"Set Goals, Smash Them" by Suz deMello

I'm new here on Oh, Get A Grip! so I might as well let y'all know who I am and what you're dealing with.

I saw the above graphic on Facebook a short while ago and downloaded it immediately. It's printed out and in my office placed so that whenever I look up from keyboard or monitor, I see it. It's on my screensaver, and if anyone asks me what's up, I send it. It is just sooo me right now.

Without much pre-planning, ten works of mine have been published this year. Not all of them have been new stories, but all of them are good. Without ego, I can say that I maintain high standards and regularly meet them.

But this year--even I surprised myself. The earlier part of the year was dominated by my Ellora's Cave publications: Queen's Quest, Rakes in Tartan, Sherlock's Scandal (which became an Amazon bestseller), Kinky Toes, Blood is Thicker..., and Bridling his Vampire.

I had anticipated that the rest of the year would be fairly mellow, with me working on the last novel of my Highland Vampires series.

Wrong. This is where the "smashing goals" part comes in.

November through early December were insane. I had shepherded a new anthology group into life and we were busy writing, editing and planning our first publication, a boxed set of holiday tales called the Naughty List, which includes one of my short stories, Viking in Tartan.  The boxed set was published on December first and is doing well. 

I had been working on a writing manual, Plotting and Planning, for awhile before I remembered that November is NaNo month. For those of you who have never heard of it, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, when thousands form support groups to write an entire book in only one month--a task that's entirely beyond me as I am just coming out of a prolonged period of writer's block. 

When I realized that NaNo month was upon us, I scurried to get Plotting and Planning prepared. For the first time, I used an outside company for uploading and am processing that experience. I decided I wanted to put out a print copy of both my writing manuals for the Christmas gift-giving market. The ompany doesn't like to do printed books, stating that they don't make money from print books.

So I did it myself, acqainting myself with Photoshop. There were a number of snags along the way. An online class I took on PS proved to be a useless time sink. Createspace's conversion process alters the book design undesirably--I'm still working to overcome that glitch for the large print version.

I'm very proud of About Writing. It has a lot of what I've learned since 1996, when I started this particular creative journey.

Despite the hassles, I like the independence and control over the finished product I get from DIY book publishing. 

I also like working with groups. I was lucky enough to be invited to contribute to the latest volume of What to Read After Fifty Shades of Grey--it's volume eight. I provided a fictionalized memoir of my experiences in BDSM. Perilous Play and the rest of the anthology have done well after its publication on November 23d.

Set goals, smash them... Yep, I think that anticipating six works in 2014 and ending up with ten qualifies.

What's next for 2015? Who knows? Given what happened in 2014, I make no predictions.

Here's a little more about me:

Best-selling, award-winning author Suz deMello, a.k.a Sue Swift, has written

seventeen romance novels in several subgenres, including erotica, comedy, historical, paranormal, mystery and suspense, plus a number of short stories and non-fiction articles on writing. A freelance editor, she’s held the positions of managing editor and senior editor, working for such firms as Totally Bound and Ai Press. She also takes private clients.

Her books have been favorably reviewed in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist, won a contest or two, attained the finals of the RITA and hit several bestseller lists.

A former trial attorney, her passion is world travel. She’s left the US over a dozen times, including lengthy stints working overseas. She’s now writing a vampire tale and planning her next trip.

--Find her books at http://www.suzdemello.com

--For editing services, email her at suzdemello@gmail.com

--Befriend her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SuzDeMello

--She tweets @Suzdemello

--Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/suzdemello/

--Goodreads: http://bit.ly/SuzATGoodreads

--Her current blog is http://www.TheVelvetLair.com

The Pros of Series Writing

By Carol Lynne

I was asked to weigh in on the topic this week by friend and fellow author, Jamie Hill. As some of you might know, I’m a big fan of writing and reading series books. I write them for the same reason I read them. I hate saying goodbye to characters that I’ve come to fall in love with.

Actually, I’m not sure that I’ve ever written a book without a sequel in mind. That’s not to say that I always write the sequel, but it’s definitely in my mind. Because my genre of choice is M/M erotic romance, it can often get me into trouble. I get comments as to why I never have straight people in my books. The answer is simple. I don’t care to write about straight people as a rule. In my books, I try my best to make the side characters every bit as compelling as the lead characters. The few times that I’ve written straight side characters into one of my stories, readers email asking for the side characters stories. This can present a couple of problems.

First of all, yep, like I’ve said, I don’t care to write M/F stories. Oh, once in a while I’ll get an idea and write one, but those are the odd exceptions. Secondly, I don’t think mixing genres in a series is a good thing. I have readers who read absolutely nothing but M/M. They may claim to love me as an author, but they won’t go near a ménage or straight M/F story that I’ve written. I can’t blame them because I’m the same way.

The first series I wrote was the Men in Love series for Ellora’s Cave. It had a mix of everything from straight M/F to a F/M/M/M/F fivesome. The problem is that the series itself doesn’t fit into any one category, so when you go to look up the series, you won’t find them all on the same genre page. Also, a lot of people skipped over the M/F book.

Having learned my lesson, I now only write series with one genre in mind. It helps not only in marketing the series, but in writing it as well. I love, love my men, and I’ve found that writing what you truly love makes all the difference in the world.

In the Campus Cravings series, I focused on the gay men on a typical college campus. I never said there weren’t a lot of straight men and women on campus as well, but they weren’t my focus. Living close to a major university, I know that a certain percentage of the student body is gay. Those men were my focus, and I did my best to portray stories relating to them.

It doesn’t matter what kind of series you write, whether it be gay, straight, sci fi, paranormal etc, the important thing is establishing side characters that readers want to know more about. You know those spots on the CBS news about everyone having a story? Well, I truly believe everyone does have a story. You give readers interesting side characters and it’s natural for them to want to learn more.

A big supporter of the M/M genre is reader/reviewer Elisa Rolle. Elisa compared my series books to gay soap operas. At first I was a bit hurt by the comment until I started to really think about it. What do soap operas have that regular books don’t?

Fans tune in every day to catch their favorite soap opera. If for some reason they can’t watch a particular day, they tape it. Why? Because they feel invested in the storylines and characters. They’ve come to really care about what happens to Sheila and her evil twin, Marcy. Now that Jake has finally married Beth, will they be happy?

What happens when you get busy and miss several weeks of your favorite show? Suddenly Jake isn’t with Beth at all, but with Raven. WTF? You wish like heck you could go back and see what went wrong, but it’s too late.

I look at series books the same way. I often argue with people that series books shouldn’t be stand alone books. I know I don’t want mine to stand alone. Why? Because then it’s easy to skip over several books. Just like a soap opera, I want my characters and stories to be ongoing. I want the reader to anticipate each book in the series so they can catch-up with their favorite characters and learn about new ones. I want people tuning in to see the big lavish wedding of Jake to evil twin Marcy. Damn that Jake gets around.

It’s all about creating anticipation in your readers. It’s fun not only for them, but for you as a writer. Teasing tidbits thrown in here and there are a fun way to get readers involved. On my yahoo group there was a big discussion about my upcoming Cattle Valley book, Eye of the Beholder. One of the men has a big secret, but no one knows what it is. The members of my group discussed it for several days, throwing out ideas of what Rance’s secret could be. I finally asked them if they wanted me to tell them. I mean, some of these ladies really seemed to be stressing over it.

The answer I received was no, absolutely not. They didn’t want to know because it was fun for them to guess. In a way, they were writing mini-books in their heads to try and figure out my characters. I love that! I can’t tell you how rewarding that feels. People have come to know my characters so well they think of them as real people. What greater compliment can a writer get?

So if you’re on the fence about whether or not to write series books, I for one can tell you the rewards far outweigh the stress involved in plotting them out. If you create likeable people in your series, the books will come to you. Like I said, everyone has a story, it’s up to you to find it.

Carol Lynne

...get your feet wet
http://www.carol-lynne.net

...you've been branded
http://www.cattlevalley.net

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarolLynne_EroticRomance/

Book eleven in the Cattle Valley series.


For a year, Bo Lawson has tried to get closer to his boss, Backbreaker Ranch foreman Rance Benning, but the stubborn ex-rodeo champion refuses to be swayed. Bo can't understand Rance's aversion to being alone with him. Could it be Bo's HIV status?

Rance noticed Bo the first day he laid eyes on him at Brynn's Bakery. Since that time, he's done anything and everything to stay away from the dangerous-looking gardener with the chiseled six-pack and tight-fitting jeans. Rance has seen what pity in a lover's eyes looks like, and he doesn't plan on ever putting himself in that position again.

When one of the ranch's prize bucking bulls breaks through the fence and disappears, Rance and Bo are thrust together to help find the one ton money-maker. Although Bo sees their forced time alone as an opportunity, Rance sees it as torture. Every minute with Bo threatens the secret Rance won't tell anyone, least of all this dangerously sexy man.

Available June 1 at Total E-Bound!

Guest Blogger: author Elyssa Lynne

Today the Grip crew welcomes guest blogger, erotic romance author Elyssa Lynne!

First, I'd like to thank Anny, Kelly, Regina, Cindy and James for letting me come and play today. It's been a delight reading about how they write -- and getting to read their excerpts.

I taught novel writing at a community college for six years. The first thing I learned from my students was that there were an infitine number of ways to write a book. Each writer is different from all others, from the hard wiring in our brains that direct how we think and create to our life experiences that shape how we view the world and express ourselves. And each book is unique, from the way it first springs into our minds to the way it takes shape as the words flow--or are dragged out--onto the page. No matter how many books each one of us writes, the odds are that no two will have gone through the exact same process.

So far, everyone here on Oh Get a Grip seems to be a pantser (or is that pantster?). I'm the opposite. I come up with a detailed plot that I regard as a road map. I know where I'm starting and I know where I want to end up. I also know which high and low points I want to visit along the way. But I allow plenty of leeway for unexpected sidetrips that my characters want to take. And I've been known to scrap the plot, usually when I reach Chapter Seven (out of about twenty-four) because the side excursions have become more interesting than the originally intended destination.

Because of that, I've learned I can't edit as I compose. I hate wasting time polishing sentences and scenes that wind up being cut. Books, until they are actually released, are living, breathing creations, unique and with a life of their own that frequently delights -- and frustrates -- their writers. And we never actually finish them. We just abandon them -- usually when we've reached, or possibly passed, their deadline. I know for me, each book has been a unique creative experience.

And I know each one has left its mark (sometimes those of a bulldozer) on me.

PRIMAL URGE
Jewels of the Nile -- Ruby
By: Elyssa Lynne

(click on cover for more information)

Blurb: For six years, Guerrin has become a mindless, killing werewolf every full moon. But one night he encounters Marya, and his Primal Urge to mate with her is so strong, he reverts to human form—thus beginning a magic spell that is his only hope of salvation.

If Guerrin and Marya can construct a collar of steel, silver and a ruby and fasten it about his neck at the moment he is both wolf and man, he will retain his own mind even in wolf shape. To complete the spell, each step must be accompanied by an enactment of the Primal Urge—a major distraction. Time is running out, and if they fail to succeed by the time the moon rises on the third night, Guerrin will die.

Excerpt

The wolfishness stirred in him, seeping through his bones, running along his muscles, racing through his blood, raising his hackles. His mouth ached with the fangs that strained to lengthen, sharpen, tear into flesh as his prey ran from him in terror. He shook his head in denial but it turned into the full body shiver of an animal.

“The moon,” he gasped.

Marya clutched his hand and closed her eyes. “It won’t rise for about another two hours.”

“The urge to change—it’s too strong. It’s taking me already.”

She rose and grasped his shoulders as if to hold him there, to force him to remain human. “This is the peak of the full moon.”

“But it’s never come on me before it actually started to rise,” he cried. He had so much to do still. And he had to run away, far from this town, far from anyone he might hurt. He needed to be many miles from here before he changed into a creature with the lust for blood filling his being.

“We’ve started a work of magic,” she told him.

She sounded so calm, so steady. So dependable. He wrapped his arms about her, holding her close, needing the promise of hope she represented. Needing her love to keep him human. But for that he also needed the collar secured around his neck, never to be removed. They still had hours of work. But already he could feel the claws on his toes rubbing against the soft leather of his boots.

“I’ve got to get away,” he breathed.

“Guerrin!”

He lifted his head, sniffing the air with a nose that sensed far more than a mere human’s. Words sounded near him but they didn’t matter. Only the smells, only the need to run, to hunt, to kill.

She slapped his face, over and over, not hard but with persistence. “Can you hear me? Guerrin!”

He drew a shuddering breath. “We’ll have to finish tomorrow.”

“Go to my cottage,” she ordered. “Guerrin? Are you listening?”

With an effort he focused on her and covered her hands where they rested on his face with his own. They definitely had more hair on their backs than they should before the moon had crested the horizon. And his claws…

“Go to my cottage,” she repeated, “and eat something. Bread. Cheese. Carrots. Human food. Do you understand?”

He nodded. Would he even have time to get there before the change overtook him completely, left him running on four paws instead of two feet? Left him craving warm blood and raw flesh instead of baked goods and dairy products?

“If you eat,” she went on, “you won’t be hungry as a wolf. You might not hunt.”

Eat. I have to eat. Would he have time?

“Stay near my cottage.” She spoke slowly, one word at a time. “You must come to me some time tonight when you are fully a wolf.”

“I can’t trust myself,” he gasped. “Not tonight. The wolf form is too strong. If I come to you—”

“You must.” She broke across his protests. “And the primal urge is stronger even than the wolf in you. You’ll come to mate. Now go. Run. I’ll straighten up here and follow as soon as I can.” She pulled his head down and kissed him hard.

He dragged her tight against his body, savoring the feel, wanting never to let go. But a part of him that grew stronger by the second also wanted to rip her throat out. Not the best foundation for the life he wanted with her. His mouth sought hers for one last desperate caress then he dragged up the breeches he’d lowered and knotted them about his waist even as he sprinted for the door. It opened with well-oiled ease and he raced toward the nearest low wall. Several people turned to stare at him but he kept on, driven by his fear of what he might do if he remained. He laid his hands on the top stones, vaulted over and pelted across the field toward the forest beyond.

Check out more about Elyssa at her website: http://elyssalynne.com/

Find her books at Ellora's Cave.

Guest author: Katie Blu

Today the Oh Get a Grip! crew welcomes guest author Katie Blu, all the way from Down Under:

I reckon I don’t have much to add to the thoughts already posted. My take on marriage is right limited as I’m not married. A fellow will come along one day to whom I will consider turning the key to my freedom over but until then I’d have to be mad to shackle myself until I’m ready. That’s not to say there isn’t a reason to find someone to share yourself with. Just I haven’t found him.

I’m not sold on there being only one kind of commitment. I believe commitment comes in many forms, not just marriage. I support relationships and see that my characters all feel likewise. My project at hand is a m/m, vampire/were with touches of ménage. I would challenge a reader to say the two heroes are not in a committed, loving relationship.

Perhaps marriage is not a requirement for a satisfying ending to a book. Perhaps that is the workings of the industry we write for. My thought is that if you have that loved one whose heart beats in time with yours, the question of marriage is no longer a goal. It is an agreement of legal proportions but not the final word on what works for some couples. Are they happy? Does their relationship hinder you in any way? Does the recognition of a m/f relationship earn a dominant role above m/m or a loving ménage? Did some government official decide this and under what pretense?

Having touched that subject then, on to something I can discuss. Books. I released my first ever short story in the March Caveman Anthology, Jewels of the Nile Vol. 1 to solid reviews. The second, Surprised by Desire, an Oh Yum! was released in May. My next, Beloved Brother will release on July 4th. I also write for Total-E-Bound with a release August 18, Office Politics. To tie back into the topic of the week, all the characters address commitment of a kind. Click on the cover to buy the book

Here’s a HOT clip of my upcoming release from Ellora’s Cave, Beloved Brother JULY 4:

Phoebe Marks squeezed further into the shadows of the wraparound porch, trying as hard as she could not to pant in unison with Mrs. Gilfoy who keened low and fast with each thrust from her lover. Mrs. Gilfoy, her back to Phoebe, had her sexy black dress pulled up around her neck. Her body glistened like polished alabaster in the moonlight.

Her lover’s fingers dug into her hips. Mrs. Gilfoy’s bottom hopped on the banister with each impaling thrust from his lusty cock. The top of his dark head on her shoulder told Phoebe he nuzzled against Mrs. Gilfoy’s neck as she clung to his broad shoulders.

Heat pooled between Pheobe’s legs. Her breath caught at the shuddering squeal of release when the lover pounded harder and faster into Mrs. Gilfoy, not stopping until he grunted his own satisfaction.

It was the first time she’d actually seen him fuck someone. Phoebe had imagined it many times in the last two years, but never like this. Never the primal drive to screw she had just witnessed. Her breath was still coming hard as she watched Jared reclothe Mrs. Gilfoy and tug her hem into place. His hand drifted over her ass as he walked her to the door.

Phoebe’s thighs throbbed, her body clenched deep inside. She’d seen him neck her best friend in high school. She’d even watched him cup one girl’s breast, stroke over it, making her kiss him with frenzied intensity. That was college. Phoebe’s nipples had contracted tightly at that. And there had been the time she’d seen his car in the parking lot outside his dorm building, rocking vigorously beneath a tree. But Jared Larabie, her new step-brother, had never made her ache so badly, before tonight.

Mom had to be crazy to marry his dad. What’s worse was she hadn’t given Phoebe any notice—just up and married him in a courthouse. Not that Phoebe begrudged her remarrying after the way Dad ran off, but did she have to marry the father of her daughter’s nemesis? The guy who’d made high school hell and college life torture once she’d looked past his mocking sneer to his handsome face and still had to hate him for past sins?

Okay, she’d been at the bar celebrating her twenty-first birthday and had made the odious mistake of hitting on the sexiest man who’d walked in the door. Imagine her horror when she’d quit staring at his hot bod long enough to take a gander at his face. Two years ago. Two years and that instant attraction after years of avoidance hadn’t left her, damn him.

When Mom called to announce the wedding today, Phoebe had dropped everything to come home. It appeared Jared had done the same. She eyed Mrs. Gilfoy. Well, maybe not everything. The only dropping he’d done on Mrs. Gilfoy was her panties. Phoebe stifled a snort.

Mrs. Gilfoy kissed Jared goodnight and slipped into her house. It was then Pheobe realized Jared knew she was there. His gaze locked on her through the shadows and he smirked. His loping gait brought him to the spot where he’d fucked Mrs. Gilfoy into next week. Leaning on the banister, Jared stared into the shadows where Pheobe stood.

“Did you get a good look, Phoebe?”

And a HOT clip of my upcoming release from TEB, Office Politics (unedited) AUGUST 18:

He froze when he made the corner and saw Betsy in his chair, her slick pussy lifted to the world, her fingers stroking over glistening curls. She moaned softly with her head thrown back, her lips parted, and her glasses askew over tightly shut eyes. Max’s fingers clenched on his briefcase. He closed his eyes thinking his fantasy life had developed way out of control. He reached down and adjusted his suddenly attentive cock.

He forced his mind to think of the woman as he saw her every day. Betsy was a serious woman with a fantastic work ethic, not an erotic poster girl. Okay, maybe his idea of an erotic poster girl, but it had something to do with the shoulder length curly hair and the funky horn-rimmed glasses, one played off the other. It was sassiness and brains and fuck if it wasn’t sexy. Her smart approach to the magazine industry made her a tough competitor for the editor’s position. There was no chance he was going to let her get it. It also simply wasn’t possible Betsy was sitting in his chair moments before midnight in an empty office, stroking her pussy. It just wasn’t.

I hope you enjoyed the clips!

Daffodil by Anny Cook

Blurb:

When Florian LeFleur announces his intentions to take his three unmarried daughters to Came-a-lot to find husbands, his youngest daughter Daffodil is not pleased. She’s quite happy with the arrangement she already has with Raulf the butler at LeFleur Manor. Undeterred, Florian insists that she accompany him to Came-a-lot. Besides, he’s sure she can do better than a butler.

Then Raulf discovers his antique cock rings and favorite floggers are missing. He follows in hot pursuit, using the theft to claim Daffodil as his own. Instead of mastering Daffodil at his leisure, Raulf finds that he must fit her hot sexy lessons in while tracking down the thief who stole the king’s pet rock, training Timid Timmy in rope bondage, and capturing the sorceress, Morgana.

Excerpt:
The door banged against the wall as Timid Timmy flung it open in his haste to spread the news. Panting and breathless, he declared, “Florian LeFleur just showed up! He’s upstairs in the library yelling at Chrysanthemum and Honeysuckle!”

For a few long seconds, Raulf and Daffodil froze in a tableau right out of Prince Gawain’s recent bestseller, “Domination: Love Your Sub” before Daffodil stomped her foot in frustration. “Close the door, Timmy. Raulf, release me and remove the toys! I suppose I’ll have to go upstairs and find out what’s going on.”

Raulf hastened to obey her while Timmy shut and barred the door. Sighing in aggravation at having her proposed afternoon of delight interrupted, Daffodil yanked on a brilliant yellow zipsuit that suited her sunny name if not her current mood, and stalked upstairs in search of an absentee father she hadn’t laid eyes on since she was six.

With Raulf and Timmy at her heels she halted in the hallway outside the library. Honeysuckle was sitting demurely next to Chrysanthemum on the sofa in the library while a short, stocky gray-haired man paced to and fro in front of them, alternately shouting and muttering. His hair stuck up like a rumpled nest of feathers. Daffodil stood in the doorway and studied the angry man while she listened intently to the harangue.

“The king gives me permission to bring my daughters to Came-a-lot so they can find eligible husbands so I post down here, traveling through the Dread Forest, taking my life in my hands and what do I find? What do I find? I’ll tell you what I found! Honeysuckle in the barn with the stable hands. Chrysanthemum in the library reading an ancient moldy book like an old maiden. And Daffodil…” he groped for words before he continued wrathfully, “Daffodil was naked in the dungeon allowing the butler to flog her with a purple flogger! What kind of man uses a purple flogger?” Florian’s bellow was now so loud that his wayward daughters figured they could hear him all the way to Came-a-lot.

Honeysuckle minutely inspected her nails and hummed.

Chrysanthemum yawned.

Raulf winced and waited for the explosion. It wasn’t long in arriving.

“Do you hear me?” their papa shouted.

“Of course we hear you,” Honeysuckle muttered under her breath. “The dragons on Chrystal Isle hear you. The monks at Solomon’s Choice Abbey hear you. I bet even randy old King Arthur hears you.” Honey picked at a cuticle and sighed with disgust. “What do you want, anyway?”

A long silence ensued as words failed Florian. His mouth opened and shut and then he said very, very quietly, “Pack up. You three girls are going to Came-a-lot. I’m shutting the house up. Once I have you off my hands, I’ll sell this millstone and finally have a life.”

“What about Mama?” Chrysanthemum pushed her slipping glasses back up her nose with one nail-bitten finger.

“What about her?” Florian was suddenly impatient with the entire mess. “She’s out of my hair, happy with her acrobats. I’m finally free.” He frowned at Chrys. “Why acrobats, anyway?”

Honeysuckle’s smile had a malicious tinge to it. “She said they were limber, always ready and used to working as a team.”

Want More? Click on the cover for the buy link.

Anny