Coming Soon! Spice&Vanilla

An acceptance mail in one's inbox is always a wonderful way to start the day. If that mail arrives at least two weeks before you start stalking your inbox, that's a bonus, and no mistake! :)

Evernight said Yes! to Spice&Vanilla my new crossdresser/transgender romance, and I am so chuffed because it was really a struggle against the elements to get this book finished! With two months of rainy weather in the middle of winter there was barely enough power in my little off-grid world to get any writing done, and there was a time a few weeks ago when I despaired of ever bringing this story to life.

 A sketch I made of Paul Boche

Raphael looks a lot like him, ahem.

Time was, when Di could dance all night. Time was, when she could ride any horse in the stable. Time was when she had a fiancée, a future and a home she loved. Until a silver SUV came out of nowhere and broke her life in half.

Well concealed under a sarcastic, spiny hide, Hugh has a darkly romantic, passionate soul. Torn between love and terror, he’s held the talented, elegant, magnetic Raphael carefully at arm’s length since the day they met.

Male or female, men or women, kinky or sweet, top or bottom? Angel or devil? Raphael’s life is a string of unanswered questions.  And Lucie, his long-hidden female self, may bring it all together or destroy everything he has.

This story is in a certain sense a spill-over from my latest release, Woman as a Foreign Language, although the feel and voice of it are quite different.

In that story I barely touched on Julia/n's difficult past as a rejected transgender lover. I had had an idea of writing a prequel to WaaFL, exploring Julia/n's past in more depth, but prequels in Romance are a tricky business, given that each book is supposed to have a happy ending, and Julia/n's happy-ever-after ending happened in WaaFL.

Then a friend of mine, in a completely different context, said, I am an angel, yes, but with a little bit of a devil inside, and that sparked the idea for a whole new character, Raphael/Lucie, and a new story, Spice&Vanilla, and I began writing this very very hot spanking scene (wink, wink!).....

Still I wanted to tackle the really difficult theme of disclosure, rejection and gradual acceptance,  and S&V, which was originally intended as a quick light fetishy short story became a real emotional roller coaster, and a full length novel. 

S&V's first reader said I broke her heart open and then put it all back together again. I take that as high praise indeed!

For all that, it's still very hot and very fetishy, so, stay tuned :)

If you read and loved WaaFL, know that both Nina and Julia/n make an appearance in this new story. I just could not let go of them just yet.

If you have not read it, let me remind you that you can get it at 

25% off at Evernight with the code WINNER2017

Spice&Vanilla will be out in the next few months, fingers crossed.
:)

Jessie Pinkham - His to Hold - New Release

I am delighted to have Jessie in the Lair again. Remember the lovely post she wrote a few months back for my series of LGBT tales? That was about her fantasy book The Dragon Keeper. Today I have the pleasure of showcasing her brand-new release, His to Hold, a Sci/Fi story with a terrific and fascinating premise:

"I've been a sci-fi fan since I discovered the genre in my teenage years when a friend introduced me to Star Trek. While Trek will always hold a special place in my heart, these days I find it hard to believe that in a few hundred years humanity could overcome so many of our baser ills. I love the idea of a world where freedom from want has elevated society beyond so many of our sins, but I look around me and can't see it happening.

That being said, there are reasons to be hopeful about the future, too. Therefore, when I first came up with the idea of empaths who bond for life, I set out to create what I believe is a realistic representation of this future universe. Empaths were created as a kind of slave class, and it took generations before they could win basic human rights. My series is set a century after empaths achieved legal equality, and there are still evil people who would use and abuse them. Despite this, empaths have made huge strides and there are plenty of fundamentally good people who are horrified by empath abuse.

This is a reflection of what I see every day. There are still far too many greedy, heartless people who will take advantage of and hurt others for their own amusement or profit, and yet there are also millions of decent, kind people doing their part to make the world better in ways big and small. It's human nature, raw and unvarnished, and we can only hope that with each generation, the good guys get a little more numerous or more influential.

I've carried this view five hundred years into the future, where they have genetically engineer empathy, interstellar travel amid and beyond a Human Union, and fancy drones. Despite the technological advancements, I have endeavored to show human nature the same as it is and has always been: a mixed bag we have to work with the best we are able. "

Are you curious? I know I am!

Love can be found when you least expect it… if you take a leap of faith. 

Cole Gallagher never intended to date an empath. Empaths bond for life, and they like to keep their bonded anchor happy, which is more responsibility and power over another person than anyone ought to have. Despite his lack of interest in being an anchor, Cole gets talked into to meeting a coworker’s empath cousin, and to his own surprise he genuinely likes the man. 

Aiden is everything Cole is looking for in a partner: charismatic, witty, cute, and a lot of fun. The catch is that he only has a few months to find an anchor, so Cole faces pressure to quickly make a lifelong commitment. When Aiden is attacked, Cole has to decide whether he will let his fears win and walk away, or take a chance on love.

Find His to Hold:
Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing .com/his-to-hold-by-jessie- pinkham/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079 Z9KW78
Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/his- to-hold-mm
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/boo ks/view/794448

And follow Jessie:

Website: http://www.jessiepinkham.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Jessie Pinkhambooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/auth or/show/16835564.Jessie_Pinkha m

 

Here is an exclusive teaser, not to be found on Amazon or Evernight. Enjoy!

 

When the entire moon was a very dark brown, enveloped by Tusnua’s shadow, Aiden said, “You know I only have a few months left, at most, before I’ll need an anchor.”

Cole suspected he knew where the conversation was headed. “Yes.”

“I don’t like to be pushy, but I can’t afford to waste time.”

“I know. And I’m about ninety percent sure my answer is going to be yes.” The last ten percent was keeping him up at night, though.

Aiden’s shoulders relaxed, and he said, “I’m glad.”

Well, that answered the question of whether or not he was interested in Cole long-term.

“I’ve met a few other men, but I haven’t liked them very well,” continued Aiden. He paused to give Cole a brief kiss. “Not trying to start a heavy discussion. It was just weighing on me.”

“Seems like you have a lot weighing on you.” In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best response to a man who’d just said he wasn’t trying to start a deep conversation. Cole really needed to work on thinking before he spoke.

“Yes. It’ll be better once I’m bonded. Still, we empaths always have more to deal with than the rest of you, though it has its rewards. Right now, I’m enjoying the eclipse, and I’m also taking in all the positive emotions: joy, wonder, fascination, and appreciation. I couldn’t possibly explain how great it is for me.”

“More than just a good show, anyway.”

“So much more. Not to say it isn’t a great show. We take the moon for granted most of the time, I suspect. It’s incredibly important in that Tusnua’s ability to sustain life without the moon would be questionable at best, at least human life, and yet we mostly think of it as a pretty orb in the sky.”

Cole said, “The rest of us, sure. Not you geologists.”

“And I’m not even a natural satellite specialist.”

The best part of talking geology with Aiden, by far, was the way his face lit up with passion for his field and his body language grew more animated. Even in the dim light his eyes took on an extra sparkle that was absolutely enchanting. Cole did his level best not to focus on his arousal, because it wasn’t the time or place, but damn, Aiden was a good-looking guy.

“Cole?” Aiden’s voice startled him out of introspection.

“Hmm?”

“You spaced out for a minute.”

“Just thinking how beautiful you are.”

Sometimes, blurting out whatever came to mind meant he said exactly the right thing, and this was one of those times. Aiden’s smile stretched wide, and he rolled onto his side to hug Cole. They fit together beautifully, and Cole was happy to keep Aiden’s warm, lithe body in his arms for a good long time.

“On the whole, it’s my understanding that we empaths are less visually oriented than the rest of you,” said Aiden. “I’ve never related to the importance my friends put on appearance. So while I appreciate that you’re a good-looking man, it means far more to me that you have a beautiful soul.”

“Nobody’s ever told me I have a beautiful soul.”

“You do.”

Cole suspected his heart was turning to mush. He squeezed Aiden tight and gave the man a kiss, once again doing his utmost to ignore the unhelpful suggestions coming from his cock, which had strong opinions on what he and Aiden ought to be doing.

Valentine treats....

Snow White

The Fairest of them All

35x50cm

Graphite pencils, pastels, watercolours.

I have been working on this one for quite a while, and even so I had to simplify my original idea quite a bit to finish it in time ... 

I just decided that the fairest of them all could only conceivably be Danila Kovalev...
It's a mix of many photos... you will understand how much I suffered in the last two weeks, browsing pictures of D. K. in various states of undress to source all the various parts... And then I started drawing from the top of the page, and by the time I reached the bottom of the paper I realized I had to frame the whole thing a bit tighter or end up with a somewhat embarassing picture. Ahem.

Those who read Woman as a Foreign Language will find more than a few echoes of Julia/n's in this.

May I remind you, on this Valentine occasion, that Woman as a Foreign Language is the most beautiful love story I ever wrote?  

Give it a go: it's for offer at Evernight at 25% off 

with the coupon code WINNER2017

New release - Raven McAllan - Darling Doc

Always happy to host that grand lady and great friend Raven McAllan (aka Kera Faire, if you want to discover her darker side!). She's been in a tizzy over this new book for a while, being her first book in first person POV and her first hot book after a while (those horrid "whiles", eek), so give her a good cheer, will ya!?

Dear Katherine, hi, and a big thanks for hosting me today. I tell you, I’m all over excited, because my story, Darling Doc is out.

It’s exciting in more ways than one.

Apart from the fact that any book birthday is a great time for celebration—think fizz, chocolate, chair swivel jiggle, yee haaa’s and so on wink— this is doubly so.

You see, I was convinced I’d lost my hot writing gene. I thought it had danced away never to return.

And that was scary.

Luckily (after more months than I care to think about) it returned.  However, I never thought it would be with a story written in first person. That’s something new.

Does it work? That’s up to the readers to decide. Cue nail biting

What I can say is I had a ball writing it. From the real life bit (the water bottle), to the ohh what ifs, and getting into my heroine’s mind...it was fun all the way.

Like a lot, if not most authors, I can’t write to order. I can only write what my muse tells me. Shouts at me, demands I stop a or b and do x, y or z... or whatever.

So when it shouted, oy first person point of view, no one was more surprised tan I was.

However as I started to write the story I realised that it was the only way to write it.

Through Sandy’s eyes.

This is the result...

This stuff only happens in romance novels….

After a chance meeting on a crowded tram, Sandy has cause to re-evaluate several things.

1, It is perfectly possible to lust after a stranger.

2, It isn’t only fictional heroines who need to carry spare panties.

3, A man’s voice really can almost make you climax in public.

4, Great sex does exist.

5, Being a doctor can complicate things.

When her chance encounter turns up in her surgery, there is only one thing for it. Grab said hunk and the sex on offer with both hands and don’t let go. Alistair isn’t a patient after all… and what two consenting adults get up to in their spare time can’t be love, or can it?

And a wee tease...

“We aren’t patient and doctor, are we?” he asked in a somewhat serious voice.

I shook my head. What was he getting at? “No, I gave you the info about the chemist as one acquaintance to another.”

“That’s okay then. I can change acquaintance to something else.”

He tugged my hand, and taken unawares I fell forward and my boobs hit his chest with a thump.

 Nipples are traitors. Mine hardened and poked into him as if they wanted to bore through to his ribs and beyond. Well, I couldn’t blame them, but this was my surgery for goodness’ sake, and even if he wasn’t a patient, it had to be unethical as … I saw stars.

He’d snuck one arm around me and pulled me so close his cock was doing the same sort of thing as my nipples. Then, he put his mouth to mine, and I was damned sure my panties were damp.

Don’t ask me how long it was before I drew breath, resurfaced, or realized my phone was making noises. I was surrounded both in mind and body by hot, aroused male, and it was fantastic.

“Honey, Doc, your arse is making strange noises, if that doesn’t sound rude.” Alistair had drawn back, and to my mortification, I swayed toward him again. Hells bells, I hope I wasn’t puckered up. That would be too much.

“My?” Surely not? Then I remembered I’d put the office phone on to divert, and my mobile in my pocket ready to head out before Sandie had interrupted my departure. “Oh shit, I bet I’m late for my next place.” I fished the offending item out of my pocket and squinted at the screen. I really must get my eyes tested. It was getting ever harder to see small print. My reading glasses were either not strong enough or too strong, and anyway the lenses were so scratched it was like viewing the world through frosted glass. Handy if I went into the gents’ by mistake (and let’s face it if I had them on, it was as likely as not) but not a lot of good elsewhere.

I managed to make out a text saying time to move.

“Right, I’d better go.” I grabbed my bag, put my shoes back on—when had I kicked those off—and did one of those half polite smiles when you’re not sure what else to do.

He grinned. Really no man should be allowed to get away with an expression like that without appearing stupid. Alistair McCrea just looked sexy.

“Not before I ask you out.”

“What?” I had to stop saying that like a twit. No one would know I had degrees and stuff or a reasonable vocabulary. “Why?”

“Because I want to get into your knickers?” He paused for what I guessed was effect and then winked. “But not tonight. Tonight I’d like to take you out for dinner, and what else I have in mind doesn’t work well on a full stomach.”

 Oh shiverooney. Hot sex? Swinging from the chandelier? Sadly no chandeliers around. What else? Now my mind was in overdrive. “Look, I’m not interested in a quick sh—how’s your father. Thanks, but no thanks. I have to remember who I am.” I did my doctor knows best face. He ignored it.

Thank you. Dare I say, but anything else I’m happy to negotiate over? Maybe I’d better not.

Find Darling Doc on Amazon

or at Evernight (on special offer for a few days!)

And look up Raven on her website for all the books and news!

www.ravenmcallan.com