Funny How It Slipped In by Sascha Illyvich

Bet you thought this was a sex post, hm? Well I'm sure if I wanted to, I could take some of my talent and do just that, caress you with literary lessons of love lost and lone wolves winning, but I'd rather not.  The idea for one bores me, and for two, you're already aware I'm an erotic romance author so that automatically makes me teh sex.

What I'm talking about has to do with the actual writing process.  In a book I'm working on for agent Saraitza Hernandez, both my hero and heroine have the same goal, get to the villain.  My hero's goal is actually to bring him in, her goal is to kill him.

When I realized that issue as part of the conflict in my plotting process I thought, hey?  Didn't I just read that?  I damn sure did.  In Lover Avenged by JR Ward, both John Mathews and Xhex are after Lash, both of whom want to kill him for his being a bad, bad man.  It's funny how that sort of snuck in there as I'm sure I've read that theme before.

Probably in an Angela Knight book or maybe even Christina Dodd.  I'll take that theme one step further.  In Burn Notice, the world of Michael Westen has themes that pop up and while I'm never trying to rip off the show directly, it never ceases to amaze me where my ideas come from.  It only takes a few minutes of playing "what if" with characters I create from hearing song lyrics and BAM, I've got an instant story.

In my latest contemporary romance from Sizzler Editions, I did just that. 

Kandy is a young, free spirit. Not afraid to live life, she pushes her body and soul to the limit, hitting all the loud metal concerts, knocking back drinks with the best of them, and coming home hung over to Ian Richards, the man who has taken her under his wing since she came to live with him after her parents died years ago.

Of course, Ian has a past too. He and his ex-wife parted on friendly enough terms, but he still feels guilty for their breakup. It seems to him that his sexy little roommate, who happens to be nine years younger than him, was a part of their problem. Only, his concern for her seemed fatherly until she comes home one night after a Slipknot concert and decides to seduce him. After all, she's old enough.

For someone her age, she's wise beyond her years, which even Ian can give her, but still. Can Kandy show Ian that in order to grow, he has to get his priorities straight? Can he get out of his head and let go of the past long enough to see just what he has under his nose? Or will he cling to memories of the past failures and remain stuck?

With this idea I pretty much took the basic romance template and put my characters in it.  In my world I'm used to having one friend who is in her early 20s.  I played what if, she were actually like me in youthful aggression, passion and work ethic, but what if she were in love with her older roommate.

Let's see…how did that turn out?  The excerpt of course has a partial answer!

Speeding down I-45 towards Dallas, he didn't know what he was thinking when he let her drive.  It was one thing to say "here, let's take my car," and another to say "Kandy, you drive."

He should have known better.

Taking his car was a better choice, it was brand new.  He took very good care of his new Jaguar, but Kandy just had to test the new fuel injection system on the highway this time of year.  She just had to test the sound system complete with the latest and cleanest speakers on the market.

It wouldn't be so bad if she listened to something calmer than the vocalist from Mudvayne scream.

Of course, maybe she identified.  The vocalist was quite pissed off, but he had to be in his early twenties, right?

Stopping at a truck stop in Centerville, they both got out, stretching their legs.  Kandy was dressed in blue jeans that hugged her well rounded ass and emphasized just how tiny she was, a red velvet jacket that hid her frame.  She wore a tight black top, showing Ian plenty of cleavage.  Her bright red ponytail swung over the curve of her ass.  Complete with two inch boots, she was a knockout!

Ian dressed more conservatively.  Black slacks, a beautiful purple ribbed sweater that Kandy bought him last year for Christmas, and his trusty Bostonians.  Black of course.

Finishing up, Ian met Kandy outside the store and walked with her, arm in arm towards the car.

"I'll drive," Ian looked sternly into Kandy's beautiful eyes.

Kandy pouted, "You don't like my driving?"

"No," Ian's voice was firm.

"Coward." Sticking her tongue out at him made Ian think of things he shouldn't.  This was just a little vacation, right?

"Fine," she retorted to his silence.  But I get to crank up the music still."

Ian sighed heavily.

"Yay!" Kandy jumped up, clapping like a little girl who'd just gotten permission to eat sweets.

They got in the car and immediately, Kandy turned up the stereo.  More Mudvayne.

Ian groaned.

"Oh come on, there's passion behind this band. You know what that is, don't you?"

Ian groaned loudly.  "Yes, I know what passion is."

"Was.  Until," she stopped herself.

Ian was quick to catch her mistake.  "How old are these guys?"

It was too late.  Kandy had drifted into the heavy rhythms of the bass players' slap technique.

They were just outside Dallas when Kandy reached over and put her hand on Ian's thigh.  Twitching, he ignored her, feeling deaf.  She'd switched out Mudvayne for a louder band with a vocalist who vacillated between sounding like an angel, or like he'd swallowed pins for breakfast.

Jerking when her hand inched up his thigh, Ian looked at Kandy, thrashing to the music.  Well, that was a term for it anyway.

Before Ian became fully cognizant, Kandy's hand had managed to find its' way to his crotch.  The warmth of her hand was welcome, but dangerous.

"What are you doing?" he asked when his zipper slid down.

Kandy reached a hand into his pants, threading her fingers through his boxers.

Choking back a groan, Ian managed to keep his eyes on the road.  It had grown considerably darker now.

"What the hell are you doing, Candace?"

"Mmm, don't call me Candace," she purred before freeing his cock.  She began stroking it, her fingers warming and massaging his rigid cock.

"I can't pull over for this nonse–" he couldn't finish the sentence.  Keeping his eyes focused on the road, he realized her warm breath had kissed his cock.

Then her lips fell over him.

"I can't be–oh god Kandy your mouth is so warm…"

Her lips brushed the head of his swollen member, Ian's knees jerked against the gas pedal, sending them within inches of the car in front of them.

The car in front of them honked, flipped Ian off and changed lanes.

Ian peered down, then at the driver who gave him a thumbs up once he glanced over to see Kandy's mouth working him over.

Ian groaned pleasurably.  His body was on fire, his nerves ready to explode in Kandy's mouth, but he maintained control.  If she wasn't careful, they'd wreck.

It started to snow.

"Fucking great!"  Ian choked the words out when she sank his cock completely inside her mouth.

"I know," Kandy replied.  "You taste so damn good," she licked the head of his cock like a lollipop.  Ian grunted, trying to concentrate on the road, but Kandy's tongue snaked around his shaft, sliding up one side and down another.

Clutching the steering wheel, his knuckles had turned white by now, and his thighs ached from his trying to remain in control of his car.

It purred, or at least he thought it did until he slowed the car and saw Kandy, purring against his cock.  The sensation sent shivers racing through him.  Her hot mouth covered him, sliding his cock out of her mouth with a popping sound.

"Kandy," he gritted his teeth together.  Slowing the car, he heard her giggle.

"This is so fun though," she lowered her mouth over his cock, brushing the sensitive skin with her teeth.

The friction of her wet lips against his swollen sex was enough to drive him wild.  "You should stop," he reiterated, "or I'll come in your mouth."

"That's the idea," she licked him again.

Thrusting his hips upwards in an attempt to buck her, he quickly realized that he only added to their pleasure.

She wasn't going to stop.

Ian didn't care right now.  The speed sign passed by too quickly for him to see what the legal limit was, but it didn't matter.  His gray jaguar could outrun any patrol car, but he really didn't want to have matters come to that.

"Kandy," he lowered a hand to her hair, stroking her curls, playing, tangling his fingers in her silky hair.

"Silly pet," she uttered and moved up and down his cock faster and faster, excitement building in him.  His throbbing cock jerked in her mouth once, his control over his body gone. 

Buy Links:  http://www.amazon.com/Stuck-ebook/dp/B000WTFFAY/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307716419&sr=1-16

Establishing Credibility for New Writers

By Sascha Illyvich

Establishing yourself as an expert in erotic romance is one of the toughest things to do, especially with the internet making everyone an “expert” and allowing a lot of content to go unchecked. The easiest solution is to follow the true experts- those with track records who have achieved the same results you’re striving for.

I reference Morgan Hawke a lot. There’s a reason for that and it’s because she’s goal oriented.

The hard part is trying to get into the group of writers so you can get the tips first. My question to you is: do you really need to belong to a critique group with varying degrees of experience in order to write?

No. But it helps because you’ll see the folks that stand out and are getting results.

Writing is like any other business, it requires the author to be results oriented. If you’re not writing for a profit, what are you writing for? Personal gain? Self esteem? Those things come with experience and time, and I’d like to mention that I’m specifically aiming this post at career writers, not hobbyists.

What are the pitfalls of trying to establish authority when you’re new? Plenty. First off, people have a tendency to overload their plates in a feeble attempt to know everyone and everything. This results in a crash on the human body and a quick burnout. For a solution, I talked about this here because new writers need to learn some lessons passed down from those of us who have been new before.

Once you’ve learned and applied the lessons I’ve talked about, you’ll get a better grip on time management which will allow you to be a healthier writer. This industry is filled with authors who suffer from various ailments and the curealls are actually pretty simple once you realize you need to start taking care of yourself when you’re YOUNGER. I touched on this here too with Writer’s Self Care.

The results will be easy and measurable because you’ll find yourself with more time and creativity flowing better than most of us who are “old hat.” Once you’ve built up a following, using social media like Twitter and facebook to promote your work, you’ll quickly find out who to pay attention to, what to look out for and how to protect yourself as a writer.

You’ll need to understand the mechanics of writing an erotic romance. Sex is part of those mechanics and a good primer for writing sex scenes can be found on Angela Knight’s blog. You’ll also need to know about plot and showing vs. telling.

Worries about recycling content? Don’t be. From an SEO standpoint, it’s not so bad from what I understand. We all have content that gets left behind when we write articles for blogs or websites that were great, gave a lot of information and made an impact on our audiences. A few word changes and some modification gives us a new article that may reach a few more readers.

The biggest thing I had to learn when I started teaching others about money and finance was that people all have different styles of learning. Some are technical, you can tell them what a Dominant is in a BDSM context and they understand how to write that character. Others require articles like this.

The point of all this is that to establish yourself as an expert in anything, it takes time, patience, goal setting, measurable results and self care. This is true of writers especially since we ARE our own bosses. True we have deadlines but those are set by other humans and can be adjusted as life interrupts.

Best of success to you in your career!

Interview with Sascha Illyvich

1.What are you currently working on? – Nothing Not a damn thing, nadda, zip, zero, zilch. I’m on vacation. Though when I return to writing in January, I have a motivational/success book to start writing, a cyberpunk Male Dom BDSM wolf/faery story for Renaissance E-books and starting a new project that’s hush hush right now J

2.How many novels did you complete before you sold your first? – I sold on my first novel actually. eXtasy books picked up A Christmas Favor at the same time I had put together a compilation of short erotic stories for Renaissance E-books.

3.When did you attempt your first novel? What's become of it? – I was probably 15. It’s unfinished, retarded and in the closet never to see the light of day or a bottle of whisky ever.

4.Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what inspired you to become one? – I’m not sure “become” a writer is actually how it happened. I remember telling my hair dresser that I wanted to write after the IT bubble burst and she said if you want to do it, do that instead of wasting time looking for work.

5.What's your favorite way to advertise? – If you’re spending money then you’re doing it wrong. Money flows TO the author. Not from. So paid speaking engagements, teaching classes, anyway I can that helps others to become better authors while putting cash in my pocket is a viable way I like to advertise.

6.What are you reading, if anything, at the moment? Susan Kearney’s Solar Heat

7.Who are your favorite authors? – Diane Whiteside, Joey W. Hill, Angela Knight, Richele Mead, Colby Holdge is a new favorite, Rebecca York, Laurel K. Hamilton, I could go on.

8.What kind of activities do you do to clear your head? – Cigars. I prefer La Riqueza by tatuaje or Padrons. The time to smoke one cigar is usually an hour at least for me and gives me down time needed to NOT concentrate on writing/work. Or I masturbate.

9.What do you do immediately after finishing a manuscript? – Drink more. Then I leave the MS alone for about a week and work on something else or do website stuff, but I “try” to take a few days off. Usually I end up at Grants for a cigar.

10.What advice would you give an aspiring author? – Believe in yourself but don’t think that this is easy even if you GET a lucky break. Respect those who came before, and pay it forward.

11.It’s plug time. Tell me about your radio show. Where can people find out more about your books? Got an excerpt you’d like to share?

The UnNamed Romance Show on Radio Dentata can be found at http://www.radiodentata.com and is a one hour (usually) show dedicated to bringing you the hottest in industry news, author interviews, excerpts, my rants and more. It airs Mondays at 1 PM PST and again at 7 PM PST and once more on Thursday at 6 PM PST.

You can also find me at http://www.saschaillyvich.com and YES we have an excerpt from “Lessons Learned” which is my male dominant ménage story featuring a switch and a sexy submissive both of whom are in love with Master Clint. Wendi is a stubborn submissive who likes to push buttons because she thinks any attention paid to her is a sign of love. Master Clint is only able to put up with so much despite what his heart tells him. After he disciplines her one night too harshly, Summer appears and spends time with Wendi. What is Summer’s secret?

The blurb wasn’t written yet when I got this interview and the story just happened so…here’s an excerpt instead!

Once outside the private room, the two weren’t alone any longer. A few other patrons had been hanging outside the rooms, either relaxing with their submissives or talking to others near the bar.

Wendi wandered past everyone at a comfortable pace behind Clint. Her feet slapped against the floor. She shook her head, trying to block out the words he’d told her earlier. She didn’t have the energy right now to concentrate on her control issues.

It was much easier to cling to Clint’s body for warmth. Goose bumps ran the length of her exposed flesh.

She kept walking until she’d stumbled into the hardness of his body. Backing up to a respectful distance, she lowered her head and waited for the slap across her face that was sure to come.

Instead, Clint turned around slowly, leash still in hand. He tugged it.

She tripped forward and fell against him with an oomph
.
He wrapped his arms around her and smoothed one open palm down her back.

His hands settled around her still warm ass. The embers of desire still burned in his eyes and made her want him even more.

Clint stepped back and tilted her chin up to his. His mouth came down on hers, claiming her. His tongue pushed past her lips.

Gasping, she opened her mouth to let him in. Her thighs grew damper with arousal. She reveled in the way his tongue explored every nuance of her. Fingers clenched around her sore ass.

His kiss pulled a tiny moan from her. She opened her eyes to see him and suppressed a giggle.

Her master kissed with his eyes closed.

Her body began to tingle, especially when blood raced towards her cunt. Gods, how she wished he’d fuck her right now.

She reached for his kilt with one hand, fingers caressing the smooth leather.

His teeth nibbled her lower lip. “Don’t.”

Ignoring him, she responded to the ache in her pussy. She clutched the leather and dragged the hem up his thigh.

He swatted her ass lightly. Pulling back from the kiss, he frowned at her.

Wendi flinched and tilted her head at him. She batted her eyelashes at him, hoping he’d give in to her advances. Her mouth formed an 'O'.

“You should know better.” His tone held a combination of arousal and disdain. “I should drag you back to the spanking bench and give you fifty lashes right now.”

Her body still yearned for his cock to split her in two, but she stepped back from him.

Clint yanked on the leash, bringing her to her knees.

She looked up at him, saw his lips purse into a thin line and lowered her gaze to his boots. “I’m sorry, Master.”

Clint stepped back another foot and yanked the leash harder.

Wendi fell to her hands, ass up in the air. She knew better than to move, despite the fact that there were a few sets of eyes now staring at her reddened ass.

She wanted to scramble away and hide in the dark. She wanted to run. Fear gathered in her throat in the form of bile that she tried hard to swallow. Her stomach twisted up in knots.

Clint dropped the duffel. It landed with a loud thud against the floor in front of Wendi.

“Stand up.” His voice was harsh now.

Slowly, Wendi stood. Clasping her hands together in front of her body, she knew the moment she looked up that she was about to be punished. Hopefully he’d just take his aggression out on her ass with the singletail. That hurt but the wounds disappeared after a few days. Odd how she’d grown to love the sting of it when he was playing with her, but when she displeased him, it was torture.

He dropped her leash. The leather thong fell against her skin, hanging from her collar between her breasts. He nodded and turned on a booted heel. Then he strode away.

She started after him.

He stopped.

For a moment, it seemed like there were only the two of them in the brown walls of the warehouse that had become Broad Horizons.

Without bothering to look over his shoulder, he spoke. The set of his shoulders rose and fell with his words. “Don’t follow me. You are not to see me until I say so. Go home, Wendi. Think about what it is that you want from me and are willing to give before we continue this.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. “But Master, I—“

“No.” He shouted. “No more until I say so. Goodnight.”

He picked up the duffel bag and walked towards the exit, ignoring the few glances that came his way.

Wendi’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach faster than a plane crash. Tears streamed down her cheeks at the realization of what he had said.

They were through.