MOMENTS THAT MAKE YOU SMILE

Remember, you can have a dozen rejections on a book but only need one offer. Dawn Ryder

My guest is Dawn Ryder. She’s a bestselling author of many historical romances (under a different name and we've had the pleasure of her visits before) and now has also taken up the challenge of writing erotic romance. Check out her website to see the lists of both erotic romance and her historical selections. 

My blog shares the journey writers face on the road to and beyond publication. It’s a rocky road sometimes filled with good and bad. Dawn's topic is things that make a writer smile. These are important things for a writer to remember—not just the hard work of being a writer—but what excites you and makes you smile.

Thanks for having me over. A lot of writers talk about the hard moments, I love to discuss the moments that make you smile.

• That moment when you decide to write a book. 

For me it came after an idea got lodged in my head. It had been there for a few months, a charter forming, growing, becoming something I was obsessed with telling her tale. Until one night, I turned off the television and opened up a blank word processing file.

• Finishing that first book. 

Oh my. It was a major triumph. Plenty of times, I wanted to get up and find something else to do. But I realized I was making excuses for the fact that my book project was harder than I’d expected it to be. I had on those rose colored glasses that made me believe that the life of any author was one of leisure. But I did it. Because quitters never win and I needed to finish my heroines tale.

• Writing the first scene that made me cry. 

It was a moment I still recall vividly. That part of the book, when the dark moment was overwhelming and I was so deeply involved in my story, it cut me deep.

• The first time I submitted my book. 

My little baby, sent off into cyber space. Sure, I loved it but the sheer uncertainly of letting strangers read it was like a tsunami looming over me.

• My first contract offer. 

Yup! I sold that book. Did I receive rejections? Sure did. But what I want to recall is when I opened an email with a contract offer. Remember, you can have a dozen rejections on a book but only need one offer.

Out of Bounds represents Dawn Ryder, my naughty inner child. She steps over lines just because they are there. Writing this erotic romance was a challenge and a hoot!

                                                                                                                                                     

Power may be best when it’s shared…

He’s used to dominating…

Tarak Nektosha is a self-made man, against all odds. He accomplished that by making sure he’s the one in charge, both in the boardroom and in the bedroom.

She’s taking her power back…

Sabra Donovan has ambition to spare and energy to burn. So what if her last lover was a disappointment? She’s never going to be anyone’s plaything ever again.

Sabra’s outstanding performance at a corporate photo op attracts Tarak’s attention, and the lines begin to blur. What happens when the one on top surrenders and the one used to obeying begins to call the shots? Excerpt

Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Books A Million | IndieBound | Indigo

                                                                                                                                                         

Dawn Ryder is the erotic romance pen name of a bestselling author of historical romances. She has been publishing her stories for over 8 years to a growing and appreciative audience. She is commercially published in mass market and trade paper, and digi-first published with trade paper releases. She is hugely committed to her career as an author, as well as to other authors and to her readership. She resides in Southern California. You can find Dawn: Website and Facebook

A GLASS OF WINE AND THE RING OF TRUTH

UK author, Isobel Rey, is my guest today. I enjoy hearing how writers get ideas to write their stories. Isobel's started with a glass of red wine and telling tales from work. 

Her topic is on the glitzy and glamorous life of the rich and the powerful and how hard it can be for women to navigate the high octane business world. She says that any workplace that draws big money and people with big egos and ambition attracts partying, champagne, and bed hopping. But regardless of your place in the social strata, everyone wants the same things in life.

I love telling stories and I love listening to other people’s stories. So I guess it was inevitable that one day I’d end up writing.   I fell into this genre almost by accident. I was out with a friend one evening and she introduced me to a publisher friend of hers.   The three of us ended up having dinner and a lot of wine, and I mean a LOT of wine!   I was talking about some of the crazy worlds that I get a window into from my job and all the politics and sexual tension that go with them.   I work in advertising in London and I've worked with clients from all kinds of industries, some of them pretty glitzy and glamorous.  And what I've learned is, it doesn't matter who you are, what you do, where you are from, how much bling you wear or how much money you earn, everyone wants the same things in life and everyone worries about the same things.  

Several more glasses of wine into the conversation the publisher asked me to tell her some of the stories of the things I’d seen and heard.  Well the stories came tumbling out didn't they?!   There’s a scene in Substitute involving a one way mirror, three guys, two girls and a hidden audience,  and many people have asked me how I made that up, and they’re astonished when I explain that I didn't.  And no, before you ask, I wasn't there,  but the story was told to me by someone who was.   Even though the book is in the Erotic Romance genre, I think you still have to have a ring of truth in your stories!

I told the publisher how  hard  it can be for women to navigate the high octane worlds some of our advertising clients live in, when they are looking for love.  There are a lot of very good looking, charming guys out there, but they’re usually ambitious and ruthless and don’t want to get tied down. 

So the publisher encouraged me to try my hand at capturing one of these worlds in a novel.  I already had experience of writing advertising copy and I've been writing short stories for years but never done anything with them.   I wrote three sample chapters and she loved them.   So Isobel the novelist was born, almost overnight!   I can’t believe how lucky I am, I guess it was fate having dinner with her that night.

I was worried that I’d find the process difficult, but once I started writing I couldn't stop and the book almost wrote itself.    I’d sit down after work with a very large glass of red wine and start writing and then suddenly find it was 2 o’clock in the morning.   Alexia, my main character took over my life!   I went to work one morning hardly able to keep my eyes open, and my very sweet boss, Mary, asked me what I’d been doing all night, winking.  I said nothing, but Alexia has!   Mary still doesn't know what that means…….

Now I am planning my second novel,  and I've got quite a few ideas boiling away.    I've had a great response since the book was published in the UK and I’m really excited to know how readers the other side of the Atlantic will find it!   It’s set in London which can be a pretty amazing city to live in, fast and glitzy.  So let me know North American readers, I’d love to hear from you!   Right……..I’m off for a large glass of red wine……..

• Does where you work ever spawned incidents in your writing?
• As a reader, do you like stories that put you in a high octane world?

                                                                                                                                                  

She's driven by his desire...

It took all of Alexia's courage to leave her abusive boyfriend and strike out on her own. When she lands a job at a glamorous sports agency, she thinks she finally has it made. But shy, blonde and beautiful, Alexia is totally unprepared for the fast sexual politics of rich men and ambitious women that is waiting for her. Most of all, she is totally unprepared for her dazzling but damaged new boss, Nathan Fallon.

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, BAM, INDIEBOUND, INDIGO

"If you enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey, you will enjoy this "

                                                                                                                                                   

Isobel Rey is a Cambridge graduate. After interning at a stage/film talent agency, Isobel now works at a London advertising agency. This is her debut novel. Originally from Surrey, Isobel lives in London with her partner and a one-eared rescue cat called Thumper.

PART ONE: HOW TO BECOME A BEST-SELLING AUTHOR IN 20 YEARS OR LESS

Today’s guest is New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Olivia Cunning. This is the first part of a special two-part series on finding success as a self-publishing author. Part two will run on Monday, March 17^th. 

We hear so many great success stories in writing and from the outside it often looks so easy. But here’s Olivia to tell us about the truth about becoming an “overnight” sensation.

Part One: The Drawer Books

Sia asked me to talk about my experiences self-publishing. I've known her since before I was published. She’s seen all my ups and downs. Apparently, she thinks my late night, sleep deprived, sugar high induced rants are hilarious. Thanks, Sia. I’ll have you know my angst is real.

Back in the olden days—yes, the early 1990s are the olden days—I read a Silhouette Desire book by Nora Roberts. It wasn't the first romance book I’d ever read, but it was the book that made me want to write my own romance novel. Not because I thought I could write better than Nora-freakin-Roberts, but because I wanted to be like her when I grew up. This was before Nora Roberts was one of the biggest names in the romance genre, but even then I was blown away by her writing style.

I was nineteen years old, in a bad marriage, with a baby on the way, no college education, and my only job experience was in fast food. And I thought, hey, I’ll be a writer! How hard can it be? Don’t answer that. I was young and naive.

This was the “olden days.” There were no e-books. No Internet. Self-publishing consisted of paying out of your own pocket to have 1000 copies of your book printed. You would then stand in a parking lot and beg strangers to buy your book. If you were lucky, your mom bought a copy and used it as a coaster or something, pointing it out to visitors—“that’s by my kid, the writer”—which met with a lot of ceiling gazing and an occasional guilt-sale. So self-publishing never crossed my mind. I didn't have money to print copies of my book, and I’m much too shy and afraid of being punched in the face to annoy strangers in parking lots. So I went the traditional route.

I wrote my masterpiece—cough tripe cough—and when it was finished (with no editing), I saved it on my 5.25” floppy disk and took it to my second cousin’s house to use her dot matrix printer. I was too poor to buy my own printer. Hell, I was too poor to buy paper to put in the damned thing. Luckily, my cousin had a spare, yellowed ream. I looked through publisher marketplace books to find submission guidelines. I sent (via snail mail—there was no email in the olden days) a synopsis and three chapters to Harlequin and Silhouette. Those were the only romance publishers that would take unsolicited manuscripts from authors without agents. Then I waited. And waited. After ten thousand years (so it was more like ten months), Harlequin sent me a letter and requested the full manuscript. Which is good—because it gave me hope. And bad—because it gave me hope. So back to the cousin’s house to print out the entire manuscript and rip off more printer feed edges and separate each page along the bottom perforations. Oy! (Excuse me for a second. *goes to hug laser printer*) I borrowed money from my grandma for postage and sent off the book with big dreams for myself and my son. This was going to change our lives.

And…

You know this is coming, right?

It was rejected with a form letter.

Ugh. I was gutted. Devastated. Destroyed. I was never going to be an author, much less make a living at it. So I went to college. And worked my ass off. And became a science teacher. But my dream was still to be a fiction author. I never stopped writing. I wrote after I put the kid to bed. I plotted during my commute. I wrote on weekends. I plotted some more while in the shower. I wrote during vacations. But I wasn't writing romance. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, I was the opposite of insane. I tried writing every genre I could as I attempted to find my niche. I could write. I just didn't know what to write.

I tried my hand at another series romance for Silhouette. The manuscript was rejected and shoved in a drawer.

I wrote a fantasy novel five hundred pages long. Agents wouldn't touch it. TOR, who also accepted unsolicited manuscripts at the time, rejected it. Shoved in a drawer.

I wrote a medical thriller. Rejected and shoved in a drawer.

I wrote a YA science fiction novel. Rejected and shoved in a drawer. Removed from drawer and entered into a contest. Lost contest and shoved back in drawer.

I wrote a paranormal romance. Rejected and shoved in drawer. Removed from drawer and entered into a contest. Lost contest and shoved back in drawer.

I wrote an erotic romance about rock stars. And…

Tada!

That manuscript and the rest of the five book Sinners on Tour series was picked up by a small publisher.

The first book was released in October 2010. Finally, after 20 years of trying, I was published. I could go to a bookstore and see my book on a shelf. I could do a book-signing and have half a dozen people show up and have a customer ask the bookstore owner when they were going to have good writers like Stephenie Meyer do a signing. True story. When the customer asked that, she was standing directly in front of me, my book in her hand and her nose turned up. But my first five fans, my family, and Sia showed up at that very first signing, which made me feel a little better about not being a good writer like Stephenie Meyer.

At first, my rock star erotic romance didn't do so well. It did okay for a first book. People discovered it slowly. Very slowly. So I was published, but I wasn't making a living at it. Not by a long shot.

• So how did I finally manage to quit my day job?

Come back on Monday for Part Two: My Own Brand of Insanity

                                                                                                                                                        

Combining her love for romantic fiction and rock 'n roll, Olivia Cunning writes erotic romance centered around rock musicians. Her latest release, Sinners at the Altar, is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers.

DOUBLE TIME: Interview with Trey Mills.

It's my pleasure to have Olivia Cunning and Sinner's rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist, Trey Mills as guests. Trey is one sexy guy and between him and Dare, one tends to hyperventilate in their presence. Fortunately, Olivia was kind enough to bring a nice paper bag for me to breathe into. Thanks Olivia! 

Trey, I've often wondered why you didn't join your brother’s band? Exodus End is a really good band. Why the Sinners instead? And Darren is a hot one, in my opinion.

We’re just spreading the Mills’ brother talent around a little. We didn't think the world could handle that level of awesome all at once. Heh, just kidding. 

Sinners has a certain feel. Much more relaxed than Exodus End. Besides I’d rather play guitar alongside Brian. He’s willing to share the spotlight. My brother is a stage hog. A bit of a control freak. Thinks he needs to dominate every aspect of his life. Don’t tell him I said that. Besides, Dare was already establishing himself as a talented professional guitarist when I was thirteen-years-old. That will cramp any aspiring rock star’s style. Who wants to share a stage with a geeky kid? How was he supposed to know that I’d outgrow that look? Thank God, I did. Darren was always good-looking. The ass.

You’re known as quite a party animal. Men and women seem to be all over you. Rarely the same ones twice. Your dressing room door seems a bit revolving. How do you keep everything straight? Or do you?

I have a great memory. I never forget a good piece of a– I mean, I keep track in a database or something. But I don’t have to worry about that anymore. I've given that up. Don’t need it anymore.

I have to say, you’re looking a bit more relaxed, more at peace. I’m wondering if a sexy female rhythm guitarist might have something to do with it? New member of your brother’s band, isn’t she?

Reagan Elliot. She is working with Exodus End for the time being. Poor woman. I don’t think she’s realizes what a bunch of workaholics those guys are. Yeah, they play hard, but who has the energy to play when you work too much? There’s another reason to be in Sinners instead of my brother’s band. More play time.

Mind sharing a little bit about Reagan with us?

She makes me laugh. Amazing instrumentalist. You should hear her play. She’s also cute, if you like that outspoken, tom-boyish type. I totally do.

You were there during her audition, weren't you?

We couldn't see them during the audition. I thought she was Brian, lead guitarist of Sinners. I've never met anyone who could play like him, so when I did, well… it was lust at first solo.

Now, this might be a bit intrusive, but I heard her call you her boyfriend…? You, who will party anytime anywhere and with anybody, is now a boyfriend? This is going tick off some of your fans, you know.

I was just waiting for the right woman. Sure I had to try out a lot of them before I found the right fit, but I’m sure my fans will understand. Not that they have a choice.

But I've also seen her with a really hunky, yowsa, guy, Ethan. I thought he was her boyfriend? 

They used to date. He is a looker, isn't he? Now he’s her bodyguard. Every hot woman rock star needs a bodyguard.

One of the Sinners just became a father. You know there are quite a few people who think rock stars aren't supposed to be married, much less have children. That it’s not a healthy environment for families to flourish. Care to comment on that?

I’m not sure why anyone would think that. Rock stars are people, just like everyone else. It’s tough to have a family when you’re on the road a lot, but I have lots of friends in the business who have successful marriages and happy kids. I don’t plan to ever be one of them, but I know any one of my bandmates would make a great father. I mean, Sed wants eight kids. Eight kids? What in the world would you do with eight kids? I guess he aspires to be octodad and have his own reality show or something. And poor Jessica. Her lady parts will never recover from that.

Speaking of lead singer, Sed Lionheart, he mentioned that the days of “estrogen on the tour buses was just a temporary situation.”  At the time, both Myrna and Jessica were traveling on the tour bus. From what I saw recently, I’d say estrogen seems to still have a presence on the bus. In fact I caught a glimpse of a really hot woman, dressed in a pink waitress outfit with your band’s drummer Eric—she dropped her menu and I got a look at it. Wow, that’s quite a, um, unique menu selection there. Who is she?

That had to be Rebekah. She’s our front of house soundboard engineer. So she’s permanent part of the tour. She mixes the sound for our live shows. We’d keep her even if she didn't make our drummer, Eric, the happiest dude on the planet. Not sure what she’s sees in him. It can’t possibly be his lame sense of humor.

The band’s bassist, Jace, has been seen with a gorgeous, but tough looking, woman. Are they a couple? When did this happen?

Tough? Aggie’s a pussycat. It’s her darker side, who goes by Mistress V, that you have watch out for. When Mistress V is in her dungeon, she’ll drive you to your knees. Aggie was on tour with us in Canada helping Jace with his, um, little problem, but she hasn't been on tour with us since. Not that I minded having Aggie on the tour bus. She kicks ass. Literally. Don’t tick her off.

She has a dungeon? How do you know about it? Have you gone there yourself?

She and Jace give lessons to couples who want to explore the darker side of their sexuality. 

I couldn't wear these much now. Heels are too high
.

And maybe I've been there, maybe not. If you’re interested, I could give you her card. I think she’d train you to be an awesome domme, Sia. How’s your aim?

Awesome, huh? I have my own leather, thank you very much, and my aim is actually quite good, Trey. Of course, I’m not as good with my left as I am with my right. I need more practice. Are you volunteering?

Not me! But I'm sure Jace would volunteer.

As a popular band, what are some of the good things that have come your way? What would classify as a downside?

As far as I’m concerned, everything about being a part of Sinners been great. Amazing. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I get to hang out with my best friends and make music. I meet a lot of people all over the world. The fan adulation is rather nice.

I know you suffered an injury and had some problems not long ago…?

There have been a few dark spots on my cherry life. I suffered from a head injury a couple of years ago, which I thought was going to end my career, but it doesn't bother me these days. And I might have had a bit of a run-in with a painkiller addiction soon after that, but I wrote a song about it and the guys thought it was good enough for the new album. Writing it was very healing for me. I sing part of it onstage to remind myself how low rock bottom feels. Because I’m so far from rock bottom now, it’s hard to remember how dark things can become.

Currently, things are great. I can’t imagine life getting any better.

Trey, thank you for taking the time to chat with us. I wish you and Reagan the best!

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIEBOUND

DOUBLE TIME--Sinners on Tour Series

He Craves Her Music and Passion

On the rebound from the tumult of his bisexual lifestyle, notoriously sexy rock guitarist Trey Mills falls for sizzling new female guitar sensation Reagan Elliot and is swept into the hot, heady romance he never dreamed possible.

She Can't Get Enough of His Body

Ecstatic to be on tour learning the ropes with Trey's band, The Sinners, Reagan finds she craves Trey as much as she craves being in the spotlight.

They Both Need More...

When Reagan's ex, Ethan Connor, enters the scene, Trey's secret desires come back to haunt him, and pleasure and passion are taken to a whole new level of dangerous desire.

Combining her love for romantic fiction and rock ‘n roll, Olivia Cunning writes erotic romance centered around rock musicians. 
  
You can find Olivia: 
  
Website, Blog, Facebook Fan page

.

RAVEN MORRIS--TIED WITH A BOW

For those who like short stories that are sexy and hot, I thought I’d introduce a friend of mine, Raven Morris, who writes some very hot stories indeed. In fact the stories are hot enough to keep my entire coffee bar area steaming. J 

What I like is the fact that Raven shows how a story doesn't have to be long and complicated to be enjoyed. She opens a small window in a character's life and shows it to the reader. In these stories, she written a fantasy around a special occasion. Simple. Fun. Sexy.

Hi Sia and thanks for having me here to talk about my erotic romance series, Tied with a Bow.

These are short stories about that special day in someone’s life, a day that really should be all about you. I mean, come on, if the day you came into this world isn't all about you, then you need to boot that so-called special someone out of your life and find someone who will celebrate the wonderfulness of you.

I love celebrating my birthday. And it’s not the presents or the cake (but, okay, sure, why not?), and it’s not the fact that everyone calls me all day or messages me wishing me a happy one. It’s actually a day to be thankful to my parents for deciding to have me, and then for making that happen ;}. It’s the starting day of who I am and a good time to reflect on who I've become over the previous year. It’s my special day, even if I share it with thousands of other people. It’s my day.

The presents are just a bonus.

And what a bonus these ladies get…

And as a bonus for you, JACKED is free now on all the e-retailer sites. Here’s what you can expect:

Debra, Nicole, Heather, Maddie, and Melody have all found their special someones. Kiley has too, but we’re still working on how that’s all going to pan out, but for now, here are the stories that are available:

JACKED: Debra’s husband, Jack, is a three-piece-suit, straight-laced attorney during working hours, but before and after? Jack’s a very fun boy. He’s into some light bondage and, oh yeah, a threesome. Debra’s never done anything like that before, but when Jack brings an old buddy of his, all wrapped up in a bow tie and nothing else, to their bed, she’s more than willing to accept this gift.
 He’s definitely not about all work and no play during office hour because that would make Jack a dull boy… 

MAXED: Max is a successful L.A. agent who knows how to handle his clients’ needs. Especially birthday girl, author Nicole Gennessey. Tonight is the premier of the movie made from her book and he wants to make it a night she’ll never forget—starting backstage where no one can see them.
 Or can someone? Does someone know what they’re doing in the wings? Is someone watching?
 Nicole doesn’t care; tonight’s all about getting MAXED out.

ROCKED: Rock is the temporary housemate/boy-next-door younger brother of Heather’s best friend. They’ve known each other their whole lives—and Rock’s had a thing for her the entire time.

Imagine Heather’s surprise when she comes downstairs on her milestone birthday to find Rock enjoying himself on her sofa—all because he’d been sorely tempted to join her in her shower. She’s sorely tempted to let him. Which she does. Later. First though, Rock’s got a tour planned for her birthday. From the restaurant, to the park bench, to the zip line (that harness has all sorts of possibilities), to the erotic rides on his motorcycle, neither of them will ever forget the day they let their world get ROCKED. 

MARKED: Small-town Maddie has moved on up to the big time and big is what she gets at the welcome-to-the-neighborhood party that just so happens on her twenty-ninth birthday, and Maddie is more than willing to meet Mark. In any aspect he wants.
 And Mark wants a lot. Actually, everyone at the party does. Especially each other. Numerous each others. There’s more sex happening around her than Maddie has ever imagined. Is she willing to participate? Can she shed her small-town girl shyness to play with the big boys? With Mark willing to show her the way, she’s most definitely willing to be MARKED for life by him. 

DICKED: Then there’s Rich—and all his bachelor-party buddies out for a good time in New Orleans. Melody sure could use one of those. Life and her ex haven’t been the best lately lately, so when she sees one of Rich’s friends naked in the room across the courtyard, she’s hoping things are starting to look up.
 Rich and his friends are definitely up for that. It’s one hell of a hot time in New Orleans, and the weather’s only part of it as Melody gets DICKED. 

TYED: Ty made Kiley’s 22nd birthday memorable in the most erotic way and she’s never lost the torch she’s been carrying for him ever since. So when she has the chance to interview him for her job, Kiley’s not about to let him slip through her fingers.
 And when Ty gives her a glimpse of his world—in the most erotic way possible once again—she menas that in every sense of the word, because Kylie is all tied up in Ty. 

And, it turns out that Debra and Jack are going to get yet another story. This time, they’re celebrating Christmas. Look for A Very Naughty XXXmas soon, featuring me and authors Olivia Cunning, Cari Quinn, Stephanie Julian, and Cherrie Lynn. If you think Debra’s birthday gift was hot, wait ’til you see what they get each other…

You can read Raven's stories individually, or get the Tied with a Bow anthology Volume 1 and 2:

 

• So… your best birthday present ever?

Raven Morris loves celebrating birthdays. Has she ever received a present like these? Ah, that's for this fiction writer to know and you to wonder... But instead of wondering about her love life, set your imagination to work on your own. And if her books can help those fantasies along, well, everyone has a birthday. 

You can put all her books on your wish list. Find them at:

 http://www.RavenMorris.wordpress.com 

ROCK STARS—The Quintessential Bad Boys of Romance

My guest is erotic romance author, Olivia Cunning. She's here, today, to talk about bad boys and making them hero material. We all love them, or at least, we love to read about them. Olivia is also introducing her new series, One Night With Sole Regret.  

As an author (and a woman), I never really questioned the appeal of dating a bad boy. Romance with a bad boy is never dull. It’s fun. Dramatic. Hard on the heart. At first, the excitement fuels the romance—what is he going to do today?—but usually that excitement wears off and you realize he’s not a bad boy, he’s just a jerk. That’s a fine line to toe when you’re writing a romance novel. Readers love the bad boy hero—it’s fun to fantasize dating one—but no one likes a jerk.

So how do I take a man who has thoughts like this

Gabe caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his gaze on the sweet piece of ass beside him at the bar. Long, brown curls fell to the middle of her back, and her jeans clung to her curvy backside in a most distracting fashion. High-heeled sandals accentuated her long legs, which would look perfect wrapped around his hips. If the front of her looked half as spectacular as the back, he was definitely interested in hanging around a while longer. He wasn’t that exhausted. 

and turn him into someone the heroine and the reader can fall in love with?

Easy.

Introduce him to the right woman and turn his world upside down.

The ultimate bad boy fantasy is not to turn him into a good boy, but for him to show his hidden good side to one very special woman. He won’t change for her (that never works), but he will find all that’s good in himself because of her. At least, that’s my bad boy fantasy, so that’s what tends to happen in my rock star erotic romances.

It’s even more interesting when you start with a heroine who is not attracted to the bad boy type and he has to win her over. In my most recent novella, Try Me, that’s what happens when Melanie meets Gabe. She doesn’t realize that she’s talking to the drummer of a famous rock band.

Melanie relaxed into the sofa cushions, glad she’d found a normal person to talk to. She’d thought she’d have to spend the entire night pretending to be invisible. “Melanie Anderson.

Yours?”

He laughed. “You really aren’t enamored with the band, are you, Melanie?”

What did that have to do with telling her his name? “I like their music, but they’re not my favorite band or anything. A bit too heavy for my tastes. Nikki is the one obsessed with them. She dragged me here against my will.”

“ I’m Gabriel Banner.” He grinned at her and suddenly overwarm, she wondered if someone had switched off the AC. “Call me Gabe.”

A totally normal name for a totally normal guy. She would have felt uncomfortable talking to any of the other men in the room—tattooed, pierced, strange haircuts, chains and leather—but Gabe looked as normal as she did. She smiled and offered her free hand in greeting. His hand slid into hers. Though he clasped her hand with a gentle grip, she could feel the strength in those long fingers. Her heart fluttered when his fingers brushed the back of her hand. “Nice to meet you, Gabe. How did a normal-looking guy like you end up backstage with all these, erm, interesting folks?”

He hesitated and then laughed as if he thought she was joking. “They’re great, aren’t they? Are you from Tulsa?”

She shook her head. “Kansas. Nikki wanted to meet Shade so badly that she made me drive here with her. She couldn’t get backstage last night. I guess she got what she wanted tonight though. Where are you from?”

“Austin.”

She did recognize a hint of a drawl in his speech, but she wouldn’t have pegged him as a Texan—his jeans weren't tight enough to cut off the circulation to his balls. She supposed the Rangers ball cap should have given her a clue. “Did you drive all the way from Austin just to see Sole Regret?”

He laughed again and tugged on one earlobe. He was certainly easy to amuse. And the deep, rich sound of his amusement had her considering clown school to keep him laughing regularly.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” he said.

Gabe took the final draw of his beer, extended the empty bottle, and gave it a little shake. Within twenty seconds it had been replaced with a fresh brew.

Sipping her water, she wondered why the bartender was so eager to do Gabe’s bidding.

“So, do you know the band?”

He smiled again and Melanie feared she’d melt. She was very interested in putting a permanent smile on his handsome face.

“We’ve met…

When she does figure it out, that’s not what attracts her to him. What attracts her is all of those parts of him that he hides from the world because they don’t fit his bad boy image.

“Tell me something else that makes you less cool,” Melanie said.

“Gee, Mel, do you have all night? Don’t you know that most rock stars began life as outcasts who didn’t want to be weird but found a bunch of kindred outcasts to make music with? A few of us somehow manage to make a living off it. Most of us have to supplement our music habit by delivering pizzas.” 

"But being an outcast makes you normal."

He shook his head in confusion. “If you say so.”

“What were you like in high school?”

He groaned inwardly and considered making shit up. He’d been a walking disaster. “Braces.”

“That explains your perfect smile.”

She thought his smile was perfect? Maybe all those painful visits to the orthodontist had been worth it.

“What else?” she pressed.

“Tall and skinny.” Was she trying to talk herself out of sleeping with him or what?

She lifted the hem of his shirt to flash his belly. “Not an ounce of fat on those abs, but not skinny. Fit. And you are tall. I suppose that’s a benefit for a drummer.”

“I was so not attractive, Mel, I didn’t touch my first boob until I was twenty.”

“And how many boobs have you touched since?”

He grinned. “I don’t grope and tell.”

I love to dig deep into my rock star characters’ pasts and show that there is more to them than what the public is exposed to. Take a rock god and make him human. Take a bad boy and let him be bad, but have him treat his woman oh-so good.

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, SMASHWORDS

TRY ME by Olivia Cunning

For the five sexy rock gods of Sole Regret, finding love is easy, keeping it is hard.

Melanie has no desire to meet the members of the rock band, Sole Regret, but her groupie of a best friend gets them both backstage and then rushes off with the band’s lead singer. Left alone at an after party with a bunch of scary tattooed and pierced metal-heads, sheltered Melanie is relieved when the only normal-looking guy in the room insists on keeping her company.

By the time Melanie discovers that Gabe is the band’s drummer and not as normal as she assumed, she has already made a complete fool of herself. She can’t help but be interested in him, not as a rock star, but as the sexiest man she’s ever encountered. Strangely attracted to his hidden tattoos and body piercing, she wonders what it would be like to spend a night with a bad boy.

Gabe is more than willing to show sweet Melanie there’s more to him than meets the eye. All she has to do is try him. Will they only share a single night of passion? Or will their hearts entangle as quickly as their bodies?

Try Me is the first erotic novella in Olivia Cunning’s One Night with Sole Regret series.

Contains explicit sex, graphic language, and a hot rock star with a naughty and inventive mind. 

Available in ebook format only

Combining her love for romantic fiction and rock 'n roll, Olivia Cunning writes erotic romance centered around rock musicians. She also writes romantic fantasy under the pen name Olivia Downing.

Raised on hard rock music from the cradle, she attended her first Styx concert at age six and fell instantly in love with live music. She's been known to travel over a thousand miles just to see a favorite band in concert. As a teen, she discovered her second love, romantic fiction—first, voraciously reading steamy romance novels and then penning her own. For more information visit http://www.oliviacunning.com.