I’m blogging with the Naughty Author Chicks today, and I’m talking about why I think monsters are hot.  Come over and comment for your chance to win an autographed copy of I’LL BE SLAYING YOU.

Update: The winner is…Gayle Hudson! Congrats, Gayle! And thanks to everyone who took my Night Watch quiz!! (Don’t worry, there will be more chances to win Zane’s book later!)

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!! Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

A few days ago, I created a facebook quiz for my Night Watch hunters.  (Yes, I gave in to the temptation of the quiz!) But, I wanted to make the quiz available for folks who might not be on facebook. So, here you go:

Take the quiz and find out if  you’d be Jude, Dee, Zane, or…um, something/someone else.  Someone a little less on the side of the good guys.

Post your results in the comments section. I will pick one winner for an IOU prize–an early copy of Zane’s book, ETERNAL FLAME (Available 11/30/2010).  As soon as I receive a copy from my publisher, I’ll ship it right to you!

And don’t forget…it’s just 9 short days until the release of I’LL BE SLAYING YOU!! Dee’s story will be out very, very soon!

Enjoy your day!

Update!! Time to announce the winners…and the winners are:

Free ebooks: Ilona

Free print copy: Tracey D

Congrats, ladies!

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But What About the Sex?

I want to thank Cindy for inviting me to guest blog with her. And I’m going to be doing a giveaway, so for those brave souls who can make it through the blah blah… you’ll get a chance to win free stuff. Yay!

Probably the only thing I don’t like about the romance genre is the general expectation for a certain number of sex scenes of a specific heat level. This is particularly true of paranormal romance which many expect to be erotica. But I’m not writing erotica. I don’t feel like a story should be forced into that mold, and so in my work you’ll find several different heat levels that match the story and what I’m trying to convey.

My writing style is somewhat sparse and fast-paced to begin with, so I don’t write sex scenes that go on for pages. This bugs some readers, so it’s one of those things I warn about up front. However, I try to lace the book with an underlying sensuality that goes beyond just what happens in the bedroom.

I’ve read several polls where it turns out only about 20% of romance readers read every single sex scene without skimming through it. Man, do I hope you guys aren’t in that 20%. You might come after me with the torches and pitchforks.

It’s not that I’m opposed to graphic scenes. I can name three authors off the top of my head who write great sex that I never skim: Larissa Ione, Kresley Cole, and my lovely hostess Cynthia Eden.

And I do write them, just not in everything. How graphic a scene is will vary from story to story. It depends on the characters. Who they are, what they’re going through. Some of them are less exhibitionist for readers than others.

My Blood Lust novella anthology which is the first book in my Preternaturals series, has varying levels of heat. The first story, Kept has one scene “on camera” and the rest off. Though even the one on camera isn’t a technical play-by-play.

The novella is probably the most “light” and “fluffy” of the three, and lengthy sex didn’t fit the pace of the story or what I was trying to get across. Sex was somewhat rushed to help characterize Greta’s shame at being at the mercy of her heat cycle and having sex with a practical stranger. Greta is a werecat.

Claimed doesn’t have a single sex scene because frankly the characters just weren’t in that place. Anything before the final climax (of the story) would have been like rape for the heroine. Charlee just isn’t in the zone for it given the fact that the vampire she’s with took her memory and has tied her to him. And epilogue sex has always weirded me out.

Mated has romantic sex that is about Jane being able to trust someone again after being abused so long by the monsters. It’s about what’s going on inside her emotionally, not about what body part is being touched or how loudly she’s moaning.

The book coming after Blood Lust, Save My Soul, has slightly more graphic sex than most readers are used to from me (though my style is still sparse), but it’s not due to any perceived pressure to heat it up (only a very small percentage of my readers have asked for more graphic sex). It’s because it’s about an incubus. That’s sort of all about the sex.

I always try to use sex as a tool to convey something about the characters and the story, which means I can’t follow the formula, or the story will suffer. That’s one sacrifice I’m not willing to make no matter how hot the sex.

The three novellas that make up Blood Lust can be found individually in ebook at Smashwords and Amazon for 99 cents each. (Kept can be read free here:  http://zoewinters.wordpress.com/kept.)

For those who prefer reading on paper, Blood Lust will be releasing in print in the next few weeks.

I’ve got two giveaways. One commenter will receive all three novellas free in ebook form, and one will receive a print copy of the book (just as soon as I get them in my hands from the printer).

Here are the blurbs for the novellas that make up Blood Lust:

KEPT:

As a cat therian (shifter), Greta’s blood is already sought after to enhance spells and potions, but due to a quirk of her birth, her blood is potent enough to kill for. When her tribe plans to sacrifice her, Greta must ally herself with Dayne, the dangerous local sorcerer, and the only person strong enough to protect her.

CLAIMED:

For a vampire, Anthony isn’t a picky eater, but he’s drawn to Charlee’s blood more than any other. Like a fine wine saved for a special occasion, he’s denied himself this pleasure. But one night, high from the potent magical blood of another, he claims his prize and loses control. Ashamed of almost killing the one woman who means anything to him, he wipes her memory of the event. When Charlee awakens with complete amnesia, Anthony is the only one who can clean up the mess he’s made.

MATED:

Because of the vampiric blood that has run through her veins since birth, Jane has been a target for vampires who resent a human being “kindred.” She’s forced to disguise herself as a vampire groupie to appease them and safeguard her life. When she’s abruptly given to Cole, the leader of the werewolf pack, to satisfy a gambling debt, she discovers the blood running through her veins has a far greater impact on her destiny than she ever imagined.

Thanks for reading!

http://www.zoewinters.org

http://www.twitter.com/zoewinters

So here’s my dilemma.  Most of the guest authors here already have books out and can hold terrific give aways.  My book isn’t quite out, so what should I do?  I was pondering this the other day while also admiring my new cover.  Isn’t it fantastic?

FATED is the first book in the Dark Protector Series, and I just received my first quote from the very wonderful Kate Douglas, author of the Wolf Tales, one of my favorite series.  Here’s what Kate had to say:

“FATED explodes off the pages from the terrifying opening to the climactic finish-this is one story that’s hot and fast from beginning to end-impossible to put down and guaranteed to entertain. The pace never slows and the heat doesn’t ebb-Rebecca Zanetti has created a page-turner of a book, with a heroine willing to fight for the ones she loves and a hero who will literally take your breath-just before he steals your heart. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can’t wait to see what Zanetti comes up with next.”  ~~ Kate Douglas

How wonderful is that???  🙂

My series has good guy vampires – hot, sexy and can venture into the sun.  And bad guy vampires, the Kurjans – pasty skinned, evil and killed by the sun.  But the thing is, the Kurjans have discovered science and have been working on a cure for their sun aversion.  As well as a way to genetically alter and thus steal vampire mates.  The vamps really don’t like this.

My heroine in book two has been on the run from the bad vamps, and it occurred to me.  If I were running from the bad guys, what would I need?

Why – I’d need a special gun, cash, a change of clothes…and something to keep them in.  And even though it’s a dark paranormal world for my heroine, there’s no sense in forgetting fashion.  Hence, the Kate Spade Renwick Street Annabel Tote – perfect for keeping all of those weapons to fight the Kurjans.  Or your lotion and a good book to take to the beach!

So what type of accessory would you most like to have if chased by a race of evil vampires?  Leave a comment and I’ll draw one lucky name to win this brand new Kate Spade tote.  Just in case the Kurjans find you too.

To learn more about me and the Dark Protectors, please visit my website at:  http://www.rebeccazanetti.com/

Stephanie Julian will give one commenter a free download of choice from her catalogue. 

I love summer and this one promises to be an exciting time for me. I’m only two months away from the deadline for delivery of the first book in my three-book, erotic romance series for Sourcebooks Casablanca.

The Forgotten Goddesses are part of my Etruscan Magic series, which include the Lucani Lovers and Magical Seduction series from Ellora’s Cave.

In WHAT A GODDESS WANTS (July 2011), I’ll introduce readers to Tessa, aka Thesan, Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn. She’s a relatively minor goddess in the scheme of things but she loved her job until that Roman cow, Aurora, usurped her position.

Mythology and magic have always been favorite topics of mine. Mix in some hot sex and I’m so there.

The ancient deities were all about sex. They got around more than a shipful of sailors on leave. And usually pissed off more than a few people on the way, which makes for great conflict.

But what happens a few millennia down the line, when most of your people have died out and/or forgotten all about you? Well, the Etruscans have managed to maintain their way of life through the ages. Today, they might live next door to you and you’d never know.

That guy across the street, the one with the dark eyes, Roman nose and fascinating tattoos? Would you be shocked to learn he was a lucani, an Etruscan werewolf?

And what about the beautiful redhead in the house on the corner. She’s really a folletta, an Etruscan fairy. That tattooed outline of wings on her back isn’t really a tattoo.

In SEDUCED BY MAGIC, the first book in my Magical Seduction series, Justin Johannson discovers the truth about who his father really is when a beautiful, naked woman with wings finds her way into his bed. In SEDUCED BY TWO, Nica Donato uses her skills as a strega, an Etruscan witch, to save her lovers.

And in EDGE OF MOONLIGHT, John Simmons meets the woman of his dreams, only to learn she’s more than a little feral. She’s actually a werewolf.

I like to believe there’s magic all around us, that there’s still wonder in the world. That ancient gods and goddesses still roam and that fairies and werewolves are real.

Makes my world a little brighter…by the light of the moon.

Stephanie Julian is the author of the Magical Seduction and Lucani Lovers Series from Ellora’s Cave. Her latest release is EDGE OF MOONLIGHT. WHAT A GODDESS WANTS will be released by Sourcebooks in July 2011. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter and at www.stephaniejulian.com.