Want a Peek Inside Grant's Head? New Excerpt from FALL INTO YOU

First, I want to congratulate Kristi for winning the contest from last Monday. Congrats!

I'm busy-busy trying to organize myself for writing the e-serial. Good grief this is a whole new beast. Figuring out where to divide the parts and what to write where is interesting to say the least. As of right now, I'm planning five chapters for each section since that equates to about 50 pages for me. I want to make sure you get a good chunky read for each section. I'm really excited about how the first segment turned out, so today it's on to part 2. (Titles are coming soon btw!)

And now today, since we're about six weeks out from FALL INTO YOU's release (squee!), I thought I'd give you a brand new snippet of Grant and Charli.

From FALL INTO YOU:

Copyright 2012 Roni Loren | All Rights Reserved Berkley Publishing Group

“Are you meeting someone?” The hostess’s voice drifted across the room, pulling Grant’s attention toward the main door.

His glass thunked onto the table as the muscles in his forearm forgot to work. He stared at the redheaded beauty murmuring to the hostess. Well, I’ll be damned.

Charli peered into the dining room, her fingers worrying whatever she was holding in her hands. She looked lost. And unsure. And completely, jaw-hit-the-table gorgeous.

Grant rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling hot all over. Damn. He’d known without a doubt that Charli would clean up well. Not many women could still look beautiful in relaxed-fit jeans and a ponytail like she did. But he hadn’t expected her to channel a Hollywood starlet or something.

The hostess leaned over and pointed to Grant’s booth. Somehow he managed to raise his hand in greeting and not smile like some goofy teenager who’s realized he’s landed a date with the prom queen. He straightened his shoulders, trying to regain his mental balance. He was supposed to be the cool and in control one here. Since when did he get like this over a pretty woman? He had beautiful subs offering themselves to him on a regular basis and it barely registered on his radar. This should be no different. She should be no different.

As Charli got closer, Grant saw what she was holding in her hands. Shoes. A pair of sexy black heels he’d picked out for her earlier today. A perfect complement, Kelsey had assured him, to the dark green strapless dress he’d chosen for Charli. His gaze went to her stocking feet, then slid up her long legs, to the hem of her short dress, and not stopping until he reached the column of her bare neck.

Not bare for long. The collar tucked into the inner pocket of his suit coat seemed to warm against his ribs at the thought. Soon.

He stood as Charli walked over to the booth. She set the shoes on the seat, put her hands on her hips, and arched a newly manicured brow at him. “Broken ankles or bare feet. Those are your choices.”

He smiled down at her. “Already giving me orders, freckles? That’s not how this works.”

She released a breath and then leaned in, keeping her voice low. “Look, it’s been a long day. I’ve been through what I think may be considered cruel and unusual under my constitutional rights as an American citizen. I’ve been waxed and plucked and exfoliated and . . . ironed, I think. Some woman whose name I can’t pronounce has now seen more of me than my gynecologist ever has. And this dress is . . . drafty. You gotta give me something here.”

He stared at her for a moment, a bit stunned by her rapid-fire speech, then laughed, loud and open, not caring that it drew the attention of the other guests. He raised his palms. “Fine. Point taken. Sit down. We’ll save the shoes for later.”

“Thank you.” She took his offered hand and stepped up into the raised booth, obviously forgetting she had a dress on as she climbed in. He got a delicious glimpse of the bottom curve of her ass.

He palmed her waist and moved behind her to block anyone else’s view. “Lesson one, freckles. When wearing a dress, you need to be more aware of yourself. Giving half the restaurant a Basic Instinct moment is not that big a deal here. But back in town that may be a bit embarrassing.”

“Shit.” She grabbed her hem, clamped her thighs together and hurriedly sat. “You shouldn’t have made me wear such a short dress. I feel naked.”

“You look beautiful,” he corrected, then slid into the spot across from her. “And be thankful. As my sub, I could’ve requested you to come to dinner only wearing those shoes.”

Blurb:

He’ll do anything for you. But you’d better say please.

When tomboy sports reporter Charli Beaumonde loses a dream TV job because she’s not girly enough for primetime, she’s determined to land a big scoop and prove her boss made a mistake. But when she gets too close to a football scandal and finds her life threatened, Charli accepts an offer from family friend Grant Waters to hide out at his place—even if Grant predicts nothing but trouble from his buddy’s hard-headed, uncompromising, irrepressible, younger sister. There’s one more problem…

Grant’s “place” is The Ranch, a BDSM resort in Texas, and he’s used to being in charge —even if that means trying to keep Charli in line. But much to Grant’s surprise, she’s intrigued—even envious—of his trainees. They’re the epitome of what she’s never been: sexy, beguiling, and totally irresistible to a man. Still, Grant doesn’t believe for a minute that the sharp-tongued Charli has it in her to be anyone’s submissive. But Charli’s already on her knees vying for the chance to prove that even the Master can be wrong sometimes.

Out on New Year's Day! But it's now available for Pre-Order if you want it the day it's out. ; )


UK Readers: Crash Into You & Melt Into You Are Now Available In Ebook!

Just wanted to drop in and let all of my UK Readers that the UK version of Crash Into You and Melt Into You are now available in ebook! And they have pretty new covers! The print versions will be in UK bookstores on Jan. 3.

       

Highly-charged and intensely erotic, Crash into You is perfect for fans of Destined to Play and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Sometimes the past can bring you to your knees…

Brynn LeBreck has dedicated herself to helping women in crisis, but things get personal when her younger sister goes missing. Having strayed on to the wrong side of the tracks, she is suspected to be hiding at The Ranch, a secret retreat where the elite escape to play out their sexual fantasies.

To find her, Brynn must go undercover. Unfortunately, The Ranch is invitation only and the one person who can get her in is from the darkest corner of Brynn's past. Years ago, she opened herself up to attorney, Reid Jamison, only to have him break her heart.

Now she needs him again. But as their desires and old wounds are exposed, the sexual games escalate – and so does the danger. Their hearts aren't the only things at risk. Someone else is watching, playing by his own rules and his game could be very dangerous indeed.

Order on Kindle | Waterstone's (epub format)


The thrilling erotic sequel to Crash into You - perfect for fans of Destined to Play and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Will she run from the past - or is it time to take control?

After running away from home and the boy who broke her heart, Evan Kennedy has kick-started the perfect new life with her celebrity fiancé. So what if it’s a marriage of convenience? She knew the deal.

With her ticket to The Ranch, the exclusive retreat where any fantasy can be played out, she knows she can find someone to satisfy her unconventional desires.
She just never expected that man to be Jace Austin, her old heartbreaker – all grown up and ready to join her on a journey of erotic discovery.

She knows it's probably a world-class bad idea to get involved. But if he can stick to the no-strings rules, so can she. Trouble is, Jace has never believed in rules and Evan doesn’t believe in forever. Can Evan and Jace leave their old hurts behind? Because both of them know this is much more than just a game…

Order on Kindle | Waterstone's (epub format)

Have a fantastic weekend!

Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Links of the Week

I may or may not have done this dance when I turned in my book. :)

Hey there. Hope everyone has had a fantastic week. I turned in my latest book to my editor yesterday so I'm in celebration mode. : ) Now I get a few days to clear my head before I get to work on the E-serial, NOT UNTIL YOU, on Monday. 

Here are the best links I've come across in the last two weeks. Since I've been in serious writing/editing mode, my surfing time has been scarce so this is a little shorter than normal, but I still wanted to pass them along.

On Writing/Publishing:

On Social Media/Promotion:

Bright, Shiny Randomness:

What You May Have Missed Here:

All right, that's all I have for you this week. Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Losing Perspective on Your Writing: Does This Sing or Suck?

Photo via Marcus Vegas (flickr cc)First, before we get into today's topic, I want to let everyone know that I'm going to be on the Bring Back Desire After Dark radio show tonight online. So if you'd like to hear me talk about fun stuff like--how may parents feel about my writing, how I do my research, and what I think are secrets to a good marriage, I'd love for you to tune in. It will air at 10pm Central/11pm Eastern. If you can't be there tonight, the show will be archived and available in a day or two. : )

Okay, onto today's topic--losing perspective. This morning I discovered the good news that my next release in my series, FALL INTO YOU, has gotten a great review in RT Magazine--4 1/2 stars which is the highest you can get AND is the highest I've ever gotten on either of the previous books. Here are a few quotes from the review:

"Steamy, occasionally shocking, and relentlessly intense..."

"Loren's real triumph is the way the BDSM initiation and training reveal the nuances of each main character, from their darkest pleasures to their deepest fears."

"Heart-wrenching and blisteringly sexy..."

So why am I quoting this review (beyond the fact that I'm excited and want to share)? I'm sharing it because this proved to me that I have no valid perspective on my writing at this point. I think all writers swing back and forth between hating the book they're writing and thinking they're brilliant. It's a natural thing. We usually aren't right on either extreme. 

But I find the more books I write, the more insecurity creeps in. You'd think it'd be the opposite. But alas, it isn't. I was so nervous about seeing that review for FALL INTO YOU. It was the first book I ever had to write under a tight deadline, I struggled with the story, and I had to do a pretty major revision on my heroine (to the tune of 20k new words) in about a week. So I had all this anxiety that this book wasn't going to be received as well as the others. I couldn't even judge it anymore from my own perspective--is this great or does it suck? I just had to put trust in my editor that she wouldn't let me put out a bad book and would tell me if it sucked, lol.

So seeing that first review come out is a relief. And my anxiety hasn't just been about that book. When it was time to turn the first version of NOT UNTIL YOU to my editor, I sent it Sara (my agent) first with a note of--please read this before I send it to my editor because I'm not sure if it's any good and I don't want to send her crap and blah blah blah. Sara reads it and sends back: "This is my most favorite thing you've ever written."

0_0

Yes, I have apparently lost perspective and have been overtaken by writer insecurity. Luckily, right now it's in a good way--I think it sucks but it actually doesn't. Thank God.

But as a writer, you also have to be aware of the flipside. And for those out there feverishly typing away for NaNo or penning your first novel, this is one to keep in mind. Our writing can also look a lot better to us than it actually is. I remember writing my YA when I first began writing seriously and I thought that book rocked. I had confidence and queried it like mad. And though I did get a few requests here and there, it ultimately was rejected across the board.

Why? Because it wasn't good enough. I wasn't ready. But I didn't realize that yet. It took getting out into the writing community, picking up beta readers, learning craft, etc. before I could look back and think--Holy shit that book was bad! Thank God I didn't have self-pubbing available to me at the time because I would've freaking embarrassed myself.

So try to remember you're probably never as good or as bad as you think. And don't live on an island. Before you put your work out there, send it to quality beta readers (not your family who loves you and can't be unbiased), work with an editor if you can, get a little distance from it. And on the flipside, when you think you're writing complete junk, don't get discouraged. We all feel like we're writing junk at some point (or at lots of points) in any draft. I'm learning it's part of the process. We're an insecure bunch, we writers. ;)

Have you ever lost perspective on your own work? Do you have trouble judging what's good and bad in your own writing? What outside sources to you use to get feedback?

Books That Left Me Breathless: The Darker Side of Erotica & A Giveaway

You ever get on one of those reading streaks where somehow you manage to pick up fantastic book after fantastic book? You read something and think...I couldn't possibly find another book in my TBR pile to live up to this, then *bam* you manage to grab another winner. Well, that's happened to me over the past three weeks. 

First, I read the second book in Tiffany Reisz's Original Sinners series, The Angel. I knew this would be good because I loved The Siren and I heart Tiffany's writing. (Full disclosure, she is an agency mate, but I don't pimp books I don't adore and she didn't ask me to promote her book.) Her series is erotica not erotic romance, but there's always a romantic subplot and even if I don't get a neat HEA for the main character, Nora, I do usually get one for secondary characters. So it feeds my romance junkie heart. And the books are BRILLIANT, people. So smart and full of dark humor and sexiness. And the characters are so richly formed that you feel like you could bump into them on the street (and you would really want to bump into many of them.)

Also, I'm listing this in a "dark erotica" post because most would probably think of them as such, but I think that depends on your perspective. Tiffany handles heavy topics with a deft hand and injects such wry humor that the book doesn't feel broody. So don't be scared. ;)

Read The Siren first before you jump into The Angel. But I highly recommend the series.

~

So when I was still buzzing off the book high of Tiffany's book, I ran across this post on Smexy Books about ten erotic books on sale for 99 cents. Well, I can't resist a sale, so I went through the list and purchased a few that looked interesting and had good reviews on Goodreads from people/reviewers I trust. 

The first one I cracked open was Captive in the Dark by C. J. Roberts. Now, I usually have trouble with the really dark, dubious consent books. I have no issue with people writing them, but the few I've tried haven't been my cuppa. I usually have difficulty connecting with the characters and can't get into the story. But holy hell was this one different.

Warning, unlike Tiffany's books which I think are accessible to the mainstream reader, you need to be aware that this story isn't for everyone. These books are DARK and disturbing and will make you uncomfortable. I put in my Goodreads review that this duet of books is a complete mindf**k and I stand by that. I felt like I was developing Stockholm Syndrome as I read these. To get me to sympathize with such an anti-hero--a guy who is a kidnapper, a murderer, and so cruel at points--is a freaking triumph. The backstories are rich and tragic. The heroine is tough despite her dire circumstances. And the "hero" gives new meaning to the term "tortured." Be aware that Captive in the Dark and Seduced in the Dark need to be read together. The first ends on a cliffhanger.

But seriously, it's one of those stories that will not fade from my psyche for a long time. It left an impact. So if you're not afraid to go to those dark corners in your mind, I highly recommend picking these up.

Alright, so those are my breathless picks. What are some books that have left you breathless recently?

CONTEST: Answer for a chance to WIN a signed copy of THE SIREN. Be sure to leave a comment and your email address. Winner will be chosen at random on Friday. (U.S. and Canada only)