Guest Blog: for readers who enjoy "that sort of thing"

Erotic Romance Author Delphine Dryden

Visiting with us today on the Passion Sense Blog is erotic romance author Delphine Dryden. She's talking about her book Roses and Chains, one of the books from the Ellora's Cave author series 1-800-DOM-help, a BDSM line.

-Tell us a little about the book and where did you get the idea to write this story.

Roses and Chains is about a married couple who are just starting to move towards a D/s lifestyle, and the additional partner they pick up along the way. I got the idea after reading a rather snide article somewhere online about "Unicorn Hunters" (established m/f couples with one or more bisexual partners who are on the lookout for that mythical, magical, perfect bisexual third to share their bed and/or life). I've also been reading a lot of my friend Geonn Cannon's work lately, and his specialty is stories featuring lesbian characters who aren't all about being lesbian. They just ARE, they don't really think about it, it's just inherent in the worldbuilding. So I wanted to explore the same sort of dynamic with bisexuality, a story where that was a given and the people involved really weren't concerned about analyzing that part of their sexuality.

- What is your writing schedule like?

All over the place! I'm supposed to write while the kids are at school. Unfortunately, the last two years of writing full time have done nothing to change the fact that I'm essentially a night owl and I'm really just getting warmed up to write by about the time they get home. So just as when I had a day job, I end up doing most of my writing late at night or on the weekends. I will probably never make up my sleep debt as long as I live.

- How did you get started writing novels?

 I started by writing fan fiction. One day, when I was working on my third or fourth novel-length fan fic, I had a thought that I should really work on something original that was novel-length. Then I remembered there's a term for that already: "writing novels." So I did!

- What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

This sounds obvious, but I would advise them to write. Write, write, write. Write bad drafts of novels, write short stories, write little character sketches about weird people you met that day. Actually I often suggest that people find a fandom and write some fan fic. It gives you a chance to write something long and receive a whole lot of feedback, while working within an established universe with known characters. You can build an awful lot of skills that way fairly painlessly.

I also push people (forcefully, passionately, push them) to participate in things like National Novel Writing Month. Or writing groups with a challenge aspect or word count requirement. Anything that puts the emphasis on getting words down on paper, instead of getting bogged down in thinking about planning to maybe write something, someday, when you know what you're going to write. You really can't know until you write it. Get it down on paper first, then worry about what you've written.

- If you could write another genre other than romance what would you write?

There's another genre? I think now that I've started writing romance, I'll probably always think of things in those terms when I'm writing. I suspect just about anything I wrote would end up with enough romance elements to be categorized that way. It's all about relationships, anyway.

- Are you seat of the pants writer or plotter?

A little of both. I have a structure in mind when I start, and I go back and fill in ideas about plot as I go. But I don't do a lot of outlining in advance, and once I start writing the story itself I'm pretty much just pantsing. I don't always wind up where I thought I would.

- Have any of your titles ever been changed from your original choice?

Yes indeedy! My very first title for EC, "Snow Job", was originally "Frostbite." My editor said (and I will never forget), "That's not even close to sexy." So I changed it, and have certainly gotten many a comment about the new title. But I still like the original one!

- If you could turn any of your books into a movie which book or series would it be?

Probably When in Rio. Especially if I got to go to Rio during on-location filming!

- What's next?

I'm waiting to hear back from my editor about the next "Truth & Lies" book, tentatively called "Tangled Truth". It's Drew and Eva's book, and it is shibari-tastic! I suspect she's going to want some revisions, however, so I'm sort of biting my nails until I hear from her. I've also got two short stories coming out in print anthologies later this year. One's a lesbian vampire story called "Al Dente" in the Cleis "Girls Who Bite" antho, and the other one is "Safeword" in the Berkley Heat Agony/Ecstasy anthology. So flattered to be in that collection, with Jane Litte as the editor and with stories by some authors I'm a rabid fangirl for! Plus I have a few other submissions out and about that I'm still waiting to hear from, one at a publisher that is new to me (my fingernails may never be the same).

- For fun. What is your favorite kind of chocolate or chocolate dessert? (I love chocolate covered cherries)

I adore 70% or darker chocolate with a nice smooth mouth feel, like Green & Black or Dagoba. And anything from Moonstruck Chocolates, also. But then I tend to think the most delicious piece of chocolate is whatever piece I'm eating when you ask me :-D

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BLURB: Take one adorable suburban couple just starting to realize their D/s relationship isn’t quite enough to satisfy. Add one cute and quirky sub who can’t seem to find a Dom to suit her tastes. Place them in a room full of sex toys and candlelight, roses and chains…

And after a few smoking-hot nights of pleasure and exploration, all three just might find what they’re looking for.

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I'm looking forward to meeting Del at Romanticon in Akron, Ohio in September. She and Christine d'Abo will be participating in the 1-800-DOM-help workshop titled: BDSM From Top to Bottom. Del and Christine are also presenting their own workshop on steampunk. Can't wait for that! I hear she has a very cool costume planned.

Want to know more about Delphine and her books? Check out her website and blog: http://www.delphinedryden.com

http://www.delphinedryden.com/blog

Roses and Chains, Oh My

Roses and Chains is the next hawt book out in the exciting new 1-800-DOM-help series at Ellora's Cave. Talented authors are taking their own unique twist with the BDSM themed series. These are hot, edgy, sexy, romantic, emotional reads that you should check out.

BLURB: Take one adorable suburban couple just starting to realize their D/s relationship isn’t quite enough to satisfy. Add one cute and quirky sub who can’t seem to find a Dom to suit her tastes. Place them in a room full of sex toys and candlelight, roses and chains…


And after a few smoking-hot nights of pleasure and exploration, all three just might find what they’re looking for.

EXCERPT:
It hurt to come, and Mara screamed again as the flogger continued to drum against her. She craved the feel of fingers or a cock or something inside her, and the climax ramped higher and higher and felt almost spiteful because it wouldn’t let her go and it didn’t satisfy.


Then there was a second sharp peak, and after it ebbed she finally achieved a resolution of sorts, a release that wasn’t quite the relief she had sought. But Amie pulled her down from the cross and into her arms, letting Mara weep into her honeysuckle-scented curls.

And she didn’t say “I told you so”.

A few minutes later, Mara was seated on the floor next to Amie’s chair. As she dutifully finished off a bottle of water and plucked idly at one of Amie’s bootlaces, the Domme leaned down and pressed an unexpected kiss to the top of her former sub’s head. Then she handed her a business card. Mara took the card and stared at it for a moment before looking up at Amie.

“Mistress?”

“Somebody gave it to me. But I think you need it more than I do, sweetie. You’re just barely holding it together, aren’t you?”

Mara wanted to crumple the little white oblong into a ball and throw it back at Amie, but she knew her frustration wasn’t the Domme’s fault. It was her own. She looked at the card for another long moment before answering carefully.

“I’m sorry if I didn’t please you tonight, Mistress. It was very kind of you to—”

“Don’t. Don’t bullshit me. We were never like that.” Amie gave a sharp little sigh and pulled her ankle from Mara’s reach, then stood up and tucked a finger under Mara’s chin to force her eyes upward. Mara was too well-trained to jerk away, no matter how much she wanted to.

“Honey, we had a good time here in the club. It never worked outside, and we both knew that. But we gave it a good try, and I can respect that. What I cannot respect,” she said with a soft little faux slap against Mara’s cheek, “is a sub who plays passive-aggressive bullshit games, and won’t let herself get what she needs from the arrangement.”

Mara knew better than to apologize. She bit down on the automatic “I’m sorry” and nodded her head.

“I’m not sure what you need, Mara. And I don’t think you’re sure either. But there’s no reason to feel bad about that. It’s brave just to be out there trying. You don’t need to beat yourself up for not figuring it out faster.”

“I know. I know.”

“Especially not when there are so many people who would be thrilled to do that beating for you.”

She couldn’t help but smile, and Amie grinned back, the million-megawatt, slightly evil smile that attracted subs from miles away. The prom queen has decided she wants to whip your ass…you’ll take it and like it, so bend over. Mara had been one of the first in line, and would never regret the experience.

But Amie really had been a popular former prom queen, and Mara really had been a disaffected, Indie-rock-listening, former Goth girl. And though they’d tried to find some common ground outside their scenes, it had simply never gelled.

“Mistress, may I worship your boot?” A groveling young man in a studded black leather thong had knelt down near Mara at Amie’s feet. It happened all the time, and Mara knew to just wait. She didn’t blame him. She felt much the same about Amie, even though they were no longer together and she wasn’t a boot fetishist.

This one made the mistake, though, of making a move before he had received permission. He was already leaning in, mouth open, when Amie spoke.

“Move that tongue any closer to my boot, little worm, and you’ll be thrown out of this club for a month.”

Then she turned back to Mara, ignoring the man, who was smart enough to squirm away without another word. He did whimper, however. He had almost certainly enjoyed the rebuke on some level.

“Pushy asshole. Look, just call the number. I trust the person who gave it to me. And I wouldn’t give it to you if I didn’t think it would help. It’s worth a shot, anyway. So be brave, okay? And I’ll call you tomorrow to check up on you.”

With another little pat to Mara’s cheek, Amie was gone, strolling away across the main floor of the club like the Queen of the Dommes, off to review her subjects.

Leaving Mara alone to consider the merits of calling the number on the little white card.

She looked at it again and frowned.

“1-800-DOM-help? What the fuck?”

#

If you'd like to find out more about Delphine and her latest news and books, check out her website: http://www.delphinedryden.com/

or blog: http://www.delphinedryden.com/blog/

Del also does fab book trailers: http://www.delphinedryden.com/video-trailer-services/

Check out the link to the one she did for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2XWIKl_D7Y

Delight Me Wednesday

Delight me, tease me, punish me? Hmmm, Is BDSM on your list of must reads? Then Desiree Holt's new book in the 1-800-DOM-help series is sure to please. Desiree recently said about her new book, "Delight Me give me a chance to let out my inner Mistress and she's having a really good time."

Delight Me by Desiree Holt Available at Ellora's Cave Wednesday, January 26th.

ISBN: 9781419932267

This is one of the books in the hot new authors series at Ellora's Cave called 1-800-DOM-help series. Other authors in this series included: Marilu Mann, Christine d'Abo, Michelle Polaris, Samantha Cayto, Ari Thatcher, Delphine Dryden, Francesca Hawley, Delilia Devlin, Shayla Kersten and Kathy Kulig.

Keep an eye out for new books coming out soon and check out the ones recently released!!

Blurb for Delight Me:

Dani suspects her growing dissatisfaction with the lifestyle suggests she might be in need of a role reversal. When she finds a mysterious business card, she calls the number, 1-800-DOM-help, and is paired with Ethan, a sexy-as-sin sub. Dani learns the erotic effects of wielding the whip and the intense arousal that stimulating her sub with toys can bring.

As their sessions progress, Dani and Ethan explore every aspect of D/s play—from restraints to punishment to exercising control to achieve mind-blowing orgasms—and Dani comes to understand the value of receiving trust, as well as giving it. But her newfound, strong emotional feelings for Ethan scare her to death. Their current course could change her life forever—if she’s brave enough to accept what’s being offered.

To find out more about Desiree Holt and her books: http://www.desireeholt.com/  


________

The premise for the 1-800-DOM-help arose from a “what if” question and the discovery of a similar number that made Lise Fuller share it with some author friends. And they thought, “Wow, that would make for a great series concept!” So the authors took it a step further: What if a dominant or submissive needed help with their significant other? From there, they developed a “help line” for dominants and submissives to call. The help line is used if someone needs help dealing with a problem or if they want to connect with a new partner.

Check out the lastest news about the 1-800-DOM-help authors on their blog:
http://1800domhelp.blogspot.com/

Xmas Spark, Featured Author Delphine Dryden

The Eve of Christmas Eve is a special day for me and I'll explain at the end of this post. But it's also special because I'm helping to celebrate a new book release with fellow author Delphine Dryden.
Her new release at Ellora's Cave is XMAS SPARK one of the stories in the Merry Kinkmas series. The cover is very sexy and the story line sounds fun and sexy too.

Here's the Hot Blurb:
Jack's Christmas list is short. He wants
 1. A violet wand
 2. And his willing sub, Katie
 When he finds both under the tree, Jack decides their first Christmas together is the perfect time to create some delightfully shocking traditions.

Excerpt:

I’d angled us into a corner of the Benedicts’ spacious living room, so at least nobody was looking over our shoulders as we opened gifts. I wished, for about the thousandth time since the whole “let’s open all the presents over there” plan had been announced the day before, that I’d had time to just go out and get him something else. But aside from the time consideration, I really couldn’t justify the expense of buying another present of this…magnitude.

And now the clock was ticking, the wrapping paper was flying and fortunately the mulled wine was also flowing, so all the grownups were a little less than completely sharp by the time Jack hoisted the solid, heavy box into his lap. The shiny red paper and crisp white ribbon looked so blameless and conventional.

“That’s from me,” I said unnecessarily. He gave me a sideways little smile.

“I’ve been looking at it under our tree for two weeks. Hey, it’s okay if I’ve been shaking it, kicking it around a little, right?”

He snickered at my horrified expression then proceeded to peel the paper off the box with typical Jack-like precision and efficiency. He opened the plain brown shipping box I’d used to wrap it in, looked down at the handsome, custom-made metal case inside and cocked his head as he ran his fingers over the small, discreet logo.

“Hmm.”

“Hmm,” I agreed.

Clearly unable to resist, he reached for the latches and let the lid swing up. The packing box and the raised lid still obscured the contents of the case from everybody else in the room, but to my dismay, Jack reached in and carefully tugged the main component of the kit free from its molded foam compartment and held it up for a closer look. It had no attachment hooked up. The cord dangled down from the end like a whip tail.

“That one of those power multi-tools? Your mother got me one of those last year. I use it all the time.” Jack’s father gave me an approving nod from across the room. And then Jack’s mother looked at her son and pointed to her watch in a way that was not subtle at all.

The moment was past, the box set aside, and Jack was thanking me and then getting up to talk to his mother about something. It was almost a letdown.

They hadn’t recognized the violet wand as a high-end electric sex toy.

#

To find out more about Delphine and her books check out her website: http://www.delphinedryden.com/
For members of the Passion Sense Newsletter, I'll be interviewing Delphine in my May issue. Passion Sense is my monthly author e-letter with the latest news of my books, excerpts, appearances, contests, recipes, featured author interviews and other fun stuff. It'll be getting some new content in January 2011. Easy to subscribe and unsubscribe.Click on the link above to join.

I enjoyed having Delphine as a feature author today and wish her many sales with her new book.

So why is the Eve of Christmas Eve special to me? Dh and I have a tradition. It was my idea we started ten years ago when we first got engaged. The holidays are so busy and with trying to spend time with both families and friends, it's hard to spend time as a couple. So I suggested to set aside one special night around Christmas just for us. We have dinner out at a very nice restaurant and we get dressed up. One year he surprised me with a limo and we went to New Hope, PA for the evening. This year we're trying out a Mediterranean restaurant in Allentown called Sangria's

Do you have any special traditions?