Third Day of Celebrations for Stately Pleasures! #erotica #bdsm #romance #bbw #menage

spbirthdayHi everyone,

The birthday celebrations continue! If you missed the previous posts, check them out here and here. If not, please read on…

My Research for Stately Pleasures

Research wasn’t essential to Stately Pleasures. The stately home it’s set in is fictional, and yet I did research. Why? Because I wanted to. I wanted to build a picture in my mind of Davenport Manor, what it looked like inside and outside, what the grounds were like, and so on. Much of what I saw, many of the places I visited, weren’t even used in the book, but it all helped me to figure out what the fictional house was going to be like.

My National Trust membership got some serious abuse while I was researching. Many weekends were spent sneaking off to properties, both nearby and further afield, as well as taking in some places to and from weekends away that were too far away to visit for a day trip.

The picture in my mind grew more detailed as I pieced together what I wanted from various mansions—school rooms, libraries, servants’ quarters, corridors and much more. But still I headed out to do more research. It wasn’t a hardship, you see. I love visiting those places anyway, which is why I ended up writing a book set in a stately home in the first place. Other things I saw sparked off more ideas for scenes to be included in the book—including a pestle and a carpet beater.

Finally, I was all researched out. I just needed to get on and write the book. But one thing I really wanted to include was a maze, and there wasn’t anywhere nearby that had one. One flying visit to a National Trust garden and then Hampton Court Palace later (not in the same day, of course!) and I was all sorted—I had everything I needed.

I take plenty of photographs when I go to these places, whether I’m researching or not, because I never know when places will pop up in my work. I referred back to my photos plenty, as well as heading online. The Internet is an incredibly valuable tool, and I used it to find out or clarify various bits and pieces and make sure certain things that I’d mentioned were correct.

I think perhaps I over-researched certain things as not everything was used in the book, but I don’t mind, not one bit. I’d rather truly know what I’m writing about, even if I don’t mention every little snippet. And it was an incredibly fun experience—though my poor other half possibly won’t agree!

 

Grab the book here. Add it to Goodreads here. Then scroll down to find out about the giveaway!

Happy Reading,

Lucy x

*****

WIN!

Win your choice of Kindle/tablet case, plus some awesome swag!

2014-12-03 19.22.45

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to stop by on the 19th for the next birthday post!

More Birthday Celebrations for Stately Pleasures! #erotica #bdsm #romance #bbw #menage

spbirthdayHi everyone,

The birthday celebrations continue! If you missed the first post, check it out here. If not, please read on…

My Inspiration for Stately Pleasures

Although I don’t remember where the actual idea for Stately Pleasures came from, as it’s was in my head for so long before I wrote it, I can definitely tell you where my inspirations came from. Inspirations for setting and characters, that is.

The setting, Davenport Manor, is a totally fictional place made up of various real places I’ve been to and ones I imagined. It’s like a patchwork quilt, or something. A facade from here, a maze from there, a schoolroom from X, servants’ quarters from Y, a library from Z… you get the idea. It all pieced together nicely in my mind to make up a very rich and exciting place for my characters to play. I loved writing about the setting just as much as what was actually happening there!

As for character inspirations, well, that’s easy. Imagine Jeremy Renner with a posh British accent and you have Jeremy Davenport. Imagine Jared Padalecki, also with a posh British accent, and you have Ethan Hayes. Told you it was easy 😉

Alice Brown is much more difficult. She’s a curvy chick, and I looked around and couldn’t find a Rubenesque celebrity I wanted to base her on. Sadly, there are also far too few Rubenesque celebrities around! So Alice is a total figment of my imagination, but if I got asked to select someone for casting in a film, I’d choose Melissa McCarthy.

 

Grab the book here. Add it to Goodreads here. Then scroll down to find out about the giveaway!

Happy Reading,

Lucy x

*****

WIN!

Win your choice of Kindle/tablet case, plus some awesome swag!

2014-12-03 19.22.45

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for the next birthday post!

Happy Birthday to Stately Pleasures! #erotica #bdsm #romance #bbw #menage

spbirthdayHi everyone,

I’m very excited to be kicking off the birthday celebrations. No, it’s not my birthday, but the first birthday of the release of my first full-length novel, Stately Pleasures. My baby has been out in the world for a whole year! And what’s more, people have been buying it, and, according to reviews – enjoying it! Naturally, this makes for one utterly delighted author, so I thought it would be a great idea to have a bit of a shindig, including some cool prizes for you lovely lot. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be sharing in depth information on the book for those of you that missed it first time around, and each post will give you more opportunities to enter the giveaway. So… here goes!

 

An Introduction to Stately Pleasures

For those of you that don’t know, Stately Pleasures was my debut novel. Well, sort of. I co-authored Grand Slam with Lily Harlem and that was published in August 2013, but this was my first solo novel. I actually wrote it before Lily and I wrote Grand Slam, but the madness that is the publishing world meant that it was published a few months later than the aforementioned book.

It’s a book that had been floating around in the back of my mind for quite some time before I wrote it. Admittedly, it took me a long time to make the jump from short stories to novellas, then from novellas to novels. I suspect fear and confidence had a lot to do with it, but once I started, I really enjoyed the experience. I could explore the backgrounds and motivations of the characters and have a lot more fun with them than I could in shorter work.

Stately Pleasures is set in the fictional Davenport Manor in England. It’s actually an amalgamation of various different stately homes and gardens that I’ve been to, with tweaks and things made to suit my story. A bonus of writing fiction!

The lead character, Alice Brown, is a curvy chick with a very firm goal – she wants to manage a stately home. It’s been her goal all of her life and she’s worked hard to achieve it. In this book, she gets one step closer—by bagging an interview for a maternity contract at Davenport Manor. Once she’s had nine months experience at the job, she should be able to then make the move somewhere else on a permanent basis.

It’s not a spoiler to tell you that Alice gets the job, and she’s delighted. She jumps into the role with enthusiasm, but things aren’t all plain sailing—it wouldn’t be a very long book if they were, would it? 😉 Alice accidentally catches her boss, Jeremy Davenport, in a compromising position, and from there, things go totally crazy. It turns out the man she previously thought of as posh totty is actually a man with many kinks, and he’s not against using his position to get what he wants.

I’m not going to say any more, lest I do give away any spoilers, but let’s just say that Stately Pleasures is a BDSM ménage erotic romance and leave it at that. If you want to find out more… you know what to do 😉 and here’s a hint – if you’re a Kindle fan from Europe, I’d suggest grabbing your copy before 1st January 2015, as some really dull and boring law that I don’t really understand means that the prices of eBooks are going to increase, and it’s completely beyond author and publisher control.

Grab the book here. Add it to Goodreads here. Then scroll down to find out about the giveaway!

Happy Reading,

Lucy x

*****

WIN!

Win your choice of Kindle/tablet case, plus some awesome swag!

2014-12-03 19.22.45

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to stop by on the 15th for the next birthday post!

My Sexy Saturday #45 – A Sexy Date Night #MySexySaturday

My Sexy Saturday

Welcome back to My Sexy Saturday. This is where writers post either 7 words, 7 sentences or 7 paragraphs from their published work or work in progress, sticking to the week’s theme. This week’s theme is a sexy date night. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to put in a romantic snippet from Stately Pleasures, my M/F/M ménage, which is available for just $0.99/£1.49.

She didn’t get chance to make a cheeky comment because Jeremy was back, and this time he appeared to be carrying something with … candles. Birthday candles. She let out an excited squeak as she realised it was a cheesecake – her favourite – which had not nearly enough candles for her age pushed into its surface. She watched, wide-eyed, as Jeremy placed it down on the table between the three of them, then turned to her with a triumphant smile.

‘You like?’

‘Do I like? What do you think? You know I love cheesecake. Is it –?’

‘– vanilla? It sure is. Your favourite. And it’s even homemade.’

Alice looked at the dessert, noticing that it wasn’t quite picture-perfect, and realised he was telling the truth. ‘Wow, you two have been busy today. Have you done any work at all?’

‘Not really,’ Jeremy said. ‘But that’s just one of the perks of being the boss, isn’t it?’

‘I guess so,’ she replied. ‘Well, I’m very glad you both bunked off for this – all of it, I mean, not just the cheesecake.’

You can buy Stately Pleasures here.

Please use the list below to head on over to the other blogs participating in My Sexy Saturday, and don’t forget to leave us all comments, we love ’em!

Happy Reading,

Lucy x


Intimate Details by Tina Donahue

Intimate DetailsBlurb:

As a computer hacker, she demands justice.

As a woman, she craves two powerful and commanding men.

Shana’s been hacking one of Manhattan’s most corrupt executives, making him pay for what he’s done to his victims. Using her skills, she convinces Mike and Cody to hire her at their intelligence-gathering firm, where intimate details help their clients.

Never has Mike met a woman as delicious as Shana. Smart as hell, curvy and assured, she’d be a delightful challenge in bed. Cody’s carnal hunger is equally intense. He and Mike want to know everything about her.

She won’t divulge the secrets of her past. All she can offer is unquenchable desire and her heart.

During weeks of shameless lust and pleasure, Mike and Cody peel away the layers of Shana’s life. The stunning truth changes everything. They’ll do all that they can to keep her safe…and in their arms.

Buy linkhttp://www.bookstrand.com/intimate-details

*****

Excerpt:

Neither Mike Russo nor Cody Latham had expected her to show up in their conference room.

Of course, they wouldn’t have, given the various laws she’d broken to be here.

Shana Gallagher’s pulse ticked up another notch at that and their good looks. Virile and commanding. They were deliciously hot and smart, having once worked in military intelligence.

Mike, the proverbially tall, dark and handsome hunk, had found his way into government via his MIT training. He’d left DC five years ago to start his own firm. Now thirty-three, he regarded Shana with momentary surprise then male interest as his attention raked over her.

Despite her best intentions, Shana’s skin tingled.

To his side was Cody. Equally impressive at thirty-four, he forgot to take a sip of his coffee. The Starbucks cup was inches from his mouth as he also took her in. Quietly and restrained.

Shana’s belly quivered at the heat in his gaze, so at odds with his military background. It showed in the set of his broad shoulders and modified buzz cut, his hair short on the sides with volume on top. Those dark blond locks complemented his golden skin and hazel eyes.

Mike’s were greenish-gray, an arresting color given his olive complexion and chestnut hair, a bit longish and casually styled. Several strands dangled over his forehead, begging a woman to ease them back.

Currents of warmth rippled through Shana, leaving her cruelly weak. She hadn’t expected to react like this. During her research on them, she’d seen hundreds of their photos, including those not meant for the public. Their days spent with women, outdoors at the beach or sailing, both men’s hard bodies stripped to their swim trunks and bared to the sun. Mike’s bold tattoo on his left bicep. The cruel scar on Cody’s right pec that enhanced his masculinity.

None of those pictures had done them justice.

“Mr. Russo, Mr. Lathan,” the office manager murmured, her somber hush appropriate for this high-priced firm in New York’s Financial District. Dressed in a severe gray suit, the matronly woman smelled funereal, of incense and carnations. She inclined her perfectly coiffed head to Shana. “Ms. Gallagher, your four o’clock.”

Before Mike or Cody could say “huh” or “who?” Shana stepped deeper into the yawning room. It was possibly two thousand square feet and decorated in a combination of rose, beige and brown, its bank of windows offering a spectacular view of the harbor. An NYPD boat and cruises packed with tourists cut through the water, leaving foamy trails. Sunlight winked off those swells and the glass buildings, giving the early September day a dreamy, golden haze.

The door clicked shut behind Shana, leaving her alone with the men.

Mike pushed to his feet, his six-three frame superbly clothed in an Italian suit that probably cost five grand. Its subtle navy tones and his pale blue shirt heightened the effect of his sapphire tie. Cody’s was gray-and-white striped, his shirt charcoal, his suit a pewter color. Surprisingly fashionable given his conservative background.

He stood. His height matched Mike’s. Both men were lean yet muscular.

Power and male privilege radiated from them. Everything Shana had always mistrusted and despised. She couldn’t quite manage those feelings now. She knew far too much about them. They were surprisingly good men, downright decent, which added to their seductive allure and had brought her here.

Shana crossed the room, forcing herself to walk casually as though she belonged. The slit in her pencil skirt allowed the black fabric to fall away from her leg, exposing a bit of her thigh. Mike and Cody’s attention dropped to her sheer stockings and spike heels.

Hard carnal interest flared on their faces.

A curious mixture of pleasure and caution rushed through Shana, draining her strength. She put her leather tote on the granite table, the smooth stone a soft rose color speckled with gray, black and brown.

The moment she slipped her hand under the tote’s flap, Mike said, “Hold it right there.”

He’d spoken quietly. However, his deep baritone filled the impressive space, demanding obedience.

Shana calmed herself as well as she could and lifted her face to his. At this hour, stubble shadowed his upper lip, chin and cheeks. His lashes were unspeakably long. His attention moved from the tote to her silk blouse, the color of black cherries. No one had to tell Shana that her nipples were hard and jutting against the fabric. Suddenly, Mike couldn’t seem to look anywhere else.

A wave of heat rushed to her neck, her arousal unruly.

He cleared his throat. His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed with his swallow. “Who are you?”

Time for the truth. Sort of.

*****

BIO:

Tina Donahue is an award-winning, bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Siren Publishing, and Kensington. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic romances (Adored, Lush Velvet Nights, and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. The French review site, Blue Moon reviews, chose her erotic romance Sensual Stranger as their Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category). The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for Lush Velvet Nights, and two of her titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition (2011 and 2012). Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years). Tina is featured in the 2012 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. She was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.

FB Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/TinaDonahueBooks
Email: tina@tinadonahue.com
Website: http://www.tinadonahue.com/
Blog: http://www.tinadonahue.com/blog/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tina.donahue.75
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/146988.Tina_Donahue
Triberr: http://triberr.com/tinadonahue
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authortina/my-books/
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/tinadonahue
My page at TRR: http://erotic.theromancereviews.com/mypageprofile.php?location=tinadonahue
EC Author Page: https://www.ellorascave.com/index.php/authors/index/author/slug/tina-donahue/
Samhain Author Page: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/Tina-Donahue-pa-1630.html

*****

CONTEST

Win 3 of Tina’s backlist erotic romances from this list:

  1. Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist; 4 Stars RT
  2. Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit
  3. Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award
  4. In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT
  5. Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT
  6. The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller
  7. Take Me Away – #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books
  8. Unending Desire – Best Book Rating LASR
  9. SiNN – Nominated for Book of the Week LASR
  10. Sinfully Wicked – Magnificent – Romancing the Book
  11. Claiming Magique – Top Pick – NOR
  12. Illicit Desire – Four Stars Romantic Times
  13. Come Fill Me – Five Stars – Guilty Pleasures
  14. Losing Control – Four and a Half Stars – Sensual Reads
  15. Shameless Desire – Four and a Half Stars – The Jeep Diva
  16. Illicit Intent – Four and a Half Stars – Sensual Reads
  17. Deep Within Me – Four Stars – Romantic Times

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday Snog – Stately Pleasures

Sunday Snog

Stately PleasuresIt’s time for another Sunday Snog, yay! This week, I’m sharing a sexy snog from Stately Pleasures, my M/F/M BDSM erotic romance novel from Xcite Books. I’m having to recycle some older snogs, I’m afraid, as I’ve got a bit of a break between releases. I hope you’ll forgive me – I’m working on new books, promise 😉

It seemed Ethan really was eager to help out, as he got to the ballroom only a couple of minutes after she did. ‘So, where do you want me?’

Several possible responses went through her mind, and every single one of them was sexual, involving him being in a state of undress. Instead, she gave him a wicked grin and said nothing.

‘You naughty girl.’ He crossed the room towards her. ‘But I suppose had the roles been reversed, I’d have had a similar response.’

‘Can you blame me?’ Alice said. ‘Especially since it’s been a while since we last … you know.’

Ethan gave a little growl. ‘And don’t I know it? Things have been crazy, haven’t they?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘You know, we could probably make up for it a little bit now, before the place opens.’

She raised her eyebrows. ‘Are you serious? Here? Now?’

Ethan moved closer to her, then pulled her into his arms. She could feel his cock beginning to stir in his trousers. ‘I can’t think of anything better, can you?’

Without giving her a chance to reply, he leant down, slanting his mouth over hers. She responded, wrapping her arms around him and opening her mouth to allow his tongue entrance. As always, she thoroughly enjoyed kissing him. He was damn good at it, with his wicked lips, versatile tongue, and plenty of knowledge of what to do with them. The large, strong hands that were currently inching up her dress went a long way in ramping up her arousal too.

She shifted her own hands down to grab his arse, pulling him more tightly to her. The insistent press of his now fully erect cock against her stomach made her hungry for it. For him. Pulling away from their kiss, she sucked in a hasty breath. ‘H-how long have we got?’

Grabbing her wrist and pushing her hand onto the bulge of his crotch, he replied, ‘Long enough.’

You can get your hands on Stately Pleasures here.

Add it to your Goodreads shelves: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20718063-stately-pleasures

Also, don’t forget to head back to Blissekiss and see what other luscious lip to lip action other authors have posted. Yum!