All in for High Stakes Lust!
OK, so I’m taking a big breath and, well, now I’m releasing it. It looks as if I have just received a contract offer and I’m ecstatic! Hugely! I can barely contain myself, lol! This contract is for a romance (I don’t think it’s quite erotica) that is near and very dear to my heart… and also the scariest romantic piece I think I’ve ever done.
Why is it scary? you ask, or maybe you didn’t but I’m going to tell you anyway. It’s scary because the heroine of the story is physically impaired. Yep. She has a debilitating disease and it is not just a side note about her. Shelley’s condition is up front and center in the novella If You Asked Me To.
I started this story with the hopes of donating it to a charity anthology. The anthology’s purpose was to emphasize the fact that we all need love, to be touched, and to connect on the most primitive of levels with another human being. I ended this story figuring out that it was way, way, way too long to be a part of an anthology. First things first, I had to become engaged with Shelley, I had to be her just a little bit and let her be me just a little bit, so that a reader, any reader wouldn’t pity her, disease or not, and would relate to her instead. We’re all a bit damaged in one way or another, and intense friendships–love for characters–are born from the bond of adversity. Building that, however, takes time, and space and growth. OK, OK, so I admit it freely, I just couldn’t keep the story short :).
In paying respect to Shelley, I had to make her real, making her both strong an vulnerable, in paying respect to the romance, I had to give her a man, a gorgeous, sexy, man who was also both strong and vulnerable, and just a little flawed so that he, too ,was real. Then Ray Costas took over! Somehow, in all of this, writing a romance about a woman with a “disability” turned into writing a romance about a man trying to love a woman with a “disability”. And you know, I have to say, I like it better this way, and I’m hoping you and other readers will, too.
Ya know what else? I did mention that at it’s heart, this story is a romance, but, you guys know me, It has to be, has to be, HAS TO BE hot! Yep, there is one scene, that I literraly fantasize about at least once a week, and hell I wrote it! LOL!!! So come on, If you’d like to ge t a sample of the story, go ahead, click here: http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com/home_files/IfYouAskedMeTo.htm
Aubrey Leatherwood
http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com
Filed under: fiction, romance, writing | Tags: aubrey leatherwood, cobblestone press, erotica, model lover, models
Cover for Model Lover
“Every rugged, long-blond-haired, blue-eyed, beefy inch of him seduced her…”
OK, so there’s no denying it. I easily fall in love with a hot leading man, but come on, I’m not the only one. I think as romance and erotica authors, we have to have a visceral response to our characters. They don’t all look the same or move with the same swagger, but they all make our hearts beat faster, stronger.
My most recent infatuation is Blair Langerud, the Nordic heartbreaker in Model Lover, who knows just how to use his good looks to get what he wants. Only, what happens when he comes across a veteran, a woman who has been around the most gorgeous of men her whole life and has made a trade of her own good looks? You get to find out when Blair meets Pam Lane, model agent extraordinaire.
Here’s an excerpt for you:
—
Pam ran her fingers through his hair.
“It’s clean, of course.”
That didn’t stop Pam from leaning over him and sniffing. The heavenly scent of Old Spice greeted her. Old Spice?
“You wash your hair with Old Spice? You can’t wash your hair with Old Spice.” She stepped in front of him. “What will your sponsors say?”
Blair grabbed her and pulled her close until she had one knee on the loveseat. He buried his head between her breasts. “Keep interrogating me, and I’ll ask why you’re so familiar with the smell of Old Spice. I’m sure neither of us wants the answer to that.”
“There’s gray in here,” she remarked.
He didn’t say anything.
“A whole lot of gray at the root.”
He grunted.
“You really are older than me.”
“Are you going to cut it, or just play around up there?”
Pam laughed. His hair was indeed peppered with gray. She could just imagine how it was going to look sheared, sexy, rugged, mature. She sighed and wavered close to him, accidentally brushing her breasts against his back.
She heard his intake of breath the same as her own. And she smiled at the way his muscles tensed and his body heat licked out at her.
Enough of that. Her thumb flicked against the switch on the clippers, and they began a low hum. The sound, though still low, went a little shrill as she made her first swipe at the side of his crown.
A silken lock of gold hair flittered over her forearm. So odd how up until that moment, this intimacy between them had been so comfortable, so connected. And now, now with this delicate touch of him, his falling hair against her skin, something had changed between them.
She came around and studied his magnificent face. With her clippers in one hand, she used the other to run fingers through the satiny length of hair still hanging on the left side of his head. He turned so that the tip of his nose stroked the delicate inside of her arm. His lips then followed the path, a kiss on her wrist, the inside of her elbow. When she started to pull away, he clasped her hand and brought his lips to place a kiss on her palm. He stood then, his body all steel as he pulled her against him. His arm locked around her waist, and his steely blue eyes held her gaze.
Pam dropped the clippers. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this, Blair.”
“I think I’m ready enough for the both of us,”
—
Model Lover comes to you Friday, March 12, 2010 from Cobblestone Press.
Aubrey Leatherwood
http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com
http://www.cobblestone-press.com
Filed under: fiction, new release, romance | Tags: aubrey leatherwood, cobblestone press, erotica, interracial, model lover
- A picture may be worth a thousands words, but a touch… a kiss…
Hello Pals!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aubrey leatherwood; model parent; fiction; contract;
Hey Amusees,
I have to share! I just received a contract from Cobblestone Press for my steamy short Model Parent! Thanks to CP for the acceptance and for helping me share another one of my favorite couples with the world.
Aubrey Leatherwood
http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com
Filed under: fiction, writing | Tags: aubrey leatherwood, awards, CAPA, erotica, the people you know; the sex they have
Badge for Cupid and Psyche Award Nominees
I was already thrilled, already ecstatic when I found out that The People You Know; The Sex They Have was nominated for a Psyche Award over at The Romance Studio. But imagine my super-duper happiness at finding out that I am also a nominee for Favorite Erotica Author 2009 in the Cupid and Psyche Awards as well. Really, Me? Woo hoo! Now, before I start thanking my mom, God, and the Academy, I have to confess to being a little bit choked up. I’ve always just been happy to write. I don’t do it for the money. I don’t do it for the fame. I do it because I’ve always done it, love doing it, and live for those rare occassions when someone truly has a Vulcan mind meld with me on where I’m coming from in a story (yes, I did say Vulcan mind meld). Writing is not my job, it’s my love and having readers love what I’ve created or my “portfolio” means everything to me.
Happy,
Aubrey
http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com
Hey Amusees,
Grayson posted from her newest WIP and I figured I’d post a double dose of two new WIPs which are related!
The first is Model Parent (working title):
Confirmed bachelorette, Pamela Lane, is not interested in a husband and kids. She’s already got more than she can handle taking care of the models contracted with Lane V Modeling Agency, as well as some of their overreaching parents. When she finds a new model destined for greatness, of course she expects the minor to come with an over-protective father, but who knew he would look so good?
Unedited Excerpt:
“Let me see her sheet.”
As she reached for the clipboard clutched to her partner’s chest, Valeria smacked her on the back of the hand. “Her name is Alicia. That’s all you need to know.”
When Pam told her team to help control her workaholism, they’d gone a little too far. “You know this is having a reverse affect on my stress-level.”
Valeria only smiled.
Pam sorely wanted to say something about Valeria’s cat-that-ate-the-canary smile, but she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and looked down at the screen.
That was not a sigh. That was not a sigh. That was not a—
“Did you just sigh?” Valeria arched an eyebrow at her over an even wider than normal smile. “Awww…”
“I hate you,” Pam mouthed as she made her way away from the shoot and toward her office.
“Hi!” her voice was light, airy, teenager-y. New. Even when she had a crush on someone as a kid, she hadn’t sounded like that.
“Hello, beautiful,” a deep slow rumble caressed her from the other end.
She let her eyes roll closed for just a second. Maybe it made sense that she melted when she was with him. Yes, that made sense. But his ability to reduce her to warm pudding with only a voice disturbed her more than a little bit.
“What’s going on?” She asked hoping she sounded cool and not at all breathy.
He hesitated. “Not much. Just wanted to hear your voice.”
Sinking into a chair in her office, Pam covered her eyes with her palm letting herself be consumed by the moment. “I’m glad you called.”
“I missed you.”
Pam wasn’t going to be able to take much more of this. Did anyone in the world know how sweet he was? Anyone? Did anyone know that he wasn’t an enigma at all, rather an open book? Heart on his sleeve.
“I missed you, too,” she murmured back before adding, “Even if I did just talk to you last night.”
“But you didn’t see me.” He sounded steady, manly, not at all pouty. Okay, maybe a little bit pouty.
“Don’t pout. Did you forget a little thing called Fashion Week? We’ve been swamped since it concluded. And we had to get work completed ahead of open call today.”
“Then after you should have spent the night with me.”
The second is Fan Mail
picking up where Model Parent left off
Bad boy , Tommy Touhy, is out for blood when he catches a perp who’s been stalking Alicia Langerud. Luckily for the stalker, Tommy’s pulled off of him before he can do any lasting damage. But Tommy is unsettled. Alicia is a beautiful, gentle woman who deserves protection. She’s also one hundred percent under his skin, has been since they were kids. Can Tommy resist when she attempts to thank him for saving her life?
Unedited Excerpt
Tommy’s biceps twitched violently, aching. His jaw hurt and shook as his teeth ground together from strain. Something hard, small, and cylindrical bored into his back. It felt like a beer bottle and while it hurt like hell, Tommy wanted it to stay whole. He prayed it didn’t burst beneath him. He growled at the thought.
Blood, sweat, and saliva dripped onto his face. Desperately, he thought he felt the bottle contracting, a subtle squeeze before it popped. In his mind eye, he saw a pair soft blue eyes, wide with terror. His anger redoubled and so did his strength. Tommy drew in two deep and quick breaths. Then with everything he had left, he pushed up, hard, while swinging his left leg. The guy outsized him by at least twenty-five pounds, but Tommy managed to reverse their positions with the maneuver. He slammed the man’s wrist against the floor so his knife clattered to the ground. But the asshole wasn’t done fighting.
A heaving breath and a sickening attempt at a smile came before he rasped, “You don’t think I know you. I know who you are.”
Tommy drew back his fist and punched the guy as hard as he could. The man was going to have a broken nose.
Blood flowing freely now, not just from the corner of his mouth, but a fountain from his nose, the man tried to laugh. “She will be mine. Mine forever. Not yours anymore. She—“
He struggled to get up, but Tommy was stronger and he was really, really pissed. Another hard and fast jab. Now, the bastard was going to have to have his teeth removed from the inside of his cheeks.
Though the talking stopped, the rebellion remained, and Tommy wasn’t satisfied. A third blow sent the man into the oblivion of unconsciousness, but Tommy’s anger wasn’t appeased. He saw those blue eyes in his mind again, heard her voice as it wavered telling him “Tommy, I’m so scared.”
The wicked looking knife glimmered for him. He reached for it but jerked his hand away when the backup he hadn’t waited for, arrived. But an angry haze still blurred his vision, and his heart still pounded. His skin itched and burned like he was being attacked by tiny flames. His fist connected again anyway. And again. And again, until two officers dragged him off the guy.
Like a raging bull, Tommy stumbled around, loping in circles and breathing hard, his fists clenched. He needed to get a hold of himself. He really did. But some things, some things were unforgivable. What this man had done, could not be forgiven, and Tommy was damn near certain he could have killed him.
Finally, when he could breathe again, the paramedics demanded to check him over. A couple cuts and bruises, nothing to write home about. But, when he looked down and realized there was blood caked into his Christian Audigier t-shirt and dripped onto his Superdry pants and Diesel shoes, he wasn’t near anything. He wanted beat the bastard until he pissed himself all over again.
Aubrey Leatherwood
http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: aubrey leatherwood, awards, CAPA, the people you know; the sex they have, the romance studio
That’s right, Amusees!
I, Aubrey Leatherwood, have been nominated for a 2009 CAPA award presented by The Romance Studio, or rather my first erotic collection The People You Know, The Sex They Have has been nominated. The book is up
CAPA Nominee The People You Know; The Sex They Have
for a Psyche which is presented for a work that did not meet the nomination criteria for a normal CAPA but deserved special recognition.
I was so close to the three stories in this short anthology, I never
thought about awards. I just wanted people to read the stories and love
them the way I do. To get the characters. And they have and it is good!
Having also garnered a much respected Romantic Times Reviewer Choice Award nomination for Best Contemporary Erotic 2008, The People You Know; The Sex They Have is frequently about nuance and a person finding their way through awkwardness and insecurity and dirty laundry (literal dirty laundry, a mother would be ashamed to know their son keeps his room this way) to be with that one person who manages to get him or her hot in the pants and under the hat.
You can stop by my website to read some excerpts.
http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com
Elated,
Aubrey Leatherwood
Me, Aubrey Leatherwood, of course!
Hi All,
As a part of Phaze’s 5 Year Anniversary, I have a free read offered up for your enjoyment, it’s short and sweet, and a very compact sample of what I do for you:
Here’s a bit about the story and the link if you’d like to take a peak! 🙂
About “Direct Connect ” by Aubrey Leatherwood
Shawn has the hots for his boss… who just happens to be a tech genius. She’s only interested in her computers and keeping her distance. But Shawn has decided it’s time to make a Direct Connect.
Link: http://www.phaze.com/anniversaryreads/DirectConnect.pdf
Dime
©2009
Genre: Contemporary Erotica
ISBN: 978-1-60659-520-6
Blurb:
Never in a million years would Nicole Donaldson have imagined she’d become a rapper. But when the reserved middle-manager gets caught up in a lark with her Prince-obsessed brother, she’s offered a music deal by hot music producer, Baron Odom. Nicole doesn’t know what to make of her entrance into a world and lifestyle she’s disdained from afar. She also can’t quite wrap her mind around the quickly deepening attraction she has to Baron. Can she resist the call of the stage? The call of her heart?
Excerpt:
I needed to lie down.
Lorenzo seemed to find this amusing and said something about overindulgence once a year being fine by him as he followed me upstairs to let in a guest who’d buzzed. At the door,
But I kept it in check. Baron was a little bigger than life. Literally. He was a tall, broad fellow packed with muscle. He was handsome as hell, but not at all my type. He looked like a thug, and I’m not interested in thugs. Typically. True enough, I wouldn’t mind a physical match or two with him, but I knew this type of guy and there was nothing to suggest we might be anything close to compatible.
The men I dated tended to be more cerebral. I met a fellow who struck up a conversation with me in the Western Civilization section of the bookstore. Another while ordering coffee at the shop around the corner from the office. They were in professional jobs like mine. Middle managers, technology specialists. They wore khakis and button-downs and carried PDAs that were actually for business and not downloading forwarded porn. Or at least the downloading forwarded porn.
But I digress. I had certainly had a special moment or two alone thinking about Baron, but I knew better than even trying to get close to that.
I nodded a greeting. He nodded back even though his eyes seemed to follow me.
Buy Link: http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Dime/exact_match=exact
Aubrey Leatherwood
www.aubreyleatherwood.com
FaceBook * MySpace
Dime
Available today from Phaze Books
Imperfection
A tale of perfect commitment, perfect love… and perfect sex.
The People You Know, The Sex They Have
ROMANTIC TIMES NOMINEE FOR BEST CONTEMPORARY EROTICA 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9818905-0-0
Filed under: fiction | Tags: aubrey leatherwood, dime, erotica, hip hop, music, mysogyny, rap
I love asking this question! When I asked a little while ago I got the most creative and amusing answers. Here are some examples:
1) What you use in a payphone (uhhh, not anymore folks 🙂
2) What you drop when you rat someone out to police
3) A bag (don’t say it)
However, in my upcoming Phaze release, a Dime is a woman. A gorgeous, preening thing in the commercial hip hop world whose sole goal is to look her best so she has every man looking, wanting, lusting… and willing to pay. It comes from the value of the coin, 10. A Dime is a 10.
Nicole, however considers herself as far away from a dime as one woman can get. She is fed up with what much of commercial hip hop chooses to glorify about women.Too many times she hears the cycle in song: girl looks good, girl has great sex, girl demands money. Nicole is not tuning in anymore. She’s going to her nine to five and behaving herself determined to represent a woman who is attractive… but smart, who likes a nice shoe… but won’t shell out the mortgage on a pair.
Still, getting away from a dirty beat proves difficult for a girl born with music in her blood, and after a lark in her brother’s studio, Nicole finds heself embedded deep in the rap game. Before she knows it, she’s being billed as a body, a face, and she’s got one sexy producer ready to make dreams she didn’t know she had come true.
Now, what’s a Dime to do about that?
Check it out. This Dime drops on Novemeber 2, 2009 at http://www.phaze.com .
Aubrey Leatherwood
http://www.aubreyleatherwood.com
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