WIP Wednesday - The Watcher

Happy Wednesday, everyone! It's time for another WIP post - yay! 

Most of December, I've been working on the Watcher. 

The Watcher is a bit of a departure for me; it's a lot darker than my usual stuff. I had fun writing it. It's always good to stretch yourself. It's going to be part of an anthology called the Darker Side of Love. Watch for it (pun. ha ha.) on Feb 1. (And of course, there'll be a ton of pimping here for the anthology before then.) 

Still working through the cover and the blurb. Here's a tag line though. 

The Watcher: It's not the darkness in him that I fear. It's the darkness in me. 

And here's the entire prologue - pre-edited. 

***

Prologue: 

Do you know that scene in Inception, the one where the top spins so that Cobb can tell whether he’s in a dream or not?

I have my own version of this.

In the real world, I’m an aspiring young fashion designer who lives in New York and revels in every pulse-beat of the city that never sleeps. I never knew my father, and my mother has early onset Alzheimer’s. She’s only fifty-three, goddammit. I can never say those words out aloud without being physically angry at how fucking unfair life is.

She lives in a nursing home in my hometown, Akron, Ohio, and I visit her religiously every other weekend, even though I have precious little money for the airfare, and even though she doesn’t recognize her own daughter.

When Alzheimer’s strikes in a person as young as my mother, you know what they tell the children? Get tested. Alzheimer’s has a genetic component. This could be me. My mom’s memory started fragmenting when she was in her thirties. I have two years to go. So, I bury myself in work and indulge in transient pleasure, and don’t allow myself things like love. Because when your mother doesn’t remember her only child’s name, you are given an object lesson in how fleeting love is. How ephemeral. Filled with the potential to slash open your heart, and expose your soul to the icy wind.  

To dwell on it would be to break under the weight of the pressure. Instead, I seek refuge in the other world I live in. A shadowy world, one with the dank brick walls of a dungeon; the rusty chains, and the dim lighting; the drip of a leaking tap in the corner. A world in which strange men use me for their pleasure, indifferent to my own desires, yet I permit the violations, each and every time. This world frightens me and arouses me, and I can’t tell which emotion is the predominant one.

These are my two worlds; my two divergent paths.

***

I am clad in a black leather bra and black lace panties, and I’m fairly confident neither garment is going to stay on for very long.

Out of the shadows, three men emerge and move towards me. Cruel lust gleams in their cold gazes. These men are perfect strangers, yet for the next two hours, they have the right to use me as they will.

My only safety comes from my own safe words, and the ever-intent green, green eyes of the Watcher. He looks at me now, as I fight the urge to panic and flee. Soon, I tell myself, the pain will turn to pleasure.

That’s not perfectly true, not anymore. The pain doesn’t turn into pleasure. It turns into numbness. My body responds to the stimulus, but my mind stays blank.

“Do you submit?” The Watcher speaks the ritual words, the ones that will indicate my willingness to continue with the session.

The top starts spinning.

I kneel on the floor, and lower my head, holding out my hands in a gesture of surrender. “I submit.”

The top keeps spinning. 

***

And the other authors are here... 

This year in writing

Inspired by (or shamelessly copying, if you'd prefer) Jenny Trout, here's a year in review.

It's been a heck of a year, dear readers. This was my first full year as a writer (you know, the kind that finishes and publishes books, not just writes snippets of scenes.) Here are my highlights:

January: 

I published Triage. I'd originally started this to be a one-off story. I saw an author making an absolute ton of money writing medical kink, and I thought to myself - hey, I'm turned on by medical stuff. I should write my own book. Plus, I did want to write about Patrick from the House of Pain.

What I knew about Doctor Dom before I started - I didn't want to write an 'OMG, the doctor assaulted me and I liked it' book. That's non-con, and mostly, it makes me uncomfortable. I'm too much a person who lives in the real world, and there's nothing sexy to me about rape.

So I wrote something different. I wrote a woman who knew what she wanted - medical kink - and wasn't afraid to ask for it. I wrote about two adults with real problems, who also happened to like kink. It turned out I'd done something unusual for erotica, because the Doctor Dom series remains, hands down, my best selling books.

Triage was also the first book I wrote that didn't go on Literotica. So I wrote to an author asking for help. Would she read it for me, please, and tell me what she thought? That reach-out led to one of my most rewarding friendships.

February:

As I worked on Observation, I also wrote the first part of another series - The Alien, the Doctor and the Virgin. Alien gave me a place to blow off some steam as I tackled the much harder writing of Doctor Dom.

March: 

I did a solidly important thing for my writing career. I set up a mailing list. In March, I sent out my first email announcing the release of Diagnosis. It went out to 17 people. One person clicked on the link.

Nine months later, I can promise you that the mailing list was the most important marketing activity I've ever done.

April: 

I did my first free promo ever. I gave away free copies of Teaching Maya. That was crazy. I think I gave away more than 4,000 copies in a three-day period. Subsequent to that, Teaching Maya also had a really good sales month. It would take me many months and a reading of David Gaughran's Let's Get Visible for me to realize there is a link between those two things.

I also sent my mailing list my first free story - the Professor's Girlfriend. That was fun! (If you like free stories, my mailing list is a great place to be!)

May: 

Late April, early May, I discovered Goodreads! I watched people read my book and update statuses, and it was very, very interesting. I loved it! I can't speak for all authors, but I love me some feedback. You loved it, you hated it - the nicest thing you can do is tell me.

June: 

June was a finishing month. Recovery got written. I was incredibly relieved. Writing a series can be filled with pressure. There was some serious happiness when I was done.

July: 

I started writing Storm - a planned series - for my mailing list (Storm 1 is permafree - so go download it!) I got to make up a story about my not-so-secret crush about Tom Hiddleston. I also finished Alien. My editor snickered when I sent him the last story. "Couldn't resist making it a happy ending, could you?" he asked me. I do like me my HEAs.

August: 

I adore Antonio. Absolutely adore. I had a bit of a frustrating summer work-wise, but Thief remains one of my favorite stories.

September: 

It had to happen sometime, and it was something of a miracle that I'd avoided it until this point. But I wrote a story that just didn't do anything for me.

Draft after draft; rewrite after rewrite. If there was ever a book that made me work for it, it was Heiress. Months later, I still can't think back on that time without wincing.

But in more cheerful events, this happened. I was in my first boxed set. That was very exciting.

October: 

If it wasn't Antonio, it would be Liam. These two fight for top spot in my own internal 'favourite Dom I've written' category. Starlet skirted on some pretty serious topics - rape, abortion, and sexuality. Liam handled these about as well as you can ever ask someone to handle this in real life.

My boyfriend and I spent a night in the emergency room, and there, I read a couple of great books that told me how to better use my mailing list, and how to better set up my keywords. The ER was a false alarm, and I learned something in the process.

November: 

This happened! My Literotica friends and I put together an anthology filled with menage goodness. For a while, it sales ranked under 1000. I've never been under 1000 before. It was massively, massively exciting.

Oh, and I also failed at NaNoWriMo. That part sucked.

December: 

I watched some Russian porn, and it sparked an idea for a story. See - porn's not entirely a waste of time. ;) I'm writing my first attempt at dark. Storm 4 goes out Dec 30 to my mailing list.

And I'm solidly looking forward to 2015. 

WIP Wednesday - Storm 4

When this post goes live, it'll be Christmas Eve. If you celebrate, have a lovely one. 

Have I shared a bit out of Storm before? This story seriously doesn't sell well, which is sad, because I like to think it's awesome. At some point, I might re-title it or something. For the moment, I'm just enjoying writing it. 

The first part of Storm is perma-free (at least on Amazon US, and if it isn't free elsewhere, feel free to complain to Amazon, I don't control that BS) - go read it! 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

Anyway, my excerpt is from a true WIP, the 4th part of Storm, which will be released (and go out for free to my mailing list) on Dec 30. Here's a sneak-peek of the cover. Want to read it for free? Go sign up to the mailing list! 

“A woman after my own heart,” he said approvingly. He leaned in, and our noses touched. I yelped a little, because we’d just come in from the cold, and his nose was icy. But I stayed where I was, leaning into him, before I tilted my head up and kissed him.  

His lips were warm, and I explored shamelessly, caressing the seam until he parted his mouth. Our tongues danced together, and his hands nudged under my sweater to warm my sides. Finally, he pulled away with a muted groan. “I don’t think so, Tessa. That backpack wasn’t light, and I carried it for forty-five minutes without complaint. Go to the bathroom if you need to, shower if you must, but be in the bedroom, kneeling next to the bed, in twenty minutes.”

A very familiar heat filled my body. “Yes Sir.”

“Such ready compliance,” he mused, “should I be flattered?”

I grinned. I couldn’t help the cheeky quip. “Some of it is you,” I said, “but mostly, I want to see what’s in that backpack.”

His hand descended on my denim-covered ass swiftly, and though I was well padded and his spank didn’t hurt at all, my body sparkled at the contact. “Am I going to get spanked again?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if I wanted a spanking or not. My ass still felt a little tender today from last night’s play.

He gave me an even look. “Was there some confusion with my instructions?” he asked smoothly and politely, and oh-so-dangerously.

“No Sir.” My reply was instantaneous. “I’m going to the bathroom. Right now. Kneeling next to the bed in twenty minutes.”

“Seventeen minutes,” he corrected.

I didn’t respond. I just hustled.

***

Although I could have skipped the shower, the idea of even a quick soak under steaming hot water sounded amazing. I didn’t have time for a bath, but I braved the crappy water pressure and let the water cascade over me.

I guess I could have just walked out naked. I didn’t want to though. My tiny but pretty collection of lingerie saw very little use, and there was a guy in my apartment that was the embodiment of male hotness. I wanted to knock his socks off.

I took more than my customary care with my make-up, going for dramatic eyes and pouty red lips. The slip I’d grabbed out of my underwear drawer before I had dived into the bathroom was a simple black sheath, but it made me look amazing, showcasing my cleavage and my legs, while skimming over all the lumpier bits.

After running a comb through my slightly damp hair, I stepped out of the bathroom and into my bedroom.

To find it transformed.

Tim had lit about two dozen tea-lights all over the room, and had thrown a scarf over my reading lamp to mute its brightness. All of a sudden, the room was transformed from the prosaic space I knew well into an area of mystery, with a thousand little flickers of golden light.

Outside, it was still snowing. And in my bedroom, sitting on my bed, leaning against the headboard, naked to the waist, was Tim Banks, who looked at me with complete desire in his eyes.

“This feels magical,” I whispered. I couldn’t speak at my normal volume. The gleam of the candlelight in the warm room contrasted with the thick carpet of snow outside, and there was a sense that we were creating an oasis of shelter in the space between us.

“Magic is good,” he said quietly.

He gestured to the bed. I walked towards him and knelt at his side. “I’m ready, Sir.” My eyes rested on him, just drinking him in.

“You are a vision.”

Just like that, with his words, he made the effort totally worthwhile. I smiled at Tim from my position on the floor. “You know how to make a girl feel good, Sir,” I told him.

His hand stroked my hair, before running along the line of my jaw. He held my chin between his fingers. “A vision that was late getting out of the shower.”

Uh-oh. “But it was worth it, right?” I asked hopefully. I felt a twinge of sympathy for the punishment my poor ass was going to face.

His lips twitched. “I can’t dispute the results,” he commented, “but punishing you is so very rewarding.” 

***

And find the other WIP Wednesday authors here... 

My reading list - Dec 9 - Dec 23

Okay! First things first. I finished reading Nice Dragons Finish Last, and, I kid you not, I walked around with a big smile the rest of the day. Rachel Aaron is now an auto-buy for me, and slowly, over the next few months, I'm going to go through her back catalog and make sure I've read everything she's written. Nice Dragons Finish Last made me so very happy. 

(There's an affiliate link on the URL. If you click on it, I think I make a penny. I'm really not recommending the book for the very, very slight financial gain.)

What I read in the last two weeks-ish... 
Ah, the sweetness of reading! I should never not read. I get so cranky without a good book! 
1. Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
2. Frenched by Melanie Harlow
3. Yanked by Melanie Harlow 
4. Masquerade: A Ra Jones Anthology by C.P. Mandara
5. The Invitation by Jennifer Bene 

6. The Billionaire Bad Boys Club by Emma Holly

7. Shifter by Jennifer Reynolds

What's going to be DNF'd: 
Nothing. :)  

What's currently on my Kindle Unlimited 10: 

Ahem. Not a lot different than before, I wager. I like having the reference books on my Kindle, even though I only dip into them fifteen minutes at a time.  

Fiction: 

1. Emma: Part One (Outpost Nine Book 1) by Lolita Lopez

2. The Fixer Series Box Set: The Fixer Trilogy by Alyson Raynes

3. Surrender (Surrender - Book 1) by Melody Anne

4. The Invitation by Jennifer Bene

Reference: 

5. How ANYONE Can Become a Full-Time Erotica Author in 6 Weeks by Mademoiselle D. Bauch

6. Supercharge Your Kindle Sales: Simple Strategies to Boost by Nick Stephenson

7. Elements of Fiction Writing - Plot by Ansen Dibell

8. Elements of Fiction Writing - Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress

9. Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell

10. Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card

Free Books I got:

1. Frenched by Melanie Harlow

Books I actually bought:

1. Yanked: A Frenched Novella  by Melanie Harlow

2. Rees (Tales of the Shareem Book 1) by Allyson James

3. They're Coming to Get You: Attack of The Naughty List!  by Mark Desires et al

4. The Billionaire Bad Boys Club by Emma Holly

5. The Ready Series Box Set (Books 1-3) by J.L. Berg

6. Brie Learns the Art of Submission: Submissive Training by Red Phoenix

Saturday Spanks - A Tiny Excerpt from Audition

Happy Saturday Spanks! I've a couple of new releases out this week and an excerpt out of my new story, The Audition. 

Buy Links for Sassy Submissives (only $0.99 for 400 pages of BDSM Romance, only available until Dec 27): Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

Buy Links for The Audition: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA | Or borrow for free using Kindle Unlimited. 

***

My excerpt from the Audition: 

“At what point this morning did you realize you failed?” His question whips out of the darkness. I’m in the spotlight. I feel very naked, and very exposed.

“When I played the Andante in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 3.”

“Let’s start there then,” he replies. He gestures to the piano.

I take a seat at the stool. My entire body is flaming with heat and embarrassment. I close my eyes, to try it shut it all out, and I play the concerto. When I finish, I look to the corner he’s seated at.

“Lacking emotion,” he says. He gets up and comes forward, and he has an old-fashioned wooden ruler in his hands. “Hold out your hands to me, palms up,” he orders.

Trembling, I follow his directions.

“Part your legs.”

My foot slides off the foot pedal, and I spread my legs wide, putting my cunt on display for him under the spotlight.

“Count the strokes. Thank me for instructing you.” 

***

The Blurb: 

Ever since she was a child, Allie Greenwall has wanted to get into Juilliard. But she hasn’t played the piano in six years, and she is hopelessly rusty. Her only hope of passing her audition rests with reclusive Russian pianist Nikolai Zhednov.

But Nikolai is no longer the man she knew, and in his dungeon, Allie realizes that his help will come at a high cost, one she’s not sure she can pay.

Note: This story contains a Dominant pianist who will use harsh discipline to ensure that Allie reaches her fullest potential, many erotic sexual and BDSM scenes, and a Happy-For-Now ending. 

***

Find the other Saturday Spankers here... 

New Releases- Sassy Submissives & The Audition

I have releases! 

First - and for a very limited time, there's Sassy Submissives. Six scorching hot stories featuring firm dominants, sassy submissives and BDSM romance! 400 pages, just $0.99. Only available until Dec 27. It's my attempt to spread a little holiday smut! 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

The Blurb: 

Special Kindle Unlimited Note: While this boxed set cannot be borrowed on Kindle Unlimited, The Audition, A Thief in Venice and The Alien, the Doctor and the Virgin are available to be borrowed. 

The Audition Allie Greenwall wants desperately to get into Juilliard, but she hasn’t played the piano in six years. Her only hope is reclusive Russian pianist Nikolai Zhednov. But Nikolai is no longer the man she knew, and in his dungeon, Allie realizes that his help will come at a high cost, one she’s not sure she can pay. 

A Thief in Venice Lucia steals a painting every year to keep the memory of her parents alive. Except this year, she has crossed the most dangerous man in Venice - Antonio Moretti, Head of the Thieves Guild. And Antonio wants retribution. 

Triage A surgeon with secrets. A woman who craves to be spanked. When they get together in an examination room - what will happen next? 

The Alien, the Doctor and the Virgin When Suzie is abducted by her sadistic ex-boyfriend Larry the Lizard and a sexy alien named Bob, she isn't quite sure what they have planned for her. As Larry and Bob tie her up and prepare to experiment on her body, she can't help but wonder - why is this turning her on? 

Storm: The Hottest Guy in Hollywood Timothy Banks is Hollywood's hottest star . Tessa Aubrey runs a pizza shop in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Population 2700. Watch opposites attract in this funny, heartwarming story filled with love, romance, and a whole lot of kinkiness. 

Storm: Kinky Valentine Tim Banks and Tessa Aubrey join forces to celebrate Valentine's Day in a way that neither of them will ever forget. 

Note: This anthology contains many scenes of erotic sexual, spanking and BDSM scenes. It is intended for mature readers. If such material offends you, please do not purchase this anthology.

***

And there's The Audition, which is my brand-new story for the boxed set. You can't borrow the boxed set using Kindle Unlimited, but you can borrow Audition. 

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

Audition - The Blurb. 

Ever since she was a child, Allie Greenwall has wanted to get into Juilliard. But she hasn’t played the piano in six years, and she is hopelessly rusty. Her only hope of passing her audition rests with reclusive Russian pianist Nikolai Zhednov.

But Nikolai is no longer the man she knew, and in his dungeon, Allie realizes that his help will come at a high cost, one she’s not sure she can pay.

Note: This story contains a Dominant pianist who will use harsh discipline to ensure that Allie reaches her fullest potential, many erotic sexual and BDSM scenes, and a Happy-For-Now ending. 

WIP Wednesday - Another look at Audition

Now (finally!) with Buy Links! 

Okay! After waiting nearly 48 hours for my book to go up on the KDP store (Jay Cute? Thanks so much, you plagiarizing little jerk), Audition is finally live. 

If you buy books, you should buy the Limited Time $0.99 boxed set, which has the Audition in it. It will not be available for purchase after Dec 27, so click now, or forever hold your peace... ;)

Buy Links to Sassy Submissives: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

If you borrow books, here are links to the Audition. 

Buy Links to The Audition: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

Last week, I didn't have a blurb, because - well, one crisis at a time. This week, I do, and without further ado - here it is. 

Audition - The Blurb. 

Ever since she was a child, Allie Greenwall has wanted to get into Juilliard. But she hasn’t played the piano in six years, and she is hopelessly rusty. Her only hope of passing her audition rests with reclusive Russian pianist Nikolai Zhednov.

But Nikolai is no longer the man she knew, and in his dungeon, Allie realizes that his help will come at a high cost, one she’s not sure she can pay.

Note: This story contains a Dominant pianist who will use harsh discipline to ensure that Allie reaches her fullest potential, many erotic sexual and BDSM scenes, and a Happy-For-Now ending. 

And now that I've teased you with a blurb, why not add in an excerpt? 

***

Nikolai is reading the Globe when I head upstairs. “Good morning,” I say. I’m wearing the white shirt and navy blue pencil skirt I wore yesterday to my failed audition.

He looks at me. “Get naked,” he orders. He points to a spot on the floor. “Kneel there.”

No hello. No inquiries about how I slept. Just an order, nothing else.

We used to be friends, Nikolai and I, six years ago. I’d made him his first breakfast in America, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, because at fourteen, I was utterly incompetent in the kitchen, and also because my mom had to run off to work, and we were out of cereal. I’d pulled the peanut butter jar out of the refrigerator, and had held out the jars of grape jelly and marmalade towards Nikolai, wondering if he’d had a preference. He hadn’t, so I picked marmalade. He’d taken an experimental bite, doubt etched all over his face, and as he had chewed, his expression had lightened. Then he’d smiled at me. “Spasibo,” he’d said.

He used to listen to me play, and he’d get impatient with me when I made mistakes. “Move over, Allie,” he’d say and sit next to me on the piano stool. By that point, I was seventeen and had a mad, raging crush on him, and he was twenty-five and had just been appointed principal pianist to the New York Philharmonic, an almost unheard of feat for someone so young. His hands would engulf mine and he’d patiently guide me through the notes.

And now, he’s pointed to the floor next to him, and he wants me kneeling at his feet, naked. I swallow my sadness away and obey him.

“Lock your hands behind your back,” he instructs. He leans back in his chair and watches me, an inscrutable look on his face. I force my expression to complete blankness and obey. Four days to my audition. I will endure.

He gets up and fetches me a cup of coffee, placing it at my lips. I take a sip and stiffen. Milk and a spoonful of sugar. His memory doesn’t fail him; he remembers how I take my coffee. “You remember,” I whisper.

“Do you?” he asks me obliquely. He’s being cryptic, as he is wont to do. I have no idea what he’s talking about.

He holds out a small piece of buttered toast in his fingers, and I flush. I’m supposed to eat scraps from his hand, like some kind of pet. “Is the leash next?” I demand, my voice taut with anger.

I should have kept my mouth shut. “What a good idea,” he says evenly. He gets up, and I watch him head down the basement stairs.

I’m breathing hard. I’m beyond furious with Nikolai. I’m outraged that he’d treat me like some kind of pet. I’m humiliated and embarrassed, and I’m a little turned-on as well. And it gets worse, because he comes back up and buckles a collar around my neck, and clips a leash to it. He takes hold of my arms and cuffs them behind my back, and just like that, I’m cuffed and leashed and at his mercy.

“An animal always keeps fighting, Allie,” he says to me. “It will do whatever it takes to survive. Only humans curl up in a corner and prepare to die.” He gives me a hard stare. “Perhaps treating you like an animal will help you remember how to survive.”

“Fuck you,” I snap. “Stop pretending this is some kind of fucking Jedi mind-lesson. This is just a stroke-fest for you.” 

***

Ah, Allie. I don't need to be a Jedi mind-reader to know that you are now in trouble with Nikolai. 

Now, the buy links. Here's how Audition works. If you want to buy it, for a very, very limited time, it's part of a boxed set called Sassy Submissives, where I've bundled together six of my stories for the insanely low price of $0.99. (Hey, it's the holidays. I'll spread a little smut.) 

Buy Links for Sassy Submissives (only $0.99 for 400 pages of BDSM Romance!): Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

But if don't want to buy it, and you do have Kindle Unlimited, you can borrow The Audition on Kindle Unlimited for free. 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon CA

***

And the other authors are here: 

My reading list - Nov 26 - Dec 8

I've been buried in a pile of work, and haven't been reading as much, which always makes me a combination of cranky and sad. Scranky??  

But evidently, that doesn't stop me from buying books. Ahem. Bad Tara. 

***

What I read this last two weeks-ish: 

1. LOL #2 Romantic Comedy Anthology - Volume 2 - Even More.. by Rachel Schurig

2. How To Get Honest Reviews: 7 Proven Ways to Connect With.. by Shelley Hitz - Again, not too useful. Still, I paid what, $0.99 for this? It had a couple of review request templates and some suggestions on how to track your reviews. I think so much of this depends on what stage in your career you are. If you are new to the game (not the writing game, necessarily, but the marketing hustle) then perhaps you'd find it more useful than I did. 

I also read the first 15% of Rachel Aaron's Nice Dragons Finish Last, which isn't erotica, thank heavens! I really need to read something else - I'm smutted out. Anyway - it's really, really good, and I seem to be savouring it like fine wine. But I'm finish it by the time next week's blog post rolls around. 

What's going to be DNF'd: 
People with time to read books DNF them. 

What's currently on my Kindle Unlimited 10: 

Ahem. Not a lot different than before, I wager. I like having the reference books on my Kindle, even though I only dip into them fifteen minutes at a time.  

Fiction: 

1. Emma: Part One (Outpost Nine Book 1) by Lolita Lopez

2. The Fixer Series Box Set: The Fixer Trilogy by Alyson Raynes

3. Surrender (Surrender - Book 1) by Melody Anne

4. Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers Book 1) by Rachel Aaron

Reference: 

5. How ANYONE Can Become a Full-Time Erotica Author in 6 Weeks by Mademoiselle D. Bauch

6. Supercharge Your Kindle Sales: Simple Strategies to Boost by Nick Stephenson

7. Elements of Fiction Writing - Plot by Ansen Dibell

8. Elements of Fiction Writing - Beginnings, Middles & Ends by Nancy Kress

9. Elements of Fiction Writing - Conflict and Suspense by James Scott Bell

10. Elements of Fiction Writing - Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card

Free Books I got:
Come Away With Me (The Andrades) by Ruth Cardello

Books I actually bought:

Forever Wicked: A Wicked Lovers Novella by Shayla Black

Shifter by Jennifer Reynolds

Call Series Boxset by Emma Hart

Club Alpha: BDSM Romance Boxed Set by Amy Valenti et al

Failure, busyness and other such catch-up

This post is going to be filled with some whining. If such things bother you, you should look away. 

***

First, I failed at NaNoWriMo. Sad writer. 

This is the second NaNoWriMo I've tried, and the second one I've failed. I tried it once, many, many years ago - no plot, no idea what I wanted to write, and no surprise, not much writing got done. 

This year, I had a semblance of a plot, some idea what I wanted to write. Yet I still failed, and I'm bummed! 

Still. I wrote 34,164 words of a story. It's good. It'll get finished, hopefully, this month. 

***

Second, I've been so crazy busy. 

I've been working on a secret project, which is secret only because it has nothing to do with anything Tara Crescent. But it's been sucking up massive amounts of my time. I think it's down to manageable bits now, but wow. Overwhelmed. 

***

Third - my writing list for December is absolutely insane. Which means December isn't going to be any slower than November. Sigh. 

Here's what's in front of me. 

Storm 4. Goes out to the mailing list Dec 30. Am I done writing it? Ha! Have I started writing it? Ha again! Better get cracking there, kiddo. 

The rest of Assassin - about 15,000 words. Mostly - I don't want too long to go - the story's fresh in my mind, and I want to get it down. 

A 20,000 story called The Watcher. (Working title.) This is going to be challenging writing. I sort of know what I want to write, but all I have written so far is about 400 words. Due to my editor Dec 30. (Yikes!) 

I'd love to do a prequel to Assassin as well (roughly 15-20k words?) but I think I might be pushing it. We'll see. 

So yeah. There's lots of panic. 

***

But in more cheerful news, Audition is in the hands of my editor. 

That's it for the whining. 

WIP Wednesday - An early look at Audition

Why, it's time for another WIP Wednesday! And this week, I'm sharing a small peek at my story The Audition. (I would love to have a blurb for this, but alas, I don't. There's a girl who wants to pass an audition, a former Russian pianist, and a dungeon, where he trains her to reach her fullest potential. (Sometime later this week, once the last few thousand words of Audition are written, I'll do a better job with that blurb.)

The Excerpt: Allie has caught a bus to Boston, to see Nikolai and ask him for help. But she hasn't seen him in six years, and has no idea what she's getting into... 

I follow him down a flight of stairs, and when we get to the bottom, he flicks the light on. My breath catches at the sight in front of me.

Nikolai’s basement is a dungeon. On the walls, I see whips and rope and paddles and canes and belts of leather. From the ceiling, metal chains dangle. Iron rings are embedded in the concrete floor. There’s a large metal cage in a corner. A massive wooden cross on one side. And, under a spotlight in the center of the room, the most incongruous sight of all. A piano.

“I’m not nice, Allie,” he says. “I’m not kind. This will be the hardest week of your life. I will hurt you. I will make you cry. I will make you beg me for mercy, and I will offer you none.”

“Will you make me pass my audition?” I ask.

He gestures to the piano. “Play the Ginastera piece,” he orders. “Let’s see what I have to work with.”

My hands are shaking as I walk to the piano. I haven’t eaten since the morning. I’m starving and my emotions are a confused jumble. But I make no excuses. Nine years ago, Nikolai Zhdanov moved from Norilsk to New York, where he didn’t know a single person apart from my mother. In three months, he learned to speak English and was hired by the New York Philharmonic. Two years later, he was appointed the principal pianist at the orchestra. I’ve heard him practise for hours upon end, focused completely on the goal in front of him.

Nikolai Zhdanov does not accept excuses.

The third piece of the Danzas Argentinas is a short bit of music, slightly over three minutes long. It’s a favourite of mine; one I can play from memory. The piece starts off as dissonant noise, and the pace is fast and furious. It takes skill to pull melody from the composition.

I play it for him. When I’m done, the silence grows. I break it first, nervously. “How bad is it?” I ask. I think I’ve been okay. Not great, but a solid B+.

“Move,” he orders, and I get up from the piano stool. His fingers caress the keys, and then he plays the same piece. Also from memory.

A competent pianist can play Ginastera and can draw out the melody from underneath the dissonance. But playing in front of me isn’t a competent pianist. Nikolai Zhdanov is a genius, and I hear the piece played as I’ve never heard it before.

“You can still play?” I ask finally, when he’s done. It’s takes effort to speak, to swallow past the lump in my throat.

“In a fashion,” he replies. “My fingers don’t have the strength to play professionally. I cannot be a concert pianist anymore. But music doesn’t live in your fingers, Allie. Music lives in your heart.”

I have nothing to say to that. My heart stopped the day the police knocked on my door and told me there had been an accident and that my mother was dead.

“If you are willing to endure,” he says finally, his voice dark as sin, “then yes. You will pass the audition.”

I push the words out past the trepidation. “Anything.” 

***

Curious enough to listen to the Danza Argentina after this? This is the piece Allie plays for Nikolai. My favorite bit comes in the transition around the 1.30 mark. 

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And the other WIP'ers are here: