HOTTIE OF THE WEEK: CHRIS HEMSWORTH

If you've been following my reading lately, you'd know that I've been tearing through the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. I finished most of the series this week, including the awesome novellas for Jim and Andrea. I have said this countless times this week, but I will say it again! READ THIS SERIES! Suzanne got me hooked on it and now my knees hurt from groveling too much. Thanks Suz ;P

Anyways, back to the Moanday pick! This is a good one! His name is Chris Hemsworth and he is as hot as a thousand fiery suns. I actually think he'd make a good Curran from the Kate Daniels series, which is why he's this week's HOTTIE OF THE WEEK!

Interview and Giveaway with Eden Bradley!

Eden Bradley

Maidens, we have erotica author Eden Bradley here today.  We are very excited to be chatting with her.  Come take a sneak peak into her brain with us!

Who is Eden Bradley? List 5 things about you that no one else would know!

Yikes-5 things? I’m so open about everything…lemme think…Okay:
1-When I was 4 or 5 I wanted to marry Kimba the White Lion, despite the fact that he was a cartoon character. And a lion.
2-I’m shark phobic. It’s so bad that I can barely make myself wade in the ocean (and never alone), and I can’t even look at them on TV. During Shark Week I can barely turn the TV on. *shudder*
3-My 1st album was Rubber Soul by the Beatles. I was 8. (That album was only a few years old at the time!).
4-My hair color is all fake-I’m 80-90% gray under here. I had my 1st gray hair at 15-it runs in my family. I’ve been coloring since I was 30. Thank goodness for my awesome hairdresser!
5-I feel naked if I leave the house without my toes painted, perfume, and a minimum of jewelry (earrings and my rings).
(*side note: on my favorite writer’s forum, RomanceDivas, there was thread once asking for everyone to tell something weird about themselves. There was some awesomely crazy stuff! Which made me feel so much better about myself-lol! Creative people are generally a strange, neurotic bunch, but I think that’s part of what drives our imaginations).


Your book, The Lovers is a f/f/m menage, something that we don't see that often published by a mainstream publisher. Why did you decide to push the envelope on this one?

This story just came to me, and I loved the idea of exploring a really complicated love triangle and the psychology of my heroine, Bettina, in a very deep way, which is why I wrote it in first person. And it came to me all at once, with the full ensemble cast of characters. I love every one of them.
I wish there was more f/f/m out there. It’s interesting to me that studies show that sex with another woman is one of the top two female fantasies, yet the erotic romance publishers shy away from these stories, saying readers won’t buy them.
I really think female sexuality can be very fluid, and I wanted to address that in this book. I know it’s not for everyone, but this is, IMO, my best work to date. And this book played like a movie in my head the whole time I was writing it-it was a very visual experience for me. I’d love to see it made into a film!


In your Midnight Playground series, you explore the darker side to eroticism. Where did the inspiration for this series stem from?

I’ve always adored vampires, and have wanted to write them forever-and vampires are naturally dark creatures. My vampire Aleron came to me first, demanding to be written (he can be a bit bossy). Mixing some BDSM into these stories seemed natural to me-after all, if you’ve lived a few hundred years, you’d need more extreme forms of stimulation to hold your interest.
The bisexuality seemed natural, too. It didn’t make sense to me that these primal creatures who live on human blood would have any sort of boundaries about sex-and they don’t!

In Eversong, most of the sexual interactions are m/m/f. Why do you think this worked for this particular book?

Ever is a thousand years old, and since he lost his first love, Vérún, his companions have all been male-he hasn’t been able to bond with another woman for more than a night of sex. He’s been involved with the characters in BLOODSONG and THE TURNING KISS, both male and female, so this is nothing new for readers. What is new is Ever discovering an irresistible combination in Mercy and Deo. I think a dual partnership was necessary for Ever-he couldn’t try to echo his one-on-one relationship with Vérún. And he’d need both a male and a female partner to satisfy his tastes.

What would you say are the essential elements of a good erotica story?

A consistent sensual pacing (not actual sex) is the probably the most important aspect. The sex/sexual tension has to drive the story, relationship and character arc. If a writer veers too far from the sexual tension between characters, then I believe something is lost. In one of my favorite erotic novels there is only one fully realized sex scene, but it’s still one of the most erotic books I’ve ever read. That said, I like to read a really well-written sex scene, and that means one that includes as much attention to response as to who’s putting what, where.

What's the best thing about being an erotica writer? The worst?

Writing sex is fun! And I get to write off erotic novels and sex toys on my taxes. *G* The worst? Family members who think it’s okay to ask for details about my sex life. I swear this happens! Do they really want to know? Really??


What would we find on your bookshelf?

A little of everything! Looking over, I see a lot of Anne Rice and Tanith Lee (huge influences on my work!), sci-fi, classic erotica, contemporary romances, romantic comedy, fashionista chick lit, a lot of women’s fiction, mainstream titles like The Lovely Bones and The Secret Life of Bees, some YA, a volume of Shakespeare’s complete works, and of course my treasured signed books from my fellow Smutketeers (authors RG Alexander, Crystal Jordan and Karen Erickson).

Tell us, what's next for Eden Bradley?

A lot! Right now I’m working on finishing my third ‘Edge’ book for Berkley Heat (written as Eve Berlin, my evil twin), TEMPTATION’S EDGE. After that I’ll finish my fourth Celestial Seductions book for Samhain, FALL EQUINOX , which will be out early next year, and is another contemporary ménage story with two very hot heroes I think readers will love!
Next up will be my steampunk erotic romance, THE DREAMBOX GIRL-I can barely wait to get started on this book-it’s been in my head forever, and it’s taking me on an unusual journey already (and it’s just in the early planning stages!). I’m also going to start another self-pubbed novella as soon as possible-this one will be my first shapeshifter story, and I’m very excited about it because it’s part of a continuity series the Smutketeers are working on together!
After that-or maybe somewhere in between-I’m dying to write a multiple-partner contemporary erotic romance (think BIG multiples!) for a new publisher, hopefully, but I can’t say more yet.

If you could switch places with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

Oh no! So many books, so many hot heroes, and so little time-lol! I suppose it would have to be Mercy in EVERSONG, because I would love to get my hands on Ever, my favorite vampire! Plus, she’s immortal, and she also has Deo, who is gorgeous and sexy and is madly in love with her-she’s one lucky girl!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! 

Ms. Bradley has been kind enough to offer an exciting giveaway to you!  We are giving away and ebook of THE SEEKING KISS and an ebook of SUMMER SOLSTICE





To enter you have to:
1. Be a follower of this blog
2. Fill out the form below

Review: Eversong by Eden Bradley

Eversong

by Eden Bradley

(Midnight Playground)

Paranormal Erotica



This short story is part of the Midnight Playground series, and even though this was my first book in the series I had no problem catching on.

And of course I had no problem liking the sexy vamp Ever. He is the tortured hero of this book, he lost the love of his life and has not being able to connect with anyone in that long. But when he meets Mercy and Deo, the sparks are immediate.

The attraction goes "all ways" in this triangle and they all have something to give to the other person.

Mercy was turned against her will by a sort of rogue vampire, and she then turned Deo to be with her. Not knowing the vampires rules about turnings, she now faces the Council and that is why they find themselves in Ever's club, to await judgement.

I think my favorite part was the fact they can all experience each others memories during sex, kind of like an open window to their souls. It strengthens their bond.

And there is no shortage of steam in this book! Wow! There's a lot of sex! I think I especially liked the throw-the-papers-off-the-desk-and-fuck-me scene.

Purchase from Amazon

Interview and Giveaway with Jeaniene Frost!

Our Author of the Month for October 2011 is someone whose name is synonymous with these next two words: Chapter 32. Already you can guess who we are talking about because our guest today needs no introduction!


Thank you so much for stopping by today and spending time with us, we are so excited to have you as our Author of the Month and we know our readers will be too! Let's get started!

Thanks so much for having me! I’m very flattered to be your author for October, and coincidentally, October is the month that’s featured most prominently in my newest release, One Grave at a Time.

Cat Crawfield is one of the most well-loved heroines in urban fantasy. She's badass, but there's a hint of vulnerability there. How do you think Cat has grown throughout the series?

Cat has grown tremendously compared to how she was when readers first met her in Halfway to the Grave. For starters, she’s realized that her humans = good, vampires = bad viewpoint was seriously off base. For another, she came to accept herself, and that’s miles from her self-destructive tendencies in the beginning of the series. And perhaps the most difficult thing Cat had learned over the course of the series was to ask for help when the chips were down instead of trying to solve everything herself.

Bones has a large reader fan base as well. That British accent and those vampy brown eyes are hard to resist. But who is YOUR favorite character that you've written?

I’m so glad that readers have embraced Bones. He’s been wonderful to write and it’s a thrill to see that readers connect with him. Plus, I’ve loved British accents since my teenage crush on Billy Idol, so yay for others who adore Brit speak! That said, I am a fickle, fickle author, lol. My favorite character is whoever I’m writing at the time. When I write a Night Huntress book, Bones and Cat are my favorite characters. When I write a spin-off book, it’s whoever the protagonists are in that. Right now I’m writing Once Burned, the first book in the upcoming Night Prince series, so Vlad and Leila are my favorite characters. Just call me a character tramp!

In First Drop of Crimson, you introduce a new species to your series - demons. Why did you choose demons over other supernatural species and is there another species you'd like to explore in your writing at a later time?

I choose demons because they fit in the mythology I’d already laid down for my paranormal world. From the first Night Huntress book, I traced my vampire origins to the Biblical story of Cain, with a twist of the “mark” of Cain being his transformation into a vampire – according to vampires, anyway. The ghouls in my books claim that Cain was one of them (who says humans are the only ones who can fight over which theology is correct? ;). So since I used a Biblical aberration for vampires and ghouls, it seemed logical that demons would exist in my paranormal world since Biblical stories are rife with demons.

Plus, of course, it gave me a fun new creature to play with. In addition to First Drop of Crimson, demons also feature prominently in my upcoming story in The Bite Before Christmas anthology, so look for more unholy mayhem with that!


Whose book will be next in your Night Huntress World series?

The next book isn’t a Night Huntress World series, but the start of a new recurring character series. The Night Huntress World books are stand-alones, and I do intend to write more of them, but when I got the idea for a Vlad book, I realized he had more than one novel’s worth of stories. Hence, the new Night Prince series that starts with Once Burned. Right now I’m only planning to write two Vlad and Leila novels, but if I find that I have more stories with them once I’m done with the second book, their adventures may continue. We’ll see.

When you set out to writing the Night Huntress novels, did you always know you were going to have the Night Huntress World books and were building up to it, or was that something that came up along the way?

Oh, I had no idea way back when that there would be spinoff books. In truth, when I first started writing Halfway to the Grave, I didn’t know it was the start of a series. I only intended to write one book with Cat and Bones. But, as I found out, Cat and Bones had far too much going on to contain their story within one book. While I was expanding their adventures, certain side characters really stuck out in my mind and began to developing their own stories, too. By the time I sold Halfway to the Grave back in 2006, I knew I wanted to write spinoff books featuring those other characters. This came as a surprise to my new editor, who gently told me that first we had to see how Cat and Bones’s book did before we talked about spin-off books on their series.

Needless to say, romance plays a large part of your books. How do you feel about being an author who is able to straddle the line between urban fantasy and urban fantasy romance/paranormal romance?

I never intentionally set out to straddle genre lines. In fact, I didn’t even think about what genre my book was until I had to write my first query letter and realized that it didn’t really fit into traditional classifications. To me, the relationship between Cat and Bones is the driving force of the series, which put the books in the romance camp. However, all of the paranormal action and darkness in the stories qualifies them for the urban fantasy camp, too. *shrug* It’s my job to write the stories as they need to be told, and sometimes that means having equal parts romance and urban fantasy. Luckily for me, readers have enjoyed the combination of the two.

What can you tell us about Vlad's new series! We're so excited!!

Thank you! As I mentioned before, Vlad’s books will be called The Night Prince series with the first novel, Once Burned, coming out next year. His heroine, Leila, is a human with extraordinary abilities that end up throwing her and Vlad together. Leila is a great character to write because she’s no stranger to the darkness in the world, but she balances that with a sense of humor and a strong survivor’s instinct. Vlad is, of course, at turns ruthless and sexy or funny and terrifying - or all of the above. An excerpt from Once Burned will go up on my website in the next few months, but if you want an advance sneak peek, you can find the longest chunk of it at the back of Magic Graves, an e-anthology I’m in with author Ilona Andrews. There are over two chapters from Once Burned in that.

One Grave At a Time is sixth book in the Night Huntress series! What can readers expect with this release?

One Grave at a Time pits Cat and Bones against the toughest villain they’ve ever faced – a ghost named Heinrich Kramer, a former witch hunter who can manifest flesh briefly whenever he wants, and for an entire evening on Halloween night. All of Cat and Bones’s fighting skills are useless against Kramer because how do you punch, kick, or stab someone who’s made of air, and even worse, how do you kill someone who’s already dead? On top of Kramer, they also have to deal with a new operations consultant, Jason Madigan, who’s shaking things up with Cat’s old team and who has a mysterious connection to her uncle Don.

Look for a lot of action in this book, plus some sexy and touching moments. I’ve already heard several amusing comments from readers about Cat and Bones giving new meaning to the term “mile high club” in One Grave at a Time, but you’ll have to pick it up to find out what they’re talking about, heh.

Let's do some fun questions! If Cat could team up with any other kickass heroine from another series, who do you think she would choose and why?

Kate Daniels from Ilona Andrews’s series. Cat and Kate would have hilarious hijinks together, and they’re both tough as nails if the going gets tough. Plus, it amuses me to imagine Cat and Kate discussing the differences between the Night Huntress vampires and the ones in the Kate’s world, or the very different examples of magic.

Let's say that Cat and Bones are hosting a dinner party. If given the chance to invite characters from other series, who would they invite?

Snort. Cat and Bones wouldn’t want to invite characters from other series over for dinner. They’d want a quiet evening at home with no one but the two of them – something they hardly ever get to have with me at the keyboard *wink*.

 

Jeaniene Frost is graciously giving away any book from her backlist, winner's choice! IT'S SIGNED!  So if you want to win one of her books, all you have to do is:

1. Be a follower

2. Fill out the form below

This giveaway is international. 

Winner will be chosen via random.org

Good luck!

Review: Their Virgin Captive by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake

Their Virgin Captive

by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake

(Masters of Ménage #1)
Erotica

This was just the strangest thing for me. I love Shayla Black. But I didn't find her in the writing of this book. I thought the premise sounded so hot, of course who wouldn't want 3 hot guys to be interested in being with her... at the same time. Especially if they are hot brothers. But this book was not too sensual in my opinion.

Gavin, Slade and Dex own a pretty big oil company. Hannah has been Gavin's assistant for quite some time. And during that whole time all three brothers have wanted her. Slade and Dex a little more forward and openly about it. Gavin always hanging back because of his tormented past.

Slade and Dex have finally made the decision that they want to be in a relationship with her and they want all 3 of them to share her. At the same time, Hannah has a stalker and it's getting pretty dangerous.

The brothers of course step up to protect their woman and claim her at the same time. Gavin goes along with the protection part but he still acts like an ass to keep his distance from her.

Were there hot scenes throughout the book? Yes absolutely! I just didn't feel much connection there, and something I can't put my finger on yet that didn't convince me. 

Purchase from Amazon

Author of the Month: Jeaniene Frost

Hey Maidens! We are super duper excited to announce that New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Jeaniene Frost is our Author of the Month for October 2011! The three of us are such huge fans of the Night Huntress and Night Huntress World series that we wanted to share our love of them with you!

Frost rides the line between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, which coincidentally are our favourite genres. So if you haven't read anything by Frost yet, get to it! We will be featuring her and her books all throughout this month, so please make sure you come by once in awhile to see what we have in store!

And The Winner Is...

The winners of Stephanie Tyler's giveaway are:

Kara & Barbara

Congratulations! An email has been sent out. Winners has 72 hours (3 days) to claim their prize. You've got random.org to thank for your win :)

Stay tuned because we have some really great international giveaways coming your way! Thanks to all that entered!