I need a HERO!!

I think it was because I grew up hearing that song on the radio...*sings* I ne-e-e-ed a hero!  Later it was reinforced by Shrek but anyway, I have a great love for the hero.  He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fight...

*sighs*  I love the heroes in Heather Long's military romances, the Always a Marine Series from Decadent.  Although I haven't written a military hero, or a firefighter, I recently wrote a police officer.  Since my dad was a cop, that story was close to my heart.

But the hero I want to talk about today isn't like any of these.  Sometimes your hero is your best friend.  In The Accidental Pirate, Jamie steals a necklace and is stuck in foreign waters with no way home.  Having dug a hole she isn't sure how to get out of she turns to her best gal pal, Bette, for help.

In my real life, my best friend has helped me get out of quite a few scrapes and my other gal pals often find themselves playing hero (for some reason, it always seems to be at 2am...) 

I liked reflecting that in this story.  Because, girls, we all know that men are wonderful and make excellent heroes...

But when life throws you lemons like they are the balls in some universal dodge ball game, and you are losing, our friends are the ones who help us cut up those lemons and do tequila shots with them.

So, my hero blog isn't dedicated to a gorgeous hunk of man.  It's dedicated to friendship.

Blurb:
Hangover, check. Ship, check. Hot babe, check.

Sterling McCabe woke to a lovely lady pirate stealing his ship. What he didn't plan on was the assault she'd make on his heart.

Jamie Ashley stumbled over a priceless necklace. What she didn't plan on was stealing the very sexy Sterling McCabe's ship in a mad dash for American waters.

Constantly battling their attraction, Jamie and Sterling are in for a rough ride. Jamie yearns for the affection of the beguiling Sterling while McCabe is desperate to slake the raw desire for his little pirate.

Boat chases, wild friends and a sea tempest create the perfect storm of sexual tension...

Grab your copy today!

Amazon       Barnes and Noble      Siren Bookstrand 

Since this is a blog hop, you all know there are prizes.  To start, comment in the comment section below and include your email addy and you are entered to win a copy of The Accidental Pirate.  

But commenting can get you more than just my ebook...

Since I am part of the Hero Blog Hop, you're also entered to win big.

Starting on Friday and ending on July 31st, over 100 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about romance heroes, a character post from them, and what we love about romance and men in general. 

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 100 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 100 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: The following Swag Pack!

.

Thanks to Carrie Ryan for organizing such a fun blog hop.  So, write a comment with your email to be entered to win.  

Good Luck!!

Which Greek Goddess are you?? Check out this Divine post from Kristy Denice Bock!

Heather Long: Think Greek Week: Guest Post Kristy Denice Bock: I grew up reading things like Greek Mythology, as well as Roman Mythology. While I preferred Greek, I knew that I wanted to do something ...

A Hero's Blog Hop!!

Are you ready to hear what your favorite romance heroes have to say? Well, we authors are ready to share our hunky heroes! Starting on Friday and ending on July 31st, over 100 Authors and Bloggers will share their favorite things about romance heroes, a character post from them, and what we love about romance and men in general. 

And while we do that, we are EACH doing a giveaway. Yep. There will be over 100 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 100 times!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: The following Swag Pack!

Yep. ALL of that! Whoot! Be sure to come back here on Friday and over the weekend to enjoy some stories and facts about our favorite Romance Heroes and enter to win!

Coming Soon~Paranormal Romance

The Were, the Witch and the Baby

Blurb:

He was an animal in the sack…

Lyric McAvoy never expected that her one night stand with the irresistible Colin would result in a child.  When it does, she agrees to stay with him to hide from the repercussions that family and friends are sure to rain down on her.  But staying with him only reminds her of the desire he awakened with just a touch on the dance floor.

She cast a spell on his senses…

Colin, packleader of the local werewolves, knows to trust his senses and thinks he is above attachment to any one woman.  But when Lyric sweeps into his life, she makes him suddenly hungry to possess her.  Her claim to be carrying his child, though it seems impossible, makes him determined to protect her and the baby.

But war is breaking out in the paranormal world…

Life as they knew it is imploding around them and someone is trying to turn the previously peaceful inhabitants of the paranormal world into pawns in a deadly battle.  With secrets between them, keeping them apart, the two battle a raging passion while trying to figure out who is killing their people.  

The Were, The Witch and the Baby...

In a world where the things that go bump in the night are real, sometimes the scariest thing is parenthood.

Coming soon... Book one of the Witches and Wolves Series

The Taming of the Thief

As you all know, I feel deeply in crush with Max from Heather Long’s The Love Thieves (you can read that blog here.) Much to my dismay, when I interviewed him, he explained that Anya had his heart. Lucky for me, Max has a super sexy cousin who is still single and he hooked me up with his number.

Without further ado, let me welcome Pietr from The Taming of a Thief to the blog.

 Hey, sexy. So, you gave Max quite a hard time when it came to his feelings for Anya in Thieves. Some might say this book was turnabout being fair play. Would you agree with that statement?

Hmm, I’m not sure what you mean by that. I answered every inquiry Max made in his hunt for Anya--delightful woman. She led him on quite the chase, fortunately my Sophie is not as difficult. 

So…no chance for me, still, right? All the good ones are taken. *sigh* Sure I can’t change your mind?

He just smiles. 

 I got the feeling from this book that you find brainy women attractive…*adjusts glasses* What really drew you to Sophie besides her knowledge on the Buddha?

 Her complete artless approach to the world, she doesn’t pretend or play games. She is exactly who she presents herself to be. It’s priceless.

There was an interesting…moment…between you and Sophie’s father in this story. Tell us a little about your thoughts on her family. 

*Pietr chuckles.* Her father is a former police officer. He understands lies, deception, and protecting his family. He took my measure the moment he met me, if you want to know more about them, I suggest you ask him. I’m merely looking forward to moving past the tense dinner table conversation. 

You’ve traveled all over the world, seen and done stuff most of us only dream of. What is the one thing you look forward to most in the future? 

Seeing them all again…with Sophie. Right now I think Verona is where we will be spending the next few months. 

Aw. Even I can’t be a sore loser after that. 

One treasure...

Some would kill to know what Sophie Kingston knows. Rich and powerful people will do anything to possess the secret, but not even Sophie realizes how much danger she is in—or how far they will go to hunt her down and take it from her. But when she sees a murder no one can prove, the threats to her life keep coming.

One Hunt…

Billionaire Pietr Sauvage is neck deep in the hunt for The Fortunate Buddha when a lead draws him to New York and thrusts him into the life of art history specialist Sophie. What began as a favor turns into a desperate need to protect the sexy curator from the dark web of deception threatening to pull her under.

Too Many Thieves… 

Lost in the shadow of intrigue and danger, Sophie must learn to trust Pietr, a man with an agenda, a man she can’t help but desire, before the ruthless thieves steal their only chance. Raising the stakes heightens the attraction…

 Read the first chapter. 

Taming of the Thief The Fortunate Buddha #2 

Amazon Barnes and Noble All Romance eBooks

Check out Heather's other awesome books on her website HERE.

And congrats, Heather, on another amazing new release!!~Virg

Cupid's Literary Connection: That Awesome Day You Get to Hear from Ryan Gosling...

 Had to share this one...Ah, Ryan.  Your eyes complete me.  Your dedication to the publishing industry?  Just gravy, really.

Cupid's Literary Connection: That Awesome Day You Get to Hear from Ryan Gosling...: So you guys know Ryan Gosling, right  (@GoslingLitAgent) ? Yeah, that's his picture right there on the left. I'm positively sure every...

Heather Long: Crazy Days and Mondays

Heather Long: Crazy Days and Mondays: I'm not a big fan of Mondays, never have been, never will be. You'd think that because I work primarily from home that Mondays wouldn't both...

Just One of the Guys- Kristan Higgins

Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Chastity is a jock and the only daughter of the O'Neil family of firefighters. She rows and she is a giant.

I honestly thought I had nothing in common with this heroine and there was no way Higgins could possibly make me identify with her.

Ha! Higgins always makes me identify with the heroine. What was I thinking?

Chastity also can't find love. In a small, charming town, filled with men like the Tooth, what chance has she got?

Especially when she gave her heart years ago to orphaned (by default)now firefighter and adopted brother, Trevor.

Oh. Mah. Hero Material.

Trevor is everything you want in a guy. He gets her. He loves her. He calls her mom "Mom" for goodness sake. Not to mention the mind boggling sex...

But years ago, they had their shot and it didn't work out. So she tries out Dr. McDreamy...who is everything she should want, but nothing she needs.

I was bawling like a baby when we got to the HEA on this one. The speech from the hero...gah, I was a puddle. If you don't cry for this one, you have no soul.

But it's those good tears. You know the ones. The ones that leave you wanting just what Chastity found and hoping your hero is out there, thinking that kind of stuff about you even if you don't know it?

Higgins knows people and she knows her romance.

I would give this one ten stars if Goodreads had a ten star option. If you want to laugh, sob and fall in love a little, snag Just One of the Guys and get to know one awesome jock.

View all my reviews

I'm being interviewed...

Come check it out over at awesome author Gemma K. Murray's blog!

Ever wonder how I set the mood to write?  What my favorite dessert is?  What I would do if I wasn't writing?

Gemma asks and I tell.

Stop by and comment here, please :)

Contest Time!!

Wow, lookie here...
Christmas in July?
Prizes?

Hey...isn't this starting in two days?

Why, yes, it is.

And if you click here (or on the picture)...

You can find out the details and you might notice a familiar cover in the hunt.

I also am going to mention, completely casually, that my website is virg-nelson.com

*clears throat*

Not that I think you all should know that.  Just mentioning.

Happy winning!!

Authors and writers!! Carnal Passions Contest open NOW

Champagne Book Group is seeking talented authors and their stories for Carnal Passions, our erotic imprint. Carnal Passions accepts erotic romance in all its variations (BDSM, Alternate Lifestyle, Gay/Lesbian and any and all combinations thereof).

To find this new talent and terrific stories, Champagne Book Group is having a submissions contest for both published and unpublished authors.

Entries must be complete works, ranging in word count between 15,000-70,000 words and fit into one of the following subgenre categories:
·       Science Fiction Romance
·       Fantasy
·       Paranormal or Urban Fantasy
·       Contemporary
·       Historical Romance
·       M/M and F/F Romance
·       BDSM and Ménage
·       Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Prizes:

Overall High Score: $100 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $50 upon finalized contract and $50 upon publication).

Top-Scoring Contestant in each category will receive an acquiring
editor’s critique of synopsis and the first 25 pages of the manuscript and will be considered for a contract offer if the manuscript fits our current needs.

Entries will be accepted from July 2, 2012 through July 22, 2012, and must be emailed to eroticwriterscontest@champagnebooks.com.

Please include Contest and book title in the email subject line (Contest_Booktitle).  Attach full manuscript and 2-3 page synopsis in RTF format (Booktitle_MS and Booktitle_SYN as file names–your book title replaces “Booktitle”).

No entry fee is required. Judges reserve the right to Decline to Judge any entry if it does not fit our lines, the level of writing is not acceptable or the contest guidelines are not followed. Entries will be judged on the following criteria: Hook, Pacing/Plot, Characterization, Dialogue, Mechanics, and Author Voice.

While entering does not guarantee a contract, any manuscript, even if it is not selected as a winner, may be offered a contract solely at Champagne Book Group’s discretion.
 
Winners will be announced on August 13, 2012 via our blog and direct emails to winners.

Follow the contest on Twitter! #summerheat

Guidelines:
·       File type: .rtf or .doc, or .docx only
·       New Times Roman 12pt black font
·       Double spaced
·       No footers or headers
·       Margins: 1″ all
·       Page-breaks between chapters
Please include a title page listing the following information:
·       Legal name
·       Pen name
·       Email address
·       Contact phone
·       Working title (include series name and details if applicable)
·       Word count
·       Genre/category

Please see http://www.carnalpassions.com/store/cms.php?id_cms=10 for a list of subject matters we will not accept.

Contest submissions not adhering to the above guidelines or are not something Champagne Book Group/Carnal Passions publishes will be deleted unread.

I turn people on for a living...

Yesterday's post on gothic literature ties into today's on erotic.

Yes, I write smut. I turn people on for a living. Sounds easy. I hear that all the time, writing romance is easy.


The goal of the writer is to make the reader feel something. Whether it is the work of King, which drives the reader down the comfortable Main Street, Anywhere, USA, and then reveals that Anywhere is actually a horrifying place to live or the erotic novel with nipples puckered to hard points, the reader wants to be transported somewhere else.

An interesting facebook picture that someone sent (and I later had to forward) mentioned the book hangover--the feeling you get when you end a book and look around and everyone else is still going about their daily lives, unaware yours just shifted, a little, because of the emotional trauma on the page.

Not easy to do, not really, for the author.

While the goal of the gothic author is to make readers believe the impossible enough for goosebumps to raise on their arms, the goal of the romance author is to make the reader believe enough in the passion on the page that they fall in love with the characters. They fall so hard (sometimes so fast in the shorter stories) that they even can feel that rush, that high, that comes from falling. They come with the characters so deeply, they might even get turned on.

By words.

In a story.

If I wrote, "You are turned on, now," no reader would be wiping the steam from their monitors. But if I combine the words just right, I can leave a reader blushing--a physical response to a story I told.

How COOL is that?

Why do people read it? Well, humans are addicted to that feeling. Everyday life isn't full of chances to fall in love over and over so the story gives the reader the feeling without all of the complications. Someone once said to me that the genre causes woman to have unrealistic expectations, that they become addicted to the idea of romance in a book rather than the real life experience.



I laughed, not the most erudite of responses, but chocolate releases the same chemicals in the brain as sex and there aren't many ACTUAL chocolate addicts out there. We may crave it, but addiction? Yeah, not really. Nor do we try to replace the real life feeling of another person's hands on our skin with a candy bar.

Basically, what I am saying is that, yes, I turn people on for a living if I'm doing my job right. I make them fall in love with characters that only exist in my head until I let them loose in word form.

It isn't easy and it isn't something I can explain, exactly.

But if you're doing it right, those reading it will turn red.

And you know you're onto something.

Happy Writing!

Horribly Normal and Terribly Ordinary

Just as magical as the words on the page, a book has the ability to transport a reader across time, space and reality into someplace more. Whether the author chooses to use that ability to make their audience believe in love, death or fear depends on the gift of the storyteller many used their cursed pens to move us to a place where the scary thing isn’t in the closet. It’s in your husband’s eye. It hides in the sweet little old lady at the post office. It lurks in the hearts of men, truly the scariest place of all. Two of the greats in the land of heebie jeebies have got to be Stephen King and Shirley Jackson, both capturing the imaginations of generations with the strange, the twisted, and the horrifyingly mundane.

Shirley Jackson writhed in depression, social inequality and saw first-hand how awful people can treat each other. Not surprisingly, thus neutered in real life, she struck out at the conformity that leashed her in her writing. It’s said the line between genius and madness is a thin one and Jackson danced the line with stories like “The Lottery.” Although she was banished from Canada, attacked by her peers and driven to alienation, no one can contend that her stories didn’t make them feel something. She scared them because she removed the mask they hid behind, called a monster a monster, and painted the entire horrible picture in a setting so comfortable that readers wanted it to have a happy ending.

Like real life, Jackson didn’t give you the ending. You had to figure that out for yourself.

Most gothic horror, true gothic, leaves that dangling carrot, covered in maggots, for the reader to find. Neil Gaiman, author of gothic merit himself, interviewed Stephen King throughout his lifetime and became a fan of the genre as a child when he cracked open Salem’s Lot. “(King) has elements of horror, but they exist almost as a condiment for something that’s partly a tightly researched historical novel, partly a love-story, and always a musing on the nature of time and the past. (Gaiman 27) “

Like Shirley Jackson, King’s work has often been mislabeled as the book version of junk food. King himself labeled his work, “The literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.” But if the goal of the writer is to make the reader feel something, not just be entertained, King’s work is going to outlive him by as easily as Poe’s have survived the test of time. What makes it truly horrifying, and makes those trying to describe him start yanking out adverbs, is exactly what Gaiman noted. Both King and Jackson managed to tell a lovely story, riddled with all the tropes that we as human beings identify with. The summer is one we remember, having lived it. The characters are all familiar since we know people just like them. The tastes and smells are all comfortable as a pair of worn out socks but then the story twists, the familiar becomes strange and we are forced to look at ourselves and the possibility of evil in the mirror.

It’s that little bit of madness in the common that makes these stories impossible to put down. Who hasn’t sat in their home, blanket of night snuggled warm around us, smells all the same as any other night, and rolled over and looked at our lover, our child, our pet and wondered, just for a moment, what if? By playing off that what if, these authors make the tiny hairs on our arms raise, shivers kick in, and we let, for a second, that cloak of safety—that makes us think everything will have a happily ever after—slip and are forced to comprehend that bad things really do happen.

Worse, they could happen to you.

In Duma Key, Stephen King follows the mold that made him so utterly popular for so many years. He takes the normal, a contractor from Boston, and injures him in a work accident. Then he allows madness to seep into the gaping wound left behind. Slowly tearing the man from family, from reality, and placing him firmly into the world of the paranormal, the shift from what we expect to read to what actually happens is so subtle, the reader is left believing things that otherwise might seem impossible.

If not for the very mundane start to the story.

If someone told you they could paint pictures that changed reality, perhaps you would think them crazy. But when King presents it, relying on isolation, a secondary cast of believable characters and the very tastes and smells you’ve come to know, it becomes harder not to shiver in fear.

All storytellers must transport their readers to a place beyond words on paper. The gothic writer has to not only transport them off the page; they have to drive the reader out of their mind.

They make you fall in love only to lose the love to a demise worse than a mundane death.

They make you reminisce only to make you realize that the past is coming to get you.

But by triggering these primitive responses, by making us relive the days in caves where the darkness might actually have teeth and claws, maybe we remember what it is to feel really alive.

Works Cited

Gaiman, Neil. “The King and I.” Sunday Times Magazine 8 Apr 2012:27-32. Print.

Jackson, Shirley. “The Possibility of Evil.” 1965.

King, Stephen. Duma Key. New York: Scribner, 2008. Print.

King, Stephen. “Stephen King Quotes.” Goodreads. Goodreads,Inc., 17 June 2010. Web. 02 July 2012.

The Accidental Pirate is finally HERE!!

My second new release for the week is The Accidental Pirate, mf erotic, available NOW through Rebel Ink Press!

I'm so excited!! *throws confetti*

Blurb:
Hangover, check. Ship, check. Hot babe, check.

Sterling McCabe woke up to a lovely lady pirate stealing his ship. What he didn't plan on was the assault she would make on his heart.

Jamie Ashley stumbled over a priceless necklace. What she didn't plan on was stealing the very sexy Sterling McCabe's ship in a mad dash for American waters.

Constantly battling their attraction, Jamie and Sterling are in for a rough ride. Jamie yearns for the affection of the beguiling Sterling while McCabe is desperate to slake the raw desire for his little pirate.

Boat chases, wild friends and a sea tempest create the perfect storm of sexual tension...




Grab your copy on Amazon today!

Week of releases--Accidental Pirate

The second of my books releasing this week comes out tomorrow!!

*happy dancing*

The Accidental Pirate is mf erotic romance and will be available through Rebel Ink Press. I'm really excited about this one since it is an old favorite of mine even if this is the first time it has got a chance to see the light of day.

Blurb:
Hangover, check. Ship, check. Hot babe, check.

Sterling McCabe woke up to a lovely lady pirate stealing his ship. What he didn't plan on was the assault she would make on his heart.

Jamie Ashley stumbled over a priceless necklace. What she didn't plan on was stealing the very sexy Sterling McCabe's ship in a mad dash for American waters.

Constantly battling their attraction, Jamie and Sterling are in for a rough ride. Jamie yearns for the affection of the beguiling Sterling while McCabe is desperate to slake the raw desire for his little pirate.

Boat chases, wild friends and a sea tempest create the perfect storm of sexual tension...

I will post links tomorrow so you can all grab your copies but it will come through the usual vendors (All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Barnes) so keep an eye out and let me know what you think!

Happy Writing!