Doesn't he smell good?

It's Week #24 of the My Sexy Saturday blog hop. I'm finally getting the hang of this hopping thing. I haven't double-posted by mistake for awhile. And I've remembered to include the links to the other participants. Well done, me!

In celebration of having my novel re-instated on Amazon (after its dubious disappearance over a problem with one of the words in its title) I'm going to share another slice from Cult of the Black Virgin.

This week we're posting excerpts that show a character succumbing  to what he or she finds sexy. I've been thinking about the sense of smell lately, and the role it plays in arousal.

Recently I visited my alma mater, and although many things had changed in the years since I last set foot in its halls, one thing was exactly the same--the smell. It transported me back to the past with a speed and vividness that astonished me.

I'm trying to use the evocative power of smell in my fiction, too. And I'm not talking about the smell of musty hallways, or dewy roses or sizzling steaks--I'm talking man sweat here. In this 7-paragraph passage, after Jo is seduced by the way Luc looks, speaks, behaves, her nose gets in on the action. As soon as she smells him up close and personal, she's a goner.

She's just made a phone call from a stone turret converted into a phone booth. Luc 
follows her...

Here's the excerpt:

  “Luc! What are you doing here? Do you need to use the phone?”
  “But of course. Why else do you think I would be waiting here?” His eyebrow arched and a playful smile flit across his face. He moved towards her.
  Jo grew flustered. In her silliness she assumed he’d followed her for some secret purpose of his own. It was embarrassing to have been caught off guard, projecting her own desires, although he couldn’t have known what they were.
  “Oh. Well, then. L-let me get out of your way.”
  As she tried to leave the small tower, not daring to meet his eyes, he moved towards her again, effectively blocking her exit. Then he slowly raised his arms and grabbed the sides of the stone doorway, trapping her inside.
  “Um,” she said, “what are you...?” She knew very well what he was doing. He was playing with her. She didn’t know if she found it juvenile or fun. Until she smelled him.

  Now he was literally looming over her, his long body pushing closer still, almost touching her own. The smell of his sweat aroused her instantly, intensely. Her nipples sprang to attention, rubbing against the rough lace of her bra. She became afraid, backing up a little. 

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Hello stranger

Wednesday, November 6, 2013.

 It's that day of the week again--time for the Hump Day Hook blog hop. This one's for November the 6th. The weather's turned dreary out here on the west coast of Canada, and I've been happily working on my latest series, which takes place in the deserts of Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Hump Day Hook is a blog hop where authors post a tempting little piece of their work in the hope of catching a reader's eye.

This week I'm sharing a few lines of my soon-to-released erotic romance, Tracking Tor. Book One is titled Mirage, and in this scene, our protagonist Julie first sees the man who will capture her heart. But he disappears so quickly she wonders if she's hallucinating.

She's having dinner in a restaurant in the desert city of Palmyra, Syria when her attention is distracted by a dusty motorcycle parked across the street...

Here's the excerpt:

 As dusty as his BMW, the rider wore a red and black padded jacket, black riding pants and heavy black leather boots. Looking every inch a true road warrior, he strode out of the hotel adjacent to the restaurant and threw a leg over the bike. He was tall, with wide shoulders and strongly-muscled legs. His long hair was light brown, almost blonde, and tied back with a thin piece of cord.
  Julie had only a glimpse of his face before he pulled on his helmet. Handsome, clean cut but
rugged--a fascinating combination. He was just her type, she thought as she watched him start the engine and drive off with a roar.
  Wouldn't he be perfect? Just what I need to get my mind off Richard fucking Wakeman.
  She didn't want to be this far from home and still be thinking about her ex.

Remember that this is a blog hop, so hop on over to the other participants here.

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Sexy senses

November 2, 2013.

Welcome to My Sexy Saturday for Week #23!

This is a fun blog hop where writers post either 7 words, 7 sentences, or 7 paragraph of their work. It's open to both new and veteran authors, who are encouraged to share from either published material or works in progress.

This week, we're being asked to share some of the things our characters find sexy in each other.

I've chosen 7 short paragraphs from the first novel in my Black Virgin Trilogy. In this scene from Cult of the Black Virgin (which, by the way, has been reinstated on Amazon after being banished for mysterious reasons) Joanna is being seduced through her senses. Unsure about committing to her American boyfriend, she finds herself falling for a Frenchman while touring the beautiful Doedogne Valley in south-western France.

Luc stimulates all 5 of her senses, and whenever he's near she becomes hyper-aware of everything else around her. And then she looks at him...

Here's the excerpt:

Now, twenty-four hours after tearfully kissing James goodbye at the Gare du Nord train station, Jo took a deep breath of country air and sneaked another peek at Luc.
I feel good. I feel really good.
In fact, she was beginning to feel better than she’d felt in months. And that, she knew, did not bode well for a future with James.
Lying on the soft riverbank after her meal, she closed her eyes and moved into the present moment. She concentrated on listening. She could hear the rushing water of the river. Intermittent birdsong. The bark of a dog in the distance. A murmured conversation from one of the married couples sitting close by. Then she focused on trying to discern different scents. The warm grass smelled earthy and alive. The air moving over her from the flowing river was heavy with sweet moisture.
Ah, it is indeed good to be alive in this wonderful place, full of beauty and promise.
Suddenly she picked up a new scent—the deep, musky smell of a male animal. Her eyes shot open and she saw Luc crouching near her on the grass. Her entire body quivered as she studied the muscles of his legs, then quickly looked up to his teasing eyes. He was smiling at her again.
“I hope I’m not disturbing you, Joanna, but some of us are going to take a little dip before getting back on the trail. Will you join us?”

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Halloween Costume

October 30, 2013.

Welcome to the Hump Day Hook blog hop for Halloween! This is a blog hop where readers can jump from blog to blog to see short excerpts posted by some great writers in a variety of genres.

Because it's Halloween, I expect this week's postings will be of the scary sort. Not mine, though. I don't do scary.

But I did do a little Halloween in my sweet romance, Just Desserts. In this scene Jackie is getting ready to go to a Halloween costume party with her best friend Annette. She hopes to have fun, and try to forget about her unrequited love for Sam.

She's a busy student nurse, so has to throw something together at the last minute. Little does she know that Sam will see her all tricked out in her costume, and that he likes what he sees.

Here's the excerpt:

Jackie, pressed for time, fell back on the same costume she wore the last time she went trick-or-treating when she was twelve—she was a gypsy girl, draped in scarves, bangles and gaudy jewelry.
This time she covered a low-cut black nightgown with a lace tablecloth tied sarong-style around her hips. Then she wrapped colorful silky scarves around her waist and neck, and affixed every piece of costume jewelry she could borrow.
She blackened her eyes with kohl, painted her lids with shiny green and purple shadow, and applied lots of mascara so her lashes were spidery. Next she teased her hair until it was huge, adding layer after layer of hairspray so she looked tousled and wild.
When she was done, she checked out the finished look in the mirror.
 Excellent. I look like I’ve been dragged backwards through a bush by a band of rogues. 
It was exactly the look she was after.

Make sure to check out the other participants in this week's Hump Day Hook blog hop.Click here. 

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You can preview Just Desserts on Amazon

Love among the Roman ruins

October 26, 2013.

Welcome to my posting for My Sexy Saturday for Week #22. This is a blog hop where writers share either 7 words, 7 sentences, or 7 paragraphs from one of their works. It's open to published and unpublished authors, and the excerpt can be from a published story or a work in progress.

This week I want to share a snippet (about 7 sentences) from my soon-to-be-released erotic romance, the first in the Tracking Tor Trilogy. It's called Mirage, and takes place in Syria. In this scene, Tor and Julie come together for the first time under the stars in a deserted Roman theatre in the ruined desert city of Palmyra. Their verbal game excites them both, and this is the moment Julie begins to fall in love.

Here's the excerpt:

"And now," Tor said as he slowly began to raise and lower her body onto his, "just think how many couples have sneaked into this place to do exactly what we're doing right now. A thousand years, or more, of clandestine fucking. Under the stars. Queens, concubines, emperors, slaves."

  "Bakers, lawyers. Murderers. Thieves," Julie said just before she thrust her tongue into his mouth. She rolled her hips and snaked her fingers through his hair. Grabbing fistfuls, she whispered near his ear. "Oh Tor. I think you're going to do it to me again."

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Now for something sweet

Welcome to the Hump Day Hook blog hop for October 23rd! This is where you can find intriguing excerpts from published or in-progress works written by amazing writers who are eager to share their vision.

Some of you may know about the recent controversial culling of books from certain on-line retail bookstores due to "questionable" content. Unfortunately for me, one of my books was pulled for no reason either I or my publisher can understand.

Apparently we have no recourse, but must wait until the powers that be decided that the book in question, Cult of the Black Virgin, is in fact not subversive, obscene, illegal or otherwise a threat to morality.

Today, I thought I'd change the subject–and the tone–of my postings by sharing something from my sweet romance, Just Desserts. This is the story of Jackie, a Seattle student nurse, who falls for Sam, a former nightclub owner. She thinks she's not sophisticated enough for him, but as they get to know each other, things begin to change...

Here's the excerpt:

Of course it was partly his own fault Sam had known so few sane women, he admitted to himself. The world of nightclubs didn’t attract the most stable personalities.
And why have I always been drawn to the craziest ones?
Jackie was different. She was certainly not crazy. Nor was she vain. And furthermore, she was articulate, with a charming sense of playfulness.
He also liked that she never asked anything of him. She was real, not the least bit pretentious, and seemed to accept him for what he was. This meant he could relax around her.
She wasn’t nosey and, best of all, she didn’t talk too much. She seemed to know when silence was preferable to talking just for the sake of talking. Sam appreciated this most rare of female traits. He’d finally found a woman who didn’t fill every second of empty space with inane monologue.

Make sure to hop to the other writers participating in the Hump Day Hook blog hop.
Click here. 

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Is "cult" a dirty word?

Saturday, October 19, 2013.

Welcome to Week 21 of My Sexy Saturday blog hop. This is where authors, both aspiring and published, post either 7 words, 7 sentences, or 7 paragraphs of their work.

This week, I have a little grudge to confess. One of my erotic romances has been pulled by certain on-line retailers for questionable content. So I'm going to post 7 paragraphs from the "naughty" work in question. You decide if it's "pushing the boundaries...."

Cult of the Black Virgin is about an American woman, Joanna, who travels to France. There, she learns about the Cult of the Virgin popular during the Middle Ages. In this scene, she's looking at the wooden figure of the Black Virgin of Rocamadour as historians explain the significance of Black Virgins. At the same time, she's got one eye on Luc.

Here's the excerpt:


“There’s something else,” Luc said. “Some people hold the idea that the Black Virgins, as they’re called in France, are either connected to, or depictions of, Mary Magdalene. Despite being called virgins, these figures symbolize qualities that are the antitheses of those represented by the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary signifies the female virtues of purity and submissiveness, but Black Virgins signify female power.”

Ellen had stopped nodding. The group was silent.

Jo felt a flush of heat rise over her chest and up into her face. She saw that Luc was looking at her, again, and she quickly looked away. As she felt herself growing even warmer in the close air of the room, she turned her attention back to Thomas, who supported Luc’s statement by saying, “Yes, and although this idea has been suppressed by the Catholic church in recent centuries, today the Black Madonnas are believed by many scholars to symbolize a dark, dangerous, subversive female force.”

Jo began to tingle at the idea. She’d always known it wasn’t really the devil causing her body to thrum every time she thought of Luc. It was her self. Nothing or no one else was to blame. She was her own instrument of destruction. And pleasure.

Excited by this new knowledge, she embraced the idea that her own sexuality, which she shared with other women, many of whom were long dead, was seen as a threatening force. The idea made her feel strong. It also vindicated her.

She looked up at Luc, who was now smiling at the ceiling. What she’d just learned somehow made her desire for him more legitimate. She was a part of some force larger and older than her self. A member of a cult-like group of women whose very nature threatened the idea of civilization. The Cult of the Black Virgin. And, like them, she was protected by a mother figure who was not only forgiving, but who would actually enable her to sin without fear of consequence.

A slight smile spread across her face and stayed on her lips as she followed Luc through the church’s narrow doorway with a little sway in her hips.

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