Showing posts with label adult situations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adult situations. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

#TheVixen Welcomes Author Amber Lea Easton as She Reveals the Cover of Her Memoir #FreeFall

Welcome once again to Sassy Vixen Publishing. I'm Tammy Dennings Maggy aka "The Vixen" and the Mistress of Ceremonies for today's cover reveal. I'm honored to be able to celebrate with my friend and fellow author Amber Lea Easton. Her memoir Free Fall was a difficult book for her to write. You see, Amber lost her husband and father of her children to suicide years before I met her.  After she told me just a bit of her struggle, I was beyond amazed at how she's made it through. Her strength, poise and sheer determination to be both mother and father to her two children and continue her career as a writer have inspired me to keep going forward toward my own dreams.  Here is the beautiful cover of her book. It should be available the beginning of August.



As I've said on my sister blogs (as my alter egos!) my worst fear is my husband being taken from me. When you say those words "always and forever" during your wedding vows, you mean it. When your soul mate is ripped away from you and your life together...well, I just don't want to think about it.  Amber didn't have that luxury. She lived it with her kids, sometimes one hour at a time.  Here's the blurb from her book to explain a bit more.


One moment is all it takes to change a life forever.  In one instant—in my husband's final act—he stripped away my identity as wife, stay at home mom, and best friend.  In one moment our world crumbled from beneath our feet. He'd been the center of our universe, but then he was gone.  Everything I ever believed to be true unraveled before my eyes.  

Free Fall is our journey of piecing our lives back together again—overcoming children's anxiety as we traversed the brutal grief and trauma process, learning to say the word "widow" without cringing, surviving the fall out from friends and family who simply didn't understand our journey, triumphing over the stigma of "suicide", forgiving my husband, and finding peace amidst chaos.


This memoir is for other widows, widowers, survivors of suicide, children, or loved ones who need encouragement that there is another side to grief. There is. We're there now. We're looking back and holding our hands out to you saying, "hang in there, you're not alone, and you'll get here, too." 

About the Author

Amber Lea Easton is a multi-published cross genre author of romantic suspense, action adventure, mystery thrillers. Her current releases cross all boundaries and appeal to a wide audience. If you love a clever plot, action that will leave you breathless, riveting characters and sexy love scenes, her books will appeal to you. "Smart is sexy," Easton says, which is why she focuses on smart heroines who always have a lot to lose yet find the courage to face their fears to overcome adversity. She's an avid reader of all genres or "whatever turns her on in the moment".

Easton grew up in Hartford, South Dakota, where she spent her time daydreaming of big adventures over the horizon under a giant blue South Dakota sky. Now living in Colorado, she's an avid traveler who incorporates her real life travels into her novels as much as possible (minus the illegal activities her characters become immersed in--she swears). To her, setting is another character in the novel and often serves as an inspiration. Love is her motivation for all things--whether it be writing, traveling, playing with her dogs or hanging with her two teenagers--if it's not done with love, then what's the point?


Where to Find Amber

Saturday, March 30, 2013

#TheVixen Interviews @tiffcarmouche About Her Alaska Trilogy #romance #suspense #startingover


Welcome to the Sassy Vixen Publishing blog. I'm the Vixen and your host today for another special guest. This week I'm happy to welcome back to my blogs, author Tiffany Carmouche. On March 25th she was my special guest for Oh My! Monday on Behind Closed Doors. There she shared an excerpt from the second book in her Alaska series. She referred to it as a trilogy before...well, you'll have to read more to find out what plans she has for this romantic suspense series. ;)

Today, Tiffany shares more about herself. her writing methods and more about the heroine and hero of The Impostor . She even has a special request for those stopping by. So enough of the teasing. Let's get on with the interrogation...errr...interview! 

Thank you for joining us today, Tiffany. Why don't we start with one of the most common questions readers ask their favorite authors. What inspires you to write?
Scenes pop into my head. Sometimes they disappear before I can get to a pen and paper, but sometimes when I am lucky I can capture them. When I write poetry, emotions often begged to be expressed in writing. You could sometimes tell the chapter in my life by the scribbling on the page.

OMG! I do the exact same thing. That's why I try to always have at least a small notebook and pen on hand wherever I go. You never know when a scene or just a sentence or two will pop in your head. I thought I was the only one who did that sort of thing. Are you a plotter or panster or a little of both?
I am both. I sometimes just write a scene. But I do plot out the whole book too. It really depends on the mood and goal of the day. I had a plot for the whole series, but sometimes the muse often decides she wants to take me on a detour… 

You're preaching to the choir! Since you brought up that pesky muse, do your stories tend to be character driven or plot driven?
Very much character driven. I can have something all plotted out then a character decides to do something and my jaw drops and I have to just run with it. My characters have control. The Alaska Series began as a trilogy, but then I created a character I liked I had to write a whole new book. 

Do you listen to music while writing? 
I like silence.

What kinds of music work best for you when you're not actually writing but relaxing or just looking for inspiration? 
When I need inspiration, I listen to a lot of different types of music depending on the scene. When I wrote of Dylan and Nicole’s waltz I listened to Fascination. When I wrote of their Bachata, I listened to Prince Royce. I love Secondhand Serenade, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Martina Desiree, Katy Perry, Pink, Sia, the list goes on and on…

All authors put a bit of themselves into their characters whether they want to admit it or not. In what ways are your characters like you? In what ways are your characters not like you?
Well my serial killer, has a few traits I deny having… I say dabbing at the blood drenched sleeve of my jacket. I don’t fantasize about stalking young women…at least I don’t admit to it. Lol.  Nicole is a lot like me, sassy, hard headed and at times naive.  There are many parallels in our lives. I did escape a stalker. I did leave an abusive relationship. I am a single mom trying to give my daughters the best life I can… I do love adventure and art, and I am a hopeless romantic trying to pick up the pieces and begin her life again…. 

What are the recurring core issues in your stories? Why do you think you are drawn to these types of characters/plots again and again?
I love the weaving of layers. I love twist and turns, love sexy men and the deeper issues some people shy away from. I like to dive in all the mess and try to make sense of it.

Who inspires you and why? (loved ones, friends, authors, public figures, historical figures, actors, teachers etc)
My daughters.  Rocky and Martina are my driving force. Rocky shares my love for writing and Martina shares my love for art. They are my best friends and my life.

What inspires you and why? (Art, poetry, music, movie, book, etc. Please share something specific if you like.)
Life! All of the above and of course beautiful men! I cry sometimes when something takes my breath away. I can escape in nature, in the snowflakes tickling my face, in the colors dancing off a canvas, in the ripples of a man’s muscles,  in the sounds of the ocean or even the whisper of the breeze.  Life. Life inspires me.

Besides reading and writing, what activities do you enjoy in your leisure time?
I love sculpting and all forms of art. It really does take you away. I love mountain biking, dancing and singing and would love to begin flying or scuba diving again. 

What’s your day job?  How has it affected your writing life?
One of my hats is teaching dance. I love teaching and choreographing couples, especially couples who have been together for years. It is adorable to watch them rediscover each other. Many times they have not looked into each other’s eyes for forty five minutes in years. They often blush. It is fun to watch the romance reignite.

Your book: The Impostor, A Love Story 
In one or two sentences, give the core premise behind your story.
The Impostor is the first novel in a suspenseful romantic series about unexpected love and a woman’s fight for survival. You explore the journey of a woman trying to rediscover herself, and the people who will risk everything to save her.

When and where does your book take place?
It is a contemporary series set in the beautiful, majestic Alaska. The characters travel to different places, but most of the series is set in the breathtaking landscape of Alaska.

Who is the heroine? 
Nicole is the main character.

What drives her?
Her main driving force is providing a better life for her daughter, but there are many different issues with each book. 

What is she running away from (literally or figuratively)?
The story begins with her escaping an abusive relationship and trying to rediscover herself. Everything is wonderful until her beauty taunts an evil man and she doesn’t know how she will survive.  

What draws her to the hero in this story? What gives her that push away from him?
His sexy chiseled muscles and chocolate brown eyes attract her to him, but she knows of his reputation with women and tries hard not to fall under his spell.

What about her will make readers sympathetic to her?
I think many women have been abused mentally or physically. Sometimes it is by a partner, sometimes we ourselves are our worst critic and we often loose ourselves along the way. Nicole is on a journey to try and find herself again, and provide the best life she can for her daughter. She makes mistakes and is naïve, but there is also strength in her she doesn’t realize she has. 

Who is the hero? 
Her love interest is the sexy, rich, lead singer Dylan Richardson.

What makes this hero hot and lovable? 
Dylan’s body looks like a roman gladiator. His muscles are beautifully sculpted and his sex appeal is magnetic. He is provocative, protective and incredibly romantic. 

Is there a villain? 
Yes, a man who becomes obsessed with Nicole.

What is the theme at the heart of your story?
Layered. Rediscovery, Love and Survival

Is this book a part of a series?
Yes it is the first novel in the series.

What is the theme of the overall series and how does this story fit into that?
It is layered. The power of love, friendship and rediscovery. No matter how many times you fall, you need to find the strength within to get up, find yourself and surround yourself with people who truly care.

Will these characters show up in other books in this series? 
Yes, they all interwoven throughout the series.

How many books to you anticipate will be in this series?
I am writing Book 3 and 4 simultaneously. 

What are you working on now? 
I NEED HELP!
Survivors are needed for my new project, Out of the Shadows!  I need submissions from people who have been through a physically, or mentally abusive relationship and survived. 
Do you know someone who has? 
If so please contact me at :  tiffanycarmouche at ymail dot com

Submissions can be: 
*Poetry
*A chapter ~Your story (A paragraph -5 pages)
*Quotes from you on hope or overcoming obstacles
*Pictures, photography or drawings (black and white)
*Submissions can be from an adult or child’s point of view
*If you would prefer interview questions, I can send them instead/as well.

As many of you know, I,  like Nicole in The Alaska Series, escaped an abusive relationship to begin again. 
The book will be compiled of our stories.  I feel if we can give even one person the courage to leave and break free of the cycle of abuse, we will have succeeded.

If you or anyone you know would like to be a part of this project, please do contact me at tiffanycarmouche@ymail.com
I will be accepting submissions through April.   
           
 Out of the Shadows will be used to give hope to people who are afraid to leave or have begun their journey out of the shadows and into the light. All the money will go to help provide service to victims of abuse.

Thank you so much for having me! Readers and bloggers are my life source. I could not do this without you! I love hearing from my fans, so if you do pick up the book and like it send me a message! It really makes my day :) Thank you for the support, and remember we are on this journey together! I am not backed by some huge publishing company, so I really rely on word of mouth. If you like my books please tell someone, share it or tweet it. You have no idea what that means to me. And do keep in touch. I do love hearing from you and it is fun to hear your opinions. I have two different ending written and it will be the feedback from fans that will help me decide the ending I choose. 

Remember, Live! Laugh! And Love!
Tiffany Carmouché 

Where to Connect with Tiffany

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Saturday Spotlight is on New Author Victoria Embers

Today is a very busy day around Sassy Vixen. Not only is it the first day of the Hot Winter Nights Blog Hop, I have a special guest. For those of you looking for the Blog Hop click HERE and it will take you to the top of my posts and the start of the hop. 

Now to my special guest. Today I'm excited to welcome to Sassy Vixen a brand new author. Victoria Embers is here to share the first short story in her My Vampire Lover series. But before we get to how we can get our hands on this hot little book, let's learn a bit more about her.

Victoria Embers splits her time between being a stay-at-home mom and reading vampire fiction. She believes good romance should make you purr while good erotic fiction should make you scream, but in a good way of course. Embracing her love of vampires and werewolves and the naughty situations they find themselves in, she’s currently writing an erotic short stories series called My Vampire Lover with a blend of paranormal romance and erotica featuring, you guessed it, vampires and werewolves.

Now let's get down to business! Victoria come on out here and join me. I promise we won't bite...well, only if you want us to that is! ;) What inspires you to write?
Actually I’m new to all of this. A friend suggested I sit down and write the story I have been telling her and that’s what I’m doing. It’s a new adventure for me and I’m very excited about doing something creative.

In one or two sentences, give the core premise behind your story.
In the first installment of this erotic short story series, Caroline, a werewolf and golden guardian of the realm, has discovered a new love in her vampire captor. She's willing to risk everything, even her life, to prove to him she loves him and has forsaken all others including her family and her pack. 

The next story I’m releasing next month is called “Redemption (My Vampire Lover #2).”

Raphael, a vampire and prince to the realm, faces a great challenge. After giving his blood to Caroline to drink, Raphael knows her life is hanging between life and death. Will she survive? And if so, what will she become being born as a werewolf pure blood? Raphael knows he must work fast to protect Caroline from his father discovering her existence while he also figures out how to save her.

What is the theme of the overall series?
I love the romance novels where the lovers want to be together, but can’t. I like the idea of Caroline and Raphael wanting to be together, but because they come from different worlds it is a big struggle for them.

Is this book a part of a series?
Yes, actually. I’m writing My Vampire Lover as a serialized series of short stories. I have the attention span of a ferret and I have heard other Indie authors say that it is very tough to write a full 80,000 or 100,000 offering of an ebook. I learned recently that an ebook that size is called an Epic. That was too scary for me and too much pressure and I am a very impatient person when it comes to getting tasks done. So with that in mind, I thought releasing each story separately would be something I could accomplish, start small and build on it.
I'd have to disagree with you a little bit on the epic category for 80-100K word ebooks. That's about average for the longer novels yes, but epic? I guess it depends on who is making the labels. My first one was labeled as epic and it was over 200K. You shouldn't be scared of the size...you got the stories in you. Just let them flow out and see what you get. You just might surprise yourself! Most authors feel writing short stories is harder because you have to fit a lot of story in a limited size. It's hard to wrap up loose ends and make it a complete tale. Personally, I love them all! So get to work, girly! LOL

Let's get back to serializing your short stories. Are you’re confident in this approach then? I've seen similar, but with novellas and a little longer. 
To make a long story short (if I may put it that way)…yes,I am.  I decided after a lot of soul searching to put myself out there in the sea of Amazon in a little boat, instead of a big boat.  Lol! But seriously, I’m hoping to release a short story each month to readers, around the end of the month.

I think it’ll be a very exciting experience for both me, as a writer and the reader. I’m hoping if the reader is ready for my approach and that they will enjoy the anticipation of getting the next story, without having to wait too long. And I’ll get to learn more about what they think of the recently released story and get feedback. I like interacting with my friends on Facebook and other social networking sites, so I hope I get feedback from anyone who starts reading my series, My Vampire Lover. You know? It’s going to be fun.

How long do you think each story will be? Who will tell the story? I know in this first story, Conquest your female heroine, Caroline is a werewolf and she tells the story. Will she tell all of them?
I plan for each story to be one scene or a few scenes, averaging around 2,500 to 5,000 words each, probably more like 5,000. I’m currently working on the second one now. Originally I thought Caroline, my werewolf heroine who is kidnapped by her vampire captor who then  turns into her lover, would tell the story. But now I want to have each story go back and forth. I think that will be more fun. Caroline has told the first story from her point of view in “Conquest.” The next story will be told by her vampire lover, Raphael. He will tell the next story.

How many books to you anticipate will be in this series?
Probably around 10 to 12 short stories.


Excerpt from “Conquest (My Vampire Lover #1)”

Get your copy NOW
I felt his warm, wet tongue dart in my mouth, sucklingly my bottom lip.  A sting of pain surfaced.

I shrieked, quickly pulling away from him.

He held me fast in his arms.  Our eyes locked.

Again I tasted the sweetness of blood, but this time it was my own.  Carefully, I licked my bottom lip where he had bitten me.

Another gleam from the moon shone upon his face, his bright eyes sparkled with a savage knowledge beyond lust and desire, one of sheer hunger.  He would be mine.

Before I could stop him, he slashed at his well-toned chest with his nails.  Lines of blood formed across his muscles.

“Drink of me.”

Then he resumed fucking me fiercely, refusing to stop.

I stared at the streams of blood rolling down his chest as I rode him.  The wolf in me instantly awoke.  Warm rushes of power and hunger rose up in me.  The wolf was coming for me and I wouldn’t be able to deny him.

“Let it go,” my vampire lover whispered into the night.  “Drink of me.  I’ll make you queen when Father dies and we’ll rule this kingdom together despite them.”

The moon bathed him in its lush glow and I couldn’t resist marveling at his naked form.  He was exquisite.  His thick, muscular chest glistened with blood and sweat and I held on to his shoulders as I drove my hips down upon his, feeling his magnificent cock serge deep inside me.  Each stride I took sent me ever closer to him forever.  I took his mouth with a savage intensity I had never known and then I lavished my kisses upon his chest, licking his blood and sweat in long, broad laps.

We will be together.

I leaned my head back, exposing my neck completely. “Do it. Do it now. He’s here!”

Answering my request, he pulled me into his embrace and sank his teeth into my neck.

I cried out, instantly thrusting myself upwards to meet his fanged kiss. A flood of raw, electrifying sensations exploded inside me and multiple orgasms rocketed through me.

He lifted me slightly off the bed and he drank from me, holding me gently in his arms the whole time.

I pressed my back into his firm hands and focused on meeting his tempo as I rode him. The room began to spin. Blood trickled down my chest, running past my belly button and along the inside of my thighs. A delightful shiver of fear passed through me as my vampire shuddered and came inside me. I will be his.

I have the full 2,500 word short story Free at Smashwords now. 

I've already got mine! What about you vixens? Go ahead and click on the link under the cover and it will take you right to the Smashwords page so you can get your copy. They have any ebook format you need. 

Do you have anything else you'd like to say to those visiting us today, Victoria?
I’d like to invite any Indie Authors reading this article to be featured on my blog. I’m wanting to build my audience and I’d like to highlight other Erotica authors who are writing in this genre. Please see http://victoriaembers.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/guest-author-guidelines/ for more information.

I'm headed over there myself today but before I go, here are the rest of the links where you can find Victoria and her work. 




Thursday, October 25, 2012

#WickedAfterDark with the Guardian Daniel from The Island



Welcome back to the second day of the Wicked After Dark Halloween Blog Hop. As promised I'm going to turn over the reigns of the blog to one of my favorite characters. Even though he didn't have a large part of the story in For the Love of Quinn, I had to bring him back in The Island. Daniel Quartermarsh is Quinn's "little" brother. It's his death that sends her in the downward spiral leading her to want to give up on ever being happy again. Just a short month later, he's by her side once again, helping her to find herself and the love she's searched for through each and every lifetime.




I guess I'm not what most people would expect to see when asked to picture an angel let alone a Guardian Angel. I didn't believe it at first myself. One moment I was riding my motorcycle home after a gig at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor and the next I was watching my own funeral next to the Goddess Fate.  Talk about a wake up call.

Fate asked me right then and there if I wanted to watch over my family and friends. You know, to be sure they all followed their destined paths in life. My very first charge would be my sister, Quinn. Right from the get go I knew I was going to be fighting an uphill battle with her. Not only was she the most stubborn person I knew(and still is!), she was pulling  herself away from the things she'd always held close to her heart.  She had devoted so many years of her life to become the best orthopedic veterinary surgeon in the country, and yet a month after my death she was just going through the motions. She had lost her faith in everyone and everything. More importantly, she'd lost her faith in herself and it damn near killed me all over again.

Growing up, Quinn and I along with our cousin Brigid were drawn to the Wiccan faith and everything magical. For all three of us, the dragon and dragonfly were our spirit guides. As we grew up, Brigid answered the call to become a Wiccan Priestess and I continued my studies in the Celtic and Native American traditions. Both of us excelled at dream walking and wished to have Quinn join us exploring that talent. 

Unfortunately, before we could get her to actually start practicing the meditation needed to dream walk, I left this world by way of a head on collision with a drunk driver. Major bummer. 


I was given special permission to start "nudging" Quinn in the right direction. Flooding her mind with memories of our last trip together to explore a store near Frankenmuth that specialized in all things Pagan. This was where she found the book on dream walking Brigid had recommended. It was this book I kept pulling off the shelf and leaving on her nightstand. It took her a bit, but she finally picked it up and leafed through it a little.  For all her years of studying, you would think Quinn would grab the book and devour it in one sitting, but NOOOO, not my sister. I had to step in and haul her ass to the Island myself.

Of course once I got her there, I had more than I could handle to convince her she couldn't just forget life in the Earth Realm and stay there on the Island. It broke my heart to hear her say she wasn't the same without me in her world. How could I convince her that I would ALWAYS be with her in her world? Thanks to The Three, I didn't have to figure that out on my own. They paired me up with Michael Hartley...Sarge...and I couldn't have asked for a better partner.

But Sarge had a big "project" of his own. His eldest son, Jacob was on Death's door in a hospital in Los Angeles.  After catching the woman he thought was the love of his life in bed with another man, Jake had tore down the rain slick I-5 heading toward San Diego. A piece of wood and the back of a semi derailed his travel plans. Now instead of spending Christmas with his family, Jake woke up on the Island and was given a choice. Stay or go back and be with his soul mate.

Have you guessed who that soul mate just happens to be? If given the opportunity to spend time with your one true love even before you actually meet in the real world, would you do it? Could you then leave that person who completes you heart and soul knowing one day you will find each other again, or would you just stay with the short lived sure thing of the moment?  Those are the questions both Quinn and Jacob had to answer before even their indecision would cause them to live out another life path away from each other yet again.

Watch the video that summarizes the choices laid out before them and you tell me what you would do if you had to make the same choice. 




Thank you for stopping in today, Daniel. We'll look forward to your next post this week. I'd like to know what you think of your other charges in this book and in the rest of the series.

Here's the Rafflecopter so you can still get more entries in my contest. Don't forget to stop by the over 220 other authors and bloggers participating this week. All you have to do is click on the graphic and have fun! ~The Vixen







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