Periodically, Jewels of the Quill will be having Special Guest Jewels, who will participate in spotlights and advertising. These Special Guest Jewels are by invitation only--please do not write and request this privilege. Special Guest Jewels' releases will be included on our website, we'll have links to their personal websites, but they won't be included in our regular line-up, nor will they have their own section of our website (only in this special guest archive, our upcoming releases page, our upcoming appearances page, and our monthly newsletter). We hope everyone will enjoy learning more about these Special Guest Jewels.
Special Guest Spotlight Archives
Special Guest Jewel Roxi Romano
Special Guest Jewel Cassie Walder
Natasha Perry
Look for Natasha's upcoming release from MS Fiction: RUINED HEARTS, an erotica historical novella coming March 2010, to be released in trade paperback and electronic formats. Her website is being built now and will soon be unveiled.
Roxi Romano's Midwestern neighbors probably think her most wicked vice is her love of chocolate. They'd be wrong.
An avid reader of just about any genre, it was simply a matter of time before Roxi discovered erotica. But it took her a few years and three award winning romantic suspense novels before she wrote her first erotic romance, FANTASIES R US. With her second erotic romantic romp, TAMING TESS, she's proven herself a master of yet another genre.
Roxi Romano is a longtime member of Romance Writers of America and Wisconsin Romance Writers. Roxi's newest release is The Sex Slave, spotlighted below. Click on the Roxi's website button above to purchase any of her books.
The Sex Slave
Lazarus Stone's species of human possess a special power that condemns them to live as sex slaves. Privately owned, he's one of the more fortunate. But, when his mistress dies and he's faced with an uncertain future, he knows he must escape to freedom before her death is discovered.
Jaci Coe has grown up on the mean streets of various colonies, her life with her drug addicted mother nomadic. Equipped with a plethora of talents learned on those streets, Jaci knows how to survive just about any situation. But she has a secret even she doesn’t know...until her current lover tries to sell her into slavery.
As Jaci flees her would-be master and Lazarus searches out his own escape route, their paths cross. She soon learns Lazarus has access to the currency to buy passage off the moon on a pirated cargo ship. He soon realizes the party girl he reluctantly rescues from sex traders knows how to survive in the outer worlds. They definitely need each other to attain and keep their freedom...as well as scratch their lusty itches. But, in the process, the man who's never known love finds himself torn between freedom and attraction while the girl who's spent a lifetime searching for true love believes she’s finally found it.
"Overall, I think SECRETS VOLUME 23: SECRET DESIRES is one of the best collections I have read from Red Sage yet. From historical to the fantastical, I was swept away to different lands and times. This is truly a collection that sends your senses into overdrive. Visually stimulating, as well as physically and mentally stimulating, I found myself on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what would happen next. I'm usually not a fan of sci-fi or fantasy stories, however, The Sex Slave definitely kicked my libido into high gear. Lazarus and Jaci were a knock out couple. I loved their witty banter and the passion that overtook them. I really enjoy the fact that each story in these anthologies is different. I get to enjoy all different types of genres from these amazing authors and I get to move with the characters from one world to another. The SECRETS books are some of my favorite collections and these authors and stories are the reason why." ~Amanda Haffery for Dark Angel Reviews https://www.darkangelreviews.com/Secrets_Vol.html
5 stars! "Having read most of the SECRETS anthologies, I had high hopes for this one and was not disappointed. Pick up this volume of SECRETS--you won’t be disappointed." ~Laura Scott for Just Erotic Romance Reviews http://www.justeroticromancereviews.com/features/bookreviews/index.asp
What's the story behind The Sex Slave and what inspired you to write it?
Strangely enough, I don't remember what spurred me to write The Sex Slave. But everything grew out of Lazarus Stone's character. He's the kind of hero I love, wounded yet honorable. His species of human possess a special power that condemns them to live as sex slaves. Phenomenal is the self-control it takes this proud, alpha male to allow himself to be used as he is. It helps that he enjoys sex and learned early on not to confuse sex with love. He also doesn't dwell on any dreams of freedom. Perhaps it's his maturity, his ability to know he's free inside his mind that eases the sting of slavery. No one can truly know what he thinks and he can think whatever he wants. Perhaps he's grown complacent with his lot because his owner isn't unkind and allows him considerable freedom to move about the colony where they live. But he's a realist and the death of his mistress reveals he's always had a back-up plan for escape.
Of all the characters you've created, who is your favorite and why?
I enjoy all my characters or I wouldn't have them in my stories. But my favorites would be between Jayne Applegate in FANTASIES R US who believes true love for her will never be more than a fantasy and Lazarus Stone, hero of The Sex Slave, who was born into slavery and groomed to become a sex slave. Both made me cry because they were so alone, Lazarus especially. This proud man doesn't believe he will ever live free so he has learned to make the best of the life dealt him. But, behind the facade of faithful slave lives a mind free of oppression. Yet, when faced with the opportunity to escape, he discovers he doesn't know how to recognize freedom.
What is the most difficult subject/theme you've ever tackled in a story? Why did you write about it?
An issue in The Sex Slave is sexually transmitted disease. Though STDs aren't the primary theme of the story, I worried that publishers of erotic romance wouldn't even consider a story containing the subject. But it's the reason people of Lazarus' species are enslaved. I'm extremely pleased Red Sage recognized STDs as a necessary part of the larger issue, enslaving humans.
When you have a deadline, do you get started right away, wait until the last minute, or switch back and forth between projects?
I don't like having things hanging over my head, so I get started right away. Though there are times I have to finish something I am already working on first. But that new deadline is right there nudging me until I get to it.
What are you working on now?
As much as I'm enjoying my forays into the future, I love just about anything paranormal. Just ask Raven Dunlap who let her friends drag her to a seance only to have some randy ghost under the table slide a hand up the inside of her leg. But Adrien LaCost isn't just any ghost. He's a victim of murder, his grave an unhallowed piece of ground beneath the antebellum house now rented the con-artist giving the seance. He's horny, pesty, and determined Raven is just the woman to help him cast revenge on his murderer and escape his ghostly prison. I'm calling this work-in-progress GHOST LOVER, and I hope to announce news about it soon.
What can readers look for next from you?
I'm hoping it will be Two Grooms for Dani, a novella currently in one of my publisher's hands. Ace fighter pilot Princess Danika Alexandria wants nothing to do with marriage. Yet she finds herself in an arranged marriage to her mentor, friend, and all-round mystery man, Joryn; and proposed to by the universe’s hunkiest stud, all-round bad boy and personal lover, Brody.
Solidifying the uneasy truce between her people and Joryn's by marrying Joryn is the responsible thing to do. But how can an indulged princess give up the sure bet of great sex with her lover Brody? Because Brody's proposal is just about getting her out of the fighter pilot business and keeping her safely grounded, popping out babies. But the sex-- Then again, Joryn is hot. She knows. She's played footsy with him a few times. And he's a warrior like her. He wouldn't demand she be grounded, would he? Choices, choices. What's an ace pilot princess to do?
in Secrets Volume 23:
Secret Desires
by Roxi Romano
Futuristic Erotica Romance Novella
Available now from Red Sage Publishing
9781603101646 (trade paperback), $12.99
Order from the publisher
Order from Amazon.com
Subscribe to Cassie's newsletter, Walder's Weird World: waldersweirdness-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Cassie Walder is your basic Mom-next-door type, considering herself the
last person anyone would
imagine as an author of romantica. Yet her vampire/shapeshifter romantica
tales from Ellora's Cave have
been a lot of fun to
write, critically well received, and have sold quite well. Cassie's story Bloodstone Cure is available now in TALES FROM THE TREASURE TROVE, the first award-winning Jewels of the Quill anthology. Her story Deck the Halls was in the Jewels of
the Quill Christmas anthology, SMALL GIFTS. Cassie's newest releases are: a werewolf erotica called WOLFBANE; a vampire erotica called SUGAR (both available from Extasy Books); and a sensual contemporary romance titled OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS, available from Phaze and spotlighted below.
OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS
Gina Matthews is determined to put the past behind her and make a new life for herself and her career. Leaving Houston and her unfaithful fiance behind, she heads for Illinois, yet finds some aspects of the past are difficult to avoid.
Meeting handsome Bernard LaCroix, Gina realizes how difficult it will be to live without love. Bernie is everything she wants in a man, and everything her former love is not. But can their love survives her secrets, and the secrets of others?
by Cassie Walder
Sensual Contemporary Romance
1-59426-610-7 (electronic)
Available now from Phaze!
Read an excerpt from OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS!
What's the story behind OTHER PEOPLE'S SECRETS? What inspired you to write this book?
Friends were talking about a retired man who had failed to get a divorce before he married his trophy wife. I thought it would be interesting to explore something of what it would be like to be a child of such a man. Then the Phaze contest came up and I altered the story to fit their guidelines and submitted it.
What do you like best and least about writing?
I have one answer for both questions. I set my own hours. That's both the best and the worst.
Why do you write what you write?
It's a five letter word--money. Erotic and sensual romance sells quite well as a rule. And a girl has to eat.
Is there a genre you've never written in and want to?
Non-fiction. I've a half dozen projects calling my name. So, fiction is going to be largely backburnered over the next couple of years while I tackle these projects.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Depends on the book. Anywhere from weeks to years.
What is your favorite hero type and why?
The favorite heroes are the ones who mesh well with the heroines.
Do you have any words of encouragement for aspiring authors?
Follow your heart. If you follow your stomach, and write largely for money, it's a very hard way to make a living.
What are you working on now?
Non-fiction projects. And several stories for upcoming Jewels of the Quill anthologies. As well as a considerable amount of web design work for paying clients.
What can readers look for next from you?
The second book in my dragon series (The Saurian Series), Bloodstone Legacy, is coming out in in TALES FROM THE TREASURE TROVE, Volume III March 2007. Jewels of the Quill recently sold their 2008 anthologies, and TALES FROM THE TREASURE TROVE, Volume IV (March 2008) will include the third in The Saurian Series, Saurian Bloodstone.
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