More release day fun!

Hello everyone!

I have more fun news to share with you on the eve of my book being released. That is, I have a release mate! If you're familiar with many of the other authors over at Mischief or with awesome UK erotica writers in general, then I'm sure she needs no introduction. Ms Justine Elyot is one of their best! And today she has a brand new book out too, Confessions of a Kinky Wife. Great title, huh? And check out the fun cover:

Justine and I thought it would be fun if we did a little cross interview in light of our books dropping the same day. So today you get to learn a little about another Mischief author and her kinky new book! Without further adieu, I give you... Justine Elyot!

KC: How did you start writing erotic fiction? Did you try any other genres? Do you write any other genres now? 

JE: I started with fanfiction, wanting to peek into the bedrooms of my favourite characters. For some reason they didn't tell me to get out. Perhaps they're exhibitionists. 

I hadn't written in any other genre before selling my first erotic story, but always wanted to write historical fiction. Watch this space. 

KC: Tell us how the magic happens! Where do you write? How do you get inspiration? 

I write in my living room and inspiration comes from all over the place. Really, most of what I write has been in my head for a long, long time – decades, in some cases. Now and again I'll get an idea for something new, but it usually creeps up on me with a cosh. I don't go looking for inspiration – it's an elusive swine anyway. 

KC: How much of Justine Elyot is in Philippa? Have you wondered what being a submissive woman in the 21st century means for sexual equality? 

JE: I wanted Philippa to be as close as possible to an 'everywoman' kind of character – and I'm certainly not that, so she's not terribly like me, although we do share some characteristics. An interest in kink for one thing…haha. 

As for wondering about the implications of being a submissive woman in the 21st century – I rarely do anything else! I always felt guilty for having these feelings when younger, as if I were spitting on the grave of the Pankhursts or whatever. To be honest, I don't think I've come to terms with it even now. 

KC: What are your thoughts on the balance of power between a Dom and a sub? 

I know it's called power exchange, but the whole relationship hinges on how much each partner is enjoying it. So I think it's actually pretty balanced. 

KC: What do you think drives people who want to explore spanking or other types of corporal punishment in their sexual relationships? 

It turns them on. Before trying it out, people will have been fantasising about it. I think it's predisposition in some people, curiosity in others. 

KC: Do you have ideas about how to approach a partner if you want to explore aspects of BDSM and your relationship has been vanilla? (I’m asking for a friend…;) 

Hahaha! Buy one of my books and leave it lying around? I think it's easier nowadays, with information about sexuality and kink being much more freely available and accessible online. It takes confidence and nerve to just bring the subject up, but that's probably better in the long run than trying to drop a million hints. 

KC: What’s your favourite kinky movie and why? 

I haven't watched that many kinky movies, strangely enough. I get embarrassed. I do love Secretary though. 

KC: What’s your favourite quote and why? 

I don't have one particular favourite. Re-reading Pride and Prejudice the other day I clapped my hands at Miss Bingley's line 'How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book'. Well said, Miss B (however insincerely). 

KC: What’s your favourite part of writing? 

JE: Living in a fantasy world and getting paid for it. 

KC: Can you tell us what you’re working on at the moment? 

JE: I'm working on several things – a Victorian erotic novel, a country house romance and a non-erotic historical series. Two of these have homes with publishers, the other is still at an early stage. 

Thank you to Justine for stopping by! To get your copy of Kinky Wife, here are the links:

Amazon

Amazon UK

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop!

My friends, my book drops tomorrow and I'm such a scatterbrain that I didn't realize it was tomorrow until someone pointed it out to me a mere hour ago. Gah! Somehow I got it in my head there were still a couple of days. This is where being in Australia helps. We are ahead of the rest of the world, time-wise! Helpful for scatterbrained authors who need time pulling themselves together. :)

So as part of the introduction for it, I am participating in a blog hop. What is a blog hop? When I first looked at it I thought, oh no, this is a chain letter! What have I gotten myself into! Fear not, fellow authors and good readers. You don’t have to send annoying missives to friends and family, nobody is promising you a million dollars and nothing drastic will befall you if you decide to turn away. (But please don’t! :) Basically, it’s a way for readers to discover authors new to them. I hope you'll find new-to-you authors whose works you enjoy. On this stop on the blog hop, you'll find a bit of information on me and one of my books and links to three other authors you can explore!

Thanks to fellow author Tenille Brown for inviting me to participate in this event. You can click the following link to learn more about Tenille and her work. Website: http://therealtenille.com

In this blog hop I have answered ten questions about my book, giving you a sneak peek. I’ve also included some behind-the-scenes information about how and why I write what I write--the characters, inspirations, plotting and other choices I make. The other authors on the blog hop will do the same. I hope you enjoy it!

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big Thing!

1: What is the working title of your book?

There’s actually a story here. First, a little confession. I hate coming up with titles! Well, I shouldn’t say I hate it. I just find it really difficult. What’s in a name, and all that. How do you put together a few words to encapsulate the essence of your book? You want something intriguing and alluring but not trite or cheesy or wordy. I take it very seriously. For this book I brainstormed, I researched, I sent a short list to my editor and I even posted a poll on my blog. At long last I came up with At Her Feet. I loved that title! And then the powers that be came along and changed it to For Her Pleasure. Lol. That’s the way it goes, my friends! And I had to trust that those ‘powers be’ for a reason. So For Her Pleasure it is. I hope you like it.

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

It came from two short stories I wrote that appeared in the Mischief titles My Secret Life and Captivated.

3. What genre does your book come under?

Like my previous books, it’s erotica. Unlike my previous books, it’s my first foray into femdom. 

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

While I wrote I strongly had the image of Christina Hendricks as Joan in the tv show Mad Men in mind as the character of Mistress. I even named my character Joan. For subPaul I envision someone very straight looking, attractive but not glamorously so. Someone like Colin Firth. . If you want to see more of the images I had in my head while writing, have a look at my Pinterest board here.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When a married man with a secret shame chairs the sexual harassment committee at his work and comes under the spell of his bombshell colleague, he finds submitting to her plunges him into his deepest desires…but threatens everything he has.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

It’s published by HarperCollins UK erotica imprint, Mischief Books.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The characters and plot had been brewing for quite some time but the actual writing took approximately four months. Also, I was writing in the midst of moving my family from Canada to Australia! So that impacted the writing time.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Believe it or not, I hadn’t read any femdom before I wrote my book. Since writing it I’ve read a little bit, but I’ve only just started scratching the femdom surface. One of the few I’ve read is Charlotte Stein’s Power Play, the cover of which, incidentally, was the inspiration for the lovely big orange heel on my cover! I’m a huge fan of Charlotte’s work and while I think we approach this subgenre differently, I would recommend anything of hers.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

The idea of a person transforming shame into a source of powerful arousal is something I find endlessly fascinating and was really the inspiration for me to give these short story characters a whole book. That a person could find the strength to embrace something that has tortured him and turn it into something positive just makes me want to stand up and applaud!

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Anyone into foot play, anyone with a shoe kink, anyone into sensual domination and erotic humiliation I hope will find this book enjoyable. And if you’re new to any of those things but have an open mind and a fun, playful attitude to exploring sexuality then I would invite you to have a look too! I’m always interested in hearing what readers think, positive or negative. So always feel free to tweet, comment or message me!

Below you will find authors who will be joining me by blogging, next Wednesday. Do be sure to bookmark and add them to your calendars for updates on WIPs and New Releases! And stay check back with me tomorrow when I will be doing a special blog swap with the amazing Justine Elyot... who just happens to be release mates with me over at Mischief Books.

Happy Writing and Reading!

Lula Lisbon 
Madelynne Ellis
Carla Croft 

For Her Pleasure

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Cover Love

Oh my friends! I'm so very excited this morning to tell you that I was just sent the cover art for my new book, my first one with HarperCollins Mischief Books... and I love it! 

It's clean and simple and bold with clean lines, fresh colour and a slighty retro look about it. It's almost got a bit of a Mad Men feel, which is awesome since I totally had Christina Hendricks as Joan in mind when I wrote the Mistress character. 

Do you wanna see it?? Do ya? Huh? Huh? 

Oh, come on! You know how I love to tease! 

Okay. Here it is!

So what do you think? 

Here is the blurb...

Imagine a man. Just a regular man. An average guy with a wife, a job, average house, average car, average sex life… Well, not exactly. He has a secret. A secret he finds so embarrassing that he never talks to anyone about it, he barely acknowledges it himself. And then one day he meets her.

An architect chairs the newly formed Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Committee. When the consultant he hires to help him organize the new committee turns out to be a red haired bombshell, he tries to rein in his untoward thoughts. But when she uncovers his embarrassing little secrets, this married man ends up in a relationship that’s so wrong on every level of his carefully put together life. All except one. How long will he let his burning carnal desires threaten everything he’s worked so hard for?

This is a story about perspective. It’s a story about the ephemeral nature of truth. It’s a story about what can happen when you give your power over to someone willingly, as a gift. And how it can change your life.