Welcome Guest Ivy Bateman

Tell us about your favorite character from your books.

My favorite character from my books is Lily Sinclair, the lead character in my current release. Perhaps readers may be confused as to why she is my favorite since Lily is an extremely cold person who treats people badly, uses people and pretty much does as she pleases, but she was a lot of fun to write! She is so different than me; almost polar opposite in a lot of ways and it was a challenge to write someone like that. A lot of my characters have tiny aspects of me in them, but Lily doesn't. Ok...maybe a little. Some of the things she actually says to people, I may think, but never say!

Tell us about your current release.

My current release is called Baby, You're Cold Inside. It was released from Breathless Press back in December. Like my second release with BP, The Fifth Story, back in September, 2012, it's a paranormal erotic tale. However, this one is a holiday tale inspired by the classic "A Christmas Carol". Lily is the Scrooge character and she is taken back in time by an ice creature who wants to melt her icy nature and release the warm soul he believes lurks inside. It's nice that he tries...

Has someone been instrumental in inspiring you as a writer?

My daughter (who is in middle school and no, she hasn't read my books!) was and continues to be an inspiration to me. She's been a gifted writer since she started writing in kindergarten. She just picks up a pencil and writes. There's not a lot of humming and hawing...she just gets down to business. I do take a while to get started, but once I do, I write like she does: quickly and with passion.

Has someone helped or mentored you in your writing career?

I have been very lucky in that I have many people in my life that I can turn to and talk about writing. My husband is one of them. He is always encouraging and helpful. My friend "J" loves to talk shop and has introduced me to other local writers. And over the last year I have met other writers through blogging who have been extremely inspiring and helpful with my writing and other things that have nothing to do with writing.


What do you think makes a good story?

 Personally, what I look for in any story are characters that have depth. I love a book that has characters that are so believable that you can imagine a life for them beyond the page or you can figure out a back story for them even if the author doesn't tell you what that is. However, I may be that way because I have a theatre background and we had to figure out our characters back story whenever we picked up a script.

How do you develop your plots and your characters? Do you use any set formula?

This too could have something to do with my theatre background, but I honestly let me characters dictate the main plot. I usually have certain plot points figured out, but not always how to get from plot point to plot point. When I'm writing and I've gotten to know my characters a bit, I think to myself "What would (character) do in the situation?" and go from there. I have no formula at all.

What is your favorite meal?

I have two: full breakfast (bacon, eggs, pan fries and more!) and a dinner of rare steak, salad and a baked potato smothered in butter and sour cream!

What do you do to unwind and relax?

I love to read and I intend on doing a lot more this year than I did last year. I also love to dance around the house with my daughter and watch TV shows on DVD with my husband.

Morning Person? Or Night Person?

I think I'm a late morning, early evening person. My energy gains momentum around 10 or 11am and then peaks again around 7pm.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I'd like to thank all those people out there who have picked up my books over the last year. I know my voice and my story telling is a little off kilter from other books in the romance genre and I appreciate those who have taken a chance on a new writer. I have had some interesting feedback; some of it positive and some of it not. I'm fine with either and although sometimes the negative is hard to swallow, stirring someone to express their opinion is wonderful. Writing is an art form and if anyone is moved by your work, negatively or positively, you've done your job as artist. 

Blurb for Baby, You're Cold Inside, By Ivy Batmean

Lily Sinclair isn't in the Christmas spirit.

Successful, sexy and headstrong; being nice is too overrated when being naughty is so much more fun. However, there are those who believe that her cool interior stands in her way of true happiness. On the night when something a little bit colder than Lily takes her on a journey to her past, she goes along for the ride, but...

Will her guide show her just what it will take to melt her icy soul?

Excerpt from Baby, You're Cold Inside By Ivy Bateman

"Oh yes, my dear, just a little bit further...come on honey...just bend over a little further. Come on now—just a little bit lower, that's it." I bite my lip to keep from screaming. "That's right keep it up, keep it up...I'm so close, yes, baby keep it up—no, no, no! Not now!"

I lean over my desk and punch the intercom. "Phillip! Get your ass in here now!"

He doesn't respond to my holler. Maybe he has the volume turned down. He's done that before, the bad boy, trying to ignore me. What kind of assistant does that to his boss? One that doesn't last that long, that's who.

I punch the intercom button again, harder even though it won't make a difference, but I'm desperate and my buzz is quickly fading away.

"Phillip! Don't ignore me! I need to see you in my office now!"

Again, he isn't doing anything! Okay that's not true. He's still doing something. He is still filing and bending over, which is a marvel to behold, but his moves are being wasted! I open my desk drawer and pull out a squishy ball. I chuck it at the mirrored glass that stands approximately twenty feet from the front of my desk. Phillip jumps and screams like a girl. He glances at the mirrored glass looking slightly shamefaced. He can't see me, but he knows I can see him. Wow, he's a good looking guy...who isn't moving!

My morning good time feeling is being quickly defeated by the anger that is starting to build up in my system. I throw a second ball against the glass. Another girlish scream erupts from Phillip, but this time he springs into action. He hot foots it to my door and opens it at top speed. He's breathless and nervous which is perfect; it's the way I like my men.

"Yes, Ms. Sinclair? Is there something I can help you with?" He runs a hand through his shiny brown hair and steps into my office.

"No, Phillip, I just like to throw things at my wall to hear you squeal. Thank you for being so obliging." I am sarcastic to the point of it being farcical, but my lovely yet sometimes a little dim assistant doesn't pick up on it even a little.

"Oh, that's fine, Ms. Sinclair. I-I-I like to squeal for you." He blushes and looks at his large, polished shoes. "I'll go back to my desk and listen for another ball. Thank you for making me aware that you like my noises." He backs toward the door, his face now the shade of a ripe tomato. It's adorable, but I don't have time for adorable.

Ivy's Blog: Ivy B Misbehavin'

Twitter @IvyBateman.

Book trailers on You Tube:

Baby, You're Cold Inside & The Fifth Story

Write Ivy at ivybmisbehavin@gmail.com.

Ivy's books available at Breathless Press, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca,

All Romance Ebooks, Bookstrand, Barnes & Noble and more.

Welcome Ann Siracusa

A Predictable Disaster

By Ann Siracusa

Readers always want to know where authors get their story ideas. This is how my new release All For A Fist Full Of Ashes, second novel in the Tour Director Extraordinaire series, came about.

The first book, All For A Dead Man's Leg, was an experiment to see if I could write in first person and write humor. I'd never done either. The romantic suspense featured a young tour director finding out what life was all about and a Europol spy with a dark past. I loved the characters, and I loved the voice, but I never intended to write a series featuring Harriet Ruby and Will Talbot. So, needless to say, the second book wasn’t planned.

The Inspiration

In early 2005, my Italian-American daughter-in-law and some members of her family decided to take a trip to Italy in the summer. She was taking her son, my grandson, so I decided to make the trip with another grandson who was about the same age.

After mass confusion, and a lot of family members wanting to go and then opting out, it ended up with thirteen Italian-Americans, including four teenagers, and my daughter-in-law's father, Vita Zaso, who was grew up in Palermo.

Oh, man! Knowing the way Italians make group decisions, the trip was going to be a predictable disaster. So I decided I should at least get the material for a book out of it.

Part of our Italian-American family 

 

The four teenagers and Italian friends plus Vito

            

A group of Italian-Americans taking a tour of Italy was a natural for my heroine Harriet Ruby, Tour Guide Extraordinaire. And if Harriet was my heroine, I needed Will Talbot on the trip with a spy story for him to chase after. So I came up with a story idea based on some family history and wrote the first three chapters before the trip, in part so I knew what to look for. The working title was "The Italian Train Wreck" and, as you can imagine, that's what the trip turned out to be.

The characters in the book are fictitious, and not based on my relatives―the reviewer for Coffee Time Romance, wrote she didn't think there was a more obnoxious family on the planet than the Spinella/Mazza clan―but the trip provided many incidents that spiced up the novel and quite a few that didn't get into the book.

About "All For A Fist Full Of Ashes"

Breathless Press Buy Link
E-book format only – 97K
ISBN 978-1-77101-827-2

In All For A Fist Full of Ashes, tour director Harriet Ruby and Europol spy and special operative, Will Talbot (who've been seeing each other for a year since meeting in Morocco), come together in Italy where their work assignments again overlap. Harriet is conducting a custom tour for fourteen members of an Italian-American family. The family matriarch is on a quest to find the unknown location of her mother's grave so she can bury her brother's cremated ashes which have been smuggled into Italy wrapped in Cuban cigars. Will has one of the family members under surveillance as a suspect in an assassination conspiracy.

Charming the matriarch, Will coaxes an invitation from her to join the tour. The quirky family members, including the four unruly teenagers and a pet green tree python named Fluffy, sweep through Italy in search of relatives and a lost grave and leave chaos, hilarity, and danger in their wake.

Will and Harriet find traveling together for twenty-four hours a day threatens their budding relationship which is fraught trust issues. Harriet wants to be involved in everything, and Will won't tell her anything about his case. Harriet's intervention leads her to intuit the time, place and victim of the conspiracy. Unable to reach Will, she puts herself in danger to thwart the assassination.

Blurb

I’m Harriet Ruby: Tour Director Extraordinaire.  At least, I thought I was worthy of that title.

My first mistake: Agreeing to conduct a private tour of Italy. Fourteen Italian-Americans from New Jersey? All family, for three weeks, with four teenagers? What was I thinking? Fate responds to my engraved invitation by placing one of the family members under surveillance as a suspect in an assassination plot. And who is assigned to the case?  None other than my favorite drop-dead-gorgeous spy, Will Talbot.

My second mistake: Allowing Will to coax an invitation from the family matriarch to join the tour.

And that was just the beginning. The matriarch, searching for the unknown location of her mother's grave so she can bury her brother's cremated ashes (which have been smuggled into Italy wrapped in Cuban cigars), and her quirky family members sweep through Italy leaving chaos, hilarity, and danger in their wake. 

The Story Behind The Story

This story is based loosely on my husband's maternal grandmother, Orsola Giannoni, born in Florence, who met a Sicilian sailor at a festival and married him against her family's wishes. As a result, they disowned her and severed all contact. (In those days, Sicilians were considered lower than pond slime by northern Italians, and some says that's still true.) My husband says his grandmother had red hair, blue eyes, and never spoke Sicilian in all the years she lived in Sicily because she thought it was such an ugly dialect.

She never heard from her family again.

During WWII, when the Americans were bombing Messina (Sicily), my husband, in his early teens, and his family left the city and lived in Bordonaro, a mountain town not too far away. Three families lived together in an old barn. Orsola, then an old woman, died during the heaviest part of the bombing.

WWII photos of bombing in Messina

Because of the attack, there was no one to take the body away. The families that lived in the barn built a coffin out of the dining table, the only wood available, and used the casket as a table for several days. My mother-in-law used to tell the story of crying all through the meals and asking, "Mamma, do you want a glass of wine?" When the bombing stopped, government officials took away all the dead bodies en mass (many had been killed), and the family never found out where Orsola was buried.

Another ironic piece of the story behind the story is the brouhaha over the cremated ashes. A year after the book was written, Vito Zaso died. At his request, he was cremated and my daughter-in-law and her siblings took the ashes to Palermo to be inured with other members of his family. They went through all kinds of misery and discontent getting the ashes into Italy.  Ultimately, they didn't have to smuggle the ashes wrapped in cigars, but at one point it seemed like that might be the best shot. The incident validated my research, and I dedicated the book to Vito.

Of all the books I've written, this was the most fun.

Also, my oldest son has raised and bred green tree pythons and other constrictors since he was in middle school, so I have "unwilling" experience with snakes. However, no one brought a snake on the real trip. Thank goodness.

Welcome Lee Brazil

Tell us about your current release.


The Librarian is a story about two imperfect men, one is somewhat self-centered, and the other has been called manipulative. Though neither is perfect, they are perfect for each other.



Who is your favorite author?

One of my favorite author's is John Steinbeck. His East of Eden is a powerful drama about family dynamics that explores the nature of good and evil, the parable of Cain and Abel.

When was your first sale?

I think I "sold" Keeping House to Breathless Press last December or January.

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?

I am a morning person. I usually write in then, but have been known to be inspired in the afternoon and evening as well. I attribute this in part to the fact that my characters live in my head, and when I go to bed at night, they whisper in my ear. So I wake up with veritable chapters itching to get on the page.

Does your significant other read your stuff?

Alas, my significant other is kind of my opposite. He's not interested in romance; his reading material of choice is related to mathematics, history, and chess. If I ask for his opinion, he'll read and give it, but since he's not familiar with the genre, his reaction is frequently not helpful.


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

I have a very wonderful beta reader who reads all of my work, and a few other friends who are kind enough to help out on occasion.


Who are your books published with?

My books are published with Breathless Press. They're a terrific e-publisher with excellent editors and awesome cover art.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?

I have a variety of play lists, defined by mood and era, or genre. Most frequently I listen to David Bowie, Tom Petty, Rush, and Steve Miller.


What book are you reading now?

Right now, I'm reading Holed Up by Hank Edwards. " FBI Special Agent Aaron Pearce, tall, muscular, a lone wolf with an attitude, is assigned to protect Mark Beecher, a witness to the plans for a terrorist attack. The discovery of an unknown informant within the FBI's ranks, however, forces the two men to hole up in a loft apartment with only one another for company." It's a sexy, action filled suspense.


What do you do to unwind and relax?

To unwind and relax I walk. We live out in the country and there is always something to see and marvel at. A glass of wine and a sunset are the perfect way to unwind after a long day.


Current Release:

The Librarian

Blurb

Valentine Michaels has just taken a vow of celibacy. Adrian Grey intends to take full advantage of that vow to re-create his relationship with Val.

Val is at a crossroads in his life. A college dropout, he's gone as far as he can in his career as a cosmetologist, owning his own style salon. He no longer finds satisfaction in it, though he's put years into proving to his bigoted parents that a college degree and the veneer of straightness aren't the only roads to success. They'd turned their backs on him, and he proved he didn't need them to make it.

His love life is no better than his working life. His relationships always start with a bang and fizzle into boredom, or worse, anger.

Adrian has his own agenda for helping Val: he's been in love with Val since they were freshmen. The intervening years of listening to Val's gossip about his lovers and relationships have taught Adrian just what it was he did wrong all those years ago, and he thinks this time around he now knows exactly how to get—and keep—his man.

Buy Links:

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thelibrarian-668522-144.html

http://www.amazon.com/The-Librarian-ebook/dp/B006UMM4C4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325951766&sr=8-1

http://www.bookstrand.com/the-librarian-mm

http://www.breathlesspress.com/librarian

Welcome Raven McAllan

How did you start your writing career?
At school, winning two where does chocolate come from writing competitions. As an adult, meeting Robyn Donald a New Zealand writer who told me to go for it or I'd regret it. Entering a terrible piece in a romance writing competition in 2010, but meeting my crit group through that. They dared me to write my first book.


Tell us about your favorite character from your books.
Raig in The Price To Pay. He has to really fight to get Vairi. She pushes against him all the way.

Where do you dream of traveling to and why?
Ankor Wat, the thought of it fascinates me. South Island New Zealand, we didn't make it that far. And back to The Great Wall, Halong Bay, Singapore … too many to mention. I've been so lucky where I have visited so far.

Does travel play in the writing of your books?
It should do a lot more, considering where I've visited. Well I did get an idea for two interrelated books whilst I was on holiday in St.Kitts recently. The plantation house we stopped in Ottleys gave me food for thought.
Tell us about your current release.
To Please a Lady, is a historical m/m/f menage. Great fun, and Hermione lead her lovers them a merry dance. Here's the blurb:

When your lovers are lovers themselves, and want you to help them make the perfect triangle, what do you say? Persuade me of course!

Unconventional, and happy, Hermione is in the enviable position of having not one, but two lovers to attend to her every need. That her lovers are lovers themselves, only adds to the equation. Berry and Ran feel it’s time to make all their various twosomes, into one splendid threesome. Now all they have to do is persuade Hermione!

Being men, they are too impatient to wait for her answer. Being a woman, she isn’t going to be pushed, shoved or coerced into saying anything until she is good and ready. Patience is a virtue, and one her men needed to get.

Also Taken Identity, (noble romance) where Jules finds someone has stolen her life. And she wants it back!



Tell us about your next release.

The Price to Pay, it's out Feb 24th here's the blurb… Do a friend a favor? Easy. Persuade the woman she's your soul-mate - not so easy. Does this cougar romance stand a chance?

Raig was doing a favor for a friend - babysitting mum. Who'd have thought that 'mum' turned out to be the woman of his dreams?

Raig could see their future, Vairi could only see the age difference. He may say you were only as old as the man you feel but she couldn't do the forever he wanted. Too many obstacles stood in their way, especially when she finds out Raig has not been telling her the truth by omission. She too has secrets she's not willing to share. Can they open up, be honest and put their doubts behind them? Then discover how satisfying a cougar romance can be?

Has someone been instrumental in inspiring you as a writer?
See above. And a great publisher and editor keep me going.

Has someone helped or mentored you in your writing career?
No, but Doris O'Connor is my conscience, my ear to moan to and my send it here and I'll do it it synopsis sorter

Who is your favorite author?
I don't have just one. Doris O'Connor, Miss Read, WEB Griffin. Too many to mention.

When was your first sale?
October 7th 2011

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?
On and off all day. I have a dodgy shoulder that sometimes means my hands go numb, so I have to be careful. I'm best in the 'wee small hours'

What is the hardest part of writing your books?
Getting the characters to listen to me. And giving then up at the end. I want to go on and on.

Where do you research for your books?
On line, at the library, family history.

What does your family think of your writing career?
Hmm. Depends who you ask.

Does your significant other read your stuff?
He does, and if he thinks something isn't right he tells me. It's good to get a blokes perspective, also Doris's OH reads my stuff. He really got me going with The Price to Pay. MY OH was away on business, and as it is all written from the man's POV he checked it over for me..

Do you have critique partners or beta readers?
Doris O'Connor. I've no idea where she finds the time. And my crit group UCW without them I wouldn't have dared submit.

Who are your books published with?
Breathless Press; Noble Romance, and soon Evernight Publishing

Do you hear from your readers? What kinds of questions do they ask?
Yes, and It's great to know people read them. They ask sorts of things, from do I research (Oh YES) are my characters based on any one (Oh NO) to can you read my M/S for me. Sorry! It takes me all my time to read my own.

What do you think makes a good story?
Believable human characters. A good plot and and yup, HEA or HFN

Plotter or Pantser? Why?
I always thought I was plottter. I so am not. Definitely pantster. Or a led by my characters-ster! I would love to know exactly what was going to happen and when, but I don't think I'd have a good book at the end of it.

Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it? I do Raven Is the bird that brings change. Before I had my first acceptance there was a Raven in the garden. And every time I hear anything about a M/S I see one or two waiting for me to look at them before they fly away. McAllan is the finest single malt Scotch whisky I think you can get.


Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Thanks for supporting me. I hope we grow older together.

Welcome Jamieson Wolf

How did you start your writing career?


I started writing professionally when I was eighteen. I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but it took many years for me to realize that it was what I wanted to do most with my life. After a few false starts, I got published. It was like realizing a dream.

Tell us about your current release.

My current release is Reaping Shadows from Breathless Press. Here’s a bit about the book:

Death has always been a lonely business.

Darion Muerte knows this first hand. Darion is a Reaper, one of those who gather the souls of the dead so that they can move on. He has been a Reaper for centuries. Accompanied only by his Shadow, a being that scouts for the dead, Darion has not been touched by another for over a thousand years.

That all changes when Darion meets Kale. Though mortals are not supposed to be able to see Reapers and their Shadows, Kale can see both of them. And his dark blue eyes see right into Darion.

Answering the call of passion that sets fire to his skin, Darion gives in to his needs and lets himself experience one night of passion. That is all he can take. And then Darion must make the ultimate sacrifice.

Darion must take Kale’s soul.

You can get your copy here:

http://www.breathlesspress.com/reaping-shadows


Has someone been instrumental in inspiring you as a writer?

In terms of inspiration, I would have to say Carol Shields.

I had the opportunity to meet her when I was just starting to write seriously. She had come to speak at a local university about the power of narrative. I remember how nervous I was talking to her, but she was warm, wonderful and lovely. I asked if it was harder to find the narrative in prose or poetry. She told me to write both and find out. And the rest, they say, is history…

Who is your favorite author?

Stephen King, hands down.


When was your first sale?

I sold a story titled Realties Real to Dark Krypt Magazine. I still have the contract they sent me. It was a wonderful moment. That was back when I was 19.

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?

Since I go to work during the day and do most of my schoolwork in the afternoons, I tend to write in the evenings. How long I write depends on how far I am into a novel. If I’m just starting out, I take my time with it and may spend an hour or two each evening. If I’m towards the end, and have figured out what I’m doing, I’ll write into the wee hours of the morning.


What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Trying to figure out how to end them! I never have been very good with endings.


Does your significant other read your stuff?

Yes, he does. I am lucky to have an amazingly wonderful boyfriend who not only reads what I write, but loves what I write. After a long time of no one in my family or anyone close to me reading my work, it’s a gift that he not only reads my books but that we can discuss them.


What do you think makes a good story?

The characters. If you do not have a character you can care about in a novel, there is no emotional pull and the book suffers for it. You need to have characters that are real to make write a good novel.


Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it?

I do in fact use a kind of pen name. I just drop off my last name. Jamieson is my real first name and Wolf my middle name.


Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?

I always listen to music while writing. What kind of music depends on the book itself. Usually something poppy and something with a beat. I love Robyn’s Body Talk, anything by Bjork, some Tori Amos if the mood strikes. Or David Guetta, I freaking love his stuff. I would never say no to some Chromeo either.

Welcome Ivy Bateman

http://www.breathlesspress.com/between-lines

Release, Jan.27th

Book Blurb:

Lara Munroe is perfectly fine with the characters in her books having better sex lives than she does, until the night she meets Devin Monaghan.

When erotica writer Lara Munroe heads down to the ballroom to take part in an extravagant book launch, she has no idea her path will finally cross with political writer Devin Monaghan. He's smart, sexy, and roguishly handsome, and the chemistry between them is instantaneous. Lara feels her natural guard slip whenever she lays eyes on him. The thought of a night with Devin becomes more than a little distracting.

Devin, who could have any woman in the crowd to share his hotel bed, quickly sets his sights on Lara. He finds her alluring, beautiful, and intoxicating, and his attraction to the erotica writer had started long before their first encounter in the hotel elevator.

Lara and Devin have their careers to think about, a busy evening ahead, and very little chance for verbal communication. However, that doesn't stop them from coming together. They are both authors, and words are their greatest medium, but even they know that when it comes to figuring out how to get exactly who you want, it could be as simple as reading between the lines.

Blog address:

http://ivybmisbehavin.blogspot.com/

I can also be found on Facebook and Twitter (IvyBateman)


Who is your favorite author?

I have a few, but the two authors who I find influence my writing most often are Neil Gaiman and Sharon Shinn. I love how Neil Gaiman can take a perfectly normal situation and turn it into something completely off the wall and unexpected. With Sharron Shinn, she takes characters we can easily relate to and places them on completely different worlds. You never doubt for second while you're reading her books that these places exist. It's almost magical.

When was your first sale?

Well, this book, Between the Lines, is my first published work for purchase. When my book went for up on the Breathless Press site for pre-order, I sent an email out to a bunch of my friends and right away, a friend of mine pre-ordered it. That was on Dec.21/11.

When in the day/night do you write? How long per day?

On any given day, I will write whenever I find the time, however, I write best on the weekend mornings. I get up early, make a pot of coffee and get to work. I will write almost solidly for 2 or 3 hours or until my hands and shoulders tell me to stop.

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

The hardest part is starting. If I'm working on a new project, it could be hours before I'll sit myself down in front of the computer. Everything becomes more important: laundry, dishes, sorting the junk drawer...I'll do almost anything to procrastinate before I find the courage to put the demon of doubt aside and simply start writing.

What does your family think of your writing career?

They are extremely supportive and proud of me. I do a lot of writing that is "G rated" and my parents read all of it, but my more saucy writing, they know about it, but it's off limits. I told them once you read it, you can't unread it and I'd really feel more comfortable with them not reading it.

Does your significant other read your stuff?

My husband is wonderful and reads everything I write. He's my biggest supporter, fan and critic. Grammar is not my strong suit and he's more than willing to help correct all of insane writing errors, but also offers me encouragement when I feel stuck or low.

Who are your books published with?

My first release is published with Breathless Press.


What book are you reading now?

I am reading Game of Thrones and Women Who Run with the Wolves; both excellent books for completely different reasons.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was really young, I wanted to be nurse, like my Mum. But when I was nine, I was bitten by the acting bug. I was going to become a world famous actress no matter what. That didn't exactly work out, but that's ok. I met my husband in college while taking Dramatic Arts and I still have a passion for acting. I'm active in community theatre and am proud to say that I'm currently directing and acting in a play I wrote. It goes up next month as part of a Hospice Fundraiser and I'm very proud to be a part of it and help out a very worthy cause.

Do you use a pen name? If so, how did you come up with it?

I do actually. Ivy Bateman is my naughty alter ego. The way I came up with it is a bit nerdy...my husband is a huge Batman fan, actually we both are, and because he's such a huge supporter of my work I wanted to include him somehow. The name Ivy, I just like the name and Bateman is only one letter away from Batman. After I decided on the name, my husband said "Hey Christian Bale (whom I adore) isn't his character's last name in American Psycho Bateman?" And I said "Yes! And he's also Batman!" So, really it's a perfect pen name for a couple reasons.

Welcome Breathless Press Author Christina Jade Loren

Stuck in Sex

Awww do they have to have sex one more time? Why can’t I just end it here with them cuddling or better yet, falling asleep!

As a writer of erotic romance, sex can be an integral part of the plot (and maybe the most interesting?!). I have fallen prey a few times to the tantrum throwing, kicking and screaming internal reaction to my editor saying “Add some sex here” or “expand on this sex scene”. It’s hard! (no pun intended). Not to mention trying to come up with different things for each scene so the reader doesn’t get bored (or worse and put the book down!).

Getting around the issue can sometimes be just as hard as the issue itself! (At least something is hard in the book right? ;)) Writing m/m is no exception and neither is m/f, or f/f for that fact. Sex is sex and it can’t be the same thing over and over again (ok well the motions are the same and the end result is the same, but the journey is where the fun is at!) For me, I start with the basics. Character A and B go to bed together (or shower, or floor, or car, or tree… you get the point). Character A gets B hard and since we are all adults here, I don’t need to explain the birds and the bees (never understood that metaphor and I still don’t… does it have something to do with the birds going after worms that are clearly a phallic symbol for something else? Or the bees rubbing themselves all over those poor flowers? If you ask me, both are whores because they go after more than one worm and or flower! Anyway…) The end result is that sweet release.

One would think that it would end there. But if we as readers, read the same thing over and over again, the pleasure in giving pleasure wouldn’t be such… pleasurable now would it? Throw in some kink, different positions, perhaps try a new location, and you have added spice. Don’t get me wrong, spice all the time can get dull too. So switching it up from time to time and alternating between spice and vanilla is a good combination. But that’s not what this post is all about (well it is all about sex – Shocker, I know!).

Back to the original topic and dilemma, writing yet another sex scene as requested by the grand editor themselves.

If you are ever stuck in the same scenario, or perhaps just need to add another scene. Always remember to KISS and make it interesting. Add flare or spice where needed, and please don’t (and this is a big please and a big don’t) keep it the same or similar as before. Your characters are in love (or at least lust for each other) and have needs just like us real people. Fulfill their desires and urges and you will fulfill the readers as well!

Christina.

Welcome Breathless Press Author Liz Crowe

And Now for a Little Self Love

Liz Crowe

Ego is a funny thing. We all have one, sort of like we all have a nose, or body hair. Some of us are more aware of ours than others. Some of us spend time grooming ours, putting ourselves out there in positions whereby opportunities for ego stroking are paramount. At times some of us get so used to ego-stroking arrangements, when something happens to pop our little ego-balloon we deflate more rapidly than your average person. It takes energy to be out here all the time, no lie. And as a dyed-in-the-wool karaoke-mike-hogging spotlight-grabbing ham it takes a lot to deflate me. But deflated I get, and it usually comes as a blind side tackle, from absolutely nowhere, when I least expect it.



Just tootling along in life, trying to manage my myriad responsibilities, teaching myself how to operate on something like five hours of sleep, managing the social and emotional lives of all the people who co-habitate with me, making sure no one is unhappy, disorganized, without clean clothes, lacking in exercise, bored, vitamin deficient, hungry, or horny--I am confronted by my own sudden realization of ego smack down. I mean, even blogging is an exercise in ego-maniacal behavior. And I do a lot of it. And this publishing thing-- seriously who does that if you aren't setting your ego up for regular abuse? I’m one of Those Writers with not a shy bone in my body, eager for promotional opps, speaking engagements, interviews and other fun stuff.



But no, not everyone worships me, not everyone's life revolves around me, and there are even some people who can do without me completely, in spite of my own desire to think otherwise. It's cool. I can deal. I mean, what are my options really?


Oh, yeah, self-satisfaction. From the Journal of Sexual Medicine, a no-duh quote to we sexy romance writers:

"Science, this time in the form of the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, conducted by researchers at Indiana University, asked 5,865 Americans between the ages of 14 and 94 detailed questions about their sexual practices and found what any realist has always known: people enjoy getting off. They get themselves off from adolescence to old age, alone or with a partner; and the army of avowed self-abusers appears to have swelled with time."

Ah, self pleasure...it's free, fun, relaxing and better for you than taking a sleeping pill. Amazing to think that there are still people who think you get hairy palms and go blind from a little wank. And I do take issue with folks who call it “self abuse.” When done properly, there is NO abuse involved!

"Among people 70 or older, according to preliminary data from the study, published October 1 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 80 percent of men and 58 percent of women have masturbated solo over a lifetime. Not bad, but the figures increase with each younger age cohort until we find a veritable generation of wankers, people age 25 to 29, whose lifetime rates peak at 94 percent among men and 84 percent among women. Masturbating with a partner is skewing in the same generational direction, only more dramatically."

As a writer of the sort of material that has a goal of relief via a little "alone time" I for one am thrilled that masturbation is coming out of the closet.

So, stroke that ego…or whatever needs it! I know I will be!


The Tap Room, The Brewing Passion Novel releases Sept. 30 from Breathless Press.
Erin Brady's life is turned inside out.

Her Alpha banker husband, Bradley, has left, claiming she pays more attention to her microbrewery than to him and their two sons.

One business partner, Trent, (The Rookie) is attempting to re-kindle an old flame between them.

Their amazing success has demanded they hire a new brewer, Jeff, (Jockey Box) who takes one look at his new boss and is determined to be something more than an employee.

The daily stresses of running a small business, plus the ongoing turmoil in her personal life are more than she can take. Escaping to Denver for an industry event, she meets Landon, a brewery rock star turned consultant who has been watching her company--and her-- for a while.

When family trauma requires an early return to Michigan, Erin is faced with even harder realities plus a thoroughly contrite Bradley, wishing for a reunion. Then, the ultimate sign of success: a buy out offer is tendered from a much larger brewery, just as the owners of Winter Street Brewing are about to be honored by Inc. Magazine as Top Entrepreneurs.

Finally, Erin turns to her other partner, Owen, who has watched the woman he loves suffer long enough and is determined to step in and be the one.

WHO WILL SHE CHOOSE????
Guess what? YOU get to decide.....September 30,

2011.
For more in depth descriptions of Erin’s options check out:
www.brewingpassion.com/2011/02/choose-your-partner-or-who-needs.html

Liz’s website:
http://www.lizcrowe.com/

Liz’s buy links for:
The Rookie: www.breathlesspress.org/Book/178

Jockey Box: www.breathlesspress.org/Book/287

XXXMas Ale: www.breathlesspress.org/Book/284

Welcome Breathless Press Author DD Symms

Traveling and Erotic Surprises
Amber, it’s great being a guest blogger. I’m writing this while on the road—a theme of my erotic stories. Traveling fills us with heightened expectations of fun when we set out and if disappointments strike—like a missed flight or a car gone bust—the “bummer” factor increases dramatically, much more than if the problem at happened at home.

Road Trips and Love
Dealing with disappointment on the road and discovering help, hope, and erotic romance is the theme of my first two stories published this year: Layover and Riding Shotgun.
My third story, coming out September 30, is Getaway. The heroine, Marcie, heads to the mountains above Los Angeles for a mid-week getaway and to get over the breakup with her fiancée who cheated on her with a law partner.
She discovers conflict with another camper, Cole, who is rehearsing for a critical audition in what he thought was an empty campground. In the end, they discover what they have in common and develop a genuine affection.
What I enjoyed in writing Getaway was to weave the inner conflict of the heroine with her sexual desires and her awakening with Cole.
Sexuality
Each story has either an overt kinky-theme or underlying tone, even though the stories are not necessarily about BDSM. What I like about it is the characters make a discovery about themselves through role playing or pushing sexual boundaries.


In Riding Shotgun, the hero, Andrew has created a special playroom in his house and Brianna, the woman he rescues off the highway, seduces him to uncover his secret. He’s a dom with a sensitive side.
Upcoming Projects
My new projects include Getaway being released September 30 from Breathless Press. I just finished a novel and that’s sent off to a publisher. A short story has been accepted for an anthology with Cleis Press and I’m going to pen a sequel to Layover.
2011 has been a strong year for my fiction and I’m finding new ways to develop my characters so the readers identify with them and connect with them at a deep level.
I love hearing from readers and I can be contacted through my site, http://ddsymms.wordpress.com
My stories are available through Breathless Press, Amazon for Kindle, One Place for Romance among other sites.
DD Symms

Welcome Breathless Press Owner Justyn Perry

First, I'd like to thank Amber Skyze for allowing Breathless Press to guest on her blog. So let me introduce myself and tell you a little bit about Breathless Press.

For me, publishing was a natural fit.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and possess countless years of experience in the publishing industry. I love books to no end and am thrilled that I can be part of something as great as producing them. I’m self taught in graphic design and enjoy my role not only as publisher at Breathless Press but as one of the cover artists. I can learn just about any program in a week, so trying new things is a pleasure along with utilizing old techniques.

Breathless Press was started for a few reasons. I saw a decline in the number of quality eBooks being produced and wanted to make a difference. With the onset of Self-Publishing, it felt like no one cared very much about quality. Granted, there are those publishers out there who are concerned with quality, but they are far and few between. I wanted to provide authors with a place where they felt welcome and like it was their second home. Not a place they dreaded and would end up regretting that they’d signed with us as a publisher. So, Breathless Press was formed.

With countless genres to choose from, Romance was my top pick when deciding what Breathless Press (then a nameless publisher) would release. The Romance genre is a giant market. It sells billions of dollars worth of books a year. Romance not only serves a monetary purpose, but it also provides satisfaction, happiness, and pleasure to those who read it. In our current economic period, I felt it was the right time to offer more books that made people forget about their problems and allow them to take a quick vacation. The Romance genre provides so much to readers, and I wanted to be part of that.

Breathless Press is not about quantity. We spend a lot of time on each book, crafting it, editing it, and building it up. I view eBooks as a house. You have to establish a sturdy foundation (the publisher). From there, you build up slowly, so that once it’s finished, it won’t collapse. The time you put into the book will pay off, which is why Breathless Press strives for quality.

Covers are like windows allowing readers to peer inside the house. I love art. Art is an amazing medium and allows so much expression. I will admit now, I do not have the time to read every story that we publish (shocker, I know). I will read close to every title, though, but I just don’t have enough time to read them all. The cover is such an important part in the production of the eBook, because it allows readers to sample what is to come.

Over the past year, we have seen unprecedented growth. We saw a 400% increase since last year. This means Breathless Press gets more chances at doing new things. This fall, we are releasing our very first print book. It will be available through our website and from bookstores that sell romance books.

We have decided to start publishing anthologies. Anthologies allow readers to taste a variety of authors and see which ones they enjoy. Currently, there are 3 anthologies out with another one in November and December. Next year, we have at least 7 planned; so for all those writers out there we are looking for under 10k stories! Another big move for us to gradually moving to 3 releases a week. Over the next 6 months we are increasing our releases to match what the large houses are producing.

Authors are everything; without them, publishers wouldn’t have anything to publish. Breathless Press wants to make every author feel special. We are like a fine bed and breakfast, catering to most needs of authors and trying to give them the best care we can. If our authors are happy, we are happy, and our readers will want to read their books. Each author becomes part of our family and is a friend and treated like one. I believe this allows us to create a better relationship, and happy authors produce great books.

Thanks again Amber Skyze for this great opportunity!

Guest Blogger - S. E. Holden

Sneaky Relationships Perceived by the Male Mind by S.E. Holden

Relationships are sneaky. One minute everything is fine. The one you love snuggles up close on the couch and strings a trail of barely-there kisses across the base of your neck, hand rubbing across the tight muscles of your chest. The contact feels great after a long, hard daily grind and gets your blood pumping. The thick artery in your neck throbs. She finds it, pulsing just under your tender skin, and traces the rhythm upwards with the tip of her tongue. Mmmmm. Fingers working lower, she explores your growing excitement. Blood rushes out of your brain, racing south like a flock of horny geese avoiding the winter chill. Nips and playful bites along your jaw line lead her mouth to yours. The thought patterns in your brain wander out of control due to the lack of blood. She climbs into your lap and winds her legs around your waist, rubbing herself against your crotch.
She whispers something, but the lack of blood in your brain has affected your universal translator and you have no idea what she said. Like most things that you don't hear or pretend you don't hear, you ignore it and hope it goes away. There are better things on your mind, and your lap, right now. Your arms close around her, pulling her tight against you. You kiss her neck, suck her ear lobe into your mouth and work it gently between your teeth.
You hear a groan, at least you think it's a groan of pleasure. Encouraged you slide your hands under her shirt, reaching for the clasp of her bra. You didn't notice that she stopped what she was doing until she pulls away and stares at you with that questioning look in her eye, one eyebrow raised, hands balled on hips. You stare back – a deer in the headlights with a boner.
"Well, did you?"
Uh oh. Did I what? Things were looking good until she snuck something in there, trying to fake me out with a change up, but threw the slider instead. That's just not right. Damn. Why does she always have to ruin it?
Panic sets in. What didn't I do? Shit. Is it her birthday? Anniversary? What? You get angry as the blood surges back to your brain…with an attitude.
Her faces clouds in disappointment as she reads the thoughts scampering across your mind through your eyes. She knows the answer before you can come up with an excuse for whatever it is you didn't do/get/say/tell/(insert verb here). Without a word she climbs off and walks into the other room leaving you high and dry and in the dark.

Like I said, relationships are sneaky. One minute things are going one way, but in a flash they can turn ugly. I chose the man in the above example as the inattentive villain because I'm a guy and can relate to the lack of cohesive thought that is possible during certain, uh, engorged circumstances. And I'm sure, or I'm sure I've been told, that a lapse like that cannot possibly happen to a woman. Hmmm… Has something like this ever happened to you? One minute things are going great, but in the next disaster strikes over something fairly innocuous? Leave a comment and give us the highlights.
In my latest Thursday Night story, The Wet Reunion of Two Souls, things don't go as planned and spiral out of control. Expectations are shattered and their married future placed in jeopardy over a joyous event. Will they be able to reconcile before all is lost? Check it out to see.


S.E. Holden Bio
Since he was a kid, S.E. Holden wanted to be an author and explored many genres through high school and college. After greasing the gears of the corporate machine for many years, he escaped the Information Technology vortex to focus full-time on his writing dream. A romantic at heart, S.E. loves to write about committed couples struggling with and overcoming life's obstacles only to emerge stronger. The fact that they have steamy, mind-blowing sex along the way makes it even better.
S.E. lives with his wife and two children on the west coast of Florida.

S.E.'s Contact Links:
Email: seholden@verizon.net
Web: http://www.seholden.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001173999283&v=wall
Twitter: @seholden25


The Wet Reunion of Two Souls Blurb
On a glorious Thursday afternoon, May’s dream of having a baby is finally coming true. Bursting with excitement, she’s eager to share the news. But her best laid plans disintegrate when Jim returns home from work with a different idea…one that didn’t include her. Doubting whether they still share the same dream of a family, May contemplates her future with Jim until the rain washes in an unexpected tryst. Can their relationship weather the storm of emotions unleashed.

The Wet Reunion of Two Souls Excerpt
A bright flash leapt through the window chased closely by a deep, bass rumble that rattled the wine glasses on the table. The sudden brilliance startled her, and she stepped back.
Jim whirled around. "Like I said…it’s Thursday night. Bob asked me to sub on their bowling team, and I need to leave in a minute or two to get there in time for practice. You know I need a few frames to get the arm and knees working right." Lightning flickered, followed seconds later by the boom. "I’m sure I told you about this last week."
Mouth agape, she stared at him. Disbelief and disappointment teamed up, overwhelming her. "But…I..." She paused, voice quivering, tears threatening. Her right hand drifted to her belly. "It’s been so long since we had a night in and I really need to talk to you."
Jim spun away and strode to the closet to get his bowling bag. "Sorry, hon, but I promised Bob over a month ago. He talked about it every time I saw him at work. I have to go. The guys are counting on me."
"But Jim, our work schedules haven’t matched up in weeks. We barely have time to say hello let alone anything else and tonight was our night to catch up."
Grabbing the handle of his red two-ball bag, Jim wheeled it toward the front door, looking anywhere but at May. She stepped in front of him, blocking his easy escape. She placed her hand on his arm and gazed up into his eyes. "Please don't go." Please choose me and the baby over your friends.
Jim stood up straight, closed his eyes and blew out a breath, long and slow. "Look, I’ll be back in a couple hours and we’ll get caught up." He smiled his best sorry-I-let-you-down-again-but-I’ll-make-it-up-to-you smile—a smile that had been showing up far too often of late. She cringed. "How does that sound?"
"Quite frankly, it sucks."

The Wet Reunion of Two Souls Buy Links
Breathless Press - http://www.breathlesspress.com/erotic/the-wet-reunion-of-two-souls.html
All Romance eBooks - http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thewetreunionoftwosouls-544156-144.html
1 Place for Romance - http://1placeforromance.com/romantic-fiction/the-wet-reunion-of-two-souls/prod_4256.html