Love at First Bite by Jessica Coulter Smith

Today I have Sean from Love at First Bite with me.

So Brian, being gay in a small town must be hard. Have you ever wished you weren’t?

There were times in the past I wondered why I was born this way, but I’m comfortable being me. If people can’t handle the fact that I’m gay, that’s their problem, not mine.

So what’s it like being with a vampire?

Different. I can honestly say I’ve never with anyone like Brian before. But then, that isn’t just because he’s a vampire. I know the moment he enters a room, without even looking. And when he bites me – it’s incredible!

You wouldn’t change anything?

Well, the idea of growing old while he stays the same bothers me sometimes. We haven’t really discussed the possibility of him turning me, but I know it will come up in the future.

And it wouldn’t bother you to be a vampire?

Honestly? No. It would allow me to be with the man I love for eternity. What’s not to love?

You’re that certain he’s “the one”?

Oh yeah. I can honestly say that I can’t see myself with anyone else, ever. Brian is amazing, and I don’t just mean the intimacy,  but that’s pretty wonderful, too. He completes me.

 
Well, thank you for stopping by, Sean. I can’t wait to hear more about your story.

Love at First Bite by Jessica Coulter Smith

Available Now from Changeling Press

When Sean discovers Brian is a vampire, he’s ready for love at first bite.

Sean has spent his life in the small-minded town of Willow Grove. Given his preference in sexual partners, finding romance has always been a challenge – until Brian.

When Brian walks into Sam’s Place, the first thing he sees is Sean and he knows he has to have him. When he takes Sean back to his place, he reveals his true self and hopes that Sean will accept him -- fangs and all.

Excerpt

I glanced at my watch and realized I didn’t have much time before I had to be at work. With a groan, I slipped out of bed and dressed.

“What’s wrong?” Brian asked in a groggy voice.

“My car is still at the bar, and I’m going to be late for work.”

“So take mine.”

“Are you sure?” I couldn’t imagine driving the sleek machine he owned.

He chuckled. “Not like I’m going to use it anytime soon. I may not sleep all day, but I am stuck here until the sun goes down.”

“Thanks. I’ll bring it back as soon as I get off work.”

“Good.” He smiled. “I can’t wait to see you again.”

I warmed from the inside out at his words and knew I had a goofy grin on my face. Blowing him a kiss, I grabbed his keys and left. I had less than half an hour to go home, shower, change and get to work. I think it was safe to say I would be late.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot at work, grabbed my bag and rushed inside. I’d already called the secretary to let her know I was running behind.

Thankfully, she hadn’t asked any questions.

“Any messages, Jane?” I asked as I hurried by her desk.

“Just one, from some guy named Brian.”

I felt my face flush and grabbed the note from her. She gave me a knowing smirk as I walked off. Thank goodness Jane was cool with me being gay. If anything, it made me her favorite guy in the office. She never had to worry I would hit on her.

When I got to my desk, I put my stuff down and picked up the phone. Brian answered on the first ring.

“It’s about time,” he said playfully.

“Miss me already?”

“You bet.”

“I’ll swing by your place when I leave here, probably around five-ish.”

“Bring a change of clothes. I liked you staying the night.”

“Me too,” I murmured with a smile.

“So… I’ll see you when you get here.”

“See you then.”

He hung up and I logged into my computer. As I skimmed through my email, I saw something from my boss. When I opened it, I groaned. My project was now due tomorrow instead of next week. There was no way I could get the CAD drawings done in time. It would take a miracle. I’d been pacing myself for my original due date, not expecting such a radical change.

I picked up the phone and called Brian back. “Hey, I’ve had a change of plans.”

“Find someone hotter?” he joked.

“No, that couldn’t happen. But work did… I have a project due tomorrow that wasn’t supposed to be finished for another week. If I don’t stay and work on it, I’ll never get it finished.”

“So, I’ll bring you something to eat and we can spend a little time together later tonight.”

I smiled, glad he understood. “That would be great.”

After we hung up, I was still smiling. Not only was he excellent in the sack, but he was accepting and flexible with my work schedule. I couldn’t have asked for more in a partner. Not that we were at that stage yet. At least, I didn’t think we were. I hadn’t thought to ask when he saw clients, but I’d bet he saw them at night. Otherwise, how would he get to the office? I hoped I wasn’t cutting into his work time.

HEA Forever?

Ah, the HEA - "happily ever after." According to the Romance Writers of America, this is a cornerstone of romance. They define a romance novel by its:

"...emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."

When most people, including myself, refer to "romance novel," this is part of the idea. No matter what happens, you know there will be an HEA at the end. There's a certain R&R aspect to knowing how a book will end, and that it will end happily. This is part of why romances are such a good pastime for busy people. One can settle into it like a warm bath, and embrace the familiarity of it all.

But where, then, do we place non-HEA romance? Is there such a thing? I believe there is. I've read a number of books that I consider romances, yet which don't end happily. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? How many lovers has Nicholas Sparks killed off? Yes, I believe they exist. I know they do. Granted, people who want HEA might not like these romances as much, but I don't think that negates them as romances; they're just a different sort. In film studies, they are often called "melodramas," to distinguish them from "romantic comedies." "Romantic lit," maybe, instead of "genre romance", for our purposes?

Needless to say, I have nothing against HEA, and certainly nothing against traditional romance novels, as anyone who's familiar with this blog knows. Heck, all my books so far have been HEA or at least Happy For Now. (Oh no! Did I just **SPOILER** my entire opus there?)

However, I'm now working on a few projects where I don't know if they will end happily, especially in terms of any relationships therein. I can't guarantee the required HEA with those books, so I've already come to terms with the fact that I will be publishing them as non-romances, even though some of them have romantic aspects or even love stories. Romantic elements, yes. But the HEAs are iffy at best, if HEA allows only for coupling, and not for character development and triumph over adversity. (I.e., if "getting your man" is the only form of happy ending, it's not likely going to happen here.)

Will readers feel ripped off if they perceive me as a "romance writer," and I don't deliver? This is a worry I have, but I'm moving past it. I've decided not to split myself off into a new pen name for these books. I might shift/update some of my "image", but I will be keeping this name for these works. They will still be My Books, and they feel as much a part of me as my romances. I'm disinclined to exile them. Nor can I just shelve everything non-romance, because that wouldn't be satisfying for me.

It's time to test run the whole "brand the writer, not the books" theory of author marketing, I guess. I believe readers are savvy enough to handle this, and I'm okay if my "romance purity" cred slips because of these expansions.

This month, however, my distance from "romance" seems to have grown, somewhat against my will.

The HEA issue has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks due to some new rulings by RWA. As far as I know, RWA has long held that the HEA is definitive of romance as a genre. However, it did have an awards category for works containing a "strong romantic element," which basically means they aren't "traditional romances," but do have enough romance in them to be applicable to their awards and their common readership. Recently, RWA announced that this category would be gone as of 2014. Then, according to reports, they took the further move to clarify that those writers who do not write what they consider to be "real romance" (including HEA) are only eligible for associate membership, at most, leaving them either paying for membership without voting rights, or, well, leaving altogether.

In short, if you don't write romance-focused fiction, with a HEA romance between main characters as your "A Plot", you are not a romance writer, and are therefore ineligible. Oh well, it's their org, and their rules, so it's fair enough.

All it is means to me is that I guess I will never be a member of RWA now.

There have been several reasons why I've been reluctant to part with the money it takes to join RWA, so this is just the "case closed" seal. Other issues I've had included the absence of a convenient local chapter (one of the main things many RWA members love about membership), their stance on ebooks (though I gather that's changing) and non-advance paying publishers, and on erotica, and their often problematic views on LGTBQ fiction (I don't write LGTBQ fiction at present, but I stand with them on issues of equity). The likelihood I would ever attend their annual national shindig is basically nil, as well. It's always seemed to me that it's really an organization for traditional publishing, with agents and advances, and regular category romance through Big Publishers. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's what you want and where you are heading, but it's not me or my career, and I get plenty of contact with other writers through different means, particularly social media and forums. Why pay steadily increasing dues if I'm not sure it's right for me?

Honestly, I simply resist paying and joining groups unless I feel an affinity with them, and I've not felt affinity with RWA. Now the HEA thing just makes that possibility even more remote. I'm not heartbroken, though RWA was one of those benchmarks I held in mind when I first pictured myself as a romance writer. I've just come to face reality and change, that's all.

So, long story short - with my previous books, you will get an HEA (or HFN, "happily for now"), and I love that. With some of my future books, you might still get an HEA/HFN, when I return to romances. In the meantime, there will be some books that trip out of the genre, and might not be HEA or even HFN.

What was Marge Simpson's line? "It's an ending. That's enough."

And I'm okay with that. I hope you will be, too.

This is not "Goodbye to Romance." It's just a big Hello to other things, as well. But, I do believe it is goodbye to RWA, which I never really said hello to to begin with.

Unknown Futures by Jessica E. Subject

Unknown Futures Character Questionnaire

Guest post by Jessica Subject.

Here is some of the questions from the questionnaire the two heroines of Unknown Futures filled out before you meet them in the story. Flavia’s boss gave it to her, and asked her to be as honest as possible.

Full Name: Flavia Poppy de Blaye
Nickname: V, everyone here seems to have issues with pronouncing my first name.
Current Age: 25
Hair Color: Blonde, as my first name describes
Eye Color: Blue
Marital Status: Single, but looking for a monogamous relationship. I’m not up for being Gar’s sixth bed mate.
Current Residence: Space Service space station, located on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy.
Job/Occupation: Concierge at the hotel on the space station, but a student as well.
Favorites:
Food – Anything from Earth that’s not replicated.
Drink – See above
Color – Anything bright. I wear black for work and like to add color when I get a chance.
Movie – Men In Black. It reminds me of how I got this job.
Music – Dance and techno.
Book – There aren’t any print books on the space station, but any screen reading I do is usually about ancient space history.

Full Name: Jewel Ruthann Barnaby
Nickname: Monster, Freak, and worse.
Current Age: 22
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown, although nobody sees them, only my scars.
Marital Status: Single, probably for the rest of my life.
Current Residence: Prescott, Ontario
Job/Occupation: Currently enrolled in university courses through distance education.
Favorites:
Food – Pizza. I make a whole wheat crust, and put vary my toppings depending on what I’m in the mood for. I even make dessert pizza.
Drink – Water.
Color – Black. If I wear anything too bright, I stand out. That’s the last thing I need.
Movie – The Man Without a Face. It’s painful every time I watch, but I still do.
Music – Almost anything.
Book – Anything science fiction romance. If the characters are lesbians, even better.

Giveaway!!

As part of the Unknown Futures blog tour with Sizzling PR, Jessica is giving away a $20 gift certificate to either Amazon.com or AllRomanceEbooks.com. Simply leave a comment with your email address for your chance to WIN! Be sure to follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=8896

Unknown Futures Blurb

Attacked as a young adult, Jewel is left scarred and alone. She applies to the 1Night Stand service, believing no one can see past her appearance to love her. But she doesn’t expect to be sent to a space station where her date could be any number of unusual alien species.

Flavia left everything behind to be one of five humans working for the Space Service space station. Extremely homesick, she is excited to learn she will be a guide to a woman from Earth visiting the station for a couple days. She is immediately drawn to the petite woman, seeing past her scars to her true inner beauty, stirring unforeseen desires.

Unfortunately, Jewel is there for a date which Flavia hasn’t been told about. Can she contain her lust and simply show her a good time? Or will she let her desire lead them into an unknown future?

Book trailer: http://youtu.be/HOBmZ9vKwYE

Available from Decadent Publishing and other ebook retailers.
Buy Links here: http://www.markofthestars.com/wp/?page_id=7671

Bio:
Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from anyone who has enjoyed her stories.

Website/Blog: http://www.markofthestars.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/jsubject
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-E-Subject-author/205759796126370

Double Header: Excerpts from BL Morticia and Rawiya

Here is a little excerpt from Rawiya's first solo book, Time to Make the Donuts

Available in February at Amazon, All Romance, and Smashwords

Andre, a customer, comes in and pays him a visit. The two lock eyes and immediately connect on a personal level. Because of this, Christopher decides to pursue when Andre passes him his card. He wonders what the young man does for a living however, he’s so smitten by him, Chris doesn’t give it much thought.

Little does the shop owner know, Andre actually works for his biggest competitor as a secret shopper and has been told to use any method necessary to find out the secrets of the shop as well as convince him to sell his shop and become part of the national chain.

When Christopher finds out, he has a surprise for Andre and deals with him in a rather humorous way. Will he trust Andre once he finds out this fact? Will he give up his shop under the pressure the well known franchise?

With the song Manic Monday by the Bangles playing on the overhead, Jesse stood behind the cashier Wanda, getting orders for customers while Christopher finished putting the third batch of donuts in the oven. The owner always felt better when the store officially opened for business making him forget about the lack of sleep he got from the night prior or the fact he’d been in the restaurant since two a.m.

He pushed the double doors open as he came from the kitchen, watching the customers lining up in front of the register. They were ready to give their morning rush orders of coffee and donuts or bagels. Others who had time sat at the long laminate counter waiting for one of the waitresses to take their requests. Bigger groups of people or those who liked to take in the atmosphere sat in booths to sample the diner’s finest delicacies. Part of the charm of Christopher’s place was it catered to everyone in some form or fashion while offering great service. Something he knew that other place could provide.

While waving at a couple of regulars, Christopher started to help Jesse bag a few orders. Unlike most owners, he always chipped in to help on the front lines regardless if it were busy or not.

Jesse smacked him on the shoulder. “Yo dude, you look like you haven’t sleep in weeks.” The husky redheaded woman poured a cup of coffee for a lady in front of her.

“Well thanks,” he frowned. “I’m still being bombarded by calls from that place to get me to sell. They won’t quit. Don’t they get the message?”

“Apparently not. They been callin’ ya at home?”

“No on the cell and all because that one girl that used to work here got employed by them. They thought by doing that, they’d be able to pick up some secrets or learn something new about me, or the restaurant. Didn’t they know I brainwash my former workers,” he laughed.

“You wish. You just don’t share anything important which is smart, now me on the other hand,” She cocked an eyebrow. “I could be an asset to someone if they swayed me to leave.”

Christopher stopped immediately and glared at her. “You’d never.”

She drew up her lips. Within seconds she guffawed and smacked him on the back pretty hard. “Babe, no, never. I’m just messin’ wicha. I’d never leave your side. I told you the day Jayson died I’d help you run the place till we couldn’t do it anymore and I meant it. You know I’m a rebel at heart. I couldn’t go anywhere and work for “the man” and feel comfortable. I ain’t wearin’ no suit and tie for nobody.”

Christopher choked a little from the slap and let out a small sigh of relief. He didn’t know what he’d do without Jesse if she left. Good thing she always had such a good sense of humor and because he liked her as his second in command, he vowed never to piss her off if he could help it. Yes, they’d had run-ins a couple of times over various decisions but he knew most of the time the two of them would come to an agreement in the end.

“Well I’m glad about that.” He straightened his tie and shrugged his shoulders. “I need you here, Jess. No bones about that. Most days, I’m not sure what I’d do without your intellect.”

She blushed and chuckled. “Aw, Christopher, I swear if I didn’t like women and you didn’t like men we’d be a match made in heaven, right?”

A woman with a baby in front of them giggled and took her bag.

Christopher sighed, “Jesse, we really need to stop talkin’ about our personal business up here, huh?”

“Yes, duly noted boss man. Sooo…maybe we should go in the back so I can ask you about the dude I hooked you up with last week.” She nodded and turned to him.

“Um, nothin’ really to tell. I’m sorry Jesse, he’s just not what I’m looking for.”

The manager rolled her eyes. “Just what the hell are you searchin’ for in a man, Chris? You gotta lower your standards just a little don’t you? Ain’t no pretty boy with money and a squeaky clean disposition comin’ into your life any time soon.”

“That might be true but, well, he just didn’t do it for me. I liked that he’s self-sufficient, he’s pretty burly which I, erm, well, I’m not into overly muscular men. He doesn’t have to be a model but he does have to be easy on the eyes.” Christopher paused, “Didn’t I just say I didn’t want to talk about my business up here?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Oh sorry, let’s go in the back a moment then. I gotta hear the rest of this. Wanda, you okay hon, since the rush is about done?”

The younger blond nodded, “Yep, I’ll call ya’ if I need ya.”

“Great.” Jesse gripped Christopher’s shoulder. “To the back then chief to get another batch ready then, huh?”

“Yep. We’ll be back, Wanda.” Christopher went through the doors and Jesse followed him. He really enjoyed when he and Jesse could work and talk at once. Made the day go by a lot faster. If only he had something other than his seemingly desperate romantic situations to converse about.

*

Here also is an excerpt from BL’s new one, You Don’t Ask We Don’t Tell: Basic Training

Coming Feb 3, 2012 BLMorticia with her snarky series about a man looking to shed his "gayness" The Army's the place to get right, right? Think again!

A gay, curious young man, Cody McCayne has fallen over the fence more than a couple of times. He's hoping the armed forces can help him become more of a straight man given he's under extreme scrutiny from his family. To make it happen, Cody leaves behind his on and off again lover, Dari Kirk.

At the local recruiting office, Cody meets Corporal Justin Belvidere who can tell Cody’s hiding something, running away from something he needs. And Justin knows just what training facility to send Cody to, the one part of the army everyone knows as one of the finest and most upstanding platoons.

Captain Morris Dunst runs Army company 9669, a proud group of men known for their tenacity, wit, and strength. In fact, Dunst has produced some of the best soldiers in his ten year tenure, teaching them how to be real men.

Book one begins with the introduction of Cody McCayne and his childhood friend Dari Kirk who’ve been having sex on the down low for a while until they’re found out. This scares Cody and he decides to cease their relationship.

Due to the constant taunts and chiding of his father and peers, he decides that joining the army is the answer for him to “get right” in his words. He thinks this will dispel his gay persona and make him a real man.

However, during his ten week tenure he’ll meet the characters at Fort Jackson of company 9669, the only all gay and lesbian platoon who operate as straight soldiers by day but play and teach at night. This section is run by Captain Morris Dunst and his lover, first Lieutenant Darios Bright.

Unedited Excerpt Subject to Change

When he straightened the wheel, he got out the truck, sprinting to the place he hoped held his ticket out of here. He opened the doors, letting a couple of army men out before he went in.

“Wow,” he mouthed, glancing about the place as if he were a tourist. Large hallways, cream colored walls with decorative crown molding. The floors were made of linoleum. Everything was so clean. The glare blinded Cody.

His eyes fixed of the small line of men huddled together to hand their papers to a soldier sitting behind the desk. Cody tightly gripped the application in his hands.

Do I really want to do this? How will I handle being yelled at by someone basically the whole time I’m there?

Suddenly, young McCayne began to question his decision. He tapped his feet, fumbling with his free fingers as he eyed the men talking with the representative.

Why am I doing this?

Yes, why the fuck was he? Joining the army just so he could gain acceptance? Make his asshole dad proud of him? Would this be worth it?

“Iknowiwantthisiknowihaveto…damnit!” He grit his teeth.

What if he didn’t like army life? What if the captain was an asshole he wouldn’t be able to tolerate?

What am I saying? They’re all assholes. None worse than my dear old dad.

The men in front of him inched closer to the recruiter’s desk.

Cody could feel his palms sweating along with his brow.

What the fuck? I need to man up. That’s my whole reason for doing this right?

He straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat.

Only one more ahead of me. I can do this!

The young man shrugged his shoulders and gulped hard. He stuffed one hand in his pocket and eyes darted from left to right.

Oh my fuckin’ God, I’m gonna…

“Next!” The man in front of him moved away and suddenly it was Cody’s turn. “Yes…um…Sir?”

The guy behind the desk gave him a wry smile. “Yeah, you ready to come serve your country, boy?” He has a slight southern accent and piercing blue eyes.

Damn, the man is hot.

*

RAWIYA is the more sensual erotica writer in the BLRawiya duo. Rawiya's first book, Time to Make the Donuts will be out in Feb of 2012 from Naughty Nights Press and her first MMF Living in the Now will be released in April from NNP. She has several shorts in anthologies, the latest, That Thing in the STARbooks collection, Tall Dark and Delicious. A lot of her shorts are also on Every Night Erotica. She blogs regularly at Erotic Dairies and Wicked Sexy Writers. For more please visit the Rawiyas blog on Wordpress.

BL is currently a published writer with Rebel Ink and Naughty Nights Press. Her first two novellas, My Lieutenant and Something Fresh Served Hot have Silver Stars on All Romance. She writes bi-weekly for Erotic Diaries with Rawiya and a column twice a month on Blak Rayne Books

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Find them at:
The Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com
The Literary Triad on FB - https://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad
Rawiya – http://rawiyaerotica.wordpress.com
BLMorticia - http://blrawiyaerotica.blogspot.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl
Kindlegraph - http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/rawiyamikembl