Monday, December 26, 2011

Hope your Christmas was wonderful!


is now available over at Ellora's Cave!

Visit my book page for the blurb and the excerpt.  Since this is a PG-13 blog, I don't want to shock any readers. LOL!

The New Year is coming quickly and I have made my resolutions...submit at least one book every two months...get my lazy fanny busy. I have been so buried in other things, I have neglected my writing.  Time to get busy.

I am wondering, dear friends, why we are continuing this blog.  Only 35 posts have been left here in the entire year 2011.  So sad!  No one bothers to come over and comment or read other author's posts.  I have read all of the comments that have been left, and have deleted many of them that have nothing to do with the post, but have been advertisements left as "comments" by companies wanting to promote their own products...which have absolutely nothing to do with romance.  Sigh.

After this post, I am removing myself from membership on this blog group.  I am sorry, but there is so little interest in it, and we get NO exposure from it (except an occasional spammer) it appears to be of no value anymore.  Dee, Cerise, and those who have bothered to come and post, I salute you.  Contact me if you are truly interested in continuing to post here. 

Hugs, and Happy Holidays!
Fran Lee

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Revisions Rock


They do—at least according to Kelli Gwen, inspirational romance writer and Sacramento Valley Rose chapter member.

Today I stood at the beginning of that rocky path—massive revisions to a contracted manuscript that has been waiting for months. I wasn’t avoiding the task. My editor and I had agreed to leave it alone until after the holidays. She had a pile of manuscripts to edit. I had a couple of stories to write for another publisher, so the delay worked for both of us.

Truth is, I started the revisions several months ago. Truth is, I had to fight myself not to focus on them, throw myself into them wholeheartedly. Discipline—which I usually lack—kept me intent on where I needed to be—on those two other stories.

Now…A prologue is drafted and I’m actually feeling the same anticipation, the same joy as when I wrote the story the first time.

But first… Yep, that second story I wrote for another publisher needs revisions before I can send it off. Hopefully, I can keep my enthusiasm for that one as I have for the one still sitting here…waiting.

The wonderful cover is for my December 15, 2011 release from eXtasy Books. It has a holiday there if you want a hot holiday gift for your significant other. Drop by my website to read an excerpt: deebrice.com.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Dee Brice

Erotic Fantasies Where Nothing is Forbidden

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Christmas Stories for .99

Available on Kindle and Barnes and Noble  for your holiday fun! Only .99



Blurb:
Nick has fought his attraction to Emily since the summer. Work and other commitments have kept him from pursuing a relationship. Christmas is upon them and Nick finds he has free time on his hands. He devices a little plan to get her sexy body prepared for what he hopes will be a night of passion she’ll never forget.

Someone is sending Emily erotic toys. The naughty notes attached are charging her dormant body to life with promises of red hot sex. She’s not sure who her secret Santa is, but if he’s truly following the Twelve Days of Christmas she’s about to find out.

Will Emily succumb to this Naughty St. Nick?

Excerpt:

Emily pattered over to the front door. She peered through the peephole.

"Hmmm, I swear I heard the doorbell." She threw opened the door against the bitter cold of the winter storm brewing outside. Shivering, she bent over the threshold and glanced in both directions. Her skin pebbled from the snowflakes landing on her bare arms.

"Strange, I know the doorbell rang." She was about to close the door when she noticed a small brown box, sitting off to the right.

Intrigued, she placed a sock covered foot into the icy snow and retrieved the box. She quickly slammed the door and hurried back to her blanket on the couch. She nestled under the red fuzzy blanket. Turning the box in her hands she looked for an addressee.

"Nothing." She couldn’t help but wonder if it were meant for her or if someone left it on her doorstep mistakenly. She shook the box. Something bounced around inside.
Unable to fight her curiosity any longer she tore open the package. There inside was a mistletoe-colored finger butt plug, with little white snowmen on it. Tingling sensations warmed her body straight down to her core. Thoughts of teasing the rim of her ass with the humming vibrator tantalized her.

She needed to know who sent it. Digging deeper into the box she searched for a card or anything cluing her in to who the sender was. She found a tiny note card that read:

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave me to, one butt plug a hummin’.

Emily thought she’d explode into orgasm right then and there. The idea of someone wanting to charge her ass to life enthralled her. Filled with an arousal that ran deep, Emily knew she had to pleasure herself.

Heat from the flames crackling in the fireplace warmed her chilled body, smoothing her skin. The television blared in the background, but Emily tuned it out. She’d been watching a movie about a money heist on a train or something crazy. It hadn’t held her attention. Turning the plug over in her hands, she found something that gripped her total attention. She couldn’t imagine who would send her something so erotic.

Settling into the pillow she closed her eyes and pictured the guy from Six A, as the bearer of her gift. His wavy blond hair and those piercing green eyes charged her body. She’d fantasized about him a few times. Oh who was she kidding she masturbated to the image of his shit eating grin too many times to count.

Emily longed to run her hand over his taunt abs. She wanted to trace a finger along the vee that disappeared below the trim of his pants to see if it went down to his cock, which she knew would be large and bulging. It seemed hard to believe she’d been drooling over him since summer.

After she witnessed his body in scant clothing she wanted a piece of him.




Blurb:

Meg Trainor has one wish for Christmas every year: Two men who will fulfill all her fantasies.


Santa's in a giving mood this year.

Brothers and co-owners of Turquoise Toys, Brad and Shane Griffin will give her a Christmas she'll never forget.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

SPAMMERS...PLEASE NOTE...

Please note...

This blog site is for the Goddesses of Storytelling, and it is mainly here to allow a group of authors to drop in a note about their latest book, book signings, or what-have-you.

I don't come over here as often as I should, but yesterday when I visited, I read the comments as I always do...and I was amazed at how many people "drop by" this blog to put advertisements for their own sites or products instead of "comments" about the author's post.
So, to those of you who have blatantly abused this blog by sticking advertisements for products, other websites, or what-have-you in the comments, you have been reported to Google for spamming.
I wonder how you would react if someone came over to your website and spammed your readers with ads and other garbage?

Please do not be that rude or inconsiderate in the future.
Your actions will be reported as spam.

Oh...and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Just Because

The calendar says it's November 20. It's cool here in northern California, but not cold thanks to the cloud cover. I think we're expecting more rain to match what we had last night.

My rose bushes are still blooming. Go figure.

Dee Brice
Erotic Fantasies Where Nothing is Forbidden.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Flash Fiction? Really?

FF--really short shorts--seems to be the new IN type of read.
Intriguing concept, I thought when I first read about them, but then, I ask myself what is the difference between this and...say, a cover blurb? Or a well-written synopsis. (snorting here.)
I have to try one just to teach myself that it is possible and...drum roll, entertaining!
Having taught myself by Doing for decades in this biz, I imagine learning to write FF will be no different. But then, how to market these gems?
Write a bunch of them and turn them into a longer work to sell as an antho?
Use them as teasers to bring people in to your novellas and actually pay you for your golden words?
That concept, I like, except for one tiny (read, HUGE) problem. PIRATES.
Grinding teeth.
These criminals abound. I alternate between crash search and seize--and loading my Sig Sauer, running around the house yelling "Give me a pirate, matey!"
What's in your computer? Any FF? And what do you do with those stories that might gratify you and your bank account?

Friday, October 21, 2011

Passion

On Saturday, October 15th, my husband and I attended a memorial service for a dear friend. We met Boots Martin in 1973 through Stagedoor Comedy Playhouse, where I had the joy of working with her in many plays and replacing her in several others when she was busy doing other shows.

Everyone who spoke about Boots talked about her passion for theater. It didn’t matter how small or how large the role, Boots always brought her considerable arsenal of talent—her passion—with her.

Which made me think about why we writers keep writing—despite rejections, poor or nonexistent reviews and even when confronted by the terror of writer’s block. It’s our passion for the written word; the passion that demands we tell the story; the passion for the characters who compel us to tell about their successes and failures, their goodness and flaws, their hates and—above all—their loves. About their abiding passion for life and for each other.

Many years before I sold my first novel, Boots suffered through editing handwritten manuscripts, her edits also handwritten. Looking back, I wonder who had the harder time deciphering those scribblings. Boots kept reading and acting. I kept writing—all because we shared a passion for what we do, for what makes us who we are.

I miss you, Bootsie, more than words can say.

Love,

Dee

Monday, October 17, 2011

Ham and travel.

Say what?
This pix of sooooo many hams?
The Boqueria off Las Ramblas in central Barcelona!
Jamon, anyone? Iberico ham, cured to a melt-in-your mouth savory delight.
Expensive? As you can see from the signs, ABsolutely!
One of the many delights of travel is getting to taste the delicacies of other countries.
And since I like to eat....
What did I partake of in happy, hot Barcelona?
Anchovies. Fresh. NOT like those we get in the bottle or can. Sweet, crisp, large and used in everything.
Clams. You could tell these tiny shell-dwellers had come from the sea just hundreds of feet away that morning.
Lobster! Succulent.
Paella. Savory broth with prawns and clams and sausage, then done to a fine point.
CHOCOLATE! So many chocolatierias in Barcelona mean you could re-name the city! The finest I tasted were right around the corner from the Picasso Museum, where a 5" diameter and 1/2" thick disk (NOT kidding!) of luscious stuff cost 2 Euro. oh. be. still. my. heart. And it came in white, dark and milk chocolate, with or without almonds, walnuts, chocolate chips. I salivate to tell you.
And for 2.4 Euro you had a similar selection of truffles, filled with alternative chocolate creams.
Just as yummy were the luscious caramels made by the monks atop Mount Serrat. Making candy, aside from their publishing business, is how the Benedictine monks support their more than 1000-year-old monastery compound. Pictures of those to come!
And in the meantime, if you look for a new goody to read, do try my latest, LADY STARLING'S STOCKINGS, 99 Cents in Kindle http://tinyurl.com/3orc36e , Smashwords

Monday, September 26, 2011

EPIC Awards Finalist


Woman on Fire
is one of the finalists for Contemporary Romance!

It is wonderful to be a finalist in this competition...was one last year, but didn't win...so many fabulous books were entered!  At least this year I am not up against any of my friend in this category, but the competition is gonna be tough.  

On another note, I will be flying to Akron Ohio for the third annual Romanticon convention. I Plan to party til I drop and enjoy every single minute!  If you are coming to Romanticon, look me up.  We can get together for lunch or gather in a pal's room and have a blast.

I'm taking my laptop with me, so I will be taking loads of photos and uploading them to my website. 

Have a wonderful end of September!

Hugs!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Musings


Lots of interesting goings on in the Brice household.

DH and I attended the Erotic Authors Association’s first annual convention in Sin City (Las Vegas, NV). Met lots of other erotic authors and hooked up with Tina Haveman, Publisher of eXtasy Books (EB) and Kelli Collins, Editor-in-Chief at Ellora’s Cave (EC. Passed out trading cards to a lot of people, including three young women celebrating one’s upcoming wedding and another group who were attending a belly dancing convention. Fun people!

On the not so much fun side (although I didn’t experience it myself) other EAA attendees heard the usual derogatory remarks from people who neither read nor appreciate our efforts. Too bad these folks can’t take our mothers’ advice: If you can’t say something nice, keep your damn trap shut!

On a happier note, I have an EB novel—Her Virtual Ecstasy—that will release on October 1, 2011. Another EB novel—Her Virtual Frenzy—is under construction and the Muse is behaving like an angel (If I’m mixing my deities, sorry.) so I’m on target to make the December 15, 2011 release date. This one has a touch of holiday cheer I hope you’ll enjoy, Irisa, my heroine, is definitely enjoying all three lovers. His Virtual Gift is also under construction—targeted for release on Valentine’s Day, 2012.

And then I wrote—well, I have two other novels at EC. It Takes a Thief (formerly titled Emerald) is awaiting edits. Temptress of Time (once titled That Other Diane) needs massive rewrites, but Kelli’s busy with other authors, so I can get my other commitments out of the way before I tackle ToT. Whew!

DH has been bitten by the Muse. Has complete one ms he hopes to submit to EC—once he cleans up the punctuation issues I refuse to do for him. Cruel? Yes! But I already have a full plate. He’s also busy working on a second novel.

For my part, I’m glad he has something to keep him out of my hair—er, keep him occupied. In the meantime, I’m working my fingers to the bone and emptying ink pens at an alarming rate.

The above cover is for my October 1, 2011 release. Stop by my website for a blurb and excerpt. Linger for a look at what else is happening.

Dee Brice

Erotic Fantasies Where Nothing is Forbideen


Saturday, September 17, 2011

History and the movies?


As a professionally trained historian (with grad degree in the Old Stuff), I love to write historical fiction and read it.
Recently, a professor of American history gave a big slam on prime time TV to the new movie, THE HELP. Her critique was, IMHO, the one of the "More Knowledgeable Academician" telling the lowly world how inaccurate, improper and downright disgraceful the film was to have portrayed that time and place and characters with joy, humor or compassion. Her conclusion was that the film is a gross glossing over of the truth.
Now, first, I must tell you, I read this book months ago. Loved it for its humor, compassion and finely drawn characters. Most of all, I loved it for its portrayal of the times and the milieu. I lived through that time and I remember it well.  And while I lived in a fully integrated city and went to public school in one, I also went to college with women (and men) from the Deep South. I know what my friends thought and how they lived. I listened to them as we watched riots and hosings, the aftermath of the murder of Medgar Evers and Dr. King. I visited the South with my friends, met their parents and siblings. And while I am not a professional historian of slavery in America, I can say all of the following with certitude:
1. No book, non-fiction or fiction, can portray the total truth of a period or a people.
2. One book, non-fiction or fiction, can explore only one angle, hopefully, well.
3. One author, especially a fiction author, does not aspire to write the definitive picture of a person, place or period.  (If she does, she'll never finish that book.)
4. The author's job is to pick one premise, one theme and one or two morals of the story. If she's doing her job well, she's going to use the best of her talents to accomplish that limited goal.
5. This author chose to portray a group of white women and a group of black women whose intertwining relationships were representative of a culture and a period.
I think she accomplished her goal well.
If she didn't accomplish this TV historian's goal well, she didn't have to. 
And clearly, since THE HELP continues to strike a chord in hundreds of thousands of people who have read and continue to read it--and smile and laugh and shake their heads and feel the pain of those characters--the author did her job.
That is the only thing she was supposed to do.
The only job any author of fiction has or should.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Been sooooo lazy...


I have not been keeping my blogs up...


But I have been working...Hard Work, Hot Boss came out in print on August 4, 2011, and Uncertainly Yours is coming soon.  It's been a long, hot dry spell for me over the past year. Health issues and lack of energy are partially to blame, but mostly, I have been too doggoned lazy.  Been under loads and gobs of stress, and got caught by a gnarly case of shingles a couple of months back.  Nobody ever explained that getting rid of the shingles is only half the work...you then have to go through a month or three of "post-herpetic pain" from the damaged nerves. Gah! Wouldn't you know?


Since the meds are far worse than the discomfort and pain, I opted to tough it out. Oooowwwww!

I am going to Romanticon though, so drop me an e-mail if you are going, too, and would enjoy getting together.


Hugs!


Fran Lee

Saturday, August 20, 2011


Sex is serious business. It’s enthralling, enthusiastic, invigorating and enervating. In addition to being fun, it’s funny. Which is what makes my erotic romances different from others’. Humor—even in my darkest erotic romance—is my “brand.” My author’s voice.

Some people upon meeting me express surprise that I write erotic romance. My response to that observation is this: I’m not so old I’ve forgotten the joys of making love. Nor am I so young that I’m embarrassed writing about those joys. In very explicit terms!

I’ve written short contemporary, romantic suspense, Regency and Victorian historicals. I never sold. Now I write erotic romances. My sixteenth book—Her Virtual Ecstasy—will release October 1, 2011. I think you can see why I write what I write. I have two more books—It Takes a Thief and Temptress of Time that are contracted, but don’t have release dates yet.

Why do I write what I write?

· Freedom of language: To ensure I avoid redundancy, I have an American Dictionary of Slang where I find lots of synonyms for sex parts. I also have a Dictionary of Euphemisms, which I don’t use much if at all.

· Freedom to fantasize: I remember being really angry at Erica Jung for revealing so many female fantasies in her novel Fear of Flying. Now I appreciate the freedom to imagine anything—and to write about it.

· Luck: In 2005 I ran in to Lynn LaFleur at the RWA conference in Reno, NV. She suggested I attend the “spotlight” on Ellora’s Cave Publishing. I won an anthology, loved every story in it, and wondered if I could write a story as funny and HOT as Charlotte Boyett Compo’s The Windsday Club. Inspired as I hadn’t been in a long time, I came home and wrote Passion’s Four Towers, which became my first sale ever.

· Freedom to explore new (for me) subgenres: I write Historical Fantasy because I can play fast and loose with historical details—except for certain words and making sure they were in use at the time. I really admire all you wonderful authors who write historically accurate and creative stories as well. I do try to stay accurate with clothes and weaponry, but the rest is out of my own imagination. I started writing Futuristic Fantasy because I needed something to occupy my time while I waited to hear about my historical fantasy. Both genres are a lot of fun to write. I probably will never write a paranormal, even though I read them a lot.

Since I first wrote this, I have written and sold a paranormal: Chosen. It’s available from eXtasy Books.

· Challenges: I love compound/complex sentences. Most e-publishers do not. Even commas are frowned on.

· Naming Creativity: I live with my Character Naming Sourcebook from The Writer’s Digest. I don’t even start writing until I’ve named all my major and most of my secondary characters. Naming is fun. For example, Passion’s Four Towers three brothers’ names are variations on the word “spear.”

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Pesky little issues of self-publishing: Q & A

While I dip my toe in the waters of self-publishing (and I write about them on my blog beginning 7.17.11 at http://cerisedeland.blogpsot.com ), I thought I would quickly list of few issues that occur to me as vital within the industry to note:
1. Like any other venture, have a GOAL. For this book, for this venture, which is going to cost you a lot of time and money, hope and aspiration, do have an idea of what you wish to accomplish.

Is it to increase your readership, assuming you are already published and have books out which new readers may now buy?
Is it to launch yourself into a new venture and learn a new business model?
Is it to establish yourself in a new medium with a low price point?

Only by having a clear goal can you have a sense of accomplishment and a feeling that your time and effort were well spent.
2. Understand that your sales may not come to you all at once within a few months of publication.
WHY?
Because digital life is long. Eternal, it would seem. PRINT life, as an author friend of mine often says, has the shelf life of celery.
Be patient. If you build it, readers will come.
3. How many will come?
Ah. That depends. On your promotion, your visibility and of course, on the quality of the work.
The visibility and promo, to some extent, you can control.
The quality and how it is received by others? Not so much.
WHY?
Because everyone has an opinion and they are entitled to it, and reviewers abound. The good. The Bad. The ugly. The unprincipled.  What for one is a 5 star, is for another a 3 star. How can that be, you ask?
As a multi-pubbed author in print and in e-book, I can only repeat: everyone has an opinion. Those opinions can be as varied as flakes of snow.
You just have to put your big girl or boy pants on and live with it.
4. Promo!
Oh, boy. My only thought on this...at the moment...is do not spend yourself blind. Choose a few good places to promote and advertise and get the heck out of Dodge!
You can go nuts AND BROKE.
amen.
Want more of my journey and a blow-by-blow of what to do, how, when and how much to spend?
Go to my blog (addy above) and begin with post for 7.17.11 and all posted with "self-pub" in the blog labels.
Want to see how I did with this book? Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DA0200/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cerdel-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B005DA0200
Ciao! Happy new ventures!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Why?


Why are some stories so easy to write while others aren’t?

My latest WIP (His Virtual Diva)—soon to be my latest release from eXtasy Books—was very difficult to finish. Truth is, had I not had a deadline, I might have put it aside for another year or two. I blamed my Muse, whom I’d allowed to take a vacation around Thanksgiving. Problem was she hadn’t returned by mid-February. Yikes!

She finally deigned to come back, but I caught her daydreaming about the next story and the next. We had a very serious discussion, including her protests that my finishing was not her fault.

So what was?

The entire time I was working on another book—Temptress of Time—I was excited about His Virtual Diva. Couldn’t wait to finish Temptress of Time I could write His Virtual Diva. I was so anxious to start this story that I used it for an online class, figuring I’d get a head start and complete the story in no time.

Wrong!

Which got me to thinking. Having cleared my decks, metaphorically speaking—HVD submitted—I moved on to my next story. Wrote four chapters in as many weeks and am feeling darn proud of myself.

Some of you may consider a chapter a week (4-5,000 words per) slow. For me it’s fairly fast—especially since I can’t compose on my computer. I handwrite each chapter, input it and do some self-editing before handing the chapter off to my critique partners.

So anyway, why was HVD so difficult to write while Flames and Desire is appearing on the page as if my pen is enchanted?

I’m a pantser—which means I usually don’t have a clue about how the story will evolve. Of course I have a basic premise and know—because I write romance—that I’ll end with a Happily Ever After. In fact, I’ve had the idea for Flames and Desire kicking around the back of my mind for several years. Why didn’t I start it sooner is a story unto itself.

Because of that online class, His Virtual Diva was pretty much plotted which—I’m thinking now—took away some of the wonderful surprises I, as a pantser, love. Not that plots can’t change as the characters grow—they can and do. It’s just that neither my mind nor my Muse works that way.

So I’ve decided to leave plotting to the plotters. My Muse and I will continue to fly by the seat of our pants. Right now she’s telling me to hurry up and finish Flames and Desire. She has more stories for me to transcribe on her behalf. Like she’s the storyteller and I’m just a secretary!

I keep telling her that with storytelling—like making love—half the fun lies in the journey. She’s sulking a bit, but not too much. I’m hoping she’ll get over her snit pretty quick so we can get on with Flames and Desire and start my next Virtual Seductions series book and…

So many stories, so little time.


So here's a blurb and an excerpt from His Virtual Diva.

His Virtual Diva Blurb

Aloof composer-conductor Lamont Johansson (LJ) knows he’s grasping at straws trying to introduce opera to the Andromeda System. He’s certainly taking enormous financial risks. When the brilliant, erratic diva Daphne Basini arrives on Al Sufi—two weeks late—he finds he’s attracted to her and is amazed that her voice is the voice he’s been searching for all his life. Suddenly there is more at stake than a successful opera season. He’s risking his heart as well.

Deanna Basini’s arrival on Al Sufi is not at all what she expected. She’s supposed to hook up with her sister, Daphne, but Daphne has decamped again without notifying the opera company that hired her. And again, Deanna is forced to masquerade as her more famous, impetuous and sexually adventurous sister in order to save Daphne’s flagging career. Deanna’s resentment fades under LJ’s critical demands and encouragement. She finds her desire for him intensifying alongside the guilt she feels for deceiving him.

Daphne hasn’t been delayed by normal circumstances. Venus has taken over her body and is leading her through a whirlwind of sensual pleasures. When Daphne gains the upper hand and finally arrives on Al Sufi, she discovers she might not rescue her career, but with Venus’ help, she might push LJ and Deanna together.

Their passion for music brings Deanna and LJ together. Will deception drive them apart?


His Virtual Diva Excerpt

The first gentle brush of his lips sent melodies drifting through Deanna’s mind. Soon words followed. A kiss is just a kiss. But his were so much more. She could float forever in his kinds of kisses. So gentle. So playful. So…so very…

A sigh is just a sigh.

His sigh breathed need into her mouth. Hers soughed agreement as he turned her to face him. Her knees straddled his hips. Her mons pressed to his cock as they rubbed, eliciting sighs that grew more and more ragged. Yet he never changed the tempo. Even his tongue caressing hers maintained a sweetness she cherished. Persuasion…oh, yes. So much nicer than plundering. So much more in tune with his hands gliding under her sweatshirt. His fingertips plucked her furled nipples like a harpist playing slowly, building chords that tightened her entire body. She pulled off her sweatshirt, exposing her topless chest. She’d hoped for this, planned to make it easy to get naked.

“Your breasts…” As if unable to say another word, he cupped them both, then lapped each rigid nub. Flames arced between her nipples and her empty pussy. Her swollen clit throbbed, aching for his touch. Beyond conscious control, her hips rose and fell, settling when he unzipped his shorts and then freed his cock. With wiggles and grunts, they worked his shorts to his knees, sighing into each other’s mouth.

Against her lips he murmured, “Push your breasts together.”

She did, gasping as his tongue flicked each nipple in rapid succession. His clever fingers settled on her hips, but she could feel him toying with the narrow straps on her thong. His simultaneous continuing attention to her nipples made her laugh sound more like a moan. Multitasking was clearly in his lovemaking skill set.

“Do these clasps work?” he asked before sucking one peak into his mouth. Using his tongue, teeth and lips, he drove her speechless.

“Y-yesss,” she managed, arching her back as he transferred his attention to her other breast. She thought he said good, but was too intent on what his hands were doing to care.

She felt the clasps give, the slide of silk between her slick folds as he pulled off her thong, the heat of his body as he laid them both on the blanket. Panting, she wiggled her hips and, finally, had his cock almost where she wanted it.

“Not yet,” he murmured, bracing on his elbows. His silver gaze inched over her face as if memorizing every feature. His fingers followed with feathery touches along her brows, eyelids and nose. They tickled yet made her feel so cherished she sighed. Bypassing her lips, he traced her jaw and chin, the hollow in her throat, the shell of one ear. Every touch aroused her, yet left her boneless.

Sensing his unwillingness to hurry, she duplicated his patterns over his face. His bushy eyebrows felt silkier than they looked. The stubble on his cheeks and chin rasped in her palm, making her imagine whisker burns on her own face. Yet she hadn’t felt any scrapes because his kisses were so gentle. A bump in his nose had her kissing it as if it were a break she could heal with her lips.

Why?


Why are some stories so easy to write while others aren’t?

My latest WIP (His Virtual Diva)—soon to be my latest release from eXtasy Books—was very difficult to finish. Truth is, had I not had a deadline, I might have put it aside for another year or two. I blamed my Muse, whom I’d allowed to take a vacation around Thanksgiving. Problem was she hadn’t returned by mid-February. Yikes!

She finally deigned to come back, but I caught her daydreaming about the next story and the next. We had a very serious discussion, including her protests that my finishing was not her fault.

So what was?

The entire time I was working on another book—Temptress of Time—I was excited about His Virtual Diva. Couldn’t wait to finish Temptress of Time I could write His Virtual Diva. I was so anxious to start this story that I used it for an online class, figuring I’d get a head start and complete the story in no time.

Wrong!

Which got me to thinking. Having cleared my decks, metaphorically speaking—HVD submitted—I moved on to my next story. Wrote four chapters in as many weeks and am feeling darn proud of myself.

Some of you may consider a chapter a week (4-5,000 words per) slow. For me it’s fairly fast—especially since I can’t compose on my computer. I handwrite each chapter, input it and do some self-editing before handing the chapter off to my critique partners.

So anyway, why was HVD so difficult to write while Flames and Desire is appearing on the page as if my pen is enchanted?

I’m a pantser—which means I usually don’t have a clue about how the story will evolve. Of course I have a basic premise and know—because I write romance—that I’ll end with a Happily Ever After. In fact, I’ve had the idea for Flames and Desire kicking around the back of my mind for several years. Why didn’t I start it sooner is a story unto itself.

Because of that online class, His Virtual Diva was pretty much plotted which—I’m thinking now—took away some of the wonderful surprises I, as a pantser, love. Not that plots can’t change as the characters grow—they can and do. It’s just that neither my mind nor my Muse works that way.

So I’ve decided to leave plotting to the plotters. My Muse and I will continue to fly by the seat of our pants. Right now she’s telling me to hurry up and finish Flames and Desire. She has more stories for me to transcribe on her behalf. Like she’s the storyteller and I’m just a secretary!

I keep telling her that with storytelling—like making love—half the fun lies in the journey. She’s sulking a bit, but not too much. I’m hoping she’ll get over her snit pretty quick so we can get on with Flames and Desire and start my next Virtual Seductions series book and…

So many stories, so little time.

So much good news to share, too. His Virtual Diva release August 1, 2011 from eXtasy Books. Plus I sold two new books--Temptress of Time and It Takes a Thief to Ellora's Cave. No release dates yet, but I'll keep you posted.


Also, here's a blurb and an excerpt for His Virtual Diva.

His Virtual Diva Blurb

Aloof composer-conductor Lamont Johansson (LJ) knows he’s grasping at straws trying to introduce opera to the Andromeda System. He’s certainly taking enormous financial risks. When the brilliant, erratic diva Daphne Basini arrives on Al Sufi—two weeks late—he finds he’s attracted to her and is amazed that her voice is the voice he’s been searching for all his life. Suddenly there is more at stake than a successful opera season. He’s risking his heart as well.

Deanna Basini’s arrival on Al Sufi is not at all what she expected. She’s supposed to hook up with her sister, Daphne, but Daphne has decamped again without notifying the opera company that hired her. And again, Deanna is forced to masquerade as her more famous, impetuous and sexually adventurous sister in order to save Daphne’s flagging career. Deanna’s resentment fades under LJ’s critical demands and encouragement. She finds her desire for him intensifying alongside the guilt she feels for deceiving him.

Daphne hasn’t been delayed by normal circumstances. Venus has taken over her body and is leading her through a whirlwind of sensual pleasures. When Daphne gains the upper hand and finally arrives on Al Sufi, she discovers she might not rescue her career, but with Venus’ help, she might push LJ and Deanna together.

Their passion for music brings Deanna and LJ together. Will deception drive them apart?


His Virtual Diva Excerpt

The first gentle brush of his lips sent melodies drifting through Deanna’s mind. Soon words followed. A kiss is just a kiss. But his were so much more. She could float forever in his kinds of kisses. So gentle. So playful. So…so very…

A sigh is just a sigh.

His sigh breathed need into her mouth. Hers soughed agreement as he turned her to face him. Her knees straddled his hips. Her mons pressed to his cock as they rubbed, eliciting sighs that grew more and more ragged. Yet he never changed the tempo. Even his tongue caressing hers maintained a sweetness she cherished. Persuasion…oh, yes. So much nicer than plundering. So much more in tune with his hands gliding under her sweatshirt. His fingertips plucked her furled nipples like a harpist playing slowly, building chords that tightened her entire body. She pulled off her sweatshirt, exposing her topless chest. She’d hoped for this, planned to make it easy to get naked.

“Your breasts…” As if unable to say another word, he cupped them both, then lapped each rigid nub. Flames arced between her nipples and her empty pussy. Her swollen clit throbbed, aching for his touch. Beyond conscious control, her hips rose and fell, settling when he unzipped his shorts and then freed his cock. With wiggles and grunts, they worked his shorts to his knees, sighing into each other’s mouth.

Against her lips he murmured, “Push your breasts together.”

She did, gasping as his tongue flicked each nipple in rapid succession. His clever fingers settled on her hips, but she could feel him toying with the narrow straps on her thong. His simultaneous continuing attention to her nipples made her laugh sound more like a moan. Multitasking was clearly in his lovemaking skill set.

“Do these clasps work?” he asked before sucking one peak into his mouth. Using his tongue, teeth and lips, he drove her speechless.

“Y-yesss,” she managed, arching her back as he transferred his attention to her other breast. She thought he said good, but was too intent on what his hands were doing to care.

She felt the clasps give, the slide of silk between her slick folds as he pulled off her thong, the heat of his body as he laid them both on the blanket. Panting, she wiggled her hips and, finally, had his cock almost where she wanted it.

“Not yet,” he murmured, bracing on his elbows. His silver gaze inched over her face as if memorizing every feature. His fingers followed with feathery touches along her brows, eyelids and nose. They tickled yet made her feel so cherished she sighed. Bypassing her lips, he traced her jaw and chin, the hollow in her throat, the shell of one ear. Every touch aroused her, yet left her boneless.

Sensing his unwillingness to hurry, she duplicated his patterns over his face. His bushy eyebrows felt silkier than they looked. The stubble on his cheeks and chin rasped in her palm, making her imagine whisker burns on her own face. Yet she hadn’t felt any scrapes because his kisses were so gentle. A bump in his nose had her kissing it as if it were a break she could heal with her lips.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

TOMORROW Holt and DeLand ROCK IT OUT Party! Prizes, games!

Come on over to http://www.cyberlaunchparty.blogspot.com for HOLT AND DELAND ROCK IT OUT!
This is our second party--and we have them each month on the 18th.
You do not want to miss the fun--and the prizes.
What are they?
A grand prize of a bag of goodies, including books!
Other prizes--all e-books!!!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Trading Cards

I have Romance Trading Cards. Check them out at my blog: deesdites.blogspot.com
If you'd like a set, please send me a SASE to: Dee Brice, Post-It, 7511 Watt Avenue, Suite 102, Box 121, North Highlands, CA 95660/

To be on the safe side, use two first class stamps.

I also have a new release--if I can just make the deadline! His Virtual Diva releases August 1, 2011 from eXtasy Books.

Have a wonderful day.

Dee Brice
Erotic Fantasies Where Nothing is Forbidden

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Chasing Forever - Amber Skyze



Blurb:

Jordyn has longed to make her relationship with best friend Diego more than platonic. Her body drips with need to know what it would feel like to have his lips kissing every inch of her skin. Desire to wrap her legs around his waist and plunge into deep waters with him fills her every dream.

Diego is one with the ocean. His passion is surfing and chasing that ultimate wave. He doesn’t have time for a relationship. Or does he?

A storm is brewing and when a tragedy occurs, Diego and Jordyn need to decide if they’re both chasing the same dreams.

An Excerpt From: CHASING FOREVER

Copyright © AMBER SKYZE, 2011

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Chapter One



Jordyn sat on the beach towel watching Diego riding out the waves. Her pulse raced. He knew he shouldn’t be out there. Hurricane Ivan was heading inland and the weatherman had warned of the dangerous undertow. She’d attempted to chase a few waves, but once she’d swum a few yards she knew it was a mistake. She’d quickly swum back to shore and waited while her best friend tried to prove he was smarter than the ocean.

The waters had turned mean and ugly over the last twenty minutes and the sky was an ominous gray. The hurricane was moving closer. A breeze came in off the water and a chill passed through her body. She’d unzipped her wet suit down to her waist, exposing her bikini top when she exited the water. She should cover up again in case the rains poured down.

She scanned the waters. Someone on a Jet Ski buzzed around, stopping every so often to take some pictures. She hoped he would keep away from the jagged rocks. The razor-sharp rocks were Jordyn’s bigger fear with Diego being out on the water. One wrong move and a wave could drag him under and throw him against the rocks, ending his life.

Jet skis were prohibited at any time on this part of the beach, but it didn’t stop them, especially on a day like today. They’d swarm around the surfers—in this case, just Diego—hoping to get a great shot of him nailing a thirty-foot wave.

Hopefully that’s all he catches.

She scanned the beach looking for any other fools. People with cameras hoping to click the ideal picture of the perfect storm peppered the sand.

“Dumbasses,” she muttered. What did that make her? She was on the beach too. Why had she allowed Diego to convince her this was a good idea?

“Because I’m a fool too.” She buried her foot in the sand and watched how the tiny particles glided between her toes. If she was smart she’d grab her board, jump in her Jeep and hightail it back to her place. Common sense flew out the window when it came to Diego, because she was head over heels in love with him.

Too bad he doesn’t feel the same. He loved her like a sister he’d said a few too many times, especially on drunken occasions.

If she’d had a nickel for all the times he’d said, “If you weren’t like a sister to me, I’d fuck you.”

How her pussy moistened with the thought. A few times she’d been tempted to sock him one and other times she’d wanted to tackle him and show him the woman inside waiting for him to fill that void deep within.

Instead she’d sat back and waited.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Wheels


The cover is for the latest release in my Virtual Seductions series. It's available now from eXtasy Books.


Since I didn't post last month, I'm posting early this month.

If you haven’t seen True Lies or In the Line of Fire or visited the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, CA, you may be unaware that the entire hotel is round. Which means you can’t get from one side of the lobby to the other without going around the bar area or through the elevator access to the guest towers. If you’re directionally challenged like I am, you may spend a lot of time going in circles. I did and have the blisters on my toes to prove it!

The other quirky thing about the hotel is the elevators only stop on lower floors 1, 3 and 5. To reach 2, 4 and 6 you take the escalator up or down. And if you’re looking for a specific place to eat—like Subway on level 6—you have to know to turn right when you step off the escalator. If you turn left—like I did twice—you take a grand tour of all the shops and eateries on the entire floor as you circle around and end up pretty much where you started.

Aside from that, signage on these “common” levels isn’t terrific. Finding some of the workshop rooms require advance planning or meeting someone who’s looking for the same place you are.

On the plus, plus side—there are plenty of places to sit and visit—something I found lacking in Columbus, OH (RT last year). Food and drink in the hotel were both expensive, but there were plenty of on- and off-site places that were lots less expensive. Starbucks and McDonald’s were across the street.

I had the privilege of sharing in Desiree Holt’s celebration of her one-hundredth release (Downstroke) with several other friends (Allie, Samantha, Cheryl and Laura). This charming, go-get-‘em lady (Desiree) introduced me to more e-publishers than I knew existed. Her kindness allowed me to pitch in the organized chaos that is Club RT. I have to say that’s the strangest place I’ve ever pitched, but I was asked to submit—my manuscript, Sam and Lex and all you other BDSM/GL authors—so it worked out really well.

Spent a little time catching up with sister Siren Caitlyn Willows and met Siren Treva Harte. Treva was in her Loose Id persona and I was pitching so our time together was very businesslike. I think the networking/catching up opportunities at RT are worth the costs of going.

Two new things at the signings this year. Graphic Arts/Novels and Teen Day. Authors/Contributors were in a separate area of the ballrooms. Reaction from other authors regarding this division was mixed, but I kind of liked it. I didn’t have to hide my more risqué covers from the under 18ers.

Did I mention it was cold and windy? So windy that getting on and off the glass elevators became a leap of faith—for me, at least. The wind blew straight up the elevator shafts (up pants legs and skirts, too). I couldn’t see the elevator sway, but I sure could imagine it! I’m rather proud of myself for even riding in a glass elevator. As long as I could hold on to the railing I did fine. And it sure beat climbing up and down twenty-four flights of stairs!

Would I go back to the Bonaventure? You bet! But I’m already planning for RT in Chicago next year and sending my thanks that it isn’t in July!

Oh, you may be wondering why I call this Wheels? Blessed are they who go round in circles for they shall be known as…wheels!

Dee Brice

Erotic Fantasies Where Nothing is Forbidden

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Contest to win books & bag of goodies!

Come over to my blog today where you can post and win a big bag of goodies and books (mine and others'--all erotica!
To celebrate my newest erotic Regency release, LADY VARNEY'S RISQUE BUSINESS over at www.resplendencepublishing.com, I am holding a very nice contest to win goodies. The takings include EC tote, EC playing cards, Wild Rose Press waterbottle, EC calendar, eye mask and more!
Rules?
There are rules:
1. Write and tell us all please why you prefer contemporaries or historicals as erotica to straight romance in contemp or historical period!
Also tell us the title of the book you have RECENTLY READ that you ADORE!
2. Post on my blog as a Comment: http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com
3. Do it today, Tuesday before 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time!
4. Leave your email address so that I can notify you of the win!
I will pick a winner later on Tuesday 5.17.11, email you (and ask for your snail mail address)!
Ciao!


Sunday, April 17, 2011

What reading fiction has done for my life and my profession

As I gaze at my TBR pile, both on my reading table and in my electronic queue, I ponder what reading fiction has done for me--and as they say in the mystery world, whodunit.
I have a list.
Bet you do, too.
Here, for your dancing pleasure, is mine. Not that it is complete for my part. Not that it is comprehensive for your part, but then this space is limited and you do not wish me to be a gas bag!
Here we go.
1. Fiction has taught me, from an early age, too, that life is complex. Humans are intricate creatures full of inexplicable emotions and motivations.
I use this sense of wonder to build characters I can believe in.
I learned this while reading Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and the Brontes. Jane Eyre got her backbone in the most time-honored way: she damn well earned it by sticking up for herself and not simply--simperingly--enduring!
2. Most humans have elements of the heroic in them. Even the villians. Especially them. After all, said an editor of mine once long ago, villains are the heroes of their own stories. Look at Sherlocke Holmes, very complex creature. Dracula. Phillipa Gregory's "heroine" of Wildacre. (Chills me, still.) I try to find the emotional reason and the logical reason to my characters' motivations. Especially those in my mystery series (under another name, dear reader). Picking out those finite bits of their operating structure is the most difficult thing I have to do. And I love it, I do. I confess.
3. I learned that history is an assembly of facts about how people lived their lives. Such reading has taught me to be in awe of them that they survived, and to value my own life. Plumbing. Gasoline in autos. Electricity. Air travel (really!). Newspapers, paper types and on-line. But more than feeling the history in fictional accounts, I have learned to appreciate the accurate depiction of facts. About then. And most especially about happenings now.
Thanks to reading history in fiction, I have come to value fact more than opinion. Where the fact is stated baldly, I thank people for the information. Where it comes with opinion attached, I take that with my grain of salt...and usually, like Julia Child sensing too much for the palate, I throw it over my shoulder.
4. Reading fiction has inspired me to revisit the history of the civil rights movement (The Help by Karen Stockett), to want to return to Japan where we once lived for a few glorious years (The Tale of Genji), to re-read about nurses in World War I in Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. Reading fiction has also taught me a whole lot about forensics, how to kill people--all totally useful info if I wish to spend my life in jail OR writing mysteries. (I like the latter.)
5. I find too that all those years I went to the library, took my children there as well as to the bookstores, that they are now involved in writing in one form or another. Our daughter, who loves to read any ANY ANY fictional account of Anne Boleyn and Henry, now writes for a famous CEO. Our second son, aside from the day job, writes and produces his own films. (I am writing a script with him, too! MY first film script. urgle.) Our oldest son, who accidentally passed away over a year ago, was a published poet. This last of having literate, articulate children tickles me like none of the above even begin to.
Okay! Enuf said the walrus!
What has reading fiction done for you????
We need to know so that we can feel satisfied and damn pleased with ourselves for seeing what really matters here.
(And yes, that book cover is my latest. A Regency period erotic romance. It is not only what I do, but clearly who I am!)