Feeling Like the 5th Wheel in a Menage?

Does the third person ever feel like the fifth wheel in a ménage à trois encounter? I suppose it’s possible depending on the dynamics and relationships between those in the group.

Besides BDSM, I also enjoy writing ménage and multiple sex encounters, including encounters with otherworldly creatures like dragons. I’m working on a Christmas themed ménage right now for a special call out from my publisher. I like writing the edgy alternative sex scenes. It makes for interesting and intense conflicts and emotions between the characters. It can also be a challenge to write especially when it comes to stage directions, making sure all the positions are physically possible in this dimension. I must visualize the scene step by step or I can turn my characters into contortionists.

As for the emotional connections between the characters, that’s where the fun really lies. Usually, I write MFM, that’s two men and one woman where the men don’t have sex. But when two guys are involved in a ménage, come on, private parts might get touched. If they have a problem with another guy touching their junk, they shouldn't be engaged with a ménage in the first place.

But sometimes when two lovers bring in a third party, that third person could feel a little like a fifth wheel or cause some tension in the threesome. (SECRET SOIREE)

MMF scenes (DAMNED AND DESIRED) are very hot too. 

Sometimes one guy is more interested in the woman than the other. One may even be falling in love, while the other is in the ménage for the thrill of sex only (SPRING BREAK). All can work in erotic romance and true life if partners are open and adventurous.

Do you have any favorite ménage couplings? MMF, MFM, MFF, all male or all female????

There’s still time to sign up for my SUMMER SINS contest until December 14^th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Menage Romance 2013 Fan Choice Awards

http://marywhispers.blog.com/?p=1302

 

 Do you love menage romance? Here's your chance to VOTE for your favorite. Mary Naughty's Whispers is hosting the awards and there will be prizes for fans and awards for the best books.

 

Nominate your favorite author and book!

 

From January 5th to 31st Nominate your favorite author and book using the form at this LINK 



Nominations will close on January 31st at midnight and on February 2-28th you can VOTE (poll) your favorite.

 

*Date of publication for book nominated must be between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012.

 

Here is what you'll need to make a nomination:

•  Author First Name (*)
•  Author Last Name (*)
•  Title of Menage story (*)
• Series with #  (if applicable)
• Publisher (optional)
• URL direct buying link (optional)  
• (*) are mandatory 

Winners will be announced on March 1st!

 

If you'd like to be a sponsor of the event please send an email to Mary at: menagereviewer  @gmail.com or patriciambates  @gmail.com  No spaces. With "Sponsor Menage Romance 2012 Fan's Choice Awards Nominations" in the subject line. All sponsors will get a special banner and link back to their websites during the contest. 

 

Disclaimer: All information collected is solely for the purpose of the award and will not be kept, loaned out, borrowed or sold in any other manner shared. Prizes are awarded based upon the votes of peers.

 

Prizes to win for each category:

 

Best Contemporary Menage

Best Vampire Menage

Best Shapeshifter Menage

Besst Western/Cowboy Menage

BDSM Menage

Light Bondage Menage

Sci Fi Menage

Fantasy/Supernatural/Paranormal Menage

Historical/Time travel Menage

Multicultural/Interracial Menage

Full-figured Heroines Menage

Holidays Menage

Menage in a Series

Best Straight Menage

Best Bisexual/Transexual menage

 

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK HERE

 

I'll be giving away copies of my menage stories: Secret Soiree and Spring Break and the print anthology Work and Play

 

   

 

 



Whew! What a Wild, Wonderful Year...

Happy Holidays! Warm wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season, hoping that all good things come your way in 2013 for you, your family and friends.

I had to share a couple Youtube videos for your holiday fun. Enjoy your celebrations.

Bing Crosby & David Bowie - The Little Drummer Boy



And one more: Adam Sandler and the Hanukkah song



Thinking back on 2012, I decided it was such a good year, I'd like to do a repeat. So many awesome things happened this year. I have to thank the amazing support of my readers, friends and family, the Ellora’s Cave staff and all those in the publishing world who make my career possible. I have a deep passion (aka obsession) to write, and I love when I hear from readers, especially when they tell me how much they've enjoyed my work. It's very much appreciated.

I hit a couple milestones in my career this year. I was fortunate to be included in an anthology with mega star authors Laurann Dohner,  Jaid Black and Desiree Holt that hit the Amazon Best Sellers list. Something Wicked This Way Comes, Vol. I, with my story Tattoo Witch. A huge thank you to Jaid Black for accepting my story and her editing expertise. The book still continues to sell very well.

I completed my first erotic paranormal series: Demons in Exile with the third book of the series, Damned and Defiant. And began another erotic contemporary series titled TropiX with Spring Break. Spring Break was released this year and later was included in a popular anthology with authors Ruby Storm and Virginia Cavanaugh titled Work andPlay. This anthology SOLD OUT at the RomantiCon convention last October! That never happened to me before.

I hope to get to more conferences next year, but RomantiCon is one conference I haven't missed yet. It's so much FUN. It was one of the highlights of the year and a conference I always look forward to. Ellora’s Cave authors and staff are the nicest people. At the last RomantiCon, I participated in three workshop/panels: One on BDSM with the amazing and talented Joey W. Hill, another BDSM panel with authors from the 1-800-Dom-help series and a paranormal panel. I love the energy from these workshops and talking with readers and other authors. And I had the opportunity to make many new friends.

That is the best part of being a writer: all the friends I’ve made.

Secret Soiree, a contemporary erotic romance Quickie continues to sell like crazy. Sometimes it difficult for an author (and publisher) to tell what will work and what won’t. So authors and publishers have to try different things. I’m planning more stories along this line next year. All stand-alone and short.

Many readers have asked for more stories like Dragon Witch, my erotic Sci Fi romance. I do have a sequel in mind for that book. That’s one of my favorites and also my PRISM finalist.

I also have a couple books in the works that are ‘secret’ projects and are a little outside the box. But I'm very excited about them. To grow as authors, we need to challenge ourselves and take risks. Not every project is going to work or resonate with readers. I don't see any unsuccessful projects as failed attempts, only opportunities to learn and grow as a writer. At one of the RWA Conventions, author Jayne Ann Krentz said she had to switch from writing futuristic romances, taking her core story and placing it into a historical setting. All authors have a core story, she says. I think my core story is: With courage love finds a way. Read any of my contemporary, paranormal or BDSM stories and see if that’s not true. I have lots of projects planned for 2013.

I’ll keep you posted on all new books and appearances coming up in 2013. Thank you again for all your support. Your kindness is so greatly appreciated. Best wishes to all in 2013. Be good to yourself and happy reading.

All the best,

Kathy

Valentine's Day Contest

Sweet Hot Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! And thank you all who entered my Valentine's Day Contest. As promised I've selected a winner and for anyone who decided to follow my blog (or already does), Tweeted or Facebooked any blog post had a Triple chance to win a print book as a bonus.

*WINNER OF A FREE DOWNLOAD OF SECRET SOIREE IS: Lindsey Ekland

*WINNER OF A FREE EROTIC PRINT BOOK (MY CHOICE) IS: Cathy MacDonald

Congratulations to the winners!!! I'll be sending you an email notifying you and also asking for a mailing address for Cathy so you can receive your book. Or you can email me if you read this first.

Thank you all for entering and I hope you're doing something special for Valentine's Day even if your don't have a significant other. I sure wouldn't mind the hunky guy in the picture below serving me those yummy heart-shaped chocolats in the photo above. Hmmm. If you don't have a significant other, why not treat yourself and a few friends out to lunch or coffee?

Famous Love Quotes

I enjoy quotes and poetry. I have a poetry book of love poems from poets from the 1500s to the present. The words may be different, culture and family dynamics may change, but love is love and always will be. I shared a few famous love quotes and a poem for Valentine's Day. Enjoy!

SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY

George Gordon, Lord Byron

(1788-1824)

She walks in beauty, like the night

   Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

   Meet in her aspect and her eyes:

Thus mellowed to that tender light

   Which heaven to gaudy day denies.


One shade the more, one ray the less,

   Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

   Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

   How pure, how dear their dwelling place.


And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

   So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

   But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

   A heart whose love is innocent!

``````````````

"Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." ~ St. Augustine

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition.” -Alexander Smith

“There is no remedy for love but to love more.” -Thoreau

“Who, being loved, is poor?” -Oscar Wilde

“We loved with a love that was more than love.” -Edgar Allan Poe

“Love and you shall be loved. All love is mathematically just, as much as two sides of an algebraic equation.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Love is the irresistible desire to be desired irresistibly." ~ Louis Ginsberg

"What dire offence from am'rous causes springs.
What mighty contests rise from trivial things.  ~ Alexander Pope

"Love you know, seeks to make happy rather than to be happy." ~Ralph Connor

"People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy." ~ Bob Hope

#

Need something HOT to warm you up? Here's an excerpt for SECRET SOIREE, my erotic contemporary from Ellora's Cave.


Excerpt:
Hobbling across the gravel parking lot, she cursed herself for not taking the boots off and putting on her sneakers. Darius had parked his pickup camper at the end of the parking lot. Good for privacy, not good for walking in heels. All she wanted right now was to feel his warm skin against hers. But ten minutes. What could they do in ten minutes? When she got to his truck, he opened the door and lifted her inside.

The hunger in his eyes was the Darius she knew. The man was an awesome lover. Every woman should have a Darius. A man who could pleasure her like no other, but who she knew would probably never be her husband. And she was fine with that. Darius was there when she needed him, which wasn’t very often. He’d helped her find a decent used car when her last one died, stood by her during her dad’s funeral arrangements, and had taken care of her when she’d had the flu last year. More than that, he’d cleaned her house, done her laundry and rented DVDs for her to watch while she was sick. After each time he’d helped her, he’d go out of town for the next job and she wouldn’t see him for weeks. That was Darius. “Darius, I only have—”

“Ten minutes. I know.” He yanked her tee shirt over her head. “Don’t talk, listen and let me have you. I’ll watch the time.”

REWARDING THE AWARD

How Did I Get This?
Err, no, not the guy. I just liked the pic and needed something to warm me up on this bitter cold January day. What I got was this: The Versatile Blogger Award. Not as exciting as the guy but a nice thought from fellow Ellora's Cave author and friend Nina Pierce.

There are 200,000,000 blogs in cyberspace and 54% post content or Tweet daily. Wow! Now I know why I don’t get 30 or 40 comments on my blog posts. The competition is fierce and it’s hard coming up with interesting, compelling content while at the same time trying to write books. I do appreciate those who do take the time to visit my Passion Sense Blog and post comments. And I have a SPECIAL THANK YOU CONTEST at the end of this post for visiting.

By accepting this award there’s a catch. I have to share seven personal things about me. (eeeks!) And pass on this award to some other lucky blogger. This is a fun way for people to check out blogs they might’ve missed. So, here are my seven things that came to mind:
1. I love to travel but my absolute favorite place to vacation is by the ocean, whether it's Cape Cod, the Jersey shore, Florida or the Caribbean.

2. I was a bit of a tomboy as a kid. I built model airplanes with my dad, made a fishing pole out of a tree branch, string and a safety pin (and caught fish), and plucked frogs and crayfish out of the brook and swamp near my house.

3. I attended parochial school and hated it. I had to keep my hair short, wear ugly uniforms and didn’t have many friends. (You couldn’t talk except at recess, so how could you make friends?) My only reprieve was that I could pick out my new shoes every year. I always picked out the most outrageous shoes. One pair I remember were lime green with funky laces. In 6th grade the school decided to switch the dress code to saddle shoes. (ugh!) I cried and begged my mother to let me go to public school where most of my friends went anyway. She did. It’s all about the shoes.

4. In 9th grade I gave up playing the glockenspiel (the bells) in the band, to twirl a baton and ended up captain a few years later. Short skirt, boots were always my thing. Again, it’s all about the shoes.

5. Later, I went to a Catholic all girls’ college. It didn’t matter what shoes I wore. I worked three jobs and went to school full time. Who had time to care about shoes?

6. My first published work was an article about astral projecting in a New Age magazine called Night Vision and was later reprinted in another magazine called Connecting Link. A Native American shaman sent me a letter congratulating me on the article. My first fan letter.

7. I once lived on a dairy farm in a mobile home in upstate New York. No cable TV and the TV only had two channels. The area had one radio station and it aired for only 12 hours a day. I was lucky to get a phone, it took a month to get hooked up and had a two-party line. Many people probably don’t even know what that is. This wasn’t that long ago either–the 1980s.

As the Versatile Blogger Award goes, I’d like to thank Nina Pierce for the award and hope you’ll check out her blog, and I pass this award onto another writer friend and Ellora’s Cave author Amber Skyze. Please check out her blog too.

               * Amber Skyze
               * Nina Pierce

Rewarding the Award with a contest:

VALENTINE’S DAY CONTEST

To celebrate Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ll be giving a copy of my Quickie SECRET SOIREE from Ellora’s Cave. Either post a comment on this blog post and leave your email. Or email me at Kathy@kathykulig.com with “Valentine’s Day Contest” in the subject line.

Blurb: Performing kinky sex shows at private parties should be easy for two part-time lovers. When Darius makes an offer to help Destiny avoid financial disaster, how can she refuse? The money’s good, the sex scorching.

Amazed by how uninhibited she can be, Destiny is driven by a sensual need aroused by her audience. When clients begin requesting special services, Destiny easily complies. But can her blazing-hot romance with Darius survive the consequences?

*Triple your chances to win: Tweet or Facebook my blog (http://www.kathykulig.blogspot.com), or post a brief Amazon review  for any of my books that you’ve read, or “follow my blog” ( if you are following me already, tell me) and I’ll add your name in three times for the drawing of an additional erotic print book of my choice. Drawing will be on Valentine's Day. Contest ends February 13th.

*BTW, by entering the contest, you're giving me permission to add you to my mailing list which is easy to unsubscribe.

November Contest Winner

And the winner is....

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate the release of SECRET SOIREE from Ellora's Cave. From those who posted a comment during the month of November, and left their email, or sent me an email privately, I randomly selected a winner.
The Winner is: Melissa Keith
Congratulations Melissa!!! She selected a free download of one of my books.

Coming up: I'll be posting a three-part blog discussion on one of my favorite supernatural topics: Ghosts. During this holiday season, one of my favorite movies to watch has three ghosts: Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. I've read ghost stories since I was a kid and have tons of books on ghost stories. Even my first published novel has a ghost. I hope you'll share you thoughts and stories about ghosts in these posts. The first post should be up late tomorrow.

SECRET SOIREE is Out!

SECRET SOIREE and SECRET PLEASURES today:

My new book SECRET SOIREE was released today November 26<sup>th</sup> at Ellora’s Cave As secrets go, they can have consequences if revealed, and this is the case with Destiny Noir when her identity and what she’s doing is revealed to the wrong person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**RomCon http://www.romconinc.com/ has me as their guest blogger today on their FF&P blog and I'm giving away a copy of DRAGON WITCH. I'll be talking about Secret Lovers and Guilty Pleasures. Something you see in the media all the time. Stop by and help me celebrate my new release and let's talk about secret lovers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB for Secret Soiree: Performing kinky sex shows at private parties should be easy for two part-time lovers. When Darius makes an offer to help Destiny avoid financial disaster, how can she refuse? The money’s good, the sex scorching.

Amazed by how uninhibited she can be, Destiny is driven by a sensual need aroused by her audience. When clients begin requesting special services, Destiny easily complies. But can her blazing-hot romance with Darius survive the consequences?

EXCERPT: The massive cathedral ceiling room suddenly shrank down to the size of a closet. Destiny closed her legs and hunched over, trying to hide her sex and breasts. Darius tried to part her knees but she stiffened and resisted.

He moved in front of her, kissing her cheek then her ear and whispered, “Are you all right?”

“No, let’s go. I can’t do this.”

He gazed at her in disbelief, then smiled. “Okay, but you’re doing fine. We’re almost done. What’s wrong?”

She looked into his eyes and said, “I’m afraid.”

“What? Afraid of what? I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“I know. I’m afraid things will change between us after this.”

He stroked her cheek, then reached around and unfastened the handcuffs and took them off. “We can go anytime. This won’t change what we have. We’re like two actors acting out a part in a movie for the sake of entertainment. We’re fulfilling a fantasy for some of these people, adding another aspect to their sexual love life, maybe enhancing it. I suspect most of them will leave the party early. They’ll go home horny and get laid.”

She smiled at that. “I suppose you’re right. We’re just actors who know each other well.”

“Makes it easier, doesn’t it?” He raised his eyebrows in a friendly tease. “So do we go or stay? Your call.” He swung the handcuff on his forefinger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTEST--Leave a comment on any blog post through November 30 for a chance to win a FREE download of one of my eBooks. Or send me an email to Kathy@kathykulig.com with "November Contest" in subject line. Contest ends November 30. Drawing will be on December 1st.

Will a Blue Moon Make You Loony?

This Sunday November 21<sup>st</sup> there’s a Blue Moon, that’s usually the second full moon in the same calendar month, but according to a rule from the old, no longer published, Maine Farmers' Almanac, (NOT to be confused with The Farmers' Almanac of Lewiston, Maine, which is still in business) a Blue Moon can also occur when there are four moons (instead of the normal three) in one season. There were full moons on September 23, October 22, November 21, and will be one on December 21. That's four in one season. Even though December is the first day of winter, the moon actually turns full at 3:13 a.m., 15 hours and 25 minutes BEFORE winter officially arrives. That makes the third moon the Blue Moon, but I have no idea why they decided that. Why not December’s moon or October’s moon?

DOES THE FULL MOON AFFECT HUMAN BEHAVIOR? If you know someone who works in the medical field or in social services like the police department, ask them. Chances are they’ll say: YES! They’ll say the crime rate increases and hospital emergency rooms fill up on the days of a full moon. If the moon can affect the ocean tides why not influence human emotions in some way physically or psychologically? The human body is 80% water. Besides, that’s where the word lunacy came from.

Arnold Lieber, a psychologist from the University of Miami (my college BTW) did research on the crime rate in Miami-Dade and wrote a bestselling book in 1978, "Lunar Effects: Biological Tides and Human Emotions", and another in 1996 supporting the theory about the influences of the full moon on human behavior. And Ivan Kelly, a psychologist at the University of Saskatchewan, conducted her own study and her findings disagreed with Lieber’s. She felt because of the long standing myth the reports were exaggerated by those involved with the study.

BLUE MOON FACTS:

The average interval between Full Moons is about 29.5 days, whilst the length of an average month is roughly 30.5 days. This makes it very unlikely that any given month will contain two Full Moons, though it does sometimes happen.

On average, there will be 41 months that have two Full Moons in every century, so you could say that once in a Blue Moon actually means once every two-and a half years.

A Blue Moon occurs approximately 7 times in 19 years.

Here’s a link to a Blue Moon calculator. http://www.obliquity.com/cgi-bin/bluemoon.cgi If you want to find out is there was a Blue Moon the year you were born for some reason.

I used it when I wrote my book SEDUCING THE STONES from Ellora’s Cave. There’s a Blue Moon in this story. The hero Rory was cursed by an ancient Sidhe curse for violating their sacred ground. He can only break this curse by an offering and a sexual ritual during a Blue Moon on the Eve of Samhain. I had to calculate how often that occured. It’s about every 80 years. So he had one night every 80 years to break this curse. He’d been trapped for over 300 years. But the ritual was also dangerous because of the location.

What do you think? Does a full moon make you loony? Make others loony?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm counting down to the release of SECRET SOIREE. The release date is this Friday November 26th. There's still time to enter my CONTEST. Enter a comment on any blog post this month and leave your email addy and I'll add you in for the drawing of a FREE download from any of my eBooks. Or send me a separate email to Kathy@kathykulig.com with November contest in subject line.

eBook Revolution

About a year ago, I blogged about ebook vs print wars, but now I have to call it the eBook Revolution in line with the Industrial Revolution. Never have I seen a format of communication or entertaining cause such a stir in a matter of months, and influence publishing, media, commerce and other businesses to this extent. Maybe because I’m published by an eBook publisher Ellora’s Cave, I’m more aware.

Last Christmas when I got my NOOK, the display in my Barnes and Noble for the NOOK was a small table and you had to find someone to show you how it worked. They might have had one cover that you could look at but you had to order them or any other accessory. A few months later, a print bookshelf was replaced by a much larger display with a variety of NOOK accessories and covers. Now, several large shelves in the front of the store have been cleared out and a whole section is devoted exclusively to the NOOK. My critique partner has been hired to work that area.

I’m not sure when eBooks first came out, but I do know that Ellora’s Cave has been in business for ten years. So they’re at least that old. During the last eight or nine years, there was a definite line drawn between print and eBooks. The major New York publishing houses weren’t producing their books in that format. Then technology caught up. And now all major publishers produce their books in print and eBook.

We’re in an age where three-year olds are learning to use computers and elementary school kids have their own cell phones and laptops. Most households have a menagerie of electronic devices. Will a year’s worth of textbooks soon be downloaded on a student’s iPad or NOOK or Kindle each year instead of students lugging worn print books?

I also heard recently an agent negotiated a contract for an author with an eBook publisher. Usually agents don’t bother with eBook publishers because there are no advances or minimal advances with eBook publishers. But the royalty rate is much higher. The business model with eBook publishers is structured differently than traditional publishers. I think we’ll be seeing more of this too as the lines between eBook and print book publishers fade.

This past week New York Times announced that they will be rating eBooks starting January ’11. In light with what’s going on in the industry, this was inevitable but I think this gives eBooks a new level of legitimacy. The publishing world and the public watch the NYT ratings. Whether the NYT list will eventually combine the print list with the ebook list is yet to be seen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTEST:To celebrate my upcoming release SECRET SOIREE from Ellora’s Cave on November 26th, I’m giving away 1 readers choice download of any of my eBooks.
To Enter: post a comment on my blog any day during the month of November, include your email address and I’ll add you to the drawing. (If you prefer, you may send me your email privately at Kathy@kathykulig.com. Put “November Contest” in subject line). Contest ends November 30th. Drawing will be on December 1st

The Extraordinary Worlds of Steampunk/November CONTEST

*November CONTEST info. at the end of this blog post.

STEAMPUNK

To follow the last blog post about Speculative Fiction sub-genres, I decided to give more details on Steampunk and repost and earlier blog.

I don’t claim to know what this amazing world is all about but I am quite intrigued that that one can combine brass googles, motorcycle boots, a tight corset, suede or lace skirt and somehow manage to look gorgeously steamfashioned.

A long time fan of alternative fiction, science fiction and fantasy, I’m so glad to see books coming out in this sub-genre, especially romance. According to author Jeff VanderMeer, Steampunk, a term first coined in 1987, is a “retro- and forward-looking sense of adventure and discovery.” Steampunk has hit pop culture, and we can see influences in movies, art, comics and fashion.
Gail Carriger has an interesting write up on the two main types of Steampunk: Traditional, the H.G. Wells and Jules Verne type with a Victorian culture and setting, and Futuristic, an industrial steampunk set far in the future. If you read down in her article you'll see a link to Jeff VanderMeer's article. Click on the link to his article about the history of Steampunk
http://tinyurl.com/2elkqc9

I’ve done some research on this topic and found that there are some die-hard Steampunk fans. Some who are purists about certain details. Similarly, there are avid fans in the vampire realms and the Regency era and I think it’s cool that these groups have such a loyal community. As with the vampire genre, I think this sub-genre will evolve as well where authors will create their own worlds and their own rules. Still, there must be a balance so verisimilitude and the flavor of Steampunk are maintained.

DEFININITION:
Ask different people what Steampunk is and you’ll get a variety of definitions. I found several different definitions on various websites and blogs. To me, Steampunk is usually (but not always) set during the 1800s where technology somehow has gone a bit skewed. Scientific advancements combine with the old, mechanical devices tend to be steam-powered, and are comprised of gears, cogs and clockwork parts. Dirigibles, time machines, mechanical spiders, automatons, amazing underwater ships and cities, underground cities and moon rockets are just some of the oddities that can be found in Steampunk. But the setting doesn’t end there. I also like the futuristic and otherworldly Steampunk settings. Look at the movie City of Ember (click for cool trailer).
Thanks to http://brassgoggles.co.uk/blog/ for the following definitions. She has a fabulous site on all things Steampunk.

SUB-TYPES OF STEAMPUNK:

Victorian Science Fiction – Steampunk set in Victorian era with futuristic or science fiction elements. Think: The Time Machine by H. G. Wells.
Gaslamp Fantasy – The Girl Genius Steampunk, tight bodices, slapstick comedy and non-humans. Setting is variable, doesn’t have to be Victorian.
Fireside Science Fiction – A warm and cozy type where Victorian gentlefolk may begin their adventure around a fireplace with a small brandy, but could end up on the moon or beyond!
Neo-Victoriania – A Japanese originated alternative where the aim is to recreate certain Victorian aspects of life using modern tools and ways. Elegant Gothic Lolita.
Wild/Weird West – Centered on the American West in the 19th Century. You’ll find cowboys and scientists alongside saloon girls and giant mechanical spiders. Wild, Wild, West.
Voyages Extraordinaire – As seen in the Victorian adventures of Jules Verne.
Scientific Romance – An early, mostly British, name for science fiction, that fell out of fashion, but was also used to describe Verne’s works. Now being used more for nostalgic Victorian based science fiction.

I also came across Industrial Steampunk (futuristic), Clockpunk (1500s), dieselpunk (WWII) and Cyberpunk (computer/informational). I’m sure there are others.
Here’s Wiki’s take on Steampunk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk

So what do you like about Steampunk? What do you know about it? Please share your views.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTEST: To celebrate my upcoming release: SECRET SOIREE at Ellora's Cave on November 26th, I'm giving away 1 Reader's Choice download of any one of my ebooks. To enter: Post a comment on the Passion Sense blog any day during the month of November and include your email address and I'll add you to the drawing. (If you prefer, you may send your email to me instead to: kathy@kathykulig.com Put "November Contest" in Subject Line) Contest ends November 30th. I'll randomly select a name on December 1st.

The Amazing Worlds of Speculative Fiction

This is an exciting time to be a writer in the speculative fiction genre whether you write romance, young adult or adult, there are so many new sub-genres appearing and combinations on the bookshelves and electronic shelves. It’s also a confusing time for writers, publishers and readers who might be confused as to how these books are defined. I know I am.

I’ve been a fan of spec-fiction since I was a kid. I remember sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night and turning on the TV while my parents slept to watch Outer Limits, Twilight Zone and Creature Feature. Besides TV, I read stacks of Science Fiction and Fantasy books. Back then, to my knowledge, they only had the “fantasy” type: J.R.R Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) or “science fiction” type: Isaac Asimov (Foundation Series). I also read a lot of ghost stories, but I’m not sure what genre they fell under. Maybe Supernatural?

Now, it’s a different story. New sub-genres keep appearing: Urban fantasy, Futuristic, Paranormal, Historic Paranormal, Steampunk, Magical Realism, etc. There are so many vampire books out there they could be considered a sub-genre now, not to mention the “demon” and “shapeshifter” books. Those aren’t quite a sub-genre, not yet anyway. And I do love good vampire, demon, shapeshifter books!

Definitions of Sub-genres of Spec Fiction:

Paranormal – A broad category that include one or more of these elements: vampires, ghosts, demons, witches, psychic powers, supernatural themes, alternative/otherworlds, etc. Other sub-genres (sci-fi, futuristic, fantasy, etc.) may be labeled paranormal or paranormal romance when a book is sold depending on a publisher’s preference.

Urban Fantasy – Usually includes a modern cityscape—made up or real—with paranormal/fantasy elements (vampires, shifters, demons, elves, witches, other magical creatures and/or powers. These are usually darker, edgier stories. Some define this a modern Gothic.
*In the romance genre, the difference between a Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy is the amount of romance in the story and the theme. Urban fantasies can have a romance but it’s not the dominate element in the story, it usually centers around a strong female protagonist and doesn’t have to have a happily ever after ending. Paranormal romance centers around a hero and heroine and does have a happily ever after/or happily for now ending.

Fantasy – Can be light or dark, can incorporate magical/mythical elements.

Science Fiction – Core science based fiction incorporating hard science—physic, quantum mechanics, genetics, etc. or computers. Also philosophy and psychology.



Futuristic – Stories, of course, set in the future. Could be Urban Fantasy on earth, on another planet or alternative universes.

Steampunk – This sub-genre has many sub-types. But simply it’s a story usually set in the 1800s (but alternative modern or futuristic stories are possible) where technology has gone a bit skewed. Scientific devices tend to be powered by steam and comprised of cogs, gears and clockwork parts. See my blog post on May 23, 2010 for more details.

Magical Realism – is speculative literary fiction using highly detail fantasy elements in a realistic setting. Like a child has an ogre as an imaginary friend that goes to school with him. Only the ogre is real.

Horror – these type of stories have the capacity to frighten readers whether with real or supernatural themes.

What Category is My Book?

So you’ve written a vampire, werewolf, ghost story set in an alternative historic London with paranormal steampunkish elements. What the heck to you call it? Urban Fantasy? Paranormal Romance? Steampunk? Gail Carriger’s book, Changeless has all these elements. The spine lists it as “Fantasy Horror”.

I pity my editor when I send in my books because half the time I don’t know what to call them. My last book, DRAGON WITCH, has a dragon shifter, a witch, space travel and takes place in the future on another planet. Is it paranormal? Sci-Fi? Futuristic? Fantasy? Shapeshifter? Ellora’s Cave lists it under their Aeon line: Futuristic/Sci-Fi.

The difficult part comes when writers want to pitch their story to an editor or agent and can’t decide what category to call it. When a book can fall into a number of different sub-genres, the publisher/marketing people usually decide to place it according to where they think the market is strongest at that time. When you’re pitching, keep it simple. Pick a sub-genre you feel the main theme of the book fits best. If the book is sold, the publisher will decide what genre to sell it under.

A couple definitions that I learned at the last conference I went to: The difference between Alternative worlds and Otherworlds. I’d always thought they were pretty much the same, but apparently they’re not.

Alternative World – is a real place with paranormal elements. Like in the Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer’s. It’s set in Forks, Washington. That’s a real place but there are vampires and weres living there.
Otherworlds – Are settings that are fictitious, completely made up, like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter’s series, by J.K. Rowling.

What sub-genre is your current WIP?

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As an aside: SECRET SOIREE, my next story from Ellora’s Cave (not a Speculative Fiction story), will be released on November 26th. Destiny Noir is living a secret life for a very good reason. What happens when her secret is exposed?

Top Bite Award-Dragon Witch

Bitten by Paranormal Romance gave DRAGON WITCH, my Ellora's Cave novella, a Top Bite Award!! Here's the review:

"Dragon Witch is an out of this world story, that's fun and very hot! I truly enjoyed excellent short story, that’s mixed paranormal and fantastica. If you like action, adventure, emotions and hot sex with some m/f/m action this maybe for you. I loved both the hero and heroine with the added dragon, that at a point will surprise you for what he really is. Kathy knows how to write a short Novella that makes since and fun with added surprises." ~5 Alpha Howls, 4 Alarm Fire.

More Good News!!

New Sale! I recently sold a new story to Ellora's Cave entitled "Secret Soiree", a contemporary erotic romance. This will be a Quickie, a short story. I'll keep you posted on the release date.

BLURB: Performing kinky sex shows at private parties should be easy for two part time lovers. When Darius makes an offer to help Destiny avoid financial disaster, how can she refuse? The money’s good, the sex scorching.

Amazed by how uninhibited she can be, Destiny is driven by a sensual need aroused by her audience. When clients begin requesting new elements of kink, Destiny easily complies, ignoring the risks. And now she is about to learn the consequences.