Vixenwriter

Hey all – by the time you read this I will either be on my way to Columbus for the RT Booklovers Convention or will have arrived. This is my 4th year going and I can’t wait!

Here’s my schedule for those of you who’ll be there or who are local and want to stop in at the booksiging on Saturday (open to the public!):

Wednesday at 10 am: Digital Publishing Workshop with Angela James – over 2 hours of Q&A session on everything Digital publishing! Have questions? Come on over and ask em!

Wednesday at 2:30 – SF FOR FEMMES: WRITING CHARACTER-DRIVEN STORIES WOMEN WILL DEVOUR

WEDNESDAY: To attract female readers you must have captivating characters, not blind them with science. Our panel of experts will teach you how.
Captain: Ann Aguirre Panelists: Lauren Dane, Colby Hodge aka Cindy Holby, Stacey Klemstein aka Stacey Kade, Lucienne Diver (The Knight Agency)

Wednesday at 3:45 THE ONLINE AUTHOR PERSONA: HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS, INFLUENCE PEOPLE & AVIOD TRAIN WRECKS

WEDNESDAY: The Internet offers many opportunities for authors to interact with readers, network with industry professionals and promote effectively. On the flip side, all that freedom brings opportunities to make mistakes that can tarnish a reputation for years. Come listen to strategies and advice from authors who’ve made the Internet work for them and learn how to avoid cyber-disasters.
Panelists: Ann Aguirre, Lauren Dane, Sylvia Day aka S.J. Day, Mark Henry

Then I pass out for a while and gear up to see my friends and have dinner, etc!

Thursday I’m going to be Megan Hart’s plus one at the awards ceremony so I can hoot and clap like a hick when she accepts her award.

And then on Saturday from 11 – 2 I’ll be signing Relentless, Laid Bare and Coming Undone at the bookfair with a giant gathering of some of my very favorite authors.

Hope to see you there!

The totally fabulous Natalie Winters (aka the totally awesome Mandy Roth) has done it again with the cover of my next book in the de La Vega Cats series – REVELATION!

Blurb coming soon – but this is the conclusion of the story arc I started with TRINITY and it features Renee’s sister Kendra and Max de La Vega. It’ll release in July of this year.

Scene from my glamorous author life:

Husband and I on couch, watching Top Gear. Noise from upstairs that sounds like jumping, pause, ouch, giggle, jumping.

We go up: They’re taking turns on middle boy’s bed. One stands while other kneels. Standing child yells, “THIS IS SPARTA” and kicks kneeling child onto nest of blankets.

Over and over apparently.

Today’s theme is Unusual Professions so I thought I’d post a snippet from INSATIABLE wherein Daniel Haws’ unusual profession is that of an assassin!

PHANTOM CORPS: INSATIABLE by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2010, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
Releasing July 6!

Four days after they’d finally left Philos safely, they were no closer to Federation territory. He’d had to put them on super-slow and off the basic path transports, crisscrossing back and forth to keep from attracting too much attention. It was tedious progress; he itched to get her back, to be assured she was safe. He had to run like hells before he did something monumentally stupid like fucking her.

Carina Fardelle and her big, sexy eyes, her constant questions and the way she was strong and so fragile all at once. She’d relentlessly thrust herself into his space whenever she could. He realized she’d begun to understand her effect on him, but there were times when she charmed him. Some little thing she’d do or say would leave him disarmed and pleased all at once.

She looked beautiful. Even as she was supposed to be some riffraff, ranging around looking for work, she looked gorgeous doing it.

Damn it. She’d trimmed her hair this time. But whatever she’d done had left it curly instead of straight. It took all his strength not to touch it.

Instead, he worked on keeping his gaze sharp for their contacts and pretended she didn’t make him want to stop and sniff her like a lovesick fool. That level of concentration kept his mind actively engaged on keeping them out of trouble and not on the way she’d brushed against him earlier that morning, trying to tiptoe up and kiss him. And especially not thinking about how close he came to letting her.

He bit back a groan and redoubled his efforts to be on the lookout for trouble.

They’d arrived in Frontera and had easily made it through the checkpoint. They’d heard a rumor that the troops had been diverted to another transport that was set to arrive shortly after theirs had. He hoped that luck would continue to be with them.

Rife with thugs, the criminal element of the portal city in Frontera had been the reason many transports refused to stop for fear of losing cargo. Since his cargo was feminine, on the run from a monster and beautiful, he would have to kill anyone who thought of stealing her.

“You need to stick closer to me,” he said but realized he’d sort of growled it. Infuriatingly, she turned and smiled his way, that knowing feminine smile, and he wondered where she’d gotten that from.Did virgins have that look yet? He made a mistake with her, he realized, in making an incorrect assumption that having her maidenhead in place meant she was naïve about sex. She was not. He needed to remember that.

Better yet, he didn’t need to remember it at all. He didn’t need to think about it in any way.

She’d begun to lose some of her fear, growing bolder in many ways. She settled into herself in some way, taking up being Carina with a sort of wholehearted enthusiasm. Though annoying at times, she was generally a pleasure to be around, even when he didn’t need to be thinking about any of this at all.

“I’m within reach, Neil. You know I’m always happy to have you touch me.” She broke into his thoughts. “Where is our conveyance?”

She put her hand through his arm. Instead of telling everyone she was his sister as instructed, she’d told people they were married and had taken every opportunity to touch him and act like a wife.

In short, he was nearly insane with wanting her, and she had no intention of letting him forget it. His mother had a word for what Carina was becoming with him—saucy.

“Don’t start with me, woman.” He tried to be light with her, but something wasn’t right. He didn’t like the feel of the streets here. He felt far too exposed and wanted to get her away and safe. “Perhaps we should get back to the guesthouse. I can come out later to see if they’ve arrived.” He steered her away from a group of undesirables who’d just materialized and most likely were the source of his agitation.

He sent them a look over his shoulder as he escorted her back around the edge of the marketplace and toward the guesthouse they
were staying in.

“It’s getting rather warm out here anyway.” She continued to hold his arm as they walked, and he continued to like it, even though he knew how stupid it was when he could not have her.

He tensed up, keeping a watch on three men who’d walked from an alleyway just ahead. The group he’d avoided a few streets over.

Four more appeared, followed by one last man, and they all headed straight for them. Sound died away as the street emptied. At least he could get rid of some of his pent-up energy with a fight. Daniel felt a moment of pity for these probably illiterate morons who chose the wrong mark.

“They’re coming for us,” she murmured.

“Stay behind me. Use that weapon if you have to; don’t you dare hesitate.” He stepped ahead, putting her behind him.

“Looks like you two are a bit heavy with gear.” A mouth filled with few teeth made an ugly gash of delight on the thug’s face.

Daniel knew the look in the man’s eyes, knew they meant to rob him and harm Carina. Neither would be allowed.

He rolled his head on his shoulders, steadying for what was to come. “You should heed my warning and keep moving. You’re not going to be pleased with the outcome if you bring a fight my way.” Daniel didn’t speak very loudly, but the one in charge heard just fine.

Whether or not he took the warning was something else entirely.

The snick and gleam of a blade triggered Daniel’s sense of calm.

His body relaxed as he focused. White noise rushed through his ears as a blade handle fit into his palm.

“Look here, boys, he thinks he can take us all on.”

Daniel sighed and began to move. Nothing he did when he fought ever took conscious thought; his body, his refl exes simply took over and did the job. A step forward, a lunge with one arm and a step back.

One of the men hit the pavement, blood spilling from a nonlethal but debilitating slice. The scent of copper hit the air, spicing up the stench of open-pit sewers and garbage.

“Well now, looks like I was right to think I could take you all.” He tipped his chin at the groaning, semiconscious man bleeding at his feet. “There’s one less now. The odds keep getting better.”

It was wrong, she knew, very very wrong of her to be excited and titillated by the way Daniel carried himself just then. Even worse to have her heart speed when with two movements so fast and smooth she barely noticed, there was pain, blood and debilitating injury.

She didn’t care. He was masterful, and it moved her. He protected her because it was his job, yes. But at the same time, she knew it was more for him. Whatever that meant, she wasn’t sure. But being protected by such a scary, fierce man was so sexy she couldn’t find it within herself to feel guilty about it.

“You think you’re smart? Pulling that?” The other man—the one who could have used a bar of soap and some water, the sour stink of his body wafted to her, roiling her stomach as she began to breathe through her mouth—jerked his head, and the others rushed toward her and Daniel.

The intensity of the event brought her images, sounds, scents, but no real concrete impression of anything specific.

Daniel’s hair gleamed as he moved with such a grace of economy she could do little more than stare. Small movements sent men falling to the side, blood darkening clothing and the dirt beneath their feet.

Her own blade rested in her hand, at the ready if anyone got past Daniel, which appeared to be an impossibility as body after body slumped. She watched, not really alarmed, as two men flanked Daniel and one rushed past him to her.

All the years of training came back to her, and she rested her weight on her heels, slicing out and up as she blocked the blow. Or thought she did until Daniel, grim-faced and satisfied, turned with a savage grin.

“You did a fine job. Now let’s get off the street before the authorities arrive.” He reached for her and stopped, grabbing her tunic, pushing it aside to reveal her torso and a bleeding slit in her skin. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He paled, picking her up over her protests, striding back to the safe house without another word.

Be Sure To Visit Today’s Other Snippeters!

Lauren Dane
Jody Wallace
Mari Carr
TJ Michaels
Ashley Ladd

Hey all, tomorrow, the lovely Phoebe Jordan is interviewing me on blog talk radio at 11 am pacific/2 pm eastern – please stop in to say hello! Clicky this link to go to the page with all the pertinent details. And stuff.

ETA: Phoebe tells me that the episode is available here so you can download and listen to it!

Last night we caught the first episode of the new Dr. Who season on BBC America. My husband and I have watched Dr. Who since our youth – both of us via public television. Tom Baker and his crazy scarf was the first Dr. I fell in love with, and each one after that has offered his own unique blend of quirky intelligence and bravery to the series.

I must admit feeling two ways about the renewed Dr. Who series but with Christopher Eccleston, I had hope. Hope that they would not turn the show into some One Tree Hill version of television when all that mattered about the Doctor was his looks, how tricked out the tardis was and some hot sexxoring with his assistant.

I gotta say, the BBC did a great job and Eccleston was an awesome Doctor. The scripts were good, the acting was awesome, the connection between the Doctor and his assistant – a totally important foundation for the show, also good. Special effects have come a long way from the old days, but not so much that it’s was all flash and no substance. In short, the Doctor was back and I was so pleased.

Then came Tennant, who is adorable and quick witted and he did a great job too and I loved his version of the Doctor. But he left, as ALL Doctors do and this is when my cranky came out. Doctors change. This happens sometimes after a single season, sometimes after several, but part of the show is that the Doctor may just be another actor next time and that actor will fill the role in a wholly different way.

This is part of the joy of being a Dr. Who fan for me. What will the new Doctor be? How will I fall in love with him? What will be be like and how will he inhabit his responsibility? So when I heard whining about how the new choice wasn’t as handsome as Tennant from people who’d watched the show five minutes, it drove me nuts, LOL, because the POINT of the Doctor isn’t how cute he is – you fall in love with each Doctor for different reasons and at a different pace. That’s part of the pleasure – learning his wit, his way of handling danger, etc. Tennant did a fabulous job, but not because he was good looking, FFS.

So I turned my hearing off when people whined about the new Doctor without ever having seen him act in the part (this same thing happened when Daniel Craig was chosen to play Bond and he’s the best one yet). I turned off my hearing and I waited to make my decision until I saw it for myself.

My verdict, after the first episode? WOW. This Doctor is a nerdy badass. Oh how I love that! We haven’t had a nerdy badass in some incarnations so I’m thrilled to see where he takes it next. I love the story about him and Amelia Pond, I love that he was her Raggedy Doctor, I loved his absentmindedness and oh how I loved it when he confronted the aliens at the end and was like, “run” I may have squeed out loud at that point.

Lastly, I absolutely adored that they showed the faces of the other eight Doctors in that last scene.

So you’ve done it again, writers – you’ve created another Doctor who is wholly different than the last, and yet, fits in the long line of Doctors spanning decades. Well done!

Oh and we caught Survivors – a really fabulous post apoc show on BBC America that we’ve been addicted to this season. It’s coming to the end of their season and things are getting even darker. LOVE that.

Today’s theme is Lost Loves – as I’m a fan of the reunion story, I thought I’d post a snippet from my first Federation Chronicles novel – UNDERCOVER

FEDERATION CHRONICLES: UNDERCOVER by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2009, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group

He pulled out a platinum necklace bearing a stylized B in diamonds. Concubines of very important men often wore such identifying jewelry. A status marker for both parties. Reaching around, he fastened it about her neck. Diamond baubles for her ears and a bracelet followed and he slid a pink diamond ring on her left hand.

He stepped back and looked to Ash who nodded. “And one more thing.” Upending the pouch into his palm, a ring with a dangling row of diamonds slid out.

Heart pounding, she took a deep breath and reached down to slide the bodice of her dress out of the way, exposing her breast. And the ring she still wore in it. A ring Ash gave her when she’d first gotten it pierced.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and suddenly he was there, next to Brandt. “You’re still wearing it.” She didn’t fail to hear the raw emotion in his voice.

Glib words tried to find their way from her lips but they faltered when she looked into his eyes. He was satisfied, yes. But there was more. He was moved by the sight of his ring still marking her. She knew that.

All she could do was nod. If she’d tried to speak her voice may well have cracked.

“I think this one is better, Ash. I understand your feelings on this but Sela would wear something far more flashy.”

Sera nodded, agreeing with Brandt.

“You’re right. But I’ll take it off. I put it on to start with.”

And before Sera could disagree, Ash’s hands were on her, fingertips sliding over her nipple to unlatch the ring and pull it loose. She watched his hand on her flesh and the sense memory of the last time he’d touched her naked breast slammed into her, wrenching out a strangled gasp.

His gaze moved from her breast to lock with hers. The cool metal of Brandt’s ring slid into her nipple and the weight of the diamonds provided a new sensation.

Ash pulled her dress back into place before stepping back, and Sera wanted to run screaming from the house. If he’d done anything but that she might have resisted the look in his eyes. But he’d touched her with respect, even as she saw the desire in his gaze.

And then it got worse when Ash reached up and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his chest and his own nipples. In the one on the left, over his heart, he wore the simple ring she’d given him on the same day she’d begun wearing his. He put the one she’d been wearing in the nipple on the other side after he removed a barbell.

All of this without a word. Brandt watched them both. “Okay then, shall we be off?”

Sera took Brandt’s arm, Ash fell in on her other side and they left the house. They loaded into the posh limousine that would take them to the Portal and she left her old life behind.

* * *

She still wore his ring. Ash sat, head back against the seat as he thought about the way her nipple looked in his hand. The ring he’d given her when she’d gotten pierced just for him. It had carried a sapphire but she’d left that with her letter and her collar.

Hope burned deep within him. He saw love in her eyes. Distrust still, and hesitance too, but she had feelings for him that didn’t all involve wanting to shoot him in the head.

He’d need to be smart about how he went about getting her back. Smarter than he’d been so far, that was for sure. On the ship, he’d have to get her used her to his touch again anyway. Originally, he’d planned to work his way into their bed right off. But he rethought that. He’d be more slow and steady, show her she could trust him.

It meant Brandt would forge a physical bond with her first, which was slightly disconcerting. But Ash already had the depth of his memories of her and they’d share that again. Brandt would help her heal, be the bridge between them.

Once Ash had her back, he didn’t plan to let go again.

Be sure to visit today’s other Snippeters!

Lauren Dane
Mari Carr
TJ Michaels
Ashley Ladd

I was updating my website earlier today, putting up some recent reviews when something struck me – several times in reviews, not just of my books, but of others from the erotic romance lines – I would see one review saying how totally sexyhot the book was and another saying the book was more sensual than erotic.

I bring that up as an illustration only (not as a judgment). Erotic is in the eye of the beholder. Our sexuality is intimate, what each of us thinks of as scorching hot will be different depending on personal factors.

And yet – I find the notion that books are now somehow only “erotic” if they are menages or contain a great deal of kink to be disturbing as an author. There seems to be a trend now that books are only considered “erotic” if they’re menages or contain a great deal of kink. I don’t think this is good for the genre as a whole – first because people just toss in eight people and a monkey with a flogger to be “edgy” and “hot” when, come on, joking aside, it’s ridiculous. This doesn’t make for a better book at all, in fact the story suffers overall when an author tries to wedge in more and more outrageous sex to push an envelope that doesn’t have a damned thing to do with whether or not the book is good or even sexy. It would be like if all thrillers suddenly had eleventy thousand car chases with rocket boosters, laser headlights and ninjas escaping from every window. It’s overkill and it’s really not making the story more suspense filled.

I write erotic romances differently than I write my sensual romances. Meaning, the level of detail and the presence of sex in the books is relayed differently. A sex scene in my erotics will usually be longer and written in greater detail than it would be in my sensual romances.

For instance Coming Undone has more detailed sex scenes than say, Taking Chase has. The scenes are much longer and usually, though not always, more frequent and done with more graphic terms. The sex between both couples, however, is still charged, still intense and in both cases, it’s a central way they communicate with each other.

But to me, Coming Undone is an erotic romance, just as Laid Bare is. Laid Bare is undoubtedly a more sexually charged book. It’s a menage book and it has a lot of kink in it. Because that’s who these people were to each other. But it’s not “more” erotic than Coming Undone, it’s just a different sort of erotic. (Certainly whether or not it’s sexy or hot or whatever, is in the eye of each reader – I’m getting more at genre definitions rather than individual tastes and preferences).

I wonder if this blurring of lines is good or bad for us as authors and for us as readers – in truth, I prefer a looser definition anyway – if I could just write hot and not have to worry about that further definition of erotic, that would always be aces with me. At the same time, when we keep pushing and pushing and the books about snail shifters and elevensomes with random fuck scenes with eight sex toys and some sparklers – I think this erodes the genre as a whole.

Every scene should matter.

No matter the genre or the book, scenes just tossed into a book that are unrelated to the overall story arc degrade the story.

Yes, I’m cranky and old and judgy, LOL, and this does come dangerously close to “in my day” post land, but there you go…

Free love? As if love is anything but free! Man has bought brains, but all the millions in the world have failed to buy love. Man has subdued bodies, but all the power on earth has been unable to subdue love. Man has conquered whole nations, but all his armies could not conquer love. Man has chained and fettered the spirit, but he has been utterly helpless before love. High on a throne, with all the splendor and pomp his gold can command, man is yet poor and desolate, if love passes him by. And if it stays, the poorest hovel is radiant with warmth, with life and color. Thus love has the magic power to make of a beggar a king. Yes, love is free; it can dwell in no other atmosphere. Emma Goldman

Just a small glimpse of Ella and Cope…

Before she could answer, he turned and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss just behind her knee where the scarring was the worst. Something ripped from her as she looked down at him, his eyes closed, his mouth pressed to her leg, the hand holding her firm but gentle. His hair so dark against her pale skin.

Emotion flooded her as he touched the daily reminder of her shame and stupidity. He didn’t see them that way.