Here’s My Heart Contest Update

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Happy Wednesday to all my readers!  I have been busily writing on several project, trying to meet deadlines, and thought I would go on and extend the Here’s My Heart Contest until Friday morning.  Anyone wishing to enter to win a copy of Heart of Deception, my Victorian historical, can enter a comment sometime between yesterday and Friday morning when I will randomly select three winners.  Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you.  If you’ve already left a comment but not an email address, just look for your name in the winner’s circle on Friday and you’ll have instructions on how to contact me and claim your prize.  Remember, you can enter a comment on the blog, my Facebook author’s page, or Twitter.  And each comment on the different media is another entry to win!

Now if you just can’t wait to read Heart of Deception, it is available for purchase at Books to Go Now, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow as well when I will post the last of my Christmas in July free reads.  This one has to do with that most wonderful and delicious of Christmas traditions–Christmas dinner!  Hope you enjoy!

Posted in Contests, On Heart of Deception | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Here’s My Heart Contest

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

Last week I held my Motorcycle Madness Contest and had a blast!  Everyone seemed to like my excerpt and three excited winners are now enjoying copies of Hog Wild.

So today I decided to do the same thing for my historical romance.  My Here’s My Heart Contest will give away copies of Heart of Deception to three lucky winners.  Same as last week, all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog, my Facebook Author Page, or on Twitter.  At the end of the day, I will pool the comments from all media sources and do a random drawing.  And if you comment in all three places, you have three chances of winning!

FYI–here are some little known facts about this short story:

1)  It won third place last year in a short fiction contest sponsored by a writer’s conference in my area.

2) It was my very first work contracted for publication.

3) For those of you who follow Six Sentence Sunday, it was inspired by my novel As Long As You’re Mine that you’ve been following the past few weeks.

Below is the blurb and an excerpt from Heart of Deception, to whet your appetite even more! 

Heart of Deception Blurb:

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.

Heart of Deception Excerpt:

“Then what can we do, my love?”  Despair returned, heightening her anguish.  “The season is in full swing and Papa has decreed I must choose a husband this year.  He was quite vexed that I did not last year and has threatened that if I don’t choose someone appropriate he will choose for me.”  Celinda shuddered.  The men her father mentioned as “appropriate” was ludicrous.  Andrew tugged her into his arms. 

“Would someone of his choosing be such a tragedy?”  His face buried in her hair, his warm breath against her head heated her whole body.

“Ugh, yes.”  She snuggled further against him. The clean scent of his cologne enveloped her, making her want to burrow inside him.  Closing her eyes she sighed. “The men he suggested are terrible.  Old and titled and stodgy.”

Andrew laughed and released her to stand at arm’s length from him.  “I’m old and titled.  Do you think if I can prove to be stodgy he would approve of me then?”

Celinda giggled.  “Oh, Andrew, you aren’t old.  And you must not become stodgy!  How could I ever cope with a husband who bored me to tears?”

His raised eyebrow, a sudden devilish puckering of his lips, and her breath caught.  This man had thrilled her with his attentions from the beginning.  Life with Andrew would always be exciting, even dangerous.  She shivered in anticipation.

“Celinda, I have an idea how we can gain your father’s approval for our marriage, but it’s rather daring.  I don’t know if you would agree to it.”  His eyes glinted with a roguish flare.  “I don’t know if you should agree to it.”

As if an icicle had been drawn down her spine, gooseflesh rose on Celinda’s arms.  “What is it, Andrew?”

“Scandal, my love.  But it would make sure that we could marry.”

“Scandal?”  Her voice squeaked. 

He smiled wickedly as he drew her head towards him.  “Let me whisper it in your ear, love.”

And just what is he planning?  Leave me a comment or two or three and be entered to win Heart of Deception and find out!

Heart of Deception is also available for purchase at Books to Go Now, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks.

Posted in Contests, On Heart of Deception | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Reviewed by Jenna: “Wait for It!”–A Secret Affair by Mary Balogh

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

The first Mary Balogh book I ever read was the third in this series, At Last Comes Love, which I fell in love with because it kept me guessing from the first page to the last.  In fact, the first three novels in the Huxtable family series were all wonderfully vivid page-turners that I’ve read several times in just a couple of years.  The first sign of discord, however, was the fourth book, Seducing an Angel.  This book disappointed me, even upon a second reading, although I found I did like it better the second time around.

Which leads me to A Secret Affair.  I wanted to like this book.  I loved the dark and twisty character of Constantine Huxtable: unable to inherit his father’s title because he was born before his parents could marry, estranged from his cousin and best friend, a totally unrepentant Regency rake.  I wanted Con to get his happy ending, wanted it badly.  But the woman with whom he chooses to have his “secret affair” is not someone the reader would wish on a favorite character.  She is cool, calculating, aloof, choosing Constantine as a dalliance merely because he is a “bad boy” she can dispose of easily at the end of the season.  She is remarkably similar, in fact, to the heroine of Seducing an Angel.  So after the first few chapters I was resigned to another disappointing read. 

I have picked this book up and put it down easily a dozen times since I began reading it in early July.  Last night, however, I finally found myself looking at the clock and saying, “Just one more chapter.”  What happened?  The characters finally got to the point where I felt I would just die if they didn’t get together.  They became human to me, as they had not been before.  Because suddenly there were stakes involved.  When neither thought they cared for the other, you didn’t care either; once one became aware of a possibly unrequited attraction for the other, however, you came to care very much.

This manner of pacing has left me wondering why Mary Balogh chose to write the book this way.  I’d be afraid that the reader would lose patience with the story and put it down for good before getting to the really satisfying parts.  Taking risks is one thing, disenfranchising your reader is another one entirely.

In addition to this slow building of tension, I noticed, on a technical note, several places where background or previous action information was unnecessarily repeated; it had been said before in much the same manner, with nothing new to be added by the retelling.  I thought this made the scenes drag and wished the editor had been a bit more judicious with highlighting and edits.

None of this is to say that A Secret Affair is a bad read.  Far from it.  It will, perhaps, take more energy to get into the story and to come to care about the characters than in many of Balogh’s previous works.  I think it interesting that the three books in the series chronicling the Huxtable women’s love affairs were seemingly better written than the two devoted to the men’s stories.  Whether this is due to a change in technique or strategy, I am not sure.  But I will say that if you stick with A Secret Affair, you will find it as satisfying as any guilty pleasure ever is.  Which is to say “Wickedly so.”

Posted in On Writing, On Writing Historical Romance, On Writing Romance, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Six Sentence Sunday–As Long As You’re Mine

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday.  My thanks again to those who visit me every week and those who are visiting for the first time.  I do appreciate comments so please, let me know what you think of my six.

This week I thought you might like to see some more of Rafael’s interview with Samantha’s father.  He’s way too cocky for his own good. Enjoy!

“I turned over in bed and my hand landed on…” Rafe pulled up short; this was her father after all, “a very female part of the female anatomy.” 

Face red and eyes bulging, if Clarendon did not have apoplexy at this moment, he was safe for the rest of his life. 

“She called me by my name, Rafe, and was very. . .encouraging, shall we say?  But I swear to you, my lord, I did not know it was Lady Samantha.”

“Then who did you think it was, a succubus?”

“I thought it was one of the maids, my lord.”

Somehow I think Rafe is just digging himself deeper!  Hope you enjoyed these six from As Long As You’re Mine. For more great snippets please go to Six Sentence Sunday.  Or join in the fun next week with six of your own.

If you’d like to see more of my work, check out my previous posts under “Christmas in July” and enjoy three free reads.

And remember  Heart of Deception, is now available for purchase from Books To Go Now!, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble and Hog Wild from New Dawning International Bookfair.

Posted in On As Long As You're Mine, On Six Sentence Sunday, On Works in Progress, On Writing Historical Romance | Tagged , , , , | 45 Comments

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

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Picture a candlelit dinner that ends with dry champagne and juicy strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, the sweet and tart flavors mingle on the characters’ tongues as they look into each other’s eyes and think about a mingling of another sort.  Can you almost taste that moment?

STRAWBERRIES III
© Gfadel | Dreamstime.com

 

If you can, then I have successfully demonstrated the power the description of taste has over the reader.  This power is what you need to exercise when you write romance.  Even though the sense of taste is, hands down, the most difficult one to put into your writing, it is nevertheless essential that you do so.

One of the powers of the sense of taste is that taste is linked to smell and can also evoke memories. (For more on the sense of smell, see my post for June 29.)  “Food has the power to evoke emotion.  Taste can inspire the imagination and trigger memories of the past,” says Krysten Hammond, in an article called “Writing Sense:  The Sense of Taste.”  She groups foods into three categories:  savory foods, comfort foods, and sweet foods.  Each category has the ability to connect characters to different experiences, from the worldly sensuousness of the savory, to the coziness of comfort food, to the decadence and abandon of sweets.

We often believe writing about taste is difficult because there are limited opportunities for the action.  I mean, just how many scenes can one write with the characters sitting down to dinner or noshing between meals?  Laurie Alice Eakes reminds us that there are more opportunities for exploring taste than merely relying on food.  “We also taste in other ways. Fear brings a flavor to our mouths, a dry, tinny sensation. Your character wakes up from a blow on the head and has a foul taste in one’s mouth.”  In her article, “Writing with Good Senses Part V: Taste,” she suggests another way to include this sense other than with the use of food.  “Your character is traveling on a bicycle, motorcycle, or horse. The road is dusty. He tastes—what is in the area? Alkali? Copper? Or maybe she’s lying in the grass nibbling on a blade of it. Yes, this is technically eating, but it’s not a meal or snack.”

Of course, the ultimate place for the sense of taste is when the hero and heroine discover each other using this sense in the most intimate ways.  Possibly the best article I have found that describes intimate ways to taste is “Awaken Her Senses,” in Best Life Magazine.  The section on page 72 entitled  “Taste:  Your flavor awakened me and I have been hungry ever since,” by Daphne Merkin, vividly describes the many ways and places that lovers can explore each other using taste.  “What I can still taste on my tongue…is a musky essence of his skin, fragrant with artifice (the soap and cologne) and cut with reality (the perspiration brought on by physical exertion).”  She  describes the taste of his breath, “slightly minty, with a papery undertone of cigarette smoke,” and after they made love, “I would lean over and run my tongue along the side of his neck, half ingesting and half inhaling the taste of him.”

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

When the circumstances of our plots offer such an opportunity to showcase this sense, we as writers must seize the moment in our characters’ lives and make the most of it.

I doubt that I have always used the sense of taste as effectively as I might.  The following short passage from  my WIP Time Enough to Love, is one in which I have actually managed to used taste:

She bit into the succulent roasted squab, her favorite dish, then dared glance back to Lord Brayton’s table again.  He was staring at her.  Alyse stopped, teeth sunk in the squab’s leg.  The delicate, flavorful meat turned rancid in her mouth, its luscious smell now noisome.  She dropped the morsel back onto her trencher with nerveless fingers.

Having now written this post, however, I see places in the passage where the description of taste can be certainly be enhanced.  Ah, the glory of revision!

Do you include the sense of taste in your writing as much as you should?  Do you create opportunities for this sense to “shine” in your works?  Please leave a comment and thanks for sharing!

If you’d like to see more of my work, below are links to my two published short stories.  Click on the cover to purchase a copy !

Posted in On Writing, On Writing Romance | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Motorcycle Madness Contest–And the Winners Are

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday!

Yesterday, I held my Motorcycle Madness Contest to win a copy of my erotic contemporary short story Hog Wild.  It was the most successful contest I’ve held so far–many contestants on all three sites–blog, Facebook, and Twitter.  I am psyched!

But with no further ado, I have literally pulled three winners from the hat, and they are:

Helene Tompkins, Lindsay Downs, and Patricia Wheeler

Congratulations to you ladies, and my great thanks to all who entered the contest.  If the winners would please contact me at Jenna.Jaxon@yahoo.com and let me know your email address and format for your prize, I’ll have those to you ASAP!

Hog Wild is also available for purchase at New Dawning International Bookfair, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks.

And remember, tomorrow is Week Three of Christmas in July–I’ll be posting the third Christmas short story for your reading pleasure.  Hope you stop in for a cup of Christmas cheer!

Posted in Contests, On Fractured Fairy-Tales, On Hog Wild | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Motorcycle Madness Contest

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday, Casea Major gave away a free copy of her Fractured Fairy Tale, Pinocchio Syndrome to lucky winner Jennifer Lowery!

Today, I decided it was time for me to do the same.  My Motorcycle Madness Contest will give away three (3) free copies of Hog Wild, my erotic  contemporary Fractured Fairy based on The Three Little Pigs.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog, my Facebook Author Page, or on Twitter.  At the end of the day, I will pool the comments from all media sources and do a random drawing of three lucky winners.  And if you comment in all three places, you have three chances of winning!

Below is the blurb and an excerpt from Hog Wild, just to whet your appetite! 

Hog Wild Blurb:

When Lula Wolfendale’s motorcycle breaks down on her way to a Harley rally, she detours into tiny Shoshone, CA to find a new ride.  Seducing bikers Beau and Rob Hogue and commandeering their Harleys is easy; finding sexual satisfaction is a “hog” of a different color.  A Blue Phantom, to be exact, owned by the pair’s older brother, Jesse.  After brief, unsatisfying encounters with the first two Hogues, Lula approaches Jesse with a proposition:  a sexual contest for his Phantom, where Lula will emerge with either a bike to die for or the climax of her dreams.  Or can she possibly obtain both?

Hog Wild Excerpt:

“Need some help?”

The sultry voice came out of nowhere. Beau shot upright as though bitten, conking his head on the exhaust header.

“Shit!” He put a hand out to steady his bike and peered at the woman with annoyance that changed abruptly to appreciation. His appraising stare began at her high-heeled black leather boots that ended mid-thigh, then traveled up three inches of perfectly tanned skin before the edge of the tiniest black leather mini-skirt came into view. The soft, dark material covered the bare essentials only, hugging her hips before smooth skin reappeared. A twinkle of metal at her navel captivated him. The jeweled ring glinting in the early morning sunlight sent a Morse Code message straight to his cock—Sex On Site. His grin broadened as his flesh stretched.

Her bandeau top barely confined perfectly round breasts.  The sight stopped Beau’s upward trek as he tried to convince himself he could see dark nipples through the white cloth. He licked his lips and forced his eyes to her face.

Had he died and gone to hog heaven? What he wouldn’t give to—

“Do you want some?”

Hope you enjoyed that as much as Beau obviously did!  Leave me a comment or two or three and be entered to win Hog Wild and find out Beau’s answer!

Hog Wild is also available for purchase at New Dawning International Bookfair, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks.

Posted in Contests, On Fractured Fairy-Tales, On Hog Wild | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Reviewed by Jenna– Lie Hard: “Pinocchio Syndrome” by Casea Major

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Lie Hard

What happens when a Chicago wiseguy is tapped to babysit the godfather’s gorgeous daughter, and he just happens to have a little “growing” problem when he lies?  In a word, hilarity! 

Meet Chio Pino, the man with the Pinocchio Syndrome—every time he lies, his dick grows.  Not a large problem, until the godfather, Geppie, asks him to look after his daughter, Rosiaria, who’s home for spring break.  Rosa’s had a huge crush on Chio for years and decides that now is the time to act on her desires.  Chio wants to return her affections, but he’s literally caught between a rock and a hard place.  If he denies his feelings to Rosa, she’ll never believe him once she looks in his lap.  If he denies his actions to Geppie, he’s a “dead man with a dick the size of a broom handle.”

Casea Major has taken the wonderful Italian fairy tale, Pinocchio, and blended it with contemporary language and sizzling love scenes to create an erotic retelling a la The Sopranos.  Chio’s strong voice, funny and foul, is the primary source of the laughter that runs throughout the short story.  From the beginning, we root for this obviously “made-for-each-other” couple, and the many hurdles they have to jump, including a meat cleaver wielding Geppie.

Don’t miss this opportunity for a funny, sexy, hot summer read!  Pinocchio Syndrome is available at New Dawning Bookfair, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and All Romance E-books.  And look for Casea’s newest title, One Knight in Brooklyn, coming soon from Decadent Publishing as part of their 1Night Stand series.  It’s going to be next on your TBR list. 

Would I lie to you?

UPDATE!   Casea Major is giving away a copy of Pinocchio Syndrome today to one lucky commentator.  So leave your comments here and be entered to win this funny, sexy read! Jenna

Posted in On Fractured Fairy-Tales, On Writing, On Writing Romance, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Six Sentence Sunday–As Long As You’re Mine

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Welcome back to Six Sentence Sunday.  My thanks again to those who visit me every week and those who are visiting for the first time.  I do appreciate comments so please, let me know what you think of my six. 

This week I thought you might like to see some of Rafael’s interview with Samantha’s father–the morning after.  Enjoy!

Rafael Beauregard forced himself to relax before the irate father, affecting an attitude of contrition that he did not particularly feel.  After all, he hadn’t invited the chit to his bed, although he should have thrown her out of it once he figured out what she wanted.  But he hadn’t known it wasn’t. . . .  .

“Lord Clarendon, this has been a case of mistaken identity, or mistaken bedrooms on your daughter’s part I believe.  I arrived late last night, well after dinner, was shown to my room, and went to bed.  What took place thereafter,” he paused and could not repress a smile, “was the stuff dreams are made of.”

Hope you enjoyed these six from As Long As You’re Mine. For more great snippets please go to Six Sentence Sunday.  Or join in the fun next week with six of your own.  

If you’d like to see more of my work, check out my previous post, “Christmas in July” and enjoy a free read.

And remember  Heart of Deception, is now available for purchase from Books To Go Now!, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble and Hog Wild from New Dawning International Bookfair.

Posted in On As Long As You're Mine, On Six Sentence Sunday, On Works in Progress, On Writing Historical Romance | Tagged , , , , | 52 Comments

Update on Coping With Authorship #3: Social Media As Promotion

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Thought I would give you a little update on my efforts at promotion using 21st century technology.  I have been very busy since Wednesday, not only writing The Present, but out there promoting my works.  And I am very proud to announce that I now have author pages on Goodreads, Amazon, AND Facebook! 

Yes, I bit the bullet and made an author page where you are all invited to “like” me.  (That sounds so strange, like when I try to use slang terms around my kids and they burst out laughing.)  My blog is even connected to Facebook!   When I get going, I’m on a roll.  I intend to start posting short pieces, updates on my work, pictures, and anything else I think might be interesting about me and my work on the author page.

The Amazon page has been extremely helpful in getting me to understand their rating system.  It’s updated every hour, 24/7 so if you’re really dedicated you can check it 24 times a day to track how you’re doing in sales.  It graphs the information for you and gives an explanation about how it works.  From what I can tell, Heart of Deception drops lower more frequently than Hog Wild (the goal, as in golf, is to score as low as possible).  Which in the long run means that HOD is selling better.  So if anyone wants to help out my numbers, and read a fun contemporary erotic, you can pick up a copy of Hog Wild at Amazon now.  If that’s not quite to your taste, aww shucks, it won’t hurt my feelings if you get Heart of Desire instead. LOL

The only social media I have not joined yet is Twitter, but my goal is to sign up sometime this weekend.  So hopefully I’ll be tweeting by Monday!

That’s it for this update.  Please drop by Sunday for Six Sentence Sunday.  I’m posting another six from my soon to be revised historical WIP As Long As You’re Mine.  Hope to see you there–and on Facebook!

You can also purchase Hog Wild at New Dawning Bookfair and Heart of Deception at Books to Go Now!  Just click on the cover and enjoy!

Posted in On Blogging, On Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments