Sunday, February 28, 2010

Interview with Kaylea Cross

Please welcome the fabulous Kaylea Cross to Naughty Author Chicks! She was kind enough to agree to spend a day with us and I'm so excited she's here! Author of Out of Her League, one of my favorite books, she's here to chat about her upcoming release, Cover of Darkness and a whole bunch of other stuff.

CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED: CATHY M, you are the winner of COVER OF DARKNESS. You didn't leave an email address so please contact Kaylea via her contact page on her website: www.kayleacross.com


1. Okay, let’s start with the obvious. Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?
-Sure, I’m the mother of two little guys, and aside from writing I work part time as a Registered Massage Therapist here in Vancouver, BC. (Even though I started out with a degree in history and archaeology. Go figure.) I plan on becoming a full time romance author as soon as my guys are in school though.

Does that mean if I come to visit you'll give me a free massage??



2. What type of romance do you write?
-I write mostly romantic suspense (usually military themed), but some historical romance as well (although it’s military too, since it’s about the Civil War).


3. Since I know you, I'm almost afraid to ask this but how much research do you typically have to do for one of your books?
-Well, I’m a bit of a freak about this, so I usually read at least two or three non-fiction titles about whatever branch of military special ops my hero is, and then another about the war zone they’re operating in. But I like doing it! It’s odd, I know, but I read strictly romance and military/historical non-fiction.



Thanks to you, I now have a copy of Lone Survivor and Inside Delta Force on my bookshelf…Of course I still haven’t read them, but my husband has :)



If possible I like to interview soldiers too, to get their take on things or run a scenario past them. I know I write fiction, but I’d like it to be realistic fiction. And don’t even get me started on researching the Civil War. You’d all fall asleep long before I finished that conversation.


4. What is your writing process?
-Because I’m an anal
retentive control freak, I like to plot everything out first, scene by scene. Otherwise I get bogged down with “what’s next?”, and I hate spinning my wheels, especially since I have very limited writing time most days with my two weasels—er, children—running around underfoot. Through trial and error, I’ve found that the more detail I can put into my outline, the smoother the drafting phase is for me. I really like it when that part goes smoothly J.

I’m jealous. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.



5. How long have yo
u been writing?
-I’ve been “writing” since I was little, but only seriously as an author for about six years. Now I wish I’d started sooner!

6. Tell us something about yourself that we might not know.

-Okay, but you might be sorry you asked, lol. For whatever reason, I’m a huge Civil War freak. Over the years I’ve dragged my poor family, and then the man I married, to pretty much every major battlefield of the Eastern theater of the war. But it’s okay, because hubby wound up proposing to me on one of them during a reenactment. Hands down, that’s the most romantic thing he’s ever done and I still get all warm and fuzzy when I think about it. That's insanely sweet! We had a Civil War wedding in which I made him dress up in a Yankee cavalry officer’s uniform (OMG, he was gorgeous), and all my bridesmaids wore Gone With the Wind style dresses (yeah, they hated me :)). I have a weapon collection mounted in a place of honor in a special gun case, and just before my wedding I went off and got a Civil War tattoo. My husband was, um…thrilled (that’s sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell).
Your Civil War obsession cracks me up, but I can’t believe I didn’t know that about you! (The tattoo). I demand pictures!



7. Who are your favorite authors?
-Man, I have to pick? Hmm…Linda Howard, Gennita Low, Karen Robards, Suzanne Brockmann, JR Ward, and you of course (but you knew that already).

Aww, you’re making me blush!



8. Tell us about your latest release, Cover of Darkness.

-I’m really excited about this book! It’s the second of five in my romantic suspense series with The Wild Rose Press, and features an incredibly strong heroine and a yummy Navy SEAL hero. I hope my efforts at research will shine through in the story.



I can attest that this book is definitely as hot as it sounds so if you don’t have a copy, get one! Check out this blurb and excerpt for some yummy goodness.



Blurb: Targeted by a terrorist cell, Bryn McAllister survives a bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut only to be left to die in a desert cellar. When she is rescued by Navy SEAL Lieutenant Declan McCabe and his team, Bryn must rely on the handsome officer to get her to safety. But just when she thinks the nightmare is over, family friend and legendary CIA operative Luke Hutchinson recruits her and McCabe to help track down the terrorist mastermind responsible for the attack.



With Bryn determined to see the terrorist brought to justice, Dec joins up to protect her, prepared to do whatever it takes to keep her safe during their dangerous mission. Battling the explosive attraction between them, Dec fights to keep his distance from her so he can do his job and keep her alive. But when plans falls apart and Bryn is captured, he must make the agonizing choice between his duty as a SEAL and the life of the woman he loves.



Excerpt (sorry if the formatting is off, that's my fault!)

We’re not going to make it.

Instantly Dec grabbed her and pushed her into a darkened doorway, shoved his gun in his waistband and lifted her leg to wrap it around his hip. She gasped, grabbing his leather jacket to steady herself, staring up into his shadowed eyes. What was he doing?

They waited, listening, their bodies pressed so closely together she could feel his chest move as he breathed. His body heat warmed her, his fresh scent enveloping her. A minute ticked by. Two. He didn’t ease up from her. She quivered against him, part fear, part arousal, and his body responded.
She held her breath and stared into his face, their gazes locking.
A muted voice floated through the darkness. “A woman…dressed in a dance costume. Did you seen her running this way?”

Arabic. A muttered reply followed, then the footsteps resumed. Closer with each passing second. What were they going to do? She tightened her fingers on his shoulders.
“Bryn?”
She swallowed, afraid even though he was protecting her with his body. Or rather, because of it. “What?”
“Go with this, okay?”
He didn’t give her a chance to reply, just took her face in his hands and leaned down to cover her mouth with his. She gasped, and he took advantage by angling his head, sliding his tongue along her lower lip before stealing inside.
Her fingers clenched as she arched upward, a moan of confusion escaping as he explored her mouth with skill. Shouldn’t they be running? His mouth was so warm, and he was so good her eyelids fluttered down. A thumb swept over her cheekbone. His other hand trailed down her throat and over her shoulder, sparking electricity in its wake. She made a murmur of protest, not understanding how she could be responding to him, under the circumstances. The treads on the sidewalk grew louder, but he continued to kiss and caress her as though they were about to fall onto a bed somewhere, as though they weren’t in mortal danger. She shook in his embrace, torn between wanting him and the fear they would be shot dead any second.
When his hand slid down over the curve of her breast, she gasped into his mouth, eyes flying wide as those footfalls grew louder and louder while her body trembled under his touch.
“Shhh,” he murmured against her lips. “Kiss me back.”
Footsteps echoed. Their pursuer was almost on top of them now.



Anything you’d like to add for your readers and/or aspiring writers?

-Yes! We all doubt ourselves sooner or later in this crazy business, so find a critique group or partner that will stay solidly in your corner throughout the ups and downs of your writing career. Not only will they help improve your work, but they’ll understand what you’re going through when no one else does. Also, the remaining three books of this series will be coming out later in the year, so keep your eyes peeled.


Please let readers know where they can find you.

-My website, www.kayleacross.com, My blog, www.kayleacross.blogspot.com and Facebook. Thanks for having me, Savannah!



Thank you for visiting us! Kaylea has been cool enough to give away a digital copy of Cover of Darkness to one lucky commenter so don’t forget to leave one! I’ll be posting the winner’s name here tomorrow so check back to see if you won. Or, click here for more info on how to purchase Cover of Darkness.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Guest Author Keta Diablo

Please welcome erotic romance author, Keta Diablo to Naughty Author Chicks! Okay, let’s start with the obvious. Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourself?


First of all, thank you so much for hosting me at Naughty Chicks, a lovely blog. I’ll be happy to tell you a little about me. I live in the Midwest portion of the US on six acres of towering pines and massive oaks. Our property borders an environmental lake named after a famous Native American chief. Here, owls, eagles and loons (the winged version) hang out. The locals insist burial grounds exist in our woods and sometimes when the wind howls at night, I wonder if it’s really the wind.


What publishing houses do you write for?


Oh, boy, you had to ask. Now your readers will know what I do night and day. I write for Ravenous Romance, Noble Romance, Phaze Publishing and Dark Roast Press under Keta. Under another name, occasionally I write for New Concepts Publishing and The Wild Rose Press. With so many things changing in the publishing arena daily, who knows what paths I’ll take in the future? So many wonderful opportunities await writers now. It’s both exhilarating and daunting at once.

What would you say has been your most significant accomplishment as a writer?


I’m very blessed that some people out there like my writing and purchase my books. That still amazes me and seems like a significant accomplishment in itself. I’m very appreciative of that. My historical novel Land of Falling Stars through Ravenous Romance is featured on The Home Shopping Network through a program called Escape With Romance, and that’s been very successful. Note: The Home Shopping Network’s audience is family-oriented, so this is the PG version of the novel. And my historical novel Decadent Deceptions through Noble Romance finaled in 2008 Molly Contest in the erotic romance category. That brought a smile to my face.


More information on Land of Falling Stars: http://tinyurl.com/bvoqbt
More information on Decadent Deceptions: http://tinyurl.com/yfcfwpk


What is your writing process?


All over the board and it depends on deadlines. I’m a night owl at heart so I do my best writing in the wee hours of the morning. On my latest release, The Sin Eater’s Prince, a male/male/vampire, I was really crunching at the end and my days and nights were totally mixed up. At times, I’d wake up and didn’t know if it was 7:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m. I’m trying to set a better daily schedule for my writing (key word here is "trying").
More information on The Sin Eater’s Prince: http://tinyurl.com/ydrx6of

How long have you been writing?


Professionally about five years, but I’ve written for many years just for my own enjoyment. I worked for a US Gen Web Project for some time posting historical and biographical sketches on early pioneers, and that sort of pushed me into thinking about writing in the historical genre. I found the true-life stories fascinating. Tell us something about yourself that we might not know.
Well, I was raised with all boys, and there are a lot of the little devils. I have numerous battle scars to prove it, however, none will own up to them now. I often wonder how I survived childhood after almost drowning in a pond with one of my brothers, being hit in the head with a baseball bat by another (purely accidental), run over by a utility truck chasing one of "the boys" softballs into the street, and being stabbed in the hand with a knife while playing stretch. Where in the heck was my mother when all this was going on? (Keta laughs). So if anyone says I can’t hold my own, they’d be sadly mistaken. I learned early by watching "the boys" how to outrun, out climb and hold my own during a friendly neighborhood brawl.

I’m a lifelong devotee of abused and neglected animals and spend far too much time at my local animal shelter trying to figure out how to rescue more. Two years ago I rescued Emma LaPounce, an adorable feline who was abandoned by her family after living with them for six years. They moved out of town, took their furniture but left her. Go figure! She was so depressed in the shelter; wouldn’t have a thing to do with me during the times I tried to make friends with her. Weeks later, one of the employees called me and said they were about to put her down. Well, I couldn’t allow that to happen, so I adopted her, brought her home and now we’re bonded at the hip. She’s most definitely Queen of the Abode here and a very nice companion.


Who are your favorite authors?


Oh, this is hard. I hate to leave anyone out. I read Helen Kirkman and loved her novel Forbidden. I like Madeline Hunter very much and an author from the eighties who no longer writes by the name of Laura London (a husband and wife team). Their book, Windflower, is one of my all-time favorites.

Tell us about your latest release, The Sin Eater’s Prince.


Thank you so much for asking. As mentioned above, this is a male/male/vampire based on the short story of the same name that appeared in Cecelia Tan’s anthology BOYS OF THE BITE. Not long after I wrote the short story, an editor from Ravenous Romance asked me to develop it into a full-length novel. I’m very happy I did as it’s been a best seller at Ravenous since the day it was released.
Here’s the blurb:
Owen Rhys, the sin eater of his village in Wales, has been shunned by the local villagers his entire life--except by Andras Maddock, the local physician. In love with the one man he thinks will never return that love, Owen is shocked when Andras saves him from death at the hands of a vampire and admits he cares deeply for Owen.

Dagan, son of Traherne, the vampire Andras killed to save Owen, will stop at nothing to avenge his father’s death and obtain the Prince of Wales’s mystic sword from Andras. The divine claymore holds the power to grant immunity from the sun’s harsh rays—the one exemption the dark Lords of the Underworld has sought for centuries.

Star-crossed love, sorcery, and bloodlust collide on a vengeful path where only one side can remain victorious. Revenge and redemption. Dark versus light. Good versus evil. The Sin Eater’s Prince.


Thanks for hanging out with us today, Keta! Please let readers know where they can find you.


Again, thanks so much for hosting me. Sending all the Naughty Chicks best wishes for tons of success in all future writing endeavors.

You can fine me here on the Net:
Author Home: http://ketadiablo.blogspot.com
Keta’s Haunt: http://www.ketadiablo.com
Keta’s Keep: http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Gay Fiction Blog: http://thestuffofmythandmen.blogspot.com
Keta on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ketadiablo


Keta will be giving away two books (winner’s choose from 11 books she has on the market). Go here to see all Keta’s Books: http://www.ketadiablo.com.

To be eligible to win see rules below:
Follow Naughty Chicks Blog
Follow Keta’s Keep Blog: http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Leave a comment and indicate you’re following Keta’s Keep. Be sure to leave your e-mail address in case you win.

Two winners will be selected Sunday at noon Eastern, by a Naughty Author Chick and Keta will be notified.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A Naughty Victorian Lady shocks the corset régime with her naughty memoir




by Lady Carlton née Katie O’Roarke, heroine of The Blonde Samurai”

Under ordinary circumstances there is no more pleasant time of the day that I relish than teatime. Though I am Irish-American by birth, I have adapted this charming and soothing hour as my own, fashioning its intricacies from the British and Oriental customs to fit my personal taste. Nibbling on iced sweet cakes and sipping sweet-smelling jasmine tea. Reading the scandal weeklies.

Not today. For on this afternoon, dear lady reader, the tea imparts a bitter taste to my tongue.

The reviews for my memoir are in. Though I received a stellar passage in The London Times (“Charming story, full of original characters, irradiated with wry humor and fragrant with the romance of the Orient”)–

Others have not been so kind. I shall explain.

The Blonde Samurai has been available for purchase but a short time and already I am besieged with fiery reviews from the corset régime,*** ready to tar and feather me for my scandalous tome about my love affair with the handsome samurai, Shintaro. And other savory details I deign not to reveal here.

May I present choice morsels of selected reviews for your perusal:

Outrageous. Filled with barbaric rituals in a pagan land that will make a lady swoon. “

A shocking book showcasing the intimacies of what happens when a married woman goes astray.”

“A romance containing lurid passages of a sexual nature that should be banned from every British home where decent ladies reside.”

These precipitous ladies of the corset régime are demanding that The Blonde Samurai be removed from bookshops all over London (except for the pornographic shops on Holywell Street, of which they purport to have no knowledge of whatsoever in their stodgy, stolid world. The hypocrites).

One reviewer was so insulted by the sexual tone of my novel they went on fearfully about it, detailing my liaison with my samurai in salacious detail. I dare say my memoir is naughty with ardent accounts of my goings-on in places where ladies do not venture, as well as encounters with my samurai so delicious I sigh with longing as I write this.

I must admit I glanced over the reviews with an amused eye. No writer wishes her work to be dismissed or worse, ignored. I dare say, no one has said that my memoir is the bore of conventionality. Rather that my story evokes a sense of independence and sexual exploration unbecoming to a lady of quality.

What do they know about sexual exploration? I imagine the majority of them have never even seen their husband’s poker.

Excuse my insolence, but I cannot again taste the sweetness of my tea until I have had my say.

And so, for better or worse regarding my literary standing, I present to you excerpts of the more lubricious reviews of The Blonde Samurai, penned no doubt by the ladies of the corset régime using male names. For I have no doubt they will stoop to any measure, dear lady reader, to restrict your access to my memoir.

I offer for your consideration:


Ladies of Mayfair, beware! You will have need of your smelling powders if you dare to purchase this book. Filled with the escapades of a titled lady of questionable background, the heroine runs away from her abusive husband to take up with another man. Unfortunately this reviewer can not report on what happens next since the copy in their possession mysterious disappeared.

This romance whisks you away to a forbidden paradise where taboo rituals titillate the reader to the point of exhaustion.

A novel that entices and teases the reader to do unmentionable acts that cause much anxiety to the lower anatomy. It is to be avoided by all respectable ladies.

I pray you have the fortitude to make up your own mind and not allow the corset régime to choose the literature you read. You would not allow them to choose a lover for you, would you?

I did not think so.


*** The corset régime is that stalwart group of Society ladies who shake their ample bosoms and rattle their tiny parasols whenever a new idea creates social upheaval in their ordered world.

The Blonde Samurai:“She embraced the way of the warrior. Two swords. Two loves.”

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Please, honey ... just put on the mask.

Zorro ... Phantom Of The Opera ... Batman ... *happy content sigh* I suppose since we're all adults here it would be safe for me to admit to my costume fetish. Honestly, I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the many times I've watched these movies just so I can drool over the men in flowing black capes and black masks. First and foremost, it's erotic as hell, but there's also the intrigue and sense of danger that gets me going every time.

So yesterday, when I finally received the cover to my upcoming Loose Id release, Enough, I broke out into an uncontrollable fit of estatic clapping and yelling. (Scared the heck out of my poor dog, Amber). I couldn't be happier with the way Anne Cain designed it because she really brought my "masked stranger" fantasy to life. In Enough, my heroine, Morgan, is seduced by a man dressed in solid black - shirt, pants, cape, boots, mask - the whole nine yards. He never reveals his identity, but it's okay because that's the way she wanted it. Forget sharing names. All Morgan wants is the mystery and the excitement, and she definitely gets that. (Lucky woman!)

But anyway, back to the topic at hand. I'm curious to know if any of you out there are drawn to movies and books with costumed characters. (And I mean real people, not cartoons, because that's just wrong on so many levels. LOL)

While I wait on your answers, I'm going to go back to my worn out Phantom Of The Opera DVD and do somemore swooning over Gerard Butler in his sexy black cape and mask.

Ahhh yes ... life is good.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Foreshadowing the Erotic Romance Author

I just finished the first draft of a new erotic romance manuscript I'm tentatively calling The Magician's Chains. Yay me!!!! One of the last scenes I wrote was actually the prelude. Who knows if it will be chucked. Preludes, prologues, whatever you want to call them are tricky business and not always deemed necessary by publishers. I added mine when a strong urge to build in more pointed foreshadowing swept over me as I began my final chapter.

In the shower this morning (yes, I do a lot of my brainstorming in the shower) I got to wondering about foreshadowing in actual life. Although I don't fancy myself the heroine of a real time erotic romance (wouldn't that be nice) I began to look for the first signs that pointed in the direction of my career writing this genre. Was it the naughty daydreams of erotic magic shows I had in my adolescence? Or even before that when I wrote a fairly sexualized melodramatic fantasy novella in middle school? Was it foreshadowed by my youthful fascination with Sharon Green's Jalav and Terrillian book series, both fantasy/sci-fi romance with sexualized content involving powerful women forced into male-dominated societies who endure sexual slavery. Anyone else read those series? Looking back at the times I can't believe the stuff was shelved in the regular fantasy section of the bookstore.

Really the writing was on the wall when the plot ideas for my non-erotic romance fantasies (which I began to pen in 2005) started to become hotter and hotter. I didn't pursue erotic romance as a purposeful career choice. It just fit my fairly kinky mind. I'd always wanted to write fantasy. I've been reading it voraciously since I was in elementary school. How wonderful for me that I can now write fantasy and erotic romance simultaneously given the outrageously popular market for it. Sure Bound Odyssey is a futuristic, but let's not argue details. The Magician's Chains is fantasy and I have great hopes it will be contracted.

Here's my question for other erotic romance authors. What foreshadowed your careers? Was it something dramatic or would your path to this genre be spectacularly mundane and never make it into the pages of a novel? Would your editor throw out your prologue and insist you start the story at the point of career launch? Tell all, please.

Oh, let me throw in a bit of last minute self-promotion. Starting Saturday my amazing book video has been part of a competition between 17 trailers on You Gotta Read Videos. It's entry #1. The voting is held from February 20th through midnight Thursday, February 25th. Drop by if you have a moment and vote for it if you believe it's the best. If not, well what the heck is wrong with you? (grin)

Now, back to your commenting. Foreshadowing. Your career. Go on, dazzle me.