An interview with author, Katherine Wyvern, about her, Contemporary, New, LGBTQ Novel, Woman as a Foreign Language

Welcome, Katherine! I must tell you that I was captivated by the title of your new novel, Woman as a Foreign Language. Quite simply, it is brilliant! Before we proceed, please allow me to say how impressed I am by your personal courage and what you reveal in this interview.

Woman as a Foreign Language

All authors have their own reasons for writing a book. What are yours?

Well, in part I always loved to read, so written storytelling is something I grew up with. It’s really like a natural instinct. More specifically, years ago I was looking for Erotica I could read, and found little really to my taste, so I did what I usually do in such cases, which, is, I made my own. That’s how I started writing erotic stories, and how I came to write Romance.

This last story though has a somewhat deeper, cathartic aspect to it, because much in it is autobiographic.

Does it contain a message? What would you like readers to take away from your story?

Yes! It is a story about transgender people, in the widest sense of the word, and the hard time they can have when surrounded by intolerance and the limited mindset of much of our society. I wanted to write a story about love, tolerance and acceptance. Also I wanted to write about the less extreme manifestations of gender queerness, which does not necessarily always extend to full scale sex reassignment procedures. There are many shades of in-between in the gender spectrum and each of them is legitimate and deserving of respect.

Where did you find your inspiration for the story? Was it a person, a current event, something you witnessed, or something else?

There are two main characters in the story, and the inspiration for them came from very different corners. Julia/n is a cross-dresser and he was “built” piecemeal from many different sources, both real and fictional. One ingredient in it was Eddie Redmayne’s terrific performance as Lili Elbe in the Danish Girl. I really wanted to write a character with that grace and presence, but in a completely different social context, one where he could more comfortably inhabit both his identities. Another inspiration was the beautiful Russian model Daniel/Danila Kovalev and several other people! Nina, is a profoundly autobiographic character, and much of what she is, is, in fact, simply me.

Did you face any obstacles or challenges while writing the story and if so, what were they?

Two, mainly. One was researching Julia/n’s character to make it believable. It is a Romance novel, and it does not need to be a documentary, but even so, I wanted it to be realistic. So I spent about three months reading tons of posts from cross-dressers and transwomen about their experiences, from tucking to dating. It was quite an eye-opener, I tell you! But I spoke and exchanged with some of the most incredible persons, and owe them a lot for their patience and generosity.

The other difficult thing was deciding how to treat Nina’s abuse history in the story. It needed to be strong enough that a reader would perceive the crippling effects of it, but I didn’t want to make this a horror story. It was a fine line, between the darkness, and keeping the general tone of the book upbeat and optimistic.

What have you learned from the main characters in your story?

Dare to be yourself. Don’t let other people’s perception of you shape your own identity!

How much emphasis do you put on supporting characters to move the plot of your stories along? Have any of your supporting characters ever gotten their own story?

It changes from story to story. Some of my books have large casts of characters, who often end up taking center stage. Black Carnival was like that. It has really, almost, six main characters, and all of them ended up gobbling up a lot of page space both in the book itself and its sequels! Woman as a Foreign Language is a much more intimate story. It is as much about loneliness and solitude as anything else, and the secondary characters definitely stay in the background.

Do you write in other genres and if so, what are they? What genres would you like to try that you haven’t already?

I am very eclectic and I have written Fantasy, Contemporary, Sci-fi, MF, MM, FF, menage…

I am looking forward to really sink my teeth in two new stories I am working on now, which are both to the paranormal side. I have never tried that before, and I am looking forward to explore the magic and its possibilities, within a contemporary context … it won’t be as good as Harry Potter, but I’d like to sprinkle some magic in our own world.

What or who influences your writing?

Much of my writing is rooted in my own life experiences and has at least a bit of an autobiographic element. From a literary point of view, my prose owes a lot to my favourite authors, Antonia Byatt, Patrick o’Brian, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

What is your writing process? Are you a patnser or a plotter, or a little of both?

A hopless pantser!! The only time I “plotted” a book it came out somewhat lukewarm. As far as I have a process, it is to write down the most emotional scenes of a story first. These are the scenes that really scream to be written, and I usually write them in no order whatsoever. WaaFL’s ending was one of the first things I wrote for the book! After these bits are written I can start connecting them into a coherent narrative, and sometimes I can be tolerably systematic about it.

Do you have any author idols and if so, how would you like to meet them?

As I wrote before, Antonia Byatt (I’d be terrified to meet her. I fear that my claim that her prose influenced mine would seem terribly presumptuous!), Patrick O’Brian (I suppose the only proper meeting would be at sea), and J.R.R. Tolkien, whom would be welcome to visit my property and suggest improvements, since I am aiming to a very Shire-like ambiance!

What are your three favorite books by other authors and why? You don’t have to limit this to three. (I know I can’t.)

Possession (A.Byatt), for the ferociously versatile voice in it. It is a ventriloquist’s book. She bends her style from contemporary intrigue and biography to feminist literary critique, to Victorian poetry and journal writing. It is amazing, dazzling. And the story has me on the edge of the seat from beginning to end. The whole Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian, part for the setting (much of it at sea, during the Napoleonic Wars) but part for the prose (which can be sublime or incredibly humorous) and for the fantastic characters in it. More than once I surprised myself thinking of Stephen Maturin as a real actual friend. That’s how well written he is. And the Lord of the Rings, for the amazing scope of the world-building, the great beauty of it, and once again, for the pliant prose in which the story is narrated. There are many other books I love (Moby Dick, Harry Potter, Die Purpurlinie by Wolfram Fleishhauer, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, to name a few) , but these are really “the three”.

What do you do in your down time to feed your soul?

I am obsessively creative. I love to make things from the strangest mediums and materials. Needlework, painting, woodwork, even cob building. As long as I am creative, I am good. When I really collapse, I have been known to sleep 36 hours in a row.

What’s next on your literary horizon?

I have two stories started. One is a dark twist on the ubiquitous shifter theme, where the werewolf is reverted to his original sinister, evil nature. There’s forests, and hunts and more than a little BDSM thrown in. The other is a much lighter tale of love and magic in contemporary London, which may end up being split in two short stories.

What is important in your life and why?

The time to be creative, without which I just would not be myself. My husband, who is my true soulmate and without whom it would make little sense to be on this planet. And my animals, who are an eternal source of fun (and occasionally heartbreak)

Blurb for your book:

What do you do when the woman you want to be … is a man?

Nina’s abusive childhood left her feeling so vulnerable when wearing anything flimsier than combat boots that she has spent her whole adult life dressed like a gang boy. But when she meets the tall, glamourous, charismatic Julia (actually her cross-dressing neighbor, Julian, going out en femme), Nina is seized by an overwhelming and terrifying urge to finally express her own femininity.

Julia/n has not only a slightly split personality but also a thoroughly broken heart. What s/he wants most is a partner who will love both Julia and Julian. While Nina learns from Julia how to be a woman, Julian discovers that they might well be made for each other, but it will take a struggle against prejudice and a whole conservative mind-set before they can follow their hearts, and express their true, unique, and beautiful selves.

Excerpt from your book:

“Well, are we going out this evening or what?” asked Julia, seeing Nina sitting down still naked on the bed.

“Oh, it will take me two minutes to get ready,” said Nina, smiling up at her. “I am not such a woman as you,” she added, grinning impishly.

“Oh, indeed?” said Julia, and pinched her nose in passing, then went to the wardrobe to fish out some stockings, a pocket bra and breast forms. Boobs were invariably the first thing. She liked her body well enough, as a man or a woman, except for that flat chest. A girl should have tits, and a boy should have some muscle at least, but somehow, she had failed to achieve either. The sweet, soft, bouncy weight of the breast forms immediately made her feel better about herself. Stockings were always the next thing. Her legs were as smooth as silk in any case, but the sleek feel of stockings on them was almost an aphrodisiac. Time was, long ago, when she was much, much younger, when just wearing a pair of stockings would give her a hard-on. She was not such a green horn anymore, luckily, because the last thing she needed right now was an erection.

She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, and pulled on her gaff half the way. She gently maneuvered her testicles back up to where they were before they dropped (if only they had stayed there, she thought despondently, and not for the first time), then gave her empty scrotum a slight twist and pushed it down and back towards her buttocks. She was on the point of tucking her penis down and under the same way (if she laid them side by side, they looked every bit like labia through her gaff … et voilà, instant pussy… more or less), when she caught sight of Nina’s eyes. Nina was still sitting on the bed, still naked, and gazing at her with those gorgeous gipsy eyes, studying everything Julia did and every inch of her body. Julia threw a look at her own lean, white figure in the mirror. She was standing with a hand between her legs and her gaff askew, half way between her knees and her hips, which felt somewhat less than graceful and dignified, and she wondered what Nina was seeing that was so entrancing.

“What?” she asked, smiling.

“Nothing. I did wonder where they went, when … you know.”

Julia grinned. “They don’t go very far, worry not.”

Nina stretched herself long, like a happy cat, still gazing hungrily at her, eating her with her eyes.

And suddenly Julia stiffened. “Oh dear,” she said.

“What?” asked Nina, in a somewhat comical echo of what Julia had said less than a minute earlier.

“Er … ahem. Stop looking at me. Just don’t. I can’t tuck it with a hard-on!”

Nina covered her face with her hands, vainly trying to suppress a fit of laughter. “I didn’t do anything. I didn’t!”

Julia was laughing too by now. It was hopeless. She let the whole lot hang out again and took two short steps to the bed (the gaff half-way up made it impossible to step out properly). She kneeled on the bed and started tickling Nina’s feet, the back of her knees and her sides.

“I didn’t do anything, I didn’t,” Nina repeated, between peals of laughter.

“Ah, but you were thinking, don’t deny that you were thinking.”

“Ok, ok, maybe I was, a little bit, please stop, stop, please!” Nina turned on her side, and curled up in a tight ball, still shaking with laughter. Julia stopped tickling her and pushed her on her belly, wiggled out of the gaff, then straddled Nina’s small buttocks and leaned down to nuzzle her neck and the back of her head.

“What were you thinking, you imp? Mh? What were you thinking?”

She bit gently into Nina’s earlobe and kissed her cheek. Nina smiled beatifically.

“That you are an elf, an angel, a goddess.”

“A female-female she-goddess? Really, with all this embarrassment hanging out all over the place like this?”

She let her cock and her smooth, smooth balls brush Nina’s buttocks, smiled and kissed her again.

“Always. You will always be a goddess to me,” murmured Nina, drinking in the kisses, her eyes closed. Her hand searched for Julia’s hand, their fingers wove together of their own accord, and Nina drew the hand closer to kiss Julia’s fingertips one by one, adoringly. Julia smiled and pressed her breasts down on Nina’s back, rubbing them gently on her shoulder blades.

She kissed Nina again and again, on her temple, cheek, eyelid, nose, the corner of her mouth. She was so precious. Sleek, small-boned, but fierce and sharp, like a bird of prey, hooded and caged, but never quite tamed. And I have set you free, and you chose to fly to me.

“I love you. Darling,” she whispered in her ear, in her huskiest, deepest voice, and Nina shuddered all over while her spine gave a twist, as Julia knew it would. Nina turned under her, to hug her and draw her body down. Julia moved her knees within Nina’s legs, and just like that, without any difficulty, her untimely erection found a place to go.

So wet. How can you become so wet just by looking at me? What do you see that nobody else ever saw? What do you see that even I don’t see? Julia sank her face in Nina’s neck, to kiss her, bite her, whisper in her ear, yes, oh yes, whisper and murmur and cajole, until my voice will make you melt, my love, my love, my love.

You can also find an exclusive excerpt on my website, here:

http://meetingivory.wixsite.com/katherinewyvern/copy-of-woman-as-a-foreign-language

And of course you can download the beginning of the story for free from Amazon!

Buy Links:

Woman as a Foreign Language at Evernight:

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/woman-as-a-foreign-language-by-katherin-wyvern/

Woman as a Foreign Language on Amazon.com:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075RR8K1S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505902876&sr=8-1&keywords=woman+as+a+foreign+language

Social Media Links:

Katherine’s Blog: https://katherinewyvern.blogspot.fr/

Katherine’s Website: http://meetingivory.wixsite.com/katherinewyvern

Katherine’s Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Katherine-Wyvern-Author-122569301260917/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out GORGON’S VENGEANCE ~ Demons On Wheels MC 2, the newest release by Ravenna Tate

 

Gorgon’s Vengeance

Blurb:

Chloe Dolan’s life is perfect. She’s the MC President’s old lady, she loves to dance at Scotty’s Place—the strip club the MC owns and operates, and she and Gorgon are deeply in love. But Chloe’s perfect life falls apart one night after her last set when she spots her abusive ex-boyfriend, Brad, in the crowd. He’s been gone a year, but now it appears he’s back to stay.

As Gorgon and the MC Brothers deal with the fallout from a turf war, they have their hands full from the Outlaw Dogs MC. In the meantime, Brad is stalking Chloe. He’s sending notes to the club, and every time Chloe goes into town, she spots him. Eventually, Chloe is reduced to hiding inside the club.

When the power goes out during a tornado warning, Brad breaks into the club. Can Gorgon save the only woman he’s ever loved?

Excerpt:

Chloe never ceased to be amazed that she could become so aroused, so quickly, whenever Gorgon was near her. All he had to do was look into her eyes, or call her “Chloe” instead of her stage name.

His dark eyes bored into hers, filled with lust and love. Chloe licked her lips and brushed one hand down his back, over his ass, and around the front of his jeans to massage his bulge through the fabric. “I don’t want to think about scary things anymore tonight.”

Gorgon grunted, cupped her face, and bent his head for a rough kiss. He shoved his tongue into her mouth, chasing away the demons in her mind. Gone were the horrible memories of what Brad had put her through, and the shock of seeing him tonight. Instead, Chloe let go and welcomed the heady sensation of being taken by the man she loved.

He moved his mouth to her neck, planting tiny bites there. “Get your clothes off, baby. I need to fuck you now.”

Chloe peeled off her tank top and shorts, tossing them across the room. He grasped her breasts and squeezed them together in his strong hands. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

It had taken her weeks after arriving here to stop trembling in his presence. His dark hair, so soft to the touch, hung down to his shoulders when he didn’t have it tied back. The hairstyle gave him an unruly, lawless appearance that had both excited and frightened her at first.

“I’m gonna explode, baby. On your knees. Take out my dick.”

Her pussy was soaking wet. She loved it when Gorgon spoke to her this way, because she knew how much he loved her. It wasn’t rude or abusive in her mind. This was just his way. He’d lie down in front of a train for her. When he commanded her like this, it turned her on something fierce because there was love and devotion behind it, not fear or oppression.

Chloe dropped to her knees and rubbed her chin over his bulge, teasing him. He grabbed her hair and tugged, hard. “Chloe, dammit … I’m fucking dying here.”

She undid the button on his jeans and pulled down the zipper. He never wore underwear, so she took care not to catch anything as she eased the jeans down his rock-hard thighs. His cock was red, swollen, and already slick with pre-cum. “You’ve missed me, Billy, haven’t you?”

“Baby, I always miss you. Suck me hard. Swallow my cum.”

Chloe slid her tongue up and down the shaft, enjoying the contrast between the veins and the satiny skin. Gorgon moaned loudly, tugging on her hair to move her closer. “Come on, baby. Don’t tease me. You know what I want.”

She knew, but the power it gave her to hold back was as much of a rush as the actual act. Chloe licked his balls before swirling her tongue over his shaft again. When she finally took him into her mouth, he groaned loudly and pushed his dick all the way inside.

After relaxing her throat muscles, she curled her lips around her teeth and let him fuck her with the entire length. Chloe massaged his balls with one hand and teased the soft skin between his sac and upper thighs with the other. She always gave her man what he liked.

Her hair hurt from him pulling on it so hard, and her mouth was sore, but she didn’t mind. This domination was what she loved. Because when it was over, he’d hold her all night and caress her skin, telling her over and over how beautiful she was, and how much he loved her. Things he’d never say unless they were alone. Words he spoke only to her, intimacies shared only between them.

Gorgon’s Vengeance

Buy Links:

Evernight Publishing: www.evernightpublishing.com/gorgons-vengeance-by-ravenna-tate/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gorgons-Vengeance-Demons-Wheels-Book-ebook/dp/B075KBBHPR/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/747506

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/gorgons-vengeance/id1281759726?mt=11

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gorgons-vengeance-ravenna-tate/1127090881?ean=2940154546192

BookStrand: www.bookstrand.com/gorgons-vengeance-mf

Social Media Links:

Ravenna Tate lives in the Midwest where it’s cold six months out of the year, but inside her stories you’ll find plenty of heat. The sex is hot, the men are alpha, and the women give them a run for their money.

Website: http://ravennatate.blogspot.com/

Evernight Author Page: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/ravenna-tate/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RavennaTate

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/RavennaTateAuthor

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+RavennaTate/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11283785.Ravenna_Tate

Manic Readers: http://www.manicreaders.com/RavennaTate/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ravennatate/

The Romance Reviews: http://www.theromancereviews.com/RavennaTate

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00RPMN0BM

Authorgraph: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/RavennaTate

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/ravenna+tate?fs=0&_requestid=93611

BookStrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/ravenna-tate

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ravenna-tate/id957971043?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ravennatate1

 

 

In His Hands, a new release, from one of my favorite people, author, Raven McAllan

In His Hands

Blurb:

In Monsoon season, in Hong Kong, anything can happen… even so, the last thing Caness Clacher expected was to meet a Dom. The very man who made her want to sink to her knees and say, “Yes, Sir.”

Unbeknown to Caness, Patrick Lim had waited a long time to claim her as his sub.

Without electricity and with a monsoon raging, it’s time to explore their desires. Will the elements work in their favor or not?

Only time—and a scene—will tell.

In His Hands

Buy Links:

Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/in-his-hands-by-raven-mcallan/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074HG6D3X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1501738117&sr=8-1&keywords=Raven+McAllan&linkCode=sl1&tag=face0fb1-20&linkId=9e9ac71f557e399760732595c84d9052

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074HG6D3X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1501738117&sr=8-1&keywords=Raven+McAllan&linkCode=sl1&tag=wwwravenmcall-21&linkId=9c756b1e5fe9d1f17b4a058a80445a74

Social Media:

Author Website: http://ravenmcallan.blogspot.com

Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/raven-mcallan/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ravenandkera

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RavenMcAllan

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5265509.Raven_McAllan

 

An interview with author, Lynn Burke, about her HOT, New, Contemporary Novel, Abel’s Obsession

Welcome, Lynn! Your new novel, Abel’s Obsession, about a young Amish man’s obsession with a red-headed “English” woman sounds exciting. Characters with internal struggles are some of my favorites!

Abel’s Obsession

All authors have their own reasons for writing a book. What are yours?

If I didn’t listen to the voices in my head, I’d probably end up a wino. 😉

What would you like readers to take away from your story? Does it contain a message? 

Seeking TRUTH outside of what people are taught as a child take courage, but the results will set you free.

Where did you find your inspiration for the story? Was it a person, a current event, something you witnessed, or something else?

Abel Beiler’s story came about while visiting my parents in Amish country this past April. While leaving for home early Sunday morning, I pulled up to a stop sign at a four-way intersection as horses labored to pull their Amish owners and families in their buggies to Sunday worship.

One young man in an open buggy sat to my right at the stop sign, unsmiling, leaning forward, elbows on knees and reins slack in his hands. I had this overwhelming urge to smile at him, trying to bring a little sunshine to his miserable countenance.

My plan didn’t work, and even though I was in an SUV with 3 children, the idea of Abel and Dani slammed into my brain, occupying my thoughts the whole way home. I voice-to-text in my phone’s notepad off and on the entire seven hour ride back to Massachusetts as Abel whispered his struggle to find himself in my brain.

Abel’s Obsession is by far the raunchiest story I’ve written to date, and I’m hoping the most eye-opening as well. An oppressed life isn’t a joyful one, and finding the strength to free yourself isn’t always easy. Neither is the choice to take wing and fly.

What or who influences your writing?

I enjoy people watching and imagining how they’ve gotten to where they are. It’s amazing how much the imagination takes over and sprouts new story ideas.

What is your writing process? Are you a patnser or a plotter, or a little of both?

I’m a plotter to the core. I also write my first drafts by hand (one scene at a time) and do a first round of edits when entering them into the computer. Makes for a cleaner first doc draft.

Do you have any author idols and if so, how would you like to meet them?

Roni Loren – YES! It’s because of her that ‘Lynn’ was born.

What are your three favorite books by other authors and why? You don’t have to limit this to three. (I know I can’t.)

Roni Loren – Nothing Between Us, because DAMN.

Keri Lake – Ripple Effect, because no greater dark romance exists on this planet.

A Song of Ice and Fire series – George R. R. Martin, because I’m a fantasy loving fan girl through and through.

What do you do in your down time to feed your soul?

Read, garden, cook.

Blurb:

A young man of religious fervor and self-control, Abel Beiler has every intention of honoring his parents and being baptized into the Amish church. The woman with red curls and flashing green eyes in the back of a convertible, however, makes Abel wonder what life with the English might be like.

He strives to withstand temptation, but the memory of the woman he yearns to dominate, coupled with the explicit images in his cousin’s filthy magazine, threatens his restraint.

Red, his sinful obsession, haunts his shameful dreams and becomes a secret part of his life. When faced with truth beyond faith, Abel must decide where he belongs—with the Amish community, or the woman who owns his heart.

Excerpt:

Much later and hoarse from singing for two hours, my curiosity overrode my better sense, and I followed Eli into the hayloft of their barn. While I held the kerosene lamp, he climbed high into the rafters and returned with a magazine clutched in his hand.

“Got this from my new English friend, Toby.” He sat on a bale, opened the magazine, and turned it toward me.

Lust kicked me in the gut, and I couldn’t speak.

A naked woman lay spread eagle and bound by ropes to a bed, a blindfold and some sort of ball gag in her mouth. A man loomed over her, whip in hand. Tear streaks lined the woman’s face. Red slashes marked her thighs. Wetness coated the pink folds of her sex, glistening, and set my mouth to watering.

The image burned into my brain—submission in an entirely different way than the Old Order’s definition of the word. Spirituality is submission, is what had been reiterated in my ears since childhood. Self-surrender. The willingness to give up oneself to the community and Gott’s chosen leaders.

I soaked in the sinful picture, and for the first time in my life wanted power. Wanted control. I wanted a woman’s submission like the man in leather beside her owned. Unable to tear my gaze off the image, I struggled to swallow.

“Didn’t know people actually did this shit.”

Eli’s curse, the first I had heard from him, barely registered past the blood rushing in my ears. My body tensed as longing to be the man standing over that woman, whip in hand raced through me faster than any thoroughbred—or car.

The image of Red flashed in my mind, and suddenly it was her bound to the bed in the picture, breathing heavily, trembling, and begging for me…

Buy Links:

Evernight: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/abels-obsession-by-lynn-burke/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0757FM2KL

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0757FM2KL

Smashwordshttps://www.smashwords.com/books/view/745254

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abels-obsession-lynn-burke/1127046444

Bookstrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/abels-obsession-mf

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/abel-s-obsession

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.authorlynnburke.com/

Blog:  http://authorlynnburke.blogspot.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Author-Lynn-Burke-555282497937461/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AuthorLynnBurke

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Burke/e/B00TGC9SJW

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorlynnburke/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13130238.Lynn_Burke

 

 

Lightning’s Hidden Menace has received its first review!

I’m so excited to share this review of my newest novel, Lightning’s Hidden Menace, with you. The novel was first available on Amazon, Evernight Publishing, and BookStrand, and now it’s available through Smashwords and Barns and Noble!

Lightning’s Hidden Menace

This reader seemed to capture the essence of what I hoped to achieve for Aaron and Jason’s relationship. Thank you Leo F!

The review:

“I melted the moment Jason found himself back in Aaron’s arms. The author really has a knack for making you feel the warmth, emotion, and lust between the lead lovers. I was surprised, then, when the novel took a darker turn. But then I was hooked, because while the first book painted such a loving, passionate, happy picture of jarhead meets jock, this book took me to a much deeper place as suspenseful as it is erotic.

The sex scenes don’t disappoint. In fact, they are even edgier than before, caught between the ecstasy of unbridled bliss and a gut-wrenching struggle to survive. The medical details and intense description of what is happening put a razor’s edge on a plot that strikes like lightning when you least expect it. It’s titillation mixed with trauma and true love’s kiss at the bottom of the foxhole. There’s even a twisted scene that caught me off guard – it’s unforgettable and left me hard as a rock.

All I can say is get ready for the ride of your life. From an author that really knows how to play your heartstrings and make you believe in love again, I was taken to places I totally didn’t expect not only through shocking plot twists, but also when romance is found in the tender moments you wouldn’t expect. Get this book! And if you didn’t read the first one (From Lightning to Love), I’d definitely recommend reading it first – it will only heighten the shock and awe when you get to this one.”

Leo F.

 

 

Lightning’s Hidden Menace, Book 2 in the Lightning Series, has been published

I’m so pleased to announce that Lightning’s Hidden Menace has been published and is now available through Amazon, Evernight Publishing, and BookStrand.

Lightning’s Hidden Menace Cover

Blurb:

Jason cannot believe that Aaron, the man whose life he saved and who helped him break free from PTSD, has suddenly returned to him. Healed, whole, and ready to renew their growing love, they begin to plan a future together. With their first night of torrid lovemaking, they dream of many more, but fate is against them.

A dark nemesis from Jason’s past reappears with lethal intent, driven by a grudge from having been disgraced by a military tribunal. The fallout for Jason and Aaron is far-reaching and heart-wrenching and tears into the fabric of the life they have so carefully begun to weave.

When hatred strikes in a barrage of gunfire, they are left fighting for their lives. Their only focus is to take back what has been ripped away from them; their only hope, that the strength of their love will be enough.

+18 Reader ONLY Excerpt:

“You look beautiful,” Aaron said as Jason approached the bed.

“So do you. How did I get so lucky?”

“Luck had nothing to do with it, baby. You saved my life. You were kind to me, and you took care of me, and day by day, I fell more and more in love with you, and now you’re stuck with me.” Aaron opened his arms, and Jason climbed into them.

“I can live with that.”

As they began to kiss, Aaron rolled Jason onto his back. “Now let me take care of you for a change.”

“Just go slow, Aaron, and remember, just because I can’t go for too long doesn’t mean that I don’t want to.”

“Yes, baby. I’m going to take such good care of you.”

“I’m all yours, Aaron.”

“Yes, you’re mine.”

Aaron rolled to his side and began to slowly run the back of his fingertips across the thick, trimmed hair that covered Jason’s chest, lingering over each nipple when he crossed them. Then he moved it up and down his belly, barely making contact, raising goosebumps. “I could do this for hours, baby, but I know I’d be pushing it, and I don’t want to put too much stress on you.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just…”

“Hush, my love, I know,” he answered as he covered Jason’s mouth with his own.

He ran his fingertips through the manicured lawn above Jason’s growing shaft and then cupped his balls into his palm, gently squeezing and massaging them.

Jason’s lips parted. As he let out a moan, Aaron drove his tongue deep inside Jason’s mouth.

“Baby, I could come just like this,” Jason moaned again as he pulled his mouth away.

“Is that what you want?”

“No, I want to come with you inside me.”

“Then I’ll make that happen.”

Aaron slid himself down along the length of Jason’s body until his face hovered above his shaft. He lowered his head and gently squeezed his balls as if he was testing the ripeness of an orange, just enough to bring the first drop of sweet nectar to the surface. When it appeared at the slit in the head, he flicked the tip of his tongue across it, lifting the drop as it emerged. Immediately, he encircled the reddened helmet with his mouth and began to flick his tongue around the corona and down the frenum. Then he began to suck.

Jason’s body spasmed. “Oh! Oh, my! Aaron.”

Aaron rose to his knees and pivoted around while moving his right thigh across Jason’s chest until he straddled it. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and slid down the shaft, deep throating it until his nose became buried in Jason’s balls.

Jason lifted his head and pulled Aaron’s sack into his mouth as he nuzzled his nose behind it, inhaling Aaron’s musk.

Aaron sucked Jason’s shaft hard as he pulled up and lingered over the crown, and then he released it for a moment. “Oh, Jason, your scent. It drives me wild.”

Instinctively, Jason spread open his thighs when Aaron began to milk his shaft with his mouth. When Aaron reached down and began to circle his middle finger around Jason’s hole, Jason groaned and tightened his abdominal muscles, causing his hips to roll upward. “Ow! Aaron, help me. It’s pulling on my ribs.”

“Where the chest tube was?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve got you, baby.” Aaron grasped Jason’s butt cheeks with his hands, spreading them apart, while he slid his mouth from the head and traced his tongue downward along the underside of Jason’s shaft. When he reached his balls, he mouthed them one at a time, rolling them against his tongue. Then he moved down further, licking along the shaft as it ran beneath the base of his pelvis until he reached Jason’s clenching hole. In one long motion, he spread his tongue wide and licked along the crack from the base of Jason’s cock and across the hole, until he came out the other end. Then he tightened his tongue into a lance and began to drive it against Jason’s outer sphincter, jabbing and wiggling it as he went until it relented and opened itself to him.

Jason’s body began to tremble and lurch in time with Aaron’s advances. Guttural sounds erupted from his throat as Aaron devoured him like a predator feasting over a fresh kill. The louder Jason became, the more Aaron was driven into a feeding frenzy as he sucked and slurped and swallowed until he breached the final barrier.

Aaron pulled away and reached for a bottle of lube. He popped it open and squeezed a huge glop over his fingers, then wiggled his middle finger against the outer sphincter of Jason’s hole at the same moment he dove down on his shaft again and began to suck, feverishly. Jason’s hole puckered, but then opened as he advanced past the inner sphincter. Making small circles as he probed deeper, he massaged the muscles and coated them with the slick lube until his finger was in to the last knuckle. Then he added his index finger and began sliding them together in and out and around and around.

“God!” Jason shouted. His breathing became ragged as he gasped against the advance of Aaron’s ministrations, and when he added a third finger, Jason began to pant.

“You’re almost there, my love,” Aaron said as he readied the fourth.

“I’m ready, Aaron. Please. I’m ready.”

When Aaron had all four fingers inside him and began to caress his prostate, Jason’s hips began to buck, wildly. A jet of pre-cum was ejected from the now purple head, and Aaron sucked it down his throat, greedily.

“Easy, baby. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I can’t help it, Aaron. Not when you do that!”

“I’m sorry, I was too aggressive. I forgot…”

“Don’t apologize! Not for that! Not ever!”

“Roll onto your side, baby. I’m going to take you slow. Slow and steady. Just let me do everything. I don’t want you to rip open any stitches. How would I explain that to your doctors?”

“Aaron, forget the fucking stitches! They’re coming out tomorrow. Now, please,” Jason moaned, “make love to me.”

Aaron’s cock bounced with each heartbeat, aching for release. He slid his body next to Jason’s, rolled him back onto his side, and encircled him in an embrace. Then he slowly slid his shaft along the cleft between Jason’s butt cheeks, through his thighs, and under his balls until its head found daylight on the other side. Jason reached down and scooped up what remained of Aaron’s saliva and mixed it with the pre-cum that oozed from his slit. He grasped the engorged head of Aaron’s cock and began to lubricate it.

 

Buy links:

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075G48LH4/ref=series_dp_rw_ca_2

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B075G48LH4/ref=series_dp_rw_ca_2

Amazon CA – https://www.amazon.ca/Lightnings-Hidden-Menace-Lightning-Book-ebook/dp/B075G48LH4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1507422200&sr=1-1&keywords=Lightning%27s+Hidden+Menace

Evernight Publishing – http://www.evernightpublishing.com/lightnings-hidden-menace-by-kory-steed/

Barnes & Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lightnings-hidden-menace-kory-steed/1127096745?ean=2940154548813

iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lightnings-hidden-menace/id1282617754?mt=11

Networking links:

Author Website – http://korysteed.com

Twitter – https://twitter.com/KorySteed

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KorySteed/

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16591892.Kory_Steed

An interview with author, Ian Lewis, about his new, M/M Romance Novel, Missionary

Welcome, Ian! Your new novel, Missionary, is about two wounded men who are brought together by happenstance and decide to take a chance on each other. This storyline really tugs at my heartstrings.

Missionary Cover

 

What would you like readers to know about your book?

Missionary has gone through several incarnations. I was inspired to write it a year and a half ago when I moved to my parents home to take care of them. We are in the rural south, and neighbors are few. The only house I could see was the next door neighbor’s, who keep cows in the field between our houses. The predominant religious denomination in this area is Baptist, and our neighbors are Latter Day Saints. I thought it unusual, so I did a little research, wondering what it would be like growing up gay in a LDS household. That was the beginning of the journey.

I’m a city boy. I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and I love my hometown. I miss it, and it has been the setting for all of my books. It is a beautiful, historic city filled with eccentric people who colored my life, and now inspire me to write. Though the books center around the two main characters, RVA as a setting is almost equally important to me as a writer. Most of the locations I write about are real places. My favorite character is Fernando, and his beautiful home is real. In fact, a celebrity hair dresser who wrote for a famous fashion magazine lived there. Elegant and regal, this home is breathtaking.

Missionary is about taking chances. Many of us get stuck, repeating the same old patterns until a turn of events forces us to strike out on a new path. Brig and Fernando are two wounded men stuck on repeat until circumstances bring them together. While the romance is central to the book, this is also about breaking negative patterns and learning to be a better person.

What was it like to write the story? 

This story was challenging to write, mostly because of outside events. I moved to my parents because my father was dying. Because of his medical situation, the writing would come in spurts. One week I’d write thousands of words, the next a dozen tops due to family obligations. The good thing about it is the lack of pressure I felt. Once you’ve dealt with an emotional event like the death of a parent, everything else feels minor in comparison. This allowed me to have fun writing it, and put my imagination to use. Writing Missionary was enjoyable, a wonderful escape from reality.

What do you love about the story?

I really love the characters. I took some extra steps to get to know them better. In the beginning, I decided to write a biography of the two main characters. This project grew into two short stories, one for Brig and one for Fernando. The short story Saint Brig gives his backstory, and shows how he came to be stuck in his current life. Escape From Velvet City is Fernando’s backstory. He might be Mr. Moneybags now, but he wasn’t always a financial success. He worked hard, and suffered quite a bit to become the man he is today.

I am releasing the two backstories in the same volume as Missionary, as well as separately. I really am grateful for taking the time to get to know both of them better. I know as a reader I often wonder how the MC’s came to be the men they are now, so I decided to do that as a writer. I hope readers enjoy this!

Where do you find your inspiration?

I’m inspired by everyday things, almost every single day. I keep a notebook next to my bed which I fill with ideas generated throughout the day. My main source of inspiration is exercise and music. I jog every day, and always have music playing. Often song lyrics serve as story prompts. In fact, I have the rough draft of another novel completed called The Loving Kind. This was inspired by a song of the same name by the British girl group Girls Aloud. That book will be available in the next few weeks.

What are my interests outside of writing?

I come from a very artsy family, so we all focus on each our work. While most kids are told to drop artistic ambitions, in my family you were an oddball if you didn’t pursue a career in the arts! Both of my parents were in publishing, and books have been a huge factor since the day I was born. Music is a large influence. I studied to be a concert pianist, and learned to play several instruments. My best friend is a filmmaker/photographer, my niece is a burlesque performer, and my nephew is in a punk band. My older brothers are into sculpture and crafts, and my sister was a ballet dancer and pianist. I was a professional makeup artist for 20 years, and I love fashion. Growing up in a bohemian, southern household encouraged me to be the wackadoo I am today. I’m glad I’m not solely focused on writing, because these outside artistic interests feed my creativity, making me a better writer.

What is my next literary project?

The Loving Kind will be released around the first of September. I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s about a famous athlete who stays in the closet due to the financial rewards of being “straight.” It is also about letting go and living the life you want, not the life other people tell you to live because it makes them feel more comfortable. It’s a sports romance, but the emphasis is not on the sport itself, but on the emotional journey the MC takes as he falls in love with his soul mate, and learns to love himself.

Blurb:

Dreams can come true, even when all hope for happiness has vanished. Fernando and Brig faced harsh realities as they grew into men. One was a street thug, sent into exile by his mother, while the other was disowned for daring to be honest. Many would falter under these circumstances, but they chose to thrive.

Fernando- This handsome, older businessman grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, but through an iron will and determination to succeed, his chain of restaurants become the envy of his peers. When agonizing loneliness and tragedy strike, he’s forced to decide between following the same isolated path, or taking a chance on love.

Brig- An insecure loner tossed out by his conservative, religious family for his sexuality. Introspective, unable to see what he has to offer another man, his love of books almost fills the void in his heart. Content to live alone, afraid of opening himself up to be hurt, his attraction for his older boss becomes unbearable. Forced to make a decision about his future, will he make the right choice and find the happiness his heart desires?

Making hard choices is second nature to these survivors, but now they must make the hardest choice of all- to overcome their fears, and open their hearts to one another.

This is a spicy, stand alone May/December romance with a HEA, no cliffhangers, and lots of feels.

Excerpt:

The alarm is off. Next to the back door is an umbrella stand. Fernando doesn’t use flimsy, drug store umbrellas. These are heavy and expensive, so I grab one in case I run into a burglar. I’m sure it won’t do much damage, but there’s nothing else available.

Heart pounding, I creep through the kitchen. Every step I take causes the floor to creak. Damn it, why does he live in such an old house? I toe off my sneakers and scoot them under the kitchen table, hoping to minimize noise. I tip-toe through the downstairs. A couple of lamps are on, and the front door is locked. The downstairs is clear. If someone is here, they have to be upstairs. Shit, if it’s an intruder, it’ll be harder to escape from upstairs, but I’ve got to check it out.

The hardwood steps groaned with every step I took. I stop half-way up the steps, attempt to steady my breathing. My flight or fight response is on high alert. I know I locked the doors and secured the alarm, and Fernando was going to call me to pick him up. This can’t be happening. Then I hear footsteps.

Shit!

Without thinking I creep up the last few steps. Surprise was my only weapon, well, besides the umbrella. When I reach the top, I pull the umbrella in to my body, then lift it over my head. It’s now or never. I close my eyes, place my foot on the last step, pull the rest of me with it, and turn the corner on to the landing.

“What the fuck!” I hear, my eyes snapping open. It’s Fernando. Oh shit, he’s in a bathrobe, staring at me with a hand over his mouth.

“Oh God, Fernando, I’m so sorry, I thought you were going to call me to pick you up. I didn’t mean to…”

“Bwahahaha!”

Fernando leaned against the wall, shoulders shaking with laughter.

Damn it, it wasn’t that funny.

“You, you standing there with the umbrella over your head, it’s so…Bahahah!” He slid down the wall to a seated position on the floor, unable to finish his sentence.

What the hell, I had to see who was up here, plus I had to protect myself. I glanced down at the umbrella, closed my eyes and tried to imagine how I looked as I turned the corner on the stairs. My stomach muscles loosened, and I felt a giggle of my own coming on. I opened my eyes and smiled, then saw something strange; Fernando had his hand out. He was still laughing, but had his hand out, wanting me to grasp it, I guess to help him off the floor. I placed my hand in his and to my surprise, he pulled me down next to him. I nearly fell in his lap. I tried to scoot further away, but his hand held me firmly next to him.

“I’m sorry, I shou, should have ca, called you when I got to the airport.” He said between guffaws, but his eyes stared deep into mine. His chuckles slowed, but his eyes never strayed. I couldn’t stop staring, his golden brown eyes had such thick lashes, and the closer his face came, the thicker they appeared.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.” His lips were inches away as he spoke. My heart stopped, or at least it seemed that way. I closed my eyes, and felt his lips on mine. Softly at first, then his tongue slipped inside my mouth. His hand found the back of my head, pulling me into him. All thought flew away, just this, experiencing him and me, nothing else mattered.

Buy Links:

Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/Missionary-Ian-Lewis-ebook/dp/B0757Z6XPV/

ITunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1277344159

Kobo- https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/missionary-6

Google Play Books- https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ian_Lewis_Missionary?id=rmkzDwAAQBAJ&hl=en

Social Media

Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/EnriqueCruzBooks/

Twitter- https://twitter.com/EnriqueCruzEros

Website- https://cruz-publishing.com/

Author Page- https://books.pronoun.com/ianlewisauthor/