footsteps.

Likeable men, hot sex, and a great sense of detail make these brothers believable, even when you think the odds are against them.

GET FOR FREE

My Life as a Myth by Huston Piner

It's 1969 and high school freshman Nick Horton has got problems; he's an easy target for bullies, he's a social outcast who dreams of being popular, and he doesn't understand why he's just not attracted to girls. So after a series of misunderstandings label him a troublemaker, he's delighted when Jesse Gaston and his gang befriend him. But while Nick just wants to explore his growing attraction to Bobby Warren, Jesse's campaign to give him a new image soon transforms the shy loser into an anti-establishment student hero and before long, Nick discovers that if it wasn't tough enough just pretending to be straight, now he's got to act cool too! As Nick strives to understand his emerging romance with Bobby he also finds himself besieged by would-be girlfriends. At the same time, he also has to deal with increasingly dangerous goings-on at school and the Vietnam War's destructive impact on his family.

Nick's freshman year is a remarkable journey of ridiculous misadventures, unexpected psychedelic explorations, and tragic turns of fate.  Is a world still reeling from the sexual revolution and the illicit pleasures of marijuana and underage drinking ready to accept two boys in love? Can Nick and Bobby's relationship survive a world where acid rock rules, status is everything, and being gay is the last taboo? My Life as a Myth is an often humorous but ultimately heartbreaking story of a boy's struggle with sexual identity and first love in a violent and hostile world.

GET FOR FREE

Yesterday, I spent all day working on the galley edits for A Marked Man, which will be available on Thursday. If you haven't already signed up for my Facebook Release Party, please do. (It's not a real event, you just have to check your computer and say hi...)

There will be some fun prizes and contests, and mostly I'll just be hanging out for the day (it's 2 - 11pm EST, so really, you can drop in for most of the day... )

And while I was working on that, I started to write this blog entry, which was supposed to plug Fair Game, my lesbian story... only to find out that once again, the publication date has been pushed off. The publisher was recently bought out, and schedules and staff are all off and crazy...

I probably shouldn't say much more about that because what I'm thinking isn't very nice, even if it is true, and we all know what's been going on with people who say not nice but true things about publishers.

Yeah, just shutting up now...

ANYWAY, it's probably a good thing. I was looking - originally, several weeks ago - at a pretty crazy week... Coming Together: Among the Stars out Monday, Fair Play out on Wednesday, A Marked Man and London Steam out on Thursday....

Now with some shuffles around and movement, I only have two releases this week, although they're both major, and I hope you'll bear with me while I try to get my life on straight...

On the other hand, while I was working on galley edits all day - and I'm going to give a special shout out to my editor, Elizabeth Lance, who tirelessly put up with my nitpicking, my bad dialogue tags, and my horrible inconsistency, and who loves the story nonetheless, and who continued to be encouraging and supportive through the whole messy last run. Thank you, Elizabeth. I don't deserve you, I really don't. - I got two. more. sets. of. edits. in.

So much for getting any actual WRITING done this week...

I have built about 4 weeks of screwing up, screwing around, hating my work and time for story bloat into my schedule for Sins of Angels... technically, since the Demoniac Codex series is coming out once per year (in March) I don't really have to have the book completed until August, maybe? And right now it's slotted to be done by mid-April.

I'm well ahead on the Rainbow Connection series, with Book Three already written and in beta edits right now...  (for comparison, Blues wasn't even written until April this year, so... that project is well ahead...)

The question after I write Sins of Angels is... do I work on All that Jazz (Hector's story), write the YA novel I've been poking around with (Hailey's Comet, a contemporary), or work on my steampunk m/f romance (The Wormwood Trade)... at some point, I'd like to get all these done. Plus I have the series of YA novellas for 2016 (the outline for the first novella is due in March) to work on...

I also have ideas for a couple of short stories that I'd like to work on, including what I hope will be a light-hearted BDSM story called Me, Flailing and another short story/novellette that I stole (with permission, so it's not really stealing) m/m called Next Thursday Night.

Introducing Essemoh Teepee

So, Coming Together: Among the Stars came out yesterday! Wahee! Huzzah! I'm excited...

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Blissemas is still progressing... Stop by to see what lovely surprises Megan Slayer has for you... don't forget to comment on each blog to gain an additional entry into the drawing for a kindle paperwhite...

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So let me introduce Essemoh Teepee, author of Gyozo's Mate, a story about galaxy-wide clairvoyance and soul mates... a lovely piece, I adore it...

When did you find out that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to put pen to paper?

Essemoh seeks inspiration in Vegas

I have always read voraciously, SF, SFF, thrillers you name a genre and I have probably read some of it, although erotica and erotic romance didn’t feature. (One can’t count Playboy and Men Only.)
I had never considered writing fiction. My career has been in science education, business management and development, so my writing was usually pure communication, prosaic and to the point!

I was in a senior position in 2000 and took up painting as relaxation. I enjoy the act of creation, paint flowing on one’s brush and the expression of imagination. I am drawn to portraiture, but painting can take a long time; frustrating when you want results.

In 2005 I picked up a copy of ‘Bloody Bones’ by Laurell K Hamilton to see what all the Nouveau Vampire fuss was about. (It had only been Mr Stoker’s Dracula until then.) I quite liked the blend of Crime Noir and erotic sex integral to the workings of the plot and nature of the characters. Exploring a little more made me think I could write something. Possibly SF or SFF putting the sex back in where it had been left out in what I had read. I found I enjoyed creating worlds and populating them from my imagination without having to wait for the paint to dry! It turned out my characters were extremely horny and there was a LOT of sex in my writing.

Tell me about your first publication. Who was it with? How did you feel when you got that acceptance?

I have the writer’s cliché on my study wall. A copy of my first ever cheque for a professionally published story. Circlet Press accepted my 6,000 word story ‘KATT’ for the anthology ‘Kneel to Me’ in 2008. (I met Cecelia Tan of Circlet at an erotica writer’s conference in Las Vegas 2011 and thanked her for the recognition and encouragement the acceptance gave me.) So many people write in hope of some success, to get professionally published. To have someone actually pay you real money ($25 may not be wealth but it is riches!) for something you have created out of your own head is very special. I liked what I wrote and feedback from the free platforms like Literotica had been encouraging, but Circlet gave me affirmation. KATT was first person and it had Space Opera, tentacles, BDSM and even a little D/s romance thrown in.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

People do ask this don’t they? I would have to have a severe case of Satyriasis or the wealth and connections of a Mr. Grey to match up to just some what is in my work. I would also probably be in jail if I had done some of the things I have written about.

That being said, I have been fortunate to travel extensively and I people watch. Many stories, characters and scenes can explode out of observation and onto the page. The story you have in Under the Stars, ‘Gyozo’s Mate’ came from spotting a well-endowed stripper leaving a seedy night club one morning on the Island of Gran Canaria and letting my imagination off the leash. I usually like to settle on a character’s name first before I fill out the rest of the details and back story. I get a lot of my characters names from peering at tags on shop workers, waiters and bar staff!

What projects are you currently working on? Are you willing to share a small excerpt from a work in progress?

I am collaborating with a colleague at eSensual Books, Genevieve Ash, on a series of full length novels with the thread title ‘Research’. Contemporary erotic romance with a twist. We are taking all the clichés and turning them on their heads, a lot of fun and humour as well as hot sex. The cast of evolving characters run through all the books. They each have problems, needs, emotional issues and angsts to be worked out in couples, trios, and other multiples that may come along for the ride. Each novel takes one of the classic genres and runs with it, wildly tearing of all its clothes along the way. (You really should take the time to meet Chaddie’s Angels!)

Practical Research is an HFN Erotic Romance set in San Francisco, finished and ready to be published.  (Agents, Publishers, and Moviemakers please get in touch!)

Where Essemoh works

Captivating Research is a blockbusting erotic adventure story set in the Arab Peninsula. It is in final draft and nearing completion.

Academic Research, a whodunit is set in the ‘dreaming Spires’ of Oxford University, is in the early stages of preparation, plotting and drafting.

There is an excerpt from Captivating Research that your visitors can access and read here

Tell us three things about you that are interesting.

1. I write and produce Audio Erotic Experiences using a technique I developed called Directed Erotic Visualisation© (if you want to know what that is and try it for yourself, you can find out more and download some free audios here)

2. I am directly responsible for men and women having more than 6.5 million orgasms across the globe since 2008. (see 1 above)

3. I have a beard

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Torquere's Free Books

Ghost's Sight by Morwen Navarre

When Gerry is injured on a hunt, he is taken to the Witch’s home to save his badly broken leg. There he meets and is intrigued by her enigmatic ward. Ghost is equally captivated by Gerry, but all the young man has ever known is a solitary life as a witch’s apprentice. Gerry wants to make a life with Ghost, and he's willing to leave the security of his family to create a family of their own. Now Ghost must decide if that new family is a chance worth taking, and the choice seems clear: Ghost loves Gerry too much already to say no.

But when Ghost disappears on his way to join Gerry, the young hunter will need to hunt a more dangerous prey to find the missing apprentice, and Ghost will need all his skill to survive until Gerry can find him.

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Never Too Early: The Beginning by Chris Owen and Tory Temple

Firefighters Chancellor Shanahan and Tucker McBride have been together for years. They've been through the rough patches and come out the other side, although shift work, misunderstandings, and stubborn personalities can make things interesting. Chance knows that he and Tucker love each other, however, and neither of them have any interest in other people. So what happens when they meet another couple with a similar relationship? An unlikely friendship could take a possible turn.

Jake and Tor are a pair of cowboys who have weathered the storms of a decade together and have finally settled into their lives. They have a ranch, they have family, and they have each other. A rare vacation leads to a friendship, which leads to questions and a revival of long finished conversations. Is moving forward also a step back in time to issues they’ve already put to rest?

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Coming Together....

I've got your regularly scheduled author interview for tomorrow, because I really wanted to take the time to announce the release of Coming Together, so come back tomorrow for Essemoh Teepee's interview!


I've been talking about this collection since I started working on it... back in February was when I put together the proposal...

Hard to believe it was almost a year ago that I had this crazy idea.

To this day, my call for the antho remains one of the most viewed webpages on this blog...  working on an anthology was both harder and more rewarding than I could have imagined... so, I want to take a moment and thank all my writers, who are lovely and wonderful. I've connected in new ways to writers I already knew and loved; I've met some established writers that I didn't know before, and I've brought some new writers into my wonderful, crazy world.

Thank you, all of you, for making this dream a reality. Thank you for trusting me with your stories. Thank you for submitting such excellent work. Thank you for caring about Still's Disease, and about giving me your hard work to help this cause. Without you, none of this would be possible.

Buy Links Kindle | Paperback | Smashwords | All Romance | Create Space | Barnes and Noble

And thank you, dear reader, for caring, and for buying... And please, if you buy, could you please review - it doesn't have to be much, just a sentence or two on Amazon or B&N will help my cause a lot! Appreciate it!

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Still Blissemas... (I'll be up at the end of the week...) and you can see what KD Grace has for you... KD shares table of content space with me for Sexy Librarian's. She wrote Cherries in Season, which is a reader favorite... So go see what she has to say, I'm sure it'll be great!

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Free books from Torquere...

For today only - 24 hours! - Torquere has the following books for free, including something I think you'll find familiar...

Roll by Lynn Townsend

From the farms of Tennessee, Beau Watkins had it all in high school; the cute girl, the popular, jock lifestyle, a loving family. As a rising freshman at an out-of-state college, he's determined to find out who he really is behind the fake it 'til you make it attitude. He joins Rainbow Connection, the gay student alliance, hoping to find himself. Instead, he finds Vin Reyes. Raised by his grandparents and the heir to a prosperous company, Vin has been out of the closet since he figured out what that meant. He has it all: fashionable clothing, fancy cars, huge houses, and a real party lifestyle, even a bodyguard. Most of all, he has a secret.

Uncomfortable with Vin's generosity, Beau fights his growing attraction for the president of Rainbow Connection, chasing instead a series of shallow affairs. Vin's never been denied anything that he wants, though, and now he wants Beau. But it's not until an old rival puts Beau in the hospital that Vin realizes that Beau means more to him than a simple love affair. Can the two of them bridge the gap between their worlds and roll with the all the punches life will throw at them?

GET FOR FREE

Ruby: Lost and Found by M.D. Grimm

Morgorth is a mage on the planet Karishian. There is little he hates more than the Stones of Power -- gemstones infused with magick by the first seven mages ever born. So when a sorcerer gets hold of a major stone, a ruby, Morgorth has no choice but to go after him. But, to his irritation, he is not alone. Aishe is a dialen whose tribe was massacred by the sorcerer, and is now on a mission of vengeance. The attraction is instant between them, but Morgorth keeps his distance. Because of a traumatic childhood and a deadly destiny, he has no desire for emotional complications. But Aishe's very presence challenges Morgorth's resolve.

Not only does Morgorth begin to admire Aishe's strength and intelligence, but he begins to see Aishe as a friend. As their hunt continues and their time together lengthens, their bond deepens, as does Morgorth's fear. If he becomes the monster that destiny claims he will, will he hurt Aishe? Will he harm the one person who sees right through him? Who accepts him wholeheartedly? Determined to not let that happen, Morgorth keeps Aishe at a distance, but when Aishe is kidnapped by the sorcerer, what will Morgorth do to get him back?

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Living With Adult Onset Still's Disease

Blissemas is going on... don't forget to comment EVERY DAY on the new blog of the day to earn a chance to win a kindle paperwhite loaded with smut. Because seriously, that would be awesome! Today is Lily Harlem, who has some smokin' hot pictures of dudes and motorcycles on her blog...

~*~*~*~

And now for something a little less, but also more...

As you probably know, I have completed my first go round at the helm of an anthology. Being an editor was both more wonderful and more crazy making than I could have anticipated...

But I want to take a few minutes to talk about why I decided to take up the mantle of editor (something a few years ago I swore I would never, ever do...)

I have this friend; she's a writer and a librarian and a candle maker. (If you've gotten a Christmas present from me in the last few years, you've probably gotten one of her candles. They're amazing!) And I love her, so much. She's wonderful, beautiful, spiritual. Just a truly amazing woman. She has a terrible, debilitating disease. She mentioned it once, in passing, and I'd never heard of it. Still's disease. So, I did what I do... I looked it up.

Still's is pretty awful, and luckily, it's also extremely rare... as far as I'm concerned, it's not rare enough! I wanted to do something for my friend, and for everyone who has this disease.

So, Coming Together: Among the Stars was born. I love science fiction. In the world of Star Trek, this could be an easy fix... but we don't live there yet, and I'm hoping very much that the proceeds from Coming Together: Among the Stars, will help make that dream a reality...

Allow me to introduce my friend, who has a few words to say on her experiences...

~*~*~*~

Awareness for Adult Onset Still’s Disease is everything and greatly needed and that is why I have to thank Lynn Townsend. She is an amazing friend and I love and appreciate her dearly. She was one of the few people to read about Still’s and that meant everything to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I have lived with the Still’s dragon for over seven years now. It is an unforgiving disease that haunts those who have it. I can honestly say that I hate it and wish it would go away. It is hard to watch a body once very fit become so ravaged by a disease. The hardest part is seeing yourself through other people’s eyes. Still’s disease has taken so much of me away, I don’t even know who I am anymore. Despite everything, I try to stay positive and hopeful for remission.

Still’s disease is a rare inflammatory disease. It can attack any part of your body. It is very similar to Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Treatment consists of high dose steroids, the chemo medication Methotrexate, disease modifying drugs (DMARDS), anti-nausea pills, painkillers, muscle relaxers and I know a lot of us do an Ibuprofen rotation with the painkillers and I take Xanax to keep my heart rate down and keep anxiety and stress at bay.

Back in 2007, I became severely ill and none of the doctors I seen could give me a name for it. It took 2 years to be diagnosed and it had already done some pretty good damage to my body. It is so critical to get diagnosed quickly, but most physicians will never see a case of Adult Onset Still’s Disease and that brings hesitation to some physicians.

It is my living hell and to be honest, if I didn’t have the support I did from my family and friends, I might not be here today. When you are chronically ill, it is so important to have a support team to help you get through the bad days. I fell into a very dark hole of frustration and depression while I lived in “Limboland.” It is bad enough to be sick, but when you don’t have a name for it, it makes it worse mentally. So much worse. I know for me, I live with the stigma of “Well you don’t look sick.” Or even “Oh you just have arthritis? Well take these vitamins, it will make it go away.” I realize most people think it is a very treatable thing or not even a real disease, but I know for me it hurts my feelings. It is so very personal. Each of us who have Still’s do not always have the same symptoms, but we find common ground with how we are treated or approached.

The one thing every friend or family member should do is become educated with the disease. Go to the International Still’s Disease Foundation website; it has the most accurate and even some of our own stories there. Find out everything you can about it, be there for your loved one. Supporting them through the good and bad days is very much appreciated by us. Together we can make a difference…

~*~*~*~

So, please; Coming Together: Among the Stars is out in paperback, and you can pre-order your kindle copy. The ebook will be available on Monday... 278 pages of sizzling science fiction from some of the best writers in erotica, including Nobilis Reed, Elizabeth L. Brooks, Malin James, Rose Caraway, Kathleen Tudor, Annabeth Leong, and Jade Waters among many other extremely talented and creative voices.

ALL proceeds go to our charity and every bit of help can make a difference.

Introducing the awesome Malin James, author of The Power of Positive Thinking

Blissemas Update! Still blissing the missing, or something like that. Sorry I missed reminding you over the weekend; I had something like 35 people in my house and I am exhausted... So, today is Jessica Jarman


I really adore Malin, she came onto my radar several months ago and we've had some of the best, in depth conversations about erotica and life and books that I could possibly hope for. She's also a big music fan and doesn't mind when I throw videos at her...

I quite literally jumped up and down in my office when I first got her submission... and then I read it. Oh, my lord...! I'm telling you, you will love this story...

So, let me let Malin talk to you for a while...

What are your greatest challenges in your writing career?

I’m not sure if it’s my greatest challenge, but complacency is certainly the most consistent one. It’s easy to relax once you’ve met a long-term goal, but that’s exactly when I find that I need to kick it up a notch, and try things that intimidate me or make me nervous. Like writing a novel, which I’m in the middle of doing right now, and which terrifies me daily. But the alternative is complacency and that scares me more.

Of your published works, do you have a favorite? Why?

I’m not sure I have a favorite yet—different stories appeal to different parts of my personality. That said, I’ve definitely written stories that I’m not as fond of. Putting that aside though, the story I did for Rose Caraway’s Kiss Me Quick’s podcast, “Bound / Unbound,” is really special to me. It’s based on the first draft of one of the first erotic stories I ever tried to write. I couldn’t write it then, but everything fell into place as I was writing it for Rose. And, of course, hearing her narrate it was a dream.

What are your biggest pet peeves for other people's grammar? Are there any mistakes that you find yourself making regularly?

It’s not really a grammar mistake, but I’m not sure how else to categorize it. I hate it when people use the word “literally” in a figurative statement. You didn’t “literally die” when you saw the puppy—if you had you wouldn’t be telling me about it. Either skip “literally” or use it correctly. Please. This would literally make me happier than if the Oxford comma came back into fashion.

How do you decide on character names?

It depends. Most of my protagonists end up naming themselves very early on, even in short stories. I just sort of know what his or her name is. That said, the protagonist of “The Master” a novella length story I have coming out in an anthology for Sweetmeats Press this spring went through three name changes before I was done.  I feel like character names are like suits. You can feel when they fit.

Malin's desk; I find myself squinting at her artwork... how about you?

What writers or novels do you consider “must reads”?

This is hard because I would recommend different books to different people, but that’s kind of a cop-out so here are some of the books that I can’t imagine not having read.

1. Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks is the most beautifully structured novel I’ve ever read.  Plus, Banks’s Culture series is awesome.

2. The Bloody Chamber and The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter were my first introduction to a bold, unapologetic, profanely literary treatment of sexuality. She’s a big one in my influences.

3. Hemingway’s short stories, especially “The Killers,” “Hills Like White Elephants” and “Clean Well-Lighted Place.”

4. Dracula by Bram Stoker. I freaking love this book. I love everything about it.

5. Anything by Sarah Waters, especially Tipping the Velvet. This was the first time I read a mainstream, literary novel with lesbian relationships at the center. It’s heartbreaking and sexy to the point of being nearly pornographic at times. After reading this, I started reading a lot more erotica.

6. Anais Nin’s diary. I love Volume 1, (1931-1934). Her short stories are excellent, but for me, her “liary” is where it’s at.

Tell us three things about you that are interesting.

1. I have an MA in medieval literature but decided against getting a PhD because there are so few teaching positions for medievalists.

2. I went to NYU on an acting scholarship and completed my acting training at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. I was a stage actor for about 5 years. My favorite roles were Masha in The Seagull and Olivia in Twelfth Night.

3. In an alternate life, I would want to be a museum curator if I couldn’t be a writer. Writer is still my fantasy job though.

Introducing Adrik Kemp, Author of "Of Gods and Men"

Edit: I am interrupting this regularly scheduled Coming Together: Among the Stars guest writer post to bring you a few quick pieces of information.
First, Blissemas has started! Yay!


If you remember from last year and year before last, Blissemas is a 22 day smut advent calendar with free reads and recipes, teases and trailers, and at the end, there's a Kindle Paperwhite up for grabs, loaded with smut. Post a comment on today's entry (link above) to get in the chance to win, and keep coming back...

My advent day is the 20th and I'll be doing my own little giveaway here on the blog, so, comment HERE every day to get into that contest (multiple comments count multiple times; limit one comment per day. I promise, I will be here EVERY single day... will you?)

Also, Coming Together: For the Holidays came out today. Yay! My story, Holiday Hours, which was originally published by Hot Ink, in the MILF & Cookies anthology, (out of print) makes a reappearance. So if you didn't get a chance to read it then, now's a good time to check it out and help disadvantaged kids have a better holiday!

Now that I've completely derailed poor Adrik here, allow me to get back to him. Adrik's story, Of Gods and Men, was the first story I read for this collection and I knew I had to have it. Sexy, interesting, and diverse, Of Gods and Men is decidedly one of my favorites... 

On that note, let me introduce you to Adrik Kemp....

~*~*~*~

I love my characters, the good and sexy and bad and naughty ones. I wrote 'Of Gods and Men' because of a life-long obsession with religion and sex and a surety that the two are connected. I have written a lot of erotica as well as less erotic science fiction in short stories and novels.

I am honoured to be included among many incredible authors for this particular anthology, 'Among the Stars'. I have been waiting for a theme such as this to come up for some time, and am pleased it can be to benefit a worthwhile charity as well as to tempt and torture readers with tales of lust and smut.

Tell us three things about you that are interesting.

I have four 'jobs' that I love. Editor and social media manager for Tabula Rasa, a new, online publisher dedicated to providing (mostly) Australian short fiction, novels and non-fiction to the ever-eager audience of the Internet. Submissions manager for Aurealis magazine, a not so new science fiction, fantasy and horror magazine that has been running in Australia for many years and is responsible for spawning the Aurealis Awards. This year, I am also a judge in these awards in the horror category. And tutor with the Sydney Story Factory, working with kids and teens on how to write creatively. Sadly I do not get paid for doing any of this, but do it for love.

I spent one year in Japan, not unusual, I know, but it made me the person I am today and filled me with endless heartache when it came time to leave. I will always love Japan with all of myself, because it was there that I met my best friends, where I finished my first novel, where I learned all about myself (as much as you can in your mid twenties) and where I met my lovely, wonderful, incredible boyfriend.

I tweet and take a lot of photos, so come and find me on Instagram or Twitter under @shadowadrik. I certainly think I'm interesting, but I guess you'll make your own decision.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

I wouldn't so much say that people I know end up there, but I certainly invent stories and backgrounds for people I see around the place and place them squarely in my work. It's narcissistic but I've come to accept that on some level, every character has a little of me in them, regardless of who they are. Personally, I wouldn't be able to write them if this wasn't the case. And it wouldn't be as much fun.

What's the worst thing that ever happened to you that you've incorporated into a story?

I don't want to say, but I do want to say that every bad thing that's ever happened to me has ended up in some way in one of my stories. Sometimes verbatim, but sometimes used as a jumping board for a much deeper, different pain. I'm a believer in writing what you know and using sense memory to trigger compassion between myself, the characters and readers. I've never traveled to space or had sex with a four-armed alien, but I've traveled alone and I've had sex, so a little tweaking and we're there. We are nothing without our imaginations.

What's your writing routine?

Plan. Excessively plan. I am one of those people who adores Excel. And I plot my works, my characters, everything in it. I know I should get on board with a program specifically built for this purpose, but Excel is my writing blankie. Aside from this, finding deadlines to write to, calls for submissions and NaNoWriMo are two I work with currently.

What writers or novels do you consider “must reads”?

Books that changed my life are countless but some standouts have been Dune by Frank Herbert, Imajica by Clive Barker, The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi and anything by China Mieville (the man is a genius). I'm also partial to a little comic reading, and while I talk about X-men (my favourite run was the short-lived Nyx and of course Grant Morrison's run) what I really love are comics and all the gorgeous characters created by Patrick Fillion. But if you're going to read anything, let it be Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. Spectacular.

Introducing Nickie Jamison; author of S.E.T.H.

Let me introduce you to my dear friend, Nickie, who is just adorable, who owns a ton of really sweet purses, and is one of my better friends in the universe (especially considering that she married my brother and made my life much easier by contributing significantly to his happiness)

She also wrote one of the more humorous pieces in Coming Together: Among the Stars. When I got to the line about taking a sample, I laughed out loud and knew I had to have this story... you may never look at a hair dryer the same way again....


Thank you for interviewing me, Lynn.

I’m sharing a photo of my future workspace. I live in the house that I grew up in and it’s currently in a state of flux – we’re updating/reorganizing the kitchen. The room pictured was my playroom when I was a kid.

When did you find out that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to put pen to paper?

I wrote a full length horror/ mystery/ thriller novel in fifth grade - or at least as close as you can get to one when you’re 10 and your literary inspiration is R.L.Stine. I wrote it by hand in a  one subject notebook (covered with Lisa Frank stickers, ftw) and was promptly sent to the office…apparently you’re not supposed to pen the rather graphic demise of the principal of the private Christian grade school you attend…it frightens the other children.

What are your biggest pet peeves for other people's grammar? 

Using words incorrectly – it makes me want to throat punch the writer with a dictionary.

Are there any mistakes that you find yourself making regularly?

Dialogue tags are the bane of my existence as a writer. Part of that is a hang-on from my days in the theater where stage directions abound and speech is punctuated by acting.

Tell me about your first publication. Who was it with? How did you feel when you got that acceptance?

S.E.T.H. is my first published short story making Coming Together: Among the Stars my first official publication.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

“As a mental exercise, I’ve often planned the murder of friends and colleagues…” – Sherlock (BBC)

A significant amount – I’m an avid journal keeper so it’s natural that writing is my method of dealing with shit.

What projects are you currently working on? Are you willing to share a small excerpt from a work in progress?

An excerpt from the Sci-Fi piece I’m currently working on:

Avaliegh tried not to stare at the bishop’s rotten tooth – a black slice among the brown jumble of his other teeth, but it drew her gaze and she watched his dry cracked lips move over it as he talked. The bishop’s condition was the consequence of a half a lifetime on the outlier planet Rondure 9 and a lack of good general dental hygiene. The balding old man beckoned Ava forward from the line of red-robed Breeders – women dedicated to the service of Theotokos. The bishop placed a warm arthritis knobbed hand on Ava’s shoulder and turned to the visitor, a poor farmer called Isaac.

“This Sister has come to us from a convent on Tersaris.” The bishop said.

“So she’s in good shape?”

“Very.” The bishop gave Ava’s shoulder a light squeeze.

“Let me see her marks.” Isaac’s silky bass voice made Ava’s heart drop into her stomach and she faltered, averting her gaze from Isaac’s face to the floor.

“Certainly,” the bishop said.

Ava timidly pulled the wide sleeve of her red robe up to her elbow to show the five scars on the inside of her forearm; two ‘x’ marks for the two miscarriages, two straight lines for the two stillbirths, and a circle with an arrow for the male child.

“She is still young, not even twenty-five orbital cycles.” The bishop’s breath stank and Ava jammed the tip of her tongue into the roof of her mouth, stifling her gag reflex.
Isaac’s lips pressed into a flat line and his brow furrowed in thought. From beneath the hood of her robe, Ava looked Isaac up and down, evaluating him. He was a handsome man; his jaw square dusted with dark stubble and his body strong and lean from farm work. Isaac’s dark hair was silvered at the temples and Ava reckoned he was at least forty. 

“Five pounds of salt and I’ll send milk to the convent thrice a week.”

“Done.” The bishop and Isaac shook hands. 

Blog: [http://oopswrongcookie.com/]
Facebook: [https://www.facebook.com/NicoleJamisonWriter]
Twitter: [https://twitter.com/oopswrongcookie]

Introducing Elizabeth Black; author of Longing

What It Means To Be Human
By Elizabeth Black

First, I would like to thank Lynn Townsend for accepting my story "Longing" for "Coming Together: Among The Stars". When Lynn told me about the anthology, I knew immediately what I wanted to write about.

I'm getting up in years, and as I age I've felt my body cooperate less with what I would like it to do. Every creak and ache reminds me that life doesn't last forever. Stooping sets my knees on fire. The idea of dancing makes me laugh. My right hip hurts when I walk for too long a period of time, although that has never stopped me from walking on the beaches near my home. I live on the Massachusetts coast, and I never give up a chance to walk on the beach. There's nothing as rustic as the Atlantic in New England. When I don't walk regularly, I feel the pain.

My husband and I have talked about what would it be like if (and maybe when) we lose our faculties. Memories slip away. Muscles won't stretch properly. Joints lose their ease of movement. There is a history of Alzheimer's disease in his family but not in mine. What would it be like to lose the sense of who you are?

And from those thoughts "Longing" was born.

A close friend of mine was diagnosed with dementia several years ago. I don't live with him so I don't have first-hand experience with the disease, but I know he needs constant care and vigilance. He is no longer permitted to drive by order of his doctor because he gets hopelessly lost. He is a writer, but he hasn't written anything in years since he can't concentrate enough to finish a sentence let alone an entire short story or book. He doesn't engage properly when in conversation. He says and does inappropriate things in public. It was depressing to see such a brilliant mind falter so quickly.

I hope I don't end up like that, but the fear is always at the back of my mind. When I forget something as innocent as what was on my grocery list, I wonder if it's the beginning of dementia. When I can't find my car keys or forget where I left my phone, is that a sign of something worse to come? What would life be like for my husband should he need to care for me 24/7? Or what would my life be like to do the same for him? We're in it for better or worse, after all.

Who knows, by the time we're that old technology and medicine will hopefully have advanced far enough to not only improve our quality of life but also lengthen our longevity. I agree with my husband when he says having the technological advances to live to 100, 200, and beyond means nothing if you have the mental capacity of a slug. It's the meaning in life that matters, not how long you live. I want to be of sound mind, with all my faculties present and thriving, until the day I die. I want to be able to write, to enjoy the beach, to bask in my husband's company, and to enjoy watching my son thrive as he approaches middle age. Those little things are what life is all about, and without them in my humble opinion life has little joy or meaning. All of these thoughts (no matter how jumbled) are what my story "Longing" is about. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Relevenant linkage: Death Should Be Optional

Introducing Jade A. Waters; author of The Joy Ride

From your regular blogger: I was so thrilled when I got a submission from Jade A. Waters. I hadn't known her long, but last year I picked up a copy of Big Book of Orgasms and read her naughty little story, the Flogger. Which, if you're interested, you can currently hear Rose Caraway's reading of them on the Kiss Me Quick podcast... and you SHOULD be interested... 


Hi Ms. Townsend! Thank you so much for this fun set of questions and for having me on your blog! I’m so excited to have a story in Coming Together, both because it’s helping such a great charity and because I love the sci-fi theme. Since I used to write spec fic before I seriously committed to erotica, I enjoy the opportunity to throw my characters back out into space whenever I can.

I’ve attached a picture of my desk space (yikes—kind of messy, but that’s how it goes…). The thing is, I like having a collection of quotes and words all around me when I’m writing. I love lists, in particular word lists, and I’ve posted these things around my writing space since I was a teen—now they’re just dirtier words! The bulletin board you see in this pic originally had to-do lists on it, but now it’s become a bit of a memento space with quotes and comments from great friends, or encouragements from people, or even just fun and inspiring things I’ve heard along the way. I’m a pretty visual person, so I like to have pictures around me, too—the Vampire Diaries folks, for example, delight me to no end, so I have them up. I also have a picture of Katy Perry because I think she’s ridiculously va-va-va-voom. But, just to mellow out the scene, I have a drawing from my niece, a couple family pics, some artwork from my bestie, and an illustration I’ve had above my desk for about three decades now. It’s Arthur Rackham’s “The Fairy’s Tightrope.”

Now on to your questions:

When did you find out that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to put pen to paper?

I wrote a Halloween story about an evil pumpkin when I was 7, and my parents sent it in to the paper. I remember getting this rush over seeing my words in print, so I kept going. Also I talked a lot, so my parents encouraged me to channel it somewhere. :) In 5th grade I wrote a story about a bear with a tutu (it was called “The Bear with the Tutu,” go figure). My teacher read it and made me promise I’d keep writing, and then when I was 12, my dad wrangled an old Mac from a friend to assist with the hours I’d spend scrawling on paper. I loved how lost I could get in a story, and I honestly loved the sound of the keys tapping, too…so I just kept creating. Over the next two decades I toyed around with a few styles and genres, until I finally decided I should run with erotica for real. It was a decision in response to what I fondly call my third-of-a-life crisis, which was basically a series of events that changed my writing focus (and upped my joy!). You can read more about that journey here.

Of your published works, do you have a favorite? Why?

I’m torn between two, and they’re coming out over the next few months. The first will be in Rose Caraway’s Dirty Thirty, an audiobook. It’s called “The Doll” and it’s an erotic spec fic allegory. I was working off this analogy I used once of being in a relationship that made me come alive, and yet also feeling like a broken doll after it ended…and a couple years later I wrote this little piece about a broken marionette coming to life through the adoring love of a lost doll maker. In a completely different manner, I love “73A,” which will be out in January in Alison Tyler’s Just for Him. It’s a seriously filthy second person story voiced by a woman in her living room to the painter on her patio. It starts with the line, “You’re working on my fence right now, and all I can think about is sucking on your cock.” It’s really sassy. And did I mention filthy?

I have a story coming out in the Dirty Thirty, too, called In the Closet, which is NOT what you think it's about... it's always fun to be in the same book with authors that I adore so very much... kind of a thrill, ya know?

Do you ever want to go back and edit an older story?

Frequently. I have a bunch of oldies that occasionally get pulled up and tinkered with. A story of mine at The Erotic Woman called “Marm” is a revamp of one of the first erotica pieces I ever wrote, over a decade ago. You can read it here: (link is NSFW). I have a few others like this that might see the light of day—but only after I edit the crap out of them!

How do you decide on character names?

Usually they just arrive in my head, but on occasion I’ll use an online name generator. Worst case, I run with “[super hot guy]” or “[sexy girl name]” until the names hit me just right.

Tell me about your first publication. Who was it with? How did you feel when you got that acceptance?

My first publication was “The Flogger” in Rachel Kramer Bussel’s The Big Book of Orgasms: 69 Sexy Stories. This story was the first I’d ever sent out, and when I got the news, I’d just arrived home from a trip to see my cousin in Denver—except I’d been snowed into Denver an extra day and I’d had a guy I really liked (whom I was supposed to meet that night for a date, no less) tell me he’d started seeing someone else. I walked in the door exhausted and annoyed. And then…there was an email from RKB. I started squealing—super loud and really excitedly. There was definitely dancing in the living room, despite it being somewhere past midnight.

How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?

Wow. I love this question. So let me say first that I write mostly fiction, *but* I believe that all stories have a kernel of truth to them, it’s just the kernel size that fluctuates. Sometimes, a story has a big kernel behind it—it could be that the character is an extension of me, or it could be that the story is a reworking of a real event or a real connection, or even that it’s loosely based on some random real thing that happened in my life. “The Flogger,” for example, was based on the fact that I had an unused flogger sitting in my closet for way too many years (it’s since been used, phew). In another case, I have a short story coming out down the line that is a retelling of an actual romance I had. The closeness to real life is certainly not the norm, but I believe that even when it’s not intentional, writers naturally embed pieces of themselves in their work. That’s what makes their stories powerful.

What's your writing routine?

Well, this depends on the day, but my best writing time is always in the morning. I get up bizarrely early—4:30 during the week and 5:30/6 on the weekends—and before I start anything I have a slow, warm breakfast paired with a giant almond milk latte (the first of two), then I handle my two high-maintenance cats (read: medication). Within about an hour I’m ready to go. If it’s a weekday I’ll squeeze in up to an hour before work. On the weekends I tend to ignore the world until midday, when I’ll take a lunch break or go workout. I’m fairly useless at the keyboard after 2 pm, so I try to handle “admin stuff” after that.

What writers or novels do you consider “must reads”?

I am forever charmed by Shanna Germain’s work. She’s so eloquent in everything she does, and there’s such a beautiful weight to her tales. I like gravity in stories, especially in erotica—I don’t feel like we see enough of that in the genre, unfortunately. Alison Tyler is another fave of mine because she’s always breaking rules and writing hot, and she has a real confessional flair I adore. On the non-erotica side of things, I love Carol Goodman. The Lake of Dead Languages is one of my most favorite books of all time—it’s got a gothic-lit feel but is extremely contemporary. Oh and Ellen Hopkins is amazing, too—she writes mostly YA but she writes it in verse. Amazing!

Tell us three things about you that are interesting.

The big one would have to be that I am a retired circus weirdo! At 26 I decided to start aerial acrobatics and tried flying trapeze and static trapeze. Shortly after, I discovered rope (corde lisse, like the fabric but one strand) and did it for a few years. I performed semi-professionally until I had a major wrist injury, which was actually how I refocused on writing again—you can’t write without a wrist, right?—so while I still do a little aerial pole, I’m mostly out of the scene these days. The second thing is that I’m an avid karaoke diva. I love singing, and I have zero problem with an audience, so hand me a mic and it’s on. The third is that I have a theatre background, and I also worked Renaissance Faire for about eight years. The stage past definitely makes live readings extra fun. :)

Thanks so much for having me here!

Introducing E.S. Wynn, author of A Matter of Taste

Notes from the Blogger: I've known E.S. for a couple of years - via Facebook. I love Facebook, have I said that? Through Facebook, I know writers and editors and cover artists. I know Muslim/American feminists living in France who do avant garde modeling. I know college professors in Beijing and students in South Africa. Great place, the Internet. He's witty, charming, and a fantastic writer, and I just know you're going to love his short story, A Matter of Taste. 

  

When did you find out that you wanted to be a writer? What inspired you to put pen to paper?



I knew writing was for me as soon as I learned how to wield a word! I think I gravitated toward writing initially because I had a lot of images trapped in my imagination that I needed to get out on paper, and since I couldn’t draw (or at least, didn’t have the patience to learn how to do it) and didn’t have my own movie crew or studio to make movies with, I settled for the art form that gave me the leverage to do the most that I could with the least. I learned the power of words very early on, and have always delighted in using simple constructions of letters and sound to create grand, tangible scenes in the minds of my readers. English is such a beautiful, complex and versatile language. I love it!



What are your greatest challenges in your writing career?



Being seen! The internet is a wonderful tool that has done wonders for the democratization of mass media, but when you're just one voice in a sea of millions, it can still be hard to be seen. I'm terrible at networking and I'm the worst sort of hermit/recluse/shut-in, so reaching people and getting the word out about my work has always been hard. That being said, check me out online here: http://www.eswynn.com



Of your published works, do you have a favorite? Why?



Usually my favorite work is the one I've most recently completed, but I do have a few older favorites that stand out in my mind. Black Magic: Shotgun Spacebabe was a lot of fun to write, as were Voyage of the Tereshkova and Beyond the Zompocalypse. Last Five Years and The Mars Manuscripts are another two that really make me smile when I think about them. Each work has its own individual charm, but I love Last Five Years probably the most of all because of the amount of work I put into it. It can be a hard one to read, but it's written that way on purpose. It's the kind of book in which every sentence is constructed to have multiple meanings, so it almost requires a couple of read-throughs. It's a rule of writing that a writer should make his or her work as accessible to the reader as possible, so Last Five Years could be seen as a bit transgressive in that it is deliberately crafted to task the reader with its complexity.



How much of your life and the people you know end up in your work?



Probably less than you'd expect from a writer. Sure, here and there I'll work the names of friends and family into pieces I'm working on. (I finished a book the other day for Immanion Press which changes a local road name from O'byrnes Ferry to Oborn Ferry, Oborn being my wife's family name, just as an example off the top of my head.) Most of my work is sci-fi or horror, so while I might be inspired here and there by something or someone I encounter in my daily life, overall I save the heavily-influenced prose for the few general fiction and creative non-fiction works I do. (Creative non-fiction being stuff like Peter Grandbois's The Arsenic Lobster, etc.) My books Cinder Block Houses, Decay Americana and Dusk Days and Daysleep Dreams are about as close to the real me as any given reader is going to get.



What projects are you currently working on? Are you willing to share a small excerpt from a work in progress?



Unfortunately, I'm contractually bound to keep the details of most of my current projects secret, but let's just say that I'm working on three short stories at the moment, helping another writer create and edit a musical, and I'm also working closely with an occult/spiritual press on a couple of very interesting projects. The stuff I can talk about is more benign and perhaps less interesting– I'm in the process of compiling a number of short stories for a series of untitled anthologies scheduled for release sometime next year and I'm also tinkering with a few little projects, including a non-traditional tarot deck. I'm always busy and always working on something. I can't imagine I'll ever stop.



What writers or novels do you consider “must reads”?

The aforementioned The Arsenic Lobster: A Hybrid Memoir by Peter Grandbois. Storm Constantine's Wraeththu series, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Samuel R. Delaney's Stars In My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, Alex Aro's A Lovely Appetite, John Ogden's Old Motorcycles, anything edited by Damon Knight (the Orbit series, etc.) Anything by George Alec Effinger– I could go on and on.