Guest Blog Post - Author Rrrose Carbinela on "Romance: Mild to Wild"

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Hello, Readers!

First off, let me thank Emily for so kindly letting me step into the spotlight for a moment. I appreciate the time to let you know about what’s coming up in just a few short days.

Now for the juicy stuff! My romance/erotica collection Romance: Mild to Wild is about to be re-released under the Regal Crest banner. It follows the Regal Crest re-release of my poetry anthology, Attar: a Bouquet for You, currently available online (see Salem West's wonderful review  here).

            Let me tell you a little about my writing process. Back when I finally accepted the totality of who I am, a lesbian with a vivid imagination, I started “seeing” scenes develop in my mind’s eye, scenes of women discovering other women and enjoying each other in every possible way. “My girls,” for lack of a better name, would drift into my consciousness in the early morning hours just as I was waking up, and share snippets of their lives. So I would feverishly write down the stories, just as they came to me. And on October 31st, you can order your own copy of the results, thanks to Regal Crest.

I invite you to come with me to other places, other times...to explore the love between women as it might have been experienced elsewhere and “elsewhen.” Taste and drink the sweet elixir of romance, imbibe and revel in the heady excitement of erotica, in this series of short stories. I must advise you, the title is truth in advertising. I do start very mildly, but by the end of the book, you should be thoroughly satisfied. My wife DK says to read the last story first, and work your way back, but I prefer the build-up!

To entice you, here is an excerpt from that last story, a pirate tale which takes place in the Caribbean in the 1700s. Pirates and wenches and sex, oh my!

Excerpt:

She rose and led the way to her carriage, talking all the way. “I told them to prepare some cold foods for when I returned. You must be ravenous, poor Angelica. And I have a room prepared. I did not know about your duenna, however. Will you think me inhospitable if I have a cot set in your room for her? My servants’ quarters are overflowing as it is...”

“No, no, that shall be adequate,” I said, rejoicing. Jeanne would not have to sneak into my room. Lovely! She had entered Marguerite’s carriage before she could be asked to ride in mine, and I had indicated to her that she should sit beside me. My hand sought hers in the dimness, hidden by the folds of our skirts. She squeezed my fingers as she pretended to look out the window. Her thumb caressed my palm, and I hid a pleased shudder.

“Good, well, not in your bedroom exactly, but there is a dressing room, and she will be quite comfortable there, I’m certain. Oh, and we must see to your wardrobe. You must have lost everything, simply everything. No matter, I have a wonderful seamstress, we shall take your measure and make as many dresses as you like. I am so glad you are safe...”

Again, I let her words wash over me, this time leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I let my head drop onto Jeanne’s shoulder. She released my hand, and moved her arm around me so that I could rest my head on her breast. Wicked woman!

“Oh, poor dear, she has fallen asleep. I must be silent now. I would not wish to wake her.”

“Yes, she is very tired,” Jeanne’s voice rumbled beneath my ear. Silence reigned for the rest of the trip.

Well, I hope this has perked you up and made you think about reading my book!

The books are/will be available for purchase online at Regal Crest, Bella Books, Amazon, etc. Please make sure you buy the Regal Crest version -there are still a few copies of the L-Book edition floating around.  Feel free to write me at Rrrose@rrrose-carbinela.com and check out my Regal Crest author page.

From the sweet first blush of blossoming romance to the wild erotic adventures of exotic women, this volume will present you with a set of fourteen varied stories about women and the women they love. Come on a quick tour of Ancient Greece, the Caribbean of the late 1700's, and Modern America to discover a world of Lesbian Love.

New CFS

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Guest Blog Post: Author and Publisher Harper Bliss on "As Years Go By"

Author Harper Bliss is my second guest this month. Harper's latest hot erotic novelette just came out this week and you can read an excerpt below!

Harper:

Guest post by Harper Bliss on As Years Go By and silencing one’s inner critic

First of all, thank you for inviting me to your blog, Emily! It was also great to share the pages of Forbidden Fruit with you (and I do hope you’ll contribute to more Ladylit anthologies in the future, hint hint.) ;-)

I’m here today to talk about my latest release As Years Go By, a deeply emotional and rather dirty standalone novelette. After finishing the first season of my serial French Kissing and diving headfirst into a novel straight afterwards, I really felt the need to mix things up a bit and write a few shorter stories. As Years Go By was the first story I wrote after finishing some longer projects, and it completely took me by surprise.

I’m the opposite of a plotter, so it happens quite regularly that characters end up doing rather unexpected things, but both Jodie and Leigh (the characters around whom it all revolves in As Years Go By) have taken it to complete new levels in the surprise-me department. I blame my writing process, which has changed significantly since I first started.

I write in short bursts of twenty minutes during which I ‘go there’. ‘Going there’ is the term I use these days to refer to my state of consciousness when I start my clock (and my anti-social app) and just start typing like a mad woman. Depending on which kind of day I’m having (and how close I am to a deadline), I can produce from 400 to 700 words within the space of twenty minutes. (Yes, like most writers I’m obsessed with word count.) The key is to keep my fingers moving at all times (insert stupid lesbian writer joke here.) I go fast, and I don’t allow myself to overthink or (most importantly) censor anything. What comes out, comes out.

That’s how the things that happen in As Years Go By came to find themselves on the (virtual) page. I had a back story and a vague idea of what would happen going in, but a few of the actions Leigh and Jodie embark on are definite firsts for me in my writing. And I think it’s all down to effectively silencing my inner critic (because, basically, that’s what writing against the clock does most of all.)

Leigh and Jodie were lovers before. They’re exes reconnecting, trying to gauge if what drove them apart—despite their love and desire for each other—years ago is still valid. And they have everything but vanilla sex. ;-)

Here’s an excerpt:

She parks her golden Lexus in the underground lot of the hotel and, when we get out, the sound our shoes make on the concrete sparks another memory. We’d gone to a dinner party on the Upper West Side and had by mistake—I believed—ended up in the building’s parking lot.

“Well, now that we’re here,” Leigh had said, hiking up her eyebrows the way she does, before slamming me against the wall and worming her hand into my pants under the harsh neon lights. The total surprise of it, along with the possibility of someone walking in on us, and the thrill of how she always so easily did what she did to me, had me trembling at her fingertips within short minutes. A climax I’ve always remembered.

When we step into the elevator I half-expect her to start kissing me there, but this is eleven years later, and all the boundaries we once carefully set have vanished, and when I look at myself in the shiny metal of the door, I see a different woman—outside and in. Yet, I want her to. I want someone to do that to me again. To take away all the things that always simmer somewhere in the back of my brain, to take away that longing that’s been building in my gut for years. And I only want Leigh to do it. She’s no means to an end. She’s my ex-partner. The only one who ever knew me well enough to take me to the place I needed to go. Because the things I want, you don’t just ask of someone. Or, at least, I guess you could, but it would take away half the pleasure.

The elevator cabin is silent, apart from a buzzing hum, and the sound of our breath, coming as regularly as always. Yet, beneath my skin, my blood is sizzling. I start making up a list of all the things this is not, but I realize quickly that I don’t need to. I don’t need to overthink this, or think about it at all. That’s the whole point of inviting her to my room.

The best part of this entire elevator ride, which is about to come to an end, is that I get to experience both sides of the thrill. I know Leigh and the familiarity between us reassures me; yet I haven’t seen her in years and there’s the excitement of newness crashing through my flesh as well. Do I still love her? I ask myself as we exit the elevator and I guide her to my room in the furthest corner of the hallway. Do I? If I do, it’s in a totally different way than before. The love that remains after the hurt has been dealt with. A more sedated, stable kind of affection based on memories and shared experiences and the life we once lived together but, no matter what we do or how hard we try, we can never, ever get back.

As soon as we walk into my room, which is swanky and large and boasts full-length windows on one side, Leigh starts scanning her surroundings. The curtains will have to remain open, of that I’m sure already, but she’s also looking for props. I wonder if I would be offended if she unearthed some sort of toy from her bag, a flogger perhaps, or handcuffs. If I would be able to forgive such presumptuousness. But not even Leigh Sterling can rise to that level of audacity, and I remember what she used to say to me. “You have no idea what you give me when you take the pain.” But I did, and I still do.

And here’s the blurb:

At her son’s graduation ceremony, Jodie unexpectedly runs into her ex-partner Leigh. Because of how painfully it ended between them, Jodie is taken aback at first, but gradually allows Leigh to draw her back in—just like she used to—and shock soon makes way for memories of the intense desire they once shared.

And some links where you can buy "As Years Go By":

-               Amazon

-               Smashwords

-               Kobo 

About Harper Bliss

Harper Bliss has travelled the world in search of sexual satisfaction. She now resides in a hot Asian country and dedicates her time to writing down the stories that have inspired and aroused her.

Harper is the author of the High Rise series, the French Kissing serial and several other lesbian erotic romance titles. She is the co-founder of Ladylit, an independent press focusing on lesbian erotica.

www.harperbliss.com

Guest Blog: Lorelei Elstrom on "Owning Regina"

Lorelei Elstrom
Author: Owning Regina
 available on Amazon.

 What an exciting honor to be guest-blogging on this site, something I would have found impossible to believe a little over a year ago when I started page one of my first novel.  As a neophyte author myself, Emily L. Byrne (aka Catherine Lundoff) inspires me to no end with her body of published work and prominence within the community of writers.

Finding a publisher was never anything I considered when beginning my book. All of the sudden, a broiling story began overflowing from within me that literally compelled me to pick up the pen. I had no care in the world how it would or wouldn’t make it into the hands of readers.

 Having written corporate video scripts and ad copy in the past, writing seemed uninterestingly utilitarian. But as I sat down in a San Francisco cafe to begin Owning Regina, I felt a deluge of a million story and character ideas surging into my head. The floodgates had opened; I discovered my voice.

Intimidated by traditional literary formatting, I decided the unconventional and unconstrained structure of a diary would give me more freedom to explore and play. And off I went into a world of romance and kink. Then came my personal vow, to never read anything I wrote until I got to “The End.” I didn’t want to start second-guessing my thoughts and curbing my flow and enthusiasm.   And it worked! After 8 months of writing on lunch breaks, I had spewed out a draft that was raw and all me.  Then after a couple of very easy editing passes, I felt really excited about the resulting story.

I gave it to a couple of my kinkier lesbian pals for review. They each blazed through it in a single day, then showered me with compliments that felt genuine. They each seemed surprised by the realistic tone of the story.

After hiring an Irish proofreader from Elance.com, it was time to send out a few copies for early review. Shockingly, my very first response was from a writer at the Stanford Daily:

“I have never read anything quite like it before. The realism was astounding. I was pleasantly surprised by the depiction of kink you show in your book--I was expecting the sort of "Fifty Shades"-style of mostly nonconsent, but the level of consent made explicit was impressive and most importantly, really organic. I was blown away by your book!”

Imagine the validation I felt reading this as a timid, first-time writer! It felt like... if nothing else ever happened with my book, at least one person “got me.”

 The other early reviewers also responded with glowing praise, although some were confused as to which genre the book belonged to.  Owning Regina is mostly a love story with a lot of heart, which makes it a candidate for the genre of lesbian romance novel. But the story also features a large amount of detailed BDSM intimacy, which pushes it more toward the lesbian erotica genre.  Some reviewers were wishing it were solidly on one side or the other.  So marketing the book has been a little challenging to make sure the readers would know what to expect and not be disappointed. I decided on a faceless cover that hints at kink, but also alludes to a realistic love story. The cover was inspired by that of 50 Shades of Grey, whose key image is a mundane close-up shot of a necktie.

After releasing Owning Regina on Amazon, it quickly received a majority of 5-star reviews that share the common theme of successfully blending both genres.

"Owning Regina is a perfect blend of a romance and eroticism and I really appreciated that both women were healthy, strong, and very functional people that happened to be into kink.” – Amy (Amazon review)

 Yay! More validation of my burning urge to bring everyday kink into literature. I don’t write vampires or science fiction, I just write realistic, loving relationships of ladies who have a kinky sexual orientation.  And yes, kink is a real orientation (as this article by Slate/NY Times writer Jillian Keenan proposes).

 Super buoyed by the positive feedback, I jumped into getting my book more exposure. Again hitting Elance, I found a producer to turn Owning Regina into an audiobook. It’s been so satisfying and fun to hear my very own words read by actors. Advance chapters of the book were released on iTunes and had been downloaded thousands and thousands of times before the full book was finished being recorded.

Then I learned that Germany consumes more romance novels per capita than any other country, sparking my mission to get my book translated. I found a German college student and offered a back-end deal for the translation so I wouldn’t have to pay up front. I figured even if I my profit percentage were small, it would be bigger than if I didn’t have a German version at all.  But right off the bat, it was clear that I would have no control over the tone of the German version and had to trust that tone would work in German. For example, the very title Owning Regina is not translatable in German because the language has no gerunds. So we decided to change the German title to Regina, My Possession.

The whole Owning Regina experience has encouraged me to let my kinky voice out of its cage. In addition to finishing up a short story with entirely different characters, I’m delving into the sequel of Owning Regina.

My advice is short and simple to anyone wants to become an author: Always write for yourself!