Vixenwriter

SENSUAL MAGIC by LAUREN DANE
part of the WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS…AFTER DARK anthology
Copyright 2009, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, Harlequin Enterprises
Releasing May 1

In the narrow alley, Nell crouched, turning her face to the stiflingly hot blast of air apparently referred to as a breeze in these parts. She shut out all other stimulus, simply waiting for the magic to come to her. Tendrils of energy hung in the air, spicy and unique to the individual who worked the spell. The taste of it wove through her system. Nell’s own magic broke it down, analyzed it, identified the owner.

It was her particular talent. Hunting. Tracking. A family trait she inherited from her mother. Not just a gift but a calling. Who she was as well as what she did on behalf of her Clan.

She stood and tapped a finger against her iPod. Music filled her senses, drowning out all other noise. Dio’s Rainbow In The Dark kept her company as she made a few notes before tucking the pad into the back pocket of her jeans.

Mage magic. The metallic flavor identified it as other. Not the earthy tang of her own magic. Witch magic like hers was inherent and came from the earth beneath her feet, from the air around her and the water under and aboveground. Mages weren’t born with magic, they traded for it. Most of the time with the kind of creatures best left alone.

It cost a lot to trade for power. It cost in lives, energy, dark gifts and money too. This Camarilla was on Nell’s shitlist because they were in possession of nearly a hundred thousand dollars belonging to the Owen Clan.

The Owen Clan—a circle of witches and the Clan Nell belonged to and worked for—didn’t take thefts of any kind lightly.

And what they took seriously, Nell took seriously. Frankly, this Camarilla, their little name for a group of them, seriously pissed her off. She’d spent the last two months traveling from city to city until she’d finally locked onto Las Vegas. Summer in Las Vegas was not Nell’s idea of pleasant and she planned to take her annoyance out in someone’s hide.

A man stood just a few feet away, eyes warily scanning the area, body taut, ready to spring should it be necessary. Galen, Nell’s partner and the physical muscle to her magical strength.

“Got it?” he asked as he stalked toward her, golden skin rippling over roped muscle. His hair was close cropped, pale blond against his skull. He slid dark sunglasses up over his eyes, all velvet cool and alluring.

A smile canted the left corner of her mouth. “They’re here. We need to get in to see that ex-boyfriend of hers. It can’t be a coincidence she’s in the same city.”

Galen shrugged, his dark sunglasses reflecting her face. “Dunno, Nell. From all accounts she screwed him over but good. Could be a coincidence. She might not even know he’s here.”

Nell rolled her eyes. “Please. How could she not know? That bitch knows where the money is. He’s got it big time. Of course she knows. Right now though, I have a trail, let’s follow it to see where it leads.”

At Lust Bites with a new snippet of Stripped (extra spicy!) so head on over and say hello!

Book reading wise, I finished Mark Henry’s Happy Hour of the Damned: Happy Hour is so wrong, so very, very wrong that it’s right. It’s twisted and hilarious and sick and dark and also just great fun. Anyway, I haven’t read anything like it before and the combo of all that dark (read – scenes of zombies eating people, bodily fluids of all sorts) and all that hilarity and snark – works.

It’s alchemy in an insane, gonzo sense. Also? I usually hate it when men write female protags – they often get the inner dialog incorrect or it’s so stereotypical it makes me want to hit someone) but Mark Henry doesn’t write her down, doesn’t make her a bimbo and she’s genuine even if I’m not sure I’d want her to be my friend, I’m sure there’s a part of me in her and every other woman I’ve admired too.

Happy Hour is also not a romance, but I think if you’re looking for something unusal and you’re not squeamish, Happy Hour is a great book. I’m totally looking forward to Amanda’s next book!

Book writing wise: I hit 15K on Relentless last night! Wheee! I’d like to have a very productive weekend since I’ll be in Ohio next weekend for the Lori Foster Reader Get Together.

In some comments about Stripped, I’ve seen references to Dahlia as a sex worker or a stripper. Now, the thing is, I have no beef with strippers or sex workers and if I’d wanted to make Dahlia one, I would have. But as I explain in the novella and as I’ll do here – burlesque dancing is not sex work, nor is it stripping.

From Wikipedia: With its origins in nineteenth century music hall entertainments and vaudeville, in the early twentieth century burlesque emerged as a populist blend of satire, performance art, and adult entertainment, that featured strip tease and broad comedy acts that derived their name from the low comedy aspects of the literary genre known as burlesque.

In burlesque, performers, usually female, often create elaborate sets with lush, colorful costumes, mood-appropriate music, and dramatic lighting, and may even include novelty acts, such as fire-breathing or demonstrations of unusual flexibility, to enhance the impact of their performance.

Put simply, burlesque means “in an upside down style”. Like its cousin, commedia dell’arte, burlesque turns social norms head over heels. Burlesque is a style of live entertainment that encompasses pastiche, parody, and wit. The genre traditionally encompasses a variety of acts such as dancing girls, chanson singers, comedians, mime artists, and strip tease artistes, all satirical and with a saucy edge. The strip tease element of burlesque became subject to extensive local legislation, leading to a theatrical form that titillated without falling foul of censors.

It is absolutely sexy. The dancing is sexy and it’s meant to titilate. But it’s an accentuation of the feminine, a play on sensuality rather than raw sex. It’s not better or worse than stripping, it’s just different.

No pole in sight. No lap dances. This is a strip tease – as in no actual nakedness – it’s the art of the tease.

From Stripped: Sensual smoke and mirrors. Dahlia didn’t show the audience any more than she’d show at the beach. They wouldn’t see her nipples and her panties would stay right on her booty with the fishnets below that.

Playing coy, she waved with one hand, pretending to almost drop the hat as she took the first step back up to the dressing room. And another step and two more. Once her body was in the doorway she turned and tossed the hat back to Timmy. With a hand over her mouth stifling a pretend giggle, she kicked up her leg and was gone behind the curtain.

Dahlia isn’t ashamed of what she’s doing. It’s part artistic expression, part good paycheck and part expression of a part of herself she had trouble expressing in her daily life. This isn’t a woman lap dancing to pay for books (although I do have a friend who stripped to pay for law school). Her story is far more complicated than that.

Burlesque is far more theatrical than stripping is (although some strippers do put a lot of energy into their routines). There’s quite frequently a live jazz band on the stage.

The idea for Stripped came to me after my husband and I went to Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce in Las Vegas in 2006. The Dollhouse is a lot like this place with differences of course, but the feel is similar in that the women are dancers and perfomers.

Hey everyone! I’m over at Naughty and Spice today guest blogging about burlesque. Come over and say hey and be entered into a contest to win any of my available books!

I’m over at Julie K. Rose’s Blog being interviewed about music soundtracks! You can listen to it here and read the full transcript here at Julie’s Writer Soundtrack blog.

And tomorrow/Wednesday the 30th, I’m doing an Author Day at the Raven (Mandy and Michelle’s place!) from noon to three eastern/nine to twelve pacific. I’ll be talking about Stripped, my story in the What Happens in Vegas anthology as well as Celebration for the Dead and my upcoming release, Fated from Samhain. Come by and hang out for a while, say hello and hopefully win something too!

So Vegas is now shipping from both Barnes and Noble and Amazon!

Behind closed doors, the real games begin…

Winning it big.

That’s the name of the game at Las Vegas’s Liege Hotel and Casino, where the hottest fantasies hinge on a roll of the dice…and the tantalizing knowledge that anything could happen before sunrise.

Cocktail waitress Carinna wants a man to tie her up, not tie her down. Little does she know that her most willing partner yet has something else planned for this fiery Latina bombshell.

Dahlia is a burlesque dancer with a brain for business and a bod for sin. Her latest admirer may be a sweet-talking Casanova, but despite what he thinks she’s not giving anything away free.

Meanwhile, Amy has the perfect plan to rob the Liege Casino blind…until the intimidating owner catches her red-handed. Now she knows she’s going to pay… with both pleasure and pain.

Professional shill Cassidy is ready to experience a breathless rendezvous with her “friend with benefits.” But when he proposes five delicious nights of sexy blackjack, the stakes have never been so high.

My story is Stripped. I came up with the idea while, not so surprisingly, I was on a trip with my husband to Las Vegas and we went to Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce – a fabulous old style burlesque show/lounge in the Mandalay Bay. I came back, ready to write the book and my agent called and asked if I’d be interested in being part of a Vegas themed anthology pitch. I think for me, it was meant to happen and I’m glad it did.

Anyway – an excerpt of Stripped exists right behind the cut!

Read the rest of this entry ?

You wanna know what happens? Well, you’ll have to read the upcoming anthology featuring what Loveromances calls: Fasten your seatbelt, because four of the best authors of the erotic romance genre take you on a wicked and wild trip to Sin City. 

Now, here’s the thing – you can wait until May 1 when the book comes out or come by the Pittsburgh Hilton on Saturday April 19 and get one there.  OR

You can enter to win one of the shiny, pretty author copies I received.  

If you choose the latter, simply use the handy dandy contact form at my website and be sure to put VEGAS CONTEST in the subject line.  I’ll begin choosing winners at random, oh any old time I want to and up through they’re gone. Just make a note of where you’d be putting your review up (and no, it’s not going to make a difference if you post at Amazon v a review blog) – it just helps me to know where things may be going up.

Is there a catch? Not really. What I would like is if you’d put up a review of the anthology either at your blog, another review blog or at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com.  A good review is obviously desirable but not required – all four of us want you to love our stories but we want you to be honest too.

So that’s it – you want a free, early copy, enter to win!!  I’ll be notifying winners via email so be sure the address you use is valid.  ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER HOUSEHOLD PLEASE

All Winners Have Been Notified By Email!
Mary
Laura K
Tez Miller
Catherine Corbett
Amy Smith
Christy Hawkes
Sunflower95_daisy
Heather Nestorick
Bungluna
Gail Martin
tmealhouse
Joy Roach

My husband is home! Yayayay! He’s been away for the last week on a business trip and between all the writing work I’ve needed to do, running three kids around and sleeping like ten kinds of awful when he’s not here – I was just TIRED yesterday afternoon. But he’s home and I missed him and we had pancakes and did the nice, Saturday morning family thing.

I did update my website with excerpts for Taking Care of Business and Undercover should anyone be interested in checking those out and also, I put up a page for my next Cascadia Wolves book, Fated. Yes, Unexpected is now Fated because as the very clever Angie pointed out, Unexpected sounds a lot like Undercover and we didn’t want readers to confuse the two. Anyway, there’s a loose blurb up now.

AND…I’m told the author copies of What Happens in Vegas are on their way! Which means I’m going to be doing some contests soon so keep an eye out. I didn’t want to start a contest until the books were actually here though, LOL. I can’t wait to see them. Anya has hers already and she said they were very pretty so I can’t wait.

That’s about it. I need to deal with laundry and get some writing work done. It’s sunny today so I’d like to get out and plant some of the seeds the kids and I picked up last week as well.

Enjoy your Saturday afternoon!

I am finally finished with revisions on Undercover. They were pretty light but I wanted to be sure they were as good as possible so I was extremely careful with them. Whew. Now I’m on to a last polish of Sensual Magic, which is due to Harlequin April 1, that shouldn’t take more than a day or so, and finally I can get back to Unexpected. Yay!

I have to say, I got pretty sweaty when I read back over the sex scenes in Undercover. It’s hard when you’re writing something and then editing the first time. You’re very close to the book so you can’t really gauge. But reading it over again, some months later I was like, “wow!” I think this is the hottest book I’ve ever written but also, I was pleased to see the emotional depth in places too. I feel better about it and I already liked it before. Sweet relief.

I ordered some goodies for RT for our Love Shack reader party on Friday (don’t miss it folks!) This party will have goodie bags filled with excellent swag that’ll be exclusive to the party including books from the participating authors. I also ordered postcards for Undercover and Vegas and they turned out so pretty.

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to Frauke, the person behind the creation of this website (and also the hosting service for it, Janus Portal Hosting) and a great many other websites you you see around. As well as the person who designs my bookmarks, my RT ads and other various graphics like business cards etc. She is truly wonderful. I will give her a few elements and she always turns them into something wonderful. I’ve been a client of hers for several years now and I’m always just so awed by her talent. Plus she helps me with technical stuff when I just can’t figure it out. She always takes pity on me and with good humor. So thank you, Frauke – truly, you make my job so much easier and you do it with style.

Totally UNconnected to any of the above – did you know there was Fraggle Rock fic? I sat in a corner and rocked for a while once I found that out. And then I saw a guy in a furry suit with black leather assless chaps. Don’t ask where I found it. But, well just don’t ask. I think I may have bad dreams.

Now, I’m off to catch up on the stuff I let slide today to finish up with Undercover. Happy Hump Day!!!

In closing, to combat bad dreams – my dreamboat, let me show you him…

Marcus Patrick