Tooting My Horn--and Sophie Mouette's

One of our favorite* stories, "Behind the Masque" has been accepted for The Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica, Volume 8. (Which is a rather confusing title because it's all reprints, not in fact "new" in the strictest sense. This one originall appeared in Wicked Words: Sex with Strangers.) Being chosen for a best-of always makes my day.

*Saying one story is a favorite sometimes feels as wrong as saying one pet or child is a favorite, but really, how can you go wrong with hot jewel thieves in Las Vegas? It was so much fun to write!

The Lucchese Star. Sixty carats of sapphire, as big as your fist. Makes your mouth water just looking at it. Makes you think of Caribbean seas, the summer you were ten, the eyes of the lover that got away.
Inside my turquoise doeskin gloves, my palms itched. They didn’t sweat, not a drop; I wasn’t nervous. It was all about the anticipation, baby. The lead-up. The foreplay.
George and I made a good team. I wouldn’t go so far to say he was the brawn and I was the brain, but it shook down kind of like that. He had the most amazing hands—steady, delicate. He knew exactly how, when, and where to touch, to coax out the exact response he wanted. No safe, no security system, no alarm could resist his ministrations. Powerless beneath his touch.
Kind of like a woman.

In the good news department, my flash fiction called "Love Song for the Cane" will appear in Alison Tyler's anthology Frenzy, a collection of erotic flash fiction. This is an interesting piece--very internal, quite personal, and quite kinky.

Waiting for it would be easier, I can't help thinking, if you bound me.
I can picture how the anticipation would feel if I were face down,
spread-eagle on the bed, every movement, every nervous/excited wriggle
reminding me there was no escape. If I were bound with hemp rope, ass in the
air, a beautifully wrapped target, my mouth distorted by a gag so I cannot
shout my pain and my pleasure, a blindfold covering my eyes so I would not
know when it was coming. Even if I leaned against the whipping post, my
wrists bound together above my head. Anything other than simply leaning
forward over the chair, nipples brushing the cold leather, ass thrust
backward, knowing I must hold still for each stripe.

Of course, while acceptances were happening, so were a few rejections. Neither my offering nor the Sophie story made Best Women's Erotica 2009, and I'd submitted a couple of solo stories for Mammoth as well. But that's the nature of this crazy business.

And while all the accepting and rejection happens, I'm continuing to plod along on Lions' Pride. I think it's ready to hit the world--now I just need to revamp the synopsis, because my first attempt was way too long and plodding.

Cold-weather covers for a warm season

First, the absolutely gorgeous cover for Bedding Down, a collection of erotic romance (or is it romantic erotica?) novellas with a winter theme. Sophie Mouette's contribution is "Hidden Treasure," a fun story that involves a Victorian house-museum, costuming, and clumsy criminal capers as well as sweet hot sex, and and we're proud as can be to be part of this collection. Appropriately, it's not out until December, but you can always pre-order!

Next is another wintry novella, "Pirate's Booty". This one is due out from Phaze on August 18. Two parallel stories--a New England pirate in 1712 trying to win back the childhood sweetheart who scorns his criminal career and a contemporary novelist and historian who let their different takes on colonial pirates get in the way of sexier common interests such as spanking and bondage--are drawn together by two things that haven't changed since the colonial era: Block Island, Rhode Island gets isolated from the mainland in blizzards. And there's nothing like getting snowed in together to force a bickering couple to find a way through their differences, and into a nice warm bed! (The cover's so new it's not even up at the Phaze website yet, but I'll link when it goes live.)

* * *
And since I'm bombarding you with pictures, how's this for an intriguing cover? The Mammoth Book of the Kama Sutra is one of the most unusual projects I've been involved with, and it looks like it's going to be gorgeous.

That was fun!

I just wanted to say that I had a blast chatting at Realms of Love tonight. Not a huge turn-out, but genuinely interested and nice people, and we got quite silly. They really seemed to like the sound of tyle:italic;">Pirate's Booty.

Tomorrow, a real post with updates on various news and musings on The Year of Getting My Health Back.

Chatting tomorrow--come join us!

Along with my fellow Phaze authors Alessia Brio and Bridget Midway, I'll be chatting about my books over at Realms of Love tomorrow from 9-10:30 EST. Come join the fun, possibly win a free book, ask me probing questions, and maybe get some insight into why I write my heroes range from surprisingly bright barbarians to sexy, moody historians to kinky gay vampires.

You have to register for the site before you can chat, but they don't ask for a lot of information.

Squee! Another good review!

Better late than never, I'm getting some good reviews on Lady Sun. (Note to self: Get out review copies earlier, even to places Phaze sends them to anyway. Sometimes review sites need that extra nudge.) This time at Coffee Time Romance. Four coffee cups (I love coffee, the more cups the better!) and it ends with the line "This is a story that will get you fired up and in the mood to celebrate your own pleasurable rituals, and maybe keep the faith that love can find you in the oddest circumstances."

Nice, huh?

In other news, I've received contracts for two more short stories, one accepted long enough ago I'd forgotten it, and heard some promising news (that I can't reveal yet) on two others. To balance this spate of goodness, Out of the Frying Pan got another form rejection. Ah, onward and upward. It's gotten editorial love before; it will again.

Speaking of editorial love, or more to the point, editing, I need to finish up Lions' Pride. Got some serious editorial avoidance going on, because soon I'll have to write the synopis and I hate doing those. But without one, I can't start getting this book out in hopes of editorial love, and you know I love editorial love!

And in other other news, I'll be blogging tomorrow at Lust Bites on the topic "Does Size Matter?" Hint: Get your minds out of the gutter, because it's not related to that fascinating age-old controversary. Although since it's Lust Bites, I do bring that up.