Yesterday, I finished the 2nd book in my Icy Hot series. It was a tad longer than Icy Hot #1, just barely under the 10K mark. Icy Hot #2: Arctic Fox explores a ‘defective’ shapeshifter and how she deals with that and a budding mysterious ‘romance’ with two unidentified male shifters.

Here’s the blurb:

Kerry Campbell is a shapeshifter who can’t shift. Selected to join other wolf shifters at their arctic facility, Kerry feels like a freak. She’s redheaded, for one, and she can’t manage to shift no matter how many partners or what kinds of sex she tries. A mysterious duo of dominating shifters sneak into her room one night and show her what kind of shifter she was meant to be, an arctic fox. But who are they? And will they accept a fox as a mate?

This is kind of a risk for me. I’ve finished two books in a three book series without even knowing if I can get the first one published. So, I am not going to spend any time on Icy Hot #3 until I know more about my submissions.

Instead, I am going to be spending some time working on a book in a new series. And, no, it’s not my werewolf books! This is a series I developed with three other authors. I’ll share more about this in the near future, I promise. I just want to get into the book before I reveal any details.

Finally, be sure you are a member of my newsletter group. I’m going to start work on my May newsletter, and it will contain an excerpt from Icy Hot #1: Arctic Wolves. You can join below:

Click to join Kris_Eton_Newsletter

Antonia Pearce, my next author interview, has tagged with a meme (would someone please explain how to pronounce that…MEEM? or MEM?)

Anyway, I am supposed to post 7 random or interesting things about myself and then tag 5 other people to play.

7 Random Things About Kris

1. I am in love with avocados.

2. I have massive, size 11 feet and hate wearing heels.

3. I secretly wish I had the guts to sing on stage.

4. One of my favorite tv shows in high school was “Scarecrow & Mrs. King.”

5. Steak is yucky.
6. I can shoot a .45, if need be (I’m not claiming any accuracy).

7. I think Edward Gorey is disturbing and hilarious.

Now, I have to choose five people as my targets…here we go:

1) Dee Carney

2) Bree

3) Donna

4) Tierney O’Malley

5) Crystal Jordan

I also have some news…my very first review for VARGAS GIRL appeared! Hooray! I put a short bit of it on the My Books page, or you can click here to read the whole thing. 4 out of 5 Nymphs!

Kris

Dee Carney is my guest today. Dee is a new author with Cobblestone Press. Her very first book, SOLDIER, was released a couple of weeks ago. I was lucky enough to win a free copy and enjoyed it very much. It’s a post-apocalyptic time travel story. Very unique.

I know that recently she has had several other books contracted. So, let’s find out more about Dee:

Q. Dee, I notice you have two writing personas, Dee Carney and Morgan Sierra. Can you tell us more about each ‘writer’ and why you chose to use different pen names?
A. When I started out writing, it never crossed my mind that eventually I would have a need for two names. In short, stories by Dee do not use the buzz words. As I started interacting more with writer’s/reader’s groups, I realized that a lot of readers appreciate not having that type of language in what they read. Of course, on the other side of the fence, some readers expect those words to be there. When I submitted an erotic story to a particular publisher which explicitly stated they wanted to see the buzz words, I realized that I wanted my readers to have a way of differentiating my softer works from the more hard-core. Hence, Morgan Sierra (buzz words galore!) was born.

Q. Your first book with Cobblestone Press, SOLDIER, is a post-apocalyptic time-travel story. Do your other books fall into the same category?
A. Oh gosh no. I’m all over the board. Lol. THE FALLEN and CAREER OPPORTUNITIES are two erotica stories under contract with Cobblestone Press. THE FALLEN is urban fantasy whereas CAREER OPPORTUNITIES is contemporary erotica. If I had to choose just one genre that I tend to leans towards most though, urban fantasy would be it.

Q. I really love your damaged hero, Nicholas, from SOLDIER. What inspired you to write such a dark, tortured character?
A.Thanks for the compliment. Don’t tell my husband, but Nicholas is my dream man. Lol. Every nurse I know is very no-nonsense. When I wrote this story, I had to find some reason why Anna would throw away her street smarts to bring in this stray. Of course, being extremely good looking helped Nicholas’s cause. In the end, I decided who better to convince her than a man with nothing to live for – until the day he meets her.

Q. I also like that you described your heroine as a ‘real’ woman with a less-than-perfect body. Are all of your heroines so relatable?
A. I really do try to make my heroines relatable. No one wants to read how some Barbie doll is hooking up with the man of the century. I’m no Barbie doll and I suspect a lot of people don’t view themselves as one either. It only makes sense then to me that my heroines reflect some of the real world, even if their subsequent stories are leaning towards fantasy.

Q. What can you tell us about some of your upcoming books with Cobblestone Press?

A. Cobblestone just started a new erotica line, Wicked, for which I have two upcoming stories. THE FALLEN is an extremely dark story about a woman who is rescued by a fallen angel. The fallen angel is curious about sex and women but unfortunately for her, he’s also sinfully wicked. CAREER OPPORTUNITIES on the other hand, is a contemporary piece about a young woman who is turned down for a top position with a Fortune 500 company. The CEO stops the elevator to explain his hiring decision to her and how much she turns him on. *Cue bow-chicka-bow-bow music.* I should mention that both of these stories will be released under Morgan Sierra’s name.

Q. What are you working on now?

A. For the first time, I’m actually working on three stories at the same time, while a fourth screams at me on almost a daily basis to be written too. In no particular order – book 1 is about a witch, book 2 is about a shifter, book 3 is about a (I haven’t figured it out yet), but he and heroine get stranded and book 4 is intended for Wicked – about a belly dancer. Lol. Pretty vague, huh? Then go to my blog (http://deecarney.blogspot.com) for updates and unedited excerpts!
Q. Where do you see Dee Carney in five years?

A. Still sitting hunched over a keyboard surrounded by two dogs and cat while her hubby sits in the background muttering the mantra: “I do not want to know what she’s writing about. I do not want to know…”

Q. What was the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?

A. There’s not enough money in the world to convince me to tell you about the most adventurous thing I’ve ever done. And believe me, everything after that is just downright plain.

Thanks for the great answers, Dee! The interview was a pleasure.

Kris

Because of my keyboard disaster, I didn’t have much chance to update the cyberworld on my writing this week. Last Sunday, I dove into Icy Hot #2: Arctic Fox. Of course, having no keyboard sort of ate into my creativity this week. I did manage to write more on my antique laptop (circa 2000, I think), and since it is another book under 10K, I’m now at the point where I’m almost done.

Crazy how much more writing I do when the weather is pleasant, the sun is out, and the green is coming out on the trees. I have always written more between April and November. Those are my prime writing months. So get ready for TONS of writing this summer. I mean, piles.

The ideas are coming free and fast now, and I’m just trying to keep up with them. My planned books are getting pushed aside for new ideas…so I’m driving myself a little crazy right now.

There will be more news on what my newest project is soon…and I still want to work on Assassin.

Icy Hot #2 is my first attempt at a BDSM book. Once again, I’m not sure if I’m ‘doing it right’ or am making it believable. I just go with my gut. Getting inside the head of a shifter woman who likes to be dominated by two male shifters is quite an interesting challenge. But I’m enjoying every sexy bit of it! Hopefully, if I can get it published, my readers will enjoy it, too!

Just a couple things:

Monday, come back for my author interview with Dee Carney. She has one book out with Cobblestone Press, SOLDIER, and several more are on the way. I’ll let her tell you about her alter ego, Morgan Sierra.

Also, next week my cover on Erin Aislinn’s site will be up for voting as Cover of the Month. I’ll make sure to provide a link when the time comes. Reward Sable Grey for her incredible artwork!

Kris

Maybe I should have done this post well in advance of the release of my book, VARGAS GIRL. Maybe I just thought everyone was more familiar with them. Maybe I’m just really, really stupid.

Well, regardless of the reasons behind it, this post is going to be about Vargas Girls. And, as you probably already can see by some of the pics below, it’s a very adult, racy topic. So avert your eyes if wonderfully drawn partially-nude ladies is not your thing.

Alberto Vargas was an artist who painted/drew pin-up type pictures of women. His work eventually graced the cover of Playboy magazine. So his style may look familiar to you. I think his works from the 1940s and 1950s are probably the ones that might look like the typical ‘pin-up.’ But Vargas was still creating this type of art into the late 1960s.

Here’s a good link for a quick biography of Alberto Vargas:

http://www.thepinupfiles.com/vargas1.html

I found a few pictures that give you an idea of the range of his art. The first is a fully dressed picture…but still sexy.

Then, we work our way into the ‘dressed but not dressed’ picture:

And finally, a piece that is actually quite similar to the picture described in the very opening pages of my book, VARGAS GIRL:

I hope you enjoyed the little art tour. Hopefully, it gives you a little bit of insight into what inspired my book.

My heroine, Sasha, looks just like a Vargas painting going up for auction. She and a collector of Vargas art, Tyler, battle over it, each for their own reasons.

It has some of my favorite dialogue out of all the books I’ve written. I hope you enjoy reading it, just as much as I enjoyed writing it and sharing Alberto Vargas with readers of erotic romance.

-Kris

My-keyboard-is-broken!-I-have-no-spacebar.-Please-forgive-no-more-blog-posts-until

I-get-a-new-one.

Kris

Cassandra Moore is my author this week. She declares herself an eccentric, thirty-something insomniac with an overactive imagination and a deep lust for words. She lives in Arizona with her husband, two children, two cats and herd of Siberian dwarf hamsters.

Aren’t they adorable?

I had to find a picture of some…

Here’s the blurb for her first book with Cobblestone Press, MEGHAN’S SUBMISSION:

Meghan harbors a secret desire for submission. When she finds a rose on the sidewalk, along with a note promising a night of elegant domination, it’s like a wish come true! Faced with the handsome, commanding Spencer, will she give in to her fear, or follow her heart?

Later this year, she will be part of the Vampire Oracle series. She discusses that book and more in her interview below. Enjoy!

Q. First, Cassandra, I must ask you about your upcoming Vampire Oracle book, New Life. What can you tell me about your part in the series?

A. The Vampire Oracle has been a wild and wonderful ride. This series is going to be amazing, and I’m really proud to be a part of it. New Life was such an exciting story to write. It’s an exciting card, representing a new psychic awareness, and a renewed sense of responsibility. I enjoyed putting some suspense into the story, as well as the romance and of course, the steamy stuff.

Q. Tell us about your writing process. How do you get your ideas?

A. I get my ideas from life, and then from asking “what if?”. It sounds trite, but it’s true. Every story I’ve written comes from something I’ve seen, heard, or read. Music is very inspirational to me, but not just the lyrics. The melody, the sound and feel of the music, those things tell stories as clearly as the words, and sometimes, I like to write those stories. But really, life gives me all the ideas I could handle.

Q. What’s your work space like?

A. A controlled disaster. My desk is piled high with papers, dead flowers, knitting needles, yarn, nail polish, pens, books, notebooks, socks, you name it. I have room for my keyboard (which is a monster…it’s bigger than your average keyboard because it has an extended section for macro keys and an LCD screen), and usually, room to shove my keyboard back so I can have a writing space. Other than that, it’s happy chaos.

Q. When did you start writing seriously?

A. About the time I realized that I was getting a D in English because I hadn’t done my homework, and the teacher was going to give me enough extra credit to get an A if I wrote stories. Seriously, I was probably around 19 when I started submitting my stuff to magazines and small press publications.

Q. I see you have another book with Cobblestone Press, Meghan’s Submission. Do you write mainly dom/sub type stories?

A. I write whatever the story needs, but a lot of my ideas do have a Dominance/submission feel to them. I love the mental aspect of the alpha, of power exchange and control, and I love the psychology of it. You see it in a lot of works, from your classic BDSM stuff to werewolf stories to relationships between a starship captain and his subordinates. I love to explore it.

Q. What sorts of books do you like to read when you aren’t writing?

A. My reading tastes are strange and eclectic. I read nearly everything. I recently read a book about Deep Throat, the informer on the Watergate investigation. From that one, I moved on to some books by Robert Bloch about an assassin, then I read some HP Lovecraft, followed it up with Paradise Lost, and topped that off with a Star Wars novel. Now I’m reading an excellent hard sci-fi/futuristic book. I have a fantasy lined up after that one.

Q. What do you like to do with your free time? How do you relax?

A. I’m supposed to relax? Oh man, I knew I was doing something wrong. When I’m not writing, I enjoy playing games either on the computer (I’m a sucker for massively multiplayer online roleplaying games) or on the Xbox 360, I knit, I read, I poke at my wiki, and I write stories for my husband. I also play with my hamsters or guinea pigs.

Q. Have you ever had ‘writer’s block’? If so, what did you do to break out of it?

A. My idea processes tend to be feast or famine. I’m either overrun with ideas, or I’m totally out. If I’m stuck, though, either on something to write or how to continue a story, I go take a shower. Believe it or not, this works almost infallibly for me. If that doesn’t, or I can’t go wash my hair at that moment, I pick up my knitting. Keeping my hands busy lets my mind wander, and the block usually breaks.

Q. What are you working on now?

A. I am currently working on a sci-fi/futuristic romance set in Earth’s future. The idea came from a song by The Kingston Trio (my music tastes are just as eclectic as my reading tastes) called “Home From the Hill”. Don’t ask me how I got from folk songs to science fiction. It might melt your brain. It kind of melted mine, and I’m the one that did it.

A big thank you to Cassandra for taking the time to answer!

Kris

I have a couple things I want to mention. First, I have now started on the second book in the ICY HOT series. It’s coming out fast and furious. Sometimes I wonder how I can act so normally on the outside when clearly on the inside I am crazy. (!)

This little series is unlike anything I’ve ever attempted before. And it’s surprising how comfortable it feels to me. How *normal.*

Next, I want to remind everyone that I will be the featured cover this week on Erin Aislinn’s website. She holds a monthly cover contest. It’s very much a popularity contest, but I loved my cover for VARGAS GIRL so much, I thought it deserved a little bit of extra attention. Even if I have no chance in hell of winning!

So check out her website…maybe tomorrow…to see my cover posted near the bottom of her homepage as “Cover of the Week.” Earlier today it was still last week’s cover. So be patient!

Kris

All righty. I’ve been a busy little writer this past week. Just yesterday I sorta finished a shapeshifter, menage short. Yes, something very, very new for me. This one’s on the wild side, so watch out when I get it pubbed.

The reason I say ’sorta’ finished it, is that I would like to lengthen it some. If I can add either just 1K more or 4 K more (depending on what I feel I can do with the story), I have a better chance of finding a home for it sooner rather than later.

This story is part of a series of books that I would like to do. I know, another one! Sometimes one a new idea appears out of nowhere and demands to get ahead of the rest of the line. Cheeky little thing.

Here’s the scoop:

ICY HOT (Book #1): Arctic Wolves

Dr. Hannah Preston, a climatology expert, takes a six-month assignment at an isolated arctic research station. But when she meets her co-workers she’s shocked to discover they’re shapeshifters, and so is she! To learn more about her abilities, she must find her sexual fulfillment…and multiples are encouraged.

I have 2 more books planned in this series. Not sure if they will all be shorts just yet. All of them will take place at this same ice station. Should be fun to explore this fun, sexy new place.

If you join my newsletter group, next month you will be getting an excerpt! So stay tuned. You can join my newsletter by clicking on the Yahoo button in the sidebar on my homepage.

NEXT MONDAY: Cassandra Moore

Remember next Monday is Author Interview Day! Cassandra Moore is my next victim, so be sure to come back to learn all about her and her books!

Kris

I read quite a few blogs. Not every day, but I do keep quite a running list in my bookmarks. Today, I happened upon a very useful post on the Ellora’s Cave editor blog, Redlines and Deadlines.

Over the last few days they have been discussing genre, mainly paranormal and urban fantasy. This morning I found their Q & A about urban fantasy to be very interesting. Take a gander.

Since I’m currently writing a few erotic books and one mainstream book with paranormal/fantasy type elements, I was very interested to see where my books fit into these two genres according to Redlines & Deadlines.

ASSASSIN - Half-werewolves and full-blooded werewolves in and around the Seattle area. Most definitely urban fantasy. 

ICY HOT - Shapeshifters in a modern ice station in the arctic. According to the editor blog post, urban fantasy.

WITCHES TRILOGY - Three witch sisters with sexy powers are given a challenge and find true love. Paranormal?

It’s so confusing! Since ASSASSIN is more from the ‘human’ perspective, I think that one is truly urban fantasy…and it takes place in a metropolitan area. Although ICY HOT takes place far from the civilized world, it is still about shapeshifters in human society…which sounds like urban fantasy.

I believe when it comes to erotic writing, these lines are blurred more. In mainstream urban fantasy, there seems to be less emphasis on romance and more emphasis on action. Think of the movie Underworld or Blade. It also involves fantasy-type creatures like werewolves, elves, vampires, etc. Paranormal is more about things like magic, witches, ESP, angels/demons, telekinesis, tarot cards, curses, etc. and can have a heavy emphasis on romance.

Anyone want to weigh in on this?

Kris