I’m going to break this rule today. I’m breaking this rule because yesterday, an author named Kendall Grey wrote a blog post that not only really made me mad, but it attempted to sling all sorts of her own guilt issues on other authors and on our readers too. So, Kendall Grey, though you deleted your post because people reacted with anger to the shit you were slinging, I have an important lesson for you: The internet is forever.

Turns out, Ms. Grey wrote some UF and put a lot of money and effort into it and it didn’t do well. Now, here’s the thing – I have some books that I LOVED. Books I worked my ass off on. Books I think are my very best work and they just didn’t hit it off with a lot of readers. It happens. To all of us. Grey is not a special snowflake for failing. If there’s a constant when it comes to art and publishing, it’s failure. There are books I read all the time in series that go on to die out and I LOVE them. I think the writing is amazing and it bums me out that more people just didn’t click with the books. But that’s the way of the world sometimes and if you mean to make your career in publishing, it’s a hard truth you have to accept. You do.

I’m going to say this one more time and hopefully Kendall Grey hears it – It’s a hard truth you have to accept that sometimes a book you pour your heart and soul and a great deal of work into just goes nowhere.

So okay, I get her feeling upset by that.

But then her post just jumped the tracks and barreled into crazytown. She says that when her UF didn’t do as well as she’d hoped:

I sold out.
I wrote an erotica book.
It kicked my UF series’ ASS in sales and rankings.

Now, I feel pity for her that she’d view writing any story as “selling out” but whatever, that’s her business.

My problems with this post begin with this:

Some hard truths came to light through this process. The biggest revelation was that as authors, we have to decide whether we’re in this business to make art or to make money. We can’t have both. Very few authors make art that sells. Commercial viability does not lend itself to artistic endeavors, and vice-versa. If New York doesn’t want your book, then you’re probably too creative. If they do want it, then you’re marketable. New York publishers run a business. They don’t give a shit about art.

Um, quit it with the “we” stuff okay, Kendall? Because I disagree that “as authors, we have to decide whether we’re in this business to make art or to make money. We can’t have both” In fact, that’s something YOU have hung around your neck and that’s what’s holding you back from being happy with what you’re doing. Me? I’m over here writing what makes me happy. Creating my art and, as it turns out, making money from it. Seems to me, Kendall Grey is the one here who doesn’t “give a shit about art”

Here’s another hard fact – you can cry all you want about how NY didn’t want you so clearly they don’t want art. Or that you’re too edgy or too awesome or that they just don’t care about quality. But really? they just didn’t want your story. Shrug. Now, sometimes you get rejected because your book sucks. Or because whatever editor you subbed to has just bought something very similar to your book just a week before. Or, in the case with UF, the market has tightened. Which isn’t about art or not art, it’s about which of their products people are going to want to read in what quantity. Because art galleries and publishing houses want to put out products people wish to consume. That’s sort of how it works.

The problem with the leap of (il)logic Grey makes is that because her books didn’t sell like she thought they should, that NY hates art. When really, art is in the eye of the beholder and unless you’re just creating it for yourself (and you publish so that’s not the case) you do have to understand that consumption is part of the process.

And then, she compounds all this shame spiral with this:

Apparently, they have something there. Readers generally (don’t throw stones—I’m referring to the masses here, not individuals) don’t want art either. They want easily digestible, bite-sized nuggets of warm fuzzies. They want simplicity. Art is neither easily digestible (you sometimes have to chew on it for days to filter meaning from it) nor simple.

Hear that readers? You don’t care about art! You aren’t smart enough to understand her art. Her failure is because you don’t want to put in the time to understand her books.

Now see, there IS a rule I don’t ever break and that is: Thou Shalt Respect Your Readers

There are several things about that statement Ms. Grey needs to understand. One: Not EVERY reader is the right reader for your book. So you write for the readers who enjoy you and your voice. Two: Telling readers, the people who in fact give up a great deal of their time and energy to read our books and if we’re lucky enjoy them and speak about them, that they are too stupid to understand our art is, in fact, YOUR inability to understand art, not theirs.

Reading, like other types of art appreciation, is intensely personal. So what appeals to people is going to depend on who they are. It depends on what is happening in their life at any given moment. On what has happened to them over the course of their personal history and what makes them feel any number of things. The value of art, when it comes to being appreciated by the beholder makes the person consuming it part of that process. Failing to appreciate that integral part of the process is done at your own peril.

But it gets worse. Because Grey goes on to say:

I know it’s depressing to hear that in order to find success, you may have to compromise your principles. I’ve come to grips with the fact that in the current market, trashy smut sells, and urban fantasy does not. Tough shit for me. If you want to sell books, you have to feed the market what it craves.

So in one paragraph, you’re told “trashy smut” sells and that she’s feeding you something she hates to write because you’re all Oscar the Grouch living in the garbage craving that disgusting filth she’s sold her soul to write instead of her “beautifully artistic UF”

But never fear because:

For us artists who want or need to make a living at writing, there is a silver lining. Once you’ve done your part to feed the reader machine, and you get paid ridiculous amounts of money for publicly shaming yourself and lowering your standards, you’ll be armed with the power to write what you want. Once you’ve built your readership, there’s a good chance many of your readers will follow you into your preferred, artsy-fartsy genre because they like you. Yes, you may have to compromise and write more sell-out books along the way to feed YOUR machine, but the beauty is that you can do BOTH and make it work.

Now, Ms. Grey has to own her shit here. So if she feels what she’s been writing is trash? I have to take her at her word. And as she apparently thinks readers of her books are not intelligent enough to understand her other books, I’ll take her at face value on that too. Which is to say, I have no need to read or buy anything she writes because I am fine with understanding when an author says her books suck and I’m a dick for wanting to read them.

Now I’m going to talk about what I think.

I contracted my first book back in 2004. An erotic romance. With a digital publisher. Back then, all those things were considered trashy. Digital books weren’t considered “real” books and erotic romance wasn’t even considered romance by a whole lot of authors and author organizations.

But the readers? Well, they thought so. I just had my 8 year anniversary of the publication of my first book earlier this month. In the time since then I’ve written over 50 novels and novellas. Some I published with traditional publishers like Berkley and Harlequin, some I published with smaller publishers like Samhain and Carina. I’ve hit lists with books that came out from NY publishers and from Samhain. I’ve won awards. I’ve hit best of lists. And I make a really nice living with my art.

Two things I believe are responsible for this – I write the books I am proud of and I have the best readers in the whole world.

Writing books I love doesn’t mean I live unaware of the market. Publishing is, after all a business and readers are the consumers. So when readers are sick to death of a sub genre, it’s harder to sell a book in that genre. That doesn’t mean I am too awesome for readers to comprehend and it doesn’t mean NY publishers hate art. It means people buy what they like. Which means that when I have an UF out on a pitch, I understand the market is very tight right now and my chances of selling a book are lowered because of that fact. The causation here, however, isn’t “readers and publishers hate art and only love trash” it’s “I exist in a market where selling my product is part of the ecosystem and so I need to offer the very best product I can to increase my chances of selling it.”

Does it make me bitter sometimes when I have a book I adore and it doesn’t do well as another book that didn’t take me as long to write, or as much energy? Yeah, sometimes. But that’s how it goes. That is simply how it works. And in the end, it has nothing to do with not understanding my art, it has everything to do with what people are moved by at any given time. And sometimes you can know it up front and other times their reaction to one thing over another thing is a surprise. But it’s never because the consumer of that art is stupid or that they hate art.

So I love what I do. I don’t write trash. I write books. Some of them have a lot of sex in them. Some of them have less. Some of them sell better than others. Some of them that I worked the hardest on and am proudest of do not sell as well as those that were a snap to write. Sometimes something out on a pitch is a project I love so much and I know, at the same time, that its chances are very low (I have a project like that out on an option right now). It’s important to understand that creating art is complicated and if you want to sell it, it’s also a business. And business means you need to be aware of what the consumer is most in the mood to see.

Understanding your business and your place in the publishing eco system, whether you self publish, publish with a small publisher or with NY (or do all three as I do), does not make you a sell out. It does not make you a failure or a purveyor of trash. It makes you a savvy business person.

I will never, ever apologize for wanting to make a living from my art. Nor do I think any of us should. ANd if you do, that’s your own business, but don’t sling your guilt my way and expect me to wear it like a hairshirt.

I’m not a sell out. I’m not writing things I’m ashamed of so I can one day write what I want. Building a base means you best be writing what your readers like if you want to keep them as you expand. It’s a silly waste of that energy to fake who you are until one day when you can finally say, ‘hahah! Now I’m going to write this other thing” Because that’s not going to work.

Be who you are. Love who you are and what you do. If you hate yourself for writing X, don’t write X. Though please do understand that different things sell better or worse given time and trends.

And in the end, I’m gonna quote Madonna who I’m sure has no discomfort at all doing whatever the fuck she wants whenever she wants and who has made a pretty lasting career at it: I’m not your bitch, don’t hang your shit on me.

Three stories of passion, possession, and ink.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Lauren Dane takes you into a brand new world in ALL THAT REMAINS. Summer Killian falls fast and hard when Charlie arrives in Paradise Village. But the heat turns all the way up when she learns Charlie is also with Hatch – the man she loved three years before. While she’s not sure she’s cut out for a triad, neither man is going to give her up.

Take a ROCKY RIDE with New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Vivian Arend as she leads you back to the Six Pack Ranch. Anna Coleman might be the law around Rocky Mountain House, but bad boy Mitch Thompson knows that under the stiff RCMP uniform is a woman with a passion for speed and pleasure that matches his own, and he’s not giving up until she’s his.

Kit Rocha returns to Sector Four in BEYOND TEMPTATION. A promise to a dying friend backfires when Noah Madsen finds that the girl he was supposed to rescue is all grown up–and wearing O’Kane ink. He wants to protect her from the secrets of their past, but she wants him. And an O’Kane woman always gets what she wants.

Want to be notified when it’s available for release? Click this link to sign up for a one time notification!

Levi found the studio easy enough. His brother hadn’t lied. It wasn’t far from his office, which was attached to his house on Bainbridge Island. He’d moved to the island five years ago, months after Kelsey had died.

The building smelled like every community center he’d ever been inside. He’d been in more than his fair share as he and his older brother had set up a mentoring program through the local school systems and they gave presentations at least once a month. Each door had a sign on it, but he didn’t see anything about wedding basics so he wandered into one of the classrooms to ask someone.

And then paused to watch as a couple dominated the center of the room. A ridiculously beautiful dark-haired woman was spinning, propelled by a long, lanky man as the rest of the people clapped along to the swing music.

It wasn’t the male that interested him, though Levi was sure the man was talented. It was the nearly effortless timing of the woman as she went around the man, her legs and feet in perfect time with the music.

So quick and intricate, these moves.

Even he burst out with an exclamation when the man flipped her over his arm and she kicked her legs even as she was upside down.

A flash of some thigh as she hopped when she got to her feet and then she went in again as her partner actually flipped her up and over his shoulder.

They continued on for a few minutes more until they both took a bow and the male, apparently an instructor, began speaking to the people in the room again.

Perhaps he should take this class instead of the wedding dancing class his brother Mal’s fiancée wanted him to take. Levi was only doing this for his brother. He could dance just fine. But it was a way of mollifying Gwen so they could keep her attention off the dancing up the aisle idea she kept pushing and Levi would sooner die before he did. He loved his baby brother, but that wasn’t going to happen. Ever.

A bit more wandering and he finally found the room he thought was right.

“Excuse me.”

The instructor turned to him and smiled. “Oh! An extra. Hold on one moment.”

She rushed to the doorway before Levi could stop her.

“Daisy! Can you help? I’ve got one extra tonight.”

He’d been about to interrupt to tell the instructor he wasn’t interested in this class but was looking for another one. Until the aforementioned Daisy entered the room.

Long, dark hair had been captured into a high ponytail and it swayed as she walked. Big brown eyes. Not overly tall. Probably five and a half feet at most. Pretty, full lips glistened red. Her body, curvy and mouthwatering, was draped in a dress he could only describe as vintage. A full skirt and a tight bodice. Tattoos, though he couldn’t see all of the half sleeve due to her dress.

It was the jitterbug woman he’d watched a little while before. She had a gorgeous smile as she looked from the instructor to Levi. But he kept going back to her eyes. After a perusal of the impressively high and full breasts of course, he wasn’t a saint. She had beautiful eyes, but it was the intelligence in them that made him look twice and then again.

Suddenly it wasn’t so bad that he needed a dance class. Not if she’d be his partner for a time or two. That way he could say he went to the blasted class and have an excuse to get his hands on her.

She took him in and smiled, holding her hand out. Bangle bracelets jingled and clicked with her movement. “I’m Daisy Huerta. Nice to meet you.”

“Levi Warner.”

The instructor clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Welcome everyone to introduction to dance. We’ll cover several different styles of dance and rhythm over the next few weeks. Partner up and let’s get started.”

This was definitely not the class he’d signed up for. They’d discover this, he assumed, when they checked to see who’d paid.

Daisy stepped close, took his hand and he naturally pulled her close, his other hand at her waist.

“Leading already? All right then.” When she quirked a smile, a dimple showed at the right corner of that full, lush mouth. “I love it when my partner is tall. Fits better.”

Well now.

There was a lot of talking and people laughing self-consciously, but he didn’t hear any of it. With his hand at her waist, there was nothing to do but slide into the dance as the music came on.

Rosemary Clooney took a deep breath and began to sing the opening of “Sway.” And she bent to his will and began to move, sensuously, slowly, gracefully. Giving over to him easily as he led. That simple act of submission wasn’t sexual. Not really. But it shattered all the reasons he’d been lining up to leave after that one dance. And tore at the walls he’d built around himself a long time ago.

Be Sure to Visit Today’s Other Snippeters!

Myla Jackson
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Jody Wallace
McKenna Jeffries
http://shilohwalker.com/website
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Felicity Heaton
Lissa Matthews
TJ Michaels

Amazon for your Kindle

Kobo

Barnes and Noble for your Nook

The price at Sony should be updating very soon :)

RT Booklovers Con was so much fun (as usual!) and they’ve got some great coverage of the con over at the magazine’s website including some of a few panels I was on and managed not to sound too dorky on – How to Ride The Erotic Romance Wave 

One of my quotes that sounds rather writerly and everything: “Don’t write to trends. Trends move too fast and they’re mercurial. What is hot today may not be in six months. Write the book that is right for that story and your characters. Make every scene count. Nothing, especially a sex scene should be in your book just to take up space. Make it all count.”

I had an excellent time – it’s always so awesome to meet readers and other authors and this happened:

CAPTIVATED won the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for Sci Fi Erotic Romance of 2012. Thanks so much to RT and to you readers :)

Lauren Dane’s “fresh, fun, fast-paced”* series comes to a thrilling conclusion as the heat of all out war fans the fires of an otherworldly romance…

The bombing that almost killed Owen witch Molly Ryan has worsened the tensions between the humans and the Others. While the Others desperately campaign to prevent the passage of a law that would strip their people of all rights, the human separatists develop an agenda far worse than anyone imagined. With her position more precarious than ever, security head Helena Jaansen finds herself relying more and more heavily on her personal guard, Faine Leviathan, and, despite her better instincts, falling more deeply into the intimate connection that they share.

As Helena and Faine’s explosive passion grows, a deadly separatist plot is discovered, one which could bring ultimate destruction for the Others, and war breaks out between the two opposing factions. With the Others forced into hiding, Helena must overcome her fear of repeating past failures to save her people—and her heart—before it’s too late…

This is the last in the Bound By Magick series and it’s out in November of this year!  I love love love this cover!

Day One Winner: Luella

Day Two Winner:  Yolonda

Day Three Winner:  Hailey

Day Four Winner: Laurie

Day Five Winner: Angie

Day Six Winner: Lisa (Lisa’s world of books)

Okay – what I need from you is this – Please email me your mailing address and I’ll get the book your way.  I got a variety of books at RT this year – some UF, some PNR, some contemporary, erotic, etc so whatever you get I’m sure it’ll be awesome!  Congratulations everyone :)

Cascadia Wolves: UNCONDITIONAL by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2013, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, Samhain Publishing
Releasing in digital formats August, 2013

He grinned and god help her, he was so ridiculously beautiful she couldn’t stop herself from sucking in a breath.

The grin slid off his features replaced by something else entirely. Hunger. He wiped his mouth and leaned forward. “You feel it too.”

There was no mistaking what he meant. “I need to find my friend.”

“Yes, of course. But you can’t do anything about that right now. Come back to my apartment. You can stay with me while you’re here.”

She shook her head, hard. “Uh uh. That would be a monumentally bad idea.” She bet shifter males were a big ol’ unruly handful and she had limited time and energy. Hell, she’d probably end up getting steamrolled into stuff every time he smiled at her.

“Oh, I disagree. I think it’d be a fabulous idea. You want me, Michelle. As much as I want you. I promise to get you nice and tired so you can sleep.”

“You come with all sorts of complications, Josh. I can’t right now.”

“You still angry with me?”

She sighed. “No. I get it.” And really she didn’t blame him. It had hurt but she’d moved on and he did have a better life here. She cared about him enough to be pleased for that. And he’d been nothing but helpful in the search for Allie.

“But?”

“But you’re an alpha male and I have too much stuff on my plate to take you on at the moment. I want to check into a hotel, take a long shower and then go to sleep.” After masturbating most likely because he got her all stirred up.

Delicious: LUSH by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2013, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group

So, yeah, she knew Gillian would only tolerate her fussing with the food for so long before she nagged her to stop and come enjoy the party. But to up her game with this?

Damien Hurley sat across the table from her, drinking champagne and laughing with Miles, Adrian and Gillian’s son, before Miles grabbed his plate and ambled off with his friends.

He was a thousand times more arresting in person than he was on the television screen. Long and tall—and she had a weakness for long and lanky—he seemed to take up the air in the room when she’d looked up to find him standing in the kitchen with Adrian.

He had dark hair, a bit too long so it flopped down over his eye every once in a while so he’d have to push it back. A casual gesture that worked wonders with the muscles in his biceps. Drumming muscles.

A rogue’s eyes, her mother would say. Big, fringed with lashes as dark as the hair on his head. Intelligent with the light of humor in them. His lips were framed by a neatly trimmed mustache and beard. She knew too that he had lots of great ink on his body, though most of it was hidden by the clothes he wore.

He had energy. Even as he relaxed he seemed to hum with it. She tended to like that, as she was the same sort. And he kissed her knuckles. Who kissed knuckles?

“Are you thinking dirty things?” Daisy slid into the chair next to Mary. “And if so, fess up.”

Daisy was Mary’s closest, dearest friend. She had few filters, a heart bigger than Texas, was an incredibly talented artist and dancer and was absolutely gorgeous. If it weren’t for all the other stuff, it would be easy not to like her at all.

Damien swiveled to catch her eye. “Dirty, huh? We all need to hear.”

Mary, admittedly, was surprised he didn’t seem to give Daisy a second glance. Daisy was, well, the aforementioned gorgeous.

“Pay no attention to her. She’s trying to start trouble.” Mary waved a hand in Daisy’s direction.

Daisy laughed. “True. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know that look on your face.”

“Don’t you have a handsome man to poke at?” Mary looked around for Levi, Daisy’s boyfriend. Man friend. Lover. Whatever. They’d found something powerful together and Mary liked Levi a great deal. Very few people would be good enough for her friend. He managed to be.

“He’s off with Brody talking tattoos. And who are you then?” Daisy smiled up at Damien.

“This is Damien, he’s a friend of Adrian’s. Damien, this is Daisy.” Gillian made the introductions.

“Nice to meet you.” Daisy grabbed a server as he passed with a tray. “What’s this? I haven’t had this one yet.”

“Figs with cheese and prosciutto. You had these just a few days ago.”

“Oh, yes. Then I need several because they are fabulous.” True to her word, Mary watched as Daisy grabbed three little plates and put them down on the table. “I got one for you, Damien because you didn’t have any and you should.” She pushed one his way and then dug into hers.

Damien took a bite obediently and Mary got sort of sweaty when he closed his eyes for a moment and sighed happily. Normally she liked it when people enjoyed her food, but this, well, he was delicious.

“This.” He nodded solemnly.

Warmth flooded her. “Thank you. People often miss how good simple food can be. Fresh makes a difference too.”

Mary tried to rein it in because she loved talking about food and ingredients and she could go on and on.

“She’s an artist. You have music, she’s got food.”

Mary blushed. “Thank you, Adrian.”

“She’s doing the food for the wedding too. Next time you’re in town we’ll have to be sure to go to her supper club. Insanely good food.”

“I’ll be back for the wedding next month.”

Her heart sped for a few moments. It would be fun to flirt with him again.

Adrian looked back and forth between them and leaned to say something to Gillian, who nodded. Mary knew that look on Gillian’s face.

“Damien and his brothers are going on tour with us.”

“Really? Awesome. I saw you guys. Twice actually. Once at Lollapalooza over at the Gorge. Another time Daisy and I drove down to see you in San Francisco.”

Daisy mock-slapped her forehead. “I knew you looked familiar! Sweet Hollow Ranch, right?”

“That’s us.”

Be sure to visit today’s other snippeters!

Myla Jackson
Lauren Dane
Leah Braemel
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Jody Wallace
McKenna Jeffries
http://shilohwalker.com/website
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
Felicity Heaton
Lissa Matthews
TJ Michaels

Lauren Dane’s “fresh, fun, fast-paced”* series comes to a thrilling conclusion as the heat of all out war fans the fires of an otherworldly romance…

The bombing that almost killed Owen witch Molly Ryan has worsened the tensions between the humans and the Others. While the Others desperately campaign to prevent the passage of a law that would strip their people of all rights, the human separatists develop an agenda far worse than anyone imagined. With her position more precarious than ever, security head Helena Jaansen finds herself relying more and more heavily on her personal guard, Faine Leviathan, and, despite her better instincts, falling more deeply into the intimate connection that they share.

As Helena and Faine’s explosive passion grows, a deadly separatist plot is discovered, one which could bring ultimate destruction for the Others, and war breaks out between the two opposing factions. With the Others forced into hiding, Helena must overcome her fear of repeating past failures to save her people—and her heart—before it’s too late…

Bound By Magick: WILD DARKNESS by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2013, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
Releasing in mass market paper and digital formats, November 2013

Gage shook Faine’s hand and clasped his forearm before sliding into the car next to Molly.  “Faine will ride with you. I’ll be in the car just ahead.” She closed the door and moved to the car in front, leading them all from the airfield and back to the Gennessee building.

She knew Faine frowned, but he was too disciplined to question her orders in front of anyone. She had her reasons.

It was after one in the morning so the traffic was light. They’d driven by a few protests earlier on their way over to Sato’s place, but now things were quiet. She was glad to see, though, that despite the lateness of the hour, her staff at the garage they used to park their vehicles in was on the ball, using all the checks she’d put into place.

Once inside she showed Molly and Gage their room, got the rest of the group settled and told Molly she’d meet with her in fifteen minutes to brief her on the day’s events.

As she figured, Faine caught up with her in the hall outside her room. “I’m your guard. I can’t do that from another car.”

“I can’t do my job effectively if all my best weapons aren’t spread around. If my car had been attacked, you’d have been able to deal with it immediately. You wouldn’t have been in the car that was hit.  If your car had been, I could have dealt with it and you’d have been there to aid Molly and Gage.”

He paused, thinking, and finally nodded. “I understand your reasoning. But I do not like being separated from you when there are dangerous situations.”

She knew what he meant, of course. But the possessive edge in his words sent a thrill through her.

Dangerous.

Dangerous and stupid to let herself get any measure of woo woo over this male. He was too much, like all alpha males were. Too much to handle. Too intense. Too everything.

But she tingled nonetheless.

LANDS’S END by Lauren Dane … The Land’s End highway is one of the most dangerous places in the universe. The constant peril of brigands keeps Verity Coleman stuck in Silver Cliffs, dreaming of the open road—and of Loyal Alsbaugh, the tall and silent highway patrolman. When her town is attacked, Verity has a chance to win over Loyal’s muted heart. But will his wounded past make him leave her along the road, or can she convince him to take her along?

BY THE SEA OF SAND by Megan Hart

By the Sea of Sand by Megan Hart … Captain Kason Reed was willing to give his life to the Shieren Defense Forces, but now he can’t remember anything but bits and pieces of the war. When his sexual attraction to his nurse, Teila, causes him to make advances towards her, she becomes the aggressor, urging him with her body to explore the memories of his past—memories that all seem to draw him back to Teila…

I realized I hadn’t posted the cover here yet either – hotness, no?

There all Along: LAND’S END by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2013, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
Releasing in trade paper and in digital formats December 2013

She dried the last of the dishes and hung the towel on the peg.

“Would you like some music then?”

“I would. I brought you some books as well.”

She smiled. When he visited he not only brought her little indulgences, but important things like books and periodicals. She loved to read and he did as well. He brought her all manner of things, from light and breezy stories of fancy and love to heavier, darker tales. Reference manuals she kept in her kitchen shelves. She traded the books around the garrison and they ended up in the library when she was done. She wasn’t the only one who loved to read.

“Thank you.”

Her music player was charged and soft music played through the room after she hit the switch. He’d built a fire earlier on so the living room was cozy and warm. He handed her a large bundle and she settled on her settee to look through the titles as he settled in the large chair and pulled the newspaper out.

It was so lovely. Normal and yet, a rare treat as he’d be gone in just days and she’d be alone here once more. His smell filled the space and she breathed it deep, wanting to be bold enough to tell him how much she wanted him to touch her.  Damning the world she’d been raised in, the world that had kept her from knowledge, had raised her to always use soft words, to keep her gaze averted and to wait for the man to do the talking and action taking.

It was a silly world and it had raised silly women all chafing at the rules that were supposed to protect them. From what no one ever seemed to want to tell her.

She only knew that she was fortunate not to be under a man’s thumb any longer. That her independence came at a cost, and one she’d pay a thousand times over to be in her own place, on her own terms. One she also realized wouldn’t last forever, but she planned to enjoy it as long as she could.