An Idyll in the Wild

Idyllwild Teaser 1

I’ll let you in on a little-known secret – I did not set out to be a writer of erotic romance. 

When I began my first book I intended the story to fall within the realm of sensual romance, a bit of spice sprinkled throughout an otherwise purely romantic tale. The original manuscript was laced with purple prose – those silly euphemisms writers use to describe various parts of the body… buds, pebbles, pearls, etc. Oh, and just so we don’t ignore the manly parts…arousal, manhood and staff.

Alas, after months of sending out queries and receiving only silence or politely worded rejections in return, I decided to take a walk on the wild side. I added length and depth to the sex scenes and replaced the trite euphemisms with breasts, nipples, clitorises, cocks, shafts and the occasional erection and penis. 

I did not add a menage a trois, bondage, or even a spanking scene to the book. It was straight lovemaking between a man and a woman without benefit of toys, gadgets, whips or cuffs. And only one instance of rough handling by my hero. To put it simply, the story was barely erotic and then only by the grace of a few added details and naughty words.  

Armed with a sexier version of the original manuscript, I sent out another round of queries to publishers of erotic fiction. Much to my delight, I was soon under contract for a three book series with a publisher who shall remain nameless.

Thus Portrait of Passion was born. And soon afterward, died a slow, torturous death. Lost in the netherworld of books that aren’t erotic enough to satisfy fans of the genre, yet a touch (to a cock or clitoris) too racy for readers with a preference for sensual romance. 

By the time I recognized the abyss into which Portrait of Passion had plummeted, it was too late. I was under contract to write two more erotic romance novels to complete the series. I edged Widow’s Wicked Wish a tad nearer to the erotic side only in terms of the frequency of sexual encounters and a faint hint at the darker desires my heroine might enjoy in the not too distant future.

When I began the third book I decided to do more than take a little stroll on the wild side. Unraveling the Earl is a far more wicked and wanton tale, thanks to the heroine who is…well, wicked and wanton. Her past is littered with debauchery of all sorts, some of which trickles into her relationship with the hero of the story. There is a spanking scene, though it’s only two light taps instigated by the heroine during a light-hearted bit of role-playing. And she does wind up tied to a bedpost with a lavender ribbon, a scene which leads to all sorts of hilarity and mayhem. Oh, and she strips herself bare and diddles her goodies for her hero’s entertainment.

The antics of the heroine of Unraveling the Earl lead me to quite a dilemma, a crisis of conscience you might say. 

You see, Thursday the rights to the final book in the series reverted to me. In preparation for the day I would re-release the Idyllwild series, I read the first story last week and the second this week, marking naughty words and entire paragraphs and pages for deletion or revision in order to transform the stories from barely-erotic to sensual romance novels. And hopefully lift them from the abyss so that readers browsing for a book might actually discover them, perhaps even read and enjoy them. 

Yesterday I started reading Unraveling the Earl.

And I came to the realization there is no way to transform this tale into anything other than what it is – a story wandering the fine line between erotic and sensual romance. A tale of a woman with a past so far beyond checkered it more closely resembles a garish paisley print, an enlightened acceptance of all the many and varied ways men and women make love, and a desire to please her lover in all ways. Thus pleasing herself in the process, selfish bit of muslin that she is.

I love this story, I ate and slept and dreamed this story while writing it. I was tormented and taunted by Georgie’s secrets and motives and her refusal to stay on the path to redemption. I was charmed and enchanted by Henry’s need to peel away her many layers, to discover the inner workings of her mind and finally solve the puzzle that is her heart.

The story will not work without her licentiousness, without her willingness to prey upon Henry’s desires for her own selfish ends. If I delete all the raunchy bits and pieces, the reader will never know Georgie, never see beyond her scheming and lying to the lost and heartbroken woman hiding behind it all, never believe an inherently good and kind man like Henry could fall in love with her.

And so, I will only make some minor revisions, give all three stories fresh edits and beautiful new covers, re-release them and hope that readers are willing to walk the fine line between erotic and sensual romance to discover my books. And that when they do, like Henry, they will fall in love with Georgie, just as she is.

“I was never good or clean or whole, my lord. I have always been wicked and broken and dirty. I am vengeful and covetous and impulsive and selfish, and I like that about myself. I like my murky morals and my stubborn streak and my dubious loyalty and my greedy desire to claim what I want, no matter the cost. I like it all and what’s more so do you.”        – Miss Georgie Buchanan      

While you are here, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to enjoy a quirky little video and please feel free to comment or critique my handsome husband’s performances as a caped crusader and a cowboy.

Book Opening High Res

If you missed March’s Issue of Corsets and Kisses, and would like to remedy the situation, please click here.

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Fun and Frivolity

I love being a writer for many and varied reasons. The creative outlet it provides for my fertile imagination. The opportunity to play with words, to twist them and juggle them and sometimes just allow them to wander at will and fall where they may. The friendships I’ve formed with other authors and with readers, virtually and face to face. The simple pleasure to be had when a reader takes the time to share their thoughts and insights about one of my books, to express their enjoyment or even their frustration with a particular story I’ve penned.

But writing is also a solitary endeavor. Just me and my characters locked away in my office plotting and scheming and seducing our way from one chapter to the next. When the words are flowing, it can sometimes lead to a terribly lonely existence for my poor, neglected husband.

So when I was given the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the March Madness Virtual Book Signing I decided to ask my husband to help me with the making of my video. I must say it was absolutely, without a doubt the best decision I’ve made since the day I said I do.

To say we had fun making the video would be an understatement of monumental proportions! I like to think our shared fun and frivolity shines from each frame of our five minute video.

More importantly, we transformed my writing into our project.

And really, isn’t that what love is all about? Extending an invitation to step into one another’s worlds, to share the triumphs and tribulations, the joys and sorrows, and sometimes the lonely bounty hunters and misty-eyed, tender-hearted saloon girls who inhabit those worlds.

I hope you enjoy our quirky little video and please feel free to comment or critique my handsome husband’s performances as a caped crusader and a cowboy.

Book Opening High Res

View Video on YouTube

And be sure to wander over to the March Madness Virtual Book Signing Event Page to check out all the amazing author videos and enter the Giveaway for a chance to win a $60 Amazon Gift Card.

 

My Darling Gunslinger, A Sensual Western Historical Romance

is now available at your favorite retailers including:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Read an Excerpt of My Darling Gunslinger

Once upon a time nine historical romance authors created a fairy tale inspired Regency world…

Once Upon a Regency Cover

 

Once Upon A Regency: Timeless Tales And Fables!

Is only $0.99 and free on Kindle Unlimited for a limited time only.

Discover More about Once Upon a Regency: Timeless Tales and Fables!

Congratulations to the winner of February’s Corset, Melody Gonser.

You may not have noticed, but February’s Corset was nearly a twin to the corset lying across Dori’s bed in our video…product placement perhaps?

It seems only fitting to offer up our Soiled Dove’s sleek black satin under-bust corset for March. Brand spanking new, of course.

March Corset 

To enter simply post a Comment below. Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing, a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.
I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on April 1st.

If you missed January’s Issue of Corsets and Kisses, and would like to remedy the situation, please click here.

Better still, sign up to receive future issues of Corsets and Kisses!

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Fairy Tales and First Kisses

As you likely know, I’ve a fascination with First Kisses. And what better month to celebrate first kisses than February! Once Upon A Regency: Timeless Tales and Fables! will be released February 5th. Nine novellas based upon the romantic fairy tales we grew up reading.

What would a fairy tale be without a first kiss?

Nine authors and none of us chose Snow White upon which to base our story. Perhaps it was the logistics of writing seven men into a novella as secondary characters while still having time and page space for our hero and heroine to fall in love. Or maybe it was the fact that in the original fairy tale published by the Grimm Brothers in 1812, it wasn’t a kiss that awoke Snow White from her poisonous slumber at all. No, it was the prince’s servants who awakened the lady when they stumbled over a tree root while carrying her, thereby jostling the piece of poisoned apple from where it had become stuck in her throat.

But never fear, all nine novellas in Once Upon a Regency: Timeless Tales and Fables! feature lovely  first kisses. Sweet, passionate, humorous and poignant. There is a first kiss for every variety of historical romance reader in this anthology!

Once Upon a Regency Cover

Once upon a time nine historical romance authors created a fairy tale inspired Regency world…

We hope you’ll join us on a Regency adventure of love and romance in our limited edition box set

Once Upon A Regency: Timeless Tales And Fables!

Taming Beauty by Lynne Barron

Resisting Romeo by Samantha Grace

Enchanted By The Earl by Amanda Mariel

Wish Upon A Kiss by Meara Platt

A Duke Worth His Salt by Allison Merritt

Masquerading as a Miss by Ari Thatcher

Searching for my Rogue by Dawn Brower

The Enchanted Cave by Sue London

Stealing a Lady’s Heart by Tammy Andresen

We’d love for you to join us February 5th for the

Once Upon a Regency Release Party

In other exciting news…

VMy Darling Gunslinger

My Darling Gunslinger

A Sensual Western Historical Romance

is now available at your favorite retailers including:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Read an Excerpt of My Darling Gunslinger

Congratulations to the winner of January’s Corset, M. Maria Tweedy and to all the winners from the Once Upon a Regency: Timeless Tales and Fables Pre-Release party.

February’s Corset is a delightfully frilly confection, perfect for the whimsical woman in all of us!

February Corset 

To enter simply post a Comment below. Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing, a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.
I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on March 1st.

If you missed January’s Issue of Corsets and Kisses, and would like to remedy the situation, please click here.

Better still, sign up to receive future issues of Corsets and Kisses!

Submit a Comment

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Musings and Missing Muses

My Darling Gunslinger

 

My Darling Gunslinger 

 

I began Charlotte and Tyler’s story in September of 2012, before the first book in my Idyllwild series was quite finished, before I decided to turn that first book into a three book series, before I wrote a single word of Pretty Poison or Taming Beauty. In January of 2013, with 36,000 words of the first draft written, my muse strapped on her fairy wings and flew right out the window. I turned my efforts to finding a home for Portrait of Passion (a home that turned out to be a short term lease as I have recently had the rights reverted to me which is why you won’t see it on my website just now). Months went by, then a year, the first two books in the Idyllwild Series were published, the rough draft of Pretty Poison was finished and Taming Beauty was little more than a faint spark of an idea drifting around the edges of my mind.

In the spring of 2014 the characters in the third book in the Idyllwild Series simply refused to behave as they ought to and I grew weary of trying to wrestle them into submission, weary of writing and rewriting entire chapters only to crumble them up and toss them in the trash bin – metaphorically speaking as I write on a laptop, of course.

Despondent and convinced I would never finish Unraveling the Earl, and wondering if the first two books I’d had published might be the last, I opened up the unfinished manuscript, tentatively title Fallen Angel. It had been so long since I’d read those 36,000 words I’d nearly forgotten the premise of the story, nearly forgotten how delicate, yet fierce Lady Charlotte Grenville, Countess of Westlockhart, was on those pages. More importantly, I’d forgotten how lonely and lost bounty-hunter Tyler Morgan was, how desperately he longed for a home and a family and the chance to hang up his guns.

Now, if you know anything at all about me, you know I am fascinated with first kisses. When I re-read Ty and Charlotte’s first kiss I was amazed I’d written the words. But when Ty tried to explain the kiss to someone else (a misty-eyed, tenderhearted saloon girl because…well, what’s a good Western without a misty-eyed, tenderhearted saloon girl?), my eyes watered, my fingertips tingled and I could not for the life of me understand why my muse had abandoned me to fly into the netherworld.

I took up Ty and Charlotte’s story once more. How could I not? But I had a contracted manuscript to finish. So, though the characters from Unraveling the Earl continued to act contrary to their nature and drive me positively insane at times, I finished the last book in the Idyllwild Series while simultaneously writing Ty and Charlotte’s story. It was a bit surreal having two very different stories, with two vastly different sets of characters living in entirely different times and places, gamboling around in my head. But by the end of summer I’d written 18,000 more words. They were heart-wrenching and angst-riddled words, filled with emotional upheaval as motivations were misunderstood and past hurts resurrected. By January of 2015 I had a total of 76,000 words written and I was more than half in love with Ty, with his rough demeanor and oftentimes volatile temper hiding a gentle, wounded heart.

Alas, Pretty Poison needed revising and polishing in preparation for publishing, so I was forced to tuck Ty and Charlotte away for a while once more. But they haunted me and when Pretty Poison was published, I was able to devote myself to My Darling Gunslinger once more.

And devote myself I did, finally finishing My Darling Gunslinger in July of 2015, nearly three years and four books after I’d started the story with Nanny Bettleheim’s advice to Charlotte:

Life is a series of joys and tragedies, some yours and some belonging to others, that join and spin off again like the many streams and creeks that feed a wide river. If you’re smart you head for high ground when it rains and frolic in the shallows when the sun shines down on you.

Sage advice, indeed.

 

My Darling Gunslinger 

After seven years on the run, crossing oceans and uncharted lands to escape an aristocrat with murder on his mind, Lady Charlotte Grenville, Countess of Westlockhart, has finally found a safe haven in the wilds of Montana.

Until the night a gunslinger wounded in body and soul falls at her feet.

In a single hand of cards, Tyler Morgan wins both the Zeppelin Ranch and the chance to hang up his guns forever. He never expects to find a proper English lady living on his land with her son and an odd assortment of servants.

With his past haunting him and his heart threatened by the lady who can never be his, Ty’s future stretches out before him in one long, lonely eternity.

When Charlotte’s secrets are revealed and her life endangered, will Ty strap on his guns once more to embark on a perilous journey to the glittering world that is Victorian London?

Now available at your favorite retailers including:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Read an Excerpt of My Darling Gunslinger

And while you’re here, why not discover all the magic of Once Upon A Regency: Timeless Tales and Fables, a box set of novellas written by nine wonderfully talented authors?

Congratulations to the winner of December’s Corset, Dee Foster.

January’s Corset is a little bit Victorian with a touch of Funky. This lovely floral pattern features chunky metal hooks and buttons for an industrial flair.

January Corset
To enter simply post a Comment below. Any comment will do, a bit of news, an idiom that’s always struck you as amusing, a historical ideal you’ve found ludicrous or a notion of any sort.
I’ll randomly choose one winner from all entrants on February 1st.

If you missed January’s Issue of Corsets and Kisses, and would like to remedy the situation, please click here.

Better still, sign up to receive future issues of Corsets and Kisses!

 

 

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Secret Realm New Year Blog Hop

Welcome to my website! I’m excited to be included in this blog hop with so many fabulous authors. Today I am offering an ebook of My Darling Gunslinger, a Wine Bottle Corset and two Corset Bookmarks. Read on to enjoy an excerpt and answer the question in the comments below. As an added bonus, by commenting you’ll also be entered to win January’s lovely funky floral corset.

My Darling Gunslinger

 

After seven years on the run, crossing oceans and uncharted lands to escape an aristocrat with murder on his mind, Lady Charlotte Grenville, Countess of Westlockhart, has finally found a safe haven in the wilds of Montana.

Until the night a gunslinger wounded in body and soul falls at her feet.

In a single hand of cards, Tyler Morgan wins both the Zeppelin Ranch and the chance to hang up his guns forever. He never expects to find a proper English lady living on his land with her son and an odd assortment of servants.

With his past haunting him and his heart threatened by the lady who can never be his, Ty’s future stretches out before him in one long, lonely eternity.

When Charlotte’s secrets are revealed and her life endangered, will Ty strap on his guns once more to embark on a perilous journey to the glittering world that is Victorian London?

This story contains all sorts of frolicking, dallying and debauchery, and very little of the fun takes place behind closed doors.

Excerpt

Charlotte threw back her head and laughed, the joyful sound echoed by Sebastian and Daisy.

Suddenly the music came to a crashing halt and Ken stopped dancing, one hand gripping hers tight, the other pushing her hip. She spun and landed gently against the wall beside one of the windows, exactly where her dance partner wanted her.

Ethel scooped Sebastian up off the floor, bringing the boy tight against her chest.

Charlotte hadn’t a clue what had alerted her friends to danger. It did not matter. She trusted their instincts, trusted them with her life. More importantly, she trusted them with Sebastian’s life.

Turning to the window, she whipped the drapes across the glass, shutting out the night, blocking unseen eyes from viewing the scene within. She moved on to the other three windows, pulling the blue velvet curtains closed, careful to stay out of sight of whomever lurked outside.

“On the porch,” Ethel hissed as she marched from the room with Sebastian tucked against her chest.

“How many?” Ken asked his wife as he moved around the room, turning down lights as he went.

“One that I could see.”

Then Ethel Chang was gone, her long legs striding across the foyer and taking the stairs two at a time.

Akeem appeared in the doorway, his bald head nearly touching the lintel above, his bare chest filling the space.

“Go to your room, Miss Daisy,” he told the startled woman, his voice infinitely sweet.

“What’s happened?” Daisy looked confused more than alarmed.

And no wonder. Perhaps fifteen seconds previously all was laughter and music in the room, and now Sebastian had been carried out of the room, the drapes slammed shut, and the cat sat hissing and spitting between the two old hounds.

Charlotte plastered her body to the wall exactly where her friend had deposited her moments before. Mr. Chang crouched beside a spindly little table, his hand in the drawer. Akeem stood nearly naked before her uncle’s housekeeper, pulling her gently to her feet.

Above the rain and thunder, above the frantic beating of her heart, Charlotte heard heavy pounding.

Boot heels on the porch?

No, fists knocking on the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Daisy cried out, an unmistakable edge of anxiety in her voice.

“No,” Charlotte whispered, stepping away from the wall.

Mr. Chang appeared out of the gloom, one hand slapping against her ribs, pushing her back again. “Stay.”

Akeem picked Daisy up off her feet as she attempted to brush by him, turning and depositing her back in the parlor.

She stared with wide eyes at Charlotte, her employer’s niece, her closest friend.

“It’s all right, Daisy.” Charlotte doubted her whispered words went far to reassure the other lady.

The knocking came again, fainter, just as Ethel stopped in the shadows halfway down the stairs.

“Sebastian?” Charlotte asked.

“Magnus has him.” Ethel looked at her husband poised on the balls of his feet in front of Charlotte. “No one in the yard. One horse tied to the rail.”

Mr. Chang let out a soft breath and removed his hand from Charlotte’s abdomen.

“A neighbor perhaps,” Daisy said with a nervous laugh.

“Answer the door, Miss Daisy. Slowly open it all the way and step back behind it.” Ethel crouched on the stairs and brought a long rifle out from where she’d hidden it in her skirts along her leg. She steadied the gun on the polished wood handrail and sighted down the long barrel.

“I’m sure it’s only a neighbor come to borrow a cup of sugar,” Daisy said, and Charlotte laughed at the inane words. It was past nine and raining hard enough to drown a rat. There wasn’t a person alive desperate enough for sweet tea to ride for miles for a cup of sugar.

Daisy walked to the open door and hesitated at the threshold to the foyer. Even from across the room Charlotte could see her trembling.

“I’ll do it.” Charlotte pushed away from the wall, brushed against Ken, her fingers trailing down his arm to his hand. “I know what to do.”

Gently she pushed Daisy back into the parlor before squaring her shoulders and approaching the front door. “Are we ready?”

“Ready,” three voices chimed behind her as the last light was extinguished, throwing the foyer into darkness.

Charlotte swung the heavy steel door open and stepped behind it, using it as a shield against whatever lay beyond.

Wind blew into the foyer, tossing aside the little welcome mat Daisy had spent days cobbling together from discarded fleece and an old, leather work apron.

Wind and nothing else.

No men running in.

No bullets ricocheting off walls.

Charlotte gripped the small revolver Chang had slipped into her hand as she’d passed him and stepped around the door, trusting Ethel’s steady aim, trusting that Ken was crouched with two knives and a half-dozen throwing stars in the shadows behind her, trusting that Akeem was ready to tackle whoever waited on the other side.

A man waited on the other side. To be precise, a man dressed all in black stood on the edge of the porch gripping one of the wood posts that held the roof over the sheltered space.

He swayed on his feet and, for one frozen moment, Charlotte thought he might fall back and tumble down the steps into the muddy yard beyond.

He mumbled something unintelligible as he righted himself and took one unsteady step forward. It sounded like “Lady Blue.”

The man shifted and a soft beam of moonlight fell across the porch, touching dark trousers plastered to long legs and worn boots caked with mud. A black coat whipped around him in the wind and her mind seemed to stutter around an eerie sense of déjà vu. She’d seen this man before.

“Charlie Green,” the man whispered as his left hand rose from his side.

Charlotte lifted her arm and pointed the revolver at him, right between the eyes hidden beneath a drooping, water-logged black hat. Her hand did not shake. Her finger did not tremble on the trigger.

Slowly he reached into the breast pocket of his coat, the movement pushing the wet garment back. Charlotte saw the gun riding low on his hip, pearl handle glinting.

She looked for his right hand, found it held out from his lean hip, palm up and fingers spread. It struck Charlotte as vulnerable somehow, that large hand held palm open. Then she saw his fingers tremble and his arm shake.

Moisture dripped from beneath the sleeve of his coat, ran in a dark trickle across his palm.

“Jasper,” the man panted, holding a folded piece of paper out to her.

Before Charlotte could decide whether to take the three steps necessary to reach for the paper, two things happened simultaneously.

Akeem pushed past her and the stranger began to crumble.

His legs folded. Truly, she’d heard the expression but had never imagined it was possible. But the man’s legs simply gave way, bending at the knees as if a switch had been flicked and his brain had cut off all communication below the waist. He didn’t fall backward or tumble headfirst at her feet. He didn’t list to the side. He went straight down.

Before his body hit the porch, Akeem scooped him up.

Charlotte stepped back in silence as her friends all sprang into motion in the foyer.

Akeem cradled the gunman in his arms as carefully and gently as a mother with a newborn babe.

“Can you get him upstairs?” Ken asked.

Akeem smiled, his teeth flashing in his dark face.

“The back bedroom,” Ethel instructed unnecessarily. That room was the only one that locked from the outside.

“I’ll boil water and cut linen for bandages,” Daisy called over her shoulder as she headed down the hall to the kitchen.

Ethel and Ken followed Akeem’s retreating form up the stairs.

Charlotte was left alone in the empty foyer, her fingers locked around the butt of the small gun, her gaze riveted to the dark red drops running in a trail from the door to the stairs and beyond.

My Darling Gunslinger 

Is now available at your favorite retailers including:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

To enter to win an ebook copy of My Darling Gunslinger, a Wine Bottle Corset and two Corset Bookmarks simply answer this question in the comments below: Who does Daisy say might be at the door?

Be sure to visit all the stops along The Secret Realm Blog Hop

And while you’re here, why not discover all the magic of Once Upon A Regency: Timeless Tales and Fables, a box set of novellas written by nine wonderfully talented authors?

January’s Corset is a little bit Victorian with a touch of Funky. This lovely floral pattern features chunky metal hooks and buttons for an industrial flair. I’ll randomly choose a winner February 1st.

January Corset

If you missed December’s Issue of Corsets and Kisses, and would like to remedy the situation, please click here.

Better still, sign up to receive future issues of Corsets and Kisses!

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *