Sunday, September 18, 2011

I've Got...Trading Cards!!

I'm headed to the Ellora's Cave RomantiCon convention and book signing at the end of this month. I'm really excited. Last year it was so much fun and I met so many great people. I've been thinking of swag and promo for awhile and just couldn't ignore Romance Trading Cards. I have other stuff too, although these were really fun to have made :). I have a card for each of Picture This, Pay Up and Play Me. What's on them you ask? Well, the heroes of course. What else? It is all about 'him' anyway, right? So I have a card for Sam, Rio and Gabe. Sigh... In regards to what to put on them I decided to include a brief description, a short sentence or two on what their 'problem is' and a line of dialogue from them from the book. THAT was fun to go back and find a quote. I tried to make it PG, but for Gabe I just couldn't resist. His quote is decidedly R-rated. But that's fine. That's Gabe. He wouldn't have it any other way.





What do you think? After RomantiCon I thought I'd post a call for people who might want cards, but can't get to events like the book signing in Ohio so that I could send some out. I'd sign them, of course. You know, if you're interested :). Stay tuned!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Daisy Harris - Why I Write

I have the fabulously witty and hugely talented, Daisy Harris here with me today. When Daisy and I talked about her blogging she asked what I thought she should talk about, what my readers might be interested in. It wasn't difficult because I asked the question I always REALLY want to ask other writers; what drives you to write what you do? The answers are usually just so diverse and straight up fascinating. So, I think I'll just pull up a chair and hand it over to Daisy. Daisy?
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Hi Kaily! Thanks for having me on the blog today. You posed an interesting question in your email of why I write what I write. It got me thinking…

Well, first off—I write mainly because I’m incapable of doing anything else. I have no organizational skills to speak of and I despise responsibility.  My main skills are learning, and making sh*t up. And when I write, I get to do both!

I also like to write about science. Most of my stories fall under the category of “paranormal,” but they generally walk the line between sci-fi and paranormal. My favorite thing about science is its lack of emotion. There’s this cool detachment in research—even when the topic being studied is incredibly emotional, and even when the study itself is morally questionable. I adore the sheen of cool that a scientific outlook provides.

That cold detachment provides a jumping off point for the emotions of the story. I have a hard time writing feelings in a vacuum. Emo werewolves and drama-laden heroines freak me out. I need distance and action and plot devices.  I need a smooth, hard wall of “fact” as a launching point for the feelings under the surface.

For example, in my new release STUDENSTEIN, my hero Royce is a Love-Bot controlled remotely by his builders. At the start of the book, he’s engaging in a BDSM scene with a “client,” but his actions are mechanical. He’s literally following a script in his mind, and checking my heroine Shani out at the same time. I love the concept that something as intimate as sex can be broken down into a clinical array of motions and actions.

When Shani takes Royce away from his network, he’s in many ways lost. Without directions scrolling through his mind, he isn’t sure how to think or feel. It’s no co-incidence that Royce and Shani spend time in the woods together. I love to get my cut-and-dried love-bots out into nature. In this case—a campground. The buzzing lights of the bathrooms contrast with the rustling of trees, the RV they’re driving is a lone piece of machinery fighting to function with only a water and electrical hook-up. It’s a science-meets-eden wonderland!

My machines always end up in the woods, or at sea, or in the forest. For me, there’s nothing hotter than breaking down the clinical and letting the emotions sing through.

Wanna read more? Check out Studenstein, on sale TODAY at Ellora’s Cave!

Blurb

A man built for sex… A woman who wants more…

Freedom fighter Shani Brown is determined to drag the ungrateful Royce back to her team in Seattle. Despite his denial of mistreatment, she wants to give him a chance at a better life. Due to her horrific past as an unlicensed love-bot, Shani never plans to have sex again. But Royce’s makers punish him remotely with crippling pain. His only escape is to orgasm. Never one to turn her back on a job, Shani soon finds herself servicing him—and soon after, caring for him.

Love-bot Royce Harden wasn’t looking to be rescued, especially not from the San Francisco BDSM club where he was having a perfectly good time. But rescued he was—by a hellcat bent on delivering him to her people. As Royce starts to trust Shani, he begins to dream of freedom. But freedom comes with a price. Royce must face his vanity, his makers, and even the loss of his sexual upgrades if he’s going to be the man Shani deserves.

About Daisy

Birkenstock-wearing glamour girl and mother of two by immaculate conception, Daisy Harris still isn’t sure if she writes erotica. Her paranormal romances start out innocently enough. However, her characters behave like complete sluts. Much to Miss Harris’s dismay, the sex tends to get completely out of hand.

If you like science-y subplots, fantastical creatures, and red-hot chemistry, you’ll love Daisy Harris. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook and at www.thedaisyharris.com.
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Daisy, it was so awesome to have you here today and I just love the premise of your story. Good luck with it!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

WIP it Wednesday

Okay, it's Thursday already, so sue me LOL. I'm been engrossed in my WIP this week trying to finalize the high level plot for my new book. It's a more complicated story, with more 'danger' elements and I've enjoyed being in my hero's head for most of the week. Seth has been a hard nut to crack, but I think I did it and I thought I'd share just a taste of him. Enjoy!

     Seth let out a rough breath. He didn’t have the temperament for this type of mission. He wasn’t the hand holding type, didn’t have a diplomatic bone in his body, and didn’t give a shit about anyone’s ‘feelings’. And that was on a good day.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Wanna talk condoms?

I do and am over with Tina Donahue today. This is a key thing for me when writing romance and I do agonize over doing it right. I want to ensure the right balance of realism while maintaining the fantasy and keeping the reader grounded in the story. It's one of my 'things'. I'd love to hear your comments on it! Stop by here!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Mens Underwear

I think about weird things sometimes. I do. Perhaps that's a characteristic of being a writer. Perhaps it's even a pre-requisite. Just like I'm not sure where some of my ideas come from, I also don't know where these thoughts originate. Usually I keep them to myself. It's probably better that way--trust me--but today I've been thinking on something that I'm interested in hearing other's thoughts on. You see, I was at a birthday party over the weekend where a woman was talking about her husband and the fact that he just changed from wearing boxers to briefs. Firstly, I didn't think guys just woke up one morning and did that but the mind boggled because it really got me thinking about underwear--men's underwear. Of course, I think about men's underwear a lot, all in the name of research, you know :). Today the hero and heroine in my current WIP are about to 'do it' for the first time and I have to decide how the hero 'packages' himself. It's got a lot to do with who he is and his background, but I wonder how readers perceive these things.

So...as a reader do YOU have a preference around men's underwear in books? Boxers, briefs, colors? Nothing at all? Anything that turns you off when you're reading about men's underwear?

And while you're pondering that, I thought I'd show you the inspiration picture I've been using for my current WIP. Meet Seth. He's tough and intense. He hasn't known a lot of kindness or softness in his life and he's been trying to ignore who he really is for most of it. Not very successfully, I might add. I've enjoyed writing him so far! Oh, and what do you know? He goes for black briefs!