Six Sentence Sunday #23

Happy Superb Owl XLVI, sixers! I couldn't think of any football-themed snippets to share, but I've got plenty of New England-related ones—go Pats! So here are six sentences from one of my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin Cara McKenna's earlier novellas, Willing Victim, which features the towniest Boston hero we've yet written. (Note: if you're tempted by the writing, please read the book's content advisory before purchasing.)

She sat at the edge of the chair and soaked a wad of toilet paper with peroxide, tilting his head up to swab his latest cuts. She smeared Bactine over the deep ones, studied his eyes under the guise of scrutinizing his injuries.

“I like when you…you know, fuss over me.”

Laurel wasn’t sure what to do with this information—it was tough to write things off with Flynn as he so rarely made sentimental proclamations, and the ones he did couldn’t be blamed on alcohol. She finished swabbing the scrape, blotted his skin until none of the tiny lines offered any fresh blood.

“You’re a strange man, Michael Flynn.”

Thanks for reading! Now head here to check out all the other Six Sentence Sunday excerpts this week!

Six Sentence Sunday, lucky #13

Greetings, my sixy beasts! Thought I'd take a break from the romance and give my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin Cara a chance to share six sentences from a novella she's just finished and subbed. The book's working title is Bounce Back (both characters are on the rebound), and it's male/male—oh, the scandal!

The heroes have just met. They're playing pool at a bar.

“You don’t suck so badly,” Stephen said, as Adam lined up a harder shot. He nearly got it, but scratched. “Take that back—maybe you do.”

Adam grinned, suddenly far more interested in being taunted than wowing this guy with his nonexistent pool shark skills. It was probably just the alcohol’s doing, but he felt like they were engaged in a mating dance, circling the table, passing one another, each shot some attempt to impress the other. So much bending over and chalking of one’s stick, so many balls and holes and other juvenile, low-hanging double entendres.

Thanks for swinging by, everyone! Now head here to check out all the other Six Sentence Sunday excerpts this week.

Six Sentence Sunday #8

Greetings again, intrepid sixers! One final excerpt from my evil twin Cara's brand new release, Curio. Oh yes, the Parisian man-whore book is finally out, and available through Kindle, Nook, and direct from Ellora's Cave, if you're intrigued. Or go see what readers have to say about it on Goodreads. Right. Requisite promo done. Now, on to the good stuff…

As I took my final breath, knuckles poised to knock, the door swung in.

Didier was taller than I’d anticipated. He was more of everything than I’d anticipated. Which is saying a lot, because I’d purposefully built him up in my mind, so grand he could only fail to measure up and hence give me permission to do as I always do and declare myself above the bothersome magnetism of lust.

But Didier did not disappoint. My mouth went dry and I must have looked stoned, standing there with the blank expression I rely on when desperately trying to appear unaffected.

Thanks for stopping by! Now head here to check out all the other Six Sentence Sunday excerpts this week.

Man-whore release day!

Hey all! My evil conjoined erotica-writing twin Cara McKenna has a new book out today! It's called Curio, and it's as romantic as it is filthy, so I am deigning to endorse it. This is the so-called "Parisian man-whore book", with the virgin heroine and the male prostitute hero, and you may have caught some snippets from Six Sentence Sunday posts of late. If you'd like to read more, here's the official excerpt. And here's the blurb:

Caroly Evardt never expected to find herself patronizing a male prostitute. Then again, she never expected to be weeks from her thirtieth birthday and still a virgin.

When a friend mentions that a gorgeous male model in Paris sells his body as well as his image, Caroly’s intrigued. Finally, a chance to sample the gifts of a beautiful man—no strings, no stakes, no fear of rejection.

But she soon discovers that Didier Pedra amounts to more than a striking face and talented body. He’s a kind, charming, damaged man, and after a few evenings of pleasurable education, Caroly’s interest blossoms into something far deeper than mere lust. Her simple arrangement is suddenly feeling downright dangerous…

If you're interested, you can buy it here (and on Amazon, B&N, All Romance eBooks, etc. in the coming days). Five bucks for several hours with a French prostitute! What a deal! It's also on Goodreads, if that's your scene.

Thanks for sitting through the promo!

Six Sentence Sunday #7

Greetings, sixers! As promised, another excerpt from my evil twin Cara's upcoming romantica release, Curio (out this Wednesday), aka "the Parisian man-whore book".

I slid my hand back to feel his damp hair, the heat of his neck. He cocked his head, the kiss still closed-mouth but promising more, soon.

I let myself imagine the acts he’d mentioned doing with others, and though they’d thrilled me before, now I couldn’t picture such things. In this moment he was my cautious first date, my maybe-a-boyfriend. He was no other woman’s, and he’d never kissed any girl and made her feel this way before. His body was far from innocent, but I fantasized that his heart was as untouched and virginal as mine.

Thanks for stopping by! Now head here to check out all the other Six Sentence Sunday excerpts this week.

Six Sentence Sunday #6

Greetings, sixers! This week and next I thought I'd share excerpts from my evil twin Cara's September 28 romantica release, Curio. Possibly better known as "the Parisian man-whore book". The virgin heroine has just admitted to the male prostitute hero the extent of her inexperience…

And it was in that moment in Didier’s living room that I realized, maybe not tonight, but some day not too far off, I could leave this place with that weight lifted from me. I could walk down his street and be like everyone else. I could have a lover. This is Paris, after all—having a lover is like having a pancreas, and I was suddenly very ready to quit being a medical anomaly.

All Didier said to my pronouncement was, “That is very interesting,” then he paused and squinted in such a way that it seemed he were taking a drag off a psychic cigarette. I worried he was about to tell me he had a policy against deflowering his clients, but he merely added, “It’s very flattering that you’ve come to me.”

Thanks for stopping by! Now head here to check out all the other Six Sentence Sunday excerpts this week.

Six Sentence Sunday #4

Letting Cara, my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin, take over the post this week. She's got a paperback anthology coming out on Tuesday, called Stray Hearts. It contains all three novellas (previously published as ebooks) in her Shivaree series, about the angsty travails of Shane and Gabriel (and often Natalie). Much male/male sexxorings and m/m/f menage, if that's your scene.

Six sentences from the first story, Backwoods, when Shane's drunkenly struggling to keep a grip on his soon-to-be modified heterosexuality:

He was more beautiful than any woman Shane had ever been with—hell, than any Shane had ever seen—and it made his body ache. Any minute now, Shane would find his sense and turn all this carnal curiosity into male insecurity, quit with the friendliness and get back to good old-fashioned defensive bigotry. Not that he was a bigot. That was the one thing he hadn’t inherited from his old man. But he sure as hell wished he could muster a taste of it right now…might give him the scare he needed to beat it the fuck out of this room and get a purchase on his manhood.

Gabriel set the bottle on the table with a distinctly empty-sounding clank.

Thanks for stopping by! Now head here to check out all the other Six Sentence Sunday excerpts this week.

Six Sentence Sunday #2

Six sentences from my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin Cara McKenna's latest sale, Curio, a.k.a. the Parisien man-whore story (out in early autumn):

Didier Pedra is the name of a male prostitute who lives at sixteen Rue des Toits Rouges, in Paris.

It’s a relatively quiet street amid the greater bustle of the Latin Quarter, his flat in the top floor of a long tenement, two blocks from the river. I never expected to find myself standing on the front stoop of a prostitute’s building in the rain, on what should have been another unremarkable Thursday evening in March.

Then again, I never expected to be five weeks from my thirtieth birthday with my hymen still intact.

As I stood on Didier Pedra’s front stoop—precisely six minutes early for my appointment and unwilling to go in, lest I appear too eager—I knew only a few things about him; that he’s in his early to mid-thirties, that he’s always lived in Paris, and that he has a reputation for being supremely good in bed.

As if I have any basis for comparison.

Thanks for stopping by! Head here to check out all the other Six Sentence Sunday excerpts this week.

New Sale!

Hey all, just wanted to share some good news my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin received yesterday—the so-called Parisien man-whore story has sold! Ellora's Cave offered me my eleventh contract with them, and I accepted. The official title is to-be-determined. It's working title has been Sixteen Rue des Toits Rouges, and I wasn't too shocked when it got nixed; bit tough to remember / spell / pronounce. I've got a nice list of alternatives to send off to my benevolent editor today.

[Addendum: This just in, the book now has an official title—Curio.]

Big thanks go to Amy, Ruthie, and Liz for beta reading and French translation assistance. Merci beaucoup, mes amies.

Just from randomly tweeting about the story during the writing process, I've been pleased by how enthusiastic some people are about the themes, both the male prostitute factor and the pushing-thirty virgin heroine. Fingers crossed they'll enjoy the book when it eventually comes out (should be a quick turnaround, probably out in the early fall). I'll be sure to post a tiny excerpt from it for this weekend's Six Sentence Sunday.

If the chores of the day permit (or rather, my tackling thereof permits), I'll probably be tweeting with a champagne buzz late this afternoon, so look forward to that. Enjoy your Fridays!

Wordle, where have you been all my life?!

While we were chatting about first drafts on Twitter, my pal Ruthie Knox turned me on to Wordle.net, where you can paste text and create really beautiful, customizable word clouds (to show you what words you've used most). She dared me to plug in my evil conjoined erotica writing twin's current work-in-progress, Sixteen Rue des Toits Rouges, aka The Parisien Man-Whore Story. Here's what resulted. Damn, look how huge my like is! And of course, there's cock, practically dead-center (and not all that big, as Ruthie didn't hesitate to point out). Got a WIP of your own? Plug it in and leave your URL in the comments.

Skin Game is out now!

Forgive me as I channel my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin Cara McKenna yet again, but her honking big weird-ass magnum opus is out today! Skin Game is now available direct from Ellora's Cave, and in the coming days it will also come to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, Fictionwise, and many other vendors. And in a few months it will also be available as a paperback! For interested parties, here's the blurb:

Seven days, seven challenges. Twelve strangers. Eight thousand cameras. Only one winner.

Welcome to The Ant Farm, a social study in the wilds of interior Alaska, documenting the dynamics between a dozen competitors as they take part in a series of physical and psychological face-offs. With five hundred grand up for grabs at the end of the battle royal, the stakes are high and the tension blazing.

Could the seemingly mild-mannered nice guy win it all? The cutthroat alpha female? The strongest or the smartest, the idealist or the cynic? It’s anyone’s guess as teams are undercut by alliances, loyalties tendered and tested, and passions enflamed by both affection and animosity.

In this contest where even knives and guns are fair game, sex may prove the most dangerous weapon of all.

Reader Advisory: This book features the recreational use of illicit substances, and non-explicit references to childhood abuse and trauma. It also features an unlikely mix of romance, lust and hate-sex, plus a ton of way crazier crap that the author delights in not preparing you for.

I hope you'll check it out! I'm not sure I've ever been this excited on a release day…or at least this unafraid. The book's a bit odd, but I wrote exactly the story I wanted to, so if people don't like it, I can only shrug. I have no regrets. Plus luckily I'm busy at a conference this weekend, so even if I were tempted to, I can't sit in front of the interwebs, nervously refreshing and awaiting reader ratings and reviews. However, I am looking forward to snooping around on the book's Goodreads page in the next week or two, to see if readers comment about which characters they hope or think will win, as they're reading…

Again, here's the buy link. Enjoy your weekends!

Skin Game

Giveaway!

Just wanted to share the new ad for my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin Cara McKenna's upcoming release, Skin Game. It's sort of a weird mix of Lost and Survivor and the Stanford Prison Experiment, plus a bunch of nasty outdoor sex crammed into a hefty, extra-long ebook package. It's out next Friday, but I'll be busy at the RWA New England Chapter's annual conference (go NEC!) all weekend, so forgive the advance BSP. Click on the ad if you want more info!

And why not, how about a giveaway? Leave a comment before noon EST on Thursday, April 28, and I'll pick a random winner to receive the book the day it comes out! Go ahead, go nuts.

Cara wants to know…

Forgive me if you came upon this blog wishing to know nothing about my evil conjoined erotica-writing twin Cara McKenna, but my wise (yet youthful) erotica editor suggested I run a survey about a story conundrum we're both scratching our chins over.

To anyone who's read the Shivaree series (Backwoods, Shivaree, Getaway) I ask:

Would you like a fourth story in the series, an m/m/f menage (not with Natalie) that revisits Shane and Gabriel a year or so into their post-angst, out-in-the-open-ish relationship? The female character would not jeopardize either man's primacy. The story would center around both the female character's sexual adventure as well as a revisitation of Shane and Gabriel, now a "real" couple. No clue how permanent the female character might end up being—I never know that until I'm writing the book—but she's not being brought in to "fix" anything lacking in the men's relationship. Just a good old-fashioned m/m/f menage.

Please vote! And thanks for reading, everyone! If you want to qualify your vote or ask for clarification, go nuts in the comments.

Should there be a fourth Shivaree book?

DA BWAHA 2011: It's ON!

Sorry to cross-pollinate again, but my erotica-writing alter ego Cara McKenna's novella Willing Victim got tapped for DA BWAHA 2011 (the March Madness-style book tournament put on jointly by the romance review blogs Dear Author and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books) and shameless self-pimping by the authors is compulsory. The deadline to create your bracket for a chance to win mad-good prizes is midnight tonight, CST. Voting begins shortly on the DA BWAHA blog!

The man-titty war has officially begun, set off by this gem from Meljean Brook. Well I didn't earn that BFA in graphic design to just let my Photoshop skillz rest on their laurels when the shrapnel begins to fly.