New Release: Sweat – Five Sporty Tales of Lesbian Lust

by | Sep 3, 2013 | | 0 Comments

Hi everyone,

I’m delighted to announce another new release! My story, Making an Impression, appears in the just-released Sweat: Five Sporty Tales of Lesbian Lust from Ladylit.

Here’s the skinny:

Some girls simply swim or run, while others practice yoga or roller derby, but no matter their preference in sports, all the ladies in this mini-anthology get plenty of girl-on-girl action. Sweat contains five sporty lesbian erotica stories that will make you perspire with desire.

Caution: This title contains graphic language and sweaty lesbian sex and is suitable for adults only.

Table of contents

  • Marathon Woman by Cheyenne Blue
  • Making an Impression by Lucy Felthouse
  • On an Ocean of Skin by Laila Blake
  • Derby Girls by Erzabet Bishop
  • Match Point by Harper Bliss

It’s currently only available from All Romance eBooks, but it will be rolling out to other retailers very soon.

Enjoy!

Lucy x

First and Ten by Destiny Blaine

by | Sep 2, 2013 | | 1 Comment

Champagne Book Group and Destiny Blaine team up to bring sports romance readers a new line of sports romance novellas

Coming to Champagne Book Group and Carnal Passions on September 2, 2013

 

First and TenFirst and Ten: Let the Games Begin

“A Swinging Gate Sports Romance”

Tagline/Logline:   In love and romance, true winners are only determined by how long their hearts stay invested in the game.

Back cover blurb:

Football superstar Kemper Kapertone is caught in a compromising position. Thrust into a media frenzy, Kemper flies across the country hoping to save a relationship now shattered beyond repair.

Tired of waiting on the sidelines, Kara Ball decides the role of jilted lover doesn’t work for her. Kara springs into action and pursues her sexy neighbor, an irresistible Dom who is twenty-seven years her senior and the object of her most recent fantasies.

Zak Stone stops by Kara’s condominium to drop off a parcel, but after the sexy seductress learns of her boyfriend’s engagement, plans change.  Soon, Kara opens up a package filled with illicit toys and the naughty ideas start churning.

While Kemper races against time to set things right, Kara invites Zak to stay overnight, hoping an evening of passion will keep him coming back for more. Fortunately for Kara, Zak is only interested in playing for keeps.

Half page teaser:

“Are you in the business of fooling around with younger women?” she asked, working a strut like he’d never seen from her before. Leaning over to pick up the handcuffs she’d deliberately—and obviously—dropped, she wiggled her behind.

He swore under his breath, wishing he could set aside his morals for one night and take her in his arms and hold her there until he taught her a few things about Domination and submission. He’d show her why a Dominant man needed a submissive woman. He’d teach her how to willingly submit and make her understand that through her submission, she would know empowerment. She would experience a new level of intimacy.

“I’ve only been with Kemper,” she told him, acting as if her revelation was the best news he’d received in over a decade.

In fact, he would’ve preferred it then if she’d confessed to promiscuous behavior.

“You’re hurting,” he reminded her, reading entirely too much into her confession. “I’m here and you have a wounded heart, a torn soul. I can’t heal you, Kara.”

How did he tell her he didn’t want to heal her? How did he explain that while he wanted to kiss it and make it better, curing her wasn’t on his mind. He wanted to claim her. And if claimed her, he fully intended to keep her.

How did a man tell a woman that?

She took a step toward him. He took one step back.  She shot him this funny little look, crossed her arms, and for a minute, he could’ve sworn she was about to strip her shirt over her head.

He willed her to stop even though his body had already reached a decision, drawn all conclusions.

One touch and she was his. One gesture to indicate she fully intended to invite him to stay and he would give in to the long awaited temptation, the attraction he could not deny.

She moved toward him again, taking three short calculated steps as if she had deliberately analyzed the best way to separate their distance just as she’d done earlier when they’d been downstairs on her sofa.

“I can’t take his place, Kara. I can’t make the hurt go away.”

“You can try.”

Rated R Excerpt:

A door slammed and her eyes popped open. “Oh my God.”

Zak quickly pulled out, resting his forehead on her back as if he needed a moment to gain his bearings. “What the hell is he doing here?” His voice was dangerously low.

Kara shuddered. Her ragged breath came out in spurts.

How much had they heard? Worse still, how long had they stood there and watched her in the throes of pleasure, in the clutches of passion?

Carly turned away. Kemper looked at her dead on.

Zak scurried to his feet. “Don’t you believe in knocking?”

“Kara?” The color washed out of Carly’s face when she turned to the room once more. “What were you thinking?”

A hoarse cry fell from Kara’s chest. “What the hell are you two doing here?”

“I should ask you the same thing,” Kemper said.

“As if you have a right!” Kara’s blazing fury shook through her body. To make matters worse she was still tied and bound, slumped in a doggie-style position on the contraption Kemper had sent her as a gift.

All things considered, it probably wasn’t the best time to let him know how much she appreciated his thoughtfulness, even though she was tempted.

Zak stood in front of her with his hands blocking his cock. “Can you give us a minute?”

“What the hell are you doing to my girlfriend?” Kemper stalked him then.

Kara tried to wiggle one way or another in an effort to free herself. “Why aren’t you on your honeymoon?”

“Psht!” Carly exclaimed, though she didn’t bother with a true reply.

Kemper clenched his fists and glared at Zak. “If I were you, buddy, I’d get lost.”

“I’d listen to him,” Carly said.

Kara grabbed an opportunity to glare at her best friend. “Just who are you to tell us what to do?”

“The friend who loves you,” Carly assured her. “I’m concerned about you, Kara. Clearly, you aren’t thinking straight.”

“I’ve never been so sure and confident in my life,” she snapped, turning her attention to Zak. “Don’t go, Sir.”

“What?” Carly and Kemper chimed in together.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby,” Zak said, grabbing his towel and wrapping it around his waist before pulling a sheet off the bed and covering Kara’s body. Dipping his hands under the coverlet, he blindly fumbled with the shackles in an effort to free her. “The two of you should wait downstairs. We weren’t expecting company at four-thirty in the morning.”

“We?” Kemper pushed by Zak and glared at Kara. “And what is this Sir shit?”

Kara glared at Carly and thinned her lips, silently pleading with her friend to take Kemper and go. Instead of aiding her, Carly asked, “What in the hell is that doohickey you’re wearing?”

Kemper bit out, “I sent her all these things so she would get used to the idea of Domination and submission!”

Carly scowled. “You?” She shoved her balled fists against her waist. “You didn’t get very much bang for your buck now did ya?” She glanced around the room. “How’d all this work out for you, babe? Hmm?”

Kemper’s face turned blood red. “I think she’s got the hang of it.”

“Considering I don’t receive gifts like these and I’m the one who loves the lifestyle, maybe you should ask yourself if you gave the right presents to the right woman. If I’d been in a contraption like that, you can bet your sweet ass you would’ve been the one coming in from behind!” Carly threw up her arms and stormed out of the room.

Kemper ignored Carly and stood over Kara, acting as if he were taking in the whole scene. “Have you been seeing one another long?”

“No.” Zak supplied the answer.

“I didn’t ask you!” Kemper never looked away from Kara.

“Obviously not,” Kara bit out. “The package just arrived today.”

“Be a gentleman and wait downstairs for us,” Zak said.

“I am not talking to you!” Kemper yelled, his muscles bulging around his short sleeves. He acted as if he were seconds away from taking that first swing.

Kemper had always been slow to anger, but when that ugly beast rose to the fore, he went berserk. She didn’t want to witness a fight. She just wanted Kemper and Carly to go.

“Please wait downstairs.” Kara couldn’t believe this was happening. “Please.”

“Why would you do this?” Kemper dragged his hand from forehead to chin. The slow act brought on a noticeable transformation. A furious expression replaced the face of betrayal and confusion.

Zak placed his hand on his shoulder. “You heard the lady. She wants you to wait—”

“Get your hands off me!” Kemper screamed, shrugging away from him. “You don’t want to go up against me, buddy!”

“She wants you to wait downstairs and you can do that now or I can call the police. Take your pick.”

Kemper laughed and another demeanor emerged, one Kara hadn’t seen in the past. He glared at her like he saw straight through her. “He doesn’t know. Does he?”

“Know what exactly?” Zak knelt next to her again and finished unbuckling the restraints. He helped her to her feet. “What don’t I know?”

Kara met Zak’s curious gaze, but she couldn’t speak. She knew what Kemper wanted her to tell him, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. If she voiced them then, she would feel like such a kept woman.

She studied Kemper and gauged his behavior. That was precisely what he wanted her to feel like in that very moment—a kept woman, somebody’s whore, and his little puppet.

Slow to regain her balance, she grabbed the bedpost and held the white linen sheet to her chest. Her bottom was sore with the recent reminder of what she’d done and with whom.

Both men stood side by side. She couldn’t hide from either of them. She couldn’t run, because where would she go? Carly returned to the room with her arms crossed. She was equally pissed, but Kara couldn’t figure out why.

At the moment, Kara didn’t care. Carly had known she was infatuated with her neighbor. Hadn’t she suspected something like this would eventually happen?

“She won’t tell you, so I will,” Kemper said, stomping across the room to the walk-in closet. Swinging the door wide, he shook his finger inside. “Those clothes are my clothes. This is my bedroom. This is my condo.” He swung around and waved his finger in Kara’s direction. “And that woman—regardless of what happened here—is my fucking woman!”

Buy Links:

Carnal Passions

Amazon

Biography:

International bestselling e-book and trade paperback author Destiny Blaine writes in all genres using several pseudonyms. Destiny lives in East Tennessee with her husband and four pampered dogs. Her daughter is in college and her son is serving in the United States Navy. For more information, visit her website at www.destinyblaine.com and follow her on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/DestinyBlaine or Facebook. To access her street team information, visit The Wild Pack.

The Greatest Fight of All by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

by | Aug 29, 2013 | | 0 Comments

The Greatest Fight of AllBLURB:

Amelia Jennings fights for a new life. All alone, after losing her brothers and father to the consequences of war, she evades an abusive relationship. She fears military men, dominant men, and especially men who like to fight for a living, just like her ex-boyfriend.

As she tries to adapt to her new life, she attempts to avoid her best friend’s brothers, who turn her on in a way she definitely isn’t used to. Mènage relationships are common, but these particular men scare her and remind her of the past she is trying to forget.

The Haas brothers, Murphy, Waylon, Brody, Ricky are tough, set in their ways, and now interested in their sister’s friend. Amelia is the only woman to get under their skin. She fights them tooth and nail, evades their every attempt at seduction, and makes them want things and feel things they never thought they would. They want her in their bed, and their claiming ownership. Standing in the way of happiness is her past, and one man who vows to get her back.

Available from:

Siren Publishing: http://www.bookstrand.com/the-american-soldier-collection-5-the-greatest-fight-of-all

EXCERPT:

Amelia smiled then leaned back and closed her eyes. She started thinking about her new life here. The hospital was ten minutes from the condo and Regan said she spoke to Murphy about finding an apartment to rent near her new job. Of course Regan said she was fine with having Amelia stay with her for however long, but Amelia overheard Galen asking about sleeping over, and Regan denied him. Amelia didn’t want to stand in the way of her friend’s love life.

She crossed her legs and allowed the relaxing atmosphere to ease her mind.

She wasn’t too surprised that she thought of her brothers. Kyle and Edward. She really thought that she could have saved Kyle. But she learned that people have to have some bit of hope of desire to live, or else it was useless. Why couldn’t she have brothers like Regan did? As the thought hit her mind, she realized that she wouldn’t want them as brothers. She couldn’t even pretend to see them in that light or with that label. Seeing them as brothers was the farthest thing from her mind.

“How did you find one of the best spots on the ranch?”

Amelia jumped as she sat forward and looked behind her. The sudden sound of a man’s voice startled her.

“Oh God, Ricky, you scared me.”

She watched as Ricky walked around the bench and stared down at her. He kept one hand on his hip and holster. It was taking some getting used to, seeing so many people carrying firearms wherever they went. Back in New York, weapons were concealed, and usually carried by cops and thugs. Ricky was sporting a black gun, she had no clue what kind, because he looked so sexy.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, darling. You looked so lost in thought,” he said and she tried to look into his eyes, but the black Stetson he wore was low. It made him appear dangerous. She had the silly “butterflies in her stomach” sensation, and she wasn’t certain why.

“It’s so peaceful out here. You all must have loved growing up on the ranch,” she said as she pried her eyes off of the man and forced herself to look toward the two men getting down off the horses. Mad Dog.

She didn’t know who the other guy was. Her eyes zeroed in on Mad Dog and how his presence instantly magnified the atmosphere around them.

“It was the best way to grow up. Living off the land, working on the farm and in the fields. It’s very beautiful,” Ricky said as he held her gaze then lowered himself to the seat next to her.

She adjusted her position as his thick, hard thigh made contact with her bare one. Perhaps wearing pants would have been the better option today.

“Howdy.”

She looked up as Mad Dog and another young cowboy tipped their hats at her.

“Hi,” she replied.

“I’m Jonas. You must be Amelia, Regan’s friend.”

He reached his hand out and she accepted it as he held her gaze. This cowboy was much younger than Mad Dog and Ricky. His green eyes sparkled as he looked her thighs over.

“Nice to meet you, Jonas.”

“So what are you doing out here all alone?” Mad Dog asked and he sounded kind of pissed.

She looked over her shoulder toward the house, way in the distance and her belly tightened from his reprimanding tone.

“Regan just headed inside. I was enjoying the quietness.” Damn her shaky voice. Mad Dog Murphy was such a disciplinary man.

Mad Dog stared down at her. His dark blue eyes sparkled as his eyes roamed over her body. There was no denying it. Mad Dog and Ricky affected her. So she focused on Jonas.

“So, where are you staying? Has Regan given you a tour of town and some of the hot spots?” Jonas asked as he stood next to her. She decided to stand up, feeling the heat of Ricky’s thigh next to hers. As she stood, a light breeze collided against her skin, sending her long, black hair over her shoulders. Her skirt lifted slightly because of the flared bottom edge and she grabbed onto it to keep it in place. In doing so, she nearly lost her balance, her legs so shaky from having Mad Dog staring at her, watching her every move, and Ricky doing the same thing.

“Whoa,” Jonas said as he reached for her and steadied her by her waist.

“I’m okay. Thank you,” she said to Jonas who smiled down at her then released his hold and tipped his hat. “No problem, ma’am.”

“Jonas, want to take the horses back to the stable for us. We’ll call it a day. We should walk Amelia back up to the house,” Mad Dog stated firmly, surprising Jonas but also making Amelia jump from his commanding tone.

“It was nice meeting you Amelia. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

 

For bio and other info on books, author and releases- www.dixielynndwyer.com

New Release: Grand Slam by Lily Harlem and Lucy Felthouse

by | Aug 23, 2013 | | 0 Comments

Today’s the day! Yes, my first novel has been published today. Well, sort of. I co-authored Grand Slam with the fabulous Lily Harlem, and it’s been released today, just in time for the US Open, which has some serious relevance to the book.

I’m very proud of this book – it was fantastic fun to write, I love the characters, the storyline, the cover, everything! It’s a BDSM sports erotic romance, which I know is a mouthful, but what can I say? The lead male, Travis Connolly is a world famous tennis player, and he’s seriously hot 😉 The leading lady, Marie Sherratt, is Travis’ psychologist – and let’s just say that to begin with, the two of them don’t get on.

Here’s the blurb:

California had seduced me with promises of a new life working at Los Carlos Tennis Academy. What I didn’t expect was the dark, brooding number one seed, Travis Connolly, resisting my help. He wasn’t interested in my psychology skills. Instead his attention was drawn to the edgy, sharper corners of my desires, proving that they existed, setting me challenges and driving me crazy to the point of combustion.

I’m the best tennis player in the world—officially—so why would I need a damn woman full of psychobabble to get me on form? Despite my irritation, however, I can’t resist pushing Marie Sherratt’s buttons even though doing that shows her the darkest shades of my lust, the parts of me I buried deep. So I set her a challenge, one she rises to, one that has me rising too, and before long my game relies on her calling the shots, hitting the target and bending to my will. One thing was certain, being not just master of the court, but also of Marie is seriously good for my soul.

Check out a fantastic excerpt and the buy links here: https://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk/published-works/grand-slam/

Add the book to your Goodreads shelves here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18212109-grand-slam

The Raw Talent website is here: http://rawtalentseries.co.uk

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to celebrate!

Get Laid by Annabeth Leong

by | Aug 12, 2013 | | 0 Comments

Get LaidBlurb:

Renovators have invaded the home of Jason and Eliza Wu. The two haven’t seen a clean surface in months and, even worse, haven’t had a moment to themselves. With stress in their work lives added to stress at home, the couple desperately needs to have some fun. Jason and Eliza embark on a bold plan to make love and get out of the house—at the same time. Through a series of hot adventures and wild mishaps in the car, at Eliza’s mother’s house, on the top floor of the library and everywhere in between, Jason and Eliza find that not only can they survive renovations, they might even be sorry when they’re over.

A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

Excerpt:

By scooting the heaviest things out of the way with the side of her thigh, Eliza could open the refrigerator door just enough to slide her arm in and identify a wine cooler by shape. She snaked it out of the refrigerator, but her hand slipped on the sweating glass bottle just before she got it clear. It crashed to the floor and shattered, soaking the lower half of her stockings and the big bags of flour and rice from the pantry with pink, sugary alcohol. Shards of glass surrounded her and Eliza swallowed, thinking of her bare feet.

Her husband responded before she could. “Don’t move,” Jason said. He was barefoot himself, but that didn’t stop him from getting in close enough to sweep her up into his arms. The man might sit behind a desk all day at work, but he put in his time at the gym. His taut muscles flexed around Eliza as he lifted her out of the mess and glass and tucked her against his chest.

Jason carried Eliza to the other side of the room and set her on the table. “Are you all right? Did you cut yourself?” He lifted one sticky, stocking-covered foot in his hand and inspected it for injuries.

“I didn’t get hurt.” Eliza caught his other hand and brought it to her lips. “Thanks, Jason. Really.”

He kissed the side of her face in response, and she wished he’d gone for her mouth instead. She reached to pull him in for a better kiss, but before she could he crossed back to the refrigerator and folded his arms across his chest. Eliza and Jason both sighed.

“I think we’re going to have to throw all this food away because of the glass,” Jason said.

“I’m sorry.” She got off the table and tapped one foot, trying to remember where they’d moved the broom.

“You stay there. I’ll take care of this.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

Eliza smiled, a little of the tension easing. “I want to do something really fun at home for our anniversary. It’s five years, and maybe our last chance before we have to grow up for real and behave. We should jump on the beds and have sex on the kitchen table.”

“About that…”

“What?”

“If you haven’t opened the document I shared with you, then you didn’t see the note I made about the latest delay.”

Eliza’s voice darkened. “What?”

“When they checked out the master bathroom, they found a rotten beam. It needs to be fixed, but Bob said it means the job won’t be done until mid-August.”

“But that’s only two weeks before our anniversary! That’s more than a month behind schedule.”

Jason shrugged. He wrapped his hand in a dishtowel and began throwing items from the pantry into a big black trash bag. “I don’t like it any more than you. They have to finish the job eventually, one way or another.”

“He always finds something else! Did you ask him if he’s sure about the schedule this time?”

Jason stood abruptly and stepped away from the mess in front of the refrigerator. “I don’t want you criticizing me for how I talked to Bob. Why did we think renovations were a good idea?”

“Oh, Jason.” Eliza rushed to his side and tried to put her arms around him, but he shook her off.

Her husband rubbed one hand over his face. “I don’t want us to fight again. I want to have a nice time with you tonight. Do you know why I was upset when you got home? I left the office a little early and I was going to straighten up around here and make you dinner. If we could open the damn refrigerator, you’d see I picked up avocados and a bunch of other stuff you like. I got home and found the kitchen like this, and I knew I couldn’t get it sorted out in time to surprise you.”

Jason grunted and tossed a few more things into the trash bag. Eliza hovered nearby, wishing she could wave their problems away and start the fun they both wanted. She found herself staring at his firm ass, trying to remember the last time she’d really grabbed it. They’d always had a good relationship, a hot relationship. She’d been shocked to see how the stress of renovations had reduced them to sniping at each other.

“I miss you, Jason.”

He stopped moving. “What do you mean?”

“I miss your body. When was the last time we really had some time to ourselves?”

“You mean other than time we spend complaining to each other about the renovations from hell?”

“I love that you were going to make me dinner. Really, I do. It’s just there’s something I might need more than dinner. I think we both need it.”

A slow grin spread over Jason’s face. “I may have had an ulterior motive when I decided to make you dinner.”

“I hope you did.” Eliza reached out to him with one hand. “Can’t we clean it up in the morning? We have to stop letting these renovations ruin our lives.”

Jason took her in his arms before she finished her sentence.

Buy Links:
All Romance eBooks
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
Ellora’s Cave

 

Bio:

Annabeth Leong has written erotica of many flavors. She loves shoes, stockings, cooking and excellent bass lines. She always keeps a new e-book loaded on her phone and a paperback stashed in her purse, but her eyes are still bigger than her stomach whenever she visits a bookseller. She blogs at annabethleong.blogspot.com, and tweets @AnnabethLeong . Watch for her next contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave, Design and Scandal.

The Other Side: Book #1 in the Island Girls Trilogy by Zee Monodee

by | Jul 30, 2013 | | 0 Comments

The Other SideBlurb:

Divorce paints a scarlet letter on her back when she returns to the culture-driven society of Mauritius. This same spotlight shines as a beacon of hope for the man who never stopped loving her. Can the second time around be the right one for these former teenage sweethearts?

Indian-origin Lara Reddy left London after her husband dumps her for a more accommodating uterus—at least, that’s what his desertion feels like. Bumping into him and his pregnant new missus doesn’t help matters any, and she thus jumps on a prestigious job offer. The kicker? The job is in Mauritius, the homeland of her parents, and a society she ran away from over a decade earlier.

But once there, Lara has no escape. Not from the gossip, the contempt, the harassing matchmaking…and certainly not from the man she hoped never to meet again. The boy she’d loved and lost—white Mauritian native, Eric Marivaux.

Back when they were teens, Eric left her, and Lara vowed she’d never let herself be hurt again. Today, they are both adults, and facing the same crossroads they’d stood at so many years earlier.

Lara now stands on the other side of Mauritian society. Will this be the impetus she needs to take a chance on Eric and love again?

Buy Links:
Decadent Publishing
Amazon US
Amazon UK

*****

Excerpt:

She shouldn’t have come. The sound of her mother’s high-pitched voice crept over the din, asking if someone had heard a car stop in the driveway. They’d come out in the next minute.

Picking up her courage, and wishing it were Dutch courage despite her not being a drinker, she tore her fingers and head from the wheel and threw the door open. Lara peeled herself out of the vehicle at the same time a chorus of gasps resounded in the garden.

All three older women were over her like a bad rash. Hugging and kissing her cheeks, holding her face in their hands while they exclaimed how beautiful she had become. All of which were simply tactics to lull her into complacency for when they’d really pounce on the meaty topic—her divorce.

With their deceptively frail-looking hands on her shoulders, they pushed her toward the back door to the kitchen. A memory of being pushed around in the same way toward the altar on her wedding day, the glittery gold and red veil over her eyes, assaulted her. She stopped in her tracks, the pain coming in from nowhere to slice through her heart. The biddies must not have noticed her stilling; they simply continued to steer her inside until she was seated at the table. A plate of towering hot bhadias appeared in front her, along with a bowl of satini cotomili, the coriander, tomato, and chili paste-like dip Mauritians ate with all their fried foods.

Auntie Ruby, resident gossipmonger, lived up to her reputation. She had been the first to mention Lara’s failed marriage before they made it back into the house.

The sound of the grating voice droned on, Lara choosing to ignore it, before her mother gave her a small slap on her shoulder.

“You wicked girl. You said you were coming on Monday, and here you are surprising us now.”

She sighed. This was code for “how could you have kept this a secret and made me lose face in front of everyone, when I’ve been telling them you are coming on Monday?” Her mother lived for hearsay and the general idea of “what will people say.” In fact, most people in Mauritius lived by the standard. Whoever said the ton and all its silly rules had died in the Regency era had not taken a trip to Mauritius, in eighteen-ten or the year two thousand.

“But my poor little girl,” Auntie Ruby said in a cajoling tone bringing nothing but danger to mind. “Of course you wanted to come home earlier. Who wouldn’t? Look what that awful, awful man has done to you.”

Translation: “And here’s your cue to air out the laundry, from the sheets to the knickers, you silly goose.”

“Our hearts went out to you, dearest girl, you who are like a daughter to us,” Auntie Zubeida chimed in. “We never saw this coming. How could you not have told a soul you and that scoundrel were having problems? We would’ve spoken to him, set him right, showed him this is not how he is supposed to treat our daughter.”

“Tsk-tsk. And what a beautiful couple you two made. How could anyone have thought you would break up?” Auntie Ruby added.

Lara forced a small smile. Damn, how she wanted to be out of here. She had a duty to do, though—the sooner she was done, the better, so she could run back to Grand Baie and leave those old cows behind. And yes, in that lot, she included her mother, who had yet to speak out. Bad vibe.

“I’m doing fine, Auntie,” she said. “That’s what matters.”

All three women watched her with narrowed eyes. No way was she doing away with the Inquisition.

“How can you be fine?” Auntie Ruby asked. “We have been so preoccupied with your plight. How on earth are you going to get along? How will your parents bear all this? To think they still have an unmarried daughter on their hands, now they are ending up with two daughters. Oh what fate God has dealt them.”

Lara bit her lip to keep from answering back. Right, the ton must’ve been more solicitous than this. The aunts were simply nosing for gossip. But then, that’s what Jane Austen wrote in her subtext, too. The concern was merely the polite way of enquiring about gossip in their society.

*****

Trailer:

*****

Random Facts:

– The Other Side is Zee’s first-ever penned novel, written in the year 2005, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and thus decided to live her dream of writing a book. She drafted this book mostly during sleepless nights between chemotherapy sessions, the outpouring of this tale becoming her therapy to cope with her treatments.

– The book trailer features images of locations mentioned in the story. The second image, at 0.08, is of the Grand Baie beach, where Lara lives. At 0.58 is the Swami Vivekananda International Conventions Centre located inland in Pailles, that Zee used as the inspiration for the centre Lara manages in Grand Baie. 2.09 features the Coin de Mire Island, a visual that can be admired from the terrace of Eric’s residence in Cap Malheureux.

*****

The Other Side About the Author:

Stories about love, life, relationships… in a melting-pot of culture

Zee is an author who grew up on a fence – on one side there was modernity and the global world, on the other there was culture and traditions. Putting up with the culture for half of her life, one day she decided she’d stand tall on her wall and dip toes every now and then into both sides of her non-conventional upbringing.

From this resolution spanned a world of adaptation and learning to live on said wall. The realization also came that many other young women of the world were on their own fence.

This particular position became her favorite when she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of writing – her heroines all sit ‘on a fence’, whether cultural or societal, in today’s world or in times past, and face dilemmas about life and love.

Hailing from the multicultural island of Mauritius, Zee is a degree holder in Communications Science. She is a head-over-heels wife, in-over-her-head mum to a tween son, best-buddy-stepmum to a teenage lad, an incompetent domestic goddess, eternal dreamer, and an absolute, shameless bookholic. When she isn’t penning more stories and/or managing the Ubuntu line at Decadent Publishing, you can bet you’ll find her with her nose in her tablet, ‘drinking in’ a good book.

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