“Now that I’m Published…” Coping with Authorship Part 1: How to Handle Reviews

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

It’s official. Today, thanks to New Dawning International Bookfair and all their fantastic staff, I am a published author.  For years this has been the day I’ve been working towards.  So now I’m done, right?  Move on to the next project. 

Not so fast.

Publication is only the beginning.  Because publication brings with it responsibilities:  to your publisher, to your readership, to your book, and to yourself.  And I now know that there are a lot of mistakes that new authors, and not so new, can and do make.  In the next weeks I’m going to be talking about some of these mistakes and offer some advice I’ve found or been given to help you avoid them.

I am starting today with a topic that has garnered a lot of attention because it is one of the facts of life as an author:  the bad review.  But now I actually have a work that people, hopefully, will be reading and reviewing.  Now I have to worry because of the negative impact a bad review can have on your work.  Right?

Maybe not so much.  On The Big Bad Book Blog, for Greenleaf Book Group, Shenandoah Diaz discusses the fact that negative reviews can actually help you in several ways. 

First, one or two negative reviews can reassure readers that the reviews are authentic.  Nothing (not even your own literary labor of love) is 100% perfect.  Letting readers see that there are possible flaws encourages them to believe that a couple of less-than-glowing critiques are simply the law of averages.  If you have ten glowing and two unfavorable reviews, most people will assume that majority rules.

Second, really outlandish or over-the-top bad reviews can make readers curious.  Is it really that bad?  Why would a reviewer say such a thing?  I need to read this and judge for myself.  Some authors have ridden a bad review very solidly to the bank.  You don’t want to wish for this kind of review, but if you get it, use it to your advantage if possible.

The final, and most important, thing new and established authors need to beware of with the bad review is your reaction to it.  Yes, seeing those unkind words about your pride and joy will hurt your heart.  However, possibly the worst thing you can do is try to defend your work or point of view.  Remember, each reader is entitled to his opinion—and face it, a review is really just one person’s opinion.  Trying to argue, rage at, slander, or otherwise attack the reviewer is committing authorial suicide.  It makes you seem petty, immature, and unprofessional.  Any sympathy you may have garnered for receiving the bad review will automatically revert to the reviewer.  Kathleen Massara at Flavorwire gives examples of how to act and how not to act towards the bad review.  Heed her advice WELL, my newly pubbed friends, and you will be able to take that sour note and make sweet music for some time to come.

Today there is much excitement on Jenna’s Journal as well as at New Dawning International Bookfair. 

My Fairy Tale Ending Book Giveaway Contest is in full swing with the prizes being free copies of Hog Wild, Pinocchio Syndrome, Goldie and the Three Doms, Hideous, and Snowy and the Seven Wharves. 

 

 

 

 

It’s easy to enter:

1.  Read the excerpts from those five tales posted on my blog earlier this week.

2.  Answer the five questions below and email them and the answers to jenna.jaxon@yahoo.com

3.  Post a comment about one or more of the tales on this blog before 11pm tonight and you are entered.

FAIRY TALE ENDING QUESTIONS:

1.  In Hideous, how is Triselle’s hair styled?

2.  Where were Rob and his brother supposed to ride to that morning in Hog Wild?

3.  In Goldie and the Three Doms, what is the first name of the guy who blindfolds Goldie?

4.  How long does Chio say his dick is going to be in Pinocchio Syndrome?

5.  What are the legal charges against Snowy’s stepmother in Snowy and the Seven Wharves?

The winner will be drawn randomly from all correctly answered entries and announced on Jenna’s Journal tomorrow.

 Meanwhile, today at Publishing Trove New Dawning Bookfair will be hosting a chat from 10am to 10pm with contests, giveaways, prizes, jokes, recipes, and more.  Please come join in the fun!

 Even better, join New Dawning’s new group, Bookfair Buddies, to find out about more prizes during the month of June, including info on how to win a Kindle and upload a free book twice a week for a month.

 I’ll be online at Publishing Trove beginning at 10 am, so come chat with me!

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

“I’ll Blow Your House Down!”–Spotlight on Jenna Jaxon

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Well, not exactly.  This threat has a completely different meaning to the she-wolf in my Twisted Tale Hog Wild, based on The Three Little Pigs.  Houses are not what  she’s interested in blowing.

Throughout this week, Jenna’s Journal has been spotlighting featured authors of Fractured Fairy Tales with blurbs and excerpts of their works.  Today the Fairy Tale Ending Contest will begin at 11am and last until 11pm Friday, June 3.  All you have to do is read the excerpts from the different works I’ve posted during the week.  Immediately following the excerpt of Hog Wild below, you will find five questions about the five tales.  Leave a comment on this blog June 2 or 3, send me an email at jenna.jaxon@yahoo.com answering the five questions and you’ll be entered to win a copy of all five Fractured Fairy Tales featured on Jenna’s Journal.  The winner will be drawn randomly from all correct answers and notified via email.

In my version of the Three Little Pigs, the pigs are three Harley riding brothers (HOGs) and the wolf is a predatory female who’s looking for a fast bike and a little satisfaction of her own.  Take a peek at Hog Wild.

Blurb for Hog Wild:

When Lula Wolfendale’s motorcycle breaks down on her way to a Harley rally, she detours into tiny Shoshone, CA to find a replacement.  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 climax to die for or the motorcycle of her dreams.  Or can she possibly obtain both?

Excerpt for Hog Wild:

You looking for a mechanic or just a ride?” His baby-blues stared straight into her eyes, and he winked.

“What if I need both?”

“Then this is your lucky day, honey, ‘cause I am both.” He leaned forward and ran a warm, tanned finger down her arm. “Which do you need first?”

Lula’s arm broke out in goose-flesh, a distinctly pleasant sensation. “I suppose we could start with a ride and see where it takes us.” She stepped close, grabbed his head and pulled him down, wrapping her lips around his mouth as it opened to…agree? Protest?

Her tongue stabbed into him and she heard a grunt, and his arm cinched her waist, drawing her pelvis against the hard-on in his jeans. Hips grinding against the thick ridge, Lula stroked his tongue, urging it into her mouth. When he complied, she sucked it like a candy cane until the man squirmed and pulled back, eyes wide.

“Damn, lady!  Are you part leech?”

Lula laughed and grabbed his hand. “One part. I have been known to let go on occasion.” She pulled him toward the steps leading onto his deck. “Let’s go inside.” When his eyebrows rose in twin question marks, she leaned in and whispered, “I promise not to bite.”

“Well, don’t take all the fun out of it.”

She licked her lips. “Not a chance.”

They headed up the wooden steps to the deck, but when Lula would have turned to the door that led inside the house, Rob tugged her into the center of the deck. A group of colorful striped lounge chairs clustered around an in-deck hot tub.  He flipped a switch on the control panel and jets began to hiss bubbles onto the water’s surface.

“One advantage to living on the fringes of a small town is a lack of snoopy neighbors.” He indicated the empty desert that stretched to the horizon. “You game for skinny-dipping, Lula?”

She chuckled. “I’m game for anything at this point, Rob.” Unwavering, she stared into his eyes as she crossed her arms, grasped the bottom edge of the white bandeau and pulled it over her head in one liquid movement. I’m going to wear this top out if I keep getting dressed and undressed today. She tossed the garment onto a lounge chair and posed with hands on hips. Your move.

Rob took a deep breath and raced to unbutton his shirt. He plucked it off then pulled his tee-shirt over his head, its momentum sailing it into a corner. His wide, well-muscled shoulders dropped as his arms went back to his sides and Lula feasted on the sight of his bronzed skin rippling over tight abs. Three quick steps and she was against him, her tongue darting out to lick the hard nubbin of a male nipple.

“Jesus!” He clamped her shoulders, eyes closed, steadying himself. “You play hard, darlin.’”

She ran her hand the length of his thick erection, like a cannon stuffed down his jeans. “So do you.” Lula reached to unbutton his jeans.

“Shit!” Rob grabbed her before she could make contact.

Lula pulled back, glaring at him. “You’re awfully protective of that package, Rob. What do you have in there, the crown jewels?”

“No, it’s not that.” He shook his head and gave an exasperated snort. “Fuck. I just remembered, my little brother’s coming over any minute. We’re supposed to ride Death Valley today.”

Lula glanced at the black leather watch on her wrist. “I’m sure he’s still asleep.” Rob looked confused, so to distract him, she continued with the only argument that might get those jeans off him. “Besides, if he shows up, he could join us. The more the merrier, as they say.”

Rob’s mouth dropped open. “You’d do us both?”

 An interesting question.  Wouldn’t you love to know the answer? Well, you certainly can, come tomorrow.  Hog Wild and all the other Twisted Tales will be released for purchase on June 3.  And now here’s your chance to win

FIVE GREAT NEW SEXY TALES  ALL ABOUT THAT HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

        

 

FAIRY TALE ENDING CONTEST:

Here is all you have to do:  1)  Leave me a comment on Jenna’s Journal by 11pm tomorrow (June 3rd).  Comment on any or all of the five tales listed here.  2) Answer the five questions below.  The answers can be found in the excerpts posted this week.  3) Email the answers to me at jenna.jaxon@yahoo.com.  That’s all there is to it.  All entries must be received by 11pm Friday, June 3rd.  Winner will be drawn randomly from all those correctly answering the questions.  The winner of a copy of all five tales will be announced on Jenna’s Journal on Saturday, June 4th.

FAIRY TALE ENDING QUESTIONS:

1.  In Hideous, how is Triselle’s hair styled?

2.  Where were Rob and his brother supposed to ride to that morning in Hog Wild?

3.  In Goldie and the Three Doms, what is the first name of the guy who blindfolds Goldie?

4.  How long does Chio say his dick is going to be in Pinocchio Syndrome?

5.  What are the legal charges against Snowy’s stepmother in Snowy and the Seven Wharves?

Good luck to all entrants and remember:  all of the Fractured Fairy Tales will be available on June 3rd from New Dawning Bookfair.  Come check us all out!

Posted in On Fractured Fairy-Tales | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“When You Wish Upon A Star”–Spotlight on Casea Major

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

It’s time for your wishes to come true! 

Throughout this week, Jenna’s Journal will be spotlighting featured authors of the Fractured Fairy Tales with blurbs and excerpts of their works, leading up to the Fairy Tale Ending Contest Thursday and Friday.  Read the excerpts from the different works during the week, and on Thursday I will post five questions about the five tales.  Leave a comment on this blog June 2 or 3, send me an email at jenna.jaxon@yahoo.com answering the five questions and you’ll be entered to win a copy of all five Fractured Fairy Tales featured on Jenna’s Journal.  The winner will be drawn randomly from all correct answers and notified via email.

Today’s featured author is Casea Major  Casea’s twisted tale is Pinocchio Syndrome, based on aspects of the classic Pinocchio.  Her version, however, is more like Pinocchio meets The Sopranos!   Her blurb and excerpt below will make you think wishes do come true!

Blurb for Pinocchio Syndrome:

Chio Pino, Chicago’s newest wiseguy, is given his most important assignment to date –protection detail for Rosaria De Luca, his godfather’s daughter.

Home from college and grown-up in all the right places, Rose is determined to lose her virginity to Chio, the guy she’s had a crush on since fourth grade.

With a meat cleaver-wielding mob boss on his ass and an overly amorous temptress in his face, Chio’s problems are growing just like his dick when he lies.

Can he resist her or will he lose his expandable man part and his heart with one impulsive act?

 Excerpt for : Pinocchio Syndrome

“Hi, Chio.” Her hazel eyes twinkled like stars.

“Uhhh…” He reached up to make sure none of the spit that welled in his mouth dripped down his lip. Fuck! That was exactly what he wanted to do.

She smiled as if she knew what he thought. “Chio?”

“Yeah.”

She combed underneath her hair with long fingernails as she arched her brows. “Can we go?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure.” He stared in aroused disbelief.

“Now?”

He nodded as he tried to walk normal, but his rock-hard dick hurt like a sonofabitch. Halfway to the terminal door, she wasn’t beside him. He took a breath as he glanced around. She stood in the same spot – right next to her giant suitcase.

What a fucking moron. He popped himself in the head with his palm then walked back to her. “Jesus. I’m sorry. My manners are for shit today. Let me get that for you.”

Her face lit in a smile. Chio almost hit the floor. “No problem.”

He lifted her bag and strode to the sliding door.

“…Chio?” Her voice stopped him in his path.

He did an about-face. “Yeah?”

Her gaze traveled his shoulder down his arm. “The bag has wheels.”

“Oh, right.” Shit. He dropped the bag and pulled up the handle.

They made it to the Buick. He watched her to see what she thought of his car. Her eyes didn’t bug-out like previous chicks. Still, she had to be impressed.

 He opened the passenger door for her then put her suitcase in the trunk. It still smelled like piss from when Carmine threw that pimp in there last week. Chio had cleaned it out three times. How embarrassing. Now her bag was gonna smell like that pimp’s piss.

As he started his car, he glanced over at her. That was a big mistake. Her dress gapped open where her seat belt hit which gave him a view of her perfect tit. Apparently catching the aim of his gaze, she looked down. Chio looked away thinking she would readjust to cover herself…but she didn’t. Jesus Christ. She just left her tit in plain sight for God and everybody to see.

Sweating like a fucking race horse, with a pain in his pants, he turned the air conditioner on…full blast. Eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, he drove without moving his head.

“So Chio, do you remember me?”

“Uhh, yeah. I remember you from when you was a kid.”

“You know, I had the biggest crush on you.”

Chio’s heart pounded. “Yeah?” He looked at her face, but like a moth to a flame, had to gaze down. Oh, God. It had been a mistake to turn on the air conditioner, because the nipple of her naked boob peaked as hard as his cock.

“Watch out!”

He looked back in time to miss some sonofabitch whose lane he’d swerved into. They were both gonna die right here on the road if he didn’t quit dicking around. “Jesus. I’m sorry, Rosaria.”

“It’s okay. Please call me Rose. You seem a little jumpy. Do I make you nervous?”

“No, why would you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

She stared directly at his crotch. Chio looked down to see his pants swell from the lie. Motherfucker.

“Are you aroused, Chio? Do you want me?” She taunted him.

What he wanted was to slam on the brakes and relieve his tension in the middle of the freeway – in the middle of her. “No. Why would you think that?” There was no need to look down. The sound of thread breaking said it all. Not only was he going to die, he was going to die with a dick as long as a fucking broom handle.

 Problems for Chio spell fun reading for the rest of us! As do the other          

FIVE GREAT NEW SEXY TALES  ALL ABOUT THAT HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Remember:  all of the Fractured Fairy Tales will be available on June 3rd from New Dawning Bookfair.  Come check us all out! 

Got a question for me or Casea?  Leave it here and we’ll answer you ASAP!

Posted in On Fractured Fairy-Tales | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

“Tale as Old As Time”–Spotlight on Violet Heart

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Hello, Fairy Tale Aficionados! 

Throughout this week, Jenna’s Journal will be spotlighting featured authors of the Fractured Fairy Tales with blurbs and excerpts of their works, leading up to the Fairy Tale Ending Contest Thursday and Friday.  Read the excerpts from the different works during the week, and on Thursday I will post five questions about the five tales.  Leave a comment on this blog June 2 or 3, send me an email at jenna.jaxon@yahoo.com answering the five questions and you’ll be entered to win a copy of all five Fractured Fairy Tales featured on Jenna’s Journal.  The winner will be drawn randomly from all correct answers and notified via email.

Today’s featured author is Violet Heart.  Violet’s story, Hideous, is a twist on Beauty and the Beast–a tale as old as time.  Enjoy her blurb and excerpt below!

Blurb for Hideous:

Triselle has survived a winter of devastating snows. Spring has come, and with it, unending rain. The land is dying, along with any hope for happiness. Drawn to her lord’s castle, Triselle leaves her father’s farm and finds herself in a magical world under a curse.

Lord Vanir suffers as a man transformed into a hideous beast. The appearance of lovely Triselle threatens to send him deeper into his living hell. Her adventurous spirit and accepting heart surprise him, however. Somehow, she sees through his ugly countenance to the noble, generous man hidden within.

Can they find love despite adversity? Or will the curse condemn them both?

 Excerpt for Hideous:

What noise disturbed his slumber? The portcullis lifted!

Vanir heaved himself from bed, and trudged to his window. The portcullis had not moved since January. Had his curse been lifted? Running a hand over the rough chest he would never accept as his own, he issued a disappointed growl. If the curse remained, then who…what…entered his castle?

Sheets of rain hindered his visibility. Soon, the drops waned, and he discerned a figure moving through the outer bailey. A female figure. His salvation? Perhaps another means of increasing his torment.

Sighing, he wrapped a fur about his shoulders as she passed from the outer bailey to the inner. She seemed to have no purpose as she meandered along Trade Row. Who was she? Had she come here for a reason or had she simply stumbled upon his nightmare?

Plaited hair hung past her hips, and her clothing seemed plain. She stepped to his inner bailey and her gaze followed the stone walls of his donjon. Her upturned face revealed large eyes and truly fair features.

His stomach dropped. She had come to increase his despair.

Clamping his jaw until his teeth ached, he planted fists upon the window’s stone embrasure. A companion for the first time in six months. Why did she have to be a beauty? A lovely maiden would shun his hideous countenance. Scream from one look at him. Despise his presence within his own walls.

From the gateway, metal against metal rang out, echoing within the solid walls of his baileys. Already she ran for the exit. Not a good sign.

 Another intriguing tale to add to you TBR list!  Along with

FIVE GREAT NEW SEXY TALES  ALL ABOUT THAT HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

I hope you enjoyed this taste of Hideous.  If you’d like to see what else Violet Heart has to offer, just click on her name.

All of the Fractured Fairy Tales will be available on June 3rd from New Dawning Bookfair.  Come check us all out! 

Got a question for me or Violet?  Leave it here and we’ll answer you ASAP!

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

FRACTURED FAIRY TALES: Spotlight on Patricia Green

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Happy Memorial Day!  Hope everyone’s long weekend has been fun and relaxing. 

Throughout this week, Jenna’s Journal will be spotlighting featured authors of the Fractured Fairy Tales with blurbs and excerpts of their works, leading up to the Fairy Tale Ending Contest Thursday and Friday.  Read the excerpts from the different works during the week, and on Thursday I will post five questions about the five tales.  Leave a comment on this blog June 2 or 3, send me an email at jenna.jaxon@yahoo.com answering the five questions and you’ll be entered to win a copy of all five Fractured Fairy Tales featured on Jenna’s Journal.  The winner will be drawn randomly from all correct answers and notified via email.

Today’s featured author is Patricia Green, who wrote two of the fractured tales, Snowy and the Seven Wharves and Goldie and the Three Doms, which she has introduced below.  Enjoy!

For Snowy and the Seven Wharves (I like puns), I turned the plot of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves into a pretty straightforward erotic romance. No dwarves in this one, but seven wharves on which Snow White must toil as she evades her evil stepmother. Each wharf illustrates a “dwarfish” aspect of the story, e.g. Snowy is grumpy at one wharf, sneezy at the next, sleepy at still another, and so forth. Her character grows as we get to know her through her adventures. Doc, the Marshal who guards her while she’s in the WITSEC program, falls in love with her and the feeling is mutual. The moral of the story is: good guys win, bad guys lose. Oh, yeah, and I added sex.

Did I mention that there’s sex in these stories? They’re not the Brothers’ fairy tales.

Blurb for Snowy and the Seven Wharves


Snowy is fair and sweet with ruby lips and hair as black as coal. Doc DuMont is the tall, broad-shouldered WITSEC marshal who’s going to save her from her evil stepmother. Doc finds Snowy irresistible, sexy and oh so tantalizing. He wants to both save her and seduce her. The trick is figuring out which to do first.

No dwarves here, but seven wharves where Ms. White finds herself experiencing life on the run. From identity to identity, job to job, dopey, grumpy, sneezy, bashful and sleepy, Snowy finds herself in new and challenging situations. She thinks she’s finally found her happy place, but her evil stepmother isn’t far behind, and determined to murder the innocent Snow White. Doc will have something to say about that!

Excerpt from Snowy and the Seven Wharves

Doc watched Snowy move through the restaurant gracefully. Her dark hair, pulled back into a long tail, swished like polished silk against her slender back. She smiled at the customers she served, though the smile was superficial. He could see how unhappy she was in the weariness in her eyes and the high spots of color on her fair cheeks. As his subordinate, Deputy Marshal Logan, met him at the table, Doc looked up and nodded. “She’s secure.”

“No suspicious activity?”

“No.” Doc kept his voice low. “McCarty’s shift was a negative, too.” He popped another French fry into his mouth. “She’ll be off work in half-an-hour.”

“Right. Long hours for her today.”

“Yeah, her feet must be killing her. Let me finish these fries and then I’ll jog along.”

Nodding, Logan began to peruse a menu. This was the second time this week they’d had their officer debriefing at the witness’ place of employment. They’d have to find another location for their next status update.

“Any word on how the case against the perp is progressing?” Logan asked. “Ms. White must be getting truly sick of WITSEC’s tender care.”

Doc snorted softly. “Word at HQ is that Santa Maria’s lawyers are applying some new legal maneuver to delay the trial again.”

“That woman is a piece of…work.”

“She’s got the evil stepmother thing going for her, that’s for sure,” Doc agreed. “But the Federal attorney will nail her on conspiracy to commit murder charges. She’ll go down like a hod of bricks.”

“I hope so. The girl is feeling the strain. She seems brittle.”

“Yeah.” He looked over at Snow White and tried to keep his emotions out of his assessment. She didn’t deserve this nightmare.

From a writer’s perspective, fairy tales have several tropes: tell rather than show, minimal character development, and a moral. There are exceptions, of course, but all those tales by the Brothers Grimm had these things in common. When I wrote my two fractured fairy tales for New Dawning International Bookfair, I had to modernize the components to make them more appealing to today’s readers. Consequently, while Goldie and the Three Doms takes its base from Goldilocks and the Three Bears, I wrote the story as a farce. Goldie was more developed, but made into something of a silly twit. I exaggerated the too soft, too hard, and just right concepts and showed them in a mild BDSM framework. The moral is: be careful what you wish. Oh, yeah, and I added kinky sex.

Blurb from Goldie and the Three Doms

Meet Goldie. She’s a determined young woman, tired of men for whom pedicures are foreplay. She makes it her mission to find a dominant man to make her dreams come true. The search takes her to Bear Island where she encounters Doms either too soft or too harsh. Will she never find one who is just right?

Markus Masterton is waiting for just the right submissive woman. He’s got his paddle ready, but it looks like he’ll linger on Bear Island for a lot longer than he’d like.

Excerpt from  Goldie and the Three Doms

Goldie felt warmth stir in her loins. Unfortunately, he picked that moment to stop and go back to the chest. Bob rummaged around a bit, returning to her with a blindfold.

“Do you trust me?”

She bit her lip. “Well…”

“Your safe word is ‘prestidigitation’.”

“’Prestidigitation?’ Can’t we just settle on ‘stop-you-rotten-prick’?”

“Oh now, don’t be like that. Do you want me to quit?”

“No.” She eyed him, looking for signs of corruption, but saw none. “Okay.”

He gently tied the blindfold on her, and Goldie shivered with delicious fear. Not the scary kind of scared, but a thrill-of-the-roller-coaster kind of scared. Once her eyes were covered, he kissed her lips, gently at first, then with a more demanding pressure. Now we’re getting to the good part.

 I hope you enjoyed these excerpts from Snowy and Goldie.  If you’d like to see more of Patricia Green’s work, just follow this link to her website.

All of the Fractured Fairy Tales will be available on June 3rd from New Dawning Bookfair.  Come check us all out! 

Got a question for me or Patricia?  Leave it here and we’ll answer you ASAP! 

Posted in On Fractured Fairy-Tales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAY–Hog Wild

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

 

 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  Welcome back and thanks so much for continuing to visit Jenna’s Journal .  Today I have six more sentences from my erotic contemporary  Hog Wild.   And remember Hog Wild and nine other Fractured Fairy Tales release on  June 3rd.  I hope you enjoy the following snippet!

 Lula has finally found Jesse, owner of the Phantom motorcycle she wants, and possessor of the most tantalizing blue eyes she’s ever seen.  Running out of time, she decides on a more direct approach.
 

“I have been looking for you pretty much all day, Jesse,” she said, nodding her head with a gesture that caused his stomach to twist in anticipation. “I have a proposition for you.”

 Anticipation became an outright heat bloom that sank into his cock. He took a breath and raised his bottle of Dos Equis. “Would you like a beer?  If I’m going to be propositioned, we might as well both enjoy ourselves.”

Hope you enjoyed my six.  Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought.  Hog Wild, as well as our other Twisted Tales, will be available for purchase on the New Dawning Bookfair site beginning June 3rd.

For more great snippets please go to Six Sentence Sunday.  Or join in the fun next week with six of your own.   And stop by my blog all this week for excerpts from Hog Wild and the other Fractured Fairy Tales pictured above.

Posted in On Fractured Fairy-Tales, On Hog Wild, On Six Sentence Sunday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

SNEAK PEEK: Snowy and the Seven Wharves

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

The next of Jenna’s Journal’s five featured Fractured Fairy Tales (say that five times fast!) is Patricia Green’s Snowy and the Seven Wharves.  We had a look at six sentences last Saturday, when Snowy won for the tale most voters wanted a peek at.  Well, your wish has come true again this week!  And remember, these snippets will be followed next week with blurbs and excerpts, ultimately leading to our Fairy Tale Ending Contest on June 3rd when all ten tales release.

Doc, the WITSEC Marshal who is guarding her one evening, can’t resist Snow White, though he knows he should.

 A kiss. One little kiss. He tilted his head until her breath caressed his lips. She smelled sweet, like ginger cookies. His lips touched hers and he couldn’t help but want to explore, to take, to mark as his own. Their kiss, at first a tease, deepened as he licked her lips and slid his tongue over her teeth and into her mouth.

Not quite the same Doc and Snow White the Brothers Grimm had in mind!  The original tale was well known all over Europe long before the Grimms collected it as Little Snow White.  SurLaLune gives a wonderful description of its history, suggesting the tale may  actually have originated in Italy. 

More of  our Snowy will be forthcoming next week.  But if you’d like to see currently available works by the same author, visit Patricia Green’s website. 

You can also go to New Dawning International Bookfair to see all the Fractured Fairy Tales and check back with Jenna’s Journal to find out how to win free books and a Kindle during New Dawning’s launch on June 3rd.

 

 

 

 

Snowy’s favorite man in this retelling is obviously Doc.  Which of the seven original dwarfs was your favorite?

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Into the Woods: Cautionary Tales

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

“Careful the things you say, children will listen.”

Thus begins one of the songs from Into The Woods, a musical about fairy tales by my favorite composer, Stephen Sondheim.  And if you think about the Fairy Tales we have heard since childhood, you might wonder why we would tell these grim tales to young , unsuspecting children.  This link to a selection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales is a fun, interactive look at some of the original tales in all of their grisly glory.

They are, quite frankly, cautionary tales, told to teach children the sometimes brutal facts of life.  Take for instance, the idea of the wicked step-mother.  This character is found in many fairy tales:  Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White are just a few.  Step-mothers abounded in real life because many women died in childbirth and men remarried to have someone to raise their children.  Were they all wicked?  Probably not.  But life was hard and choices harder.  And mothers always look out for their own first.  Step-children must be wary.

What about the preponderance of wolves in fairy tales?  Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Pigs, The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids are three in which the wolf is the villain.  But who is the wolf really?  True, wolves roamed the countryside of Europe and were a great threat to livestock and unwary children.  But a look at the tales reveals the wolf as symbol of the stranger.  And what is today’s litany when we instruct our children?  Don’t talk to strangers.  Fairy tales said it first, said it vividly, made them remember the consequences of disobeying.

Cautionary tales have a purpose.  So to what purpose have we constructed our Twisted Tales?  To entertain, to make readers laugh, to make connections between the land of “Once Upon A Time” and today.  But I believe most importantly that we have given these classic tales a modern twist to reinforce the Happy Ever After that was often sorely lacking in the original tales. 

There are a total of ten Ten Twisted Tales being released on June 3:

Alice in Eroticland by Dee Dawning  (Alice in Wonderland); Sexy Red by Daryl Devore (Little Red Riding Hood); Goose Girl by Giselle Renault (Goose Girl); Purr by Elizabeth Black (Puss ‘N Boots); Glass Slippers and Jeweled Masques by Denyse Bridger (Cinderella); Goldie and the Three Doms (Goldilocks and the Three Bears) and Snowy and the Seven Wharves (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) by Patricia Green; Pinocchio Syndrome by Casea Major (Pinocchio); Hideous by Violet Heart (Beauty and the Beast); and Hog Wild by Jenna Jaxon (The Three Little Pigs).

We hope you come by to help us celebrate our release and the launch of New Dawning International Bookfair.  Both my blog and New Dawning will be having contests, giving away books and a new Kindle to put them in.

What is your favorite fairy tale?  Why?  Did it teach you a lesson when you were a child?  Does it now?

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SNEAK PEEK: Hideous

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

Today I am introducing another of the five featured Fractured Fairy Tales with a sneak peek–six sentences that will hopefully leave you intrigued and wanting more.  These snippets will be followed next week with blurbs and excerpts, ultimately leading to our Fairy Tale Ending Contest on June 3rd when all ten tales release.

Today’s peek is at Hideous, a new take on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, by Violet Heart.  Enjoy!

Lord Vanir suffers as a man transformed into a hideous beast. The appearance of lovely Triselle threatens to send him deeper into his living hell.

Who was she? Had she come here for a reason or had she simply stumbled upon his nightmare?

Plaited hair hung past her hips, and her clothing seemed plain. She stepped to his inner bailey and her gaze followed the stone walls of his donjon. Her upturned face revealed large eyes and truly fair features.

His stomach dropped. She had come to increase his despair.

Not quite the Disney fare we all know and love.  The original tale is “as old as time,”  with elements of it reaching as far back as ancient Greece.  The first version of the story we know today was published in 1756 by Madame Le Prince de Beaumont.  

More of Hideous will be forthcoming next week.  But if you’d like to see currently available works by the same author, visit Violet Heart’s My Space Page. 

You can also go to New Dawning International Bookfair to see all the Fractured Fairy Tales and check back with Jenna’s Journal to find out how to win free books and a Kindle during New Dawning’s launch on June 3rd.

   Do you think Lord Vanir is truly Hideous so far?  Leave a comment and let us know!

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SNEAK PEEK: Goldie and The Three Doms

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Jenna Jaxon

This week, in addition to some regular posts, I will be introducing each of the five featured Fractured Fairy Tales with a sneak peek–six sentences that will hopefully leave you intrigued and wanting more.  These snippets will be followed next week with blurbs and excerpts, ultimately leading to our Fairy Tale Ending Contest on June 3rd when all ten tales release.

Today’s sneak peek is Goldie and the Three Doms, a twisted re-telling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, by Patricia Green.  Enjoy!

In this scene, Goldilocks has her first encounter with a Dominant man on Bear Island. His name is Bob Bentley and he’s a real gentleman.

“You realize, of course, that I’m a Dominant.”

“You strike me as a normal kind of guy.”

“I’m a demon in the bedroom,” he warned, then hedged. “Not literally.”

“I’m game.”

“Take off your clothes and come into the playroom with me.”

Sounds a bit different from the story originally published in 1831 by Eleanore Mure.  More of Goldie will be forthcoming next week.  But if you’d like to see currently available works by the same author, visit Patricia Green’s website. 

You can also go to New Dawning International Bookfair to see all the Fractured Fairy Tales and check back with Jenna’s Journal to find out how to win free books and a Kindle during New Dawning’s launch on June 3rd.

 What do you think of Goldie and the Three Doms so far?  I’d love for you to leave a comment!

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