I know, I know! But in my defence, I spent all day yesterday in Peterborough renewing my boss's passport (and possibly shopping). I got home late thanks to bad traffic, and ate late due to poor decision-making (ordering a takeaway from the busiest place in Cambridge on a Friday night). So I didn't have time to blog.

In fairness though, my writing progress has been slow this week, so there wasn't much to blog about. Normally I try to aim for about 1k a day, but I think I've managed about 3k this whole week so far. Normally the weekend would be a good chance to catch up, but today I had to take Fergus to the vet (third time in four weeks, poor boy) and then I spent the afternoon making perfume.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love perfume. I love making perfume, and I love my perfume shop. But, my God, by 6pm I was sick of perfume. I have made so much perfume today, you don't even know. My feet and back ache, my wrists ache*, and all I can smell is pumpkin fragrance oil. So I am deeply pleased that I don't have any more orders to worry about...Until Monday. That gives me this evening and tomorrow to try to gain ground on Wolf's Hunt again. I did cross the 30k mark this week. I had initially thought the first draft would be around 40k, but now I think it'll be closer to 50k. We'll see!

Anyway, I think it's probably time I ate something solid, and then, if I can stay awake, it'll be time to write. Enjoy your weekend!

*Perfume-making involves far more small, repetitive movements than you'd probably expect, and a lot more standing around.

I'm delighted to welcome Alexa Sinclaire today with her new (and I believe debut) book, TRUSTING STONE. The cover is scorching hot, so I feel it's safe to say the story will be too. Let's find out!

Eden Walker used to be a good girl. She followed the rules, obeyed her parents, and reaped the benefits. Until the night one wrong step showed her that all that glitters is not gold. Now she’s starting over, trying to do things on her own terms and find the passion she’s only dreamt about.

​Sebastian Stone never expected to find love. His past is too painful for him to imagine letting someone in enough to love. He’s happy focusing on his security company and he’s happy with his one-night-stands. Until he bumps into Eden, a blast from his past.
Sebastian makes Eden realize she’s still scared to follow the passion she knows is missing from her life. Eden is the woman for him, but can Sebastian convince Eden to follow her dreams all the way through? Or will circumstances beyond her control pull them apart?

Purchase Links
Evernight Publishing
Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
All Romance
Bookstrand

Excerpt

The car shifted into motion and Sebastian pressed a button, raising the privacy screen between the driver and the backseat. Eden’s debutante training was beginning to kick in and she started to speak.
“I don’t know how to thank…” But before she could finish the sentence, he was on her.

Sebastian’s lips pressed against hers with a gentleness that didn’t seem to match the cool blue eyes that had been watching her moments ago. His hands caressed her hair and Eden found herself responding. She kissed back, opening her mouth to let his tongue gently sweep in. That act of acceptance acted like a trigger and Sebastian’s soft kiss turned ferocious. His hands gripped her hair, angling her head as his mouth assaulted hers. But she responded in turn and her hands reached to grasp his forearms, pulling him into her even more.

With one hand still lost in her hair, his right hand started moving, sliding down her neck, traveling over the smooth black silk of her dress until it cupped her breast. Eden moaned in surprise and desire. She should have been afraid, but she wasn’t. For the first time in years, she wanted this, wanted this man who she barely knew caressing her, touching her, turning her on. She pushed forward with her body, signaling to him that he had permission, wanting him to do more, giving herself to him. She could feel herself getting wet and she sucked in air as his mouth broke away from their embrace and moved down her face, kissing her neck and exposed skin along her shoulder.

The electricity she had felt in the hall when he had simply grazed her shoulder with his fingers was now magnified as his lips and tongue danced across her skin, and her body felt like it was on fire. His touch seemed to ignite and yet quench the flames that shot through her. His hand moved from her breast, sweeping down her waist, cupping her ass and pulling her even closer. She moaned into his hair as his mouth continued to caress and nuzzle her neckline. She was lost in his touch and his scent, her senses overwhelmed.
​
Suddenly, he pulled away and Eden tried to regain her composure, gasping for air, smoothing her dress as he leaned across her to open the door. She hadn’t even realized they had stopped. How long had they been driving? It had felt like only seconds. 

About Alexa
Alexa Sinclaire writes erotic romance: the hotter the better. Originally from the East Coast, she now lives in England with her very own Alpha male British husband.
Email: alexasinclairewrites@gmail.com
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Writing progress has been slow this week, but I'm off work today and hoping to make up for some lost time. Obviously I'm not going to finish Wolf's Hunt before the end of November now, and it's shaping up to be longer than TANNER'S WAR, but I'm still aiming to have it done before the end of this year. So here's a bit of what I have managed to write this week!

“Hey, ass wipe. How’s your face?”

Wolf turned to see Baron smirking at him. The guy was barefooted and in shorts, showing off a muscular barrel chest decorated with faded, clumsy tattoos. He had a kettlebell in one hand, and with his free hand he casually flipped Wolf off, radiating smug self-assurance. Anger gunned through Wolf at the sight of him. His fists suddenly itched with the need to wipe that smirk off Baron’s face.

“Still pretty,” Wolf answered him, glancing around. The gym was still quiet, nobody was paying attention to them. “You want another crack at it, cocksucker?”

Baron laughed, setting down the kettlebell. “Bitch, you think you’re safe in here? It’ll be a pleasure to beat your ass anywhere you want.”

“Here works for me.” They were on an open matted area, free of any other equipment or gym-users. There was no sense trying to brawl with Baron – not because Wolf didn’t think he could take the jackass, but because they’d be booted out as soon as someone else realised it was happening. But the mats were perfect for some old-fashioned grappling, and Wolf had a feeling that wasn’t Baron’s strong point. Get the fucker down fast, and Wolf could have him wrapped in some painful submission hold before Baron even knew what was happening. He rubbed his palms together, grinning. Payback time.

“Come at me, fucker,” he challenged Baron. “Let’s see what you got when it’s one-on-one.”

Baron clapped his hands together and charged without warning, fist already swinging. Fucking amateur. Wolf ducked under the incoming blow and grabbed Baron’s thigh, shoving him down to the mat effortlessly. Baron went down with a grunt, the air knocked out of him. Before he had a chance to recover, Wolf switched positions, locking both his legs around Baron’s right leg and trapping his foot in Wolf’s armpit. From there, he pinned Baron’s ankle with his forearm and twisted his whole body, generating a painful torque on the ankle.

The heel hook was considered highly dangerous, banned in a lot of combat sports. Wolf grinned in pleasure as Baron roared in pain, thrashing on the mat in a vain attempt to dislodge him. “Tap, bitch,” Wolf said, increasing the pressure. You could really fuck up a guy’s knee with this kind of leg lock, and Wolf felt no remorse about the pain Baron was clearly in. He’d release the hold as soon as the idiot tapped out.
But Baron didn’t. He simply twisted and yelled, face beet-red, and tried to squirm free of the hold. Wolf gritted his teeth and turned up the pressure again. “Tap, bitch!” he shouted, picturing Shango in Baron’s place, feeling a deep, dark satisfaction at the thought.

Luckily I have something to talk about other than my progress on Wolf's Hunt, because I lost the majority of my weekend to Jessica Jones. Anyone else watching? We powered through the first ten episodes yesterday and I LOVE IT SO MUCH. Jessica is amazing, and I'm going to feel quite bereft when we've finished the series. 

I think this is one of these shows you'll love even if you're not a comic book fan - there's just so much good stuff in there. Police procedural elements, gumshoe-noir elements, action, strong female relationships, a diverse cast...I could go on. But let's not!

The nominations for the third annual Evernight Readers' Choice Awards are in! So let's talk about that instead.

I'm delighted to say that the BAD ALPHA anthology is up for best anthology of the year. Not to blow my own trumpet or anything, but this is an amazing collection of stories with some fantastically talented authors involved, and it's a real pleasure and honour to be among them.

Voting is now open for the winners, and you can cast your vote for all your favourites here. The voting closes on 4th December. Why not show some love for your favourite books and authors? Thank you!

Buy Links

Evernight — AllRomance eBooks — Bookstrand

Amazon US — Amazon UK — Amazon Canada — Amazon Australia

Her soft lips pressed against his mouth, causing Graham’s eyes to widen in surprise. He’d sensed her unease, so her sudden aggressiveness took him aback for a moment. She wanted them? Was that what she was saying with this kiss?

Stepping forward, Izzy pressed her body against his and he groaned at the feel of her firm breasts pressed against his chest. When her tongue hesitantly probed through his parted lips, he would have lost control if it weren’t for Chris standing behind her dramatically clearing his throat.

Grasping her shoulders, it took every ounce of strength in Graham to push Izzy away and plant her back on her feet. Her lips were slightly swollen, and her blue eyes had darkened. Before he could catch his breath to speak, a stunned look crossed her pretty face.

“I – I’m sorry. You said this wasn’t the right time. Obviously you don’t want to – I – I shouldn’t have. . .” She trailed off, trying to step away, but both of them reached for her at the same time. Dammit, he hadn’t meant to upset her.

Looking to his brother for help, Graham was relieved when Chris leaned into Izzy without hesitation, easing her worry.

“You have to tell us, baby,” Chris murmured against her ear. “Trust me, we want nothing more than to kiss your pretty lips until your head swims, but you have to tell us what you want first.”

“I don’t want to guess wrong,” Graham agreed, reaching for her hand and entwining his fingers with hers. “It would be easy for us to just take you, toss you on the bed, make you come over and over.” He stepped closer to her as her eyes started to glaze at that statement. “And maybe that’s what you want. Us taking you without you having to actually make the decision.” He brushed her swollen lips with the pad of his finger. “But it doesn’t work that way, sweetheart. You have to tell us what you want.”

“But – but – I thought you liked to dominate.” Damn, that low, breathy voice did things to him.

He had to bite back a groan. The thought of dominating Izzy, tying her up, spanking that pretty round ass caused him to harden to the point of pain. “Baby, I need to know that you want us – together – as much as we want you. We need your consent, Iz. And once you do consent, you should know that we won’t go easy on you.”

Her jaw dropped open a bit as her eyes dilated, and Graham grinned as she tried to figure out what he meant. Behind her, Chris gave him a sly smile.

“I – I —” she stammered, and then bit her lip and took a shaky breath.

“Deep breath, sweetheart,” Chris crooned, his lips finding her ear again. Graham shot him a warning look. If he didn’t quit kissing her, she wasn’t going to be able to form a thought, much less words.

“I – I want you.” Her breathy voice was barely audible, and he stepped close enough to press himself against her, sandwiching her in between himself and Chris.

Taking another long shaky breath, she tried again. “I want both of you – to – to make love to me.” The way her milky skin flushed led Graham to believe that she’d never actually said that to a man before, never asked for what she wanted.

Her words empowered him. She wanted them. She was theirs. He leaned forward to take her lips, cupping her face in his large hands so he could tilt her head how he wanted. His tongue traced the line of her lips until they parted, allowing him access. He swallowed her light whimper as his tongue delved deeper. And she kissed him back. Oh how she kissed him back. When her hands clutched at his arms, he eased back, gently nipping her bottom lip.

“Chris,” Graham spoke to his brother without looking away from Izzy. “Undress her. I want her naked.”

Her breath caught in her throat, and she jerked her head back to look at Chris who smiled wickedly. “With pleasure.”

As Graham backed up to allow his brother room, Chris walked around to stand in front of Izzy. He jokingly rolled his eyes at Graham. “He can be a little bossy,” he said to her with a wink.

Graham watched as his brother ran his hands lightly down her arms, before lifting her arms over her head. He quickly stripped off her black blouse before tugging off the khaki pants she wore.

When Chris stepped back, he darted a glance at his twin, and Graham could see that his eyes were as molten as he felt inside.

Izzy stood before both of them in only her black bra and panties, looking from one man to the other as their steel gazes swept up and down her body, ravenously consuming every inch of her. When a shiver went through her, Graham reached out to envelop her in his arms. “Are we making you nervous, sweetheart?”

She shook her head, a little smile playing at her mouth.

Chris reached out, needing to touch her, and Graham passed her off to his brother. “Are you sure? I know we can be a little overwhelming.”

“I’m sure,” she said, smiling at their concern. “Very sure. I need you. Both of you. I want you both so much, so badly. I just . . .” She stumbled. “I um —”

“What, baby? What’s wrong?” Graham asked. When her gaze slid away, he lifted her chin up. “Look at me, Iz. What’s wrong? You need to be honest with us or I will smack that pretty ass right now.”

The brief flaring of her eyes told Graham she would enjoy a spanking, his hand pounding her ass. Now, there was some fun they could have later.

I feel like I'm probably about halfway through Wolf's Hunt as of last night. I could be way off base, but last night one of the big "doorways of no return" was soundly kicked in by my hero and he stomped on through. The bad guy is starting to get sinister and the good guys are weighing up where they stand. I would love to have this finished before the end of the year, and I think it's looking promising! 

And the weekend is looking pretty good for writing, too! No vet's trips (I've had to take Fergus to the vet two Saturdays in a row now, but we're good there for the time being), no trips into town scheduled, and (at the moment), no visitors scheduled. We do have a fairly open door policy when it comes to friends showing up and staying over, though, so I never rule out the possibility that we're going to be invaded at a moment's notice...

Still! Things are moving along nicely and I'm hoping to hear about edits for WAKING THE LIONESS soon, so all in all, November is proving to be a good writing month so far!

Wednesday can only mean Snippet Day! I haven't actually written anything today, but I got almost 2k added to Wolf's Hunt yesterday, so I'm feeling pretty good about my progress. So here's a little taster of what's going on...

“Clea…” He kissed her. He couldn’t help it. Having her this close and not kissing her was driving him mad. He pulled her in hard, one hand in her hair, the other at the small of her back, pressing her delicious curves to him, stealing her breath away with the kiss. She moaned, digging her nails into his chest, then reaching up to rake them through his hair. Wolf’s cock, already hard, threatened to explode. He backed her up against the window, mind and heart racing that she allowed him to do it. How far could they go? It wasn’t what he’d planned, but he’d be damned if he stopped now…

And then she bit his lip in her passion, right where Mad Dog had split it, and he broke away with a curse, the pain slicing through his arousal. “Shit.”

“Oh.” Clea covered her mouth, failing to hide her laughter. “Oh Danny, I’m sorry!”

He couldn’t help but grin, hearing her laugh like that. He licked his lip, tasting blood. “Liar.”

“Poor baby.” She touched the wound with gentle fingertips. “Need it kissing better?”

“Not if that’s how you kiss these days.”

Her laughter grew wilder, and it was just as warming and sexy as the kiss had been. That he could still make her laugh, with everything between them, made him hopeful.

Out Now – Testing Tom by Lucy Felthouse (@cw1985) #erotica #romance #bdsm #femdom

When Katrina’s ex, Tom, turns up on her doorstep, he’s literally the last person she was expecting to see. After dumping her and running off with a vanilla chick, Tom broke the Domme’s heart and left her seriously hurting. So when he returns, begging for another chance, Katrina is understandably very confused and protective of her bruised feelings. She finds it very difficult to believe that he’s turned his back on a vanilla lifestyle for good and wants to be with her, a professional dominatrix. Rather than letting her head or her heart figure out what to do, whether to forgive him, she decides to put Tom through a series of challenges that will prove his devotion to her—or not. Testing Tom is not something she’d ever expected she’d have to do, but to her, it’s the only way she can be sure whether he’s back for good.
​
This is a previously published work. It has been edited for Evernight Publishing.

Available now from:
Amazon
Other buy links
Add to Goodreads

Excerpt:
Katrina was halfway through an episode of her favorite drama series when her doorbell rang. She jumped, gasping as her heart lurched painfully, then pressed ‘pause’ on the remote control. Wincing slightly as she unfolded her legs from beneath her bottom—she’d been watching the program back-to-back for a couple of hours and she was stiff—she moved to the window and peered out through a gap in the curtains, careful not to let the mystery visitor see her, should she need to ignore them. Cold callers were common in her area, and drove her crazy. If she wanted to buy something, she’d contact them, not the other way around.

As it happened, it wasn’t a salesperson. She ducked back from the window, clenched her hands into fists.
“What the fuck is he doing here?”

He was literally the last person she’d expected to see standing at her door. Prince William or George Clooney would have been less of a shock.

For there, outside her house, stood the man that had broken her heart several months ago. Thomas Black. She hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since, and now, totally out of the blue, he’d turned up.

Katrina contemplated ignoring him, going back to her show and pretending she wasn’t in. But apparently that wasn’t an option.

“I know you’re there, Katrina,” he yelled through the letterbox, “your car is on the drive, and I can see the glow of the telly through the curtains.”

Katrina decided it was time to get thicker curtains. Not wanting to cause a scene, which her nosey neighbors would no doubt adore, she moved to the front door, unlocked it and flung it open.

“Get in,” she said, quickly closing the door behind him, then turning to face her unwanted visitor. “What the hell do you want?”

He held his hands up in supplication, then spoke. “Look, I know I’m probably the last person you expected to see—wanted to see—but I have to talk to you. Please?”

He adopted the puppy-dog look he’d long-since perfected. Katrina sighed.

“You’ve got five minutes. Sit down.”

They moved over to the sitting area, and Katrina deliberately sat in the chair, so Tom couldn’t sit next to her. Settling onto the end of the sofa nearest to her, he clasped his hands together, presumably to summon his courage, and began.

“Kat, I’m here to say I’m sorry, all right? I was wrong, so wrong, to finish with you the way I did and go off with Alicia.”

“She dumped you, has she?” Katrina clenched her teeth, and felt the rage beginning to build inside her. If Tom thought he could come running back to her because his bimbo had ditched him, then he had another think coming.

“No,” he said firmly, and, she suspected, honestly. “I finished with her, actually. When I realized that I wasn’t happy with her. She never made me feel the way you do, Kat. Not once. And I know, I know it’s my fault. I wanted something… different from what we had, or at least I thought I did. I couldn’t help thinking at the time that what we did was wrong, was weird. Abnormal, even. So when Alicia started flirting with me at work, I started thinking perhaps I should try for something normal. Like everybody else out there.”
He fixed her with his soulful gaze, and continued. “But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, Alicia offered me normality, a vanilla relationship, but I soon discovered it couldn’t satisfy me. Sure, she could make me come in all the usual ways—”

“Ugh, I don’t want to hear this, Tom. I don’t want to hear about your sex life with someone else!”
“Sorry, Kat. Please, just let me finish?”

When she gave a curt nod, he carried on speaking.

“Alicia could make me come in all the usual ways—I am just a man, after all—but it wasn’t the same. Wasn’t as good. It wasn’t long before I started to miss you, miss what we had together, both in and out of the bedroom. I ignored it for as long as I could, forced myself to make the effort with Alicia, but it just got to the stage where I couldn’t do it anymore. Couldn’t ignore what I was, what I enjoyed, what I needed. And that’s you, Kat. I need you, and everything that goes with you.”
​
As a Domme, Katrina had become an expert in hiding her feelings, whether she was aroused, angry, happy, sad… it was all stuffed behind a stern facial expression. Now, though, she almost faltered. When Tom had left her, she’d remained cool and silent until the door had slammed. Then she’d broken down. She’d been deeply in love with him, and his decision had left her devastated. Months down the line, her love for him hadn’t faded, not one bit, and the fact that he was here, right now, apparently trying to get her back, was something she’d never expected. She didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or throw something at him.
She didn’t do any of those things. She kept her face straight, her thoughts whizzing through her head at a hundred miles per hour. Eventually, after letting him squirm in his seat for a minute or so, she replied. “So what exactly are you saying, Tom? What do you want?” She knew the answer, but she wanted to make him suffer, the way he had done to her after ditching her for something, someone, that could never satisfy him.

Author Bio:
Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women's Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house. She owns Erotica For All, is book editor for Cliterati, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
 

...I can't hate you too much, in all honesty. I had a good Saturday, hanging out with friends, shopping and drinking decadent hot chocolates. I split my Sunday between writing and being curled up on the sofa with Kyle watching TV, and it's hard to feel that resentful towards Monday when you're all chilled out and happy from the weekend.

Plus, my alter ego has a new book out today! That's always a reason to be happy.

Work on Wolf's Hunt is moving along nicely. I'm in the depths of a truly angsty scene and trying to figure out how to make it even angstier, so I should have something fun to share on Wednesday. My aim for this week is to just keep the pace going. I'm averaging about 1k a day, which is just about right considering everything else I have to fit into my days...Hope everyone has a good week!

You know, I kind of assumed it would be hard to get back into Wolf's Hunt after a two month break, but yesterday I wrote 2k fairly effortlessly. Huzzahs! It no doubt helped that I re-read the manuscript so far on Wednesday, and refreshed my memory, but it was still nice to get back in the groove so quickly. It definitely helps that I love Wolf and Clea, that this book has elements I'm really into (MMA and a New Orleans setting), and that it's a total switch from my last project. My brain is fully engaged because I'm doing something novel. Whee!

My weekend is looking pretty busy, but I'd love to sneak out another few thousand words somewhere if I can and keep the momentum going. If you're interested, you can see my progress on my Works In Progress page, which is also where you can find the playlist I put together for Wolf's Hunt. See you Monday!