Six Sentence Sunday–3/18 Only Scandal Will Do

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday!  Thanks once again to everyone for your great support each week.  I do appreciate your comments, so keep them coming.  I also look forward to visiting your sites and reading your wonderful snippets.

Today I’m continuing with another six sentences  from Only Scandal Will Do.  If you want to read the section just before this snippet, check out my post from yesterday.

The masked man has purchased a woman in a brothel auction and has come to claim his prize.  His “slave” however, continues to insist there has been a mistake.  He has managed to turn the tables on the “lady” and call her virtue into question.  Now she’s put some distance–and a chair– between them.  While evading the man’s advances, Kat asserts that her brother (Jack) is the Earl of Manning.  The man taunts her with the fact that he knows the earl and he’s never mentioned a sister.

“Jack?” The man’s eyes gleamed. “But surely Manning’s name is William Fitzwilliam.”

Katarina stopped. “Uncle William? You knew Uncle William?”

And just what is he to make of this response?

If you’d like to read more about Kat’s plight, check out my posts from January at Sweet Saturday Sample and February here at SSS.  Be sure to come back next week for another six sentence installment.

Thanks once more for visiting Six Sentence Sunday.  Click the SSS to try out more author snippets.  You’ll be glad you did!

Posted in On Only Scandal Will Do, On Six Sentence Sunday, On Writing Historical Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

Sweet Saturday Sample–3/17 Only Scandal Will Do

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Sample!  All excerpts here are rated PG-13 or milder. Today I’m posting once more from my soon to be released historical romance Only Scandal Will Do, set in Georgian London.

If you’ve been following on Sweet Saturday Sample, you know that Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam has been kidnapped and sold to a masked man in a London brothel.  She’s been trying to explain her circumstances, but the arrogant man hasn’t been receptive to reason.  Here’s the next section after last week’s six in which the man is still skeptical of her connections:

“I am sure he will be as astonished as I that his sister has been sold to me.” The man’s full lips twitched in restrained amusement. “Although I confess the earl never mentioned you to me.” He stepped closer and laid a hand on one of the chair’s wings, a long finger stretching out to caress the side of her hand.

“What!” Katarina jerked it away. Her hand tingled alarmingly with the brief contact. “He most certainly does have a sister.” She tossed her head and raised her chin. Why had Jack not told this man he had a sister? Was the rogue even telling her the truth?

“I am sure I would have remembered you, fair lady, had he described your wondrous charms.” That chuckle sounding in his throat again, the man inched closer, trying to sidle around the back of the chair.

Katarina, experienced in these kinds of games from years of chasing and being chased by Jack, continued around the chair, maintaining a constant distance from him. “I am sure I don’t know why Jack never thought to mention me, but the fact remains that I am his sister.” She advanced another cautious step, surveying his tall form, trying to gauge his next move.

Hope you enjoyed this little excerpt.  Stop by SSS tomorrow for another surprising little snippet.  And today be sure to click here to visit more Sweet Samples.

And Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted in On Only Scandal Will Do, On Sweet Saturday Sample | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Happy St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Cead Mille Failte

And a hundred thousand welcomes to Jenna’s Journal on one of my very favorite holidays! I LOVE Ireland!  It is possibly the most beautiful country on earth and one of my favorite places to be.  I’ve always loved all things Irish, so St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are right up my alley…er a Temple Bar alley in Dublin that is!

I spent two summers in Dublin, working on my dissertation, so I was immersed in the culture and fell in love with the people, the landscape, the very air of the country.  So to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on the Journal, I’m posting some pics that have made me quite homesick for the Emerald Isle.  Take a peek at them, and afterwards there’s a chance to win some books and a gift card.  Sort of like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

It really does look like this!  God’s truth.  Drop dead gorgeous every day (except when it rains–about 5 days a week. LOL).

City life can be fun as well.  Dublin is a party town. You need to go with the flow…of Guiness.

The shamrocks are everywhere.  Green is everywhere.  The most beautiful shade of it imaginable.

I even managed to store up a setting for a scene in my novel As Long As You’re Mine–over ten years before I became a romance writer.  I toured Coole Park, home of Lady Augusta Gregory, a founder of the Abbey Theatre.  While on the property, I saw–actually stood beneath–a huge copper beech.  It was so awe-inspiring, I made a copper beech the meeting place for Rafael and Lady Samantha–their first face to face meeting.  You can see how impressive it is in full autumn color.  Just the place for a fiery tete-a-tete.

And what visit to Ireland could be complete without kissing the Blarney Stone?  I actually did this when I was in college and took a summer tour of England and Ireland.  This was a great feat for me–I’m desperately afraid of heights and no one bothered to tell me you had to climb two stories, lay down and lean back over NOTHINGNESS and pull yourself up to kiss the damn thing.  I did it, though.  I’m still amazed!

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little virtual tour of the Emerald Isle.  And now to our pot of gold.

Jenna’s St. Patrick’s Day Contest:  Subscribe to my blog and leave me a comment telling me your favorite Irish food and which of my books you’d like to win, and you’ll be entered to win a copy (I’m giving away three) and a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card.  You MUST leave your email address in the body of the comment in order to be eligible to win.

Even better, the Blog Hop itself is offering prizes to those who comment.  Your same comment enters you to win 1 of 2 GRAND PRIZES:
1) Winner’s Choice of a KINDLE FIRE or NOOK TABLET

2) Winner’s Choice of a $90 Gift Card from Amazon or B&N

So here are the blurbs for my three books–be sure to let me know which one you’d prefer if you’re a winner.  Enjoy!

Celinda Graham—young, naïve, passionate—is head-over-heels in love with Andrew Finley, Viscount Hurston and insists on marrying him. Unfortunately, Andrew’s family has been feuding with Celinda’s for generations.  When her father refuses to allow the marriage, Andrew proposes a scandalous way to get his approval.  But Andrew has a secret that may spell disaster to his plans if Celinda finds out he is not what he seems.

Seducing bikers Beau and Rob Hogue and commandeering their Harleys is easy for Lula
Wolfendale; finding sexual satisfaction isn’t.  Can their older brother Jesse fill the bill? In a sexual contest for his Phantom motorcycle, will Lula emerge with a bike to die for or the climax of her dreams?

Pamela Kimball’s birthday present, a 1Night Stand adventure, promises jump-start her life, put a new man in her bed, and help her forget her past.  Unfortunately, movie-buff Pam’s Pirates of the Caribbean fantasy takes an alarming wrong turn when she’s abandoned on a not quite deserted island—with ex-husband Roger Ware.

Forced by hunger to accept Roger’s offer of dinner,  Pam realizes the geek she married has transformed into one of the most charming, sexiest men she’s ever met. His newfound confidence—and hot body—re-kindles old fires.  A simple kiss leads Roger to challenges her to discover how much his lovemaking skills have improved, leaving Pam torn between self-preservation and burning desire.

With time running out before they’re rescued, Pam must decide if her heart can survive the consequences of becoming Roger’s “almost” perfect 1Night Stand.

So be sure to leave your comments and email addresses to be entered to win books, cards, and Kindles!  Now, to get back to the Hop, click HERE and have a Happy/Sexy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted in Blog Tours, Contests | Tagged , , , , , | 76 Comments

March Motorcycle Madness on Horny Hump Day 3/14/12

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

March Motorcycle Madness

for

Horny Hump Day!

WARNING:  MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!

NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

March Madness has overtaken Horny Hump day!  All this month I’m featuring some hot snippets from my erotic fractured fairy tale Hog Wild.   It certainly keeps with the theme of love and lust as Horny Hump Day gets even hotter!  Participating authors post three sentences from their published works or WIP, hot enough to melt your computer screen!  Or at least I hope so. LOL

Please read on and if you like what you read, go snag a copy at Amazon in celebration of Hump Day (very apropos).

Seducing bikers Beau and Rob Hogue and commandeering their Harleys is easy for Lula Wolfendale; finding sexual satisfaction isn’t.  Can their older brother Jesse fill the bill? In a sexual contest for his Phantom motorcycle, will Lula emerge with a bike to die for or the climax of her dreams?

And now for brother number 3:  Jesse is the Mecca Lula has been heading for all day–him and his cobalt-blue Phantom motorcycle.  But she hasn’t reckoned with a hog of a different color before and Jesse takes charge.

His voice deepened as he groaned, “Your ass is too beautiful, baby.”  He withdrew his fingers, both hands now rubbing her bottom, kneading her with her own wetness. “I can’t wait to sink my dick into your pussy, holding onto your gorgeous ass.”

Sounds like Lula’s getting more than she bargained for!  And loving it, I bet. LOL  Meanwhile, have a Happy Horny Hump Day of your own!  Oh, and be sure to leave a comment and let me know if I need to ratchet up the heat level!  I love to read your comments.

Please check out the Horny Hump Day blog site for the other sites on the hop and go visit the other hot authors.  Quick before your panties pucker!   It also gives the details of how to sign up for next week if you’d like to play with us. 🙂

Thanks so much for visiting the Journal once more for Horny Hump Day.

Posted in Blog Tours, On Hog Wild, On Horny Hump Day | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Six Sentence Sunday–3/11 Only Scandal Will Do

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday!  I want to thank everyone, once again, for their great support each week.  I do appreciate your visits and look forward to each comment with anticipation.  I also look forward to visiting your sites and reading your wonderful stories.

Today I’m following up my six from last week with another next six sentences  from Only Scandal Will Do.  If you want to read the section just before this snippet, check out my post from yesterday.

The masked man has purchased a woman in a brothel auction and has come to claim his prize.  His “slave” however, continues to insist there has been a mistake.  He has managed to turn the tables on the “lady” and call her virtue into question.  Now she’s put some distance–and a chair– between them, and tries once again to explain who she is.

“As…as I told you my brother is the Earl of Manning.” Somehow more vulnerable now than when the man declared himself her master, she eyed the door, wondering if they had locked it behind him.

“How delightful!” The low-pitched words rumbled dangerously close to her ear; her throat closed, stealing her breath. “I am very good friends with the earl.”

“You are?” she asked, dumbfounded.

But if he knows the earl, why doesn’t he know her?  The plot thickens. LOL

If you’d like to read more about Kat’s plight, check out my posts from January at Sweet Saturday Sample and February here at SSS.  Be sure to come back next week for another six sentence installment.

Thanks once more for visiting Six Sentence Sunday.  Click the SSS to try out more author snippets.  You’ll be glad you did!

Posted in On Only Scandal Will Do, On Six Sentence Sunday, On Writing Historical Romance | Tagged , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Sweet Saturday Sample–3/10 Only Scandal Will Do

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Sample!  All excerpts here are rated PG-13 or milder. Today I’m posting from my soon to be released historical romance Only Scandal Will Do, set in Georgian London.

If you’ve been following on Six Sentence Sunday you know that Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam has been kidnapped and sold to a masked man in a London brothel.  She’s been trying to explain her circumstances, but the arrogant man hasn’t been receptive to reason.  Here’s part of her explanation:

“My brother and I were on our way to a masquerade ball when I was abducted.”

“As was I, fair lady,” he bowed with an exaggerated flourish, “when I decided to come to this charming establishment instead. Perhaps if we had continued on our ways uninterrupted we would even now be dancing together at the ball.” That nasty, deep laugh grated against her nerves worse than the screech of rusty nails, making her contemplate murder. If the scoundrel didn’t believe her story, killing him might be her only means of escape.

“I tell you for the third time, I am Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam!” She all but screamed the words at him. As though making them louder would somehow convince him of their truth.

“I see you would prefer to play a different scenario, my lady?” He smirked as he emphasized the last two words. “I, for one, would fancy seduction rather than force.”

Katarina’s hands clenched. “But I am a lady, you oaf! Why will you not believe me?”

“Then convince me, Lady Katarina.” His voice dropped to low, sultry tones. Even worse, his mouth softened from the hard lines of the arrogant master to the soft, sensual half-smile of the practiced rake. A shiver ran through Katarina that had nothing to do with fright.

Hope you enjoyed this little excerpt.  Stop by SSS tomorrow for another little snippet.  And today be sure to click here to visit more Sweet Samples.  You’ll be glad you did!

Posted in On Only Scandal Will Do, On Sweet Saturday Sample | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

Hog Wild for Horny Hump Day 3/07/12

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Motorcycle Madness

for

Horny Hump Day!

WARNING:  MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18!

NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

Wednesdays in February will definitely speak of love and lust as Horny Hump Day gets hotter and hotter!  Participating authors post three sentences from their published works or WIP, hot enough to melt your computer screen!  Or at least I hope so. LOL

I’m continuing Motorcycle Madness for Horny Hump Day, with more sentences from my erotic fractured fairy tale, Hog Wild.  Please read on and if you like what you read, Hog Wild is FREE on Amazon for the next couple of days!  Go snag a copy in celebration of Hump Day (very apropo).

Seducing bikers Beau and Rob Hogue and commandeering their Harleys is easy for Lula Wolfendale; finding sexual satisfaction isn’t.  Can their older brother Jesse fill the bill? In a sexual contest for his Phantom motorcycle, will Lula emerge with a bike to die for or the climax of her dreams?

On to brother number 2:  Rob is a mechanic who looks a bit like Paul Newman and seems to be up for anything.

Divesting him of his last shred of clothing, Lula sat up on her heels, bringing his engorged cock directly in line with her mouth. She licked her lips and heard a strangled gasp. Taking his thick, hard length in her hands, she pressed her thumbs to the underside and ran them to the hilt.

I think she’s got his attention! LOL  Meanwhile, have a Happy Horny Hump Day of your own!  Oh, and be sure to leave a comment and let me know if I need more sizzle!  I love to read your comments.

Please check out the Horny Hump Day blog site for the other sites on the hop and go visit the other hot authors.  Quick before your panties pucker!   It also gives the details of how to sign up for next week if you’d like to play with us. 🙂

Thanks so much for visiting the Journal once more for Horny Hump Day.

Posted in Blog Tours, On Almost Perfect, On Horny Hump Day | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Come to Your Senses: The Art of Using the Sense of Sight in Romantic Writing

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

“Before there is a touch, a taste, a moan, a smell, there is perception, seeing and being seen, eye-beckoned.”  This quotation from Anne Taylor Fleming in her article, “Awaken Her Senses:  Look,” in Best Life, persuades us that sight is the primary sense that we use.  Other senses may be touted as being more important, but the sense of sight in a romance novel is paramount to an excellent read.

Romance writers are always told to “put the five senses into your writing.”  What is meant by that is we need, as much as possible, to put our readers into the virtual bodies of our heroes and heroines.  Most romance readers want to vicariously experience the joys and thrills of love by putting themselves into the characters they read about.  In order to do this, the author needs to describe in detail, everything the characters experience—what they hear, touch, taste, and smell, and see.

In this final post on the senses, I’m exploring the sense of sight and how much our readers depend on us to be their eyes within the world of the novel.  When creating a scene, the writer must visualize that place, those people, the action–must see them in her mind before translating that onto the blank page of the manuscript.  In doing so, the writer becomes the guide for the reader, helps them navigate a clear path, shows them exactly what they want the reader to see and thereby creates the vision of the book for the reader.

The best way to do this, at least for me, is to submerge yourself in the character, much as the reader will do, and experience the setting, action, and other characters first hand through them.  Like an actor who takes on a role, if the writer takes on the persona of his/her character, he/she can see what they see and pass that imagery along–vividly–to the reader.

This technique is called “showing,” and is usually tied to the advice “show don’t tell.”  Excellent advice for a writer, but what exactly does it mean?  Beth Hill, a fiction editor, writes in the article “Show and Tell–Not Just A Game We Play,” that “Telling forces a reader to stand outside a candy store window, able to see, perhaps, and hear what happens inside.  But he remains outside.  Yet when a writer shows, he invites the reader into the store to taste the bite of bitter chocolate or the tang of a lemon drop.”  It is not, however, description.

“When a writer shows rather than tells, the reader is allowed a more active role. He draws conclusions, he projects himself into the story and into the character’s shoes, he experiences the character’s emotions with the character.”  In short, when show is employed correctly, the reader can live vicariously through the characters, seeing what they see, hearing what they hear, tasting what they taste.  A good “show” can involve the reader, suck them into the book, let them become part of the book themselves.  So much so, they will come joyfully back to experience more.

Do you have problems with showing rather than telling?  How have you overcome this in the past?  Tell me, how do you put your reader into your scenes?  Thanks for coming by!

Posted in On Writing, On Writing Romance | Tagged , , , , , | 21 Comments

Visit With My Friends

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

I’m going visiting today!  My new friend Cera duBois has asked me to come and be interviewed today on her blog for her feature Visit With My Friends.  Cera asked some hard and thought-provoking questions in this fun interview.  I hope you can go take a look.  Just click Cera Dubois to visit with a new friend today.

And if you leave a comment here you’ll be entered to win a copy of Almost Perfect.  Leave a comment on Cera’s blog, and you’ll be entered to win a copy of any book from Decadent Publishing’s catalogue of books.  Don’t forget to leave an email address!

Hope you enjoy the interview!  And have a fantastic Monday!

Posted in 1Night Stand, About the Author, Contests, Interviews, On Almost Perfect | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Six Sentence Sunday–3/04 Only Scandal Will Do

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday!  I want to thank everyone, once again, for their great support each week.  I do appreciate your visits and look forward to each comment with anticipation.  I also look forward to visiting your sites and reading your wonderful stories.

Katarina and the masked man are back!  Once again I’m following up my six from last week with another next six sentences  from Only Scandal Will Do.

If you remember, Duncan has purchased a woman in a brothel auction and has come to claim his prize.  His “slave” however, continues to insist there has been a mistake.  He has managed to turn the tables on the “lady” and call her virtue into question.  Outraged, she turned and fled, only to be stopped short by her purchaser. Now she’s put some distance–and a chair– between them, while explaining that she was kidnapped earlier in the evening.

He cocked his head then his mouth twitched. “What an exciting life you must lead…Lady Katarina, was it?” He chuckled deep in his chest, and took a step towards the chair.

She glared at him. “I am Lady Katarina Fitzwilliam, you dullard.”

“And true ladies always run around London at night scandalously underdressed as Greek slaves?”

I think Kat’s still got some “‘splainin'” to do. LOL

If you’d like to read more about Kat’s plight, check out my posts from January at Sweet Saturday Sample and February here at SSS.  Be sure to come back next week for another six sentence installment.

Thanks once more for visiting Six Sentence Sunday.  Click the SSS to try out more author snippets.  You’ll be glad you did!

Posted in On Only Scandal Will Do, On Six Sentence Sunday, On Writing Historical Romance | Tagged , , , , , , | 31 Comments