The back cover copy sums it up nicely: Nina Larson has a personal genie…seductive, sexy Alec! Her every wish is his command…and does she ever have some X-rated wishes! Each desire he fulfills propels her into another, even hotter one. But Nina holds the key to Alec’s freedom. Problem is, she’s not sure she can surrender the most fantastic sex of her life.

I’ve always been a fan of I Dream of Jeannie and Aladdin and The Arabian Nights. When asked to write a bedtime story, it took me about two seconds to exactly what I story I wanted to write. In “I Wish He Might…,” I build on some of the familiar ideas we have about genies, and create a new world for them, which can be as dangerous as it is sexy.

Nina, the heroine, is granted three wishes, of course, and it got me thinking a lot about wishing. How many times in a day do we unconsciously say “I wish. . . ” What if there was a genie over our shoulder, making those wishes come true? When we’re kids (and even adults) we love wishbones in turkeys, wishing wells, and making wishes on falling stars. Our lives are full of wishes, it seems.

If a sexy genie appeared in your life, what would you wish for? What would you worry about (after all, there is the old saw, watch what you wish for!)

Share, and I’ll pick a winner at the end of the day to win one of these lovely bars of handmade soap, aptly named “Wishing,” (though not inspired by this book, it still fits!). These soaps are made right here in Central York, and are lovely. I will also add in a few fun bath items and a copy of Blazing Bedtime Stories, Vol. IV. Let’s chat about wishing!

Today is mine! I love birthdays — how can anyone not? Gifts, cake. . .and more cake. And sharing it with you all on the blog is just more added fun. I had my birthday party last Saturday, and dear hubby outdid himself — a home made spaghetti and meatballs dinner with bread and a cake, all made from scratch. I received some lovely gifts from family and friends, and a Wii Fit ahead of time from hubby (much fun, after you get past the trauma of the chubby Mii, LOL), who also says he has some extra surprises in store. But as much as I enjoy the goodies, I am just so thankful for all the wonderful people and things in my life as I enter this new year. Those are the real gifts.

Anyhoo, I was doing some research on birthday lore for a book a while ago, and found out some really interesting things about our own personal holidays. Such as that ancient people used to celebrate death days more than birthdays, as your death signified your return to God. (I’m really glad we turned this one around!) Birthdays as we know them are pagan in origin, as are so many of our holidays and traditions. (And as everyone knows, pagans know how to par-tay).Greek celebrations, specifically, were tributes to Artemis. The Greeks would make honey cakes for her each month, lighting them with candles to make them look like the moon. Traditionally only men were celebrated on their birthdays, until in Germany they started doing so for children, and the tradition grew. In many countries, birthdays are still considered mainly a religious ceremony. Hindus don’t celebrate their birthdays until they are sixteen years old, but on their first birthdays, however, Hindu babies have their heads shaved to rid them of any evil spirits, which is also the idea behind singing, spanking, or making of loud noises. Wishing someone Happy Birthday is a wish for bad luck to stay away from them in the year coming.

So, that’s a little folklore lesson on b’days. Kind of neat, I think.

As a gift to YOU, if you will tell a b’day story or share a tradition or go out and find a piece of birthday folklore and share it in the comments, I will choose a winner at the end of the day to receive a copy of my March Blazing Bedtime Stories w/Kimberly Raye (mine is “I Wish He Might” a story about a tabloid reporter who meets a sexy genie), AND a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate (US Residents Only). Three other winners (everyone eligible) will receive signed copies of the Bedtime Stories book.

I hope a lot of you will come by to celebrate my special day with me. I may be out and about, but I will pop in to comment as I can…

Sam

We’re heading out to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie this weekend. While I didn’t think I wanted to see it when I first saw the previews, it hits me as the best of the Christmas/New Years offerings, and I am a horrible movie person. Hubby wanted to see Avatar, and I was so thankful when he changed his mind after reading several reviews.

I don’t know why — it must be some kind of entertainment ADD — but I can sit and watch 3-4 hours of TV (I am a complete TV addict, but I think it’s a mixture of the variety, something new every 60 minutes or less, and I can get up and take breaks), but making a 2 hour movie can be a stretch, and ones that are longer than that seriously challenge my ability to sit still. It was torture for me to go through the LOTR series with my husband, who loves it… when he rewatches them at home, at least we can get up, take breaks, walk around — but sitting through them in the theater was my version of movie hell.

Though at least the stories were good — one thing that put me off of Avatar is that people only talk about the special effects. I could care less. Give me a great story with no special effects, please — the story is what carries me through and makes me forget I am sitting in one place for 2+ hours. If the characters are compelling and the story makes me want to see what’s going to happen, it’s worth the money. I stay clear of movies where people’s recommendations hinge on “but the cinematography was amazing” or “you have to see the special effects.” No thanks. Of course, most movies have some kind of effects, but I think the point is more that the effects shouldn’t be the point of the movie — they can enhance it, but a movie should still be about the story and the characters.

That’s what’s so nice about books (and TV, when you think about it — the special effects in Buffy were often rough and hokey, but look how much we love it). They can’t rely on special effects, it has to be all about the story. If the story fails, you’re toast, and I’m thankful for that.

Are flashy effects enough for you when you spend at least $11 (usually more) on a movie ticket? Or do you want to be carried away by compelling characters (Jason Bourne, for example — few special effects, amazing movies, all) and great plots? Have you been to see any movies over the holiday, and what did you think? I’ll share my opinion of Sherlock Holmes after we get back, and I’ll look forward to hearing yours.

Happy 2010!
Sam

I watched The Proposal this past weekend (really cute movie) and the heroine mentioned reading Wuthering Heights every Christmas. Do you read one special book every holiday? Are you looking forward to receiving a gift of books this year, or do you expect to be too busy to read (gasp!) this season? What books are you giving?

I tell family and friends never to buy me books — a gift card is fine, but I buy far too many of my own for anyone to know what I’ve read or haven’t, so books as gifts never work for me, but I do enjoy giving them. I try to make notes through the year of books I think family members will find interesting or fun, though sometimes I don’t wait. When my MIL visited this past September, I bought her the first four Karen Marie Moning Fever books because I was too anxious for her to read them to wait for Christmas. As for books we read every year, I don’t really have any particular book I return to over and over again. Last year, my husband had their Uncle’s enthusiastic reading, which he enjoyed, too. It’s nice for kids to have books as well as TV shows for their annual traditions, I think, even though I love many of the TV specials we grew up with.

I will be reading a lot through the month, working through my Kindle TBR and enjoying curling up in the evenings with some good reading. I am reading Charlaine Harris’s Grave Secret at the moment (not very Christmassy, I know, but it’s a good book), and have a list of romances (including some Blazes, of course) that I am looking forward to, as well. Are you reading any holiday-oriented romances you would recommend?

So what books are you reading, or do you want to curl up on a holiday evening and read this month? Share your current reading and I’ll pick two winners to receive a signed copy of my previous Christmas Blaze, Talking in Your Sleep, along with a tin of hot chocolate and a pretty mug. If you have this book already, just let me know if you would like it signed for someone else, and maybe it can be one of your gift items this season. Merry, Merry, and best wishes for a happy and peaceful month, whichever holiday you celebrate.

Sam

Writing sex often gets mistaken for writing love in a lot of articles and workshops — a love scene and a sex scene are not the same thing, though they can overlap, obviously. Love scenes imply a certain emotional commitment has been made, and I think people tend to see the love scene as more acceptable than the sex scene for that reason. For those of us who write erotic romance, we often write sex that happens before love. While the we know these two characters are meant to be together, and that they will have their HEA, they will fall into bed (or into a closet or onto a table, or whatever)–a lot–before they fall in love.

Writing good sex isn’t easy, and it intimidates a lot of new writers. I assume we all know the sex should be relevant to the story–and that there should BE a story–and the plot, so what I am talking about here, is how to best approach the actual writing of sex itself (just to be clear). So I thought I would see what advice was out there for writing sex.

One of the most available and reproduced articles I found was this one, by Steve Almond, who offers 12 “rules” for writing sex. I liked all of them except rules 6 and 9, which I didn’t agree with at all. People’s sexual experience is wide and varied — we simply can’t make these assumptions about how fast climax happens, or slow, or if it happens at all. And we should consider all three scenarios when we’re writing sex.

I also disagree with him on not “using the rude words” — and in fact, I don’t find sexual words rude. I like to use all the words at my disposal, and many times my characters like using them, too. And maybe his characters would never talk to each other during sex, or announce their pleasure, what they like, or what they want, but that doesn’t mean that’s a general rule. Lots of people love dirty talk — it’s the basis of an entire phone sex industry, right?

Another resource is an entire book on the subject, Elizabeth Benedict’s The Joy of Writing Sex, and it gets some good reviews online, though I haven’t read it, but it looks like it might be a good resource for those looking for advice on writing sex. If anyone has read it, please let us know what you think.

This is also a fun discussion, if you have time to read through it.

I’ve always thought that the key thing to keep in mind if you are writing sex is that everyone’s sexual experiences are different, and in that difference, you have a broad range of what can happen. No two people ever have sex or think about sex in the same way, and that gives writers a lot to work with. There are no limits — almost.

Here is my own list of tips for writing sex:

1) Beware of the “ick factor.” In general, you can assume anything dangerous, violent, insulting or demented, anything which would make most reasonable, open-minded people back away, will qualify as “ick.”

2) Beware of being too tame. Keeping the “ick” factor in mind, don’t be afraid of the kink, and use whatever words you need to make it happen.

3) Make sure the sex in your book is true to the character having it, as you have described them. If they are experienced or a virgin, or have various kinds of backstories, make sure the sex is consistent.

4) Beware of falling into a rut. Characters in different books should have their own sex lives, not the same sex as characters in the last three books. What do these people like? what makes them unique?

5) Switch it up. Use different locations, positions, toys, kinds of sex, etc. Have your characters explore and surprise each other. If you don’t know about something, do your research. (Online, or otherwise, it’s up to you).

6) Have fun! Don’t be afraid of the humorous, awkward, or sticky moment in a book. On this note, make sure your logistics work, be clear in your physical descriptions, i.e., This Side Up, etc.

7) Don’t make a public service announcement out of your sex scene. i.e., birth control, STDs. Smart characters will act responsibly, and should, but there are a lot of ways to work around this without dampening passion or spontaneity.

8 ) Be clear on what the sex is about. Even if it’s not about love, be aware what emotions are in play. For more on this, I wrote this blog on Sexual Motivation that people seemed to like.

9) Remember (and this comes in handy when people mistake your characters’ sex lives for YOURS), This is about your characters, not you. Once an editor wrote me a line edit “Is this really sexy?” I thought about it, and could only say, “It is for her.” To me, the heroine was clearly enjoying herself. Readers seemed to agree.

10) What do you find sexy? If you can communicate that, it will probably be sexy for your readers, too. Likewise, don’t write anything you are uncomfortable with, because once it’s on that page, it’s there for good.

So what would you add to the list, as a reader or writer? What makes the sex really great to read, and to write? What have been some of your favorite sexual moments in books? Share your ideas, thoughts, and I’ll send out a book to two lucky winners at the end of the day.

Hey everyone — as I write this, I am getting ready to leave for the NINC (Novelists, Inc) conference in St. Louis, but as you read this, I am on my way back from St. Louis to Syracuse, where hopefully I’ll be back home with hubby and dogs by a little after dinner time. Depending on the day, and if the wifi Gods smile on me, I’ll try to stop in and comment.

In the meanwhile, I thought I would leave you with a little poll, and hopefully you’ll put up with me catching up on the conversation over Sunday. Since my new release, CAUGHT IN THE ACT, begins at a Halloween party, and the Dressed to Thrill books are all about wearing costumes, I thought I would offer up a poll on what costumes you prefer, and as an extra little treat, if you fill out the costume poll and post a comment, I’ll give away a goodie I bring home from St. Louis with a full set of the Dressed to Thrill Blaze books to a randomly drawn winner!

Also, just a reminder that my Dressed to Thrill Twitter spin-off story starts on Monday — you can get details at the Tweet Tweet Love Website.

Now for the poll:

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Everyone likes something free. This week, we’re taking some time to go to the New York State Fair, one of my favorite annual events, and while Fairs can be expensive, the State Fair also has tons of free stuff and entertainment. I went this past Sunday and saw a wonderful belly dancing show, the women were so gorgeous and graceful, and tonight, we’ll go to a free concert (.38 Special — my age is showing, but I love them), and have dinner while we watch.

One of the things I have been enjoying about my Kindle is that more publishers, Harlequin being one of them, are offering books for free for the Kindle. I have discovered Richelle Mead’s new fae series, and I also discovered Karen Marie Moning, to whom I may now be addicted, through downloading their free books. Sometimes we think the things we get for free won’t be as good as the things we pay for, but these books rocked, and they sell for full price elsewhere, so it was a real deal.

Of course, authors give away free books all the time, and it’s no different with the new “Dressed to Thrill” miniseries that I am a part of, with authors Tawny Weber, Karen Foley, and Lisa Renee Jones. The premise of the stories is “Wrong Costume” — four heroines order online costumes for various events, and they get the wrong ones in the mail — a life-changing mistake. The books are sexy, fun, and offer some very cool free reads you should know about.

First, there is my free online read at eHarlequin, running right now. The online story, with a chapter offered each day, is titled Caught by Surprise, and is a spin-off story for my Oct “Dressed to Thrill” book, Caught in the Act. During the online read, I am also giving away a weekly copy of Caught in the Act, as well as one full miniseries set at the end of the four weeks.

In addition to that, the miniseries books have a very unique feature: a mini-romance about the clerk at the costume shop. The story runs through Prologues and Epilogues of each book, so you have to read all four to get this fun extra read, but it also adds a little something to the main stories, because you get a “behind the scenes” peek at why all of those wrong costumes keep being mailed.

Then, starting Sept 7, the four of us, along with Friday guest writers, will be write a “Dressed to Thrill” mini-romance on Twitter, round-robin style! There will be one new story each month, Tawny in Sept, Sam in Oct, Karen in Nov, and Lisa in Dec, so you’ll have FOUR more free reads from us, and it should be a lot of fun, since with round robins, who knows where the stories can go?

Each Twitter story will be another spin-off story from our books, starting with Tawny’s “Feels So Good” that begins on Sept 7. Each day, we will post 5 new tweet installments of the story, and to follow, all you have to do is have a Twitter account and follow @BlazeDTT. Discussion cannot be held on that account, it will be for story tweets only, but you can discuss the account at #BlazeDTT, or a thread that will be set up at eHarlequin, or on the Facebook group for @BlazeDTT. If you do not have or don’t want a Twitter account, you can also read the stories each day at this website.

So, how’s that for free fun? SIX free reads associated with this series, and if you take part, you can be sure there will be more free stuff along the way. I hope we’ll see you there. And just for fun, I’m going to collect some free goodies at the NYS Fair this week, and I’ll pack them up with a copy of Caught in the Act and send it to one commenter on this blog, selected at the end of the day. Just share any thoughts on free stuff, what’s the best thing you’ve gotten recently for free.

What is the secret of a book you can’t put down?

As a reader, I have three basically different book experiences: the books I get a few chapters into and abandon; the books I can read, a bit at a time, over a week or two; and the books that demand to be read NOW. I can’t stop. I’ll read it in a day or two (depending on the book, sometimes in a few hours), because I. Must. Find. Out. What. Happens. These books are commonly referred to as “page-turners” because you can’t stop turning the pages. I love that experience when I find it.

Right now I am in the middle of Richelle Mead’s Storm Born, and it’s that kind of book for me. My entire brain is sucked into the pages (I have to finish this blog so I can go read…). Other recent page-turners have been Karen Foley’s Able-Bodied, Natale Stenzel’s Pandora’s Box, Nina Bangs’s current “dinosaur” books (”Gods of the Night”), and Beth Andrew’s Superromances. There are a lot more I haven’t mentioned — many of the early Blazes, in particular, hit me this way.

It seems like when I was younger, I read like this all the time — compulsively, non-stop — but maybe I just had more time then, and I was less particular. I read a lot of good books now (more even, with the Kindle, God help me), and I enjoy them, but I think the experience of being so sucked in you literally cannot put the book down gets farther in between these days, either because those books are more rare or I am just a different kind of reader. Probably both.

The books mentioned above are all very different. Then there was a non-fiction book, Cliff Stoll’s The Cuckoo’s Egg (highly recommended for anyone who enjoys technology, even if it’s a bit dated). I still remember it clearly, because I nearly went into a coma staying up all night to finish that book. I think it’s one of the few times I stayed in pajamas all the next day, reading. But it’s completely in a different universe than the other three, and yet, still a page-turner.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have some readers kindly tell me they stayed up all night to finish one of my books, or that they couldn’t put it down, or read it in, as we say, “one sitting.” (Thank you, every single one of you!). Those comments were made about different books by different readers, which makes me wonder if the “page turner” isn’t more in the eyes of the reader than the writer. That as a writer, there is no magic combination that makes a book a page turner, but what hooks into us and makes us unable to put the book down is more about us than the book itself. People find their addictions in different places. A page-turner, like a drug, grabs us in some way that it might not grab a hundred other people. Maybe we see ourselves in it, maybe it takes us an adventure or addresses a fantasy that we have, or something.

So… what is it? What do you think makes a book a page-turner, and what’s the most recent one you’ve read? What was it about that book that reached out and sucked you in so that you couldn’t put it down? Share, and I’ll choose someone to win a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate at the end of the day, enough to perhaps buy your next page-turner.

Sam

So many wonderful things came out of the television show Friends, but among the most memorable was “the list.” Remember Ross’s laminated card of celebrities, should he meet them, that he would be able to have sex with them with no guilt or recriminations? What always struck me as funny was that it was laminated. A permanent list. How can someone do that? Mine is always changing.

For several years, I had the “two Hughs” at the top — Grant and Jackman (though Grant fell in and out of grace on the list, but his performance in Love, Actually kept landing him a spot even after I kicked him off…). Our own Leslie Kelly has been fortunate enough to actually meet THE Hugh, so we can completely understand why she would have him on her list. Meeting in person would have to clinch it!

The only constant on my list is Pierce Brosnan. I’ve loved him since Remington Steele. The man has looks, talent, smarts, social conscience, class… the whole package. I think I can safely say he will never be off my list (well, as long as he never sticks with that terrible scruffy facial hair, etc — that was bad). I’m sure he’s relieved to know this.

My recent list has included Enrico Colantoni, whom I enjoyed in Just Shoot Me, but he became listworthy in Veronica Mars (it was the Sheriff’s uniform). Also, Tim Roth, though I have to say I think it’s more Roth’s character Cal Lightman on the new show Lie to Me whom I find attractive.

I also have to include Tony Head. I love Angel and Spike, but I would have taken Giles over both of them, any day. I just discovered Jeremy Renner (Jason) and Ian Kahn (Davis) from The Unusuals. There has to be room for them on the list; they could probably bump the fictional Cal Lightman.

As you can see, my list is always a work in progress. You can also guess why most of my heroes, almost all, are dark-haired.

Who is on your list? Could you have it laminated or are you fickle like me? Share, and I’ll pick a winner to receive a cute mini-tote I made. There might even be a book inside.

In the last 18 months or so, I have had the chance to write three Blaze short forms, novellas. I’ve found, as a person, I like both long and short projects for different reasons. For instance, when it comes to sewing, I make large quilts than can take me a year to finish (or more), and those are really wonderful to see come together, but I also love to make bags and small projects I can finish in a day, because I get the immediate gratification, and I learn a different set of skills. It works the same with writing.

I have an online read (which I believe starts on Aug 17 on eHarlequin — the title is Caught by Surprise and it’s a linked story to my October “Dressed to Thrill” Blaze, Caught in the Act), and my other two novellas are anthology books, my story “No Reservations” which came out last July in the What I Did On My Summer Vacation collection, and my upcoming 2010 Bedtime Stories two-fer. All of these novellas were different lengths, different formats, and from them I get that same short-term, immediate gratification blast that I get from any other short project — it’s a brief, intense experience that teaches you a lot about focus and pacing in a whole different way than writing a full novel. I also learn to be flexible in my story telling, to break out of the well-worn lessons we learn in writing long contemporary.

I love writing the short form, though I know some people find it more difficult. But I also love subplots, and I suppose those are a kind of short format, as well. I think I’ve brought some of that focus and speed that a short-form teaches you back to my regular book writing. I hope so, anyway. I find the expansiveness of the longer book a much bigger challenge. In a long book I need to dig deep and pull out a lot of layers, an experience that I find satisfying in a different way, like mining for gold. But it can be stressful, and stressful over a longer period of time. Still, I think writing shorter format has taught me how to get into stories faster and how to hit a level of intensity in a more focused way, and I think that will make writing longer books more interesting as well.

As a reader, I tend to like full-length books over anthologies or serials. I don’t even like short chapters — I never understood how people enjoyed The DaVinci Code because it was so chopped up for me, all those one or two page chapters, it drove me batty. I didn’t feel like I could get into it, like having commercial breaks every 3 pages. I like the feeling, as a reader, of really soaking up a story and staying in there for a while, and shorts never let me do that. However, though now that I’ve discovered how much fun they are to write, I think I will go get some anthologies and read some novellas b/c I have a feeling I would read them differently now, too.

How about you? Reader or writer, long or short, or both? What are the benefits and downsides for each? Share, and for those of you following me long in my blog tour, this post counts to qualify you in my contest to win a handmade bag and signed books (details at ). Even if you missed my initial post, it’s not too late to join the tour starting with this blog, so I hope you’ll hop on and follow me through June blogging.