MP-What’s your favorite type of paranormal characters? 
RP-I adore dealing with the Fae as they are such a part of nature and magic that they can be seen in so many different ways. They are warriors, healers, truth seekers and innocents.

MP-Do you find horror or paranormal easier to write? 
RP-Honestly, I think they both tend to trickle over into each other. Though, I do find writing horror can be such a fun escape. Delving into the psyche of what makes us scared can be quite interesting.

MP-How many books do you see in the Guardians of Nature series? 
RP-I’m looking at doing at least three more, if not four. Each book is going to be focusing on a specific elemental relic. Earth, Air, Fire and Water with the final element being Spirit.

MP-Do you ever fall for one of the villains in your book instead of the hero? 
RP-The initial ‘villain’ in Keepers of Water ends up developing in ways I am excited to look into.

MP-If Keepers of the Water became a movie or TV series who would you see playing Rydan and Arieana? 
RP-I would love to see Karl Urban as Rydan and perhaps Sophia Myles as Arieana. Oh and as a side note, Sorien (whom I adore) I can see being played by Michael Shanks (since his character was tailored after Dr. Daniel Jackson from the Stargate movie/show)

A promise to save her brother's soul unearths a conspiracy she was not
prepared for...

Arieana’s brother has been murdered by her own people in a world not their
own. Forced into breaking ancient law, she ventures into the human realm
in search of her brother's soul. Once she steps through the Veil, she
realizes the renegades are up to more than just punishing a few humans.
They want to destroy the race itself.

Forced to forge an unlikely alliance with the very race responsible for
the storms tearing her world apart, she finds out more of her past than
the elders want. With the war started, each clue they uncover leads them
closer to the first of the elemental relics, and a chance to save mankind.

Together they must work side by side to stop the renegades…

Before time runs out for both worlds.

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In our lifespan a rose lives for but a flash...here's a few flashes showing that even a flash can leave an indelible mark.

Show your love for these talented authors.  Like their pages.  Check out their books.  And know even though reading a book 


Native Rose by Holley Trent
Nikki twisted the stopper free from the glass vial and dabbed the scent-infused cork on the underside of her wrist. “Tell me what you think about this.”  She held her arm out to Charlie who was reading some early Clive Cussler work in bed beside her. He laid the open novel pages-down on top of his naked chest and took her dainty wrist into his grasp.

 Charlie maintained absolute eye contact as he lowered his face to her arm, an impish smile perking up his lips. He put his nose against her skin, gently tickling the delicate skin from wrist to forearm, and then dropped her arm like a steaming cow pie.

He hacked and scrubbed at his nose with the bed sheet.

“What the hell is that?” he shrieked in an octave his usually low tenor voice shouldn’t have been able to reach. He coughed some more and blinked wild eyes as if the smell had somehow transferred into other major body systems besides his skin.

Nikki jammed the stopper back into the vial and pouted. “Damn it, I really hoped that one would be it.”

“It what?”  Now he was grating his tongue against the sharp edges of his top front teeth as if he could taste the smell, too.

Nikki sighed. “We’ve been experimenting with some new fragrances at work and using native roses as the inspiration for the scent.”

“Is your nose broken?”

“Heh.”  Nikki made a note on her clipboard. “I have a cold.”

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The Morning After by Jamallah Bergman 

                 Waking up from her slumber, she realized that she was all alone in her bed.  Feeling something along her hip seeing a beautiful rose sitting right there. Taking the rose, she laid on her back, smiling about what had happened the following night. It was one of those moments in time that she honestly would be thinking of it for as long as she lived.

                  They decided to meet up at a hotel far from her hometown for fear of being recognized. She had been in a relationship that had lasted all but ten years, ten years of heartache, ten years of lies, ten years of being used for sex and money. She had been single for the past year until she met him. He was nothing that she had been used to, completely mysterious, handsome….actually model handsome which was something she wasn’t use to. It was as if he had just appeared out of nowhere when they met and they had been with each other ever since.

                  They had never had sex together, most of the time whenever they were together they would go off in some corner where they would feel each other up. Away from prying eyes but just enough to hear and it was always her fear about getting caught by someone.

                  “But that’s what makes this so exciting,” he told her the first time they got together. “Thinking you’re about to get caught. Feeling your heart racing in your chest, you’re breathing growing rapid, doesn’t it get you hot my darling”

                  In a way he was right, it did get her very excited.

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The Wedding Annivesary by Melissa Keir

Our anniversary was approaching and I wanted it to be memorable. Luke had been spending a lot of time away from home. When I’d ask, he’d say he was working. I wanted something sexy that would light the fires between Luke and I again. Our sex life had been pretty dull with all the financial worries and time apart. My face flamed as I walked into the Victoria’s Secret store. Spying the black lace garter belt and matching bra, I thought about Luke’s gaze when he saw me.

The night of our anniversary, I made Luke’s favorite dinner, lit candles around the house, and put on the skimpy outfit. But Luke was late again.

Pacing the floor, my anger climbing. Where is he? Why hasn’t he called? Thoughts flew through my mind. Unable to magically make Luke appear, I threw the ruined dinner away and blew out the candles. With resignation in my mind, I climbed into bed too tired to change.

A sound woke me from my nightmare of Luke in the arms of another woman. There was Luke in the doorway with a set of keys hanging from his fingers and a bouquet of roses in his arms.

“Happy Anniversary Honey. I’m sorry I was late but I finally earned enough money for the car you’d been dreaming about. I made sure the salesman stayed to close the sale. I even brought home roses, your favorite.”

Tears filled my eyes. Luke was my dream of a lifetime.


Find Melissa Keir 

For Him by Savannah Chase

Her nervous fingers played with the delicate stem of the rose as she tried to calm her breathing down. She’d gotten this far, there was no ways she’d stop now.

It was their anniversary and she wanted to do something special for him, a sexy calendar of boudoir photos.

“Are you ready for February?” the photographer said as he walked over to where she lay.

“I think so,” she replied nervously. That was a lie.

“No, you must know. I want you to feel sexy just as you are. I don’t want to capture your nervousness and unease in these shots.”

She bit down on her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I’ve just never done anything like this.”

“Close your eyes for a moment and imagine your husband in the room. The way he looks at you and makes you feel wanted and desired.”

Letting out a nervous sigh she closed her eyes and pictured John looking at her. His eyes filled with lust, desire and utmost love. It made her body tingle from head to toe.

Opening her eyes she placed the orange rose against her hip, letting it rest against the sexy red panties she’d bought just for today.

“I’m ready,” she said and smiled.

Click, click. The flashes went off and she shed off the nerves that plagued her all morning. She would show him sexy, beautiful, and desirable. These photos would make her husband want to run home to take her each time he looked at them.

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The Rose Killer by Benjamin Russell

New Orleans Detective Stephen Winters and his partner Tremane Foster, stood shivering in the frigid morgue as they waited for the attendant to find the right chamber.  Winters gritted his teeth and silently prayed he wouldn’t find who they came to Miami looking for, inside one of those drawers.  They’d just arrived in town less than an hour ago, sweaty, tired and fucking pissed. The sound of metal scraping against metal snapped Winters out of his funk.

“Ah, I found you, it’s not nice to play hide and seek with your Uncle Fester,” the morgue attendant said to the body lying on the metal slab. “Ok officers, here is the Jane Doe you asked about. We held up her autopsy pending your arrival.” 

Winters looked at the Attendant and gritted his teeth. “Thank you Uncle Fester, now – please step aside.

“I’m sorry Officers, I didn’t mean any harm.  I’ve just got a morbid sense of humor,” the Attendant said as he finished pulling the drawer all the way out. “She looks good from the waist down, but her killer certainly fucked-up her face.”

Winters and Foster had seen dead bodies many times before, up close and personal.  They were no strangers to the cloying, sickly sweet miasma of death wafting from the open drawer, but still – this was abominable.

The attendant was right, her face had been mutilated beyond recognition, but the lower half of her body indicated that in life she’d been a woman who took care of her body.  The single rose pinned to her panties was the telltale signature of the Rose Killer they’d tracked from New Orleans to Miami.

Foster turned and walked away while Winters continued to stare at the horribly disfigured body.  “Who’s in charge of the investigation? Foster asked the Attendant.

A clear voice echoed in the room as a lean man with an air of authority strode briskly into the room. “I’m in charge gentlemen; my name is Lt. Horatio Caine.

If you’d like to learn more about Detectives Winters and Foster - pick up the best-selling book Tortured, written by D.H. Black.  Click on the embedded link in the book name Tortured to buy it at Amazon. In addition, you can click on the embedded link in the name D.H. Black to check out his blog and his other best selling erotic thrillers.  

If you’d like to learn more about me – Benjamin T. Russell, please click on the embedded link in my name to LIKE me on FaceBook.


Yes Sir by Nikki Prince

            She looked at the rose on her hip. It was a beautiful fiery orange color such a contrast to her peaches and cream skin color.  Master had given it to her and said if she was good he'd reward her with the right to wear his collar. She peered over at him as he stood at his easel painting what she assumed to be her. He'd placed her only in red panties, black silk stockings and the rose laying just so. He'd dressed her as tenderly as one would dress a doll.

            "Don't move..."

            "I won't Sir."

            "I know you won't, because you're a good girl, aren't you?"

            "Yes, Sir."

            "I can smell how wet you are. I won't ease that ache until I am satisfied."

             She swallowed hard. Wanting to kiss him, to taste his full lips and become his and every way. This was a test and she'd excel at it. She'd been laying like this for over an hour. To be his, she'd lay there for as long as it took. His collar was the epitome of what she'd been striving for.

            "Come here; look at what I've painted." Getting up, she moved over to him, and gasped. He'd painted her and it was a perfect copy of how she'd been with one exception. In perfect color wrapped about her throat was his collar.  Then she felt the cool leather as he placed the real thing on her neck and his arms pulling her close.

            "You're mine."

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The travels of a rose by Michel Prince

            Cindy never could decide if a rose’s petals felt like velvet or silk, maybe just a mixture of the two.  The light fuzz that covered the petal reminded her of a finely combed velvet, yet determining the difference in the feel of the silk panties on her ass and the rose that Marcus had at the base of her foot it was hard to separate the sensations.

            Marcus had blindfolded her with his tie the only thing besides her panties that she'd been wearing, tied into a perfect Windsor knot, when he walked through the door.  With a crooked smiled his gray eyes sparked as he cupped one of the fire orange roses she had in a bowl on the table.

            Cindy rested on her couch with her ankle on his shoulder as he knelt before her.  The rose first was in the arch of foot then swooped to the top each spot kissed by his strong lips following the trail.  Cindy’s body quivered as the rose closely followed by his lips touched her ankle, calf and the bottom of knee.

            “Marcus…” she moaned as the cool, soft rose glided along her inner thigh.

            Brushing the firm bud of the rose softly played outside her core and the heat increased between her hips then clenched.  She could feel the warmth of Marcus’ body as he stood above her and kissed her wanton lips.  Tucking the stem of the rose inside band of her panties he smiled against her lips.
              “Oops, wrong  lips.”

Check out Michel's latest release

Happy Anniversary By Tricia Drammeh

I sprinkled rose petals across the new silk bed sheets.   With shaking hands, I lit the meticulously arranged candles before turning off the lamps in the bedroom. A bottle of wine and two glasses waited on the dresser.

I glanced at the clock. He’d be home in five minutes. My stomach churned with anxiety as I plucked the decadent lingerie from the drawer. Quickly, I shed my track suit and slithered into the skimpy panties and bra.

What was I doing? This was a mistake. We weren’t the sort of couple who made a big deal over our anniversary. He would scoff at the expense and frippery. I leaned over the dresser, intent on blowing out the candles and putting an end to my silly scheme, but the front door opened. It was too late.

“Honey!”

“Be right…” Before I could run and hide, he appeared at the bedroom door. His mouth gaped open.

“I look stupid.”

“You look beautiful.”

“You don’t think we’re too old for all this?” I asked, sweeping my hand toward the rose petal strewn bed.

“You’re never too old for romance.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed my neck. “You look just as sexy as you did the day we walked down the aisle.”

Forty years faded away when my gaze fell on the mirror over the dresser. I didn’t see a sixty-year-old woman who sagged in all the wrong places. I saw what he saw—the girl he fell in love with.  

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Untitled by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy 

           Sweet.  Their coming together tasted as sweet as wine but with a rush of power reminding Daphne of a mighty wind.  When they met, something hot and wild kindled between them and she knew.  A few words of conversation, meaningless speech and then the first touch, the caress of his hand across her cheek drew desire like a lightning rod.  Two mouths, connected, fused into one mouth, instrument of sensual pleasure.

            They left together, two as one, walking tandem.  No one uttered trite lines, no ‘your place or mine’.  To her, it didn’t matter where.  She would’ve done the deed in the back seat if he’d asked.  But Derrick took her somewhere, to a bed in a anonymous room.  Daphne noticed no other details.

            Nude as birth, naked as death they fused together, two bodies into one.  His cock hammered into her deep pussy and filled her.  They rocked together in an ancient rhythm and came, shouting their pleasure and joy.  Physical, all corporal, but yet beneath the erotic flesh he managed to touch her soul.

            If he hadn’t, if there wasn’t more than a chance encounter, a one night stand, he wouldn’t have left the rose.

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All for You by Kerrianne Coombes

Garret dropped his kit-bag and climbed the stairs, suddenly finding more energy at the thought of holding Cara. He pushed open his bedroom door and all his breath left his lungs. 
Cara was laid on their bed wearing nothing but a thong and a pink rose. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was open slightly as sleep relaxed her beautiful face. 
Garret stepped closer and ran the back of his fingers over the slight swell of her tummy. His heart filled with pride as he watched goose bumps rise all over her flesh, and his veins filled with powerful lust. 
She shifted a little under his touch and Garret flicked his gaze up to her face. She was watching him, her dark brown eyes glinting in the low lit room, a small smile tugging at her plump mouth. 
“Welcome home fire-fighter.” She whispered. Garret grinned and reached for the rose. He swiped the flower over one of her breasts and revelled in the way her nipple puckered under his attention. 
“Is this all for me?” he asked even as he played the rose over her tummy and around her breasts. With his free hand, Garret brushed the back of his fingers over her taught nipple. A hot bolt of need slammed into his balls, making Garret swallow hard. 
“Yes.” Cara breathed, “Its all for you.” 
He heard the declaration in her tone, saw the determination in her gaze, and Garret suddenly forgot all about his rough day at work.

Follow Kerrianne 
           


              

Rebecca Peterson is a thrifty, no frills woman, who likes her thing’s organised and her life in order, she knows what she wants and where she’s going.

That is until, one day she decides to do something out of the ordinary, on impulse she buys a dress that makes her feel like a completely different person, so, for one day she decides that she is going to pretend to be ‘Becky’, a woman with a zest for life and a love of Melbourne.

Lucas is dedicated to his work, a workaholic and completely dedicated to his company taking over the country, a business trip to Melbourne results in a lost account and the chance meeting of Becky.

Rebecca under the guise of Becky is flirty, fresh and fun, everything Rebecca is not. As Becky, she enjoys her time showing Lucas around her beautiful city Melbourne, but she wasn’t prepared to fall in love with a man she knew less than 24 hours, she swore it wasn’t possible.

Leaving him a Dear John Letter she went back to her old life, but she didn’t count on finding her old life to seem dull and boring, he had given her life.

With his Dear John Letter in hand he is determined to find the woman he fell in love with, he would move to Melbourne and he would search Melbourne head to toe to find her, she had shown him that there was more to life than work and without her in his life, he couldn’t live.

With little more than her name, can Lucas find the woman who turned his heart and world upside down?

Could she go back to her old life with her old routine and could she put Lucas out of her mind and out of her heart?



MP-Do you feel your characters have helped you grow as woman?

VE-I'm not sure if it has helped me grow as a woman but definitely as a person, you think differently and you look at things from a different perspective, each character is different and to convey that character you need to see the world from their eyes, walk in their shoes and you need to feel how they feel and so you become more aware that people react differently and you become less judgemental. I continue to learn and grow and continue to be amazed by the things I learn each time.

MP-Your cat makes her way onto your shoulders and computer does she ever make her way into your books?

VE-No, not yet. My cat Daisy is a new introduction to our family, but I believe she will one day, she is a very loving cat and constantly demands my attention and affection. (Sounds like a wonderful character doesn't she!)

MP-Where did your inspiration for your Becky character come from?

VE-I'm not quite sure where the original idea came from, a lot of my story ideas just appear in my head like a movie picture as did the story for Becky, however the character Becky is a woman who is used to being in control and for one day she decides to change her character to be someone else for just one day. I think some of us wish for just one day we could be something or someone we are not, without consequences would be good.

MP-Can you ever see yourself writing a different genre?

VE-Yes, absolutely. My first book was a light hearted crime novel, my second book a romance, I would love to get into fantasy, I have an idea for a book and I am in the process of putting the pieces together, the characters, the scene and how it will all piece together. Playing with different genre's and writing styles will help me improve as a writer and I look forward to it

MP-Is it difficult to deal with other authors when you edit other’s books?

VE-No, not at all, or I don't find it, most of us, or those that I have dealt with welcome another set of eyes and another person's point of view.

Check out Valissa Enever

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            As an author in this day in age it’s no longer your book you have to sell.  You have to sell yourself.  Not the easiest thing to do since most writers are introverts by nature.  We talk to characters in our heads and can have a deep and profound friendship that could hurt as much as a real one.  The difference being, at least in theory if you really wanted to you could truly cut someone out of your life. 

            Now it’s hard for people who live in the real world where you can’t just have a demon turn a character who’s annoying you into a pile of ash or a vampire suck the life from so you can grieve and move on with your life inventing a new “friend” to live with.  No you actually have to interact with a person and meet them half way.  Or in my case people usually have to go about three fourths of the way.  I’m an introvert, guarded and in constant fear of saying the wrong thing.  If this blog actually makes it to the digital word I’d say that I actually took a step outside into the real world. 

            I don’t know how many of you have seen the movie Nim’s Island but Jodie Foster plays a best selling author with a great fear of human contact.  Thanks to the internet she can research fantastical places and have her character visit them.  He also ‘visits’ her through out the movie which for those of us with a Muse have to laugh and say yep I’ve been there.

            Now I’m not that reserved, but I can be close.  It takes awhile to make it into my inner circle.  Heck my husband and I have been together sixteen years and I’m sure there are parts I still hide from him, that being said I hide them from myself a lot too.  The facebook, twitters and goodreads as well as these blog have allowed me the ability to step out a little bit.  I say a little because I have “gone too far” when I thought I had a “friend” that I had a great little banter type relationship with only to find out I didn’t.  Defriended and confused because it seemed to come out of left field I pulled back again into my shell. 

 Sure in theory I know Abe Lincoln said I could only please some of the people some of the time but if you go back a few paragraphs you’ll see the whole fear of saying the wrong thing comment.  So how as a writer do you put yourself out there the right way?  I have no frickin’ clue.  Am I posting too much?  Too little?  I’m always surprised when people ask me “is your book out yet?”  I want to scratch my head to that.  Were they annoyed by my over posting and blocked my announcement?  Or did they just miss the announcement completely because I didn’t do enough advertising?  

            So there it sits.  What worked last week may not work this.  I’ll go blindly, shaking in fear out into the world and hope that what I post is read and enjoyed.  I hope you too can find the little people in my head as much fun as I do.  Pop over a few pages to my novel cue and check them out.  I don’t know if I’m doing it the right or wrong way, but truthfully it seems now there is no wrong or right and isn’t that the scariest part of it all.           

MP-Was it difficult writing characters with an accent?

MD-Sometimes but I found writing Dr Hamish George’s Scottish accent harder than Franklin’s as I watch a lot of TV drama set in Yorkshire and have seen it written down. It’s a challenge which I enjoy.

MP-How do you research for your books?

MD-I did a lot of the time periods I cover in history at school plus British TV shows like Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey helped with the settings. I also read a lot of period dramas.  It is interesting learning about other times.

MP-How hard is it to write about a time period that you didn’t grow up in?

MD-If it is a time period that most people know something about it is easier. A lot of people are familiar with the events of the Titanic tragedy, the First World War and the Spanish flu. I try to imagine myself living in these times and most of the female characters have a little of me in them. Knowing my bad luck I would have died of the Spanish flu lol.

MP-How have you found self publishing?

MD-A challenge as I have had to learn how to format and create PDF files which I did not have a clue about before but there are some very helpful people in the Lulu forums. I am enjoying the challenge though and the satisfaction of being able to hold my own paperbacks is something that you can’t understand unless you have experienced it for yourself.

MP-Tell us about the couples in your book?

MD-Margaret Trevelyan was raised as a lady although in fact she isn’t. She knows she wants Lewis Franklin the chauffeur as soon as she sees him but getting from that point to actually becoming a couple is not straight forward. But they are a very committed devoted and passionate couple and the source of most of the series adult scenes.

Lady Lynchcliffe is passionately devoted to her husband Lord Marcus Lynchcliffe who she married at the age of fifteen (there was no legal age of consent back then). When he is murdered she has to find the strength within to learn to live without him and I drew on personal experience for this since my boyfriend, David, died almost four years ago. She later finds love with her late husband’s best friend which proves to be a steadfast comfort to her and they certainly have their moments between the sheets too.

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Bio

I live in Reading in the UK and have no kids by choice. I have been an avid scribbler for years. I wrote the Lynchcliffe series as a celebration of love and the resilience of the human spirit in memory of my late partner, David Thomas, who died on September 23rd 2008.  I like to think he would have been proud of my achievements.

The Lynchcliffe Cuckoo Vol 1 Mis en Scene

 It all began with the tragic and unexpected death of a new mother in the autumn of 1891. A grief-stricken father places his daughter, Margaret, up for adoption convinced he cannot give her the start in life she deserves.

The sinking of RMS Titanic throws Margaret into a new life with relatives she had not previously known about owing to a long-held estrangement between her adoptive mother and her sister, Lady Lynchcliffe.

 The passionate love affair between heiress Margaret Trevelyan and chauffeur Lewis Franklin begins.

Secrets, lies, machinations and murder combine with love, friendship and loyalty to shape the beginning of a love story in the early twentieth century

The Lynchcliffe Cuckoo Vol 2 the Enemy Within

A faithful servant falls ill on a wedding day.

Margaret & Lewis Franklin’s love story continues as they seek to raise their children and protect them as Britain goes to war.

Helena, Lady Lynchcliffe, finds new love while she fears for the safety of her son who is fighting in the trenches.

The household at Lynchcliffe Park remain loyal to one another and stand against the heart-ache brought about by shell-shock, marital infidelity and death.

Lord Michael Lynchcliffe returns from the Western Front a broken man. Can the combined love of his mother and his sweetheart, Irene, help him to conquer his demons?

Sometimes the deadliest enemy a man must face is himself.


The Lynchcliffe Cuckoo Vol 3 Making Peace with the Past.


Following the war this final volume is set in 1919 against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu pandemic that decimated the population.

Dr Hamish George finds himself under intense pressure tending to the sick but who will live and die...

Each of the main characters seeks to resolve issues from their past which they do with true integrity and courage, banding together in love and loyalty. Even the seemingly perfect Lewis Franklin must face his own past in order to find peace.

But the sweetest victory over the past belongs to Lady Lynchcliffe.

MP-What countries have you found your books received the best response?

RJ-Its too early to tell but I guess it would be India, US and the UK primarily, but also Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The book has a publisher in India, but I am currently on the lookout for an international publisher for the overseas markets. The book releases in paperback in India on August 1, 2012 through Leadstart Publishers.

MP-How do you hope your stories will change the world?

RJ-The book presents the world with a new concept – it empowers readers to choose the endings according to their belief systems, and at the same time sets them thinking about their own choices in life. The book’s central design is an extension of the Zuckerberg principle to literary fiction, and could form the basis for many refinements in hitherto unexplored areas of reader preferences and tastes. The question for the world today is – how will literature change if readers were to read books primarily on e-readers? I hope the book provides a path breaking way to answer that question.

MP-How did you come up with the idea to have readers come up with their own endings to Love, Peace and Happiness?

RJ-The book did not start out this way. As I wrote the stories, I got some close friends to read the stories. I realized that each story had many layers, and each reader would interpret the storyline and the choices the characters made according to their own set of values and beliefs. I also noticed that the less information I gave the readers, the more affected they were by what happened in the end. So I started to make the stories in the book progressively darker, creating a larger disturbance with each story as the book progressed. This disturbance or dissonance prompted an even stronger reaction, and my friends started to suggest alternate endings. Building a website to support such a craving was just the technical part of putting the concept together.

MP-Has the interfaith relationship between your characters caused negative backlash?

RJ-No, there is no adverse reaction as yet. My publisher in India has put the book through the “advisory board” and he does not anticipate any major problems. Internationally, though it would be interesting to watch how the book would be received by people of different faiths. The book attempts to cut through national borders by creating a universal set of choices that the characters face, and the added delicacy of having characters cross over into each other’s stories brings the whole point of the Zuckerberg principle home. So Hanif in the third story is perceived as a highly negative character, but in the seventh story, the reader understands the world from his perspective and then magic happens as you choose what should or should not happen to him in the story, aptly called ‘The Facebook Stalker.”

MP-Is faith a struggle for all your characters?

RJ-I prefer to think of the character’s struggles as a larger all-encompassing belief system re-orientation, rather than just faith oriented confusion. Though the Almighty does have a role in several stories, sometimes appearing in person, I have deliberately kept the metaphysical implications to a minimum and instead focused on the character’s responses and re-orientations of beliefs. In a subtle manner, as the reader explores the alternate endings, his/her own belief system undergoes some reorientation, transferring the complex richness of the tapestry to the reader’s mind.

Blurb:
Stories surround us. Stories about people like us who make difficult and often complex choices that sometimes astound us. You must have come across some people in your own life who closely resemble the characters in these stories. Maybe you have gone through trying moments in your life too.
For instance, have you ever been bugged enough with your partner to want to leave? Have you ever had to choose between love and money? Have you ever had to compete with your partner? Have you ever felt that your family weighs you down when it comes to choosing your partner?
At times like these, haven’t you wished that things happened differently and that you could change how they ended?
Now you will control how the stories in this book end.

Each story centres on the life of an urban middle class character caught in a set of circumstances beyond his or her control. A Hindu girl living in with a Muslim boy is suddenly in the glare of global media in a reality TV show, a divorced cynical man faces the prospect of committing himself to a prostitute, a highly talented small town girl must choose between life and death. All must resolve the conflicts within their beliefs.
Read the way the stories end in the book, but if you don’t agree with the ending, visit the website www.riturajverma.com for alternate endings.
If you don’t like the way the stories end there either, write your own, and if your ending is selected, see it in print in the next print run with your name in the acknowledgements.
Hoping to change the world, one story at a time…
Rituraj Verma, born 28th June, 1967, is currently working as a freelance retail real estate consultant. He grew up in Delhi and Mumbai and cleared the IIT-JEE in 1984, in which year, he was also selected as a Special Class Railway Apprentice by the Indian Railways. He was the editor of his college magazine, SAM, when he first started writing the book’s first story ‘A High Like Heaven’ almost twenty three years ago.
He later obtained his MBA from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA and worked with Philip Morris USA for five years before returning to India to start his entrepreneurial retail venture, Naya Yug Bazar which he ran for seven years. In 2006, he joined Future group as the head of Consumer Insights, a job which led him to travel the length and breadth of India to ascertain the changing nature of aspirations and expectations of Indian consumers.
 
He then set up the Retail Agency and Transaction Advisory Services for Knight Frank India, a leading international property consultant. He has recently started out on his own as a real estate consultant. His wife Smriti works for the Indian Railways and he has a son Arjun, aged 17, and a daughter Aradhana, aged 15.
Website: www.riturajverma.com
The website contains the alternate endings, excerpts, podcasts, contests, reviews, and updates.
Buy links:

Amazon
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Kobobooks

            Greatness.  With the Olympics going on it’s not strange to hear this discussion.  When Mckayla Maroney fell on vault or Michael Phelps didn’t qualify for the finals early on in the swimming competitions you’d think the world ended.  It didn’t end but it was sad considering how hard they had worked to get to that day.  The ironic part is so did every other Olympian there, with the exception of a few “passes” that were given to developing countries. 

            What makes one Olympic dream more important than another?  They each had to put in hours of work to get to their twenty-five seconds of competition.  It’s funny that silver medals seem so bad yet bronze doesn’t.  Is it the thought that “I might not have gotten one at all,” and the relief to have something to come home with. 

            Is it the country of origin where it’s Gold or nothing, even if you’re competing against your own teammate?  They say the Chinese diving team tells their competitors who will get gold and who the silver.  Ironic, since there maybe someone from another country that could beat them both.  And if you’re not allowed to compete against your own teammate why would you compete against another nation? 

As a writer there are different levels of competition.  We compete against others in our genre and ourselves.  When you ask how can you compete against yourself as a writer?  You challenge yourself.  You step outside your comfort zone.  Each book you want to be better than the last. 

            Some author’s don’t follow up with a better story than their first and that could be for a number of reasons.  Their first story published could have been the last one they wrote and the story that was too close to their heart was published second.  We know how that goes. 

            What makes a great author?  Is it sales?  Is it five star reviews?  Or is it something else.  In the Olympics of writing I’m still trying to get my form.  I know who I am and what my characters stand for.  I always say that I’m not trying to get a “message” across in my books, but that’s because much like a little girl doing her first cartwheel I haven’t stepped back to see the foundation of a front flip.

            But in writing the only true competition is with ourselves and that is something that successful writers learn.  There may be only one spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list, but unlike the Olympics the top spot can change daily.  We can all reach for the gold and achieve it, but we’ll only get there if we work as a team.

MP-Lets choose three of your characters…who would you most like to marry? Spank? Dump?

MK-I would marry Lorne, from “The Perfect Third”. He is so obviously in love with Alexa, and he’s strong, sweet and romantic. He’s also quite the hunk. Of course, his best friend Antony would have to be included in the deal, but I could learn to get used to it!

I would spank Jeffrey from Dirty Discoveries in the Bound by Pleasure series, because he just needs to be put in his place and taught a lesson!

I’d dump Greg from the Bound by Pleasure series, because he’s really a jerk, and I don’t think he has very much respect for women.

MP-If you have a playroom (none of my business if you do) what toy is a must have?  What is top fantasy for in the playroom?

MK-Hmmmm – should I write a flash fiction for this question? Phew, that’s tough to answer in a few sentences, but I’ll try! A flogger is a must have – it has many teasing and training possibilities. And as for fantasies? Wow! I think the scene from The Dungeon in the Bound by Pleasure series, where Mia is passed around and gets initiated by three men and women in the art of pleasure and pain.

MP-Do you read your genre or is your favorite genre something else?

MK-I actually do read my genre, and I think that’s why I tend to write ménage and BDSM. Because ménage and more involves many same sex scenarios, I’ve drifted into more M/M lately, and I would like to start adding some paranormal and/or historical. I may decide to use another pen name for that, so as not to risk confusing or frustrating my readers!

MP-What book was the most fun to write?

MK-A Spirit of Love, coming out in September from Total-E-Bound. It’s a contemporary MMF, about a group of ghost hunters that involves lost love – both on this earthly plane and the ethereal. I loved Sophie’s character as an empath and medium, and the scary ghost parts – it was a blast to write those sections.

MP-Leather, plastic or chains?

MK-Leather – it’s very tactile. The stretch, smoothness and scent all add to the experience.

All Together Now, a ménage anthology featuring “The Perfect Third” is available in print here: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1730

To buy a standalone ecopy of “The Perfect Third” from All Together Now, it is available here: http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=&P_ID=1688

If you would like to learn more about Morticia or some of her other available titles, you can find her at these usual hangouts:

Blog: www.morticiaknight.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/morticia.knight

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/MorticiaKnight

As you all know I love angels and demons but the Gods I've stayed away from.  Why?  You'll find out in the book Touch of the Gods-The Wager.  D. X. Luc shows us the back biting, family issues and amazing love that prove we are made in the image of the Gods.  

With snappy comebacks between Ares and Eros.  A wax job by Nemesis that would have any woman turn Amazonian.  Yet somehow you're left cheering for Vanessa and Hephaestus to fight all that and come out on top.

His touch seemed like a dream, but it still left an impression that sends Vanessa over the edge with desire.  This sinful read will have you reviewing your Greek mythology in hopes your prayers will be answered.

A full length novel that's only $1.99 to download you'll want to be touched.

To download off Amazon

To follow D. X Luc enter the contest below and follow her as well as those who've been a part of this tour.  If you already follow them you'll have a free entry.

I seldom allow other writers on my Wednesday Wonderings outside of when I have a book released.  It's not because I love to hear myself speak I'm just learning how this crazy world works.  But when Ashlynne Laynne asked if she could stop by and share a little about the next book in her series I thought about all the people that had helped me along and realize that you can't do this writing game alone.  If some of the people that have become fans of my blog will discover something new in Ashlynne's book I say that's great.  I hope you enjoy...




The Progeny Blurb (The Progeny Series #1)

           

“No fate other than the one I choose.”

The timeless creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseau’s— a vampire clan with the purest bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was different, yet the same: Ascher-a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.


Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.


Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human Wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.

Blood Bonds Blurb (The Progeny Series #2)

“Forever. For always. For eternity.”

The ties that bind two hearts are powerful. For Ascher Rousseau and Shauna McCutchin, it’s more than just a blood bond. Their union is that of vampire legend. Their love is a predestined prophecy foretold centuries ago.

It’s a week before Ascher and Shauna's sealing and the couple is making final preparations for their eternity, but Ascher's ex has other plans. Ursula is hell-bent on revenge—revenge fueled by lover's scorn and her father's death—and she begins breeding a fresh army of newborn darklings to do her bidding.

When Ursula finds a new weapon—an ally with the capability to dismantle the Rousseau clan— Ascher and Shauna's bond is tested and they must stand together against Ursula or lose each other for eternity.

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THE PROGENY/BLOOD BONDS TRAILER

THE PROGENY- THE DOUBLE BREAK UP

BLOOD BONDS STEAMY EXCERPT-THE STORMS OF LOVE



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About Ashlynne

Ashlynne Laynne has always had a soft spot in her heart for vampires but grew tired of the garlic fearing, sun-loathing creatures of old. An avid horror movie fan, she tends to enjoy media and music that is of a younger, more eclectic nature. This was the catalyst for her writing The Progeny. The vampire/witch pairing is unique and different when most books pair vampires with werewolves.

Ashlynne loves writing on the edge and teetering between the erotica and romance genres, and thinks of Ascher and Shauna as the wicked, damned version of Romeo and Juliet. She is currently working on books three and four of her Progeny Series, book one of her upcoming Rocker Series, and an untitled novella WIP. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her family. She juggles the hats of wife, mother, full time employee and part-time writer, hoping to write full time one day soon.

Ashlynne lives in North Carolina with her husband and teenage son.

About The Progeny Series

 At its core, The Progeny is simply a story about a man and woman who fall in love, and the fact that he’s a half-blood (half-human, half vampire) and she’s a Wiccan human are secondary factors. When we meet Ascher, he’s grumpy. Frankly, who could blame him? He’s engaged to seal to Ursula—a cold and careless vampire who wants nothing more than to get her hands on a bloodstone— and he feels conflicted about his existence.

 All of that changes when he meets Shawnette McCutchin. She’s beautiful, intriguing and possesses some of the most potent blood that he’s ever smelled. A war immediately begins inside Ascher. He craves Shauna’s blood just as much as he craves her body and the closer they get, the harder it is for him to control his urges. After Ascher calls off the sealing to Ursula, the trouble begins. His family’s peaceful period ends when Ursula’s army attacks the Rousseaus.

This series is about a family of which we’ve never seen before. They share a common mortal and immortal bloodline but loyalty is the thread that holds this clan together. Once you become a part of this family, the others will risk their lives to protect you. We see examples of this throughout the journey. There is no shortage of romance, steam and surprises in The Progeny Series but these books are for adults and contain adult sensuality, language and themes.

Book one of the Progeny Series—The Progeny—re-released on May 7, 2012. The “revamp” is a second edition full of extended scenes, new details and tighter editing. Book two—Blood Bonds—released July 14, 2012.

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Find Ashlynne Online:



Twitter

The Progeny Series Facebook Page

Ashlynne's Facebook Page

Romance Novel Center

Manic Readers

Blog

Website

Reader Email



 

Buy Links for The Progeny (Progeny Series #1)



Amazon Kindle US

Amazon Paperback US

Amazon Kindle UK

Barnes and Noble Nook

Smashwords

All Romance E-books



Buy Links for Blood Bonds (Progeny Series #2)



Amazon Kindle US

Amazon Paperback US

Amazon Kindle UK

Amazon Paperback UK

Barnes and Noble Nook

Smashwords

All Romance E-books