*

Monday madness, new release, chatting, and other assorted insanity.

Monday, September 23, 2013
You know, a smart, organized person would have written this post up in advanced and had it scheduled to go live automatically.

I am apparently not that person.

For starters, I'm chatting over on Goodreads today and tomorrow, on the BDSM group there. It's a discussion forum kind of format, so you can drop in anytime. Feel free to participate in the chat or the Q&A or just hang out. :)

Goodreads BDSM group link

Tonight I've got DnD with friends, and have been working on refreshing myself with the rules. We're playing 3.5 and I stopped playing somewhere around the original or AD&D version, with a lot of GURPS mixed in. I'm picking it back up, though. Yay! I still have trouble figuring modifiers sometimes, because we weren't using the D20 system way back then. (Geez, that makes me feel fracking old! LOL)

Also, Dexter -- WHAT THE FUCK??? I am really pissed off. I thought no show could come up with a series end worse than The Sopranos did.

I was, sadly, wrong.

If you haven't watched all of Dexter, stop at about season 4. Seriously. Just stop.

And do NOT download IOS7 yet. UGH. I made the mistake of going ahead and putting it on my iPad, and I. HATE. IT. In addition to it looking cheesy, they took away the swipe-to-delete function on email, and that REALLY pisses me off. I should have known better not to update, but I did it anyway. I should have learned. I will NOT be updating my iPhone 4S anytime soon. GRRR!

I also have a new release today! Hope Heals is live on BookStrand's site. It'll take 4-6 weeks to hit third-party outlets like Kindle, Nook, etc. but you can buy the various formats there and manually transfer them (some tablets/devices support direct downloading), OR if you have a Kindle, you can enter your device's email address into your BookStrand account, and they'll send the file TO your device for you. Easy-peasey!

Kindle how-to link for BookStrand

Hope Heals on BookStrand

People ask me if I pull from real life for my books, and this book is a prime example of that. In my mind, the Heckmans' property is the property my dad's parents used to own while I was growing up in, yes, Odessa, Florida. My grandmother's sister lived next door (in Betty's house, in my mind). They had some sort of long-term war going on, however. My grandmother took great pride in waiting to burn leaves and stuff until the wind was just right and blowing smoke over toward her sister's house. LOL Next door to them, on the same property, was a tiny wood house built by my great-grandparents'. Although, in my revisionist history I've transformed that into the large, spacious home the Hope men now own.

Nope, no goats, chickens, pigs, horses, or steers (with or without tennis balls) in sight, although we did have dogs. And they didn't have a pool, just a lake. (Why on earth would they have a pool when they had a lake? LOL seriously, that was their mindset.)

I remember lots of times my dad loading up a couple of mowers (they sold and repaired them) on the trailer, and taking me and my sister over there, and we'd spend hours happily zooming around and mowing.

Yeah, who'd a thunk free child labor could have so much fun? LOL We only lived a few minutes away from them, and had fun swimming in the lake. I learned how to water ski on that lake.

The shop Dana works at really exists, although the man who runs it, his name is Rick, and he's awwwweeeesoooommme. (In fact, I have an appointment with him later this week. Time for more blue highlights. LOL)

One of the highlights of my grandmother's life was when former Tampa Bay Buccaneer bought a house one property over from them and moved in. She proudly showed us a couple of large frames she scavenged from their garbage, giggling that they used to belong to someone famous. (I don't know if she ever reused those frames or not, or just enjoyed knowing they were now hers and had been touched by fame.)

They eventually sold that property and moved farther north in the state to be closer to my aunt. It no longer resembles the house they owned, because the new owners gutted, rebuilt, and expanded, and added a barn and horses. The little wooden house is also gone. My grand-aunt's house is still there, owned by her son. But my memories of the place will live on.

Books are funny things. Sometimes, I'll get a single line of dialogue or snippet of an idea, or even a title. Sometimes, it's a character, or more than one character, but no plot. Sometimes, the whole idea slams into me and forces me to write it out of my brain just to shut it the hell up.

Hope Heals was the latter. I was lying in bed with Hubby one night, trying to go to sleep, when the scene where Sarah is questioning her dad about Big Mac's tennis ball slammed into my mind. My eyes popped open and in five minutes, the whole plot was THERE. I had to get up, get my laptop, and start writing. I got that scene written immediately, which was enough to satisfy "the voices," apparently, into letting me go to sleep.

I got up the next morning, read through it, and still thought it was good. Although I wasn't sure it was as funny as I thought it was. So I called Hubby in, he read it, and laughed his ass off.

If  I can make him laugh out loud, then I know it's funny.

So that's how Hope Heals made it to life, asshole ninja assassin pet goats and all. :) I hope you enjoy it.

And yes, there likely will be more stories from that gang in the future. Nothing concrete from "the voices" yet, but they're rumbling. My other stories that this one bumped are still chattering more loudly at me, so I'm back to working on those.

Happy Monday! :)

Blessed Mabon and Happy Autumnal Equinox

Sunday, September 22, 2013
Blessed Mabon and Happy Autumnal Equinox, peeps! 
Blessed Be!


Goodreads alternatives.

Saturday, September 21, 2013
If you've been following the Goodreads kerfluffle and decided you want off the site, here are a few of the alternatives for you. (Some of these I haven't used, but came across them while searching.) If you know of more, please suggest them in the comments and I'll add them in edits. Thanks!

Shelfari
Library Thing
Book Bump
lib.rario.us
PaperbackSwap.com (Yes, I know mostly for swapping, but they do have review systems and a community.)

If you just want to catalog your books, you can always look into Calibre.

Saturday Snippet: Deep Space Mission Corps series (Adult)

Yes, I'm planning on writing more in the Deep Space Mission Corps world beyond the first four books. (And yes, for those who are asking, I will be writing more books in the Space Confederation world, too. I just have to get some of these more loudly screaming books written and out of my head first. LOL)

For those of you not familiar with my Deep Space Mission Corps series, the initial main story arc consists of the first four books:

1) Love at First Bight
2) Bightmares
3) Spider Bight
4) Out of Bight, Out of Mind

I love these books. I had fun (and shed tears) writing them. I grew up on Doctor Who and the original Star Trek. I love character-driven sci-fi that doesn't obsess over the technology. That's what I strove to do these books.


[Menage Amour 34: Futuristic Menage a Quatre Romance, M/M/M/F with various combination of M/M, M/F, M/M/F, M/M/M, monogamous polyamory]  

Dr. Emilia Hypatia is recently-graduated and looking for adventure. She's an Alpha-ranked healer, has a degree in psychology, and empath training. Fresh out of a bad relationship with a cheating ex, her five-year assignment to the Deep Space Mission Corps vessel, Tamora Bight, seems ideal. Especially when she meets the three handsome crewmen she'll spend her time caring for--in more ways than one. 

First Officer Caphis Bates is playful and rowdy. Mate Ford Caliban is her intellectual and emotional partner. But it's Captain Aaron Lucio who is an enigma; passionate, with a deeply wounded and carefully guarded soul.

While sharing their communal bed is a scorchingly sensual experience, Emi soon learns the three men suffer a shared grief, their "crew story." She patiently works to unlock their secret past, but space exploration is cold--and cruel. Will time run out for all of them before she can heal their hearts?

Adult Snippet:

Her day with Ford started out sleeping late, then curling up on the large sofa in the rec room and watching several old movies, talking, snuggled under a blanket and playfully petting.

They did a lot of talking, Ford somehow seeing deep inside her in a way the other two men didn't. "Feeling better?" he asked as his fingers playfully slipped inside her sweats.

Emi shifted position. "I have a feeling you're going to make sure I feel better."

His finger dipped inside her, then trailed a slow, teasing circle around her clit. "Absolutely," he softly growled in her ear.

Ford knew what buttons to push, physically and emotionally, to bring her to the edge of release and keep her there. He slipped two fingers into her, and she moaned with disappointment when he stilled his hands.

"Don't rush me, sweetheart." He nipped her earlobe, making her arch her back and press her body against his. "I want to spend all day keeping you begging for it."

Her soft gasp of disappointment made him laugh. "You love it, and you know it. You can't lie to me, baby."

No, she couldn't. He knew her too well that way.

He shifted position on the couch and pulled her sweats off. She kicked them out of the way and felt him shed his shorts, his stiff cock throbbing against her cheeks.

The movie played on without them noticing. His free arm circled her, his fingers gently plucking at her nipples, back and forth, just hard enough to make her sex tingle around the fingers he had comfortably buried there.

Emi rocked her hips against him. "Please," she gasped.

"I will, but not yet."

Nudging against him, she tried to coax him into replacing his fingers with his cock, but he wouldn't. Then his hand settled over her right breast, gently massaging it, his thumb rubbing her rock-hard nipple, keeping it pebbled beneath his finger.

Torture. The sweetest torture in the known universe. The slightest movement of her hips or his hand brushed against her clit in a tantalizing way, but without enough pressure to get her off. After an hour of this he took a little mercy on her.

"Do you trust me, sweetheart?"

"Yes," she gasped. Anything, she wanted him to do anything to bring her relief.

He pulled his hands away, leaving her agonizingly empty, making her moan. He chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll be taking care of that for you."

He pushed her onto her stomach. She closed her eyes, wiggling her ass at him, anything to have his touch against her flesh again. Then she felt a familiar, cool wetness against her puckered rim. She froze.

"You okay, sweetie?"

"Yes," Emi whispered.

"You sure?"

She nodded. "Please don't stop."

--


[Ménage Amour: Erotic Sci-Fi Ménage a Quatre Romance, M/M/M/F, with M/M]

Dr. Emilia Hypatia is settling into life in space with her three husbands on board the DSMC exploration vessel Tamora Bight. Spending five years with Aaron, Caph, and Ford will be no sacrifice. Despite a shared tragedy in the men’s past that nearly took Aaron’s life and left emotional scars that still haunt him to this day, Emi’s love has gone a long way toward healing and completing their lives.

A space colony distress signal calls the Tamora Bight on its first mission, and Emi is forced into a race against time. Not only to save the colonists from the mysterious disease ravaging their men, but also to save her men from an old vengeance born of their grief-filled past. When Aaron is stricken with the illness, the stakes multiply. Will she find a cure for the “rage” in time, or will all their dreams turn into inescapable nightmares?

A Siren Erotic Romance

--

Adult Snippet:

The men slowly took their time undressing her, kissing every bit of bared flesh as they removed her clothes. By the time she lay naked and writhing with need in the middle of their bed, the three men stared down at her with nearly identical expressions of lust branded on their faces.

“You guys going to sit there and stare, or are you going to get naked?” she teased.

“Get naked,” they all echoed. The twins laughed while Aaron rolled his eyes and sighed.

“And so it begins,” he said with a playful smirk. “I’m telling you, Em, twinspeak gets really old, really fast.”

The men quickly stripped. Aaron knelt over her and kissed her. He teased her, gently tracing her lips with his tongue, his touch so light it almost tickled.

Emi wrapped her arms around him and sighed as she felt Ford and Caph massage her feet and legs. Aaron lifted his head so he could look into her eyes. “Tell us what you want, babe.”

“I want all of you.” It didn’t matter to her how or where, as long as they were together. At any time during their mission she could make love with any of them, but to have them all at once, even if just the feel of their flesh against hers, completed her.

Aaron kissed her again, then blazed a hot and moist trail with his lips along her jaw, behind her ear, down her neck to the base of her throat. She closed her eyes and reached out with her empathic senses, drank in their passion and love. It only compounded her desire.

Aaron didn’t stop there. He moved lower and latched his mouth onto one of her nipples while he teased the other with his hand. He used his tongue and teeth to bring the one to a hard peak. Then he switched to the other and repeated the process. She felt her clit throb in response, every pull of his mouth on her breast triggering a responding pulsation between her legs.

He continued his southerly journey until she felt his hot breath on her clit. He pushed her thighs wider apart with his palms and gently nuzzled his lips against her.

As one, Ford and Caph changed position. Each man latched onto one of her breasts, drawing a long, low moan from her. She twined her fingers in their hair and held on. How could she not love this exquisite pleasure?

Aaron teased her clit with his tongue while Ford and Caph stroked her body with their hands. Raw passion singed her nerves. It felt like their hot touch was everywhere at once. Aaron wrapped his hands around her thighs as he settled himself between her legs. His tongue plunged deeply inside her before he returned to tracing slow, lazy circles around her clit. Back inside her again, teasing, not giving her enough friction to get off even as he pulled her closer to the brink.

Ford lifted his head and used his fingers to torment her nipple. “Look at me, babe,” he said.

Unable to resist, she forced her eyes open.

In the dim light, or maybe because of his own desire, Ford’s blue eyes had taken on the color of infinitely deep ocean seas. “Does it feel good? Do you like feeling his mouth on you?”

She nodded, his words further inflaming her.

“As much as I love being the one to make you scream, I love seeing you like this, watching one or both of them make love to you. Is he fucking you with his tongue?”

She nodded, speech escaping her.

“Is he sucking on your sweet clit?” As he said it, Aaron did it, making her arch her back to get more contact.

“Yes!”

Caph moaned around her other nipple as his stiff cock rubbed against her thigh. Just listening to Ford’s pillow talk could nearly make him come.

“I bet that beautiful pussy of yours is totally wet, isn’t it?”

Caph moaned again, louder, and started shifting his hips against Emi in earnest.

“Yes!”

He lowered his face to hers, his lips not quite touching. She felt his breath against her lips. “Come for us. Scream for us. Give it all to us, we want it.”

--

Book 3: Spider Bight

(mmmf with mf and mm, sci-fi/futuristic, anal sex/play, and a killer Halloween prank)

When the Tamora Bight is diverted from a scheduled mission to conduct a rescue operation and tow a disabled Kal’moran vessel, the crew’s also ordered to refer to Emi as the ship’s captain. Aaron, Caph, and Ford aren’t delighted to learn Kal’moran is a luxury resort planet for women, run by women. They’re even less pleased when they’re diplomatically obligated to visit the Kal’moran capital with Emi.

Emi tries to maintain objectivity, but finds it hard to remain agreeable while being shown around a planet that treats males as little more than pack animals. Unfortunately, a jealous, scheming Kal’moran sets her sights on obtaining Aaron, Caph, and Ford by any means necessary when Emi refuses to share.

Now Emi must fight to save her men from a Kal’moran warrior who’ll stop at nothing to win. And on a planet that houses deadly arachnid-like creatures, Emi’s going to show them she can be even more formidable than any Spider Bight.

--

Adult Snippet:

When they returned to the room, the men wasted no time getting undressed. They all jumped into bed, staring at Emi with hopeful looks on their faces.

She laughed. “You all are going to wear me out at this pace.”

Ford crooked a finger at her. “We’re enjoying our R&R. You wouldn’t want us to disobey orders and not have a good time, would you?”

“Oh, is that what this is? Following orders?” She let Caph hook a beefy arm around her waist and drag her into bed.

“Exactly,” he said, kissing her while Aaron and Ford made quick work of separating her from her swimsuit.

She lay cradled against Caph. The big man’s arms engulfed her, always leaving her with a feeling of safety. He cupped her breasts with his hands and rubbed his fingers over her nipples. They hardened under his touch. Meanwhile, he nibbled on the side of her neck, his warm breath sending pleasant waves of gooseflesh over her skin.

“Going to wear you out,” Caph promised with a sultry smile. “You’ll need a vacation to recover from our R&R, babe.” His teeth grazed the side of her neck, making her shiver again.

She gasped and squirmed against him as liquid heat shot straight from her nipples to her clit. She felt her pussy quickly growing damp. “That’s not much of a threat,” she managed. “Sounds more like a reward.”

“Quit hogging her,” Ford scolded, his smile belying his words. “You always hog her.”

“No, I don’t,” Caph responded, tweaking her nipples and making her moan. “You had her to yourself all morning.”

“He’s got a point,” Aaron noted. “We should get dibs.”

Emi cranked open an eye and glared at them. “If you start taking numbers, someone’s getting slugged.”

The men laughed. Aaron pushed Caph down onto the bed. Caph easily grabbed Emi and hauled her up the bed with him, turning her over so she faced him. He grabbed her by the waist and positioned her so he could thrust his hips up and spear her ready pussy with his stiff cock.

She moaned, closing her eyes and wiggling so his cock pierced her as deeply as possible. The soft down of blond curls dusting his chest rubbed against her pebbled nipples, adding an additional level of pleasure. She ran her hands over his chest, enjoying the feel of his warm flesh under her palms.

“That’s the sound I love to hear,” Aaron said. She felt the bed dip behind her. A moment later, he rubbed cool lube on her puckered ring, slowly working one finger inside her ass.

She squirmed against Caph. “Yes!” she gasped.

“What about me?” Ford complained.

She lifted her head from Caph’s chest. “Get yourself over here and quit whining, sweetie.”

“That’s more like it.” He eagerly changed position, kneeling next to Caph’s head so she could reach his cock with her mouth.

Aaron chuckled from behind her. “I’m not so sure she’s going to be the one worn out,” he joked. He added more lube and worked a second finger into her. “All she has to do is lie there and enjoy it.”

She closed her eyes and moaned around Ford’s cock as it slid between her lips. She loved this, having all three of them at once. Something that wouldn’t happen very often, if at all, while in space with someone always needing to be on watch.

Emi flicked at the slit before running her lips down his shaft. It felt like warm, silken steel against her tongue. Ford gently held her head and worked his hips in time with her mouth. “Geez, babe, you’re going to finish me quick if you keep moaning like that.”

She also loved times like this because of her empath training. There was nothing more satisfying than feeling the combined love and passion from all three of them, untainted by worry or cares, as they made love to her and each other.

Well, okay, maybe an orgasm with all three of their cocks in her body at the same time was more satisfying than feeling their emotions. But feeling their emotions ran a really close second.

--

Book 4: Out of Bight, Out of Mind

[Siren Ménage Everlasting: Erotic Futuristic Sci-Fi Ménage a Quatre Romance, M/M/M/F, HEA]

Emi Hypatia loves her job exploring the galaxy with her three husbands, Aaron Lucio, Caph Bates, and Ford Caliban. When a nonhuman crewman is temporarily assigned to the Tamora Bight for a mission, Emi hates and mistrusts him at first sight due to what her empath training tells her.

Aaron, Caph, and Ford know Emi can't help what she feels about their temporary crewmate, Kayehalau. But they don't know if it's just the jump engines wigging her out, residual nerves from her fight on Kal'moran, or something else. They feel badly Kayehalau's presence on board makes her nervous, but orders are orders.

Emi knows Kayehalau is up to no good. She just has to prove it. It's soon apparent he wants to use her for a nefarious purpose. She turns the tables, but only after she's out of harm's way does her larger problem become apparent. Can Aaron, Caph, and Ford rescue her when she's left Out of Bight, Out of Mind?

A Siren Erotic Romance

--

Adult Snippet:

Caph gently cradled her head in his hands and slid his cock between her lips, fucking her mouth but taking it easy on her. “If I don’t come before you’re done, one of you is getting fucked with this.”

“Ooh, pick me!” Ford quipped.

She looked up to watch Caph lean over and kiss Ford. The sight took her breath away. She lost herself in the bubble of emotions boiling over from both men, spilling onto her like a sweet, beautiful wave. And the way Caph’s erection grew harder and hotter against her tongue made her think Ford wasn’t going to get his wish.

Until she felt him coming.

Her eyes popped open as Caph made her relinquish his member. “Stay right there, both of you,” he ordered.

The commanding hint in his voice thrilled her. Then Ford was kissing her, even as his cock grew limp inside her. She didn’t have time to wonder where Caph had disappeared to, because Ford kept her more than busy with his tongue.

A moment later, the end of the bed dipped and Ford let out a loud moan. His head limply fell to her shoulder as he rocked his hips against her. “Oohhh, fuck yeah,” he mumbled.

If she cocked her head, she could see Caph kneeling behind him, working lube into Ford’s ass. And already his cock was growing hard again. When Ford quit moving, holding still, she knew Caph was sliding his delicious cock deep up his tight channel.

And the groan the larger man let out confirmed it.

“He hard again, baby?” Caph asked her.

“Uh-huh!”

He lightly slapped Ford’s ass. “What are you waiting for? Get moving.”

Ford’s teeth grazed her shoulder as he lightly bit down, but his hips started rocking, slowly at first, then gaining speed until he was fucking himself back and forth between her pussy and Caph’s cock.

Emi drew her knees up, giving Ford better access and enjoying the way her swollen, sensitive clit rubbed against his body at the bottom of every stroke. Not enough to get her over, but enough to revive her interest in maybe trying for one more.

“That’s it,” Caph encouraged, his voice sounding strained. She could tell he was holding back, struggling against a dam about to explode. “Hurry up, buddy.”

Ford pushed up on his arms for traction, and the whole bed shook as he seesawed between them.

She grabbed his head and kissed him and that was all it took to shove him over the edge. She swallowed his moans and felt her heart leap with the feel of his orgasm spiraling through him, soon followed by Caph.

As the three of them collapsed onto the bed in a sweaty tangle, Ford lifted his head so he could look at her. “Hiya.”

She giggled. “Hiya.”

They were all startled by the sound of clapping. They looked over to see Aaron leaning against the wall next to the door, a grin on his face and a huge bulge tenting his trousers. Another suitcase sat on the floor next to him.

“I didn’t hear you come in,” Caph said.

He laughed and pushed off the wall to walk over to the bed. “No, because you three were busy coming.”

Emi faked a pout. “I didn’t come.”

“What?” Caph and Ford said in unison.

“You most certainly have come today,” Caph said as he sat up, hands on his hips.

“Yeah,” Ford said. “I got at least two out of you.”

She still feigned poutiness. “Not that last time. You both came without me.”

Aaron smacked Ford on the ass. “Move it. Both of you go clean up.” He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his shirt, and started working on his trousers. “I’ll take care of her. And I’ve got something she can take care of, too.”

Emi licked her lips in anticipation. When Aaron crawled into bed on top of her, he kissed her, his stiff cock rubbing between her legs. “So they didn’t take care of you, huh?”

She shook her head. “Not that last time. Well, okay, they did make me come, but that last time they came without me.”

“Want me to issue them demerits?”

She loved the wicked, playful gleam in his eyes. “Yeah. And while you’re at it, issue one to the floor, too.”

“Huh?”

“It attacked me. Rudely.”

“She’s drunk,” Caph called from the bathroom.

“Am not!” she shot back. “You said I was supernovically soused.”

He stuck his head out of the bathroom. “No, I said you were supernova-shitfaced.”

“Oh. Well, whatever.”

Waves of amusement washed off Aaron. She loved feeling that from him almost as much as she did his love and affection. “So our little doctor is drunk, huh?”

“Not as much as I was earlier,” she said. “I think I slept a little of it off.”

“So that explains the bar fight kit.”

She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Did you want to sit here and talk, or fuck?”

She let out a yelp as he flipped her over and pulled her up onto her hands and knees. Without further ado, he rubbed his cock between her soaked pussy lips before sinking home inside her. “What do you think?” he rumbled in her ear.

He pushed her shoulders down onto the bed, pinning her there with a hand between them. With his other, he reached around her and found her clit.

“Hey, you’re copying me,” Caph said from somewhere behind them.

“What?”

“I nailed her like that earlier.”

“Shut up and fuck me!” she moaned as she clawed at the bed.

“She’s mouthy,” Aaron said. “Someone do something about that.”

She heard a noise and looked over in time to see Caph and Ford fighting each other to climb onto the bed. Caph won, and she found herself rewarded with his only slightly stiff cock in her mouth to suck on.

Ford took the alternate track and shoved himself underneath her, finding her clit with his mouth.

Aaron withdrew his hand and grabbed her hips. “Let’s see if we can get at least one more out of you, sweetheart.”

--

You can find all the books at Siren-BookStrand, and at third-party outlets like Amazon and B&N. They're also available in print.

Goodreads: You might not like it, but it's not censorship.

Friday, September 20, 2013
Okay, I'm not even going to get into the backstory of what Goodreads did. Regardless of your position on the issue, I agree Goodreads just created themselves a PR nightmare, when they could have done something that made sense like, oh, say, create the ability to have private shelves/reviews so people could stick stuff where only they could see it instead of deleting it without notice.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Then get yourself up to speed. I'll wait.


http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1499741-important-note-regarding-reviews

We good? Great, let's continue.

Again, I'm not saying what's right or wrong here. But, here's the thing.

Goodreads is NOT CAPABLE of CENSORSHIP.

Censorship is via a government, etc.

Wikipedia definition
PBS.org definition

Goodreads is a BUSINESS. Businesses like Goodreads have the right to define their terms of use. Nowhere that I'm aware of is there a law that requires Goodreads to let everyone say whatever the hell they want regardless of Goodreads' views on it.

As a BUSINESS, unless you actually write the checks that pay the bills there, you really don't get a say. As a customer of said business, you have the right to express your displeasure, or to vote with your feet by leaving.

But please, for the sake of my OCD brain, quit calling it censorship. Call it bullshit or shitty customer service, or whatever you want to call it based on whichever side of the aisle you're standing on.

But...

It is NOT censorship.

Because Goodreads is a BUSINESS, not a GOVERNMENT.

And if you think Goodreads is a government, you have FAR bigger problems, bunky.

Happy Fwyday fwom Gidget!

Dis iz my Fwyday smile, peeps.

Wuv,
Gidget.




WARNING: Authors, blurbs can kill...your sales!

Thursday, September 19, 2013
I offer this blog post up as a cautionary tale to authors. Especially to self-published authors who don't have a publisher to tell them, "Um, NO, this is NOT a good idea."

I had to unfriend a fellow author on Facebook tonight. The reason?

They were posting in multiple groups a blurb for their book. (No, I'm not going to mention the book or author.)

The problem?

The blurb they posted was a disturbing scene of domestic violence.

I'm sure the author thought that scene was fraught with suspense and tension. It was also fraught with something else: TRIGGERS.

I have PTSD. It's not a fraction as bad as it used to be, but one of my triggers is the kind of violence portrayed in the blurb. And if someone doesn't have PTSD, they might not even realize it's a trigger. I'm sure the author didn't realize it. (Well, I'm hoping they didn't realize it. If they did and posted it anyway, it makes them an asshole in addition to being clueless. So I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.)

If the scene had context, it likely wouldn't have triggered me as badly (if at all) had I stumbled across it in the book.

However, the blurb triggered me so badly that I will not be buying this author's book. Period. Because I've already been triggered.

Based on feedback from others on Facebook when I posted this, I'm suspecting I'm not the only sale they lost, and the sad thing is, they're completely oblivious to that fact.

I considered writing the author, but there is no universe where anything I say will come out sounding even remotely helpful. "Hey, I wanted to buy your book, but the scene you used as a blurb totally turned me off. How about posting something not quite so triggering?" Or, "Hey, you made a really bone-headed decision to post a scene of domestic violence as your blurb, dumbass." Or, "Hey, I can't read your book, and neither will some others, but here's what you can do to fix that to quit turning off potential readers."

Ummm, yeah. I can't see that going well, either.

I'm hoping this blog post reaches the author and they realize what happened and they quietly change the blurb. It would behoove them to do so. It certainly would help their sales.

Authors, blurbs should be and do many things. They should be funny, sexy, provide a hook, a LITTLE suspense or tension. They should NEVER be a trigger to turn off your buying public. EVER. I don't care if it doesn't trigger YOU. You have to yank yourself out of that tunnel vision you as the writer have with your book. YOU know the backstory. YOU know the characters. YOU know the circumstances bracketing that scene on either side of it for context.

Your potential readers, the ones you're dangling your book in front of, are CLUELESS ABOUT ALL OF THAT.

So you do NOT, EVER, give up something that can be a trigger. You write dub-con? Do NOT use that scene as your blurb. EVER. You write a horror book that has a gory scene? Do NOT include that gore as part of the blurb. Stop with the tension high, but before you reveal a trigger.

And for crying out loud, make sure to LABEL your book with triggers. Rape, domestic violence, child abuse, animal abuse, violence -- in addition to any labels you might need for the romance world. (Anal sex, BDSM, bondage, menage, MF, MM, MMF, MFM, FF, etc.)

"But...but...but...that might make some readers not buy my book!"

Um, well, guess what? It's better they bypass THAT book and still read other books you've written, instead of stumbling across that in a book and then adding ALL your books to their future do not read list. Because nothing will piss off readers faster than getting triggered by a book when it should have been clearly labelled with the trigger in the first place. Labeling books is quickly becoming the NORM, not the exception. And guess what? There will STILL be plenty of people who don't give a rat's ass about that and will still buy the book. And you will have gained the readers' trust by labeling, so they feel safe taking a risk on some of your other books in the future.

That's a win, folks.

People will NOT like or read every book you write. They just won't. Get over it. I've got readers who like some of my genres and won't read some of my books because they're in genres they don't like. Or they're romantic pairings they don't favor. Or whatever. That's FINE.

But to deliberately alienate a demographic of readers before you even give them a chance to show them your writing chops? That's just stupid. And potentially terminally stupid in terms of your future writing career if you earn a reputation for doing stuff like that.

*rant/off*

"Pinch Me" now on Kindle.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Pinch Me, the sixth book in the Suncoast Society series, is now available on Kindle.

Click for Kindle link.

Blurb:

[Siren Sensations: Erotic Consensual BDSM Romantic Suspense, spanking, paddling, cropping, sex toys, HEA]

Laura Spaulding awakes in a hospital following a vicious attack that has stolen her memories of the past. All she has to go on are the strong emotions she instinctively feels for close friends and her fiancé, Rob.

Rob Carlton is more than just Laura’s fiancé—he’s also her Master. But how can he tell her she’s his slave when he has to win her love all over again first? And he feels helpless to protect her from a nameless stalker who’s killed before and won’t stop until he finishes the job with Laura.

As bits and pieces slowly return, Laura struggles to rediscover who she was, and if she even wants to be that same person again. All she knows is there’s something huge missing in her life now, and not just memories of the attack. She also knows it’ll take more than just pinching herself to wake up from her living nightmare and bring a killer to justice.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Tymber Dalton is a Siren-exclusive author.

--

You can find this and my other current BookStrand releases, including the other books in the Suncoast Society series, under all my pen names on my author page at:

http://www.bookstrand.com/tymber-dalton

The other books in the Suncoast Society series are as follows:

Safe Harbor
Cardinal's Rule
Domme by Default
The Reluctant Dom
The Denim Dom

Latest Kindle releases.

Sunday, September 15, 2013
I've got two releases that hit Kindle recently. (If they're not available on some other third-party sites, they should be soon. Kindle seems to get books up the fastest.) You can also look on the iBooks store and Google Play store.

kitten's tale

Blurb:

[Siren Ménage Everlasting: Erotic Consensual BDSM Ménage a Trois Romance, M/M/F, spanking, caning, sex toys, HEA]

Sarah, aka kitten, has a wonderful BDSM play relationship with Ray and Oot. She knows they aren’t looking for anything other than play and friendship, and she loves being a submissive and sex toy to them. But when Ray enlists a good friend to help out with play at the club one night, she soon sees another side to Ray and discovers what a lucky kitten she is.

Ray and Oot love playing with kitten at the club and in their bed, but neither are they planning on adding her as a permanent third. Then a night at the club changes Ray’s perspective when he realizes they’re not the only one with their eyes on kitten. Now he’s about to find out that when you have a kitten by the tail, she just might steal your heart.

Note: This for-sale version has been revised and expanded and is at 16,665 words. The original short version at 12,909 words is available for free only inside the BookStrand App.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Siren-BookStrand | Kindle | Kobo | Sony Reader Store


Two Geeks and Their Girl

Blurb:

[Siren Ménage Everlasting: Erotic Ménage a Trois Romantic Suspense, M/F/M, HEA]

Amanda “Manny” Croyle hates technology…and it hates her right back. Which is why it annoys her when she’s assigned to an undercover investigation and protective operation for two computer geeks. But it’s not like she has a life. Just a wounded heart and PTSD from her time in the Middle East.

Korbin Temple and Rhys Gilyard are resigned to the fact that Artemis—a top-secret cyber-security project—is the only “woman” in their life. Then they’re assigned an administrative assistant. They’ve learned not to trust sexy women, especially once they suss out Manny’s true identity, but there’s something sweetly haunted about her and they wouldn’t mind a chance to brighten her world.

Manny knows getting personal is a bad idea, but the two men soon win her heart. Unfortunately, unknown criminals want their hands on Artemis. Now it’s a race against time to see if Manny can unravel the mystery before time runs out for one of her men.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Siren-BookStrand | Kindle | Nook | Sony Reader Store

Promopalooza time.


I see a lot of promo on Facebook, including people who don't pay attention to a group's rules when they join and post promo that violates the rules. We have this problem a lot in the Erotic Romance group. Ironically, very few people break the rules in the BDSM Bibliophreaks group. Hmmm.

So I created three promo-specific groups authors, bloggers, and reviewers can feel free to promo in. Please note the specificity of each group (it's easy, it's right in the name):

BDSM Books Promopalooza
GLBTQ Books Promopalooza
Menage Books Promopalooza

Enjoy!

Winnah, winnah, chicken dinnah!

Friday, September 13, 2013
Thanks to everyone who entered the last giveaway. After deleting duplicate comments (I know Blogger can be buggy sometimes) I pulled 10 random numbers via random.org to correspond with comments. Here are the ten winners:


Charnel
Channon
Ashley Rose
CherylM
Greendragon
Tina Marie
Trina
denisekelly546
ShanonO
Vicky.Strevens


Please email me at tymberdalton AT gmail DOT com with Contest Winner in the subject line by Monday so I can get your swag envelope out in the mail to you. I need your real name and snail mail addy.

Thanks, and keep an eye out because I'm going to be running another swag giveaway this week, as well as a special giveaway as we get closer to release day for Without Porpoise (Placida Pod 4).

"Hope Heals" available for pre-order.

Thursday, September 12, 2013
 Hope Heals (mfm) was just posted on BookStrand's site for pre-order:

http://www.bookstrand.com/hope-heals

Blurb:

[Siren Ménage Everlasting: Erotic Ménage a Trois Romance, M/F/M, HEA]

Sarah’s world shatters when her husband is killed in the wreck that injures her young son, Jason. Worse, Sarah discovers painful betrayals that make remaining in New York City with her hateful mother-in-law impossible. Moving home to Florida to live with her widowed father is their only option.

You can go home again, but it’s not the home she remembers. The hunky next door neighbors are also her new employers, cousins Sam and Pete Hope. She went to school with the men, but they’re all grown up. It’s soon clear they have their sights set on winning her heart.

Unfortunately, her mother-in-law doesn’t give up quite so easily. She’s determined to get Sarah and Jason back to New York by any means necessary. Despite an escape-artist steer nicknamed Moodini, asshole ninja assassin pet goats, and learning how to love again, Sarah rebuilds her and Jason’s lives and soon discovers that, just maybe, two Hopes can heal her heart better than one.

Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among cousins.

A Siren Erotic Romance

Tymber Dalton is a Siren-exclusive author.

--

You can read an excerpt for Hope Heals on the BookStrand site, too. :)

Home Improvement Project: Barrel Planter

This project only took me, oh, a friggin' year and a HALF to get done. I bought the Jack Daniel's half-barrel at Dom Home Depot and there it sat on my carport because I was too busy to get it done.

Well, it's done.

You start with a half of a wooden barrel and drill holes in the bottom for drainage. That is, if you're actually putting soil IN the barrel and not just putting stuff in it to prop up a plant in a pot.



Then you set it up on a wheeled plant stand thingy so you can move it. Because a) it will be super-heavy when it's full, and b) you want it to be able to drain.


Then you put weed fabric (or newspaper or something) in the bottom to allow water to drain but not let the soil run out all over the place. Note that newspaper will biodegrade faster than weed fabric. So while cheaper, not necessarily the best choice. (Plus I had a roll of weed cloth I could whack a piece off of.) I suppose you could use an old towel or something.


You add some rocks or gravel of your choice to help promote drainage. I just got the cheapest bag of rocks they had. (The rocks and soil actually came from Lowe's because I was there looking for a water filter for my sink when I thought screw it, time to get that checked off the list. LOL)


Add the rocks/gravel to the barrel.


Then add potting soil of your choice.



Yes, you could mix your own from topsoil, compost, manure, perlite, etc. but it was easier for me to just buy a bag ready to go.

Then you add your plants. In this case, I transplanted a rosemary plant I had in another planter, added a couple of marigolds and a vinca that I got from Lowe's for color, and planted mesclun lettuce mix and basil seeds. So it's a working planter.


The mesclun seeds (NOT to be confused with mescaline, as Sir did, asking me WTF with a cocked eyebrow until I showed Him the seed package LOL) are already sprouting. With our warm climate, I can grow salad mix greens pretty much all year round as long as I protect them from frost if the temps drop too low in the winter (rarely). It's easy to container grow them, that's for sure. If you stagger the planting times, you can pretty much give yourself greens all year round if you use containers and protect them.

I also picked up some raspberry and blackberry bushes, as well as a tangerine tree. I already have 3 container blueberry plants (that I need to transplant into larger containers). I'm slowly working on adding more food-bearing plants. And now, after seeing that episode of Duck Dynasty, I'm dying to get my hands on several mayhaw trees and plant them to see if I can get them to fruit. I already have some oregano, mint, chives, and basil growing.

No, I'm not an off-the-wall survivalist. But with these two post-apocalyptic series growing in my head, I'm really interested in getting back into food gardening and playing with some ideas I have that the characters might use.

Namaste, peeps.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Namaste, peeps. Love and light to all today. )0( Blessed be.

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

-- "Acquainted With the Night" by Robert Frost

Yay, Hubby's home, so random giveaway time!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Giveaway is now CLOSED. Winners have been posted HERE.

--

Yes, it's the screaming cat picture, so you know what THAT means...

Hubby returned home today from nearly two weeks visiting family and going to his high school reunion up in Buckeyeland. (I'm SOOO glad to have him home!) Gidget and I have spent his time away trying to keep the house together and not let the cats run roughshod over me, her, Apache, and the birds. (And we were still outnumbered. LOL)

To celebrate, I'm running a random giveaway. Open everywhere (unless prohibited where you live), you must be 18 or older (or of legal age where you live), yadda-yadda.

All you have to do is leave me a comment. That's it. Easy-peasey. One entry per person (so multiple comments do you no good LOL). You're playing for swag envelopes with some autographed goodies inside. I'll pick 10 random winners from all the commenters using random.org.

If Blogger wants to make you "anonymous" make sure to leave your name and/or email address in the comment so when I pick the winners I know who you are. LOL

I'll pick the winners on Friday and post them here. You'll have until next Monday to get back to me.

Good luck!

Write Your Ass Off: Don't turn your Alphas into A$$holes.

Friday, September 6, 2013
The post where I rant about "Alpha" heroes who are really assholes, and how to avoid that pitfall in your writing:

http://writeyourassoff.blogspot.com/2013/09/dont-turn-your-alphas-into-aholes.html



Sooo...what DOES the fox say?

This... I just... I have no words.

Presenting from the WTF category...




Tarpon Springs, a full stomach, and a lunch date.

Thursday, September 5, 2013
Had lunch on Tuesday with the third man in my life. Get yer minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about my son. I know I don't talk about him a lot, but in all honesty, I'm very privacy-conscious when it comes to him. (Not to mention safety-conscious.) He's going to be 18 in a couple of months, and last Saturday, he completed his Eagle Scout project. (Yay!) Now he just has to do the paperwork and get it all approved.

So for a celebration, I took him to Tarpon Springs for lunch on Tuesday, to our favorite restaurant, Plaka. Yes, the same Plaka Restaurant I've mentioned in several of my books. LOL It's been there since I was a kid, and I can't begin to tell you how many meals I've enjoyed there over the years.

I know the interior might not look like much to you, but one of the things I love about it is that it's remained nearly unchanged in all these years. It's a comfort to someone Sheldonesque like me who is change-averse in some ways. My son's picture is even on the wall when you first go in, along with lots of pictures of other regulars. So yes, going there is a family tradition.




If you ever get a chance to eat there, GO. Start with an order of saganaki (OPA!) and then where you go from there is up to you. I nearly always get a gyro (pronounced YEE-row, NOT "jyro") because they make their own meat mixture there.

Let me repeat that--they MAKE THEIR OWN. It's not one of these food truck kind of gyros. It's GOOD.
Mmmmm saganaki!

Son got the gyro/souvlaki platter, which also came with a salad and fries. Needless to say, even though we both did a pretty good imitation of locusts, he needed a box to take some home. LOL


I got my usual gyro. As you can see, it's a freaking handful. LOL


And om nom nom, when we finally gave in, we had done a pretty decent job.


Then, it was time for part B of our usual family routine--dessert! We walk a couple of doors down to Hellas to their bakery and get dessert there.


This is only a fraction of their selections. A FRACTION, I say.

And yes, unfortunately, occupational hazard ahead. I ALWAYS giggle when I see the name of this dessert. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I...Just...Do.


You can see why. LOL

And, of course, despite a HUGE inventory from which to choose, we ended up, as usual, with our usuals. LOL


He gets a chocolate dessert (that's a mouse on the top) and I get rice pudding.


Tarpon Springs is a beautiful little town. I've used it as a setting in several of my books, including Safe Harbor. (I'm kicking myself in the butt I didn't get the picture of the fake shark at the Sponge Exchange that I mention in Pinch Me.)


Definitely take a day to come sightsee if you're ever in the area. Park at the gift shop across the street and a few doors down from Plaka ($3, pay inside) and enjoy the food, the shopping, the atmosphere. You won't regret it.

The Gidget alarm clock.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Apparently, Gidget wants to expand her options from "wurld dominashun dog" to "alarm clocky thingy."

This is what I awoke to this morning.

After she sneezed in my face.

I imagine her saying. "Gud mahnin, stoopid wuman. Wakey wakey. I want a cookie. And walk mah ass."

Did I mention I'll be REALLY glad when Hubby gets home from being out of town? LOL

Winnah, winnah, chicken dinnah!

Sunday, September 1, 2013
Okay, it's been a looooong weekend. I worked until late last night getting a manuscript submitted (book 3 in my Placida Pod series). I just didn't have the brain power to process anything after I finished. (And finally got a shower, which I'm sure my dogs and cats appreciated me doing!) So trying to correctly process winners would have been...ugly. LOL

Because Monday is a holiday here in the States (see? the brain just don't worky right sometimes) winners will have until Tuesday to get back to me.

Here's my screenshot of the winning number. As you can see, 37 is the lucky number.

So here are the winners, as pulled from the comments. Remember, the 10 closest. Buuut because I'm a writer, not a mathematician, I picked more than that. LOL I wanted to give the closest people the win, and will just pack a couple extra envelopes.

Email me at tymberdalton AT gmail DOT com (remove the spaces and replace the words with the @ and .) and please put CONTEST WINNER in the subject so I see it. I'll need your snail mail addy and real name.

Kimberly - 42
Shelley - 41
Melanie - 36
SusieJ - 39
Tracey Reid - 44
Donna Johnson - 39
Rosie - 32
Debby - 32
Jenreader - 36
Kori - 30
Brenda Wheeler - 44
Eva's Flowers - 38

So congrats to the winners, and please email me by Tuesday. Thanks!!!

Now THIS is how you clean house! LOL

Not exactly work-safe, but funny as hell...