Jane does it with herself --Forbidden Shores contest!

I'm interviewing myself, and if you comment or ask me a question now through Thursday October 4 you can win a signed copy of Forbidden Shores.

Jane: Welcome to the Spiced Tea Party

Jane: Thanks, Jane, it's great to be here. Let me tell you about my book. It's an erotic historical romance called Forbidden Shores (Signet Eclipse) and it takes place in 1800 on a Caribbean island. It's about three people who are each in love with the one of the three who cannot love them back.

Jane: Ooh! A menage on the beach!

Jane: Uh. Not as such. Well, actually, yes. There is a threesome. They do do it on the beach. But there's more to the book than that. I started writing Forbidden Shores--it morphed through about thirty titles but it began as The Story of Miss O and then Chained--after reading Adam Hochschild's brilliant book Bury the Chains, the story of the English abolitionist movement. That man cannot write an inaccurate or inelegant statement--

Jane: You are such a literary tart--

Jane: Oh, shut up. Yes, as I was saying, Hochschild's book inspired me to write about people who were involved in the cause, which crossed boundaries of gender and class. Ordinary housewives boycotted sugar; Wedgwood made a special plaque that appeared on decorative items, jewelry, china. So my heroine Clarissa is a pro-abolitionist who was (literally) screwed by the movement--she's been exiled by her family and has decided since she can't be any more ruined, she might as well embrace ruination and become a courtesan. Unfortunately, her family have thwarted her plans by arranging her to go to a Caribbean island as a governess. So on the voyage there she gets to fool around with Hero #1, Allen Pendale, a disillusioned lawyer who's the odd one out in his family and has spent too much time cuckolding Bristol merchants.

Jane: [comment to break up long paragraph]. There's more than one Hero?

Jane: Hero #2 is a plantation owner, March.

Jane: Ick.

Jane: Precisely. One of the challenges of the book was to make a slaveowner seem sexy if not particularly sympathetic and also make it credible that Clarissa falls in love with him, although I've always felt that love is irrational and gets people into trouble--it's a catalyst before it heals. So Clarissa is in love with March, March is in love with Allen, and Allen is in love with Clarissa.

Jane: Oooh.

Jane: Yes, it is HOT HOT HOT with some stuff between Allen (grudging) and March (desperate and begging; he's not a man used to being thwarted), and Clarissa has the best time of all; so it's a very rocky triangle that falls apart when Allen discovers a family secret. And that's all I'm going to say. You'll have to read the book.

Jane: And you could win a signed copy of the book with your question or comment! Fire away.

Want to meet Jane and me masquerading as virgins?

Heh heh heh. Thought that would get your attention.

Now don't laugh, but it's true...Jane and I will be appearing at Virgin Night this month! (I know it's hard to believe, but it's true: we still do have some virginal aspects.)

What's Virgin Night, you ask? Well, it's an event in New York City at a club appropriately named Happy Endings Lounge.

Every month, on the third Thursday, erotic writer Rachel Kramer Bussel hosts an evening of erotic reading. Authors such as Jane and I attend and read from their published works.

We'll be two of the guests on October 18th, which is also Virgin Night--for erotic writers who haven't read their work in public before. (Which would be me.)

So, we'd love to see you there if you're in the NYC area and can come by. There might even be some free books and other prizes there!

For more info, check out Rachel Kramer Bussel's blog.

Writing Journeys

Here I am at the Moonlight and Magnolias conference in Atlanta, GA. (In the business center, as I didn't bring my computer with me this time.) Hanging out in a hallway this morning (most disreputable, I know), I chatted with a newbie writer and she wanted to know my writing journey.

So, here are the highlights.

• I've always written. Always. Well, since I learned how to write a sentence.
• I sent off my first full length novel (written on a manual typewriter) to Mills & Boon at age 20 (or thereabouts). It got rejected.
• I kept writing, but it was mainly fanfic. Which builds all your writing muscles except for world building and getting a character started. Oh and it didn't seem to help me with sagging middles either, but then I was writing mostly short stories.
• I took out that first novel from under the bed and joined RWA in 1999.
• Three manuscripts and many revisions later, I sold that first novel in 2004. Yep, it took me that long to figure out how to properly start a novel.
  (Hint: don't have the heroine riding through the countryside, thinking about things la de dah. Use those pages to create character, but don't put them in the book.)
• And here I am, writing for Kensington Aphrodisia...

Ok, so those really are the highlights. There's lots more stories to tell, so you'll have to corner me at some conference or another and ask.

Tomorrow night is the Bookfair and Autographing here at the Hilton Northeast Atlanta on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. It starts at 4pm and runs until 5:30pm. Maybe I'll see you there?



Well, back to slumming it, er, I mean, aggressively networking.

Before I go -- anyone else want to share their writing journey?

Asking for it

A few weeks ago I took six copies of my anthology, Wild Nights, to my local public library. My husband had discovered online that authors could donate their books to the library.

I have to admit I felt strange explaining to the librarian that I was the author and wanted to donate the books.

Why strange?

I expected her to ask me to prove it.

I mean, after all, I’m just saying I’m the author. I could be anyone. I could even be an author trying to impersonate a better known author. The possibilities are endless.

Though later I thought, Why would she ask me to prove who I was? I was donating the books. I had six copies of one book. If I’d bought six copies to donate just so I could impersonate an author, why would the library care? And the librarian was certainly appreciative about my donation.

Last night, my hubby checked on my books in my home town’s library system and I was stunned to discover that my library has all four of my books, including the one I donated.
What completely knocked me off my feet?

The online system showed requests for those books. That means that there are people on waiting lists to read my books. Thirty people are on the list for Blood Rose. And thirty for Wild Nights. Each book, actually had a list of 20 – 30 people.

Now of course I had to put it into perspective. So I checked Nora Roberts. 522 people are waiting for High Noon. 50 are waiting for Amanda Quick’s latest. But I was still stunned, and touched, and thrilled, and amazed at my 30!

I adore my local library. I loved taking my kids there for story times and I met other new moms there who are very good friends. I love having the resource so close to hand for non-fiction books. And I love the serendipity of browsing shelves and finding a book I never would have gone searching for. This is how, years ago, I found "The Unruly Queen" by Fiona Fraser. She writes a terrific biography of the Regent's wife, Princess Caroline. My heart certainly went out to Caroline after reading it. I was fascinated by the fact that if Caroline took an English lover the man would be arrested for treason. Obviously, I realized after. Since any child of hers would be a future king or queen. Caroline was very clever, however. Her lover was reputedly Pergami, an Italian.

What are most intriguing biographies you’ve read lately? Or have you made a surprising find at your local library?

Deep Purple

Sheesh, you crumpets write fast. Huge, envious, admiring congrats to all of you who have new books coming out soon -- I won't have one until Fall 2008.

But there will be re-issue of Almost a Gentleman before that. Which was my first published romance novel, an erotic Regency about Phoebe, who's spent three years in successful male masquerade, and David, Earl of Linsley, who's the first man to make her want to be a woman again.

It'll be out December 4. It's already on Amazon, and I'm happy to be able to tell you that it'll cost half the price of the old, trade paperback edition. So I'm hoping that I might get some new readers -- up until now my stuff has been in trade (read bigger, more expensive) paperback only.

No male torsos on the cover, sorry to report, just some pretty people done in nice hot purple, the lettering in gold foil.

The prose is less purple but just as hot.

Here's the book's first undressing scene, in which Phoebe protests David's "lordly" behavior.

"Well [David replies], I am a lord, don't forget. I try to be a good, honest, and decent one, but the fact of the matter is that I own rather a lot of land. And I’m afraid that the habit of being lord over all that I survey is a hard one to break.

"Now go stand there by the fireplace." This time his slap on her rump carried a little more force with it. "You know the spot. It’s where the lamplight meets the light from the flames and makes you look so bewitching."

He loosened his legs from around her hips. Slowly, she backed away from him toward the warm pool of golden light. One walked backwards, she thought, after having made one's curtsies at court. In respect, in humility . . . but hardly with the slow, lustful, provocative movements she felt herself employing. Lord of all that you survey, are you, sir? Well, we shall have to see about that.

...The light flowed over her as she reached the spot he’d described.... Her skirt blew softly about her legs; she could feel warm currents of air from the fireplace even as her naked breasts lifted and tightened under his eyes.

His gaze traveled slowly downward. She raised her chin, preening for him, slowly arching her back as a cat might do. Peering at him through her eyelashes, she watched the corners of his mouth twitch.

...[and a little later] She hadn’t expected to flaunt her naked quim quite as readily as it seemed she was doing. Perhaps she’d taken encouragement from the sigh that had forced his mouth open as he stared at the triangle of chestnut curls on the plump mound rising below her belly. Oh yes, she’d enjoyed both the sigh and the intensity of his eyes upon her.

She rubbed her thighs together to try to control her excitement.

"Keep them parted," he growled. He winced immediately after, embarrassed at having revealed the extent of his impatient desire.

But she was beginning to feel rather impatient herself. Although this game of displaying herself for his pleasure was a most provocative one, perhaps it was time to move on. Well, she had only the corset and the shoes and stockings to remove now. Frowning, she tugged at the laces at her back.

"My lord."

"Ummm."

"There seems to be a knot that I can’t untie. Would you help me . . ."

"Well, hurry on over here, then."

But now he was becoming careless, too. For if he’d really wanted to continue with this game, she thought, he would have turned her around and concentrated upon the corset laces, instead of fumbling absently with them while he nuzzled her breasts.

It didn’t matter. There hadn’t been a knot. The corset fell to the floor at his first tug on the strings, as she took advantage of his momentary surprise to unknot his cravat.

He shook his head. "You’re headstrong, disobedient."

"I’ve been a man for three years," she told him. "It engenders habits that are hard to break."

Hope you liked it, and -- if it's new to you -- that you'd like to buy the new purple version.

Though if you'd prefer a free copy of the old version (with larger print and decorous cover), you can enter the contest on my website to try to win one (and read another excerpt as well).

Historic Spanking

I was going through my copy edits for my next book Animal Lust… and I was editing a scene where my hero Spanks my heroine when I decided I needed to take a break… I checked the blog and I read Kate’s post and the title… A Spanking new cover.

Somehow this got me on google searching for old historical spanking images…

Here are the ones I found… I am sure there are probably more out there someplace… but spanking as an erotic exercise is far from new.

The images I found are mixed… some are men spanking, and some are women spanking..

I find these images fascinating. Look at the expressions on both parties faces… the body language radiating out of the images and to us.

I especially love the one with the woman standing in the back with her bottom exposed. What is she thinking as she stands there and peeks at the man spanking the other.

I think I could write an entire story around that drawing.

Then there is this image that I found...

Thoughts?

Hugs and Kisses ,

Lacy.

A spanking new cover!

How cool is this? Totally hot and sexy and yet not a nipple in sight. I have to admit I spent about half an hour just staring at his mouth. I like me a man with a bit of stubble :)

This book comes out at the end of January 08 from Kensington Aphrodisia, and it is, despite the title, Regency erotic romance. It's very edgy on the erotic romance front but I don't mind being an envelope pusher!

Here's a quick blurb:

Valentin Sokorvsky decides to take a wife but he has no intention of sharing either his darkest sexual fantasies or his heart with her. He prefers to pretend that six years spent as a sex slave in a Turkish brothel have nothing to do with the successful business man he is or the devoted husband he intends to become.

Sara Harrison is more than willing to escape her comfortable but stifling existence and let Valentin tutor her in erotic pleasures. But when Valentin’s sordid past threatens both his business and their marriage, is she willing to embrace her husband’s carnal depths in order to reveal and accept the man he truly is?

I did mention it's not your average erotic romance, although it's not quite erotica either. Both the male characters, Valentin and his friend, Peter, who takes hero status in the next book, have very interesting sexual preferences formed by their experiences in an unsavory Turkish brothel. It was a pleasure to write about them and the women who eventually come to love them.

And just so you know-it's already available to pre-order at Amazon.com-just in case you're dying to get your hands on it!
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