Ask Me Anything: Experiences and Advice for Aspiring Authors – Part I

 

Hey lovelies! It has been a seriously long time since I’ve done one of these AMAs… for real. This one has been sitting on my ‘to do’ list for a long time now (months and months) but I’m trying to get my inbox cleaned up and the lovely Shane Starrett sent me this list of questions after we spent a few days chatting about writing and my tips / experiences / suggestions from my years of writing. I’ll be honest though, this is just MY point of view. You might learn some things about me even if you don’t plan on writing, but – no matter what – I do hope that this #AskMeAnything is helpful! Curious what the #AskMeAnything is? Check out the official AMA page on my site over here. Enjoy!

I have a feeling this is gonna be super long, so I’m going to split it into 2 or 3 parts, but… let’s get started!

Q: How did you start on your path to being a writer?  

A: I think the common answer here is true, I’ve always been a writer. I made up stories as a kid, I wrote them down, I wrote really awkward stories in high school and college that weren’t exactly “good”, but all of it made me feel good on the inside. I loved getting the characters in my head down on paper, and I always got that insane thrill from it. It’s the reason we writers put ourselves through all the sleepless nights and insanity… because if we didn’t get the stories down on paper they’d just continue to spin around in our heads FOREVER, and continue to drive us crazy.

But, I think this question is leaning more towards the actual steps I took to become a published writer, and that starts with a website called Literotica.com. I’d been reading on that site for years and years (since I was too young to read it, hahaaa) and there were a lot of stories on there that just weren’t well-written (grammar/spelling wise) and it drove me crazy! One night I had some wine and was reading another frustrating story, and had that alcohol-fueled moment of confidence where I was like, “I could do this better.” So, I started a story that had been rolling around in my head. I wrote it on my iPhone in the Notes app because I didn’t want my then-husband to find it, or watch me typing over my shoulder, and then I just posted it. It was the first chapter of what would become Security Binds Her, and at first no one noticed it, but I’d caught that bug to keep telling the story, so I posted another chapter a day or so later. By the third chapter I had READERS. I had people voting for my story, leaving comments (nice and not so nice), but people were actually READING my words and some even LIKED it. Over the next 6 months or so I wrote the original trilogy of the Thalia series on Literotica, and I credit the many readers who commented on those books (and the editor I found on there) for helping me realize the weak points in my natural writing style, the grammar rules for fiction I’d never bothered to learn… and in general, just giving me the confidence to keep going.

Thalia was popular enough that several of the chapters were in various “Halls of Fame” for highly ranked stories on the website, and from this I got invited to participate in an anthology by Tara Crescent – and it was going to get really published on Amazon. [insert internal screaming] I wrote “The Invitation” in a weekend, panicked that everyone would hate it, that no one would buy it… but it sold well. “Real” readers who paid for books were enjoying my words. Tara encouraged me to publish Thalia on Amazon, and while I was terrified to take it down off Literotica where I had this warm & fuzzy little fanbase, I made the leap. She helped me navigate the complicated admin side of publishing and…. boom. Suddenly I was a published author, with books, and people were paying me for them. It was exhilarating and amazing and there are days I still can’t believe it’s real!

I still VERY MUCH recommend writing on a fanfiction / literotica type site before publishing professionally. There’s no other format where you get chapter-by-chapter feedback from readers, which allows you to adjust and improve in real time. You hear about a problem before you even write the next scene, and it’s incredibly helpful when you’re just starting out and learning how to effectively get that weird vision out of your head and onto paper. Also, it helps to build up the thick skin you need when you publish on Amazon and those 1 & 2 star reviews come in. There’s nothing more brutally honest than an anonymous comment box on those sites, and it really does help. I promise. ;p

Q: Did you always know you wanted to write in a specific genre (dark romance), or did you come into it in another fashion?

A: Honestly, all of the stories in my head have always been “dark romance” in nature, even before that term existed. Hell, I didn’t even hear that term until after I’d published the Thalia series on Amazon. I knew I liked darker stuff, I read and wrote in the noncon/dubcon genre on Literotica, but I didn’t know it was an actual “thing” until the language started to show up on Facebook. It was a phrase invented because of FB’s censors, and Amazon’s too, but my brain has always been there. Capture fantasy / rape fantasy has just always been in my head, mixed in with a heavy love of BDSM, so when my brain invents stories it tends to follow the routes that make ME hot and bothered. I’m just grateful I’ve found so many other people who love it too!

Q: Do you plot out the entirety of your stories before you flesh them out, or do they grow from your imagination organically as you put them to page?

A: I am 100% a pantser. I have only tried to plot a book once before (The Wild Ones on Literotica) and it died a terrible and tragic death. If I ruin the ending, or if I have a list of shit I need to write, all of my creativity dies. The movie stops playing in my head, and there’s just… nothing to write. When I’m writing it’s all happening in the moment in my head, and most of the time I have no idea what my characters are going to do next. Now, sometimes I have what I call “milestones” that I’ve seen, specific events that I know are going to happen, but I never know how my characters are going to get there. It’s thrilling and one of my favorite parts of being an author!

PS – I know some of you still want to know what happens to Zora and Zane from The Wild Ones, and I still have hope that someday my brain will have “forgotten” them enough to finish their epic story. I really do love them too, and I want them back just as much. <3

Q: When you are writing, do you concern yourself with word count / page count?  Or do you simply know a story you want to tell, and once it is finished it is what it is?

A: Similar to the last answer, I never constrain myself. Sometimes books end up shorter, sometimes they end up longer, but I never know what the word count / page count will be until it’s done. I’ve driven people crazy before when I think I’m *almost done* and then I write another 15k because it just took that long for the characters to get to the end! I’m not in control here, I swear, the characters are! Hahaaa

Q: What methods, if any, do you use to inspire yourself to write?  Do you have any methods / tricks / etc. that you would suggest to aspiring writers to keep them ‘motivated’ to write?

A: If I’m really stuck, I’ll go and read another book, or binge-watch a show, because stories of any kind help get my brain moving again. I love watching characters develop, go through experiences that change them, etc. However I can get that into myself so that my own brain remembers how to do it… that’s what I do! I do think that everyone is different, but I know I’ve heard a lot of other authors say they’ll take a “reading break” if they’re stuck, and I think it’s probably for similar reasons! (PS – You don’t need to read within your genre, story is story, and it’ll get the same gears turning!)

Q: Do you ‘force’ yourself to write each day?  Or do you only write when the muse inspires you?  Either way, do you set specific goals when you are writing, and try to reach them?

A: Haaa, omg, if I tried to “force” myself to write each day it would end so badly. I’d write terrible shit, and my anxiety would go through the roof. I’ve found that my psyche is just too delicate to deal with that kind of pressure, and so I generally just sit down in front of the story, re-read the last chapter or two I’ve done, and if the words aren’t there… then I don’t force them. It wouldn’t be good if I did, so it would just be a waste of time. Fortunately (unfortunately), there’s always plenty of admin work to do when you’re an author, so I can still keep myself busy and productive – even if it’s not on new words.

Q: When you first started writing, what methods / resources did you use to obtain feedback from readers?  Online outlets (WattPad, Literotica, fanfic sites, etc.), or through a writer’s group?  Facebook or other social media avenues?  

A: Oops! I worked ahead, I totally answered this on the first question, but I’ll use this opportunity to reiterate just how VALUABLE writing on these types of websites is. I cannot tell you the number of successful, published authors I’ve talked to who started out on these sites. I think it really makes someone a *better* writer when they start out in that rough, brutally honest environment. Talent is very quickly seen / recognized, and you get the opportunity to grow and improve without damaging a brand or having a book on Amazon that just “wasn’t ready” to be published. Whenever I see someone jump straight into publishing on Amazon, I always flinch. Amazon is $$$, and you’re not just fucking with your current ability to make money – but your future ability too. If someone had read the first thing I ever wrote (which was shockingly poorly written with the biggest Mary Sue heroine ever) then they may have NEVER read me again. It’s so much better to get all of that out under a random screen name, on a website where you can take it down and republish it later, than to go straight into building an author brand before you’re ready. Just my #twocents!

Q: Of the above, which did you find the most helpful / rewarding, and would recommend to aspiring writers (if any)?

A: Since I only ever wrote on Literotica I don’t feel like I can answer this question on websites. I think all of them work well depending on what you want to write, just find the website that fits your niche and go for it! I will say that the very few times I’ve been to “writer’s groups” in person, they were full of the most closed-minded, rude, self-centered people I’ve ever met. Just a bunch of nose-in-the-air bullshit about the “right” way to write… which just isn’t true. We all write differently, and go about it in different ways, and that’s what makes books so diverse and wonderful. I’m sure there’s some good writer’s groups out there, but I’m 110% out on ever showing up to one again. XD I can’t stand (or tolerate) judgy, bitchy people who try to tell someone else how EXACTLY to do something that is inherently personal.

Q: Fan fic?  Have you written any yourself?  Have you had any written about your stories?  Some authors do not like fan fiction, as they feel it detracts from / devalues their own work in creating the original content.  What are your thoughts on this, and what would you advise aspiring writers regarding this?

A: While I’ve never written fanfiction, I did a TON of online roleplaying when I was younger. From mIRC to AOL chatrooms to MUDs, I RP’d all the fucking time. Sometimes it was an imagined world (like the MUD), and sometimes it was for books or TV shows I loved… and sometimes it was just erotic RP because I was always sexually-minded when I wrote. I think I spent an insane number of hours doing that before I ever tried to write an actual story, and I honestly think it made me better!

As far as fanfiction written about my books (haha Shane!) the only one that’s ever been written, to my knowledge, is The Wedding Gift which is an alternate universe version of just how things went down at the end of Salvaged by Love written by none other than Shane Starrett (who sent me these questions. Hahaaa!

I don’t think fanfiction damages the original work, I think it’s kind of like free advertising. People are going to fantasize / imagine whatever they want about the worlds you create when you write, and if they’re writing those things down on fanfic sites, then all they’re doing is showing a ton of other people that they love your work SO MUCH that they couldn’t stop thinking about it. To the point that they’re spending their own personal time to write down a story you inspired. That’s a huge compliment, and an awesome thing, and as long as no one is trying to profit off of it (without the author’s permission) then I don’t see a problem with it. Obviously, you can still be stopped with a Cease & Desist order from the author, and if they do that, don’t risk legal issues. Just stop, finish the story on your hard drive, share it with some local friends, and move on.

Q: Writer’s block – have you experienced it?  If so, what helped you to get through it, and what would you pass along to aspiring writers who may encounter it?

A: Totally. There are times when my life is just so insane that there’s no way to get the movie playing in my head for my characters. I get completely locked up, and frustrated with the story – which means it wouldn’t be good even if I forced the words down. Usually I flip over to something else I *do* want to write, or I take a break. I read, I watch TV (like I said before) and I give my brain the space it needs to calm down. It’s really all you can do!

I will give one more trick though… sending your work in progress (WIP) to someone who already enjoys what you write, and letting them fangirl/fanboy over it can be really inspiring. It can remind you why YOU wanted to write it in the first place, and sometimes the questions they ask / comments they make are enough to get the story moving in your head again.

Ahhhhhhh, this is already so long! Okay, lovelies, I’m going to stop this here and I’ll pick it up again next week with Part II. Based on the number of questions Shane Starrett sent me, it looks like there will be 3 of these experiences / advice posts. Please tell me if you liked this, or if it helped, and if you have any other question – add them in a comment!

Thanks so much for reading this, lovelies, and just know that the only way to start writing… is to start.

You can do it!

 

Teaser Thursday! ‘Alpha’s Capture’ by Livia Bourne

I am so excited to share this with you, lovelies. One of my best friends, Livia Grant, has been having difficulties finishing her insanely complicated book, ‘Black Light: Scandalized’. So what can a good friend do but suggest they take a break and write something TOTALLY hot, naughty, and completely off-genre to help clear out the writers block bugs. Not only did she do it, she did it very well and now has a new pen name to go along with the new genre!

Introducing USA Today Bestselling Author Livia Grant, writing as Livia Bourne! Her debut story was released yesterday and this HAWT omegaverse story is going to burn up the charts. It is so totally different from her typical story style, I can’t wait for everyone to read it which is why I HAD to use it as this week’s Teaser Thursday!

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Alpha’s Capture

Khalil and his elite team of Alpha warriors are strong, honorable, and completely bored babysitting their princess on a peacekeeping mission. Although the disobedient, sassy female Zahara does make things interesting for Khalil – until everything goes wrong.

Attacked. Abducted from their spaceship. Caged.

The Trakonians are the most vile and dangerous males in the galaxy, and they have developed their greatest weapon, a drug called Fragment with multiple devious forms. One that brings insanity, one that freezes you in place with pain… and the worst of all, ‘heat.’

This time the enemy doesn’t just want to kill them, they want to use Khalil’s team of Alphas for entertainment. Driven into a crazed rut by the chemical heat, there is no way to resist, no way to be honorable, and the vulnerable females from their ship are going to suffer.

* * *

Excerpt

Her strikingly vibrant eyes widened as she recognized him. The flash of fear he saw there satisfied him. If she could read his mind, she’d understand how very afraid of him she should be.

Prior to this interaction, he’d only thought about stripping her of her flowing frock, bending her over the nearest piece of furniture, and burying his neglected cock deep in her sheath in one thrust.  She was the kind of female an Alpha like him wouldn’t be able to resist knotting.

Tonight, due to her disobedience, he added the vision of stripping her bare and tying her down first so she could take ten lashes with his punishment loop just before he thrust inside her.  He suspected she would scream so beautifully.

Khalil came to a halt in the middle of the corridor, making it impossible for her to pass. He could see indecision on her flushing face as she debated turning and running the other way.

“You defied me.”

Her answer was delayed as she searched for an acceptable answer. Little did she know there was no acceptable answer.  The only thing that would be saving her from feeling the sting of his punishment loop on her bare skin was her civilian status.

“I was hungry, and… I needed to do some research on the vid-link in the communication pod.”

“Evening meal was provided earlier and you have a vid-screen in your suite. There was no reason for your disobedience.”

A flash of anger made her bright eyes an impossibly deeper blue as she retorted, “I am not your pet. Nor am I under your command.”

Zahara tried to step around him, but he reached to grab her upper arms, halting her in her tracks. “The hell you’re not.” Their bodies were flush against each other as he towered over her, several heads higher than she was. He waited for her to crane her neck back enough to look him in his eyes. “Everything on the Viper is under my command.”

Khalil detected her breaths becoming short as her dainty nose flared with anger. Instead of intimidating him, her misplaced anger only made his Alpha blood flood to his cock. His body was long past due for a visit to the female companion center.

“Let me pass. I am returning to my chambers.”

“Where you should have never left.”

Zahara lifted her chin as she bravely confronted him. “Why are you so worried about my safety

onboard your vessel? Do you not have control over the Alphas in your command? Are they feral, ready to mount any female that is in their presence?”

He squeezed her arms harder.

“Do not challenge me. My men are honorable, but they have also been away from the… female comforts… of home for a long time.”

She had begun wiggling in his grip, attempting to get away from the growing erection he did not bother to hide from her. If he frightened her, all the better. Maybe next time she would obey him.  Or better yet, maybe the next time he’d actually be able to show her exactly who was in charge.

He waited to see the flicker of fear take up residence in her heated gaze before he extended his arms, pushing their bodies apart, but not releasing her… yet.

“Now, I will escort you to your chambers where you will remain until the morning meal. I expect to be obeyed.  If you choose to ignore my directions in the future, you will discover how I reinforce my command.”

* * *

I absolutely love the new brand, done by the amazing Laura Hidalgo who is an absolute wizard with graphics. If you like sci-fi or omegaverse, this is definitely a book you want to pick up. While you are at it, go give Livia’s pages a little love to encourage her to keep writing ‘Scandalized’!

Amazon: 1-click now!

* * *

Want more of Livia Bourne?

Livia Bourne is the alter ego of USA Today Bestselling author, Livia Grant. With the Bourne books, you’ll still be getting the same raw, gritty romances that will take you to the edge of your seat, but these stories will be out of this world…literally.

Teaser Tuesday! ‘The Bratva’s Bride’ by Jane Henry

Look at me, I got a #MusicMonday AND a #TeaserTuesday up in the same week. If that isn’t winning on the authorlandia front, I don’t know what is. I am waiting for some really important news that will either be really good or really bad, so bear with me lovelies. Life may just throw me a curve ball yet again.

But let’s focus on the good stuff! Jane Henry had a new release of ‘The Bratva’s Bride’ and she absolutely kills the mafia romance genre. Super sexy, dark, and simply amazing, if you haven’t picked this up yet you absolutely need to.

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The Bratva’s Bride

Bratva life is simple:

You steal from the brotherhood, you pay with your life.
But the thief is a woman, and she’s too beautiful to die.

My wedding band will be her collar.
Our vows will be her shackles.

She will be my captive bride.

* * *

Excerpt

What?” she asks, frowning. I don’t like her tone of voice and wonder what’s gotten into her. “You know I know some Russian,” she says. “Don’t you? Tell him I’m ready.”

She grows too free with her speech.

“She’ll be ready,” I tell them, though my gaze is fixed on her.

“I think you should nail Amronov’s wife,” Vladak tells me with a smirk. “And she’ll make sure you get what you need.” Calina tenses.

I scowl at him, and no one laughs. Fucking the Prime Minister’s wife is a good way of getting assassinated.

“Why not?” Filip asks. Maksym sits with his arms crossed, and says nothing. He was the one that alerted me to the fact that Amaranov’s wife asked for me, but he doesn’t approve of this plan. I don’t like it either. There’s something unsettling about it.

I watch Calina’s knuckles whiten when she fists them in her lap.

She heard the other men suggesting I sleep with Amronov’s wife and she doesn’t like it.

“I have better means of getting what I want,” I tell them and Calina has the gall to snort derisively.

“Perhaps she isn’t sufficiently trained,” I tell them, a clear warning to her.

She lifts her face and juts out her chin. “Sufficiently trained?” she snaps.

The room grows quiet. My men expect her to obey me, and she’s anything but obedient right now.

“Enough, Calina,” I warn, but she doesn’t heed my admonition.

 “I don’t know,” she says, her voice rising. “Maybe you need to snap a metal collar around my neck. Take me for a walk so I can pee in your garden. Perhaps if you—”

But she doesn’t get any further. When I rise from my chair, panic flits across her features and she bites her lip. She knows she’s in trouble. She knows she’s crossed a line. What she doesn’t know is how badly I want to punish her with an audience. How my cock aches with the knowledge of what she’s pushed me to do. It seems last night’s lesson didn’t make the impact it should have. I shouldn’t have given her the attention afterward. Or perhaps she simply needs a further demonstration.

I take her firmly by the arm, yank her to standing, and haul her bodily over the table while my men watch in stoic silence. Papers flutter to the floor. No one says a word. None are amused. They know what’s at stake.

None even flinch when I slam my palm across her ass. They’re an audience of soldiers who would lose respect for me if I didn’t do just this. If I didn’t teach her a lesson in obedience for all to see. If I’ve taught them well, any one of them would do what I have to do now.

“Demyan,” she protests. “Please! I’m sorry,” But I ignore her complaints and push her flat across the table with a firm palm on her lower back. I crook a finger to Maksym, since he’s the largest, strongest man in our company.

With a scowl, he rises. Though Maksym has a tender spot, he knows what’s on the line. He’d be the first one to tell me to punish her, so when I give my order he doesn’t flinch.

“Hold her down,” I instruct.

* * *

OMG is that HAWT or what?! Hell yes I have this on my TBR and I can’t wait to dive into it. I could use a seriously hot story to distract me from life and this is fitting the bill perfectly.

I hope to have more information for you lovelies shortly. Keep your fingers crossed that good news comes my way so I can finally finish ‘Redemption’. One day at a time, and all, but I really want to finish this story!

Amazon: 1-click now!

* * *

Want more of Jane Henry?

USA Today bestselling author Jane Henry pens stern but loving alpha heroes, feisty heroines, and emotion-driven happily-ever-afters. She writes what she loves to read: kink with a tender touch. Jane is a hopeless romantic who lives on the East Coast with a houseful of children and her very own Prince Charming.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janeandmaisy/
Website: http://www.janehenryromance.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jane-Henry/e/B01BYAQYYK/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/237501.Jane_Henry
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janehenryauthor/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jane-henry
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Music Monday – Moments

I’ve been terrible about keeping up with #MusicMonday because life keeps distracting me, but I want to try and get back to it. Starting today with ‘Moments’ by Tove Lo (who I adore) and I have to say this song resonates with me SO MUCH! I definitely feel like she’s speaking to my soul with this song and I think when you read the lyrics / listen to the song you’ll see why. The video has more than just the song, and it’s powerful af too.

From the video: “Say it with me” … “You’re broken, I never did anything right, you’re fucked up” … “Do you feel better?”

Enjoy, lovelies!

Lyrics

I grew up with a lot of green
Nice things ’round me
I was safe, I was fine
Grew up with a lot of dreams
Plans who to be
None of them know were mine

I love freaks, I don’t care if you’re a wild one (a wild one)
I love freaks, I don’t care if you’re a wild one
And me

I, I’m not the prettiest you’ve ever seen
But I have my moments, I have my moments
Not the flawless one, I’ve never been
But I have my moments, I have my moments
I can get a little drunk, I get into all the drugs
But on good days I am charming as fuck
I can get a little drunk, I get into all the drugs
But on good days I am charming as fuck

I can be the perfect one
But I’ll make you come
And I’m locked in your mind
You can say I don’t belong
That I’m so wrong
I can tell, tell you lie

I love freaks, I don’t care if you’re a wild one (a wild one)
I love freaks, I don’t care if you’re a wild one
And –

I, I’m not the prettiest you’ve ever seen
But I have my moments, I have my moments
Not the flawless one, I’ve never been
But I have my moments, I have my moments
I can get a little drunk, I get into all the drugs
But on good days I am charming as fuck
I can get a little drunk, I get into all the drugs
But on good days I am charming as fuck

Rough around the edges, memories and baggage
You know me…
Never play the safe card, when I go, I go hard
And now you know

I, I’m not the prettiest you’ve ever seen
But I have my moments, I have my moments
Not the flawless one, I’ve never been
But I have my moments, I have my moments
I can get a little drunk, I get into all the drugs
But on good days I am charming as fuck
I can get a little drunk, I get into all the drugs
But on good days I am charming as fuck

‘Moments’ by Tove Lo

Teaser Thursday! ‘Ravaged Captive’ by Addison Cain

Things have been crazy, lovelies. If you have been in my Dark Haven, you saw my live videos of my trip in Seattle. Which was amazing! The trip home, however, wasn’t and it took me 24 hours to get home thanks to the insane Dallas weather and flights being cancelled and delayed over and over. Add the stress of my mom not responding well to treatment and kiddo reacting to that, things have been difficult.

BUT! I realized I hadn’t done a Teaser Tuesday and I could NOT just ignore Addison Cain’s new release, ‘Ravaged Captive’ so I am bringing it to you now. This book is SOO filthy and I just fucking adore Addison’s writing. Her Omegaverse world building is second to none and if you haven’t started the story of Wren, you absolutely have to grab it. With three hot, sexy Alphas all fighting over their claim of Wren, this story will scorch your kindle!

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Ravaged Captive

The ultimate sacrifice…

Drenched in wealth and power, Caspian holds my city by the throat. No man or woman denies him, not even me.

But he owes me a debt I intended to collect.

Our trade was fair–my submission to his pack for the lives of my wards.

Pleasure, willing female attention, affection, he’s starved for such things. Starved for me.

And though he may have tricked me into his bed, he will never have what I know he longs for most. My heart.

Not so long as he holds the lives of my family hostage.

* * *

Excerpt

Silk. Spider silk as pale as moonlight caught Caspian in a web he’d gladly tangle around his limbs. Around his cock. Fuck, it would feel incredible stroking his cock.

Running over his hips while he pushed her head down his shaft.

Their last mating had been vulgar in its transience. One frenzied thrust before the knot he’d fought to produce for a goddamn week burst forth. Flooding her so soon had left the taste of heaven on his tongue, even if she had been coated in filth, and stinking of sickness.

Tasting her now, blood pumped into an overly swollen cock, the teeth of his zipper barely contained what pulsated and wept. Had Rosie’s lips been stretched around such girth as Caspian had watched the pretty mouse eat, he would have cum each time the female sighed. He would have broken Rosie’s jaw with his knot when the mouse moaned.

As it was, an astonishing amount of fluid had built up in his sack. It felt as if it sloshed when he pressed closer to his greatest treasure, that it churned. Had his pants not held back his prick, it would have bounced with each pulse of blood in his veins.

He was going to hurt his mouse. There was no stopping it.

Not after the hours Caspian had let build between them. Not after her sweet sighs over the feast he’d provided.

For two full days Kieran had been allowed to keep her despite neglecting his duties.

For good reason. Caspian wanted his mouse to be grateful to return to her true owner, her First owner. He wanted to measure her expression of relief when the handsome one no longer had first claim.

It was so rare a victory Caspian might lord over his Second.

Mission accomplished. Kieran reeked of covetous agitation and his mouse had indeed arrived no longer wearing the betrayal that had pinched her brows when last he’d been buried in her.

Two days with the cruelest of them had washed her clean of her animosity, but not of Kieran’s scent… or the Second’s terrible choice in clothing.

That fucking dress covering his mouse was the stuff of nightmares. Where Kieran had even found a garment like that down here, Caspian could only imagine. His whores sure as hell didn’t sport matronly shit.

This was the costume old mated Alphas demanded their Omegas wear in public. The dress of a wife who was to be acknowledged but not physically appreciated by others. Breeding Omegas only displayed their beauty for their mates.

If it was a joke, Kieran lacked the quirk to his smile usually accompanying his tricks. Instead his body language was aggressive—fists balled, jaw clenched, his green-eyed glare on the female obediently allowing Caspian the feel of her mouth.

Until that covetous gaze drifted to where Caspian stared even while sampling the parted lips of his mouse.

Fingers slipping to cradle the back of her skull, Caspian played the gentle lover a few moments longer, measuring the Second’s reaction. Amazed, he found blatant challenge in his subordinate’s low, unguarded growl.

Breaking from kiss-reddened lips, from an enticed female bearing half-conquered slowly expanding pupils, the First met the unspoken challenge. “Kieran?”

“I’ll watch.” Gruff, lacking all proper deference, his Second widened his stance.

After delivering her still reeking of Kieran’s cum, there was no fucking way such behavior would be rewarded.

Hell, even Toby had been removed from the equation for this calculated reunion—sent off with the perfect prey. Down in the bowels of the pipeworks, the Third was creaming his pants tormenting the instigator of a sorry power grab.

The failed assassin would be an interesting corpse to view once the Third was done with him—for aside from the sweet scent wafting from the slickening pussy before him, Toby’s greatest joy lay in well-thought-out torture.

Acquiescing when Caspian drew her head to his chest, his mouse inhaled deeply, nosing his chest in the exact way he both adored and despised. Flawless female submission before Kieran, her obvious enjoyment of his scent—despite any unpurged anger—led Caspian to smile.

His rugged, scarred face, the wrinkles collected at the corners of his eyes, she preferred him anyway. And she always had.

Always would.

This Caspian broadcasted in the meanness of his grin. In the blatant demand of his glare.

At her little noise once his scent hit the back of her throat, another wave of backed up seed inflated his sack, threatened to break down his cock. Caspian growled, dominant, virile, and already lost completely to the rut. “Leave.”

There was a reason Kieran held the rank of Second. He was not one to be fucked with. “I hold second claim.”

Cock twitching, bleeding precum to the point his trousers and the Omega’s belly were sticky with fluid, Caspian fisted the Omega’s glorious hair. Baring her covered throat to his lips, he licked where her jaw met the unpierced lobe of an ear, watching his Second’s every tick. “No one challenged that point.”

Teeth clenched, eye twitching, Kieran stated a tired fact. “Our agreement was that I breed her in estrous.”

“She’s not in estrous.” More importantly, there was a little doll made up to look like the mouse. A doll tucked away in the pen who’d make the breeding of another female impossible so long as she lived… unless she was in the room and made to participate.

No bonded Alpha could dump working sperm in another pussy. Kieran had to know that after these last days hording the mute Omega away. He’d probably had difficulty even knotting, grown frustrated with her.

Brow cocked, chin nuzzling the top of the silent mouse’s head, Caspian added, “Toby refuses to allow other females near our mate. You’d have to kill the doll you paid for.”

And there was always the fact that once Toby got his crack at the estrous high mouse, once he fully forged a pair-bond, his gushing prick would rinse out and destroy any defunct remnants left by another male. Kieran would not have his way in this. Not that he didn’t deserve to be mocked for daring to deliver her cleansed and pristine.

“Done.” Burning green eyes remained locked on Caspian, Kieran physically growing, drilling his attention on his leader, as he verbally ended the life of his doll.

Under Caspian’s blatant caress, the mouse stiffened.

Another point won for the First, his game to seize her full and real attention far more fruitful than he’d imagined when he’d ordered the food and piled up a small fortune. “The doll is claiming pregnancy.”

Considering Kieran’s style had always been petulance, it had been some time since Caspian had seen his Second display this level of outright anger. Running a hand through disheveled hair, snorting a huff of hot breath, Kieran barked, “The bitch wasn’t in estrous. There is no pregnancy.”

It wouldn’t be so easy as that. “The rumor that you’re about to add to your brood has already spread. The doll even demanded a place where Giggi and Oriella den with your other brats.” Because the Second could never resist a bet, Caspian added. “One-million credits that you’ll be clapped on the back when you leave the room. Half the Syndicate is waiting to congratulate you.”

A pale, small hand reached to where Caspian held the mouse’s hair in a tight fist. Stroking his fingers, she tried to urge release.

Distracted, breaking his eyes from the intruding male, mud-brown eyes cut to lavender. Her pupils had retracted, the female no longer in a state ready for mating. She was in a state for scolding—a thing he’d learned she could accomplish with a single look.

Had he been one of her boys, it may have worked.

He was not her child. He was her god.

He’d branded and paid for her, letting her know his thoughts with a lick of his lower lip and a growl.

The scent of slick as it gushed upon his call, softened the hard set of his eyes. The way she pressed her legs together as if she might hold it in, enthralling. “Do you have something to add, pretty mouse?”

Without preamble, her little palm cupped his erection.

And all hell broke loose.

It no longer mattered that a Second in need of a dry fuck up the ass lingered to watch. It no longer mattered that Caspian’s intentions to woo her had been interrupted.

All that mattered was ripping open that hideous dress so he might lick the intoxicating fluid dripping down her thighs. Pound his strength into her slender body. Pour as much cum as possible into her womb.

Teeth itching with the need to clamp down and set his mark again, fabric split and fell away in ribbons with his enthusiasm.

And then he saw it… another male’s still swollen mark on her neck.

* * *

I’m excited because my next release, ‘Burned’, releases tomorrow. It is so horribly dark and taboo, I hope you read it ONLY if you have read Yolanda Olsen’s Inferno series and liked it. Otherwise, don’t read it and just wait for my next release! It is like a train wreck you can’t stop watching, and it is so very taboo, it will hit on some major triggers that I don’t normally touch!

Until then, I really hope you grab ‘Ravaged Captive’ and enjoy the absolute filth that Addison Cain is known for. I have this bad boy loaded up on my Kindle and I am totally reading it when kiddo goes to sleep tomorrow night!

Amazon: 1-click now!

* * *

Want more of Addison Cain?

USA Today bestselling author and Amazon Top 25 bestselling author, Addison Cain is best known for her dark romances, smoldering Omegaverse, and twisted alien worlds. Her antiheroes are not always redeemable, her lead females stand fierce, and nothing is ever as it seems.

Deep and sometimes heart wrenching, her books are not for the faint of heart. But they are just right for those who enjoy unapologetic bad boys, aggressive alphas, and a hint of violence in a kiss.

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/AddisonlCain/
Addison Cain’s Dark Longings Lounge Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1913717992227295/
Visit her website: addisonlcain.com
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ryj4LH
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AddisonCain
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/addison-cain

Reign of Ruin is LIVE!!

Reign of Ruin is FINALLY live and the feedback so far has been AMAZING.

“This story was absolute hell and I couldn’t put it down if I wanted to.”

“I absolutely loved how this book confused me and dragged me (sometimes kicking and screaming) into the darkness!”

“I couldn’t stop reading. Partly out of intense fascination and partly because if I put it down, I wouldn’t be able to think of anything else until I picked it back up again.”

And now you can grab your copy (if you didn’t already pre-order it and get your copy at midnight)! If you didn’t grab your free prequel ‘The Day the Sky Burned’ – don’t worry! It’s at the end of the full-length Reign of Ruin too! <3

Grab The Day The Sky Burned for FREE

 

I also wanted to make sure everyone knows I have never felt more loved than I did last week despite everything that went on, and for me to say that writing books for all of you is a dream come true is a serious understatement. To 12 year old me, it was an impossibility. To have friends like all of you was ridiculous…… but it happened.

And you’re never getting rid of me, so… buckle up, lovelies. I’ve got a storm of releases coming this year, surprises and all, and I can’t wait to make you all smile as much as you’ve made me smile during all the birthday love this past week!

Teaser Tuesday! ‘Obediently Ever After’ by Measha Stone

This past week has been INSANE, I drove 6 hours to Oklahoma with my mother to visit The Pioneer Woman Mercantile and then drove home. I had a birthday, complete with an online surprise party. I fought with my health insurance. I celebrated Mother’s Day with my mom and my kiddo. I wrote so many words.

I am really looking for things to slow down, because I am ready to hole up in my office for a week and just bask in some quiet time. Today is a good day though, and Measha Stone has a new release today that you are going to love. Have you read her Girls of the Annex series? If not you need to, take a peek at just the cover and you will want this asap!

* * *

Obediently Ever After

A visit to the Annex was meant to be a night of fun. Something to relax me. Maybe I’d find a girl, maybe I wouldn’t. I had very little expectations.

Until Angelica walked into the room looking like she stepped out of a 1952’s Home and Garden Magazine.  It wasn’t just the sexy domestic style that caught my eye, it was more. I was drawn to her.

One night. A little fun. A little roleplay.  But it wasn’t enough. I don’t think I could ever get enough of her.

But my pretty girl lied. She hides something from me, and I won’t accept that.  She’ll learn. And when it’s all over. When I’ve saved her from the demons chasing her, I’ll truly make her mine.

* * *

Excerpt

“Naughty girls get spankings, don’t they, Angelica?” he asked, rubbing her already-warm ass with his hands.

“Yes.” She nodded, sounding miserable.

“Do you think next time you’ll call a cab if you’ve had too much to drink?” he asked the back of her head. Her curls bobbed with another nod. “Answer me,” he said with a hard smack to her left thigh.

“Yes!” she called out.

“Good. Then we can move on to the lying portion of your punishment.” He didn’t delay another second and went about peppering her ass with harder smacks, concentrating on the delicate spot where her thighs met her ass.

“No! No!” She threw herself forward, and to the side, but he held her to him.

“The more you resist, the longer the spanking takes,” he admonished her and delivered three hard swats to the same spot.

She gasped for air and moaned. “No. Please. I already said I’m sorry.”

“And I already told you that doesn’t change the consequence.” He continued to sprinkle her ass until the slight pink darkened to a nice crimson.

She stopped fighting against him, not that it was working anyway. He could hear soft sobs escaping her, feel tension start to give way in her.

“You’ll take ten with my belt, and then you’ll spend ten minutes in the corner,” he announced after landing a hard smack to her thigh.

“The belt?” she cried. “I don’t think—”

“That’s the problem, Angel, you didn’t think. Hopefully, after you finish with the belt, you’ll remember to think before acting. Think before lying. Think how your actions have consequences. Because if you ever lie to me again, or I find out you lied to anyone else, you’ll be getting a hell of a lot more than ten with my belt. Am I understood?”

Tension eased out of her shoulders. “Yes. I understand.”

* * *

Measha writes such fun spanking books, if you are looking for a short, hot, and super fun story, you won’t want to miss this one. It is perfect to read when you are looking for something happy and spanky. And then get ready because MY story ‘Reign of Ruin’ releases tomorrow and it is the total opposite!

I have so much more to bring you, I can’t wait to share more. Get ready, because 2019 is going to be crazy with books!

Amazon: 1-click now! 

* * *

USA Today Bestselling Author Measha Stone is a lover of all things erotic and fun who writes kinky romantic suspense and dark romance novels. She won the 2018 Golden Flogger award in two categories, Best Advanced BDSM and Best Anthology. She’s hit #1 on Amazon in multiple categories in the U.S. and the U.K. When she’s not typing away on her computer, she can be found nestled up with a cup of tea and her kindle.

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Website – http://www.meashastone.com/

Teaser Tuesday! ‘Reign of Ruin’ by Jennifer Bene

Hey lovelies! I am out of town with my mother this week, but I have good news! I’ve got a FREE SHORT STORY for all of you to prepare you for the utter darkness coming with my book ‘Reign of Ruin’ in May.

‘The Day the Sky Burned’ is a FREE prequel I’m giving to everyone who wants it. It will definitely… whet your appetites for the utter chaos and devastation inside Reign of Ruin.

Just an FYI for those that missed my story ‘Baptized in Eden’ (which came out in Twisted Sacrament last year) this is that story with a brand new edit, a seriously extended ending (12k+ words if you don’t include the short story), and a wicked twist. It goes dark, oh boyyyy does it go dark and twisted, but I blame Zoe Blake for bringing this level of disturbing out in me. ????

* * *

Reign of Ruin

‘The priests want me to thank God, but the only thing I pray for is death.’

There is nothing before Eden. Just flashes of a time before Danielle woke up in chains, in hell, to be violated and broken.

Over, and over, and over.

They say that God honors those who serve, that each baptism is a gift, but all Danielle wants is to die.

Eden has other plans.

* * *

“Let us pray,” the head cardinal said, laying his palms on her thighs as he stepped closer to the table. “God, give us the strength to baptize this woman of Eden. To mark her as one protected by the house of the Lord, and to cloak her in the power of the holy. Fathers, I remind all of us that God shall never give us more temptation than we can handle, for in this we must serve him well.”

“Amen,” they chorused around her, and then two of the black cloaked men stepped forward to remove the elaborate crimson robe from the head cardinal. She couldn’t see him well with her head pinned to the table, but she could hear the sound of his hand working his cock and the low groan in his chest. Another cardinal pressed his hand into her lower belly, and she whined. The lightest brush of her clit summoned liquid heat, and someone dragged their finger through her folds, spreading the wetness that she hoped made some difference to what the other bastard had done to her in his fucked-up hospital.

“Give your pain to God,” the head cardinal said as he lined up and thrust in hard, tearing into her with one vicious spike of agony. Her scream was muffled by the hand over her lips, body pinned to the stone beneath her as the man pulled back and thrust again. Just as horrible, she wailed, finally able to voice the torment as her entrance was forced open and her inner walls seized and cramped. “Your purity, your suffering, is what will make the blessing strong.”

* * *

You can not only preorder Reign of Ruin, but you can already get it in a beautiful paperback! I can’t wait to hear what you all think of TDTSB and I hope you’re ready for RoR! Make sure you get The Day The Sky Burned here https://dl.bookfunnel.com/zw88syg409 and then tell me what you think!

Amazon: Preorder Now

* * *

Want more of, well… me?

Jennifer Bene is a USA Today bestselling author of dangerously sexy and deviously dark romance. From BDSM, to Suspense, Dark Romance, and Thrillers–she writes it all. Always delivering a twisty, spine-tingling journey with the promise of a happily-ever-after.

Find her on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/jbeneauthor
Like her Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/jenniferbeneauthor/
Follow her on Twitter – https://twitter.com/jbeneauthor 
Get a free book – http://tinyurl.com/jbeneauthor

Cover Reveal! ‘Burned’ by Jennifer Bene – SURPRISE!

Surprise! I have an (unplanned) book coming out on June 14th and I wanted to bring you the cover. And a warning. Like, a legit warning. No really, there is a big ol’ ???????????????????????????? in front of this book. This book is not even remotely “dark romance”. Or romance at all. Think of this more as a horror-tragedy, with extremely taboo and uncomfortable subject matter. But look how pretty the cover is!

In fact, if you haven’t read Yolanda Olson’s book “Inferno” you probably shouldn’t look twice at “Burned”. It is going to be like a horrific, slow-moving trainwreck where you’re just waiting to find out the final toll of dead and injured. There are no happy endings in the world of Inferno, it’s just dark, horrifying, nightmare fuel where a lot of people die and you have now been warned!! ???? I have reached out to a couple of people and told them specifically NOT to read this, it’s that bad. #seriously

But, if you LOVE super dark and super taboo, this is going to be amazing for you. I just really reaaalllyyyy hope you guys still love me after this one! I posted a video in the Dark Haven about why this book is happening. Come check it out HERE.

Read Inferno ➡️ https://amzn.to/2Jg090v

Add ‘Burned’ to your TBR here ➡️ http://bit.ly/2DCHdp6

Teaser Tuesday! ‘Breaking Beth’ by Jennifer Bene

It is Tuesday, lovelies, and I am SO excited because ‘Breaking Beth’ releases TOMORROW! This is a super dark story and although it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and I don’t expect amazing things, I know that it’s going to start an incredible story that so many fans of the Thalia series have wanted. Just beware, it is a very dark beginning that follows the time when Anthony had Beth, and it doesn’t end happily… but her happy ending will come through the series. I promise.

* * *

Breaking Beth

It would take time. Time to destroy who she used to be… time for all her hope to die… time to truly make her a thing.

But he would.

Anthony took Beth to remake her into the perfect toy for his customers. Mindless, obedient, a broken thing without complications.

But Beth is strong.

She refuses to break, refuses to let Anthony erase her… even if that means losing in the end.

* * *

Excerpt

He was there. Above her, looking down like she was a bug pinned to a board for him. The ropes were cut, but she still wasn’t moving. She was obeying, staying still like he’d commanded, and the camera in the ceiling was watching.

“Open your mouth.”

There were a hundred pleas she wanted to say, a thousand questions she wanted to ask. So many whys and useless things. Instead, she opened her fucking mouth.

“Wider.”

She stretched her lips, her aching jaw, and he brought the knife into view. For a nanosecond she started to close her mouth, but his head tilted the tiniest fraction and she stopped. Kept it open, eyes glued to the shining edge of the blade.

“I want to make something clear, so that you don’t misunderstand.” Turning the knife in his fingers, he angled it down and then slid the flat of it over her bottom lip, the sharp point inside her mouth. “I am not merciful. When you are disobedient, you will be punished. Severely.”

A whimper escaped her throat, but as the flat of the blade moved deeper and brushed her tongue she froze. Pressed her tongue to the floor of her mouth, tears making her eyes sting as the taste of metal stroked back and forth.

“I will let you keep your teeth, but only because you are prettier with them than without them. Worth more.” His other hand lifted, brushing hair off her forehead, unsticking it from the drying tears on her cheeks. “But at some point I will fuck your throat, and I want you to remember this moment. Think about this knife as I slide my cock into your mouth, and remember that if you ever bite me again, I can do terrible things to you and still leave you pretty on the outside. Blink if you understand.”

She blinked slowly, squeezing her eyes shut before she opened them again.

“Good girl.”

* * *

I love Beth’s story and I am SO anxious to write books 2 & 3. The characters are talking so loudly, I am wondering if I will be able to put them off until 2020 or if I will have no choice but to to write book 2 before then! I am ALSO writing book 3 of Fragile Ties, ‘Redemption’, and I ALSO have a new, super dark story called ‘Reign of Ruin’ releasing on May 15th. I can’t wait to have you read all of the stories I have coming, lovelies, being a full time author is really helping me write so much faster and it is all thanks to YOUR support. Thank you!

Amazon: Preorder Now!

* * *

Want more of, well… me?

Jennifer Bene is a USA Today bestselling author of dangerously sexy and deviously dark romance. From BDSM, to Suspense, Dark Romance, and Thrillers–she writes it all. Always delivering a twisty, spine-tingling journey with the promise of a happily-ever-after.

Find her on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/jbeneauthor
Like her Author Page – http://www.facebook.com/jenniferbeneauthor/
Follow her on Twitter – https://twitter.com/jbeneauthor 
Get a free book – http://tinyurl.com/jbeneauthor

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