If you haven't noticed by the title of this post we've been watching a little too much Sons of Anarchy in December! Obviously we fell in love with the Irish! Seriously though, it's Charlie Hunnam that has given us a biker addiction! With the crew being down most of the month we've had a huge amount of time to watch all six seasons. Did we mention we get a little obsessive over things we love here?
One of our readers said she was a Hunnam Angel for life, and now we get why. A few of the folks around here are now ready to start their own MC! The only problem with that scenario is none of us ride, but we'd make some great old ladies! Jail time doesn't seem like much fun either so our club would have to be strictly legit! If you haven't watched the show you can catch the first five seasons on Netflix and then the sixth on Amazon. It's worth the ride!
So what made us want to watch the show? We started working on a new Biker Romance a few months ago and the research for the background in nonfiction was interesting but we wanted to get a feel about what people were relating to on a fiction level. Someone suggested SOA and that's all it took. Yes we were six years late, which we really regret now, but it was made up for! Michelle's family is regretting that finding since now she's decided leather is pretty cool!
Vampires, Rock Stars, BDSM and now Bikers! Things definitely never get dull around Tears of Crimson! Now if only we can remind our fearless leader that she doesn't need to go out and experience all these scenarios to write about them! Five kids and a husband might just keep her grounded enough to realize she might have more fun writing about it instead!
We hooked up with Rachel Mizer of Shoutlines designs to get the lowdown on a possible new cover for the biker romance and can't wait to see what she comes up with. Maybe she can come up with a Patch for all our Tears of Crimson friends? 2013 has been one hell of a year and we're looking at a 2014 that's packed with just as much excitement! We're really hoping to finish out the Tears of Crimson series in 2014 as well, if we can get Michelle to stop whining about ending her baby! Make sure you send her some encouragement and tell her you won't stop visiting just because the final book in the vampire series hits the shelves.
Sending out love to all our Tears of Crimson friends with best wishes for an incredible 2014! Let's see what we can make happen this year!
Love,
The Tears of Crimson Crew
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Merry Christmas from Tears of Crimson!
From everyone at Tears of Crimson, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
2013 was a wonderful year for us and we hope as you look back it had many memorable times for you as well. Even with all the battles that were fought this year we made it through with our head held high and filled with love for all those that supported us. The truth is nothing can stop what is meant to be and the readers of Tears helped us prove that! We can only hope that 2014 shows the same pattern.
Heading into 2014 there are already five projects ready to be kicked off, including the final book in the Tears of Crimson series. "God willing and the creek don't rise" things will stay on course for those adventures and many more. As we end this year, Five nights remains in the top 100 of New Adult College romances and Whore is still digging it's way out from under the witch hunt on Amazon for the title and starting to gain ground. It's been one heck of a ride, but as we said earlier, what's meant to be, will be!
As you go about spending time with your family and friends this Christmas season, we wish you nothing but joy and love. Be safe and thankful for all the gifts given to you! Each day that we breathe is a new chance to share a dream. Much of our time was focused on bringing new books to readers this year, and the promotion behind them. We hope in 2014 we'll have a little more time to help others! If you'd like to share your releases with Tears, please get them in at least thirty days in advance. We aren't doing reviews but we will spotlight books from authors with guest posts.
Thank you again for all the love and support. May 2014 be your year to shine and for all your dreams to come true!
Thursday, December 19, 2013
We Stand With Phil of Duck Dynasty - A&E
I support Phil Robertson and his right to express his faith and beliefs. #nophilnoshow pic.twitter.com/tfTQleYM8e
— Justin Flom (@justinflom) December 19, 2013
Our opinion is everyone has the right to Freedom of Speech. A&E knew going in that Phil was a Christian and he made no qualms about how he would speak his mind. Intolerance goes both ways and regardless of what our personal opinions are, Phil has the right to share his.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Cover Reveal for Body Language: Dahlia Salvatore
Coming January 17, 2013 a beautiful story that you don't want to miss by Dahlia Salvatore! I was fortunate enough to receive the ARC of this book and I was blown away. It's one of those books that I believe will find a place on a bestseller list quickly! Without giving away spoilers, let me just say that this one will find a way into your heart and pull on those strings. But it's so much more! It's about overcoming great odds and fighting back when life has dealt you a hand that makes it seem impossible! I was so emotionally moved by this novel!
Blurb:
Carmen Andrews hasn't spoken for a year, not since she was viciously tortured by a psychopath. Forced into silence by the trauma, she finds a new life in a new town. As a dancer, she can get away with her silence. In her head is a mess of memories, withheld frustrations, and a host of wingless dreams. When her new psychiatrist sends her to a speech therapist to help loosen her tongue, she meets Jacob Weller.
Fresh out of graduate school, Jacob is eager to help those who are suffering from mutism and other speech and language disorders. When he meets Carmen, he finds her attractive but his high ethical standards keep him from mentioning it. But when he's blown away by another woman, his thoughts wander back to the hauntingly beautiful face of Carmen, of the emotive way she looks through him and seems to know him.
As Jacob begins to treat her, he finds himself drawn more and more to her, and even begins to confide in her about himself. As his actions border on the unprofessional, with no visible changes in Carmen, he faces an emotional and professional dilemma.
Carmen struggles with her demons and secrets... secrets that keep her mouth firmly shut and her heart desperately wanting.
Cover Design by: Shoutlines
Visit us on the web - http://www.shoutlinesdesign.com
Like us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Shoutlinesdesign
Follow us on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Shoutlinesdes
Blurb:
Carmen Andrews hasn't spoken for a year, not since she was viciously tortured by a psychopath. Forced into silence by the trauma, she finds a new life in a new town. As a dancer, she can get away with her silence. In her head is a mess of memories, withheld frustrations, and a host of wingless dreams. When her new psychiatrist sends her to a speech therapist to help loosen her tongue, she meets Jacob Weller.
Fresh out of graduate school, Jacob is eager to help those who are suffering from mutism and other speech and language disorders. When he meets Carmen, he finds her attractive but his high ethical standards keep him from mentioning it. But when he's blown away by another woman, his thoughts wander back to the hauntingly beautiful face of Carmen, of the emotive way she looks through him and seems to know him.
As Jacob begins to treat her, he finds himself drawn more and more to her, and even begins to confide in her about himself. As his actions border on the unprofessional, with no visible changes in Carmen, he faces an emotional and professional dilemma.
Carmen struggles with her demons and secrets... secrets that keep her mouth firmly shut and her heart desperately wanting.
Cover Design by: Shoutlines
Visit us on the web - http://www.shoutlinesdesign.com
Like us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Shoutlinesdesign
Follow us on Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/Shoutlinesdes
Friday, December 13, 2013
The Phoenix Takes Over Tears of Crimson
Erotica
I present to you a twisted tale, born of politics, sex and
music in a time we like to call the nineties. It was early in that decade, with
vigorous campaigning for the 1992 presidential election taking a special place
in the media. Go ahead and get started.
I know it may be hard to believe since recent political party activities have actually tried to discourage select demographics of potential voters, but the 1992 campaign had a special focus on trying to draw younger voters. George Bush was seen as having an unassailable position, largely because of older, conservative voters. Bill Clinton made his play for the younger, more liberal citizens. The day after he received the Democratic Party nomination, he appeared on Arsenio Hall’s late-night talk show and played “Heartbreak Hotel” on the saxophone. His cool factor instantly skyrocketed. Clinton became a darling of both young and minority Americans and leapt ahead of Bush in the polls. That was June. “Rock the Vote” became even bigger and MTV kept shouting self-righteously about standing behind 2 Live Crew.
In October, things changed. The aforementioned Madonna released a book titled “Sex” in conjunction with her much anticipated “Erotica” album and the single “Justify My Love”. As usual, many loved it and some hated it. Leading the controversy, “Justify My Love” had a video that didn’t shy away from Madonna engaging in homoerotic activity. Pitchforks were taken up and torches were lit. Some critics said Madonna had killed her career. Naturally, no one remembers those critics because they’re irrelevant. Ted Koppel did a Nightline episode on the controversy, showed the video, then had an open talk about it. Something was missing, though…
Oh, right! MTV. If anybody was going to stand with Madonna, it should’ve been MTV. She was a music powerhouse. She was one of MTV’s key attractions. Siding with Madonna was a no-brainer, especially after all the First Amendment rants and 2 Live Crew support MTV had engaged in over the previous year. So, MTV mouthpieces quickly announced that MTV wasn’t going to run Madonna’s new video. Wait a minute! Was there a typo? Did someone misspeak?
MTV wasn’t going to run Madonna’s new video. Baffling. More than a little hypocritical. This made no sense. So…without the convenience of the internet, (yes, welcome to the dark age of pre-worldwide web) I grabbed my land line phone and dove into the task of tracking down a phone number for MTV. Finding it, I called New York City and got as far as the MTV receptionist of whom I demanded to be connected with someone who could provide me with an explanation of their indefensible position. As it turned out, that person was the receptionist. Apparently, MTV had gotten a lot of phone calls from people demanding the same thing I was and so the execs prepared the poor woman with a single tool: the explanatory statement that “It’s just not for us.”
Seriously? That was it? I left her with a message for her employers: MTV is just not for me.
That ended our exchange with all the satisfaction it was going to bring. I turned MTV off my TV and didn’t look back. The folks at MTV had decided that they couldn’t predict which side of the issue was going to be the cool one nor, more importantly, which was going to be best for the bottom line, so the decision was to just stay out of it. That struck me as supremely uncool.
Free expression is important to me. When it comes to words, images and music, I continue to stand by the opinion that if you don’t like them, don’t look or listen. Not liking them, though doesn’t give you the right to suppress someone else’s expression. One of the things I don’t like at present is Amazon’s current book listing procedure that makes a writer’s work subject to special scrutiny by the company’s personnel. Much like the motion picture rating process, there are parts of the system that remain mysterious to those of us attempting to use it. In this case, it means creators must pass the scrutiny of unknown eyes that have the capacity to literally judge books by their covers and reclassify them based upon image or title no matter what the writer has to say about the content. It means that self-publishing writers are left without key controls over the marketing disposition of their own creations.
In theory, this seemingly subtle form of censorship can place a book on a virtual shelf where a writer never intended it to be. Having your deeply religious work end up labeled as philosophy or self-help and your scholarly documentary placed as a children’s book may not seem like much to someone who’s not a writer, but it’s a few exponential steps beyond any of those arguments you ever had with your parents those times when they were being arbitrarily unfair about anything you wanted to do. Fighting with Amazon personnel over it as an adult will leave you feeling about as impotent.
What seems to be the most extreme result of this is that Amazon has the power to relegate a book to the obscurity of a virtual pornography closet if it is deemed that any element of it is too dangerously adult unless it is changed. Again, to some it may not sound like much, but if you’ve been told by some government clerk that the carefully crafted name you’ve bestowed upon your love child (in honor of your beloved grandparents) has to be changed to something the clerk likes, you’re going to be upset. You could decide to stay with your original decision, but when it comes to a book that obscure placement can have a tremendous impact. Suppose that it had been decided that “Moby Dick” could only have been sold in adult bookstores because of its title because…come on, we know what that title means. No, it doesn’t matter what you say the story is about, just look at that title. Seriously? You want high school students reading porn? Now, imagine that “The Scarlet Letter” or “Lady Chatterly’s Lover” had been released under the name “Whore”. How many people would’ve found it on the shelf of the adult bookstores it was hidden in because they were the only places that could carry it? Should some disinterested functionary have had the power to change their titles to “A Small Town Scandal” because it sounded less offensive?
In realm of independent publishing supposedly governed by free expression, the correct answer is “No.” If you’re writing, take heed, because the righteousness of your fight is going to matter less than you’d like. Unfortunately, the reality of it all comes down to this: whether you’re pouring your heart into a tragic chronicle of a prostitute’s life on the streets or a passionate virgin’s sexual awakening, don’t name it “Whore”. Sure, you know it’s a biography or a romance or a literary adventure or even a religious redemption, but you may not like how it ends.
Discover Phoenix Writing!
Phoenix Writing Blog Twitter @BennuWright
What would it mean to your perception of self to not know key details of your own past?
How does it affect your decision making when you learn that gods have taken interest in the things you do?
Where do you place your loyalty when your own people will not stand with you in your most dire moments?
Lar Kwa is the Lost Prince of Alban, absent from his frozen homeland of proud warriors for twenty years. Bearing Tshan’casai, the ancient sword of his fathers, he is determined to use its potent magics to become savior to his troubled people. From the Crimson Throne, with Princess Treutelaar, Light of the People, at his side and advanced technology at his command, he plans to accomplish nothing short of the reformation of the fragmented empire forged by his family in days long past. Many oppose Lar Kwa’s ambitions, content with maintaining the status quo, but the prince has opened himself to guidance by forces beyond mortal ken. Of what consequence then are the wishes of mankind, the power of dragons, the intervention of isolationist warlords or the concerns of neighboring nations to a monarch willing to plunge half the world into war in order to rule it? Can the disturbing visions of one young misfit be of significance as elements of strange prophecies continue to manifest? As truths struggle to find their way to light, they will threaten not only the sanity of those involved, but to unravel the very fabric of reality. Myth and magic born of ancient gods and lost cities continue to shape a world of science and ambitious mortals.
Who will survive?
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Whore: To Hot for Amazon and Facebook but Deflowered is Even Worse?
If you can't beat them.... scream yourself into oblivion then change the title? This was the only option that I could come up with for Whore, which as you can see by the book cover, I attempted to rename! My first problem began when Facebook refused to let me advertise, claiming the title was against policy.
I was pretty ticked about that but decided if Facebook didn't want my advertising dollars, it was there loss. So I released Whore and got several comments from loyal readers that they couldn't find my book without typing in the exact title along with my name. I let that slide for a week, thinking it just hadn't had time to go through Amazon's search preferences.
Then I noticed the category for my book. Erotic? I didn't list it as erotic. It was listed as a Contemporary Romance. I went back through KDP and checked my categories just to make sure I hadn't inadvertently put the wrong thing in. Nope. The title was listed just the way I meant it to be, Contemporary Romance. So I emailed them. This was the tidbit of advice I got that shocked me. If a book has been listed as Erotic it can't be listed in any other category.
Well I didn't list it as Erotic and since my people have clothes on the only deduction I could come up with for this was they didn't approve of the Title. Whore was meant to be a play on words for the book, the (h) is a virgin for the love of Christmas! While I could get by without advertising on facebook, readers not being able to find my book because it was deemed pornography was unacceptable. I mean come on... I write about virgins and strong men for heaven's sake!
I feel like I had no choice. Amazon was obviously on a witch hunt and my book got screwed. Selena Kitt did a great post on this: Selena's Post. For my other author friends I highly suggest you go here http://www.salesrankexpress.com/ and see if your book has a red adult tagging. If it does you might be forced to do exactly what I've done.
So low and behold I get this nice little email from Amazon after I changed the title to Deflowered:
Kindle Direct Publishing <title-submission@amazon.com>
11:13 PM (7 hours ago)
Hello,
We’re contacting you regarding the following book(s), which are in violation of our content guidelines (see list below for details):
Deflowered by Hughes, Michelle (AUTHOR) (ID:4332246) - title
If you wish, you may make changes to your book (images, title, description, and interior content) to comply with the KDP Content Guidelines and re-submit it for publishing.
You can find our content guidelines on the Kindle Direct Publishing website: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A1KT4ANX0RL55I
We’ve set your book to an editable state. Upon changing your content, please re-submit your book for publishing and respond to this email at title-submission@amazon.com in order for your book to be made available for sale in the Kindle Store.
Best regards,
Kindle Direct Publishing
kdp.amazon.com
So Whore is an acceptable Title, but if I use it then Amazon will make it an ADULT book refusing to let it be seen in normal book searches and it can't be categorized as Romance since they deem it Erotic? So after going through ALL that frustration I get an email back from Amazon saying they've reconsidered Whore and it is now no longer Adult. Here's that email:
Kindle Direct Publishing <title-submission@amazon.com>
Hello,
We’ve reviewed your response concerning the following book(s):
ASIN: B00H3T3GS4
After further review, we have decided to remove the search restrictions so your book(s) will now be found in our general product search results. This may take up to 24 hours to process.
We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this temporary restriction.
Best Regards,
Beatrice K
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
I was pretty ticked about that but decided if Facebook didn't want my advertising dollars, it was there loss. So I released Whore and got several comments from loyal readers that they couldn't find my book without typing in the exact title along with my name. I let that slide for a week, thinking it just hadn't had time to go through Amazon's search preferences.
Then I noticed the category for my book. Erotic? I didn't list it as erotic. It was listed as a Contemporary Romance. I went back through KDP and checked my categories just to make sure I hadn't inadvertently put the wrong thing in. Nope. The title was listed just the way I meant it to be, Contemporary Romance. So I emailed them. This was the tidbit of advice I got that shocked me. If a book has been listed as Erotic it can't be listed in any other category.
Well I didn't list it as Erotic and since my people have clothes on the only deduction I could come up with for this was they didn't approve of the Title. Whore was meant to be a play on words for the book, the (h) is a virgin for the love of Christmas! While I could get by without advertising on facebook, readers not being able to find my book because it was deemed pornography was unacceptable. I mean come on... I write about virgins and strong men for heaven's sake!
I feel like I had no choice. Amazon was obviously on a witch hunt and my book got screwed. Selena Kitt did a great post on this: Selena's Post. For my other author friends I highly suggest you go here http://www.salesrankexpress.com/ and see if your book has a red adult tagging. If it does you might be forced to do exactly what I've done.
So low and behold I get this nice little email from Amazon after I changed the title to Deflowered:
Kindle Direct Publishing <title-submission@amazon.com>
11:13 PM (7 hours ago)
Hello,
We’re contacting you regarding the following book(s), which are in violation of our content guidelines (see list below for details):
Deflowered by Hughes, Michelle (AUTHOR) (ID:4332246) - title
If you wish, you may make changes to your book (images, title, description, and interior content) to comply with the KDP Content Guidelines and re-submit it for publishing.
You can find our content guidelines on the Kindle Direct Publishing website: https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A1KT4ANX0RL55I
We’ve set your book to an editable state. Upon changing your content, please re-submit your book for publishing and respond to this email at title-submission@amazon.com in order for your book to be made available for sale in the Kindle Store.
Best regards,
Kindle Direct Publishing
kdp.amazon.com
So Whore is an acceptable Title, but if I use it then Amazon will make it an ADULT book refusing to let it be seen in normal book searches and it can't be categorized as Romance since they deem it Erotic? So after going through ALL that frustration I get an email back from Amazon saying they've reconsidered Whore and it is now no longer Adult. Here's that email:
Kindle Direct Publishing <title-submission@amazon.com>
Hello,
We’ve reviewed your response concerning the following book(s):
ASIN: B00H3T3GS4
After further review, we have decided to remove the search restrictions so your book(s) will now be found in our general product search results. This may take up to 24 hours to process.
We appreciate your feedback and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this temporary restriction.
Best Regards,
Beatrice K
Amazon.com
Your feedback is helping us build Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company.
So here I am back where I started originally. With a Contemporary Romance Novel that was never erotic to begin with, not that I agree with what they are doing to Erotic Authors, hoping that since I resubmitted that it won't get red flagged as ADULT again. If this book doesn't get flagged as an inappropriate title (trust me I'm not holding my breath there) it should be available for sale again tomorrow.
This may not be considered Book Banning, but it definitely is holding a book hostage! And let me just say that I find it somewhat ironic that if you're E.L James who's making them millions, you can have a book in Erotic and Contemporary Romance and NOT get red flagged. Of course Amazon would NEVER play favorites like that. Right? Just had to say it. You can check out that little tidbit of information out for yourself by using the Sales Rank Express Link above.
I'm a glass half full kind of person and try to see the positives in every negative situation. So what have I taken away from all this? Never title a book with a word that might be considered offensive (although Whore and Deflowered are words even my seventeen year old daughters could say without getting in trouble), even if it perfectly fits your book.
I have no idea what's going to happen with this book, but let me say this has been an eye-opening experience.
Love Always,
Michelle Hughes
Monday, December 9, 2013
Real Christmas Joy Is a Child's Smiling Face
Every year I'm reminded of the true gift of the Christmas season when I see my children smile. It's a magical time of year when wishes and dreams come true. These are my little angels and I've been blessed beyond belief. Christmas to me is all about children and it's hard not to think about the children that will be waiting for Santa to come when families have fallen upon hard times.
There's one organization that brings smiles to these little dreamers and I hope you'll consider them this year when you open your heart. Toys For Tots. Why do I ask for your support? Years ago, before I met the second love of my life I'd fallen on such hard times. I was the single mother who wondered how she was going to keep the Christmas dream alive when I was doing the best I could to keep food on the table.
Toys For Tots gave my children the magic of Christmas that year and it still brings tears to my eyes to remember that gift. So while you're enjoying all the blessings that life has given to you, I hope you'll remember those that are struggling and bring the Christmas Miracle into the little hearts that need to be reminded of the good things in life.
There's one organization that brings smiles to these little dreamers and I hope you'll consider them this year when you open your heart. Toys For Tots. Why do I ask for your support? Years ago, before I met the second love of my life I'd fallen on such hard times. I was the single mother who wondered how she was going to keep the Christmas dream alive when I was doing the best I could to keep food on the table.
Toys For Tots gave my children the magic of Christmas that year and it still brings tears to my eyes to remember that gift. So while you're enjoying all the blessings that life has given to you, I hope you'll remember those that are struggling and bring the Christmas Miracle into the little hearts that need to be reminded of the good things in life.
MISSION:
The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.
GOAL:
The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.
OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help less fortunate children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable resources – our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause for three months each year during the annual toy collection and distribution campaign; and to contribute to better communities in the future.
ACTIVITIES:
The principal Toys for Tots activity which takes place each year is the collection and distribution of toys in the communities in which a Marine Corps Reserve Unit is located. In communities without a Reserve Unit, the campaign can be conducted by a Marine Corps League Detachment or group of men and women, generally veteran Marines, authorized by Marine Toys for Tots Foundation to conduct a local Toys for Tots campaign. Local Toys for Tots Campaign Coordinators conduct an array of activities throughout the year, which include golf tournaments, foot races, bicycle races and other voluntary events designed to increase interest in Toys for Tots, and concurrently generate toys and monetary donations.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Competing with Fifty Shades? That's Not My Goal!
I got a review today on Goodreads about the new book Whore, which frankly disturbed me a little. Not that I mind a person speaking their mind but the idea behind this was that all these authors were trying to rewrite Fifty Shades of Grey. I thought the comment deserved to be brought up for further discussison and contrary to popular belief E.L. James wasn't the first person to write a romance novel with a BDSM theme. Not taking anything away from Mrs. James on the success of her work, but the person I hold as the person who started this genre was Anne Rice.
Anne wrote a great series called the Sleeping Beauty trilogy and it was my first introduction to BDSM themed romance. Trust me when I say Christian had nothing on her characters when it came to sadomasochism! The first book came out in 1999 and I have to say it changed my life in ways I won't get into in this posting. I obviously don't know the mindset Anne Rice was trying to portray with this series, but it spoke to the darkest part of my soul and I was fascinated.
Another point that was raised in this review was the Virgin/Millionaire scenario. Again let me share my view that E.L James didn't create that phenomenon either. Harlequin Romance brought that out into the field and I remember reading my grandmother's four box set that came every month (I was only eight at the time) so giving credit where it's due is deserved. Trust me I'm not downing the Fifty Shades phenomenon. I enjoyed all of those books and I'm very happy for James on her success, but saying that she has already done the theme is a little ridiculous.
I've been writing virgin/alpha romances since 2009 myself and that was years before James published her book. The truth is that's what I enjoy writing and there are still readers out there that want to read books along that theme. If you as a reader don't that's your reading privilege but saying that an author is copying someone else is ludicrous when no author has the rights to the topic. It also shows that the reviewer didn't actually read my book because Whore has very little to do with the issues of BDSM.
Taylor Ross wasn't abused as a child, nor does he have the need to control every facet of Laura's life. He is rich and powerful and believes he can pay for sex. He doesn't believe in relationships and he has a very good reason for wanting Laura to be his whore. That reason comes out throughout the book, and I won't spoil it here.
Laura is struggling in life after being abandoned by her mother and she has to make a decision about what's important to her. She's definitely not had an easy life and here's this strong male accustomed to getting what he wants not only in business but his personal life as well. He offers her the opportunity to better herself but in doing so she will have to give up who she is as a person. I consider this to be a coming of age, new adult romance, because the decisions she's faced with deal more with finding out who she is as a person.
What I'm hoping readers will take away from this book is her internal struggle. There are some sexy scenes that might be a little much for some readers, but to me it's all about Laura's ability to see past what she thinks is right and her own sexuality. She isn't taken to a dungeon, whipped into submission or anything of the like. Taylor is just a true Alpha Male who likes to push buttons and he's going to see just how far she'll bend.
The ultimate question this book tries to answer is can a virgin be a whore? I have my own ideas about this and after reading it, I'm hoping that readers might question there thoughts about the question. This entire book started because of that question. I love how the muse throws things at me (when it doesn't wake me up from a sound sleep to write). Whore was my nanowrimo challenge as well and I'm proud to say I managed 52,000 words in 14 days to meet it!
In closing let me just say that while I support E.L James and her great success, she didn't create this genre and people have been writing about Alpha Male/Virgin scenarios long before either one of us ever typed our first manuscript. The Pioneers of this genre have given me incredible books to fantasize about over the years and I hope the theme never dies!
Anne wrote a great series called the Sleeping Beauty trilogy and it was my first introduction to BDSM themed romance. Trust me when I say Christian had nothing on her characters when it came to sadomasochism! The first book came out in 1999 and I have to say it changed my life in ways I won't get into in this posting. I obviously don't know the mindset Anne Rice was trying to portray with this series, but it spoke to the darkest part of my soul and I was fascinated.
Another point that was raised in this review was the Virgin/Millionaire scenario. Again let me share my view that E.L James didn't create that phenomenon either. Harlequin Romance brought that out into the field and I remember reading my grandmother's four box set that came every month (I was only eight at the time) so giving credit where it's due is deserved. Trust me I'm not downing the Fifty Shades phenomenon. I enjoyed all of those books and I'm very happy for James on her success, but saying that she has already done the theme is a little ridiculous.
I've been writing virgin/alpha romances since 2009 myself and that was years before James published her book. The truth is that's what I enjoy writing and there are still readers out there that want to read books along that theme. If you as a reader don't that's your reading privilege but saying that an author is copying someone else is ludicrous when no author has the rights to the topic. It also shows that the reviewer didn't actually read my book because Whore has very little to do with the issues of BDSM.
Taylor Ross wasn't abused as a child, nor does he have the need to control every facet of Laura's life. He is rich and powerful and believes he can pay for sex. He doesn't believe in relationships and he has a very good reason for wanting Laura to be his whore. That reason comes out throughout the book, and I won't spoil it here.
Laura is struggling in life after being abandoned by her mother and she has to make a decision about what's important to her. She's definitely not had an easy life and here's this strong male accustomed to getting what he wants not only in business but his personal life as well. He offers her the opportunity to better herself but in doing so she will have to give up who she is as a person. I consider this to be a coming of age, new adult romance, because the decisions she's faced with deal more with finding out who she is as a person.
What I'm hoping readers will take away from this book is her internal struggle. There are some sexy scenes that might be a little much for some readers, but to me it's all about Laura's ability to see past what she thinks is right and her own sexuality. She isn't taken to a dungeon, whipped into submission or anything of the like. Taylor is just a true Alpha Male who likes to push buttons and he's going to see just how far she'll bend.
The ultimate question this book tries to answer is can a virgin be a whore? I have my own ideas about this and after reading it, I'm hoping that readers might question there thoughts about the question. This entire book started because of that question. I love how the muse throws things at me (when it doesn't wake me up from a sound sleep to write). Whore was my nanowrimo challenge as well and I'm proud to say I managed 52,000 words in 14 days to meet it!
In closing let me just say that while I support E.L James and her great success, she didn't create this genre and people have been writing about Alpha Male/Virgin scenarios long before either one of us ever typed our first manuscript. The Pioneers of this genre have given me incredible books to fantasize about over the years and I hope the theme never dies!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Introducing Khiana Meyer - 16 Year Old Singer
Twitter.com/KhianaMMusic
Facebook.com/KhianaMeyerMusic
Reverbnation.com/khianameyer
*For business inquiries: Book.khiana@gmail.com
Backing track by: Sing to Piano https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Dual Personality and I Quit!
See that chick over there? Well she's me and I did something really stupid trying to make things right that really weren't wrong to begin with. Because of a few shallow people's thoughts about my work I made a rash decision to go back to a pen name and I guess I just woke up today. The truth is if you're that insecure with your own sexuality that you have a problem with the type of writing I do... that's your problem not mine!
To my sexy Alpha Male Jay... I love you too babe but I'm done trying to hide who I am to live in this backwater town. They can accept me, or we can do what we've always done since moving here and just be a family. It's no secret that Coosa County is one of the most Southern hick places in the world to live and the only reason I agreed to live here at all was because my husband happens to love our forty acres of land. It has everything he wants but as far as a social life for me?
Let's just say that if you're not on your knees worshipping 24/7 and pretending to something you're not, the chances of finding friendship are pretty close to nil. Honestly it doesn't even bother me much because I have four great kids at home who I'd rather spend my time with anyway. The way things work around here in deliverance country is you are either a redneck party person or bible thumping zealot. I hate to say, well I don't really, but I'm neither. So yes the last ten years isolated in this country version of hell hasn't been much fun!
I grew up as a military brat and after that I traveled all around the world with my singing. Chicago was my favorite place on earth and I miss it dearly! For the last ten years I've called this place home and have tried my best to fit in. No more. I'm sure there are some people out here in the sticks that feel the way I do but I doubt seriously they are willing to speak up about it. It's not only the adults but the children in the schools here as well.
If you've followed me on facebook you'll know that my 17 year old daughter has had horrible problems with bullying because she, just like her mom, doesn't fit in here. She's going to kill me for this BUT at least she keeps her legs shut and has decided to wait to find the love of her life. For that and her love of drawing and anime these horrible children have ridiculed her beyond belief. Stifling creativity and making people feel like they are beneath you because you don't share their idiotic ideology, that's what you can expect in our part of Alabama.
This has turned into a huge rant, but I swear I needed to get it off my chest. Accept me for who I am or not. Mess with my children and expect to end up in a court of law! And Coosa County Board of Education... believe me I'm watching you like a hawk! So in short (can I even say that now) I REFUSE to use the pen name, I REFUSE to apologize for being an erotic writer, and I REFUSE to let you make my children suffer for your narrow mindedness. This is my life these are my children and I will fight you tooth and nail to make sure that MY rights are upheld!
To my sexy Alpha Male Jay... I love you too babe but I'm done trying to hide who I am to live in this backwater town. They can accept me, or we can do what we've always done since moving here and just be a family. It's no secret that Coosa County is one of the most Southern hick places in the world to live and the only reason I agreed to live here at all was because my husband happens to love our forty acres of land. It has everything he wants but as far as a social life for me?
Let's just say that if you're not on your knees worshipping 24/7 and pretending to something you're not, the chances of finding friendship are pretty close to nil. Honestly it doesn't even bother me much because I have four great kids at home who I'd rather spend my time with anyway. The way things work around here in deliverance country is you are either a redneck party person or bible thumping zealot. I hate to say, well I don't really, but I'm neither. So yes the last ten years isolated in this country version of hell hasn't been much fun!
I grew up as a military brat and after that I traveled all around the world with my singing. Chicago was my favorite place on earth and I miss it dearly! For the last ten years I've called this place home and have tried my best to fit in. No more. I'm sure there are some people out here in the sticks that feel the way I do but I doubt seriously they are willing to speak up about it. It's not only the adults but the children in the schools here as well.
If you've followed me on facebook you'll know that my 17 year old daughter has had horrible problems with bullying because she, just like her mom, doesn't fit in here. She's going to kill me for this BUT at least she keeps her legs shut and has decided to wait to find the love of her life. For that and her love of drawing and anime these horrible children have ridiculed her beyond belief. Stifling creativity and making people feel like they are beneath you because you don't share their idiotic ideology, that's what you can expect in our part of Alabama.
This has turned into a huge rant, but I swear I needed to get it off my chest. Accept me for who I am or not. Mess with my children and expect to end up in a court of law! And Coosa County Board of Education... believe me I'm watching you like a hawk! So in short (can I even say that now) I REFUSE to use the pen name, I REFUSE to apologize for being an erotic writer, and I REFUSE to let you make my children suffer for your narrow mindedness. This is my life these are my children and I will fight you tooth and nail to make sure that MY rights are upheld!
Attention! Whore Has Taken Over Bookstores!
It's official! Whore is now available everywhere great books are sold! The debut starts today and we are encouraging readers to embrace their inner Whore and share it with friends! Not sex! The book of course. Not that we'd tell you what to share if you feel the need, but there are laws against encouraging that kind of behavior. Unless you live in Vegas, where I think it's legal? Okay this is getting off topic! Please help us welcome Cara Faith Donovan back into the writing world by spreading the word about Whore!
Blurb: Can a virgin be a whore? I guess it depends on your definition of the word. Working a minimum wage job, I was struggling to save up money for college. Things were tight but I was managing to scrape by. At least I had a roof over my head, right? Wrong. My mother was moving on to husband number five and decided to sell the house without giving me notice. The bank took care of that with a thirty day grace period.
Taylor Ross walked into the coffee shop where I worked and offered me the perfect solution. His father was a regular customer and apparently thought highly enough of my service to mention me in his will. I couldn't just take money but when offered me a job with a great salary including room and board, how could I refuse? I didn't know at the time just what services Taylor thought I'd offered his father.
He wanted me to embrace my inner whore and in return my financial worries would be over. There was only one problem. I had no idea what that meant. Taylor was willing to train me, so the only real question was what was I willing to do to have everything my heart desired?
Blurb: Can a virgin be a whore? I guess it depends on your definition of the word. Working a minimum wage job, I was struggling to save up money for college. Things were tight but I was managing to scrape by. At least I had a roof over my head, right? Wrong. My mother was moving on to husband number five and decided to sell the house without giving me notice. The bank took care of that with a thirty day grace period.
Taylor Ross walked into the coffee shop where I worked and offered me the perfect solution. His father was a regular customer and apparently thought highly enough of my service to mention me in his will. I couldn't just take money but when offered me a job with a great salary including room and board, how could I refuse? I didn't know at the time just what services Taylor thought I'd offered his father.
He wanted me to embrace my inner whore and in return my financial worries would be over. There was only one problem. I had no idea what that meant. Taylor was willing to train me, so the only real question was what was I willing to do to have everything my heart desired?
Purchase Links:
Monday, December 2, 2013
Aliens take over Amazon!
You can catch the full article over at The Telegraph because as you know we're only interested in the parts that entertain us, not the facts! Unless of course the facts are entertaining. Artificial Intelligence is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. I'm all for the robo maids, feel free to send one over for testing! Speaking of, do you remember that movie with Gene Simmons and the robotics? Better watch out. We're one step closer.
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